Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has registered as a candidate in the upcoming elections in Iran.
Read More: Fox News
Tag Archives: Iran
Kerry Allegedly Informed Iran About Israel Military Strikes
A leaked recording obtained by the New York Times apparently shows former Secretary of State John Kerry telling the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif about Israeli military strikes.
Read More: Breitbart
Twitter Take No Action Over Khamenei’s “Eliminate Israel” Post
Twitter has come under fire for not taking any action over Iran’s Khamenei’s post calling for the elimination of Israel. However, Twitter has seen his Twitter account restricted over tweets about law and order in response to the violent protests sweeping America. Twitter has said Trump’s posts “incite violence”. The social media giant has been accused of double standards.
Twitter’s response has been to argue that Iran’s posts concerning the mass genocide of Israel is “foreign policy sabre-rattling”.
“We have an approach toward leaders that says that direct interactions with fellow public figures, comments on political issues of the day, or foreign policy sabre-rattling on military-economic issues are generally not in violation of our rules,” Ylwa Pettersson, Twitter’s head policy for the Nordic countries and Israel, told the Knesset’s Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs, via video-conference.
If a world leader violates our rules but there is a clear interest in keeping that up on the service we may place it behind a notice that provides some more context about the violation and allows people to click through if they wish to see that type of content,” Pettersson replied.
“That’s what happened for the Trump tweet: that tweet was violating our policies regarding the glorification of violence based on the historical context of the last line of that tweet and the risk that it could possibly inspire harm and similar actions.”
Read More: CUFI
Adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Dies of Coronavirus
Coronavirus has hit Iran hard. With members of the Iranian government contracting the illness. It has now been confirmed that Mohammad Mirmohammadi, 71, who was an Expediency Council member and adviser to Khamenei has died. COVID-19 has already infected Iran’s Vice President and Deputy Health Minister.
Iran has rejected help from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The US are concerned that Iran is covering up details about the spread of the virus.
Iran’s mortality rate of the virus has been 5.5%, compared with 2% in China. The virus has killed at least 66 people in Iran, the highest death toll outside of China. The majority of 1,150 cases throughout the Middle East are linked back to the country.
Iran has closed schools, but has allowed religious sites to remain open. Footage from Iran last week showed Iranians licking shrines in defiance to the virus.
Read More: Fox News
Ukraine Plane Crashes in Iran: May Have Been Shot Down
U.S. Drone Strike Kills Top Iranian General
An audacious drone strike by the U.S. has killed top Iranian General Qassim Soleimani. The President has said the assassination was to prevent a plot against America. President Trump described Soleimani as “the number one terrorist anywhere in the world.”
Mr Trump said: “We took action last night to stop a war, we did not take action to start a war.
“Soleimani made the death of innocent people his sick passion, contributing to terror plots as far away as New Delhi and London. His reign of terror is over.
“He was plotting imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and and personnel but we caught him in the act and terminated him.”
The attack happened whilst Soleimani, the head of the elite Quads Force, was in Baghdad. U.S. national security adviser Robert O’Brien said Soleimani was moving around the Middle East planning imminent attacks on U.S. diplomats and military personnel.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has issued a statement vowing to retaliate:
“America should know that its criminal attack on General Soleimani has been the country’s biggest mistake in west Asia, and America will not avoid the consequences of this wrong calculation easily,” it said.
“These criminals will face severe vengeance… in the right place and time,”
Read More: The Telegraph
Iran, China and Russia Hold Joint Naval Drills in Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman
Iran, China and Russia have held joint naval drills in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean. The operations come at a time of increased tension between the US and Iran. In May last year the US withdrew from the nuclear deal signed by Obama.
“The message of this exercise is peace, friendship and lasting security through cooperation and unity… and its effect will be to show that Iran cannot be isolated,” Rear Admiral Gholamreza Tahani said on state television.
Iranian State television said the co-operation between the nations signals “the new triangle of power in the sea”.
Iran said the drills aims were to increase security, combat piracy, and strengthen intelligence sharing operations.
Japan also said on Friday it would send its own battle ships to the region to aid security, but would not join a US-led collision. The Japanese Chief of Cabinet said “Japan’s own measure aimed at peace and stability in the Middle East as well as ensuring safety of Japan-related vessels,”
90% of Japan’s crude oil comes from the region.
Read More: France 24
Iran Says it Will Hold Joint Naval Drills With China and Russia
It has been reported the Iran will soon hold a joint naval drill in international waters with China and Russia. The exercise will be held in the north Indian Ocean.
The announcement came after the US announced they will be sending a moderate number of troops to the Gulf region. This is in response to attacks by Iran on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities.
Read More: Yahoo Finance
Iran Shoots Down US Drone, but Says it Refrained From Shooting Down Plane
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard have said they shot down a US drone that entered into it’s air space. However, they say the drone was accompanied by a US plane which had 35 people on board. The Iranians claim this also strayed into it’s air space, but they refrained from shooting it down.
Read More: Jerusalem Post
US Blames Iran for Recent Attacks on Oil Tankers in Gulf of Oman
Thursday saw two oil tankers- one Norwegian, the other Japanese- attacked in the Gulf of Oman. Crew members rescued from the Japanese vessel said, “that the ship was attacked by a flying object”. These fresh attacks come after four vessels were targeted a month ago.
The US have blamed Iran for the attacks, claims the Iranians deny. It is thought the Iranians are seeking to disrupt international shipping in one of the world’s busiest shipping routes. US-Iranain relations have deteriorated recently. The US have sent an aircraft carrier in response to the heightened threat from Iran in the region.
Read More BBC
AL QAEDA THREATENS TO STRIKE AMERICA, FRANCE, DENMARK AND CITIES IN EUROPE
In a recent propaganda message on a jihadist forum, Al Qaeda have posted a map of future strikes on countries sympathetic to the French, following French and allied attempts to oust Al Qaeda forces from Mali.
Concern over President Obama’s nominee for Defense Secretary, former Senator Chuck Hagel, who is set to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.
Conservative former officers say Mr. Hagel is the wrong person to head the Pentagon because of his soft-line views on Iran, hostility toward Israel and support for cuts in U.S. military and nuclear forces.
Iran fired on unarmed US drone over international waters
The Pentagon has announced that Iran fired at an American drone last week as it flew over international waters. The incident occurred 16 nautical miles off the Kuwait coast on November 1st.
The Pentagon’s announcement coincides with a fresh round of sanctions imposed on Iran by the administration. The White House said these new sanctions are, “related to the Iranian government’s human rights abuses, it’s support of terrorism and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.”
The drone attack was the first of it’s kind over international waters in the Persian Gulf region.
Read more: Fox News
Iran’s Currency Crashing
Signs of public dissatisfaction are appearing in Iran with protests in central Tehran today. Iran’s currency has lost more than 50% of its value in the last week.
Police in the hundreds with anti-riot gear swarmed the capital around the currency exchange district looking for illegal money changers and closing other legally operating venues down, according to witnesses reporting to AFP (Agence France-Presse).
According to the witnesses, many were arrested, smoke was seen in at least two places and stones where being thrown at police.
Ahmadinejad however, blames the sanctions imposed by the USA and European Union for the freefall of their currency but remains defiant and committed to Iran’s nuclear program “We are not a people to retreat on the nuclear issue… If somebody thinks they can pressure Iran, they are certainly wrong and they must correct their behaviour,”.
Iran’s President Calls for “New World Order”
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has given an interview with the Associated Press at the United Nations this week, where he calls for the establishment of a “New World Order”. Ahmadinejad wants to see the world move away from “years of American bullying and domination” In the interview he said, “God willing, a new order will come together and we’ll do away with everything that distances us…I do believe the system of empires has reached the end of the road. The world can no longer see an emperor commanding it.”
“Now even elementary school kids throughout the world have understood that the United States government is following an international policy of bullying,” he said.
Ahmadinejad also called American and Israeli insistence that Iran abandon it’s nuclear program as a non-issue, claiming America was using it as an excuse for the US to impose it’s will on Iran.
President Ahmadinejad is due to speak at the UN tomorrow, the United States delegates have already said they will boycott his speech.
In the interview Ahmadinejad also addressed the issue of Syria. He is calling for a group of countries to work together to bring an end to the bloody conflict in the country. However, intelligence suggests Iran is actively helping the Assad, with weapons and logistical support.
This will be Ahmadinejad’s last appearance at the UN General Assembly as he is due to leave office next June.
To read more about his interview see The Telegraph