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Showing posts with label Iran War. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iran War. Show all posts

Russian Vladimir Putin congratulates Iran’s new president, hopes for closer ties

Russian Vladimir Putin congratulates Iran’s new president, hopes for closer ties

Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Iran’s reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian on his victory in a presidential runoff, the Kremlin said on Saturday.


“I hope that your tenure as president will contribute to a reinforcement of constructive bilateral cooperation between our friendly peoples,” Putin said in a message to Pezeshkian.


Russia an Iran, the target of stiff Western sanctions, can “coordinate efforts to resolve international issues in a constructive manner,” Putin said.

Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Iran’s reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian on his victory in a presidential runoff, the Kremlin said on Saturday.


“I hope that your tenure as president will contribute to a reinforcement of constructive bilateral cooperation between our friendly peoples,” Putin said in a message to Pezeshkian.


Russia an Iran, the target of stiff Western sanctions, can “coordinate efforts to resolve international issues in a constructive manner,” Putin said.

The Iran's SIX for June 28 Snap Presidential Election

The Iran's SIX for June 28 Snap Presidential Election

The contest should be between the experienced IRGC and Basij operatives, Ghalibaf and Zakani


The Iran's Guardian Council has announced the final list of six candidates approved to compete in the presidential election scheduled for June 28. 


According to the interior ministry, the all male list consists of senior government figures such as hardliner Saeed Jalili who is Ali Khamenei's representative in the Iranian Supreme National Security Council.


Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the current Parliament Speaker and Masoud Pezeshkian, a 'reformist' parliamentarian. Also in the approved list is Mostafa Pourmohammadi, a former minister of justice and interior, 


The Guardian Council also gave endorsement to Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, a current Vice President, and another hardliner, Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani. 

According to a report by Iran International, several high-profile figures were disqualified from running, including ex-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former parliament speaker Ali Larijani, and former Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri.

The pattern of selection is similar to the 2021 election, when Ahmadinejad and Larijani were rejected and only a second-echelon 'moderate' candidate was allowed to run. The result was a low-turnout election when Ebrahim Raisi passed the line in the first round.


Some analysts in Iran have told the local media that the race now will most likely be between Jalili, a former nuclear negotiator and an opponent of an agreement with the West, and Ghalibaf who is considered a more flexible politician. 


In any case, the issue of relations with the West and the fate of Iran's nuclear program are under the purview of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.


Meanwhile, Jalili, 58, is making his third presidential bid, having been a significant figure in Iran's nuclear negotiation team and holding various senior positions within the ministry of foreign affairs. Jalili, who holds a Ph.D. in political science from Imam Sadiq University, is noted for his uncompromising conservative stance.

Former IRGC general Ghalibaf, 63, who is the current Parliament Speaker, is known for his military and political experience.


The only reform leaning candidate, Pezeshkian, 69, has served as health minister and chancellor of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. He is also a trained cardiac surgeon, holding a medical degree from Tabriz University.


Pourmohammadi, 64, infamous for his role in the "Death Commission" during the 1980s, has been a polarizing figure due to his past actions as deputy intelligence minister.


Ghazizadeh Hashemi, 53, currently serving as Vice President, head of the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, and an ENT surgeon, has maintained a conservative stance throughout his political career, representing the Mashhad and Kalat electoral district in Parliament for several terms. He holds a medical degree from Mashhad University of Medical Sciences.


Mayor of Tehran, Zakani, 58, noted for his confrontational style and conservative views. holds a Ph.D. in nuclear medicine from Tehran University of Medical Sciences. He has been an outspoken critic of the nuclear deal and a key figure in the conservative camp supporting the crackdowns on women defying compulsory hijab.


The snap election follows the sudden death of President Ebrahim Raisi who died in a helicopter crash on May 19 along with his entourage.


The candidates' approval by the Guardian Council, a body of clerics known for its allegiance to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, highlights the clerical rulers' continued grip on power.


 The upcoming elections are expected to see record low participation as the population rejects the sham polls rigged by the country's theocratic dictator.

The disqualification of heavyweights such as outspoken Ahmadinejad and Larijani came with mixed reactions from among the public.


 Ahmadinejad was highly unlikely to get through, but many thought that Larijani, as a quiet insider, will make it to final stage considering Khamenei's comment after his "unfair disqualification" in 2021.


On the other hand, the 'reformists' must be somewhat disappointed as only one of their official candidates has his credentials approved, Iranian analyst and Iran International contributor Behruz Turani said. 


The only reform-minded candidate, Pezeshkian's chances to win the presidency is uncertain because of his ethnic voter base, something that Khamenei is known to detest.

The final battle will be among "revolutionary" Jalili, insider Ghalibaf, and ambitious Zakani, observers say.


Khamenei sees no difference among them although he definitely does not like Jalili's link to the over-ambitious and ultra-hardliner Paydari party, according to sources.


In view of the security situation in the post 2022 protests, Khamenei's ideal candidates are more likely Ghalibaf and Zakani, both experienced IRGC and Basij operatives with a proven track record of suppressing dissent.


The contest should be between the experienced IRGC and Basij operatives, Ghalibaf and Zakani


The Iran's Guardian Council has announced the final list of six candidates approved to compete in the presidential election scheduled for June 28. 


According to the interior ministry, the all male list consists of senior government figures such as hardliner Saeed Jalili who is Ali Khamenei's representative in the Iranian Supreme National Security Council.


Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the current Parliament Speaker and Masoud Pezeshkian, a 'reformist' parliamentarian. Also in the approved list is Mostafa Pourmohammadi, a former minister of justice and interior, 


The Guardian Council also gave endorsement to Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, a current Vice President, and another hardliner, Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani. 

According to a report by Iran International, several high-profile figures were disqualified from running, including ex-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former parliament speaker Ali Larijani, and former Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri.

The pattern of selection is similar to the 2021 election, when Ahmadinejad and Larijani were rejected and only a second-echelon 'moderate' candidate was allowed to run. The result was a low-turnout election when Ebrahim Raisi passed the line in the first round.


Some analysts in Iran have told the local media that the race now will most likely be between Jalili, a former nuclear negotiator and an opponent of an agreement with the West, and Ghalibaf who is considered a more flexible politician. 


In any case, the issue of relations with the West and the fate of Iran's nuclear program are under the purview of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.


Meanwhile, Jalili, 58, is making his third presidential bid, having been a significant figure in Iran's nuclear negotiation team and holding various senior positions within the ministry of foreign affairs. Jalili, who holds a Ph.D. in political science from Imam Sadiq University, is noted for his uncompromising conservative stance.

Former IRGC general Ghalibaf, 63, who is the current Parliament Speaker, is known for his military and political experience.


The only reform leaning candidate, Pezeshkian, 69, has served as health minister and chancellor of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. He is also a trained cardiac surgeon, holding a medical degree from Tabriz University.


Pourmohammadi, 64, infamous for his role in the "Death Commission" during the 1980s, has been a polarizing figure due to his past actions as deputy intelligence minister.


Ghazizadeh Hashemi, 53, currently serving as Vice President, head of the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, and an ENT surgeon, has maintained a conservative stance throughout his political career, representing the Mashhad and Kalat electoral district in Parliament for several terms. He holds a medical degree from Mashhad University of Medical Sciences.


Mayor of Tehran, Zakani, 58, noted for his confrontational style and conservative views. holds a Ph.D. in nuclear medicine from Tehran University of Medical Sciences. He has been an outspoken critic of the nuclear deal and a key figure in the conservative camp supporting the crackdowns on women defying compulsory hijab.


The snap election follows the sudden death of President Ebrahim Raisi who died in a helicopter crash on May 19 along with his entourage.


The candidates' approval by the Guardian Council, a body of clerics known for its allegiance to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, highlights the clerical rulers' continued grip on power.


 The upcoming elections are expected to see record low participation as the population rejects the sham polls rigged by the country's theocratic dictator.

The disqualification of heavyweights such as outspoken Ahmadinejad and Larijani came with mixed reactions from among the public.


 Ahmadinejad was highly unlikely to get through, but many thought that Larijani, as a quiet insider, will make it to final stage considering Khamenei's comment after his "unfair disqualification" in 2021.


On the other hand, the 'reformists' must be somewhat disappointed as only one of their official candidates has his credentials approved, Iranian analyst and Iran International contributor Behruz Turani said. 


The only reform-minded candidate, Pezeshkian's chances to win the presidency is uncertain because of his ethnic voter base, something that Khamenei is known to detest.

The final battle will be among "revolutionary" Jalili, insider Ghalibaf, and ambitious Zakani, observers say.


Khamenei sees no difference among them although he definitely does not like Jalili's link to the over-ambitious and ultra-hardliner Paydari party, according to sources.


In view of the security situation in the post 2022 protests, Khamenei's ideal candidates are more likely Ghalibaf and Zakani, both experienced IRGC and Basij operatives with a proven track record of suppressing dissent.


Raisi funeral updates: Procession for Iran president after helicopter crash

Raisi funeral updates: Procession for Iran president after helicopter crash

 Massive crowds of Iranians thronged the streets of the capital, Tehran, for the funeral procession of President Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage, who died in a helicopter crash.


.

Raisi and several other officials, including Iran’s foreign minister and a provincial governor, were on board when the helicopter went down in northern Iran’s East Azerbaijan province.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei declared five days of national mourning.
On Tuesday, mourners gathered in Tabriz, the capital of East Azerbaijan, for a farewell procession for Raisi.
An election will be held on June 28 to pick Raisi’s successor.


Foreign dignitaries pay their respects at official ceremony

The commemoration ceremony for Iran’s Raisi and other officials who died in Sunday’s crash has started at the Iran International Conference Center in northern Tehran, reports Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency.

Visiting delegations, including from Jordan and Oman, have entered the procession, paying tribute to Raisi and the other officials, according to videos posted by the news agency.


Kuwait’s FM heads to Tehran

More foreign dignitaries are flying into Tehran ahead of the commemoration ceremony.


One of the latest officials to head there is Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Ali al-Yahya, who will attend the funeral on behalf of Kuwait’s emir.



Iranian expats shed fewer tears for Raisi

While tens of thousands of Iranians have gathered in Tehran to mourn their late president, reactions among Iranian expatriates, many critical of him and the government, vary.


Many Iranian diaspora members, including those who fled after Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, view Raisi as an ultraconservative figure responsible for enforcing repressive laws and a crackdown on protests and dissidents.


They also point to Raisi’s alleged role in mass executions of political prisoners at the end of Iran’s long war with Iraq in the 1980s, for which he received US sanctions.


Seeing Raisi’s death as a blow to the government they revile, some groups of Iranian dissidents have even publicly celebrated in European cities, according to Nazenin Ansari, editor of the Kayhan London website.


“Each member of this regime that goes is a victory for us,” said Guilda Torabi, spokesperson for the Homa association, an Iranian support group in France.


Pakistan PM, Belarus FM arrive in Tehran

Iran’s Mehr news agency is reporting that Pakistan’s PM Sharif has arrived in Tehran.


Among other foreign dignities, Belarus’s Foreign Minister Sergei Aleinik also arrived in Iran’s capital this afternoon.

 Massive crowds of Iranians thronged the streets of the capital, Tehran, for the funeral procession of President Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage, who died in a helicopter crash.


.

Raisi and several other officials, including Iran’s foreign minister and a provincial governor, were on board when the helicopter went down in northern Iran’s East Azerbaijan province.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei declared five days of national mourning.
On Tuesday, mourners gathered in Tabriz, the capital of East Azerbaijan, for a farewell procession for Raisi.
An election will be held on June 28 to pick Raisi’s successor.


Foreign dignitaries pay their respects at official ceremony

The commemoration ceremony for Iran’s Raisi and other officials who died in Sunday’s crash has started at the Iran International Conference Center in northern Tehran, reports Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency.

Visiting delegations, including from Jordan and Oman, have entered the procession, paying tribute to Raisi and the other officials, according to videos posted by the news agency.


Kuwait’s FM heads to Tehran

More foreign dignitaries are flying into Tehran ahead of the commemoration ceremony.


One of the latest officials to head there is Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Ali al-Yahya, who will attend the funeral on behalf of Kuwait’s emir.



Iranian expats shed fewer tears for Raisi

While tens of thousands of Iranians have gathered in Tehran to mourn their late president, reactions among Iranian expatriates, many critical of him and the government, vary.


Many Iranian diaspora members, including those who fled after Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, view Raisi as an ultraconservative figure responsible for enforcing repressive laws and a crackdown on protests and dissidents.


They also point to Raisi’s alleged role in mass executions of political prisoners at the end of Iran’s long war with Iraq in the 1980s, for which he received US sanctions.


Seeing Raisi’s death as a blow to the government they revile, some groups of Iranian dissidents have even publicly celebrated in European cities, according to Nazenin Ansari, editor of the Kayhan London website.


“Each member of this regime that goes is a victory for us,” said Guilda Torabi, spokesperson for the Homa association, an Iranian support group in France.


Pakistan PM, Belarus FM arrive in Tehran

Iran’s Mehr news agency is reporting that Pakistan’s PM Sharif has arrived in Tehran.


Among other foreign dignities, Belarus’s Foreign Minister Sergei Aleinik also arrived in Iran’s capital this afternoon.

Tehran deploys warships to Red Sea as Iranian President Raisi vows ‘slightest attack’ will be met with a ‘strong and fierce response

Tehran deploys warships to Red Sea as Iranian President Raisi vows ‘slightest attack’ will be met with a ‘strong and fierce response

Iranian President

As the world calls for calm in the middle east, President Raisi vows ‘slightest attack’ will be met with a ‘strong and fierce response’.


Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi  said any “tiniest attack” by Israel would bring a “massive and harsh” response, 


He affirmed strong response  as concern over the threat of full-scale war in the Middle East persists.


 Raisi’s warning came on Wednesday as he spoke at Iran’s annual army parade. 


The world is braced for potential retaliation to Iran’s attack on Israel which took place over the weekend. Israel has pledged to respond, despite calls for it to hold back persisting on all sides, and the UK’s foreign minister suggested on Wednesday as he visited Israel that it has decided to “act”.


Israel's political and military leaders pledged to respond, despite persistence calls for Tel Aviv to hold back and restraint on all sides including the UK’s foreign Minister's suggestion on Wednesday as he visited Israel that it has decided to “act”.


Speaking at the ceremony, Raisi hailed Iran’s direct attack on Israel, dubbed “True Promise”, and reiterated recent threats of a “strong and fierce response”.

Since Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, an attack on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas in October, set off the war in Gaza, Iranian allies in Lebanon and Yemen have been engaged in low-level hostilities with Israel.

However, a suspected Israeli strike on Iran’s consulate in Syria on April 1 prompted Iran’s first-ever direct attack against Israel.

“The people of the world saw that after the Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, ‘True Promise’ collapsed the Zionist regime’s false hegemony,” Raisi asserted.

Calling that attack “limited” he claimed that if Iran had wanted to carry out a bigger attack, “nothing would remain from the Zionist regime”.


Iranian officials have declared that any retaliation by Israel would be met with a swift response.


“That is the time when the supporters of the Zionist regime will find out that their hidden power will not be able to do anything,” the president said, according to a statement published on his official website.


Decision to act’

Raisi also hit out at Israel’s allies. “Those countries that sought to normalise relations with this cruel and criminal regime, are ashamed before their nations today,” he said.


Fears that Israel’s war on Gaza risks an escalation into all-out war have peaked as Israel’s response to Iran’s attack is awaited.


Israel’s allies in the United States and Europe, Japan and Australia, have called for restraint, just as Russia and China have urged caution from Iran. However, Israeli officials have pledged that a response will come.


It's a  right to show solidarity with Israel. It’s right to have made our views clear about what should happen next but it’s clear the Israelis are making a decision to act,” the UK’s foreign minister, David Cameron, told reporters during his visit to Tel Aviv.

“We hope they do so in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible, and in a way that … is smart as well as tough,” he added.

Red Sea preparations

As part of Tehran’s preparations for an Israeli response, Iran’s naval commander said on Wednesday that warships will be deployed in the Red Sea to escort Iranian commercial shipping.

“The Navy is carrying out a mission to escort Iranian commercial ships to the Red Sea and our Jamaran frigate is present in the Gulf of Aden in this view,” Naval Commander Shahram Irani said, according to the semiofficial Tasnim news agency.

Tehran is ready to escort vessels of other countries, he added.


The Red Sea has seen significant disruption to Israel-bound shipping due to attacks from Yemen’s Houthi group.


The Iran-backed group has been attacking ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November in what they say is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians and against Israel’s continuing war on Gaza.



Source: Aljazeera news

Iranian President

As the world calls for calm in the middle east, President Raisi vows ‘slightest attack’ will be met with a ‘strong and fierce response’.


Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi  said any “tiniest attack” by Israel would bring a “massive and harsh” response, 


He affirmed strong response  as concern over the threat of full-scale war in the Middle East persists.


 Raisi’s warning came on Wednesday as he spoke at Iran’s annual army parade. 


The world is braced for potential retaliation to Iran’s attack on Israel which took place over the weekend. Israel has pledged to respond, despite calls for it to hold back persisting on all sides, and the UK’s foreign minister suggested on Wednesday as he visited Israel that it has decided to “act”.


Israel's political and military leaders pledged to respond, despite persistence calls for Tel Aviv to hold back and restraint on all sides including the UK’s foreign Minister's suggestion on Wednesday as he visited Israel that it has decided to “act”.


Speaking at the ceremony, Raisi hailed Iran’s direct attack on Israel, dubbed “True Promise”, and reiterated recent threats of a “strong and fierce response”.

Since Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, an attack on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas in October, set off the war in Gaza, Iranian allies in Lebanon and Yemen have been engaged in low-level hostilities with Israel.

However, a suspected Israeli strike on Iran’s consulate in Syria on April 1 prompted Iran’s first-ever direct attack against Israel.

“The people of the world saw that after the Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, ‘True Promise’ collapsed the Zionist regime’s false hegemony,” Raisi asserted.

Calling that attack “limited” he claimed that if Iran had wanted to carry out a bigger attack, “nothing would remain from the Zionist regime”.


Iranian officials have declared that any retaliation by Israel would be met with a swift response.


“That is the time when the supporters of the Zionist regime will find out that their hidden power will not be able to do anything,” the president said, according to a statement published on his official website.


Decision to act’

Raisi also hit out at Israel’s allies. “Those countries that sought to normalise relations with this cruel and criminal regime, are ashamed before their nations today,” he said.


Fears that Israel’s war on Gaza risks an escalation into all-out war have peaked as Israel’s response to Iran’s attack is awaited.


Israel’s allies in the United States and Europe, Japan and Australia, have called for restraint, just as Russia and China have urged caution from Iran. However, Israeli officials have pledged that a response will come.


It's a  right to show solidarity with Israel. It’s right to have made our views clear about what should happen next but it’s clear the Israelis are making a decision to act,” the UK’s foreign minister, David Cameron, told reporters during his visit to Tel Aviv.

“We hope they do so in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible, and in a way that … is smart as well as tough,” he added.

Red Sea preparations

As part of Tehran’s preparations for an Israeli response, Iran’s naval commander said on Wednesday that warships will be deployed in the Red Sea to escort Iranian commercial shipping.

“The Navy is carrying out a mission to escort Iranian commercial ships to the Red Sea and our Jamaran frigate is present in the Gulf of Aden in this view,” Naval Commander Shahram Irani said, according to the semiofficial Tasnim news agency.

Tehran is ready to escort vessels of other countries, he added.


The Red Sea has seen significant disruption to Israel-bound shipping due to attacks from Yemen’s Houthi group.


The Iran-backed group has been attacking ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November in what they say is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians and against Israel’s continuing war on Gaza.



Source: Aljazeera news

Iranian Observer: US want Iran to allow Israel a symbolic strike to save face

Iranian Observer: US want Iran to allow Israel a symbolic strike to save face

 

Both Israeli political and military leaders in their series of war meeting agreed that Iran's direct attack against Israel must not go without response.

World leaders have been calling for restraint in between the two countries .
Over 300 missiles and projectiles were fired by Islamic Republic of Iran against Israel in retaliation to Israel's bombing of Iran's consulate in Damascus, Syria.

 

Both Israeli political and military leaders in their series of war meeting agreed that Iran's direct attack against Israel must not go without response.

World leaders have been calling for restraint in between the two countries .
Over 300 missiles and projectiles were fired by Islamic Republic of Iran against Israel in retaliation to Israel's bombing of Iran's consulate in Damascus, Syria.

#MiddleEastAffairs: G7 working on measures against Iran, says British PM

#MiddleEastAffairs: G7 working on measures against Iran, says British PM


“We are urgently working with our allies to see what steps we can take together in a coordinated fashion to deter and condemn what Iran is doing,” Rishi Sunak said in the British parliament, citing discussions among Group of Seven (G7) leaders over the weekend.

“I spoke to my fellow G7 leaders; we are united in our condemnation of this attack.”

He added that the coordination of any measures, including sanctions, among allies would ensure they have maximum impact on Iran and those sanctioned.

Earlier, Italy, which holds the rotating presidency of the G7, said it was also open to new sanctions against individuals taking hostile action against Israel.

The G7 is comprised of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.


However, Iran has endures various economic sanctions and economic terrorism for the past 44 years.


Source: Aljazeera news 


“We are urgently working with our allies to see what steps we can take together in a coordinated fashion to deter and condemn what Iran is doing,” Rishi Sunak said in the British parliament, citing discussions among Group of Seven (G7) leaders over the weekend.

“I spoke to my fellow G7 leaders; we are united in our condemnation of this attack.”

He added that the coordination of any measures, including sanctions, among allies would ensure they have maximum impact on Iran and those sanctioned.

Earlier, Italy, which holds the rotating presidency of the G7, said it was also open to new sanctions against individuals taking hostile action against Israel.

The G7 is comprised of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.


However, Iran has endures various economic sanctions and economic terrorism for the past 44 years.


Source: Aljazeera news 

Pentagon to ‘take all necessary action to defend Israel and US personnel

Pentagon to ‘take all necessary action to defend Israel and US personnel

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin

Pentagon spokesperson Patrick Ryder says US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, three times over the weekend.

During their most recent call, they reviewed “the successful combined operation by the United States, Israel and their partners to defend Israel from these unprecedented attacks by Iran and its proxies,” he said.

Ryder also said “that while the United States does not seek escalation, we will continue to take all necessary action to defend Israel and US personnel”.

He later added that US aircraft were involved in intercepting more than 80 of Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) fired at Israel.

“We’re going to continue to stay in close consultation with our Israeli partners, as we have done throughout the weekend,” Ryder said, adding, “We don’t seek wider regional conflict.”


Source: Aljazeera news

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin

Pentagon spokesperson Patrick Ryder says US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, three times over the weekend.

During their most recent call, they reviewed “the successful combined operation by the United States, Israel and their partners to defend Israel from these unprecedented attacks by Iran and its proxies,” he said.

Ryder also said “that while the United States does not seek escalation, we will continue to take all necessary action to defend Israel and US personnel”.

He later added that US aircraft were involved in intercepting more than 80 of Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) fired at Israel.

“We’re going to continue to stay in close consultation with our Israeli partners, as we have done throughout the weekend,” Ryder said, adding, “We don’t seek wider regional conflict.”


Source: Aljazeera news

Israel—Iran Confrontation: We’ll continue to support the defence of Israel — US

Israel—Iran Confrontation: We’ll continue to support the defence of Israel — US


United States' Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement on Monday said Washington does not want to see any escalation in hostilities with Iran but will continue to defend Israel.


“We don’t seek escalation, but we’ll continue to support the defence of Israel and to protect our personnel in the region,” Blinken said at the start of a meeting with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Mohammed Ali Tamim.


“What this weekend demonstrated is that Israel did not have to and does not have to defend itself alone when it is the victim of an aggression, the victim of an attack,” he added, calling Iran’s actions “unprecedented”.


Blinken also said he was involved in a series of talks over the past 36 hours, seeking to coordinate a diplomatic response that would prevent a regional crisis.


G7 nations have also reinstated their commitment to back and support Israel.


United States' Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement on Monday said Washington does not want to see any escalation in hostilities with Iran but will continue to defend Israel.


“We don’t seek escalation, but we’ll continue to support the defence of Israel and to protect our personnel in the region,” Blinken said at the start of a meeting with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Mohammed Ali Tamim.


“What this weekend demonstrated is that Israel did not have to and does not have to defend itself alone when it is the victim of an aggression, the victim of an attack,” he added, calling Iran’s actions “unprecedented”.


Blinken also said he was involved in a series of talks over the past 36 hours, seeking to coordinate a diplomatic response that would prevent a regional crisis.


G7 nations have also reinstated their commitment to back and support Israel.

#MiddleEast: G7 Leaders condemned Iran's unprecedented attack against Israel

#MiddleEast: G7 Leaders condemned Iran's unprecedented attack against Israel


Calling it an  unprecedented attack , the leaders of the G7 nations accused Iran of further stepping “toward the destabilisation of the region”, adding that Tehran “risks provoking an uncontrollable regional escalation”.

“This must be avoided,” the statement added.

“We will continue to work to stabilise the situation and avoid further escalation. In this spirit, we demand that Iran and its proxies cease their attacks, and we stand ready to take further measures now and in response to further destabilising initiatives.”


 

 White House comment after the end of G7 meeting:



Calling it an  unprecedented attack , the leaders of the G7 nations accused Iran of further stepping “toward the destabilisation of the region”, adding that Tehran “risks provoking an uncontrollable regional escalation”.

“This must be avoided,” the statement added.

“We will continue to work to stabilise the situation and avoid further escalation. In this spirit, we demand that Iran and its proxies cease their attacks, and we stand ready to take further measures now and in response to further destabilising initiatives.”


 

 White House comment after the end of G7 meeting:


Moscow expresses concerns about escalation in Middle East after Iran attack

Moscow expresses concerns about escalation in Middle East after Iran attack

Qatar expresses deep concern, urges de-escalation



Russia has expressed grave concerned as escalations continue to rise in the middle east as Iran directly attack Israel in retaliation to it's consulate attack in Damascus, Syria by Israel.


Moscow, according to a post on Telegram by Russian news agency TASS said: “We are deeply concerned about another dangerous escalation in the Middle East and call on the parties to exercise restraint,” 


Russia’s Foreign Ministry said, “We expect that the problems in the Middle East will be solved by countries through political and diplomatic means."


In a related development, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also issued a statement expressing the Gulf state’s “deep concern” about the regional developments and called on all parties to halt escalation, promote calm and exercise maximum restraint.


"We urged the international community to take immediate action to defuse tension and de-escalate the situation in the region"


Qatar expresses deep concern, urges de-escalation



Russia has expressed grave concerned as escalations continue to rise in the middle east as Iran directly attack Israel in retaliation to it's consulate attack in Damascus, Syria by Israel.


Moscow, according to a post on Telegram by Russian news agency TASS said: “We are deeply concerned about another dangerous escalation in the Middle East and call on the parties to exercise restraint,” 


Russia’s Foreign Ministry said, “We expect that the problems in the Middle East will be solved by countries through political and diplomatic means."


In a related development, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also issued a statement expressing the Gulf state’s “deep concern” about the regional developments and called on all parties to halt escalation, promote calm and exercise maximum restraint.


"We urged the international community to take immediate action to defuse tension and de-escalate the situation in the region"


Iran — Israeli War: Russian supersonic missile boat enters Mediterranean

Iran — Israeli War: Russian supersonic missile boat enters Mediterranean


As escalations continue to rise in the middle east amidst retaliatory attack against Israel by the Islamic Republic of Iran, a Russian navy frigate equipped with Kinzhal supersonic missiles has entered the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal as part of a planned naval exercise, Russia’s defence ministry says.


The Russian ship, Marshal Shaposhnikov, will continue performing the tasks assigned to its expedition plan, it said in a statement. It provided no details.


Earlier last week, authorities in Moscow had called for all countries in the Middle East to show restraint and prevent the region slipping into complete chaos after tensions were raised by Israel’s deadly air strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1.


“Right now it is very important for everyone to maintain restraint in order not to lead to a complete destabilisation of the situation in the region, which does not exactly shine with stability and predictability,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.


As escalations continue to rise in the middle east amidst retaliatory attack against Israel by the Islamic Republic of Iran, a Russian navy frigate equipped with Kinzhal supersonic missiles has entered the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal as part of a planned naval exercise, Russia’s defence ministry says.


The Russian ship, Marshal Shaposhnikov, will continue performing the tasks assigned to its expedition plan, it said in a statement. It provided no details.


Earlier last week, authorities in Moscow had called for all countries in the Middle East to show restraint and prevent the region slipping into complete chaos after tensions were raised by Israel’s deadly air strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1.


“Right now it is very important for everyone to maintain restraint in order not to lead to a complete destabilisation of the situation in the region, which does not exactly shine with stability and predictability,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

President Biden tells Israeli PM Netanyahu US won’t support counterattack against Iran: Report

President Biden tells Israeli PM Netanyahu US won’t support counterattack against Iran: Report


The US president told the Israeli prime minister during a call yesterday that the US will not support any Israeli counterattack against Iran, Axios has cited a senior White House official as saying.


Joe Biden also told Benjamin Netanyahu the joint defensive actions by Israel, the US and other countries in the region led to the repelling of the Iranian attack, according to the White House official.


“You got a win. Take the win,” the US president told Netanyahu, according to the official.


The official said that when Biden told Netanyahu that the US would not take in any offensive operations against Iran and would not support such operations, the Israeli prime minister said he understood.

During a telephone conversation, the  two leaders spent 25 minutes on the phone, with the US president saying the US will continue to support Israel in its defence but reportedly also that it will not participate in any offensive actions against Iran.

There are also reports that Israel has been offering assurances to the US that any next steps it takes will be done in consultation, giving warning to the US prior to any military action being taken. We’re seeing leaders in Washington now looking forward to what this next step by Israel might be.


Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the US does not seek further conflict with Iran. Those words were echoed by Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state. But he added the US is willing to defend Israel and its own personnel in the region.


Source: Aljazeera news 

The US president told the Israeli prime minister during a call yesterday that the US will not support any Israeli counterattack against Iran, Axios has cited a senior White House official as saying.


Joe Biden also told Benjamin Netanyahu the joint defensive actions by Israel, the US and other countries in the region led to the repelling of the Iranian attack, according to the White House official.


“You got a win. Take the win,” the US president told Netanyahu, according to the official.


The official said that when Biden told Netanyahu that the US would not take in any offensive operations against Iran and would not support such operations, the Israeli prime minister said he understood.

During a telephone conversation, the  two leaders spent 25 minutes on the phone, with the US president saying the US will continue to support Israel in its defence but reportedly also that it will not participate in any offensive actions against Iran.

There are also reports that Israel has been offering assurances to the US that any next steps it takes will be done in consultation, giving warning to the US prior to any military action being taken. We’re seeing leaders in Washington now looking forward to what this next step by Israel might be.


Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the US does not seek further conflict with Iran. Those words were echoed by Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state. But he added the US is willing to defend Israel and its own personnel in the region.


Source: Aljazeera news 

Islamic Republic of Iran says it warned US its bases will be targeted if it backed an Israeli response

Islamic Republic of Iran says it warned US its bases will be targeted if it backed an Israeli response


The Islamic Republic of  Iran has warned US its bases will be targeted if it backed an Israeli response against Tehran.


According to Mohammad Bagheri who is the chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, an Israeli response to the Iranian military operation would be “much bigger”, Tasnim reports.


The Iranian news agency quoted him as saying that the reason for last night’s attack was that Israel had crossed Iran’s red lines.


Bagheri added that Iran has conveyed a message to the US through the Swiss embassy that if it participated “in further aggressive Zionist moves through its bases or military assets across the region, and this is proven to us, its bases and assets and personnel in the region will have no security”.


He added: “We will see it as aggressor as well and react accordingly.”


The Islamic Republic of  Iran has warned US its bases will be targeted if it backed an Israeli response against Tehran.


According to Mohammad Bagheri who is the chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, an Israeli response to the Iranian military operation would be “much bigger”, Tasnim reports.


The Iranian news agency quoted him as saying that the reason for last night’s attack was that Israel had crossed Iran’s red lines.


Bagheri added that Iran has conveyed a message to the US through the Swiss embassy that if it participated “in further aggressive Zionist moves through its bases or military assets across the region, and this is proven to us, its bases and assets and personnel in the region will have no security”.


He added: “We will see it as aggressor as well and react accordingly.”

EU Commission chief condems Iran, calls for restraint

EU Commission chief condems Iran, calls for restraint


European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has condemned Iran’s attack on Israel and called on all sides to avoid further escalation.


“I strongly condemn Iran’s blatant and unjustifiable attack on Israel. And I call on Iran and its proxies to immediately cease these

attacks,” von der Leyen wrote on X, calling “all actors” to restore stability in the region.


European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has condemned Iran’s attack on Israel and called on all sides to avoid further escalation.


“I strongly condemn Iran’s blatant and unjustifiable attack on Israel. And I call on Iran and its proxies to immediately cease these

attacks,” von der Leyen wrote on X, calling “all actors” to restore stability in the region.

Iran—Israel War: Attack and counter-attack – what comes next?

Iran—Israel War: Attack and counter-attack – what comes next?

Israeli Forces continue Gaza Strike despite Iran's Attack



There is a danger of miscalculation that makes this a very dangerous moment. The April 1 attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Iran says that was an attack on its soil. It quotes the Vienna Convention from 1961 that says you shouldn’t attack any diplomatic premises, embassies or consulates.


The Israelis says that was a legitimate target. They point to the people they killed, which were top Iranian military officials, including two generals out of the seven fatalities.


It took Iran 13 days before it responded. Iran says that’s totally legitimate under the UN Charter. Article 51 of the UN Charter says nothing should impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a member state of the United Nations.


So we’ve had one complete cycle of this. We’ve had an attack and we’ve had a counter attack. I think the danger now is if it goes beyond this cycle, if Israel responds again.


By:  


Al Jazeera's diplomatic editor



Israel continue it's attacks on Gaza



The Iranian attack on Israel has not deterred Israeli Forces from continuous pounding the Gaza Strip in the past few hours.

According to report, in an overnight strike, a number of residential buildings were destroyed in the Nuseirat refugee camp where there were casualties who were transported to the al-Awda and al-Aqsa Hospital for medical treatment.

Here in Rafah, we have been hearing the constant buzzing of Israeli surveillance drones since the early hours as they gather intelligence for potential targets. Confrontation and fighting are still raging in the northern part of Gaza.

According to eyewitnesses on the ground in the north of Nuseirat refugee camp, Israeli drones have been opening fire against people. They also said Israel is demolishing houses and destroying agricultural land which could be a sign, according to experts, that Israel is expanding the corridor that it has recently established splitting the north and the south of the Strip.


Israeli Forces continue Gaza Strike despite Iran's Attack



There is a danger of miscalculation that makes this a very dangerous moment. The April 1 attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Iran says that was an attack on its soil. It quotes the Vienna Convention from 1961 that says you shouldn’t attack any diplomatic premises, embassies or consulates.


The Israelis says that was a legitimate target. They point to the people they killed, which were top Iranian military officials, including two generals out of the seven fatalities.


It took Iran 13 days before it responded. Iran says that’s totally legitimate under the UN Charter. Article 51 of the UN Charter says nothing should impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a member state of the United Nations.


So we’ve had one complete cycle of this. We’ve had an attack and we’ve had a counter attack. I think the danger now is if it goes beyond this cycle, if Israel responds again.


By:  


Al Jazeera's diplomatic editor



Israel continue it's attacks on Gaza



The Iranian attack on Israel has not deterred Israeli Forces from continuous pounding the Gaza Strip in the past few hours.

According to report, in an overnight strike, a number of residential buildings were destroyed in the Nuseirat refugee camp where there were casualties who were transported to the al-Awda and al-Aqsa Hospital for medical treatment.

Here in Rafah, we have been hearing the constant buzzing of Israeli surveillance drones since the early hours as they gather intelligence for potential targets. Confrontation and fighting are still raging in the northern part of Gaza.

According to eyewitnesses on the ground in the north of Nuseirat refugee camp, Israeli drones have been opening fire against people. They also said Israel is demolishing houses and destroying agricultural land which could be a sign, according to experts, that Israel is expanding the corridor that it has recently established splitting the north and the south of the Strip.


United States warns Israel its attacks on Iran nuclear program are counterproductive — NYT

United States warns Israel its attacks on Iran nuclear program are counterproductive — NYT


It is no long a new apotheosis that threatening Iran by America and allies, economy sanctions or "economy Terrorism" as Tehran called it has always been counterproductive and by continuing doing so America is only putting all it's Allies in the region at risk, although Washington has repeatedly claims all options are on the table.

In contrast, the he officials of the United States have warned Israel that its attacks against the Iranian nuclear program are counterproductive and have enabled Tehran to rebuild an even more efficient enrichment system, according to the New York Times report Sunday.

NYT, citing officials familiar with the behind-the-scenes discussion between Washington and Jerusalem, as the Biden Administration continues to try and bring Iran back into the nuclear deal, the report said that Israeli officials have dismissed the warnings, saying they have “no intention of letting up.”

While in the last 20 months there have been four explosions at Iranian nuclear facilities attributed to Israel, along with the killing of Iran’s top nuclear scientist, the report said Washington officials have cautioned their Israeli counterparts that while such efforts may be “tactically satisfying,” they are “ultimately counterproductive.” And that Iran has managed to resume enrichment within months, often installing newer machines that can enrich uranium far faster.

However, the officials said Israel appeared unmoved by the arguments, and this was one of the many areas on which the US and Israel disagree regarding efforts to thwart Tehran’s drive to build nuclear weapons.

Further complicating matters was the fact that Iran has apparently managed to improve its defenses, particularly in the cyber field, the report said. As a consequence, cyber attacks like the Stuxnet attack that crippled centrifuges at the Natanz nuclear enrichment site for more than a year, an attack widely reported to be a joint US-Israeli effort, have become “much harder now to pull off.”

The major concern now was how close Iran has come to being able to build a nuclear weapon since then-US president Donald Trump withdrew the US from the deal in 2018.

This week, with Iran set for talks with world powers in Vienna on November 29, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Tehran had again increased its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

Iran’s stockpile, as of November 6, was many times in excess of the limit laid down in the agreement with world powers, said the IAEA report. Such highly enriched uranium can be easily refined to make atomic weapons, which is why world powers have sought to contain Tehran’s nuclear program.

The Vienna-based agency told members that it is still not able to verify Iran’s exact stockpile of enriched uranium due to the limitations Tehran imposed on UN inspectors earlier this year.

The IAEA has been unable to access surveillance footage of Iranian nuclear sites or of online enrichment monitors and electronic seals since February. The agency’s chief, Rafael Mariano Grossi, told The Associated Press this month that the situation was like “flying in a heavily clouded sky.”

Sunday’s NYT report said that since abandoning the agreement, Iran had managed to reduce its breakout time to a bomb from about a year to just a few weeks.

“Before Mr. Trump decided to scrap the deal, Iran had adhered to the limits of the 2015 agreement — which by most estimates kept it about a year from ‘breakout,’ the point where it has enough material for a bomb. While estimates vary, that buffer is now down to somewhere between three weeks and a few months, which would change the geopolitical calculation throughout the Middle East,” the report said.

US officials have publicly warned that Iran’s violations are making it increasingly unlikely that there can be a return to the 2015 deal as it was.


The US envoy for Iran Robert Malley warned Friday that Tehran was approaching the point of no return for reviving a nuclear deal after it boosted its stocks of enriched uranium before the talks resume this month.

“The time will come if Iran continues at this pace with the advancements they’ve made, [it] will make it impossible even if we were going to go back to the JCPOA to recapture the benefits,” Malley told the Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain, referring to the deal by its official name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

“Iran’s advances are spreading alarm across the region… that’s what’s making the clock tick faster and making all of us say that the time is short for a return to the JCPOA,” Malley said.

And I want to be clear, because there’s no ambiguity about what they seem to be doing now, which is to drag their feet on the nuclear talks and accelerate the progress in their nuclear program,” he added.

The US envoy said he was not encouraged by the statements from the new Iranian government of President Ebrahim Raisi, which earlier on Friday accused Washington of conducting a “propaganda campaign” against the country.

With the possibility of a return to the 2015 deal fading, the US was examining the possibility of hammering out an interim deal with Iran, the New York Times report said, confirming a separate report last week. “Inside the White House, there has been a scramble in recent days to explore whether some kind of interim deal might be possible to freeze Iran’s production of more enriched uranium and its conversion of that fuel to metallic form — a necessary step in fabricating a warhead,” the Times said. “In return, the United States might ease a limited number of sanctions. That would not solve the problem. But it might buy time for negotiations, while holding off Israeli threats to bomb Iranian facilities.”

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan raised the prospect of an interim agreement with Iran, to allow more time for nuclear negotiations, in talks with his Israeli counterpart, Eyal Hulata, the Axios news site reported last week.

A pair of American sources said Sullivan and Hulata were just “brainstorming,” and that the proposal was suggested by an unspecified European ally of the US.

The US sources said the proposal was for Iran to suspend a disallowed nuclear activity such as enriching uranium to 60 percent, in exchange for the US and allied countries releasing some frozen Iranian money, or issuing sanctions waivers on humanitarian goods.

An unnamed Israeli official cited in the Axios report said Hulata told Sullivan he was against the idea and Israel’s concern was that any interim agreement could become permanent, allowing Iran to maintain its nuclear infrastructure and supply of uranium it has built up.

While Israel has been more direct, staying her readiness to attack Iran’s nuclear program and allocating billions of dollars to IDF to prepare and train for a potential strike, the United States has been trying to reassure its allies in recent days that if diplomacy fails, other options are available.

“The United States remains committed to preventing Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon. And we remain committed to a diplomatic outcome of the nuclear issue,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the Manama event, which was put on by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

“But if Iran isn’t willing to engage seriously, then we will look at all of the options necessary to keep the United States secure,” he said.

However, Iran has proven on several occasions that they are not soft power. In retaliation for the assasination of general suleimani Tehran fired precision missiles from their territories and they successfully destroyed American military base in northern Iraq. On another occasion the Houthi forces in Yemen flew barrages of Armed drones into Aramco oil field in Saudi Arabia crippling oil production, Iran was behind the attack.

Any aggressive act against Iran will yeild response from Tehran no matter how and irrespective of who is the aggressor and may not halt the Persia nuclear programs for the time being.


Currently, Iran is not known to  possess weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and has been signatory to treaties repudiating the possession of WMDs including the Biological Weapons Convention, the Chemical Weapons Convention, and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). 


Iran has first-hand knowledge of WMD effects as over 100,000 Iranian troops and civilians were victims of chemical weapons during the 1980s Iran–Iraq War.


It is no long a new apotheosis that threatening Iran by America and allies, economy sanctions or "economy Terrorism" as Tehran called it has always been counterproductive and by continuing doing so America is only putting all it's Allies in the region at risk, although Washington has repeatedly claims all options are on the table.

In contrast, the he officials of the United States have warned Israel that its attacks against the Iranian nuclear program are counterproductive and have enabled Tehran to rebuild an even more efficient enrichment system, according to the New York Times report Sunday.

NYT, citing officials familiar with the behind-the-scenes discussion between Washington and Jerusalem, as the Biden Administration continues to try and bring Iran back into the nuclear deal, the report said that Israeli officials have dismissed the warnings, saying they have “no intention of letting up.”

While in the last 20 months there have been four explosions at Iranian nuclear facilities attributed to Israel, along with the killing of Iran’s top nuclear scientist, the report said Washington officials have cautioned their Israeli counterparts that while such efforts may be “tactically satisfying,” they are “ultimately counterproductive.” And that Iran has managed to resume enrichment within months, often installing newer machines that can enrich uranium far faster.

However, the officials said Israel appeared unmoved by the arguments, and this was one of the many areas on which the US and Israel disagree regarding efforts to thwart Tehran’s drive to build nuclear weapons.

Further complicating matters was the fact that Iran has apparently managed to improve its defenses, particularly in the cyber field, the report said. As a consequence, cyber attacks like the Stuxnet attack that crippled centrifuges at the Natanz nuclear enrichment site for more than a year, an attack widely reported to be a joint US-Israeli effort, have become “much harder now to pull off.”

The major concern now was how close Iran has come to being able to build a nuclear weapon since then-US president Donald Trump withdrew the US from the deal in 2018.

This week, with Iran set for talks with world powers in Vienna on November 29, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Tehran had again increased its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

Iran’s stockpile, as of November 6, was many times in excess of the limit laid down in the agreement with world powers, said the IAEA report. Such highly enriched uranium can be easily refined to make atomic weapons, which is why world powers have sought to contain Tehran’s nuclear program.

The Vienna-based agency told members that it is still not able to verify Iran’s exact stockpile of enriched uranium due to the limitations Tehran imposed on UN inspectors earlier this year.

The IAEA has been unable to access surveillance footage of Iranian nuclear sites or of online enrichment monitors and electronic seals since February. The agency’s chief, Rafael Mariano Grossi, told The Associated Press this month that the situation was like “flying in a heavily clouded sky.”

Sunday’s NYT report said that since abandoning the agreement, Iran had managed to reduce its breakout time to a bomb from about a year to just a few weeks.

“Before Mr. Trump decided to scrap the deal, Iran had adhered to the limits of the 2015 agreement — which by most estimates kept it about a year from ‘breakout,’ the point where it has enough material for a bomb. While estimates vary, that buffer is now down to somewhere between three weeks and a few months, which would change the geopolitical calculation throughout the Middle East,” the report said.

US officials have publicly warned that Iran’s violations are making it increasingly unlikely that there can be a return to the 2015 deal as it was.


The US envoy for Iran Robert Malley warned Friday that Tehran was approaching the point of no return for reviving a nuclear deal after it boosted its stocks of enriched uranium before the talks resume this month.

“The time will come if Iran continues at this pace with the advancements they’ve made, [it] will make it impossible even if we were going to go back to the JCPOA to recapture the benefits,” Malley told the Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain, referring to the deal by its official name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

“Iran’s advances are spreading alarm across the region… that’s what’s making the clock tick faster and making all of us say that the time is short for a return to the JCPOA,” Malley said.

And I want to be clear, because there’s no ambiguity about what they seem to be doing now, which is to drag their feet on the nuclear talks and accelerate the progress in their nuclear program,” he added.

The US envoy said he was not encouraged by the statements from the new Iranian government of President Ebrahim Raisi, which earlier on Friday accused Washington of conducting a “propaganda campaign” against the country.

With the possibility of a return to the 2015 deal fading, the US was examining the possibility of hammering out an interim deal with Iran, the New York Times report said, confirming a separate report last week. “Inside the White House, there has been a scramble in recent days to explore whether some kind of interim deal might be possible to freeze Iran’s production of more enriched uranium and its conversion of that fuel to metallic form — a necessary step in fabricating a warhead,” the Times said. “In return, the United States might ease a limited number of sanctions. That would not solve the problem. But it might buy time for negotiations, while holding off Israeli threats to bomb Iranian facilities.”

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan raised the prospect of an interim agreement with Iran, to allow more time for nuclear negotiations, in talks with his Israeli counterpart, Eyal Hulata, the Axios news site reported last week.

A pair of American sources said Sullivan and Hulata were just “brainstorming,” and that the proposal was suggested by an unspecified European ally of the US.

The US sources said the proposal was for Iran to suspend a disallowed nuclear activity such as enriching uranium to 60 percent, in exchange for the US and allied countries releasing some frozen Iranian money, or issuing sanctions waivers on humanitarian goods.

An unnamed Israeli official cited in the Axios report said Hulata told Sullivan he was against the idea and Israel’s concern was that any interim agreement could become permanent, allowing Iran to maintain its nuclear infrastructure and supply of uranium it has built up.

While Israel has been more direct, staying her readiness to attack Iran’s nuclear program and allocating billions of dollars to IDF to prepare and train for a potential strike, the United States has been trying to reassure its allies in recent days that if diplomacy fails, other options are available.

“The United States remains committed to preventing Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon. And we remain committed to a diplomatic outcome of the nuclear issue,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the Manama event, which was put on by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

“But if Iran isn’t willing to engage seriously, then we will look at all of the options necessary to keep the United States secure,” he said.

However, Iran has proven on several occasions that they are not soft power. In retaliation for the assasination of general suleimani Tehran fired precision missiles from their territories and they successfully destroyed American military base in northern Iraq. On another occasion the Houthi forces in Yemen flew barrages of Armed drones into Aramco oil field in Saudi Arabia crippling oil production, Iran was behind the attack.

Any aggressive act against Iran will yeild response from Tehran no matter how and irrespective of who is the aggressor and may not halt the Persia nuclear programs for the time being.


Currently, Iran is not known to  possess weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and has been signatory to treaties repudiating the possession of WMDs including the Biological Weapons Convention, the Chemical Weapons Convention, and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). 


Iran has first-hand knowledge of WMD effects as over 100,000 Iranian troops and civilians were victims of chemical weapons during the 1980s Iran–Iraq War.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Says US, E3, PGCC statement worthless to reply

Iranian Foreign Ministry Says US, E3, PGCC statement worthless to reply


The Iranian Foreign Ministry has said the US, the E3 and the PGCC statement is worthless and deserves no reply.

According to the report by IRNA,  Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh was quoted as saying a recent anti-Iran statement by the United States, the E3 - Britain, France and Germany - as well as the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council is not worth answering.

Khatibzadeh, while addressing reporters said such a meeting and statement is a fake and illegitimate showoff that does not deserve any reaction.


According to him, the US administration who violated UN Resolution 2231 and withdrew the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is responsible for the current situation in respect of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)

 "The United States is the only country in the world that has a dark history of using nuclear weapons and it is also the one that intervenes in other countries internal affairs and now the US is trying to create a crisis and propagate against Iran." He said


While referring to certain Arab states in the region, he noted that these countries, which are responsible for the invasion of Yemen, are not in a position to put forward baseless accusations against other nations in order to get rid of the responsibility of their crimes.

Robert Malley, the US Special Representative for Iran, and representatives of three European powers, as well as envoys from PGCC states, met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last week to discuss the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The participants issued a statement, attempted to reiterate their unfounded charges on Iran's regional influence, and continued their Iranophobic policy.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Khatibzadeh pointed to comments made by his French counterpart Anne-Claire Legendre, warning that political officials' taking stances with the purpose of affecting the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will definitely tarnish the reputation of the international body and question the legitimacy of the agency's moves.


France has called on the IAEA Board of Governors to convey "a strong message" to the Islamic Republic in their next session on November 24.


The Iranian spokesman further condemned the US's new sanctions on six Iranian individuals and one Iranian entity, underlining that such a failed policy to put more pressure on Iran shows the Americans' dismay.

The United States Department of the Treasury announced on Thursday that it has put names of six Iranian individuals and one Iranian entity into the sanction list, claiming that they have tried to affect the 2020 presidential elections in the United States.

On Saturday, American  Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin vowed to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to counter its “dangerous use” of suicide drones in the wider Mideast.

This is a pledge coming as negotiations remain stalled over Tehran’s atomic deal with world powers. His comments in Bahrain at the annual Manama Dialogue appeared aimed at reassuring America’s Arab allies in the Gulf as the Biden administration tries to revive the nuclear deal, which limited Iran’s enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.


“The United States remains committed to preventing Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon. And we remain committed to a diplomatic outcome of the nuclear issue,” Austin told attendees at an event put on by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “But if Iran isn’t willing to engage seriously, then we will look at all of the options necessary to keep the United States secure.”


Authorities in Tehran has long maintained its nuclear program is peaceful, though U.S. intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency say Tehran had an organized weapons program until 2003. 

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has said the US, the E3 and the PGCC statement is worthless and deserves no reply.

According to the report by IRNA,  Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh was quoted as saying a recent anti-Iran statement by the United States, the E3 - Britain, France and Germany - as well as the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council is not worth answering.

Khatibzadeh, while addressing reporters said such a meeting and statement is a fake and illegitimate showoff that does not deserve any reaction.


According to him, the US administration who violated UN Resolution 2231 and withdrew the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is responsible for the current situation in respect of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)

 "The United States is the only country in the world that has a dark history of using nuclear weapons and it is also the one that intervenes in other countries internal affairs and now the US is trying to create a crisis and propagate against Iran." He said


While referring to certain Arab states in the region, he noted that these countries, which are responsible for the invasion of Yemen, are not in a position to put forward baseless accusations against other nations in order to get rid of the responsibility of their crimes.

Robert Malley, the US Special Representative for Iran, and representatives of three European powers, as well as envoys from PGCC states, met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last week to discuss the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The participants issued a statement, attempted to reiterate their unfounded charges on Iran's regional influence, and continued their Iranophobic policy.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Khatibzadeh pointed to comments made by his French counterpart Anne-Claire Legendre, warning that political officials' taking stances with the purpose of affecting the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will definitely tarnish the reputation of the international body and question the legitimacy of the agency's moves.


France has called on the IAEA Board of Governors to convey "a strong message" to the Islamic Republic in their next session on November 24.


The Iranian spokesman further condemned the US's new sanctions on six Iranian individuals and one Iranian entity, underlining that such a failed policy to put more pressure on Iran shows the Americans' dismay.

The United States Department of the Treasury announced on Thursday that it has put names of six Iranian individuals and one Iranian entity into the sanction list, claiming that they have tried to affect the 2020 presidential elections in the United States.

On Saturday, American  Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin vowed to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to counter its “dangerous use” of suicide drones in the wider Mideast.

This is a pledge coming as negotiations remain stalled over Tehran’s atomic deal with world powers. His comments in Bahrain at the annual Manama Dialogue appeared aimed at reassuring America’s Arab allies in the Gulf as the Biden administration tries to revive the nuclear deal, which limited Iran’s enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.


“The United States remains committed to preventing Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon. And we remain committed to a diplomatic outcome of the nuclear issue,” Austin told attendees at an event put on by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “But if Iran isn’t willing to engage seriously, then we will look at all of the options necessary to keep the United States secure.”


Authorities in Tehran has long maintained its nuclear program is peaceful, though U.S. intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency say Tehran had an organized weapons program until 2003. 

Did Tehran Care? US defense chief vows to counter Iran in visit to Bahrain

Did Tehran Care? US defense chief vows to counter Iran in visit to Bahrain

UAE — America’s top defense official vowed Saturday to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to counter its “dangerous use” of suicide drones in the wider Mideast, a pledge coming as negotiations remain stalled over Tehran’s tattered atomic deal with world powers.



Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s comments in Bahrain at the annual Manama Dialogue appeared aimed at reassuring America’s Arab allies in the Gulf as the Biden administration tries to revive the nuclear deal, which limited Iran’s enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.


His remarks also come after Gulf sheikhdoms saw the U.S.’ chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, raising concerns about America’s commitment to the region as defense officials say they want to pivot forces to counter perceived challenges from China and Russia.


“The United States remains committed to preventing Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon. And we remain committed to a diplomatic outcome of the nuclear issue,” Austin told attendees at an event put on by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “But if Iran isn’t willing to engage seriously, then we will look at all of the options necessary to keep the United States secure.”


Iran long has maintained its nuclear program is peaceful, though U.S. intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency say Tehran had an organized weapons program until 2003. Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday.


Since then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, a series of escalating incidents have struck the wider Mideast. That includes drone and mine attacks targeting vessels at sea, as well as assaults blamed on Iran and its proxies in Iraq and Syria. The U.S. also killed a top Iranian general in Baghdad in early 2020, which saw Iran target American troops in Iraq with ballistic missiles.


Under Biden, U.S. military officials are looking at a wider reshuffling of forces from the Mideast to other areas, though it still maintains a large presence at bases across the region. Austin hinted at that in his remarks, saying: “Our potential punch includes what our friends can contribute and what we have prepositioned and what we can rapidly flow in.”


“Our friends and foes both know that the United States can deploy overwhelming force at the time and place of our choosing,” Austin said.


Austin’s comments also touched on the ongoing war in Yemen, for which the Biden administration halted its offensive support shortly after he came into office.


Saudi Arabia has led a military campaign since 2015 against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels who hold Yemen’s capital, Sanaa. The Houthis have launched drone and ballistic missile attacks on the kingdom to retaliate for a punishing aerial bombing campaign that also has killed civilians.


But while the kingdom constantly refers to every drone and missile fired by the Houthis as successfully intercepted by its defenses, Austin put the rate instead at “nearly 90%.” The U.S. also withdrew its THAAD air defenses and Patriot missile batteries from Prince Sultan Air Base several months ago.


“We’ll work with them until it’s 100%,” he said.


The Manama Dialogue takes place each year in Bahrain, a small island kingdom off the coast of Saudi Arabia that’s home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet. Bahrain also has engaged in a yearslong campaign crushing dissent. Activists wrote to Austin before his trip, urging him to raise the detention of prisoners on the island and Bahrain’s involvement in the Yemen war.


Did Tehran cares anymore about US threats and economic sanctions again?


Source: Yahoo

UAE — America’s top defense official vowed Saturday to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to counter its “dangerous use” of suicide drones in the wider Mideast, a pledge coming as negotiations remain stalled over Tehran’s tattered atomic deal with world powers.



Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s comments in Bahrain at the annual Manama Dialogue appeared aimed at reassuring America’s Arab allies in the Gulf as the Biden administration tries to revive the nuclear deal, which limited Iran’s enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.


His remarks also come after Gulf sheikhdoms saw the U.S.’ chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, raising concerns about America’s commitment to the region as defense officials say they want to pivot forces to counter perceived challenges from China and Russia.


“The United States remains committed to preventing Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon. And we remain committed to a diplomatic outcome of the nuclear issue,” Austin told attendees at an event put on by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “But if Iran isn’t willing to engage seriously, then we will look at all of the options necessary to keep the United States secure.”


Iran long has maintained its nuclear program is peaceful, though U.S. intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency say Tehran had an organized weapons program until 2003. Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday.


Since then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, a series of escalating incidents have struck the wider Mideast. That includes drone and mine attacks targeting vessels at sea, as well as assaults blamed on Iran and its proxies in Iraq and Syria. The U.S. also killed a top Iranian general in Baghdad in early 2020, which saw Iran target American troops in Iraq with ballistic missiles.


Under Biden, U.S. military officials are looking at a wider reshuffling of forces from the Mideast to other areas, though it still maintains a large presence at bases across the region. Austin hinted at that in his remarks, saying: “Our potential punch includes what our friends can contribute and what we have prepositioned and what we can rapidly flow in.”


“Our friends and foes both know that the United States can deploy overwhelming force at the time and place of our choosing,” Austin said.


Austin’s comments also touched on the ongoing war in Yemen, for which the Biden administration halted its offensive support shortly after he came into office.


Saudi Arabia has led a military campaign since 2015 against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels who hold Yemen’s capital, Sanaa. The Houthis have launched drone and ballistic missile attacks on the kingdom to retaliate for a punishing aerial bombing campaign that also has killed civilians.


But while the kingdom constantly refers to every drone and missile fired by the Houthis as successfully intercepted by its defenses, Austin put the rate instead at “nearly 90%.” The U.S. also withdrew its THAAD air defenses and Patriot missile batteries from Prince Sultan Air Base several months ago.


“We’ll work with them until it’s 100%,” he said.


The Manama Dialogue takes place each year in Bahrain, a small island kingdom off the coast of Saudi Arabia that’s home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet. Bahrain also has engaged in a yearslong campaign crushing dissent. Activists wrote to Austin before his trip, urging him to raise the detention of prisoners on the island and Bahrain’s involvement in the Yemen war.


Did Tehran cares anymore about US threats and economic sanctions again?


Source: Yahoo

Tehran Ballistic Missiles: Iran’s president-elect Ebrahim Raisi would not meet with President Joe Biden nor negotiate, sanctions must be lifted unconditionally

Tehran Ballistic Missiles: Iran’s president-elect Ebrahim Raisi would not meet with President Joe Biden nor negotiate, sanctions must be lifted unconditionally

By Associated Press



Iran’s president-elect said Monday he would not meet with President Joe Biden nor negotiate over Tehran’s ballistic missile program and its support of regional terror proxies, sticking to a hard-line position following his landslide victory in last week’s election.




Judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi also described himself as a “defender of human rights” when asked about his involvement in the 1988 mass execution of some 5,000 people. It marked the first time he’s been put on the spot on live television over that dark moment in Iranian history at the end of the Iran-Iraq war.


“The U.S. is obliged to lift all oppressive sanctions against Iran,” Raisi said at the news conference.


Raisi sat in front of a sea of microphones, most from Iran and countries home to militias supported by Tehran. He looked nervous at the beginning of his comments but slowly became more at ease over the hourlong news conference.


Asked about Iran’s ballistic missile program and its support of regional terror proxies, Raisi described the issues as “non-negotiable.”


Iran also relies on militias like Yemen’s Houthis, Gaza’s Hamas, and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, deemed terror groups by a number of entities throughout the world, to fight proxy wars against enemies like Saudi Arabia and Israel, respectively.


On a possible meeting with Biden, Raisi simply answered: “No.” His competitor in the election, Abdolnasser Hemmati, had suggested during campaigning that he’d be potentially willing to meet Biden.


The White House did not immediately respond to Raisi’s statements Monday. Raisi will become the first serving Iranian president sanctioned by the U.S. government even before entering office, in part over his time as the head of Iran’s internationally criticized judiciary — one of the world’s top executioners.


The so-called victory of Raisi, a protégé of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, came amid the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history. Millions of Iranians stayed home in defiance of a vote they saw as tipped in Raisi’s favor.


Of those who did vote, 3.7 million people either accidentally or intentionally voided their ballots, far beyond the amount seen in previous elections and suggesting some wanted none of the four candidates. In official results, Raisi won 17.9 million votes overall, nearly 62% of the total 28.9 million cast.


Observers have called the Iranian elections a sham.

Raisi’s victory puts hard-liners firmly in control across the government as negotiations in Vienna continue to try to save a tattered deal meant to limit Iran’s nuclear program, at a time when Tehran is enriching uranium at 60%, its highest levels ever, though still short of weapons-grade levels. Representatives of the world powers party to the deal returned to their capitals for consultations following the latest round of negotiations on Sunday.


Top diplomats from nations involved in the talks said that further progress had been made Sunday between Iran and global powers to try to restore a 2015 agreement to contain Iranian nuclear development that was abandoned by the Trump administration. They said it was now up to the governments involved in the negotiations to make political decisions.


Raisi’s election victory has raised concerns that it could complicate a possible return to the nuclear agreement. In his remarks Monday, Raisi called sanctions relief as “central to our foreign policy” and exhorted the U.S. to “return and implement your commitments” in the deal.


On Saudi Arabia, which has recently started secret talks with Iran in Baghdad to reduce tensions with Iran, Raisi said that Iran would have “no problem” with a possible reopening of the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and the “restoration of relations faces no barrier.” The embassy was closed in 2016 when relations deteriorated.


Raisi struck a defiant tone, however, when asked about the 1988 executions, which saw sham retrials of political prisoners, militants and others that would become known as “death commissions.”

After Iran’s then-Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini accepted a U.N.-brokered cease-fire, members of the Iranian opposition group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, heavily armed by Saddam Hussein, stormed across the Iranian border in a surprise attack. Iran ultimately blunted their assault.


The trials began around that time, with defendants asked to identify themselves. Those who responded “mujahedeen” were sent to their deaths, while others were questioned about their willingness to “clear minefields for the army of the Islamic Republic,” according to a 1990 Amnesty International report.

International rights groups estimate that as many as 5,000 people were executed. Raisi served on the commissions.

“I am proud of being a defender of human rights and of people’s security and comfort as a prosecutor wherever I was,” he said. “All actions I carried out during my office were always in the direction of defending human rights,” he added. “Today in the presidential post, I feel obliged to defend human rights.”

AP
By Associated Press



Iran’s president-elect said Monday he would not meet with President Joe Biden nor negotiate over Tehran’s ballistic missile program and its support of regional terror proxies, sticking to a hard-line position following his landslide victory in last week’s election.




Judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi also described himself as a “defender of human rights” when asked about his involvement in the 1988 mass execution of some 5,000 people. It marked the first time he’s been put on the spot on live television over that dark moment in Iranian history at the end of the Iran-Iraq war.


“The U.S. is obliged to lift all oppressive sanctions against Iran,” Raisi said at the news conference.


Raisi sat in front of a sea of microphones, most from Iran and countries home to militias supported by Tehran. He looked nervous at the beginning of his comments but slowly became more at ease over the hourlong news conference.


Asked about Iran’s ballistic missile program and its support of regional terror proxies, Raisi described the issues as “non-negotiable.”


Iran also relies on militias like Yemen’s Houthis, Gaza’s Hamas, and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, deemed terror groups by a number of entities throughout the world, to fight proxy wars against enemies like Saudi Arabia and Israel, respectively.


On a possible meeting with Biden, Raisi simply answered: “No.” His competitor in the election, Abdolnasser Hemmati, had suggested during campaigning that he’d be potentially willing to meet Biden.


The White House did not immediately respond to Raisi’s statements Monday. Raisi will become the first serving Iranian president sanctioned by the U.S. government even before entering office, in part over his time as the head of Iran’s internationally criticized judiciary — one of the world’s top executioners.


The so-called victory of Raisi, a protégé of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, came amid the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history. Millions of Iranians stayed home in defiance of a vote they saw as tipped in Raisi’s favor.


Of those who did vote, 3.7 million people either accidentally or intentionally voided their ballots, far beyond the amount seen in previous elections and suggesting some wanted none of the four candidates. In official results, Raisi won 17.9 million votes overall, nearly 62% of the total 28.9 million cast.


Observers have called the Iranian elections a sham.

Raisi’s victory puts hard-liners firmly in control across the government as negotiations in Vienna continue to try to save a tattered deal meant to limit Iran’s nuclear program, at a time when Tehran is enriching uranium at 60%, its highest levels ever, though still short of weapons-grade levels. Representatives of the world powers party to the deal returned to their capitals for consultations following the latest round of negotiations on Sunday.


Top diplomats from nations involved in the talks said that further progress had been made Sunday between Iran and global powers to try to restore a 2015 agreement to contain Iranian nuclear development that was abandoned by the Trump administration. They said it was now up to the governments involved in the negotiations to make political decisions.


Raisi’s election victory has raised concerns that it could complicate a possible return to the nuclear agreement. In his remarks Monday, Raisi called sanctions relief as “central to our foreign policy” and exhorted the U.S. to “return and implement your commitments” in the deal.


On Saudi Arabia, which has recently started secret talks with Iran in Baghdad to reduce tensions with Iran, Raisi said that Iran would have “no problem” with a possible reopening of the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and the “restoration of relations faces no barrier.” The embassy was closed in 2016 when relations deteriorated.


Raisi struck a defiant tone, however, when asked about the 1988 executions, which saw sham retrials of political prisoners, militants and others that would become known as “death commissions.”

After Iran’s then-Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini accepted a U.N.-brokered cease-fire, members of the Iranian opposition group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, heavily armed by Saddam Hussein, stormed across the Iranian border in a surprise attack. Iran ultimately blunted their assault.


The trials began around that time, with defendants asked to identify themselves. Those who responded “mujahedeen” were sent to their deaths, while others were questioned about their willingness to “clear minefields for the army of the Islamic Republic,” according to a 1990 Amnesty International report.

International rights groups estimate that as many as 5,000 people were executed. Raisi served on the commissions.

“I am proud of being a defender of human rights and of people’s security and comfort as a prosecutor wherever I was,” he said. “All actions I carried out during my office were always in the direction of defending human rights,” he added. “Today in the presidential post, I feel obliged to defend human rights.”

AP

How Iran’s largest navy ship catches fire, sinks in Gulf of Oman

How Iran’s largest navy ship catches fire, sinks in Gulf of Oman

By Associated Press


The largest warship in the Iranian navy caught fire and later sank Wednesday in the Gulf of Oman under unclear circumstances, semi-official news agencies reported.

The Fars and Tasnim news agencies said efforts failed to save the support warship Kharg, named after the island that serves as the main oil terminal for Iran.

The blaze began around 2:25 a.m. and firefighters tried to contain it, Fars said. The vessel sank near the Iranian port of Jask, some 1,270 kilometers (790 miles) southeast of Tehran on the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.

Photos circulated on Iranian social media of sailors wearing life jackets evacuating the vessel as a fire burned behind them. State TV and semiofficial news agencies referred to the Kharg as a “training ship.” Fars published video of thick, black smoke rising from the ship early Wednesday morning.

a “training ship.” Fars published video of thick, black smoke rising from the ship early Wednesday morning.

 
Satellite photos from Planet Labs Inc. analyzed by The Associated Press showed the Kharg off to the west of Jask on Tuesday. Satellites from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that track fires from space detected a blaze at the site of the Jask that started just before the time of the fire reported by Fars.

The Kharg serves as one of a few vessels in the Iranian navy capable of providing replenishment at sea for its other ships. It also can lift heavy cargo and serve as a launch point for helicopters. The warship, built in Britain and launched in 1977, entered the Iranian navy in 1984 after lengthy negotiations that followed Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran’s navy typically handles patrols in the Gulf of Oman and the wider seas, while the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard operates in the shallower waters of the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. In recent months, however, the navy launched a slightly larger commercial tanker called the Makran it converted into serving a similar function as the Kharg.

Iranian officials offered no cause for the fire aboard the Kharg. However, it comes after a series of mysterious explosions that began in 2019 targeting ships in the Gulf of Oman. The U.S. Navy later accused Iran of targeting the ships with limpet mines, timed explosives typically attached by divers to a vessel’s hull.

Iran denied targeting the vessels, though U.S. Navy footage showed members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard removing one unexploded limpet mine from a vessel. The incidents came amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers.

The sinking of the Kharg marks the latest naval disaster for Iran. In 2020 during an Iranian military training exercise, a missile mistakenly struck a naval vessel near the port of Jask, killing19 sailors and wounding 15. Also in 2018, an Iranian navy destroyer sank in the Caspian Sea.
By Associated Press


The largest warship in the Iranian navy caught fire and later sank Wednesday in the Gulf of Oman under unclear circumstances, semi-official news agencies reported.

The Fars and Tasnim news agencies said efforts failed to save the support warship Kharg, named after the island that serves as the main oil terminal for Iran.

The blaze began around 2:25 a.m. and firefighters tried to contain it, Fars said. The vessel sank near the Iranian port of Jask, some 1,270 kilometers (790 miles) southeast of Tehran on the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.

Photos circulated on Iranian social media of sailors wearing life jackets evacuating the vessel as a fire burned behind them. State TV and semiofficial news agencies referred to the Kharg as a “training ship.” Fars published video of thick, black smoke rising from the ship early Wednesday morning.

a “training ship.” Fars published video of thick, black smoke rising from the ship early Wednesday morning.

 
Satellite photos from Planet Labs Inc. analyzed by The Associated Press showed the Kharg off to the west of Jask on Tuesday. Satellites from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that track fires from space detected a blaze at the site of the Jask that started just before the time of the fire reported by Fars.

The Kharg serves as one of a few vessels in the Iranian navy capable of providing replenishment at sea for its other ships. It also can lift heavy cargo and serve as a launch point for helicopters. The warship, built in Britain and launched in 1977, entered the Iranian navy in 1984 after lengthy negotiations that followed Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran’s navy typically handles patrols in the Gulf of Oman and the wider seas, while the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard operates in the shallower waters of the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. In recent months, however, the navy launched a slightly larger commercial tanker called the Makran it converted into serving a similar function as the Kharg.

Iranian officials offered no cause for the fire aboard the Kharg. However, it comes after a series of mysterious explosions that began in 2019 targeting ships in the Gulf of Oman. The U.S. Navy later accused Iran of targeting the ships with limpet mines, timed explosives typically attached by divers to a vessel’s hull.

Iran denied targeting the vessels, though U.S. Navy footage showed members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard removing one unexploded limpet mine from a vessel. The incidents came amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers.

The sinking of the Kharg marks the latest naval disaster for Iran. In 2020 during an Iranian military training exercise, a missile mistakenly struck a naval vessel near the port of Jask, killing19 sailors and wounding 15. Also in 2018, an Iranian navy destroyer sank in the Caspian Sea.

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