Israel / Middle East - Page 24

Iran’s ruling clerics commemorated the 47th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution with nationwide rallies that included the burning of American flags, staged mock coffins bearing the names of U.S. military leaders, and the torching of an effigy decorated with a Star of David and an image of President Donald Trump, according to video shared by Iranian outlets and online accounts.

President Donald Trump warned Iran that it would be “foolish” not to make a deal as a massive flotilla heads toward the region, with the United States again prepared to take “very tough” military action — including the possible dispatch of a second aircraft carrier strike group — if negotiations collapse.

New satellite imagery shows Iran has buried the entrances to a hardened tunnel complex at its Isfahan nuclear site, a move a U.S.-based watchdog said signals Tehran is “seriously concerned” about a strike or raid.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday that he viewed recent talks with the United States as “a step forward,” but his foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, insisted on the same day that Iran will never give up its uranium enrichment program.

Iran added 7.5 years to the prison sentence of activist Narges Momhammad as part of its crackdown against dissidents.

Americans “will die” before Iran is humiliated, warned Ali Ahmad Khomeini, the grandson of the Islamic Republic’s founder, who also insisted Israel would be “erased” if Muslim nations ever acquire the military capability to do so.

The first-ever Israeli Olympic bobsled team had equipment, passports, and thousands of dollars of items stolen after the apartment where they were staying while training was robbed, the team revealed Saturday.

On Friday’s broadcast of Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) discussed Iran and said that if there can be some deal “around slowing down their effort to get a nuclear weapon, that will be positive, not just for

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held their planned talks in Oman on Friday, despite some last-minute demands from Iran that threatened to derail the process.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a designated terrorist organization, said on Thursday that it seized two vessels in the Persian Gulf that were allegedly carrying smuggled fuel. Later that day, a former Iranian official threatened to turn the Strait of Hormuz into a “place of massacre and hell” if there is a conflict with the United States.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that Iran’s ruling elite are “wiring money out of the country like crazy,” declaring that “the rats are leaving the ship” as the Trump administration’s pressure campaign accelerates the regime’s economic collapse.

Iran escalated its pressure campaign on the eve of U.S.–Iran nuclear talks by unveiling an underground “missile city” housing a new ballistic missile it claims can reach Israel in 10–12 minutes, while IRGC-linked outlets outlined a multi-stage plan for war against the United States.

Iran claims the drone shot down by the USS Abraham Lincoln was conducting a “routine and lawful mission over international waters.”

The majority of the French public is in favour of banning groups linked to the Muslim Brotherhood network, which seeks to advance Islamist principles in the West, such as the adoption of Sharia law.

President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei “should be very worried” as U.S.–Iran nuclear talks, earlier reported as collapsing, are now set to proceed Friday in Oman amid sharp disputes over the scope of negotiations and rising U.S. military pressure.

WASHINGTON–First lady Melania Trump met with Keith and Aviva Siegel, who were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023, at the White House on Wednesday. 

The Iranian regime seems to be doing everything possible to derail Friday’s scheduled talks between Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, including last-minute demands for a change of venue from Turkey to Oman.

Police in Iran’s desert province of Yazd said on Tuesday that 139 foreign nationals have been arrested to date for participating in protests against the Iranian regime that began in December.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that his government has followed the United States and European Union (EU) in designating Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.

The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln on Tuesday launched one of its F-35C fighters to shoot down an unmanned Iranian aircraft that “aggressively approached” with “unclear intent.”

Iran will “put an end to the United States’ mischief,” declared Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who threatened regional war and accused President Donald Trump of inciting violent protests during an online tirade marking the anniversary of Iran’s Islamic Revolution.

During this week’s broadcast of “Fox News Sunday,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) reiterated his call for the Trump administration to bolster efforts to end the Ayatollah’s reign in Iran.

Members of the Alawite community in Syria face “constant” threats of violence, including “large-scale massacres,” abductions, and mob attacks, the head of the Alawites Association of the United States told Breitbart News, urging President Donald Trump to pressure the country’s leadership to respect the rights of minorities.

Iranian lawmakers chanted “Death to America! Death to Israel!” while dressed in the uniforms of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps during a Sunday parliamentary session, according to footage broadcast by state-linked media.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An explosion tore through an apartment building Saturday in Iran ‘s port city of Bandar Abbas, killing a 4-year-old girl as local media footage purportedly showed a security force member being carried out by rescuers.

Senior U.S. military officials warned key Middle East allies on Friday to prepare for a possible strike on Iran as multiple reports said Washington and Jerusalem now view military action as decided, with one source saying the only remaining question is timing, not whether an attack will occur.

The State Department announced on Thursday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio “took action this week to revoke the privilege of Iranian senior officials and their family members to be in the United States,” as a consequence of Iran’s bloody crackdown on protesters earlier this month.

The government of South Africa on Friday declared Ariel Seidman, charge d’affaires of the Israeli Embassy, persona non grata and gave him 72 hours to leave the country.

The government-run Syrian Arab News Agency confirmed that Syria has been elected as vice-chair of a crimes against humanity UN committee.

Iranian security forces have unleashed a sweeping mass-arrest campaign in recent days in a calculated bid to deter the revival of nationwide protests — a move unfolding as President Donald Trump escalates pressure on the theocratic regime.

New York’s first Jewish city council speaker and its first Muslim mayor may not be seeing eye to eye when it comes to ways to combat antisemitism in the Big Apple.

Iran’s most legendary pop icon, Googoosh — known to millions as the “Voice of Iran,” silenced after the 1979 Islamic Revolution — urged President Donald Trump to “honor his words” and provide decisive support to the Iranian people as the clerical regime unleashed what she described as a nationwide slaughter aimed at crushing an uprising demanding the regime’s overthrow.

Syria President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the head of the al-Qaeda offshoot terrorist militia Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, attended an in-person meeting with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday to discuss boosting Russia’s economic presence in the country.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed this week that three men deported to Iran recently, found to have entered America illegally, were “known or suspected” members of the terrorist Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Tuesday that the Ninth Air Force will conduct a “multi-day readiness exercise” in the Middle East to “demonstrate the ability to deploy, disperse, and sustain combat airpower.” One place they could soon be called upon to disperse airpower is Iran.

Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT, using its Turkish acronym) and local counter-terrorism police launched coordinated raids in five provinces this week, arresting six individuals suspected of spying for Iran.