A region in crisis from Gaza to Istanbul: War, resistance and power struggles
March 28th, 20250 The Arab American News weekly Arab world report: The Middle East remains in the eye of the storm, with many of its nations burdened by decades-old political, security, economic and social crises. These issues continue to erupt in connection with regional conflicts. Against this backdrop, Iran’s announcement of its willingness to...
U.S., Israel to hold high-level talks on Iran at White House next week
March 21st, 20250 WASHINGTON — The United States and Israel will hold high-level talks on Iran's nuclear program at the White House early next week, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The planned meeting follows President Trump's letter to Iran's leadership earlier this month in which he warned Tehran it had the choice of either...
Iran’s president tells Trump: “Do whatever the hell you want.”
March 14th, 20250 Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has rejected negotiations with the U.S. under threats, telling President Trump to "do whatever the hell you want," according to Iranian state media. He also criticized U.S. foreign policy, referencing the recent Oval Office clash between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. "You...
Helicopter of Iran’s late President Raisi crashed due to weather, Fars says
August 23rd, 20240 The helicopter crash in which Iran's late President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in May was caused by weather conditions and the aircraft's inability to handle the weight it was carrying, Iran's semi-official news agency reported on Wednesday, citing a security source informed of the final investigation results. The communications center...
Nasrallah: War with Israel has entered “new phase” after killings of top resistance leaders
August 2nd, 20241 On Thursday, Hezbollah’s leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned that the conflict with Israel has entered a “new phase,” as he addressed mourners at the funeral of a commander from the group who was killed by an Israeli airstrike this week in Beirut. Meanwhile in Tehran, Iran’s supreme leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei prayed over the...
Iran’s President Raisi buried in Mashhad as mourners pack Iranian holy city
May 24th, 20241 President Ebrahim Raisi was buried in the Iranian holy city of Mashhad on Thursday as many thousands of mourners packed its streets for his funeral, four days after he died in a helicopter crash, footage broadcast by Iranian media showed. Raisi, 63, was widely seen as a candidate to succeed 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who...
Tehran vows revenge after U.N. Security Council fails to condemn Israel’s strike on its embassy in Syria
April 7th, 20241 On Wednesday, the United States, Britain and France opposed a Russian-drafted U.N. Security Council statement that would have condemned an attack on Iran's embassy compound in Syria, which Tehran has blamed on Washington's ally Israel. Press statements by the 15-member council have to be agreed to by consensus. Diplomats said the U.S.,...
ISIS claims responsibility for deadliest attack in Iran since 1979, Tehran vows revenge
January 5th, 20240 ISIS claimed responsibility on Thursday for two explosions in Iran that killed nearly 100 people and wounded scores at a memorial for top commander Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in Iraq in 2020 by a U.S. drone. In a statement posted on its affiliate Telegram channels, the militant Sunni Muslim group said two ISIS members had...
Biden to seek $14 billion in military aid for Israel as invasion of Gaza nears
October 20th, 20230 On Thursday, President Biden asked Americans to spend billions more dollars to help Israel fight Hamas while Israel's defense minister told his troops to be ready to go into the Gaza Strip to destroy the Palestinian militant group. In a televised White House speech late on Thursday that also addressed Ukraine's effort to repel Russia's...
Israeli intelligence ministry planning moves that will create chaos throughout Iran
September 7th, 20230 Israeli Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel met with Iranian diaspora anti-government “activists and journalists” in London on Wednesday as part of an ongoing Israeli campaign to reignite protests and civil unrest throughout the Islamic Republic before the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death. Amini died after being detained by...
Iran backs the Syrian government’s demands for withdrawal of foreign forces
August 25th, 20230 Amir Saeid Iravani, the Iranian permanent representative to the United Nations, says Iran supports the demands of the Syrian government for a complete withdrawal of “all illegal foreign military forces from Syria.” During a U.N. Security Council meeting on Wednesday addressing the situation in the war-torn country, Iravani argued...
Saudi Arabia, Iran relations “on the right track,” Iranian minister says after Riyadh visits
August 18th, 20230 Saudi Arabia and Iran are making progress on mending ties, Iran's foreign minister said after meeting with his counterpart in Riyadh on Thursday, as two regional heavyweights seek to overcome past hostility and boost cooperation. "Relations between Tehran and Saudi are on the right track and we are witnessing progress," Hossein...
Iran’s navy unveils new vessels equipped with 375-miles-range missiles, Tasnim reports
August 7th, 20230 Iran's Revolutionary Guards' navy has unveiled new vessels equipped with 600-km (375 miles) range missiles at a time of rising tensions with the U.S. in the Gulf, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday. The announcement was made during a military exercise off the coast of Abu Musa island, one of three Gulf islands...
Iran seizes U.S. tanker, claims it broke basic international maritime laws
July 6th, 20230 According to Iran’s maritime authority, it confiscated a tanker owned by the U.S. energy company Chevron because the tanker caused damage to an Iranian vessel on Wednesday, July 5, in the Persian Gulf and then illegally rerouted to the territorial waters of Oman. On Thursday, Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization, PMO, released a...
Top Iranian, Saudi envoys meet in China in restoration of diplomatic ties
April 8th, 20230 BEIJING/RIYADH — The foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia met in Beijing on Thursday for the first formal gathering of their top diplomats in more than seven years, after China brokered a deal to restore relations between the top regional powers. After years of hostility that fueled conflicts across the Middle East, Iran and......
Report reveals secret talks between Western officials and Iranian representatives
March 24th, 20230 There have recently been “secret” talks between Western officials and representatives of the establishment ruling Iran. Iranian sources close to the negotiations are saying President Ebrahim Raisi’s government wasn’t informed of the dialogue. There has been a recent trend of seeing a figure close to Supreme Leader Sayyed Ali...
Middle East flashpoints that could be affected by Saudi-Iran deal
March 17th, 20230 Here is a summary of the situation in parts of the Middle East where Iran and Saudi Arabia have been involved in proxy conflicts and which could be affected by a Beijing-brokered deal to re-establish relations between the two regional powers. Yemen In 2015, Riyadh intervened in Yemen at the head of a Western-backed coalition......
China’s role in Saudi, Iran deal a tricky test for the U.S.
March 17th, 20230 The surprise deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore diplomatic ties offers much for the United States to be intrigued about, including a possible path to rein in Tehran's nuclear program and a chance to cement a ceasefire in Yemen. It also contains an element sure to make officials in Washington deeply uneasy — the role of...
Iran blames Israel for Isfahan drone attack, vows revenge
February 3rd, 20230 Iran blamed Israel for a drone attack on a military factory near the central city of Isfahan, the semi-official ISNA news agency said on Thursday, vowing revenge for what appeared to be the latest episode in a long-running covert war. The attack came amid tension between Iran and the West over Tehran's nuclear activity and its supply of...
Death toll rises in Iranian protests over young woman’s killing
September 29th, 20220 TEHRAN — Protests continued in several cities across Iran on Thursday against the death of a young woman in police custody, state and social media reported, as a human rights group said at least 83 people had been killed in nearly two weeks of demonstrations. Mahsa Amini, 22, from the Iranian Kurdish town of Saqez, was arrested...
Lebanese state’s permission not sought for Iranian fuel, minister says
September 1st, 20210 BEIRUT — The Lebanese government has received no request for fuel to be imported from Iran, the caretaker energy minister said on Wednesday, appearing to confirm that the Shi'a group Hezbollah has bypassed the state with a move to import Iranian fuel. Hezbollah, a heavily armed group founded by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982,......
Israeli defense minister threatens Iran with military action, airstrikes launched into Lebanon
August 5th, 20210 Israel’s defense minister warned Thursday that his country is prepared to strike Iran, issuing the threat against the Islamic Republic after a fatal drone strike on a oil tanker at sea that his nation blamed on Tehran. The comments by Benny Gantz come as Israel lobbies countries for action at the U.N. over last week’s attack on...
Iran accuses U.S. of meddling for criticising election
June 22nd, 20210 TEHRAN — Iran accused the U.S. on Tuesday of interference for saying its election was neither free nor fair as political factions traded blame for the record low turnout and high number of invalid ballots. Ebrahim Raisi, a hardline judge who is under U.S. sanctions, secured victory as expected on Saturday in an election marked by......
Biden ready to return to Iran nuclear deal; lifts Trump-era sanctions
February 19th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Biden administration, through Secretary of State Antony Blinken, affirmed on Thursday it is willing to come to the negotiation table with Iran over a return to a nuclear accord, if Tehran came into full compliance with the deal. The Iran Nuclear Deal, first struck in 2015, is aimed at preventing the country...
Iraq issues arrest warrant for President Trump
January 7th, 20210 BAGHDAD — A judge in Baghdad has issued an arrest warrant for President Trump for the killing of an Iranian general and Iraqi militia leader last year. The Washington-directed drone strike had killed Gen. Qassim Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis outside of the capital’s airport last January. Al-Muhandis was the deputy......
