Syrian opposition: 18 Iranians, including a senior Revolutionary Guards military official, killed after Israeli strike.

DEVELOPING: Unknown aircraft reportedly carries out strikes against Iranian assets in Syria pic.twitter.com/rR4Hw57J7R

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 29, 2018

Syrian opposition: 18 Iranians, including a senior Revolutionary Guards military official, killed after Israeli strike. (TOI).

There were conflicting reports on the number of casualties: Syrian opposition officials have reportedly said that 18 Iranians, including a senior Revolutionary Guards military official, were killed, according to Israel Radio.

Other opposition-linked outlets placed the overall number of fatalities at 38. Missile strikes against Syrian regime forces in the central province of Hama overnight killed 26 pro-regime fighters, mostly Iranians, a monitor said Monday.

The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights said the fighters had been killed in a raid, “probably” carried out by Israel, on the 47th Brigade base in Hama.

State media reported overnight that “enemy missiles” had struck government targets in Hama and Aleppo provinces, without mentioning any casualties or who may have been responsible. While some sources blamed Israel for the strikes, Syrian state-owned news site Tishreen said late Sunday the raids were carried out by the United States and British forces.

The Western troops launched nine ballistic missiles from military bases in northern Jordan that struck Syrian bases near Aleppo and Hama, the news outlet said on its Facebook page.

Other media outlets claimed the attacks were carried out by aircraft bombers, and Hezbollah-linked sources and other regime outlets attributed the strikes to Israel. Read the full story here.

@WTEpaminondas The impact of the #Israeli attacks was so intense, it resulted in an earth tremor measuring 2.6 on the Richter scale.https://t.co/1I863Gr5ki

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) April 30, 2018

Eight young Women Arrested In Iran For Dressing As Men In Order To Attend Soccer Game

Women Arrested In Iran For Dressing As Men In Order To Attend Soccer Game. (Memri).

Iran's Islamic law bans women from attending public soccer matches attended by men, and women who have attempted to do so have been arrested in the past. Additionally, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei recently issued a fatwa banning women from riding bicycles in public, arguing that doing so attracts the male gaze and is therefore forbidden.

This report will discuss ways in which women are being pushed out of public spaces in Iran:

On February 12, 2017, Iranian authorities arrested eight young women who had disguised themselves as men in order to watch a soccer match between Esteghlal F.C. and Persepolis F.C. at Tehran's Azadi Stadium. According to reports, the women face legal action.

Alireza Adeli, head of security for the Tehran municipality, stated that this was not the first time that women have disguised themselves as men in order to enter the stadium, and stressed that the ban was aimed at "preserving their honor, because the stadium's atmosphere, commotion, and crowds are no place for them. 

Dear women who wish to watch the match can do so on TV, which broadcasts the games and gives everyone a way to watch them live."[1]

Social media users posted sarcastic and angry remarks about the arrest:

"Thanks to the vigilance of [security] forces, eight girls who intended to enter Azadi Stadium were arrested, and peace returned to the hearts of ideologues. Death to the anti-woman Trump" (Twitter.com/AhmadAfrazande, February 16, 2017)

"Instead of [calling the stadium] Azadi [freedom] – [call it] Incarceration Stadium – a stadium that symbolizes the humiliation and wretcheness of a chained nation" (Twitter.com/shahabtx, February 14, 2017)

"Sad that the girls were barred from entering the stadium. This is ridiculous" (Twitter.com/fadaei9, February 16, 2017)

Tweet by journalist Enayat Hoseinian: "All our problems in this match [involve] the lack of female presence in Azadi Stadium; they arrested eight girls who managed to get in. So what? Good for them?" (Twitter.com/enayathoseinian, February 14, 2017)

Turkey’s Claims Aimed at Justifying 'Neo - Ottoman' Expansionist Policies: Iran.

Turkey’s Claims Aimed at Justifying 'Neo - Ottoman' Expansionist Policies: Iran. (IFP).

Iran has dismissed the recent “unacceptable and unjustifiable” remarks by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan against Tehran, saying Ankara is leveling accusations against other countries to justify its expansionist policies.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi expressed regret on Sunday that Turkish officials continue to make “baseless, meddlesome and troublesome” remarks against the country’s neighbors.

“By accusing others and repeating fictitious claims, they [Turkish officials] are trying to justify their meddlesome and expansionist policies toward their neighbors,” he added.

Speaking at a Turkish-British forum in the southern city of Antalya on Saturday, the Turkish president accused Iran of adopting and pursuing “racist and discriminatory” policies in Iraq.

The Iranian spokesperson also dismissed as incorrect comments by Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak, who recently claimed that some three million refugees, mostly Afghans, were trying to go to Turkey from Iran, expressing concern that Iran was “ignoring their demand for migration.”
“Iran has been hosting millions of refugees from its neighboring countries for more than 30 years,” Qassemi said.

“Turkey must learn from Iran how it has hosted millions of refugees for more than three decades and has never abused this human and humanitarian issue for specific and politically-motivated purposes against any other country.”

He recommended Turkish officials to avoid conflating humanitarian issues with political disputes, urging them to respect the national sovereignty of their neighboring states, particularly Iraq and Syria.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran regards respect for the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of neighboring countries as the best option for strengthening and developing relations among nations and countries,” Qassemi said.

Iran also considers “constructive dialogue with neighbors, instead of accusing others, as the most appropriate way” to deepen ties with them, he pointed out.

The 'desire' to buy the Russian S-400 Air defense system, another Blackmail plot from Turkish Dictator Erdogan?

The 'desire' to buy the Russian S-400 Air defense system, another Blackmail plot from Turkish Dictator Erdogan? (SP).

The Turkish leadership has indicated that Ankara is interested in purchasing the S-400 Triumf, one of the most advanced air defense systems designed and manufactured in Russia. Both nations stand to gain from the deal if it is finalized.

Defense analyst Mikhail Khodoryonok:

"The buyer will become attached to the country producing the weapon due to maintenance and professional training. Close military and technical cooperation will not allow Turkey to make aggressive political maneuvers against Russia. In addition, the purchase made by a NATO member will enhance the image of the Russian defense industry. It's hard to come up with a better ad," he told RIA Novosti.

Andrei Frolov, the editor-in-chief of Arms Export magazine, told RIA Novosti that Ankara is interested in enhancing its air defenses to protect itself from neighboring countries.

"Iran is Turkey's key opponent in the region. The Islamic Republic has a rather potent air force. At the same time, Iran is capable of protecting its territory from a retaliatory strike. Last year, Russia delivered four S-300PMU2 battalions to the country," he explained. "In addition, Ankara's relations with Damascus are tense to put it mildly. The Syrian government has long-range tactical missiles and short-range missiles, while Turkey's air defense systems are notoriously weak."

Although Turkey would benefit from adding the S-400 to its arsenal, Frolov expressed doubt that the deal would actually take place.

"Erdogan is more likely trying to pressure his partners in NATO by making these statements. He is essentially trying to blackmail them into selling European and American air defense systems under favorable terms," the defense analyst said. Read the full story here.

Alleged Iranian spy to be put on trial in Germany, spied on Israeli and Jewish institutions.

Embed from Getty Images

Alleged Iranian spy to be put on trial in Germany, spied on Israeli and Jewish institutions. (DS).

A 31-year-old Pakistani man is going on trial in Berlin on allegations he spied for Iran on Israeli and Jewish institutions in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.

Syed Mustufa H., whose full name was not giving for privacy reasons, is due in court Wednesday on espionage charges.

H., who came to Germany in 2012 to go to university, is accused of having collected information on a professor at a university in Paris, the former president of the German-Israel Society and others in Western European countries.

Prosecutors say he then passed the information to a contact person with the Iranian intelligence agency. He's alleged to have received at least 2,052 euros ($2,170) for his spying activities.
H., who was arrested in July 2016, faces a possible five years in prison.

Iran Starts Litigation to Release $1,6 Billion Frozen Assets in Luxemburg.

Iran Starts Litigation to Release $1,6 Billion Frozen Assets in Luxemburg. (Fars).

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for European and American affairs Majid Takht Ravanchi announced that the country has started legal proceedings to release its $1.6bln frozen assets in Luxemburg.

"The money belongs to the Central Bank of Iran and was in Europe during the sanctions era and we couldn't access it due to the sanctions," Takht Ravanchi told reporters in Tehran on Tuesday.

Noting that Luxemburg blocked the Iranian account before the start of the nuclear talks in 2013, he said, "The money is in Europe and this is not a new development."

"The Central Bank's lawyers are in contact with the Luxemburg company (which has blocked Iran's money) and are making the necessary consultations to find access to the money," Takht Ravanchi said.

He explained that the money was frozen in Luxemburg after an approval in the US to freeze Tehran's assets and the extension of the same approval to other states as a result of the antagonistic moves made by certain anti-Iran elements.

In a relevant development last year, Tehran lodged a complaint with the International Court of Justice in the Hague against a court ruling by the US Supreme Court which authorized the transfer of $2 billion of Tehran's frozen assets to the families of the victims of a 1983 bombing in Beirut.

"The US courts have issued illegal rulings and said that the properties should be provided to the Americans and the families of those people killed in Lebanon and it is not clear what the Americans did in Lebanon (at the time) and how the issue is related to Iran," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in June.

"We shouldn’t remain silent vis a vis this event and we officially filed a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice yesterday and will pursue the case until attaining results," he added.

RELATED: 

High-ranking officials of Iran and Luxembourg have signed an agreement to support investments and improve banking ties.

Video - Palestinian Ambassador to Iran: I Pray that Iran Will Produce 1,000 Nuclear Bombs

Palestinian Ambassador to Iran: I Pray that Iran Will Produce 1,000 Nuclear Bombs. (MEMRI).

In a February 20 interview on Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV, Palestinian Ambassador to Iran Salah Zawawi warned against what he called the "Western enterprise" to establish the Greater Israel and to turn the Arabs into "servants, if not slaves in our region." 

"I pray to Allah that Iran will produce 1,000 nuclear bombs," he said, adding that they would not be directed against Arab or Islamic countries, but "would be used to defend the Islamic Republic and its principles."Hmmm.....So much for the 'Nuclear Fatwa'

Iran has requested to buy 950 tons of uranium ore from Kazakhstan.

Iran has requested to buy 950 tons of uranium ore from Kazakhstan. (rferl)

Iran says it has requested to buy 950 tons of uranium ore from Kazakhstan over three years to help develop its civil reactor program.

Tehran has asked a body overseeing its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers to approve the purchase and is still awaiting Britain's agreement, the ISNA news agency quoted Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, as saying on February 25.

Salehi also said Iran expects to get Russian help in producing nuclear fuel.

The nuclear agreement between Iran and Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia, and the United States imposed curbs on Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions.

The deal limits the level to which Iran can enrich uranium at 3.67 percent and caps the amount it can stockpile.


Such uranium is often used for peaceful purposes, but can be used for a nuclear weapon if processed to a higher level, experts say. Hmmm......Why do they need so much import if the have huge deposits of Uranium? 

Related - Flashback 2015: Iran 'rediscovers' unexpectedly high uranium reserve deposits.

Iran has discovered an unexpectedly high reserve of uranium and will soon begin extracting the radioactive element at a new mine, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation said.

Under permission from the Supreme Leader, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran has been conducting airborne surveys for discovering uranium deposits, he said, adding that good news in this regard will be announced in the future. “In the next 10 years, we will reach a level which will acquire raw materials for 190,000 SWU enrichment capacity,” he noted.

Video - ME Expert Elijah J. Magnier: 'Syria Cannot Counter Israel Now, Turkey’s switching position in Syria'.

Video - Syria Cannot Counter Israel Now, Turkey’s switching position in Syria. HT @EjmAlrai.

More from ME Expert Elijah J. Magnier, Al Rai Chief International and veteran War correspondent & analyst: EU, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya..Terrorism, CT. & Intl. SCUBA. HERE: Geneva talks doomed: Turkey’s changing position in Syria is pushing Russia into more aggression.

Iran : Canadian Court Ruling is "Unacceptable" and we dismiss it.

Iran Blasts Canadian Court Ruling as "Unacceptable". (Fars).

The Iranian foreign ministry condemned the Ontario court ruling ordering the government of Iran to pay the legal costs of what it alleged as victims of Iran-sponsored terrorist attacks, dismissing it as "unacceptable".

"The ruling is against the obvious principles of the international law on the judicial immunity of governments and their assets, and is unacceptable," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Sunday.

"Unfortunately, the Canadian judge has issued the ruling without any attention to the international regulations and the principle of the governments' equality, and the ruling is dismissed by us," he added.

Qassemi said that Iran has officially protested at the Canadian government for the court ruling and reserves the right for itself to pursue the issue through political and legal action.

Relations between Tehran and Ottawa were severed by Canada's conservative government in 2012.

In relevant remarks in January, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for European and American Affairs Majid Takht Ravanchi referred to the relations between Iran and Canada after the 2015 nuclear deal, and said, "They voice interest in entering a new atmosphere of relations with Iran. We also consider such remarks as good and positive but emphasize that these comments should be translated into action."

"There is an obstacle on this way which is the legal restriction approved by the parliament during the former Canadian government's tenure which has called off the political immunity of Iran in Canada," Takht Ravanchi said, expressing the hope that the approval would be cancelled to help the further expansion of ties between Tehran and Ottawa.

Canada’s Foreign Minister Stéphane Dion said in March that his country’s 2012 move to cut diplomatic ties with Iran has had no positive consequences, expressing willingness for re-engagement with the Islamic Republic.

“Canada’s severing of ties with Iran had no positive consequences for anyone: not for Canadians, not for the people of Iran, not for Israel, and not for global security,” Stéphane Dion said while addressing an international conference at the University of Ottawa.

The administration of former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper severed diplomatic ties with Iran in September 2012, citing, among other pretexts, what it described as “continued threats from Iran to Israel.”

Related: 

Ontario court orders Iran to pay $300,000 in legal costs of victims of terrorist attacks

Iran to Send Pilgrims to Hajj If Saudis Pay Blood Money (Diya): Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance.

Source: Inequality in blood money.

Iran to Send Pilgrims to Hajj If Saudis Pay Blood Money (Diya): Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance. (IFP).

In his first press conference, Reza Salehi Amiri, the Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, explained Iran’s conditions to resume sending pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.

“The Islamic Republic’s official policy is to ensure that the dignity and security of its pilgrims is guaranteed in Hajj pilgrimage,” he noted, according to a report by IFP.

Therefore, he added, if Saudi Arabian government accepts our minimum conditions and pay the blood money of Mina martyrs, Iran will send its pilgrims to Hajj this year.

Iran has received an invitation from Saudi Arabia for talks on the 2017 Hajj pilgrimage, and an Iranian delegation is slated to travel to Saudi Arabia on February 23 for talks.

More than 1.8 million faithful took part in last year’s Hajj, but Iranians stayed at home after tensions between Riyadh and Tehran boiled over following a deadly crush of people during the 2015 pilgrimage.

On September 24, 2015, thousands of people lost their lives in the crush after Saudi authorities blocked a road in Mina during a ritual, forcing large crowds of pilgrims to collide.

The crush was the deadliest incident in the history of the pilgrimage. Saudi Arabia claims nearly 770 people were killed in the incident, but officials at Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization say about 7,000 people, including over 460 Iranian pilgrims, lost their lives.

Rates of blood money in Saudi Arabia.

Notice no mention of Jews.

Video - Houthi Military Spokesman Threatens to Target U.S., French, Other Ships Entering Yemeni Territorial Waters

Sharaf Luqman, Spokesman of the Houthi Forces, said that "any ship - any destroyer or frigate - that enters our territorial waters will be targeted, regardless of its nationality.

We do not care if it belongs to the U.S., to France, or to any other country." 

In an interview broadcast on the Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV on February 6, Luqman further said that the Houthi army has developed surface-to-surface missiles and increased the range of Scud missiles and that they had further capabilities "that we have not yet revealed."

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the Arabs are all "hired hands in an American war," said Luqman, "we are fighting America."

Iran May Stop Cooperation with IAEA If US Leaks Secret 'Obama & Iran' Nuclear Documents.

Iran May Stop Cooperation with IAEA If US Leaks Secret 'Obama & Iran' Nuclear Documents. (IFP).

During the US election campaign, reports circulated indicating that Trump would reveal certain documents on Iran’s nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), allegedly kept hidden by Obama administration.

An article carried by the Daily Beast website late last December quoted an “individual who has participated in those conversations” as saying that “senior officials who will be part of the Trump administration are already discussing what so-far-unseen information about the Iran agreement they will be able to make public after January.”

A number of Iranian parliamentarians have commented on the US President Donald Trump’s threat of publicizing the secret nuclear documents between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), saying such threats may lead to Iran’s decision to stop cooperation with the Agency.

Referring to Trump’s threat to disclose Iran’s secret documents pertaining to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Jamali Nobandegani, who is also a member of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said threatening Tehran with claims about publicizing such [secret nuclear] documents is an old trick.

“Most of the so-called IAEA agents who are dispatched to other countries [for inspecting nuclear facilities and activities] are, in fact, undercover agents of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Mossad — Israel’s intelligence agency. In the past, prior to the raising of the nuclear issue by the IAEA, American and European media published Iran’s documents.”

“Since the IAEA’s director general is appointed by the direct vote of the US and other Western countries, he does not have the freedom and authority to make independent decisions and, thus, fails to guarantee the fulfilment of the Agency’s commitments,” he went on to say.

Referring to the leak of the secret documents between Iran and IAEA in the past, Jamali Nobandegani stressed that in case of another disclosure [of such documents], the international community will eventually notice the IAEA’s lack of commitment, understand the reason behind Iran’s reluctance to cooperate with the agency and respect the country’s decision.

Therefore, in case Trump carries out its threat of publishing the documents, the Iranian government will definitely take necessary measures to reciprocate.

Among Iran’s measure may be suspending cooperation with the IAEA, as these documents are directly related to the country’s national security and a nation’s security is not negotiable and tradable. Hmmm....Why shouldn't the America public be informed of the 'backroom' deals the Obama 'admin' made with Iran? Read the full story here.

Muslim Clerics, Seminary Students Not Allowed to Use Expensive Cars: Iran’s Leader Khamenei.

Muslim Clerics, Seminary Students Not Allowed to Use Expensive Cars: Iran’s Leader Khamenei. (IFP).

Addressing a group of his students in Tehran last Sunday, Ayatollah Khamenei cited a hadith to refer to the use of expensive cars by clerics and seminary students as an act of wastefulness.

According to a Farsi report by Ayatollah Khamenei’s official Telegram channel, the Leader had been informed in a letter that some seminary students came to the classes in expensive cars that were worth as much as $52,000.

“Islam has banned wastefulness for all people,” he stated, “Anyone can be wasteful, whether he is rich, average or poor.”

“Islam prohibits wastefulness. The use of these expensive cars is illegitimate,” the Leader said.

Ayatollah Khamenei mentioned that sometimes these expensive cars are used on the pretext of security issues.

“Be aware that our main duties include practicality, piety, discretion, virtue, inquisitiveness, and not pursuing the material lures and superficial luxury.”

Earlier, the Leader had also criticized the officials who used state-owned cars while having a personal one.

“I heard that a cleric and politician had been using a state-owned car despite owning one!”

“I wrote that he didn’t have such a right,” Ayatollah Khamenei added. “In response to my order, they said it was common among the clerics.”

The Leader stressed that the officials who owned personal assets don’t have the right to use state-owned facilities.

“If you own a car, go to the Ministry using the same one! Why do you use the state-owned cars?”

Iran injecting uranium hexafluoride (UF6) into IR-8 centrifuge machines violation of the Joint Plan of Action (JPA)?

Iran injecting uranium hexafluoride (UF6) into IR-8 centrifuge machines violation of the Joint Plan of Action (JPA)? (Taz).

US President Donald Trump is angry at the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA/ nuclear deal) because, after clinching the accord, the world has recognized Iran's right to enrich uranium, President Hassan Rouhani said.

President Rouhani said that it became feasible to enrich uranium in the country using advanced domestically-manufactured centrifuge machines,
known as IR-8, one year after the implementation of the JCPOA, Tasnim news agency reported.

The president made the remarks addressing a group of people in the northern province of Alborz.

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) on Jan. 28 announced that the organization has started injecting uranium hexafluoride (UF6) into IR-8 centrifuge machines.

The organization through a statement on the same day said that Iran’s research and development plans will continue without any halt in all sectors of peaceful nuclear activities according to the JCPOA.

Iran and the world powers inked the JCPOA on July 14, 2015 .

Under the terms of the agreement as issued in a fact sheet released by the US State Department last year, Iran “will not use its IR-2, IR-4, IR-5, IR-6, or IR-8 models to produce enriched uranium for at least ten years. For ten years, enrichment and enrichment research and development will be limited to ensure a breakout timeline of at least 1 year. Beyond 10 years, Iran will abide by its enrichment and enrichment R&D plan submitted to the IAEA, and pursuant to the JCPOA, under the Additional Protocol resulting in certain limitations on enrichment capacity.” Source.


Related: Technical Note: Making Sense out of the IR-8 Centrifuge By David Albright.

Currently, Iran has pledged not to inject the IR - 8 centrifuge with uranium hexafluoride since to do so would violate the Joint Plan of Action (JPA) (and if undeclared, also its safeguards agreement).

The IAEA reported in its most recent Iran safeguards report that no uranium hexafluoride gas had been injected into this centrifuge at the Natanz enrichment plant as of late August. 3

Although the IAEA recently visited one of Iran’s centrifuge R&D facilities, gaining more knowledge of Iran’s activities, and no evidence has emerged of secret enrichment in the IR - 8 or other centrifuges, the IAEA cannot determine, with the current safeguards and JPA verification arrangements, if Iran has secretly injected gas into the IR - 8 centrifuge at sites other than the Natanz or Fordow centrifuge plants.

The recent visit to the centrifuge R&D center did not constitute an inspection. For example, the IAEA did not take samples able to determine the presence of enriched uranium at the site. However, even with these uncertainties in mind, as of today, there is no reason to assume that Iran has tested the IR - 8 centrifuge with uranium hexafluoride.

Related:

Rouhani Orders Work on Nuclear Propulsion Device, which means Higher enrichment than allowed.

Iran has started injecting uranium hexafluoride (aka UF6) into its newly developed Advanced IR-8 centrifuges.

Iran has started injecting uranium hexafluoride (aka UF6) into its newly developed Advanced IR-8 centrifuges. (Taz).

Iran has started injecting uranium hexafluoride (aka UF6) into its newly developed IR-8 centrifuges, hailing it as a great step in nuclear enrichment research and development, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran reported January 28.

IR-8 is Iran’s most modern nuclear centrifuge, which is 20 times faster than IR-1, the older model which Iran used before its landmark nuclear deal of 2015.

The organization said that the research and development project is compliant with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Under the terms of the nuclear deal as issued in a fact sheet released by the US State Department last year, Iran “will not use its IR-2, IR-4, IR-5, IR-6, or IR-8 models to produce enriched uranium for at least ten years. For ten years, enrichment and enrichment research and development will be limited to ensure a breakout timeline of at least 1 year.

Beyond 10 years, Iran will abide by its enrichment and enrichment R&D plan submitted to the IAEA, and pursuant to the JCPOA, under the Additional Protocol resulting in certain limitations on enrichment capacity.”

Iran has disputed the US factsheet, however saying that under the accord, it is allowed to conduct R&D on its more advanced centrifuges.


Iran believes the US has violated the nuclear deal by renewing the Iran Sanctions Act in late 2016, which eased sanctions in exchange for curbs on Iran’s nuclear program. Hmmm.....Thanks Hussein Obama. 

Related: 

Rouhani Orders Work on Nuclear Propulsion Device, which means Higher enrichment than allowed.

Iran’s threat to Hormuz Strait a thing ‘of the past’ says ruler of the Emirate of Fujairah UAE.

Iran’s threat to Hormuz Strait a thing ‘of the past’ says ruler of the Emirate of Fujairah UAE. (BunkerNews).

Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed al-Sharqi, ruler of the Emirate of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, said threats to close the Hormuz Strait are now in the past.

In an interview with the Emirati news agency on Sunday, he added that they don’t care much about these threats.

His statements come four days after an Iranian military official said that his country fully controls the Hormuz Strait which Iran overlooks and which links the Arab Gulf with the Gulf of Oman.

On whether Fujairah, which is the only emirate to overlook the Gulf of Oman, will be an alternative to the Hormuz Strait to safely export Emirati and Gulf oil, Sharqi said: “The UAE has a practical measure (to do so) through the strategic achievement represented in the pipeline which building has been completed all the way from the Habshan fields in Abu Dhabi to Fujairah. Oil is directly transferred to Fujairah’s developed port to tankers therefore there is no need for Emirati oil to pass through the Hormuz Strait.”

The Habshan-Fujairah pipeline was inaugurated in 2012. Its 370 kilometers in length and its cost was estimated at $4.2 billion. It has the capacity to transfer 1.5 million barrels a day and there are efforts to increase its capacity to 1.8 barrels a day.


Last Thursday the Iranian Fars news agency quoted Iranian commander of the missing in action search committee of Iran’s Armed Forces Baqer Zadeh as saying: “The Hormuz Strait and the Gulf are a strategic area and Iran completely extends its control over this area,” adding that it’s necessary for the situation to remain as such.

Related:

#Iran inaugurates bunkering facility in Strait of Hormuz. (Paywall) https://t.co/hD3wHChDRP

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) January 26, 2017

IRGC Presents Its New 'Suicide Drone' ....with the speed of a WWI Fighter plane.

IRGC Presents Its New 'Suicide Drone' ....with the speed of a WWI Fighter plane. (Memri).

On October 26, 2016, the Iranian news agency Tasnim reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy had revealed its "first suicide drone." The IRGC-affiliated news agency stated that while the drone cannot carry missiles, it can be packed with explosives for suicide-type missions, that it is equipped with advanced cameras that can also be used at night, and that its range is 1,000 kilometers and its top velocity is 250 kilometers per hour. According to Tasnim, this is the second Iranian-made vessel that can be used for suicide missions; the first was an IRGC navy speedboat.

One of its important attributes is its ability to fly as low as half a meter above the surface of the water, or as high as 3,000 feet.

"This drone cannot carry missiles, but with regard to the military aspect, it can carry a large quantity of explosives and operate in a suicide capacity – meaning that it can approach a target, flying close to the surface of the water at high velocity, and crash into the vessel or into the land-based command center.

"In addition to the 'Ya Mahdi' speedboats, which are capable of suicide missions, this is the second IRGC navy's product with suicide capabilities."

Hmmm.....World War One fighter & Bomber Speed.

No Role for 'State sponsors of terrorism' Saudi Arabia and Qatar in Syria Peace Talks: IRGC Spokesman.

No Role for 'State sponsors of terrorism' Saudi Arabia and Qatar in Syria Peace Talks: IRGC Spokesman. (IFP).

In an interview with Tasnim, Head of the IRGC Public Relations Department General Ramezan Sharif said the Syrian nation will definitely disapprove of presence of Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the process of peace talks.

Saudi and Qatari regimes have been spearheading logistical, financial and media supports for the terrorist groups that have been wreaking havoc on Syria for six years, he added.

But on Turkey, the general said Ankara can begin to play a positive role by reviewing its previous policies and respecting Syria’s legitimate government, pointing to Turkey’s recent coordination with Iran and Russia in the Syria peace efforts.

He also underlined that the main purpose of the axis of resistance, including the IRGC, is to maintain Syria’s territorial integrity and national unity.

The spokesman finally noted that the IRGC’s ultimate goal is “liberating the holy city of al-Quds” in Palestine, saying the whole tactics and efforts are aimed at countering Israel.

Video - Hidden camera experiment in the Shiite holy city Karbala. A Christian man asks another about a church.

Watch to find out.
Absolutely amazing Hidden camera experiment in the Shia holy city #Karbala. A Christian man asks another way to a church. pic.twitter.com/6mPPpnFpnt

— Iraqi Day 🇮🇶 (@iraqi_day) December 30, 2016

Hidden camera experiment in the Shia holy city #Karbala. Part 2 pic.twitter.com/tQIZrwP88b

— Iraqi Day 🇮🇶 (@iraqi_day) December 30, 2016

I leave it up to the reader to decide if these 'experiments' are staged or not?