Iran

Iran Announces Building 'Defensive' Tunnel in Tehran

Iran is building what it calls its first "defensive" tunnel within the capital Tehran's metro network, state media reported on Tuesday, but without elaborating on what the defense measures are. "For the first time in the country, a tunnel with defensive functionalities is being built in Tehran," Jafar Tashakori, who heads the city council ...

Netanyahu Addresses Iranian People, Threatens Khamenei Regime

In an English language video directed at the Iranian people, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Tuesday that a third Iranian attack on Israel "would simply cripple Iran's economy." “It would rob you of many more billions of dollars,” he said, after claiming that the ballistic missile attack directed at Israel in October cost Tehran ...

IAEA Chief Warns That Flexibility With Iran Is 'Shrinking'

The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog warned on Tuesday that “the margins for manoeuvre are beginning to shrink” on Iran's nuclear program ahead of an important trip to Tehran. “The Iranian administration must understand that the international situation is becoming increasingly tense and that the margins to manoeuvre are beginning ...

Iran, Russia Link Bank Card Systems in Latest Move to Overcome Sanctions

Iranian bank cards can now be used in Russia, state television reported, as the two countries linked their banking systems in the latest bid to counteract sanctions. Iranian banks have been excluded since 2018 from the SWIFT international financial messaging service, which governs the vast majority of transactions worldwide. The move is part of ...

American Forces Strike Iran-Backed Targets in Syria: US Military

American forces carried out strikes Monday against nine targets associated with Iranian-backed groups in Syria in response to attacks on Washington's troops in that country, the US military said. "These strikes will degrade the Iranian-backed groups' ability to plan and launch future attacks on US and coalition forces," the US Central Command ...

Israeli Ministers Send Mixed Signals over a Lebanon Ceasefire

Israeli leaders sent mixed signals on the possibility of a ceasefire with Lebanon on Monday, with Defense Minister Israel Katz seeming to contradict comments by Foreign Minister Gideon Saar. Saar, who replaced Katz at the foreign ministry this week, told journalists there had been progress towards a ceasefire in Lebanon, where war has raged for ...

Iran to Ration Electricity Amid Fuel Shortages

Iran is to impose electricity rationing in Tehran and other provinces from Monday because of a shortage of fuel in power stations, the official IRNA news agency said on Sunday. The agency said different areas of the capital will experience two-hour power cuts on a rotating basis between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm (0530 GMT to 1330 GMT). It said similar ...

The Inevitable Defeat of the Iranian Islamist Dystopia

The undue prolongation of war in Lebanon and Gaza and its cohort of tragedies should be traced to the cynical calculations of the Iranian regime using the Near Eastern operational terrains as its remote defense lines. The war scheme is no hazard; it’s initially meant to protect Iranian strategic security, consolidate its dominions, destabilize ...

Saudi Army Chief in Iran on Rare Visit

Saudi Arabia's top military official arrived in Tehran on Sunday for talks with Iranian officials, state media reported, in a rare high-level meeting since the countries restored ties last year. Fayyad al-Ruwaili, chief of staff of the Saudi armed forces, met his Iranian counterpart "General Mohammad Bagheri at the Iranian Armed Forces General ...

Netanyahu Says Spoke Again with Trump About Iran 'Threat'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Sunday he had spoken three times with US president-elect Donald Trump over the past few days about the "Iranian threat" to Israeli security. "In the last few days, I have spoken three times with President-elect Donald Trump... Talks were designed to further tighten the strong alliance ...

UN Nuclear Watchdog Chief to Visit Iran

The United Nations' atomic watchdog chief, Rafael Grossi, will visit Iran in days for talks with senior officials, Iranian state media reported on Sunday. “The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency will arrive in Iran on Wednesday at the official invitation of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the official IRNA news agency ...