WASHINGTON—Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif suggested during an interview with CNN a way on Monday to overcome the impasse over who goes first in returning to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, saying a top EU official could “synchronize” or “choreograph” the moves. “There can be a mechanism to basically either synchronize it or coordinate […]

Commentary In the new year, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has taken several actions to openly provoke conflict—in an attempt to pressure the incoming Biden administration. North Korean regime leader Kim Jong Un recently threatened that the country would expand its nuclear arsenal, citing the United States’ “hostile” policies. He also disclosed a list of […]

B-52H Stratofortress bombers flew over the Middle East on Sunday in the midst of tensions with Iran, according to U.S. officials. U.S. Central Command wrote that B-52H crews have conducted their “second Middle East presence patrol of 2021 as key part of CENTCOM’s defensive posture.” The agency, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, […]

Vice President Mike Pence said on Sunday that he is proud the Trump administration didn’t get America into a new war. “I’m proud to report with just a few days left in our Administration, our Administration is the first in decades that did not get America into a new war,” Pence stated on Twitter. “That’s […]

Commemorations continue today for the victims of a passenger jet shot down by the Iranian military one year ago today. They began Thursday with a livestream at 9:42 p.m. ET, the exact moment Flight PS752 took off from the airport near the capital of Tehran. Voices of loved ones speaking Farsi—some wishing to talk to […]

Commemorations continue today for the victims of a passenger jet shot down by the Iranian military one year ago today. They began Thursday with a livestream at 9:42 p.m. ET, the exact moment Flight PS752 took off from the airport near the capital of Tehran. Voices of loved ones speaking Farsi—some wishing to talk to […]

OTTAWA—Canada’s special adviser on the Iranian military’s downing of a passenger jet one year ago this week is rejecting Tehran’s offer to pay $150,000 to the families of those killed in the tragedy. Ralph Goodale, the former Liberal public safety minister, says Iran doesn’t have the right to offer compensation to victims’ families unilaterally. Goodale […]

Iran declared on Monday that it began enriching uranium up to 20 percent at its Fordo facility and seized a South Korean-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, amid escalating tensions in the Middle East around the anniversary of the killing of Iran’s former top general Qassem Soleimani. Iranian spokesman Ali Rabiei said that […]

Two B-52H “Stratofortress” bombers flew a 30-hour round-trip mission from the United States to the Persian Gulf on Wednesday in what appears to be a show of military readiness aimed at Iran. The mission to the Middle East was the second of its kind this month. The long-range warplanes took off from Minot, North Dakota, on […]

Commentary Middle East scholar Walid Phares warns in his latest book, “The Choice: Trump vs. Obama in U.S. Foreign Policy,” that a Biden presidency means a return to the disastrous foreign policies of the Obama administration. Phares played a key role in formulating Donald Trump’s “America First” strategy during the 2016 campaign. His book offers a […]

The Justice Department (DOJ) on Friday confirmed the United States seized a significant amount of fuel shipments in four tankers from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to Venezuela. Approximately 1.116 million barrels of petroleum were confiscated in what was described as the “largest-ever” seizure, according to DOJ officials. “With the assistance of foreign partners, this seized […]

GENEVA—U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has criticized an independent UN human rights expert’s report insisting an American drone strike that killed a top Iranian general in January was a “watershed” event in the use of drones and amounted to a violation of international law. The report presented by Agnes Callamard to the UN-backed Human […]

TEHRAN, Iran—Iran has issued an arrest warrant and asked Interpol for help in detaining President Donald Trump and dozens of others it believes carried out the U.S. drone strike that killed a top Iranian general in Baghdad, a local prosecutor reportedly said on Monday. Interpol later said it wouldn’t consider Iran’s request, meaning Trump faces […]

The Senate advanced legislation Wednesday that is intended to curb President Donald Trump’s war powers against Iran, which will pave the way for a final vote, with several Republicans joining Democrats. The war powers resolution would require the president to remove American troops engaged in hostilities against Iran unless Congress makes a declaration of war or […]

Iran unveiled a new short-range ballistic missile on Feb. 9, adding to its arsenal of missiles—the greatest in the Middle East—which it relies on for military muscle. The Raad-500 missile was announced by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards media, as officials said that a satellite named Victory had failed to reach orbit. Iran’s latest home-grown Raad-500 missile has almost […]

Commentary While the ultimate outcome of the recent brush-up with Iran isn’t yet known, there are a few lessons to take away from it, especially regarding the public reaction to hostility and the threat of war. It seems important to get some issues on the table now. The overall situation began much earlier, but matters […]

Iraqi officials said that rockets were fired at the Taji military base north of Baghdad on Jan. 14. No casualties were reported. Katyusha rockets were fired and were “targeting the Taji training camp,” according to an afternoon statement from the Iraqi Security Media Cell, which falls under the responsibility of the Iraqi Prime Minister’s office. […]

The power dynamics in the Middle East after Qassim Soleimani’s death are likely to be redrawn between Iran, China, and Russia vis-a-vis the United States. Added to this paradigm is Iraq—sandwiched between the United States and Iran and increasingly being pushed toward China, according to geopolitical analysts who study the region. “Frankly, the Iranian government […]

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded that Iran punish those responsible for shooting down a Ukrainian plane that killed all 176 on board after the regime admitted that its armed forces shot down the jetliner. “Even before the completion of the work by the international commission, Iran has pleaded guilty to shooting down the Ukrainian plane,” Zelensky […]

The House of Representatives will vote on a bill to end the 2002 resolution that gave the Pentagon authority to wage war in Iraq, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Thursday. Pelosi said earlier in the week that the House might vote on the bill, introduced by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif), which would repeal […]

Commentary Will President Donald Trump’s attack on a top Iranian leader send oil prices skyward? The Trump administration’s sanctions on oil sales and other measures have already led Iran’s weakening economy to fall further into recession. Add to those woes relatively cheap oil prices, due in part to the United States’ ascension to global leadership in […]

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said his regime would be prepared to retaliate against the United States if they “commit another crime,” delivering the remarks during a meeting after President Donald Trump called for a de-escalation hours after Tehran fired missiles at American forces in Iraq. “No matter how much [America] threatens us, she must know […]

President Donald Trump ordered the imposition of additional sanctions on Iran on Jan. 8 in response to missile strikes a day earlier, which targeted but didn’t harm any U.S. forces in Iraq. “The United States will immediately impose additional punishing economic sanctions on the Iranian regime. These powerful sanctions will remain until Iran changes its […]

House Democrats said there’s no set schedule for a War Powers resolution vote, after a top Democrat initially said a vote would take place this week. Republican President Donald Trump authorized an airstrike that took out Iranian General Qassem Soleimani last week, a strike that was widely questioned by Democrats and prompted talk of introducing […]

Commentary There are demonstrations all over Iran for a big goodbye to Gen. Qassem Soleimani. But the bulk of the demonstrators are there, not because they wish to pay tribute to the fallen martyr, but because they have to be. They have been commanded to be present, and, in addition to their fees, they are […]

The United States has denied Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif a visa to attend an upcoming United Nations event in New York City, national security adviser Robert O’Brien confirmed on Jan. 7. “I don’t think Secretary Pompeo thought that this was the right time for Mr. Zarif to come to the United States, and whenever […]

President Donald Trump said Friday that the strike that killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani was designed to prevent a war—not start one. Less than a day after the airstrike in Baghdad, Trump told reporters in Florida that the United States “took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start […]

Russia has condemned the U.S. strike that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani while offering condolences to Iran in a move that’s sure to heighten animosity between Washington and Moscow. French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke over the phone on Friday about the situation in Iraq after the strike in Baghdad that […]

Countries heavily involved in the Middle East reacted to the United States taking out top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, including China, Russia, and Germany. Britain Foreign Minister Dominic Raab urged “all parties to de-escalate,” adding that “further conflict is in none of our interests.” Ulrike Demmer, a German government spokeswoman, said the United States was just […]

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shared footage showing Iraqis celebrating the death of Iran’s top military general, Qassim Soleimani (also known as Qassem Soleimani). Soleimani, Iran’s top general and the architect of Tehran’s proxy wars in the Middle East, was killed by a U.S. airstrike at Baghdad’s international airport early Friday morning local time, Iraqi TV and three Iraqi […]