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☆ Middle East Crisis Israeli Military Says Hezbollah’s Strikes Risk ‘Wider Escalation’
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Mike Ives | Randy Pennell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

The change did not mean a cessation of fighting in the southern Gaza Strip, that statement said, adding that the campaign in the southernmost city of Rafah was continuing. The whipsaw statements appeared to reflect the competing pressures facing Mr. Netanyahu, as he juggles demands from the Biden administration and elsewhere around the globe with those of his own hawkish government. But Mr. Netanyahu insinuated that he did not learn of the plans until Sunday morning. Image Children waiting for food in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Saturday. Credit... Haitham Imad/EPA, via Shutterstock“It’s classic Bibi,” said Amos Harel, the military affairs analyst for the left-leaning Haaretz newspaper, referring to Mr. Netanyahu by his nickname.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Biden, —, Khan Younis, Haitham Imad, Bibi, ”, Amos Harel, ” Mr, Harel, Shani Sasson, Ms, Sasson, “, Eid, Omar Al, Yoav Gallant, Gadi, Benny Gantz, Mr, Eisenkot, Netanyahu’s, Itamar Ben, Gvir, Ben, Waseem Mahmoud, Amir Levy, Bezalel Smotrich, Gabby Sobelman Organizations: Military, ., “, Mr, Cogat, United Nations Security Council, Agence France, International Criminal, Israel’s, Hamas Locations: Gaza, Rafah, Khan, Israel, Gaza City, The Hague, Egypt, Beit Jann

☆ Israeli Daytime Pause in Combat Appears to Take Hold in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Shashank Bengali | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

The change did not mean a cessation of fighting in the southern Gaza Strip, that statement said, adding that the campaign in the southernmost city of Rafah was continuing. The whipsaw statements appeared to reflect the competing pressures facing Mr. Netanyahu, as he juggles demands from the Biden administration and elsewhere around the globe with those of his own hawkish government. But Mr. Netanyahu insinuated that he did not learn of the plans until Sunday morning. Image Children waiting for food in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Saturday. At least 10 Israeli soldiers were killed in combat this weekend and an 11th died of wounds sustained days earlier.

☆ Iran's upcoming snap elections: A battle of anti-western hardliners
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Iranian Leader Press Office | Anadolu | Getty ImagesIran is holding snap elections on June 28 following the sudden death of former Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash. The election will take place against the backdrop of a battered Iranian economy, widespread popular discontent and crackdowns on dissent. He described Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei⁠ as the country's "only 'voter' of significance." Iran's Presidency | WANA | Via ReutersBut with Sunday's announcement of the approved candidates, "those hopes were largely dashed," he said. It comes after turnout for Iran's parliamentary election in March was also the lowest for a legislative contest in the Islamic Republic's history at 41%.

Persons: Ali Khamenei, Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein Amir, Ibrahim Raisi, crackdowns, Behnam ben Taleblu, Ayatollah Khamenei⁠, ben Taleblu, Nader Itayim, it's, Raisi, Khamenei, Mahsa Amini, Sanam Vakil, Itayim, ATTA KENARE Organizations: Iran's, Tehran University, Iranian, Press, Anadolu, Getty, U.S, Guardian Council, Council, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, CNBC, Western, Argus Media, Reuters, Union for Secular Republic, Human Rights, Chatham House, Islamic Locations: Tehran, Iran, Israel, Mideast, Iran's, Islamic Republic, Kurdish Iranian, East, North Africa

☆ Israel announces ‘pause’ along southern Gaza route to allow in aid but no let up in Rafah offensive
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-16 | by ( Abeer Salman | Kathleen Magramo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Jerusalem CNN —The Israeli military has announced a “tactical pause” of military activity along a route in southern Gaza to allow aid to be distributed but stressed that there would be no let up in fighting in and around Rafah in southern Gaza. A bottleneck of aid has built up at Kerem Shalom amid airstrikes and fighting in much of southern Gaza. It will be run in coordination with international organizations, it said, as part of efforts to increase volumes of aid reaching Gaza. Egyptian trucks carrying humanitarian aid make their way to the Gaza Strip at the Kerem Shalom crossing on May 30, 2024. Those are Kerem Shalom on Gaza’s southern border and Western Erez in the north.

Persons: Salah, Kerem Shalom, Al Bayuk, Khan Younis, ”, “, Amir Cohen, Kerem, Western Erez Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, IDF, European Hospital, Israel Defense Forces, Ministry of Health, Logistics, Shore Locations: Jerusalem, Gaza, Rafah, Kerem, Khan, Israel, Palestinian, Gaza’s, Western, Ashdod

☆ Opinion: The fanatical Hamas leader who calls the shots
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —In February, the Israeli Defense Forces released a grainy video showing the back of a man they identified as Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’ leader in Gaza. Since the video didn’t show Sinwar’s face, there was no independent confirmation that the shadowy figure was indeed the Hamas leader. Former Israeli dentist Yuval Bitton, who treated Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in an Israeli prison, speaks during an interview in his house in Kibbutz Shoval, Israel, February 5, 2024. While he was in prison, Sinwar admitted that he had killed several Palestinians who he believed were collaborating with the Israelis. While he was in prison, Sinwar became the leader of his fellow Hamas inmates, according to The Washington Post.

Persons: Peter Bergen, ”, Osama bin Laden, CNN —, Yahya Sinwar, It’s, Sinwar, Ali Jadallah, Joe Biden, hasn’t, ” Sinwar, Yuval Bitton, Amir Cohen, Bitton, Peter Bergen Sinwar, Biden, Antony Blinken, “, Gilad Shalit Organizations: New, Arizona State University, Apple, Spotify, CNN, Israeli Defense Forces, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Hamas, Wall Street, New York Times, Reuters, Israel Hayom, The Washington Post, Sinwar, Israel, Gaza Health Ministry Locations: New America, Gaza, Israel, Gaza City, East, Kibbutz Shoval, Israeli

☆ A couple had a $100,000 budget for their destination wedding. Here's how they spent it.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Samantha Grindell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Misaki and Amir ended up coming in under budget, spending just over $80,000. "We actually felt good about it because we were kind of under budget," she said. "Obviously, you can always have a cheaper wedding; you can always have a backyard wedding. "If you don't care to have a wedding, then obviously spending $80,000 on a wedding doesn't make any sense." "Talk with your partner on where your priorities lie, whether you even want to have a wedding," she said.

Persons: Misaki, Amir, Francisco Salas Misaki

☆ Iran election: Mostly hardline candidates approved for next presidential vote
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-10 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The Iranian election committee has approved a slate of mostly hardline candidates to run in the presidential election on June 28, following the helicopter crash that killed President Ebrahim Raisi and other officials last month. Out of 80 initial candidates, only six individuals were approved in a vetting process by Iran’s Guardian Council, a powerful 12-member body charged with overseeing elections and legislation. The slate includes hardline parliament speaker and former Revolutionary Guards commander Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Saeed Jalili, ex-chief nuclear negotiator and former head of the Supreme National Security Council, Iran’s top security body. Competition is expected to be fierce between Qalibaf and Jalili, both of whom backed Raisi in the 2021 presidential election. The Guardian Council has, however, also approved Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist lawmaker who served as parliament deputy speaker from 2016 to 2020.

Persons: Ebrahim Raisi, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Saeed Jalili, ”, Sina Toossi, Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, Alireza Zakani, Mostafa Pour Mohammad, Masoud, Pezeshkian, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Ali Larijani, growingly restive Organizations: CNN, Iran’s Guardian Council, Revolutionary, Supreme National Security Council, Center for International, Guardian Council Locations: Iranian, Iran

☆ How ‘The Outsiders’ Staged a Broadway Fight Club
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-10 | by ( Alexis Soloski | Amir Hamja | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The rumble had to feel as impactful as a punch to the throat, without any underscoring. In “The Outsiders,” music expresses what can’t be uttered. So the only sounds are the train, the rain and the sonically enhanced punches. Cody Spencer, the sound designer, set speakers around the theater. “We really want to make it feel like you are part of this rumble,” Spencer said.

Persons: Cody Spencer, ” Spencer

☆ T20 World Cup: Pakistan suffer thrilling six-run defeat to rivals India to leave hopes in jeopardy
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-10 | by ( Megan Wellens | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 09: Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj of India celebrates following the team's victory in the ICC Men's T20 Cricket World Cup West Indies & USA 2024 match between India and Pakistan at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on June 09, 2024 in New York, New York. (Photo by Alex Davidson-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)India dealt a cruel blow to rivals Pakistan's T20 World Cup hopes with a thrilling six-run victory in New York. However, the Pakistan batting attack fell apart under the pressure and from 72-2 were reduced to 88-5 themselves, unable to find big boundaries in the final overs to seal a big win. In Group A, India now sit top of the table, with USA in second. Pakistan are now in fourth and are yet to pick up a win.

Persons: Virat Kohli, Mohammed Siraj, Alex Davidson, Jasprit, Pandya, Bumrah, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Amir, Babar Azam, Suryakumar Yadav, Usman Khan Organizations: NEW, ICC, West Indies, Nassau County International Cricket, Getty Images, Pakistan, USA Locations: India, Pakistan, New York , New York, New York

☆ Israel thrust between far-right support and Gaza cease-fire, as Netanyahu rival quits war cabinet
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-10 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Amir Levy | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesIsrael's war cabinet minister Benny Gantz resigned from the emergency government, dealing a decisive blow which is expected to entrench Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu deeper into a far-right support base that opposes a cease-fire in Gaza. A former chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Forces, centrist Gantz co-founded and led the National Unity party that joined Netanyahu's emergency government after the outbreak of the Gaza war. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Cabinet minister Benny Gantz during a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv , Israel , 28 October 2023. And the prime minister himself. Around 1,200 people were killed in Israel, Israeli official figures say, since the start of the Gaza conflict.

Persons: Benny Gantz, Amir Levy, Benjamin Netanyahu, Gantz, Netanyahu, Regrettably, Yoav, Gallant, entreat Gantz, Yair Lapid, Gadi Eisenkot, Lapid, Eran Etzion, Etzion, Jack Guez, Nimrod Goren, Goren, Itamar Ben Organizations: Getty, entrench, Israeli Defense Forces, National Unity, Gaza, Palestinian, Hamas, Reuters, Defense, Criminal, Gaza's Ministry of Health, Israel's National Security Council, CNBC, Ultra, Sheba Tel, HaShomer Medical Centre, Afp, Middle East Institute, U.S, Jewish Power Party Locations: Gaza, Tel Aviv, Israel, Rafah, Sheba, Ramat Gan, of Israel

But the way homes are built in the United States makes speed impossible. Years ago, Rupnik’s Croatian grandmother, an architect herself, pointed him to an intriguing answer to this conundrum: modular housing projects built in Europe in the 1950s and ’60s. Sure, prefab complexes, and especially Soviet bloc housing, could be ugly and too homogenous, but the process created millions of housing units in a flash. Hooked, Rupnik started researching modular housing for his doctoral dissertation. Unable to find much more information, Rupnik turned to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which created the program.

Persons: Ivan Rupnik, Rupnik, George Romney, Nixon Organizations: Harvard Graduate School of Design, Department of Housing, Urban, HUD, Republican Locations: United States, Croatian, Europe

☆ Why Israel-Hezbollah tensions risk boiling over now
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

In Lebanon, Hezbollah is officially considered a “resistance” group tasked with confronting Israel, which Beirut classifies as an enemy state. Since then, the two sides have traded fire sporadically, but tensions boiled over in 2006 when Israel went to war in southern Lebanon after Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers. More than 1,000 Lebanese were killed in that conflict, mostly civilians, as well as 49 Israeli civilians and 121 soldiers. The military capability of the Lebanese group has grown since 2006, when it relied largely on inaccurate Soviet-era Katyusha rockets. Hezbollah has fired 35 kilometers into Israel, while Israel has targeted areas of Lebanon more than 120 kilometers north.

Persons: CNN —, Israel, Rina Castelnuovo, Hassan Nasrallah, Heiko Wimmen, ”, Ramot Naftali, Peter Lerner, ” Amal Saad, ” Saad, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Ronni, Netanyahu, Bezalel Smotrich, Benjamin Netanyahu, Amir Cohen, ” Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s, Al, ” Qassem, Jack Guez, Itamar Ben Gvir, Yair Lapid, ” Lapid, Matthew Miller, Biden, “, ” Shaked, Iran – Organizations: CNN, Hezbollah, Lebanese, Crisis, Wednesday, Israel Defense Forces, Cardiff University, Truman Institute, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Yad Vashem, Holocaust, Reuters, Crisis Group, Getty, Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, National, State Department Locations: CNN — Israel, Lebanese Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Beirut, Palestinian, Gaza, Iraq, Syria, Brussels, Israeli, Cross, Jerusalem, Kiryat Shmona, Lebanese, Al Jazeera, AFP, United States, Iran

☆ USA upsets Pakistan in T20 Cricket World Cup with stunning super over win
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Joseph Bentley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

In one of the biggest shocks in cricket history, the USA defeated Pakistan in the T20 Cricket World Cup in Dallas, Texas. AdvertisementThe U.S. now stand a strong chance of qualifying for the Super 8 round (another round-robin stage before the semi-finals). The scores were level after 20 overs, meaning the game was decided by a super over — a single-over shootout where the highest-scoring team are victorious. Needing 19 to win, Pakistan laboured to just 13, with Saurabh Netravalkar bowling well in a pressured situation for the USA. This defeat leaves Pakistan struggling to qualify for the Super 8 stage, with a win against India, the best T20 team in the world, likely to be needed for them to progress.

Persons: Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, Monank Patel, Andries Gous, Gous, Haris Rauf, Aaron Jones, Mohammad Amir, Jones, Saurabh, ANDREW CABALLERO, REYNOLDS Organizations: USA, Pakistan, Cricket, Pakistan wobbled, Canada, India, Ireland, Providence, Getty Locations: Dallas , Texas, Pakistan, USA, Indies, Caribbean, Uganda, Guyana

Saeed Abiyar, an adviser to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in Syria, died in the attack, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. Israel fired back, a US official told CNN, targeting a major Iranian military airbase near the city of Isfahan. Iran has deployed military advisers to Syria in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since civil war broke out there in 2011. “The era of strategic patience is over,” said Mohammad Jamshidi, deputy chief of staff to the Iranian president. Israel contested this, claiming the target was an Iranian military headquarters.

Persons: Saeed Abiyar, SANA, Israel, Bashar al, Assad, ”, Mohammad Jamshidi, Monday’s, Trita, Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein Amir, “, ” Parsi, Joe Biden, Parsi Organizations: CNN, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Israel, Israel Defense Forces, Islamic, Washington DC, Quincy Institute, Foreign Locations: Syrian, Aleppo, Israel, Iran, Syria, Damascus, Lebanon, Isfahan, Gaza, Washington, Iranian, Tehran

☆ Netanyahu may be forced to choose between his government’s survival and a ceasefire deal – unless Hamas rescues him
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( Jeremy Diamond | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Jerusalem CNN —Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may soon be forced to choose: Agree to a ceasefire deal with Hamas or keep his government in power. “I think that Bibi is cornered now,” said Aviv Bushinsky, a former adviser to Netanyahu, using the prime minister’s nickname. While Biden squarely framed the proposal as a way to end the war, Netanyahu is insisting Israel will not end the war until and unless Hamas is eliminated. His efforts to convince the far-right ministers in order to avoid choosing between a ceasefire deal and the survival of his government have so far fallen flat. Netanyahu is confronting the choice between his government’s survival and a hostage deal at a time when his political fortunes have begun to improve.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Hamas’s, ”, Joe Biden, – Netanyahu, Bibi, Aviv, Biden, Israel, Itamar Ben Gvir, Ben Gvir, Bezalel Smotrich don’t, Yair Lapid, Benny Gantz, Amir Levy, ” Biden, I’ve, Yahya Sinwar Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, Israeli, Hamas, National, Unity, Likud, Israel’s, Monday Locations: Jerusalem, Israel, Tel Aviv, Gaza

☆ What seven more months of war would mean for Palestinians, Israelis and the world
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-01 | by ( Abbas Al Lawati | Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —Israel has warned that its war in Gaza could extend until the end of the year. Prolonging the war could have catastrophic consequences for Palestinians in the already ravaged territory and significant repercussions for Israel and beyond, experts said. “And currently Hamas doesn’t seem to be ready to release them.”Impact on Israel’s economyThe war hit Israel’s economy hard in the immediate aftermath of October 7. As of January, the Israeli military was spending $272 million per day on the war, according to the Israeli news site Ynet. Despite these efforts, the war persists, civilian casualties rise and famine spreads in Gaza, intensifying pressure from some of his electorate.

Persons: CNN — Israel, Tzachi Hanegbi, ”, Joe Biden, “, Assaf Orion, Juliette Touma, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Yohanan Plesner, Plesner, Israel, Malcolm Shaw, Yaron Wax, Johanna Geron, INSS, Amir Levy, Orion, Daniel Hagari, ” Plesner, Biden Organizations: CNN, National, Institute for National Security Studies, Israel Defense Forces, London School of Hygiene, Tropical Medicine, Johns Hopkins Center, Humanitarian Health, Israel, United Nations, UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, Israeli, Israel Democracy Institute, International Criminal Court, International Court of Justice, United, P Global, Moody’s, Service, Troops, American, West Bank Locations: Gaza, Israel, Tel Aviv, Rafah, Europe, Palestinian, British, The Hague, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Egypt, United Arab Emirates

☆ If you use any of these 5 phrases you are more emotionally secure in your relationships than most
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( Aditi Shrikant | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Popularized by the book "Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find — and Keep — Love," attachment style refers to the psychological explanation for how we bond with other humans. Anxious people are often preoccupied with their relationships and tend to worry about their partner's ability to love them back. people are often preoccupied with their relationships and tend to worry about their partner's ability to love them back. About 40% of people in the U.S. report having a secure attachment style, according to a 2023 poll of 1,000 American adults. If you use these five phrases, you are probably more secure in your relationships than most.

Persons: Amir Levine, Rachel Heller, Judy Ho Organizations: Pepperdine University, CNBC Locations: U.S

☆ MacKenzie Scott upended philanthropy as we know it. Melinda French Gates is catching on
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

And it’s a style that Melinda French Gates appears to be emulating, at least partly, in her newly solo philanthropic venture. Now independent of that organization, French Gates is free to take bets on organizations and communities regardless of their size or ability to demonstrate their impact. Scott and French Gates’ ex husbands, meanwhile, aren’t getting as many kudos for their charitable work as they might like. Gates, with a net worth of $154 billion, has also faced criticism for the Gates Foundation’s methods. “That can’t happen through the Gates Foundation’s father-knows-best, look-at-me brand of bureaucratic philanthropy.”

Persons: CNN Business ’, New York CNN —, Ivana Trump, Don’t, MacKenzie Scott, Jeff Bezos, Melinda French Gates, Gates, Bill Gates, “ I’m, Scott, it’s, ” Amir Pasic, Indiana University Lilly, ” That’s, ” Pasic, —, Gates ’, aren’t, Bezos, hadn’t, Tim Schwab, ” Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN, Club, New York Times, Indiana University, Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Women’s, Gates, CNN, Bloomberg Locations: New York, Maui, Bezos, Gates, Nation

☆ Iran Prepares to Bury President Raisi
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Cassandra Vinograd | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Iran’s president will be laid to rest in his hometown on Thursday, capping days of funeral observances after his death in a helicopter crash left the country without one of its highest-profile leaders. The deceased president, Ebrahim Raisi, will be buried at the Imam Reza shrine in the northeastern city of Mashhad, one of the holiest sites of Shiite Islam. Before that, his body was flown from Tehran, the capital, to the eastern city of Birjand for a funeral procession. Ayatollah Khamenei led funeral prayers on Wednesday for Mr. Raisi and the other victims of the crash before the coffins were driven through the packed streets of Tehran in a large-scale procession. Several had private sit-downs with the supreme leader, who that night visited Mr. Raisi’s family at their home, according to the state news media.

Persons: Ebrahim Raisi, Reza, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Raisi, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Ayatollah Khamenei, —, Raisi’s Organizations: Mr Locations: Mashhad, Islam, Tehran, Birjand, Iranian, Jolfa, Iran

☆ Live updates: Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Iran President Raisi funeral, ICC arrest warrant request
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Kathleen Magramo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

A rescue team works following the crash of a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, in Varzaqan, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran, on May 20. West Asia News Agency/ReutersThe chief of staff for the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has revealed new details about the hours after the presidential helicopter went missing. "However, the president's helicopter, which was flying between the two others, suddenly disappeared," Esmaili added, as cited by Mher news. The pilot circled around to search for the president's helicopter, he said. "Pilots of the two other helicopters had contacted Captain Mostafavi, who was in charge of the president's helicopter," he said.

Persons: Ebrahim Raisi, Gholam Hossein Esmaili, Esmaili, Raisi's, Esmail, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Mostafavi, Mohammad Ali Alehashem, Alehashem Organizations: West Asia News Agency, Reuters, Iran's, Mehr, Mehr News, Iranian, Pilots Locations: Varzaqan, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran, Azerbaijan, Varzeghan —, Abdollahian

☆ Iran’s Use of Proxy Warfare Likely to Persist, Experts Say
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Alissa J. Rubin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Those groups — Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, multiple militias in Iraq and Hamas in the Palestinian territories — are central to Iran’s ability to wield influence far beyond its borders despite being under strict economic sanctions for decades. Iran works with these groups through the Quds Force, a division of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. answers directly to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, not to the government run by the president. On Tuesday morning, Iran-linked groups in Iraq announced that they had launched a strike at a base in Israel. It was as if Iran’s allies were signaling that it was business as usual by making the kinds of attacks that have become commonplace in recent months.

Persons: Ali Khamenei, Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, ”, Parsi Organizations: Quds Force, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iraq, Quincy Institute, Responsible Locations: Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Lebanese, Israel

☆ New York’s Palace Theater Gets an $80 Million Refresh (and 30 Feet Higher)
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Michael Paulson | Amir Hamja | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The Palace already has its initial bookings. In October, performances will begin for “Tammy Faye,” a musical about the televangelist, with songs by Elton John and Jake Shears. But first, on May 28, Ben Platt kicks off an 18-performance concert residency to promote his new album. “People are going to be coming in wanting to take in the theater, and we want to give them space and a moment to take in where they are,” Platt said. “You can feel the positive ghostliness of everything that’s come before.”

Persons: Tammy Faye, ”, Elton John, Jake Shears, Ben Platt, ” Platt, that’s

☆ Iran’s Supreme Leader Leads Funeral Prayers for President
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Cassandra Vinograd | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, performed funeral prayers on Wednesday for the country’s president who was killed in a helicopter crash, as thousands of Iranians packed the streets of Tehran on an official day of mourning. The president, Ebrahim Raisi, 63, was killed along with Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, 60, and five others traveling with them on Sunday. Funeral observances began on Tuesday with a procession in Tabriz, the closest big city to the crash site in northwestern Iran. Iran’s security forces implemented tight restrictions on vehicle movement and parking in the area where funeral processions would begin, the Tehran police chief, Col. Abdolfazl Mousavipour, told state television overnight. State television also reported that public transportation would be free on Wednesday — declared a national holiday — to enable people to attend the funeral.

Persons: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Raisi, Abdolfazl Mousavipour, — Organizations: Tehran police, University of Tehran Locations: Tehran, Tabriz, Iran, Qom

☆ Iran Begins Funeral Events for President Raisi
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Cassandra Vinograd | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Funeral events for Iran’s president and foreign minister began in northwestern Iran on Tuesday as investigators looked into the helicopter crash that killed them and the country grappled with the shock of losing two of its most prominent leaders at a volatile moment. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has announced five days of mourning for the president, Ebrahim Raisi, 63, and the foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, 60, who died when their helicopter plunged into a mountainous area near the Iranian city of Jolfa on Sunday. The state news media said the crash had resulted from a “technical failure.” Iran’s Armed Forces said it had begun an investigation and sent a team to the site. Some people held photographs of Mr. Raisi; the semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported that the country’s interior minister and acting president had been spotted in the crowd. He had been widely viewed as a potential successor to Ayatollah Khamenei, 85.

Persons: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Raisi, Amir Abdollahian, Ayatollah Khamenei Organizations: Iran’s, Forces Locations: Iran, Iranian, Jolfa, Tabriz

☆ Raisi helicopter crash: Some in Iran claim US sanctions to blame but the truth may be more complicated
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Nic Robertson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Even before Iran’s army chief Mohammad Bagheri ordered an investigation into the helicopter crash that cost the Islamic Republic the lives of two of its top politicians, blame was being laid at America’s door. People mourn the death of President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a helicopter crash the previous day, at Valiasr Square, on May 20, 2024 in Tehran, Iran. The next question might be, knowing the weather was bad and having three helicopters on the journey, why put both president and foreign minister in the same aircraft? Former Foreign Minister Zarif would want the world to believe Iran’s technological core has been hollowed out by US sanctions, but that allegation too is tainted by hubris. Iran’s presidents are not idle, they need to go places.

Persons: Mohammad Bagheri, Ebrahim Raisi, Javad Zarif acidly, Abdulkadir Uraloglu, Raisi –, Hossein Amir, Abdollahian, Malek Rahmati, Mohammed Ali Alehashem –, Ilham Aliyav, Majid Saeedi, Yemen’s Houthis, AKINCI, Ali Khamenei, –, Russia –, Zarif, Raisi Organizations: CNN, Islamic, Bell, Turkish Transport, Revolutionary Guard Corps, Former Locations: Islamic Republic, America’s, United States, Iran, Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Tabriz, Tehran, Turkish, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey

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