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The Israeli military told CNN it does not comment on foreign reports. CNN cannot verify the Times’ report, nor independently verify the claims from Iran, Syria and Israel. Increasing pressureAs the Middle East braces for a potential Iranian response, Tehran is under pressure to show strength in the wake of the consulate attack while not drawing the region into a wider war. The Lebanese Shia militant group has been embroiled in daily crossfire with Israeli forces for nearly six months. However, Israeli military spokesman Hagari blamed Iran for escalating tensions in the region.

Persons: Mohammed Reza Zahedi, Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, Donald Trump, IRGC, Qassem Soleimani, ”, Israel, Daniel Hagari, “, Israel’s, Syria Hossein Akbari, Nasser Kanaani, Hossein Amir, Abdollahian, d’affaires, Amir, ” Amir, Faisal Mekdad meanwhile, Houthi, Parsi, Zahedi, Bejamin Netanyahu, Hagari, I’m Organizations: CNN, Revolutionary Guards, Foreign Ministry, Israel Defense Forces, New York Times, Hamas, Ministry of Health, Zionist, Iranian Foreign Ministry, Israel, Syrian Foreign, Diplomatic Relations, US, Quincy Institute, Responsible Locations: Iran, Israel, Syria, Gaza, Damascus, Baghdad, Tehran, Lebanese, ” Iran, United States, Quds, Iranian Embassy, Iranian, Islamic Republic, Washington, Swiss, Switzerland, Syrian, Vienna, Iraq, Jordan, Red, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Lebanon, Yemen

☆ US told Iran it had no involvement or advance knowledge of consulate strike in Syria, US official says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Arlette Saenz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Washington CNN —The United States told Iran it was not involved and had no advance knowledge of Monday’s strike on an Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, a US official said. The communication comes amid concern about the war between Israel and Hamas widening to a broader regional conflict. Iran has vowed retaliation after a strike it blamed on Israel killed two of its top commanders and five others at its consulate in Syria. “The United States had no involvement in the strike and we did not know about it ahead of time,” a National Security Council spokesperson said. The US has accused Iran of supporting proxy attacks on US and Western targets since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.

Persons: ”, Axios, Matthew Miller, Hossein Amir, Abdollahian, ” Amir Organizations: Washington CNN, United, National Security, US, State Department, Iran’s, Foreign Ministry, CNN Locations: United States, Iran, Iranian, Damascus, Syria, Israel, Swiss, Tehran, Jordan, Iraq

Iran may now be compelled to respond despite its unwillingness to enter war with Israel and the United States. And it has increased such attacks since October 7, when Iran-backed Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping 250, prompting a devastating Israeli war in Gaza. “That would mean that the Israeli attack on Iran has put a target on the backs of American troops in the Middle East,” he said. Washington has, however, tried to distance itself from Monday’s Israeli attack. Attack Israeli interests abroadAfter past attacks on Iran, Israel has often anticipated Iranian retaliation on its interests in foreign countries, and beefed up security at its embassies.

Persons: Donald Trump, Qassem, Israel hasn’t, ”, Daniel Hagari, Hossein Amir, Abdollahian, ” Amir, Israel, CNN’s Paula Newton, Parsi, Biden, Israel Iran’s, Houthis, Sanam Vakil, Jalal Rashidi, Vakil, Omar Sanadiki, ” Vali Nasr, “, Farzan Organizations: CNN, Seven, Revolutionary Guards, Israel Defense Forces, Iran’s, Quincy Institute, Responsible, Islamic, US National Security, Israel, Hezbollah, Chatham House, State Department, Chatham, ” stoke, UN, Global Governance Locations: Iranian, Damascus, Baghdad, Iran, Israel, United States, Syria, Gaza, Quds, Swiss, Tehran, Washington ,, Iraq, Jordan, Washington, Islamic Republic, Lebanon, Iraqi, East, North Africa, London, Argentina, India, Georgia, Thailand, Jalal Rashidi Kochi, Azerbaijan, “, Chatham House, ”, Switzerland

☆ Global oil price hits seven-month high as Middle East tensions rise
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —The global price of oil rose Tuesday to its highest level in seven months, propelled, in part, by concerns that mounting tensions in the Middle East could crimp supply. Brent crude, the world’s oil benchmark, climbed as much as 1.8% to $89 a barrel, the highest since early September, before paring those gains slightly mid-afternoon in Europe. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude, the US benchmark, also rose 1.8% to reach a five-month high of $85 a barrel. “You’ve got ongoing Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries… Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea,” as well as a “general sense that the Middle East is less stable than it was a year ago,” he told CNN. Geopolitical tensionsWriting about higher oil prices Tuesday, Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at financial services company Hargreaves Lansdown, singled out escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East following an airstrike on Iran’s embassy in Syria Monday.

Persons: Richard Bronze, “ You’ve, ”, Sophie Lund, Yates, Hargreaves Lansdown, Israel, —, specter, Brent, Bill Weatherburn Organizations: London CNN, Brent, West, CNN, Revolutionary Guards, Organization of, Petroleum, Lund, Capital Economics Locations: Europe, West Texas, Brent, United States, Red, ”, Syria Monday, Iran, Syria, Israel, Tehran, Quds, OPEC, Iran’s, Damascus, Gaza, China

☆ Pouria Zeraati: ‘Brutal stabbing’ of exiled Iranian journalist prompts counterterrorism investigation
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Joshua Berlinger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A prominent exiled Iranian journalist was stabbed outside his home in London on Friday, prompting British police to launch a counterterrorism investigation. Pouria Zeraati, a television anchor at the UK-based channel Iran International, was reportedly attacked by a group of men outside his home in south-western Wimbledon. Iran has designated the television station a “terrorist entity.” Iranian state media has repeatedly accused the channel of fomenting unrest. Zeraati’s stabbing comes after an investigation by Britain’s ITV last year revealed that Iranian spies had attempted to pay a people smuggler $200,000 to assassinate two Iran International journalists. Kearns noted on Twitter that Iran International had only recently returned to the air from London after having to shut down in the UK.

Persons: Pouria, Dominic Murphy, Britain’s, Alicia Kearns, Michelle Stanistreet, ” Stanistreet, Kearns, ”, CNN’s Mostafa Salem, Atay Alam Organizations: CNN, British, Iran, London Metropolitan Police, Britain’s ITV, Iran International, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Foreign Affairs Committee, British National Union of Journalists, BBC Persian Service, UN, Twitter Locations: Iranian, London, Wimbledon, Tehran, Iran

☆ Iran-backed Houthis attacked a Chinese ship with missiles after promising to leave them alone
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Houthis reportedly said they would avoid attacking Chinese ships off the coast of Yemen. AdvertisementThe Houthis said they would refrain from attacking Chinese ships off the coast of Yemen, but this past weekend, the Iran-backed rebels did exactly what they said they wouldn't. "The Houthis attacked the M/V Huang despite previously stating they would not attack Chinese vessels," CENTCOM said. The M/V Huang Pu is Chinese owned and operated, but it was sailing under the flag of Panama when it was attacked. "It was determined these UAVs presented an imminent threat to US, coalition, and merchant vessels in the region," CENTCOM said.

Persons: —, Huang Pu, CENTCOM, Huang, Michael Kurilla, Kurilla, Fawaz Salman Organizations: Service, US Central Command, AP, United Nations, Bloomberg, House Armed Services, REUTERS, Ambrey Locations: Yemen, Iran, Beijing, China, Russia, Chinese, Gaza, Sanaa, Gulf of Aden, Tehran, Ukraine, PRC, Aden, Red, Panama

☆ Drones have turned the tables in recent African wars
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Paul Iddon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Drones recently supplied to Sudan by Iran are already making an impact in that country's brutal civil war. Similar types of drones played decisive roles in turning the tables in two previous African civil wars in recent years and could do so again. "It should come as no surprise that these drones are being used in wars around the world," Rogers told BI. In this context, drones are useful to achieve specific objectives, but they will not win the war alone," Rogers said. RANE's Dodd also credited Ethiopia's drone procurements for decisively "turning the tide" of the Tigray War.

Persons: —, Remi Dodd, RANE, it's, Dodd, James Patton Rogers, Rogers, Turkey's TB2, Loong, Debretsion Gebremichael, RANE's Dodd Organizations: Service, Business, Sudanese Armed Forces, Rapid Support Forces, United, Ethiopian, Tigray, Libyan National Army, Cornell Brooks Tech, Institute, Cornell University, American Warfare, Anadolu, Getty, Democratic Locations: Sudan, Iran, Iranian, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Libya, Tripoli, Omdurman, Tehran, Red, Yemen, Ukraine, Tigray War, Tigray, Addis Ababa, Ukrainian, New York, Donetsk, Nigeria, DRC, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burkina Faso

☆ China, Russia and Iran put on show of force with Mideast naval drills
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Warships from China, Russia and Iran have held live-fire exercises in a key Middle Eastern waterway this week as the three partners put on a show of force in the volatile region, according to reports in state-run media. China’s navy sent a guided-missile destroyer and guided-missile frigate to the exercises, Russia dispatched the cruiser Varyag from its Pacific Fleet, and Iran contributed a range of vessels, including frigates and fast-attack boats, according to state-run media. Scheduled to run through Friday, the exercises are in their sixth incarnation since 2018, Russian state news agency TASS reported. Iran is a key supporter of both Hamas in Gaza and the Houthi rebels. Iranian munitions, including its Shahed aerial drones, have also become an important part of Russia’s arsenal in its war on Ukraine.

Persons: Amrollah Nozari, Nozari, Iran’s Organizations: CNN, Chinese Defense Ministry, Fleet, Islamic Republic News Agency, Tasnim News Agency Locations: China, Russia, Iran, Gulf of Oman, Israel, Gaza, Gulf of Aden, Yemen, Tehran, Ukraine

☆ Muslims spot Ramadan crescent moon in Saudi Arabia, meaning month of fasting starts Monday for many
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Officials saw the crescent moon Sunday night in Saudi Arabia, home to the holiest sites in Islam, marking the start of the holy fasting month of Ramadan for many of the world's 1.8 billion Muslims. Saudi state television reported that authorities there saw the crescent moon. However, there are some Asia-Pacific countries like Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, that will begin Ramadan on Tuesday after failing to see the crescent moon. In Saudi Arabia, the kingdom had been urging the public to watch the skies from Sunday night in preparation for the sighting of the crescent moon. The Palestinian territories will begin Ramadan on Monday as well.

Persons: Jordan, Saudi King Salman, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ramadan, Robabeh, it's, Prophet Muhammad, Israel, Jerusalem's Organizations: Iran's, Hamas, Islamic Locations: Musyari'in, Jakarta, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Islam, Saudi, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Asia, Pacific, Australia, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Oman, Israel, Gaza, Palestine, Mecca, Iran, Tehran, Persian, Nowruz, U.S, Jerusalem's Al, Aqsa, Sudan

“What we are in now is a production war,” a senior NATO official told CNN. “The number one issue that we’re watching right now is the munitions,” the NATO official said. There is also a limit to Russian production capacity, officials say: Russian factories will likely hit a peak sometime in the next year. “If we were talking about this last fall, we would have talked about how they were targeting critical infrastructure,” the NATO official said. “In the short term — say, the next 18 months or so — it may be unsophisticated, but it’s a durable economy,” the NATO official said.

Persons: ”, Abrams, “, — “, Joe Biden, Inna Varenytsia, it’s, Putin’s, Steven Basham, “ It’s, Maxym, Russia’s ‘, Basham Organizations: CNN, Army, NATO, ”, Reuters, Ukraine, European Command, US Army, ” Intelligence, US European Command, Pentagon Locations: Russia, Europe, Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Avdiivka, that’s, Iran, North Korea, Kreminna, Germany, Pennsylvania , Iowa, Texas, Moscow, Tehran, Bohorodychne, Donetsk, Russian

☆ Women in Iran: UN report says repression of protesters and discrimination against women amounts to ‘crimes against humanity’
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Eve Brennan | Jomana Karadsheh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Iran’s “repression of peaceful protests” and “institutional discrimination against women and girls” has led to human rights violations, some of which amount to “crimes against humanity,” according to a United Nations’ report. It cited a report by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran, a task force set up by the UN Human Rights Council to look at claims of deteriorating human rights conditions in Iran. She became the face of women calling for greater rights and freedoms curtailed since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Protests erupted across Iran again in September last year on the first anniversary of her death. AFP/Getty ImagesA CNN report in November 2022 also found that Iran’s security forces used rape to quell protests in the country.

Persons: ”, Jina Mahsa Amini, Mahsa, ” “, Mahsa Amini, Sara Hossain, Iran’s Organizations: CNN, United Nations, United Nations Office, Human Rights, Independent, UN Human Rights, UN, “, Getty, ” Locations: Islamic Republic of Iran, Iran, Tehran, AFP

☆ Xi's growing paranoia and secrecy are signs of just how badly China's economy is doing
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Under Xi Jinping's rule, China's economy has slowed after decades of growth. After decades of growth, China's economy is slowing, with a property market crisis causing consumer debt, deflation, a slowdown in spending, and an unemployment crisis. Xi walks a tightropeAs well as moves to close down scrutiny, the Party is unveiling ambitious measures to boost China's economy. But analysts say China continues to face deep economic problems. China's growth target, which is in line with last year's official growth figures, appears modest in comparison to the 10% annual growth it has experienced on average for the past few decades.

Persons: Xi, Premier Li Qiang, —, Xi Jinping, Xi doesn't, Jonathan Ward, Ward, Ali Wyne, Li, Vladimir Putin's Organizations: Premier, Analysts, Service, Communist Party, The New York Times, Hudson Institute, Chinese Communist Party, Crisis, BBC Locations: China, Beijing, Vladimir Putin's Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Moscow, Tehran

☆ Iran announces record low election turnout despite calls on voters to participate
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

It is unclear if the announced 41% turnout will sink further in the coming days, with some candidates in the parliamentary election going to a runoff. Iran’s last parliamentary election in 2020 saw a turnout of 42.57%, and its last presidential election in 2021 had a turnout of 48.8% – both were the lowest since the establishment of the Islamic Republic. Some 15,000 candidates competed last week for the 290-seat parliamentary election, and 144 ran for the 88 seats of the Assembly of Experts. Some 25 million people cast their ballots out of Iran's 61 million eligible voters. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and former Revolutionary Guards air force commander, seemed to lose some votes, coming fourth in this year’s election after his popularity peaked in the 2020 parliamentary election.

Persons: IRNA, ”, Alex Vatanka, Mahsa, Iran’s, Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein Beris, Mohammad Khatami, Azar Mansouri, “, Khatami, Khamenei, ” Vatanka, watchdogs, –, Hassan Rouhani, Atta Kenare, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Ghalibaf’s, ” Sanam Vakil, Vakil, ” Vakil Organizations: CNN, Middle East Institute, “, Saturday, Experts, Getty, Iran’s Guardian, Revolutionary Guards, North Africa, Chatham House Locations: Iran, Washington , DC, Fars, Islamic Republic, Iranian, Tehran, AFP, East, London

☆ Iran vote turnout hits historic low amid discontent
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Turnout for Iran's parliamentary election, seen as a test of the clerical establishment's legitimacy, appears to have hit an historic low of around 41%, according to unofficial reports quoted by state media on Saturday. Mohammad Khatami, Iran's first reformist president, was among critics who did not vote on Friday. State news agency IRNA said unofficial reports put turnout at more than 25 million, or about 41% of eligible voters. If the turnout figure is confirmed, it would be the lowest since Iran's Islamic revolution in 1979. Iran's turnout fell to 42.5% in 2020 parliamentary elections from about 62% in 2016.

Persons: Mohammad Khatami, Iran's, Narges Mohammadi, IRNA, Joe Biden, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ebrahim Raisi, Hassan Rouhani Organizations: Reuters, Iran's, Experts Locations: Tehran, State, United States, Israel, Ham Mihan

☆ Israel may have just torched its relationship with Russia, promising to supply Ukraine with 'early-warning systems'
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( Cameron Manley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A spokesperson for Israel's foreign ministry told Business Insider that the system was "not Iron Dome," Israel's most advanced air defense system. Using the system in Ukraine will likely mean that Israel will need to send specialist soldiers to help Ukrainians integrate it. AdvertisementPalestinian Hamas militants are seen during a military show in the Bani Suheila district on July 20, 2017 in Gaza City, Gaza. Meanwhile, Tehran has also been providing Russia with Iranian-made Shahed drones that ahve been used to bombard cities in Ukraine. "Israel will take a more aggressive stance against Russia" from now on, he believed, adding that if the Ukraine war is not over by the time Israel has dealt with its local problem.

Persons: —, Gilad Erdan, Erdan, Israel, Chris McGrath, Bashir al, Israel's, Amir Weitmann, Mikhail Bogdanov, Weitmann Organizations: Service, United Nations, Business, Israel Defense Forces, Getty, Likud Party, Islamic, Russia, Ukraine, RT Locations: Ukraine, Gaza, Israel, Russia, Ukraine's, Bani Suheila, Gaza City, Iran, Assad, Syria, Tehran, Iranian, Israel's, Moscow, Russia's

☆ Iran holds first elections since Mahsa Amini protests, with low turnout and boycott expected
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Iranian women cast their ballots at a polling station during elections to select members of parliament and a key clerical body, in Tehran on March 1, 2024. Iran holds its parliamentary elections on Friday, in the first vote for Iranians since a nationwide protest movement for women's rights rocked the country in 2022. "Transition from the despotic religious regime is a national demand and the only way for the survival of Iran, Iranians, and our humanity," Mohammadi added. "And providing the political system with overt legitimacy, after the very system has disregarded and abused people and civil rights, is just too much." Country analysts expect a nationwide turnout of between 30% and 50%, while state polling center ISPA estimated the turnout in Tehran at just 23.5% and 38.5% nationally.

Persons: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Khamenei, Mehdi, Narges Mohammadi, Mohammadi, Sanam Vakil Organizations: Islamic, Assembly, Experts, CNBC, Iranian, Chatham House Locations: Tehran, Iran, Iran's, East, North Africa

☆ ‘A show and propaganda:’ Iran braces for low-turnout election amid silenced dissent, tumbling economy
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Rosa Rahimi | Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“No, I will not vote,” a 23-year-old Iranian woman told CNN from Tehran. Authorities are nonetheless eager to bring people to the polls, trying to inspire a sense of duty and resistance among Iranians amid Israel’s war in Gaza. Pedestrians pass by a poster featuring Ayatollah Khomeini, the first Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic (right) and Ayatollah Khamenei, the current Supreme Leader (left) on February 24 in Tehran, Iran. Hossein Beris/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty ImagesOther officials have directly cited the Gaza war to rally voters ahead of the polling day. An election poster for a female parliamentary candidate apparently plays on the 'Woman-Life-Freedom' protest slogan, replacing it with 'Woman-Wisdom-Greatness' in Isfahan, Iran on February 24.

Persons: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mahsa, “, ”, Khamenei, ” Khamenei, Khomeini, Ayatollah Khamenei, Hossein Beris, Hamidreza, Alex Vatanka, Foad, ” Izadi, ISNA, Hassan Moslemi Naeini, Morteza, ” Iran’s, hardliner Ebrahim Raisi, Holly Dagres, Jamshid Jamshidi, –, Hassan Rouhani, ” Hengaw, Pedram Soltani Organizations: CNN, Experts, Authorities, Islamic, Getty, Middle East Institute, University of Tehran’s, World Studies, Center for Education, Culture, Research, Atlantic Council, University of Oxford, UN, CNN International, Iran’s Guardian, Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Army Locations: Iran, Tehran, “, Gaza, Islamic Republic, Tehran Times, Washington , DC, Israel, Isfahan, Norway, Sanandaj, Jordan

☆ Opinion: Why Iran hates America
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-24 | by ( Fareed Zakaria | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Iran, and particularly its hostile relationship with the US, is firmly at the center. The story is more complicated than that, as I lay out in my CNN special report “Why Iran Hates America,” airing Sunday at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. But suffice it to say that America’s relationship with Iran has been hostile and confrontational for more than four decades. Washington has viewed the fall of the Shah’s Iran as a deep betrayal from which it has never really recovered. As Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif pointed out to me, the Iran nuclear deal was premised not on trust but on mistrust.

Persons: Fareed Zakaria, Fareed, Read, CNNi, Yemen’s Houthis, jihadism, Majid Saeedi, Iran’s, Shah, Jimmy Carter, It’s, Ronald Reagan, George W, Bush, Barack Obama, Hassan Rouhani, Javad Zarif, premised, Donald Trump, Rouhani Organizations: CNN, Fareed’s, Sunday, US, Iranian, Washington Locations: Iran, Israel, Gaza, An Iran, Jordan, Washington, Tehran, Britain, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, —, Moscow, Roman, America, United States

☆ Iran has the largest ballistic missile arsenal in the Middle East. Now it's sending them to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Iran presents its first hypersonic ballistic missile 'Fattah' (Conqueror) in an event attended by President Ebrahim Raisi and other government officials in Tehran, Iran on June 06, 2023. Reuters reported that Iran delivered at least 400 of its short-range Fateh-110 ballistic missiles to Russia in January of this year, and that figure is likely to rise. "It was always a matter of when, not if, Iran would transfer ballistic missiles to Russia," Behnam ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told CNBC. Ballistic missiles will keep him in that fight for longer now." In 2022, U.S. Central Command estimated that Iran had over 3,000 ballistic missiles in its arsenal.

Persons: Ebrahim Raisi, Vladimir Putin, Behnam ben Taleblu, Putin Organizations: Reuters, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, CNBC, U.S . Central Command Locations: Iran, Tehran, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, U.S, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan

☆ Houthi attacks on ships are giving the rebels and Iran intel on how to hunt down and strike naval targets, war experts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Houthis have spent the past few months lobbing missiles and drones at ships off Yemen's coast. War experts say these attacks are giving Iran and the rebels, Tehran's proxies, valuable data. War experts say the rebels and Iran, their main backer, have been learning key information from the ongoing attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. US Central CommandThe Houthi rebels boast a sizable arsenal of one-way attack drones, anti-ship cruise missiles, and anti-ship ballistic missiles, the latter of which had never been used in combat until recently. Earlier this week, for example, a Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile hit a bulk carrier, forcing its crew to issue a distress call and abandon the vessel.

Persons: —, Khaled Abdullah, John Kirby, Marlin Luanda, Sabrina Singh, Kirby Organizations: Navy, Service, US Navy, Institute for, American Enterprise Institute, US Central Command, International Institute for Strategic Studies, REUTERS, National Security, Marshall, Central Command, Pentagon Locations: Iran, Yemen, Gulf of Aden, resupplied, Tehran, Sanaa, Bermuda, Gulf, Aden

☆ Iran flaunts a new ship-fired missile, but analysts say it's no game-changer
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Paul Iddon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

It's the first time Iran has launched a ballistic missile from a ship. The launch from the Shahid Mahdavi was, however, the first time Iran launched a ballistic missile from a ship. "The other benefit to Iran of this kind of weapon is it could attack Israel from axes that are less well-protected by Israeli missile defenses." AdvertisementDeploying SRBMs instead of cruise missiles on the Shahid Mahdavi and similar vessels could also have advantages. For one, the ballistic missiles Iran test-fired on Feb. 12 appear relatively small, around the same size as a cruise missile.

Persons: —, Fateh, Shahid Mahdavi, Bryan Clark, Hossein, Shahid, Ryan Bohl, RANE, Clark, Bohl Organizations: Service, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hudson Institute, GCC, Gulf Cooperation, Iran, East Locations: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Israel, North Africa, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Tehran, Idlib, Russia

☆ U.S. Strike Killed Afghans Recruited to Fight for Iran
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Farnaz Fassihi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It was a memorial for the “martyrs” killed when the U.S. struck military bases in Syria, according to Iranian state television. A small crowd sat in rows of folding chairs, men in the front and women in the back, at the main cemetery in Tehran, the Iranian capital, earlier this month. Children milled around and a young man passed a box of sweets. To help President Bashar al-Assad of Syria beat back rebel forces and Islamic State terrorists, Iran at the time began recruiting thousands of Afghan refugees to fight, offering $500 a month, schooling for their children, and Iranian residency. The brigade is still believed to be about 20,000 strong, drawn from Afghan refugees living mostly in Iran, and it serves under the command of the Quds Force, the overseas arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Persons: ”, Bashar al, Assad Organizations: Iranians, Fatemiyoun Brigade, Islamic State, Quds Force, Guards Locations: U.S, Syria, Tehran, Iran

☆ US warships are shooting down weapons no one's ever faced in combat before, and a Navy commander says it's a 'great opportunity'
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Read previewUS Navy warships off the coast of Yemen have been battling Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles, a dangerous weapon that no military has ever faced in combat until very recently. The Marshall Islands-flagged, Bermuda-owned M/V Marlin Luanda after it was hit with an anti-ship ballistic missile in the Gulf of Aden last month. Over the past two months, US warships operating in the region have shot down a handful of anti-ship ballistic missiles — most recently in early February. Advertisement"Now that we're out here, this is what we've trained to do," he said in an interview with Business Insider. US Central Command, or CENTCOM, called attention to the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles but has not specifically identified which missiles have been used in any of the attacks.

Persons: —, Houthi, Joe Biden, Marlin Luanda, Arleigh Burke, Brian Sanchez, we've, Jake Epstein, Sanchez, They've, Dwight D, Eisenhower, Marc Miguez, he's, it's, Ike, Long, Carney, that's Organizations: Service, Navy, Business, Marshall, Central Command, Navy's Carrier Strike, International Institute for Strategic Studies, US Central Command, US Navy Experts, Rocket Force, Carrier Strike Group Locations: Yemen, China, Western, Iran, Gulf of Aden, Bermuda, Gulf, Aden, Tehran, Pacific, Washington, Beijing, Screengrab, East, Western Pacific

☆ US warship crews are learning from battles with anti-ship ballistic missiles, threats no one's ever faced in combat until now, Navy commanders say
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Read previewUS Navy warships off the coast of Yemen have been battling Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles, a dangerous weapon that no military has ever faced in combat until very recently. The Marshall Islands-flagged, Bermuda-owned M/V Marlin Luanda after it was hit with an anti-ship ballistic missile in the Gulf of Aden last month. Over the past two months, US warships operating in the region have shot down a handful of anti-ship ballistic missiles — most recently in early February. US Central Command, or CENTCOM, called attention to the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles but has not specifically identified which missiles have been used in any of the attacks. Screengrab via US NavyExperts say the Houthis' anti-ship ballistic missiles don't quite stack up against China's arsenal, which is much more sophisticated, particularly in terms of guidance technology, and is increasingly expanding.

☆ What Is Hezbollah, the Group Backing Hamas Against Israel?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +7 min

Lebanon's Hezbollah has been trading fire with Israeli forces across the frontier since its Palestinian ally Hamas in Gaza and Israel went to war on Oct. 7. The exchanges are the deadliest since a 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel. Both Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel have said they do not seek all-out war, and the conflict has largely been contained to areas near the border. Hezbollah demonstrated its military advances in 2006 during a five-week war with Israel, which erupted after it crossed into Israel, kidnapping two soldiers and killing others. The Gaza conflict has rippled across the Middle East, where Hezbollah has inspired and supported other Iranian-backed groups.

Persons: Hossein Amirabdollahian, Bashar al, Assad, WHAT'S, Benjamin Netanyahu, Washington, Lebanese Shi'ites, Rafik al, Hariri, spiralled, Hassan Nasrallah, Tom Perry, Edmund Blair, William Maclean Organizations: Israel, Iran's, Guards, Islamic, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, United, . Marine, U.S . Locations: BEIRUT, Lebanon, Lebanese, Hamas, Gaza, Israel, Israeli, Nabatieh, al, Iran, Tehran, The U.S, Syria, ISRAEL, Irag, Yemen, U.S, Jordan . Saudi Arabia, LEBANON, Saudi, Beirut, United States

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