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Mark Rutte rode off into the sunset on his bicycle last week, making a carefully choreographed exit from Dutch politics, which he has dominated as prime minister for nearly 14 years. Mr. Rutte, known as a flexible pragmatist, will bring his experience at conciliation to the 32-nation military alliance when he takes over as secretary general from Jens Stoltenberg on Oct. 1. Beyond that challenge, NATO faces a Russian government forging stronger ties with China and Iran, even as Beijing tries to dominate Asia and Tehran expands its nuclear program. Leading member states like France and Germany are dealing with the empowerment of far-right parties with clear sympathies for Moscow. And there are new demands to spend more money on the military.

Persons: Mark Rutte, Rutte, Jens Stoltenberg Organizations: NATO, Soviet Union, Ukraine, Russia’s Locations: Europe, Washington, China, Iran, Beijing, Asia, Tehran, France, Germany, Moscow, Hungary, Turkey

☆ US intel chief says Iran is attempting to stoke Gaza protests
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Katie Bo Lillis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Iran is attempting to covertly stoke protests in the United States related to the conflict in Gaza, US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said in a statement on Tuesday, posing as activists online and, in some cases, providing financial support to protesters. “I want to be clear that I know Americans who participate in protests are, in good faith, expressing their views on the conflict in Gaza — this intelligence does not indicate otherwise,” Haines said. “Americans who are being targeted by this Iranian campaign may not be aware that they are interacting with or receiving support from a foreign government,” she said. Those protests have been hugely divisive domestically, making them a ripe target for foreign actors — like Iran — interested in amplifying discord within the US. A US intelligence assessment released in December reported that Iran also tried to meddle in the 2022 midterm elections.

Persons: of National Intelligence Avril Haines, ” Haines, ”, “, —, Haines Organizations: CNN, stoke, of National Intelligence, Hamas Locations: Iran, United States, Gaza, Israel, Tehran

☆ Iran elects reformist Masoud Pezeshkian in presidential runoff vote
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-06 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

FILE PHOTO: Presidential candidate Masoud Pezeshkian shows the victory sign during a campaign event in Tehran, Iran June 23, 2024. Majid Asgaripour | Via ReutersIran elected Masoud Pezeshkian to its presidency, in an unexpected victory for the country's reformist camp amid deep social discontent, economic hardship, and regional war. Pezeshkian won 16.3 million votes, according to reports which cited the local authorities, with the election seeing a 49.8% turnout. The most moderate of the candidates, he formerly served as minister of health under Iran's last reformist president, Mohammad Khatami, from 1997 to 2005, and Khatami among other reformist politicians endorsed him. Iran's sole reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian and ultraconservative Saeed Jalili are set to go to runoffs after securing the highest number of votes in Iran's presidential election, the interior ministry said.

Persons: Masoud Pezeshkian, Majid Asgaripour, Pezeshkian, Saeed Jalili, Mohammad Khatami, Khatami, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Amirhossein Ghazizadeh, Hashemi Alireza Zakani, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, Iran's, ultraconservative Saeed Jalili, Atta Kenare, Ayatollah Khamenei, Sina Organizations: Via Reuters, Islamic Consultative Assembly, Afp, Getty, House, Revolutionary Guards, Center for International, CNBC, U.S, Supreme, Revolutionary Guard Locations: Tehran, Iran, Via, Via Reuters Iran, Washington, Israel, Iranian

☆ Israel is inching toward a wider war and a nasty fight against an enemy poised to bombard it as no other foe has
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-06 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

AdvertisementFor Israel, a larger war with Hezbollah would look very different from the full-scale conflict it's fighting against Hamas in Gaza. Before the 2006 Lebanon War, a monthlong conflict fought against Israel, Hezbollah maintained some 15,000 projectiles. REUTERS/Avi OhayonBut a larger Hezbollah war could overwhelm some of these systems, a scenario that has caused concern in Washington. During the 2006 war, Hezbollah fired somewhere between 100 and 200 rockets per day at Israel, according to estimates cited by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank. More than two dozen soldiers and civilians have already been killed in Israel, and in Lebanon, that figure has surpassed 450.

Persons: —, Ariel Schalit, Daniel Byman, MAHMOUD ZAYYAT, Avi Ohayon, Stringer, Rami Shlush, Antony Blinken Organizations: Service, Hezbollah, Tehran —, Business, United Nations, Israel, Hamas, AP, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Getty, Institute for National Security Studies, CSIS, REUTERS, Foundation for Defense, Democracies, Israel Communications, Research Center, Congressional Research Service, Institution Locations: Israel, Iran, Lebanon, Tehran, Gaza . The Lebanon, Kiryat Shmona, Gaza, Lebanese, Nabatiyeh, AFP, Israeli, Washington, Khiam, Israel's

☆ Reformist lawmaker Masoud Pezeshkian wins Iran’s presidential vote
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-05 | by ( Michael Rios | James Legge | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian has won Iran’s presidential election, Iranian state news agency Press TV reported Saturday citing the country’s election headquarters, beating his hardline rival in a pivotal vote at a time of tensions at home and abroad. The first round saw the lowest voter turnout for a presidential election since the Islamic Republic was established in 1979. The lawmaker was the only reformist candidate vying for the top elected seat in the country after dozens of other candidates were barred from running. During the 2022 protests, Pezeshkian said in an interview with Iran’s IRINN TV: “It is our fault. Other factors may be more difficult to change, particularly Iran’s foreign policy.

Persons: Masoud Pezeshkian, Pezeshkian, Saeed Jalili, Israel, Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein Amir, ”, Mohammad Khatami, Mahsa, Amini, Iran’s, Sanam Vakil, Vakil, Israel “, Israel Katz, Qasem Soleimani, “, aren’t, Javad Zarif, Zarif, Seyyed Ali Khamenei, Khamenei Organizations: CNN — Reformist, Press, Press TV, Foreign, Supreme, United Nations, North Africa, Chatham House, Israeli, Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps ’, Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps ’ Quds Force Locations: Jalili, Islamic Republic, Iran’s, Iran, Persian, East, London, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps ’ Quds

☆ Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps gets powerful ships to confront adversaries well beyond the Persian Gulf
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-04 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Read previewIn the last three years, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy has commissioned hundreds of new vessels. AdvertisementThe Shahid Hassan Bagheri is one of three new Soleimani-class missile corvettes that are the most heavily armed warships in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy's fleet. Despite being lightly armed, it has a record of harassing US vessels and civilian ships in the Persian Gulf. AdvertisementThree Soleimani-class corvettes, Shahid Soleimani, Shahid Hassan Bagheri, and Shahid Sayyad Shirazi, have been commissioned, while a fourth, Shahid Ra'is-Ali Delvari, is under construction. AdvertisementMahdavi will eventually be joined by another converted container ship, the Shahid Bagheri.

Persons: —, Shahid Hassan Bagheri, Morteza Nikoubazl, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Shahid Soleimani, Nazeri, Shahid Nazeri, SAMs, Shahid Sayyad Shirazi, Shahid Ra'is, Ali Delvari, Hassan Bagheri, Abu Mahdi al, Shahid, Alireza Tangsiri, Shahid Mahdavi, 400Y8DYPlr — Mehdi H, Shahid Roudaki, Roudaki, Mahdavi, Lewis B, Puller, Shahid Bagheri, Bagheri, Tangsiri, IRGCN, Ayatollah Khamenei, Nadimi, Saviz, Diego Garcia, Benjamin Brimelow Organizations: Service, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, Business, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy's, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, US, Quds Force, Guard, Southern Hemisphere, American, British, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Global Affairs, Fletcher School of Law, Diplomacy, Modern, Institute Locations: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Persian, Gulf of Oman, Hormuz, China, Russia, Taiwan, Norway, Yemen, Makran, Morteza, Israel, Lebanon, Hamas, Gaza, Syria, Mahdavi, West

☆ Iranians are voting in a presidential runoff. What will it mean for the world?
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-04 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Here’s what to expect on Friday’ second round of elections, and how the results could impact Iran and the world. During the first round, Pezeshkian led with 42.5% of the votes, followed by Jalili with 38.6%, according to the state news agency IRNA. In a move that shocked observers, the man who led Ghalibaf’s electoral campaign, Sami Nazari Tarkarani, also declared his support for reformist Pezeshkian, Khabar Online reported. People drive past a billboard with pictures of presidential candidates Masoud Pezeshkian and Saeed Jalili on a street in Tehran, Iran, on Monday. Presidential candidates Masoud Pezeshkian and Saeed Jalili attend an election debate at a television studio in Tehran, Iran on Tuesday.

Persons: CNN — Iran’s, Ebrahim Raisi, Masoud Pezeshkian, Saeed Jalili, Raisi, Hossein Amir, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Pezeshkian, –, Khamenei, ”, hardliner Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Jalili, ” Parsi, Sardar Mohsen Rashid, Rashid, Sami Nazari Tarkarani, Ghalibaf, Sanam Vakil, “, ” Sina Toossi, ” Pezeshkian, Toossi, Majid Asgaripour, Iran’s, ” Jalili, Israel sharpens, Israel “, Israel Katz, ” Ali Vaez, Vaez, CNN’s Becky Anderson, Saeed Jalili , Morteza Fakhri, Parsi, ” Vakil Organizations: CNN, Foreign, Guardian Council, IRNA, Quincy Institute, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Pezeshkian, Khabar, North Africa, Chatham House, Center for International Policy, Trump, Islamic, International Atomic Energy Agency, UN, Israeli, Group, Reuters Locations: Islamic Republic, Iran, tatters, Israel, United States, Tehran, Washington, Iranian, East, London, Washington ,, Gaza, Lebanon

☆ Iranians’ Demand for Their Leaders: Fix the Economy
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-04 | by ( Alissa J. Rubin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

In the working-class neighborhood of Tehran surrounding Imam Hussein Square, the side streets and alleys are lined with secondhand stores and small repair shops for refurbishing all manner of household goods. But with little to do, most shopkeepers idle in front of their stores. A 60-year-old man named Abbas and his son Asgar, 32, lounged in two of the secondhand, faux brocaded armchairs that they sell. Asked about their business, Abbas, who did not want his surname used for fear of drawing the government’s attention, looked incredulous. there are no customers, people are economically weak now, they don’t have money.”After years of crippling U.S. sanctions that generated chronic inflation, made worse by Iran’s economic mismanagement and corruption, Iranians increasingly feel trapped in a downward economic spiral.

Persons: Abbas, Asgar, ” Locations: Tehran

☆ Iranians Say Elections Bring Little Change, So Why Vote?
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-30 | by ( Alissa J. Rubin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Except for the fraying posters of Iran’s presidential candidates plastered on highway overpasses, there were few signs this weekend that the country had held a presidential election on Friday and was heading to a runoff. There were scarcely any rallies to applaud the two top vote-getters who are from opposite ends of the political spectrum and whom Iranians will decide between on July 5. Even from the government’s official numbers, it was evident that the real winner of Friday’s election was Iran’s silent majority that either left their ballot blank or cast no vote at all. Some 60 percent of eligible voters did not cast a vote or opted to cast a blank one. That was because there was no point in voting, said Bita Irani, 40, a housewife in Tehran, Iran’s capital: “We had a choice between bad and worse,” she said.

Persons: getters, Bita Irani, ” Locations: Tehran, Iran’s

☆ The Houthis are getting smarter with their Red Sea attacks, and the ships sailing these waters are paying the price
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-29 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

'A useful disguise' for the HouthisBetween December and March, Houthi attacks damaged at least 19 commercial ships, according to a June 13 report published by the Defense Intelligence Agency. US Central Command via AP, FileThe following weeks saw a decrease in the pace of successful Houthi attacks. AdvertisementYemen's Houthi group released a video showing an explosive-laden drone boat target a commercial vessel earlier this month. AdvertisementDouble taps and drone boatsBeyond the recent double-tap strikes, the Houthis' ability to learn from past attacks is visible in their drone boat operations. In this photo released by the French military, the MV Tutor sinks in the Red Sea after it was struck by a Houthi drone boat.

Persons: —, Archer Macy, Behshad, Houthis, Brian Carter, Ambrey, Carter, they're, des, they'll, Macy, they've, Alex Stark, John Kirby, Kirby, Yemen —, Dwight D, Theodore Roosevelt Carrier, Stark Organizations: Service, Business, US Navy, Defense Intelligence Agency, US military's Central Command, US, Command, AP, Military Times, American Enterprise, Houthi Media, Getty, des Armées, AP Experts, Center for Strategic, Studies ' Missile Defense, RAND Corporation, National Security, Eisenhower, Eisenhower Carrier Strike, Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group Locations: Gulf of Aden, Iran, Iranian, Yemen, Tehran, Israel, Gulf, Aden, Ukraine, Russian, Red, France, Sanaa

☆ Khamenei protégé, sole moderate neck and neck in Iran presidential race
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A citizen is seen in front of the candidates posters for the 14th presidential elections on the streets ahead of the early presidential election in Tehran, Iran on June 27, 2024. A low-key moderate and a protégé of Iran's supreme leader are neck-and-neck in the vote count in snap presidential elections marked by voter apathy over economic hardships and social restrictions. More than 14 million votes have been counted so far from Friday's vote, of which the sole moderate candidate Massoud Pezeshkian had won over 5.9 million votes and his hardline challenger former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili over 5.5 million, provisional results by the interior ministry showed. The clerical establishment sought a high turnout to offset a legitimacy crisis fuelled by public discontent over economic hardship and curbs on political and social freedom. The next president is not expected to usher in any major policy shift on Iran's nuclear programme or support for militia groups across the Middle East, since Khamenei calls all the shots on top state matters.

Persons: Massoud Pezeshkian, Saeed Jalili, Ebrahim Raisi, Ali Khamenei, Khamenei Locations: Tehran, Iran, Israel, Gaza, Hezbollah, Lebanon

☆ Iran votes for its new president amid economic strife, crackdowns and regional war
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Iranians will go to the polls against the backdrop of a battered economy, widespread popular discontent and harsh crackdowns on dissent. Iran is also dealing with high inflation, heavy Western sanctions, mounting tensions with the U.S., ramped-up Iranian nuclear enrichment and the Israel-Hamas war. On issues of foreign policy and war, the Iranian president wields some influence and is the country's public-facing messenger. But power and critical decision-making in Iran ultimately lies with the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, and unelected institutions like the Revolutionary Guards. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks with media after casting his ballot during the Iranian Parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections at the Leadership office in Tehran, Iran, on March 1, 2024.

Persons: ATTA KENARE, Ebrahim Raisi, —, Iran's, Ali Vaez, Rafat, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Saeed Jalili, Masoud Pezeshkian, Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, Alireza Zakani, Qalibaf, Jalili, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Masoud, Pezeshkian, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, Pourmohammadi, Ayatollah Khamenei, Morteza Nikoubazl Organizations: Western, U.S, Guardian Council, Council, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Supreme National Security Council, Islamic Consultative Assembly, Revolutionary, Iran's Ministry of Intelligence, House, Revolutionary Guards, Iran's, Iranian Parliamentary Locations: Tehran, AFP Iran, Iran, Israel, Iranian, Iran's, Washington

☆ Iran’s Presidential Candidates: Who Are They?
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( Eve Sampson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A cardiac surgeon, a former mayor of Tehran and a cleric implicated in the execution of political prisoners are among the six candidates approved by officials to run in Iran’s election on Friday to replace the president who died in a helicopter crash last month. The candidates have renounced Iran’s hijab enforcement. Though Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, has ultimate authority over key state matters, the president sets domestic policy and can influence foreign policy. Iran’s Guardian Council, a committee of 12 jurists and clerics, whittled an initial list of 80 presidential candidates down to six, disqualifying seven women and a former president and many other government officials. Four candidates are still in the race.

Persons: They’ve, Iran’s, Ali Khamenei Organizations: Guardian Council Locations: Tehran

☆ Iranians vote for a new president under the shadow of conflict and economic woes
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( Joseph Ataman | Frederik Pleitgen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The vote takes place amid deteriorating relations with the West, an advancing Iranian nuclear program, and an increasing risk of direct war with Israel. Iranian presidential candidate Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf’s supporters gathered on the final day of campaigning to hear him speak, in Tehran, Iran on Thursday. Some polls have shown increasing popularity for Pezeshkian, with the rest of the conservatives splitting the vote. Khamenei urged Iranians to head to the polls and vote after he cast his ballot in the election on Friday morning. Saeed Jalili, ultraconservative former nuclear negotiator and Iranian presidential candidate, holds a rally in Tehran, Iran, on June 24.

Persons: Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein Amir, Ali Khamenei, Mahsa, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf’s, Joseph Ataman, Masoud Pezeshkian, Saeed Jalili, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Khamenei, Amini’s, Pezeshkian, Iran’s, Amirhossein Qazizadeh, Hashemi, Alireza Zakani, Qazizadeh, who’ve, ”, Arash Azizi, Saddam Hussein, Masoud, Morteza, “, Sina Toossi, Narges Mohammadi, ” Ahmad, Ghalibaf, ” Ghalibaf, ” Mariam, Raisi, ” Cheers, ” Mohammad, ” Parsi, Javad Zarif, Zarif, ” Khamenei, Trump, Biden Organizations: Iran CNN —, Foreign, Iran’s, West, CNN, Iran’s Guardian Council, Center for Middle East, Global, Quincy Institute, Experts, Islamic, Center for International Policy, Trump, Pezeshkian, Getty, Washington Locations: Tehran, Iran, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Islamic Republic, Iranian, Berlin, Iraq, Washington, Washington ,, Shiroudi, ”

☆ ‘We Have Been Going Backward’
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( Alissa J. Rubin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Iranians will head to the polls in a special election to choose the successor to former President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May. The election comes at a critical moment for Iran’s leadership. The economy has been weakened by years of sanctions, and under Mr. Raisi’s ultra-conservative leadership, personal freedoms and expressions of dissent have been increasingly quashed. It may be a challenge, after years of voter boycotts and apathy, and judging from a small sample of interviews in recent days. Conversations with more than a dozen government workers, students, businesspeople and other ordinary men and women revealed a degree of weariness, even skepticism, despite the risks of speaking freely in Iran.

Persons: Ebrahim Raisi Locations: Tehran, Iran

☆ Why an Israel-Hezbollah war would be far more dangerous today than the last time around
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( Ben Wedeman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Since its inconclusive 2006 war with the Lebanese militant group, Israel has been planning for a re-match. During the 2006 war, in the experience of this correspondent, it was rare to encounter Hezbollah fighters. In the event of war, full-scale war, both sides will be able to inflict significant pain on the other. In the entire 34-day war of 2006 Hezbollah is estimated to have fired around 4,000 rockets – a daily average of 117. At 6 a.m. on July 13, 2006 – less than 24 hours after the start of the war – Israeli warplanes bombed and knocked out Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport.

Persons: CNN —, Benny Gantz, Hassan Nasrallah, – Nasrallah, Avihu Shapira, Gantz, Beirut’s Rafic, –, Israel, Iran’s, Qais Al, Ahl Al, Haq, Lebanon “ Organizations: CNN, Reichman University, Israel, Getty, Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport, Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International, Washington Locations: Lebanon, Herzliya, Israel, Lebanese, Haifa, Syria, Gaza, Iraq, Iran, It’s, Israel’s, Yemen, Red, Jordan, America, Tehran, Damascus, Hormuz, Persian, Germany, Sweden, Kuwait, Netherlands

☆ Houthi rebels say they've fired a new 'homemade hypersonic missile,' posting footage of its launch at a civilian ship
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewYemen's Houthi rebel group said on Wednesday that it targeted a Liberian-flagged ship in the Arabian Sea with a "homemade hypersonic missile," saying it unveiled the weapon for the first time. Houthis posted footage of the missileHouthi-linked channels posted footage of the purported launch, calling the missile the "Hatem-2" or "Hadim-2." AFP via Getty ImagesIs the 'Hatem-2' really a homemade hypersonic missile? Notably, Yemen's latest launch occurred as the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group left the region on Saturday after defending the area for about eight months. It is due to be replaced by the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group.

Persons: —, Yahya Sare'e, Sare'e, MSC Sarah V, Houthis, Hatem, SARAH V, Saddam Hussein's, Yemen's, Dwight D, Theodore Roosevelt Carrier, Roosevelt Organizations: Service, Liberian, Business, MSC, Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, British Royal Navy, Yemeni Military Industrialization Corporation, United Nations, AFP, Getty, Tel Aviv . Naval, US, Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Locations: Greek, Israel, Abu Dhabi, Persian, Iran, Tehran, Saddam Hussein's Iraq, China, Palestine, Red, Gaza, Tel Aviv, Yemen, South Korea

☆ Iran’s Presidential Candidates Agree on One Thing: Trump Is Coming
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Farnaz Fassihi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Throughout Iran’s presidential campaign, in debates, rallies and speeches, a singular presence has hovered: Donald J. Trump. To hear the six candidates tell it, the former president’s victory in the 2024 White House race is a foregone conclusion. The urgent question facing Iranian voters as they go to the polls on Friday, they say, is who is best suited to deal with him. “Wait and you will see what will happen when Trump comes,” one candidate, the cleric Mostafa Pourmohammadi, said during a recent televised debate. “We have to get ready for negotiations.” Another candidate, Alireza Zakani, Tehran’s mayor, accused his rivals at a debate of having “Trump-phobia,” insisting that only he could manage him.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Biden, ”, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, “, Alireza, “ Trump Organizations: White Locations: Tehran’s

☆ Narges Mohammadi: Iranian activist and Nobel Peace prize winner sentenced to further year in prison
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Niamh Kennedy | Jomana Karadsheh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Narges Mohammadi, Iran’s most prominent human rights activist and 2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner, has been sentenced to another year in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, her lawyer said Tuesday. According to Nili, the Iranian regime cited statements Mohammadi made concerning Iranian student and journalist Dina Ghalibaf, who was arrested in April after she publicly claimed to have been sexually assaulted by members of Iran’s morality police. The authorities also cited a letter Mohammadi wrote calling on Iranians to boycott parliamentary elections back in February and the activist’s correspondence with Swedish and Norwegian parliaments. In the letter, Mohammadi condemned an Israeli strike on a refugee camp in Rafah that killed over 45 Palestinians. From her cell, Mohammadi has also remained committed to amplifying the cause of Iranian women who have staged numerous protests in a bid to resist the regime’s mandatory hijab rule.

Persons: Narges, Mohammadi, ” Mostafa Nili, Nili, Dina Ghalibaf, Mahsa Amini, “, ”, – Ali Rahmani, Kiana – Organizations: CNN, Iranian, Islamic Locations: Tehran’s, Islamic Republic, Gaza, Rafah, Iran, Oslo, Norway’s

☆ 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 warns of 'devastating consequences' as spike in fire with Lebanon risks wider conflict
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Smoke and flame rise after Hezbollah carried out a missile attack on Safed city, northern Israel on June 12, 2024. Over the past week, Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has ramped up hostilities and cross-border missile attacks against targets in northern Israel, according to Israel Defense Forces and the Hezbollah-aligned al-Manar news outlet. It comes amid a ramp-up in attacks by Hezbollah in recent weeks following repeat offensives against its neighbor since October. "Hezbollah's increasing aggression is bringing us to the brink of what could be a wider escalation, one that could have devastating consequences for Lebanon and the entire region," Hagari added. "Israel will take the necessary measures to protect its civilians, until security along our border with Lebanon is restored.

Persons: Sami Taleb Abdullah, Taleb Abdullah, Israel, Daniel Hagari, Hagari, HoweveHezbollah, Sheikh Naim Qassem, Amos Hochstein, Joe Biden, Biden, Houthi —, Iran —, Yahya Sare'e Organizations: Hezbollah, Israel Defense Forces, Hamas, IDF, CNBC, Lebanese, Washington, U.S, NBC News Locations: Safed, Israel, Lebanon, Iran, Tehran, Gaza, Lebanese, Jouaiyya, Red

☆ Sweden and Iran Exchange Prisoners in a Breakthrough Swap
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-15 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | More About Matina Stevis-Gridneff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Iran and Sweden exchanged prisoners on Saturday in a major breakthrough, according to the Swedish prime minister. Iran released the European Union diplomat and Swedish national Johan Floderus, who had been arrested in April 2022 in Tehran, as well as the dual national Saeed Azizi, the Swedish prime minister said. “It is with pleasure that I can announce that Johan Floderus and Saeed Azizi are now on a plane home to Sweden, and will soon be reunited with their families,” the prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, said on social media. In exchange, Sweden released Hamid Noury, a high-ranking Iranian official who had been sentenced to life in a Swedish court for war crimes committed in 1988 in Iran.

Persons: Johan Floderus, Saeed Azizi, Ulf Kristersson, Hamid Noury Organizations: European Union Locations: Iran, Sweden, European, Swedish, Tehran

☆ Sweden and Iran exchange prisoners in breakthrough deal, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-15 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Stockholm Reuters —Sweden and Iran carried out a prisoner exchange on Saturday, officials said, with Sweden freeing a former Iranian official convicted for his role in a mass execution in the 1980s while Iran released two Swedes being held there. “Iran used them both as pawns in a cynical negotiations game with the purpose of getting the Iranian citizen Hamid Noury released from prison in Sweden. Noury was freed in a prisoner swap with Iran, Sweden said on Saturday. Swedish-Iranian dual national Saeed Azizi was arrested in Iran in November 2023 on what Sweden called “wrongful grounds.”Another Swedish-Iranian dual national, Ahmadreza Djalali, arrested in 2016, remains in an Iranian jail. An emergency medicine doctor, Djalali was arrested in 2016 while on an academic visit to Iran.

Persons: Hamid Noury, Noury, Ulf Kristersson, Johan Floderus, Saeed Azizi, ” Kristersson, Kristersson, Anders Humlebo, Ahmadreza Djalali, Djalali Organizations: Stockholm Reuters —, Swedish, TT, Agency, AFP, Getty, National Council of Resistance, Islamic, European Union Locations: Stockholm, Stockholm Reuters — Sweden, Iran, Sweden, Oman, Tehran, ”, “ Iran, Karaj, Islamic Republic, Floderus, Israel, Iranian, Swedish

☆ Fact check: Trump falsely claims Iran didn’t fund terror groups when he was president
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Daniel Dale | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

They weren’t funding Hamas, and they weren’t funding anything. They weren’t funding Hezbollah,” Trump, now the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, said in a May interview with right-wing host Dan Bongino. Trump’s own administration said in 2020 that Iran was continuing to fund terror groups including Hezbollah. Trump could have fairly said that his sanctions on Iran had made life more difficult for terror groups (though it’s unclear how much their operations were affected). “Iran has never ceased funding many of its core proxy groups” such as Hezbollah, said Phillip Smyth, who studies Iran’s proxies.

Persons: Donald Trump, ” Trump, Dan Bongino, Phil McGraw, Phil, Trump, Pompeo, Trump’s, Mike Pompeo, ” Pompeo, “ We’re, “, ”, Ali Vaez, Hanin Ghaddar, Colin Clarke, Phillip Smyth, Brian Hook, ” Hook Organizations: Washington CNN, Hamas, CNN, Hezbollah, State, Trump, Crisis, The Washington Institute for Near, Washington Post, ” Reuters, The, The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Qods Force Locations: Iran, Lebanon, Hamas, Palestinian, Israel, “, Tehran, Syria, Iraq, The Stockholm, Bahrain, Yemen, Qaeda, Europe, Africa, Asia

☆ US intelligence assesses Houthis in Yemen in talks to provide weapons to al-Shabaab in Somalia, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Katie Bo Lillis | Kylie Atwood | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —US intelligence has learned of discussions between Houthis in Yemen to provide weapons to the Somali militant group al-Shabaab, in what three American officials described to CNN as a worrying development that threatens to further destabilize an already violent region. The Houthis are Zaydi Shiites, and al-Shabaab traditionally has been deeply ideologically opposed to Shiism. “Being able to sell some weapons would bring them much needed income,” the senior administration official said. But a weapons agreement between al-Shabaab and the Houthis would be something new, according to US officials. No matter what the Houthis provide, there’s likely limited opportunity for al-Shabaab to fire directly at US assets in the region.

Persons: ” It’s, Aden —, ”, Christopher Anzalone, “, Anzalone, ” Anzalone, Biden, “ Don’t Organizations: CNN, Marine Corps, East Studies, ”, Somali, ISIS, US Locations: Houthis, Yemen, Somali, Shabaab, Somalia, Iran, al, Aden, United States, Gaza, Saudi Arabia, Tehran, Israel

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