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☆ Iran extends Nobel Prize winner Narges Mohammadi’s prison sentence
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Jomana Karadsheh | Adam Pourahmadi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The imprisoned Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi has been sentenced to an additional 15 months in prison, Mohammadi’s family said in a written statement sent to CNN on Monday. On top of the extra 15 months in prison, the new sentence orders Mohammadi to “two years of exile outside Tehran and neighboring provinces,” according to her family. Mohammadi was also given a two-year travel ban, “a two-year ban on membership in social-political groups, and a two-year ban on using a smartphone,” the statement added. Mohammadi was already serving a sentence of ten years and nine months, accused of actions against national security and propaganda against the state. She was also sentenced to 154 lashes, a punishment rights groups believe has not been inflicted so far, along with restrictions on travel.

Persons: Narges Mohammadi, Mohammadi’s, “, Mohammadi, ’, ”, Mahsa, Niloofar Hamedi, IRNA, Hamedi Organizations: CNN, Peace, Islamic Locations: Islamic Republic, Iran, Tehran, ”

☆ Opinion: How did we get to this point in Yemen?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-12 | by ( Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

(Not a great time to have had an initially incommunicado, and still-hospitalized, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who authorized the strikes in Yemen from his hospital bed on Thursday.) The Houthis, who were once a ragtag militia with the purely local aim of trying to overthrow the Yemen government, are now projecting Iranian power, not only in the Red Sea but across the region. In other words, just as Hezbollah in Lebanon, 1,500 miles to the north of Yemen, is effectively an arm of the Iranian government, so too now are the Houthis. Those weapons have also been used to attack oil facilities in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, the capital of the Saudi-allied United Arab Emirates, and, more recently, have targeted Israel as well. Yet, Saudi Arabia is a key reason that the Houthis are now so closely allied to Iran and so well armed.

Persons: Peter Bergen, Osama bin Laden, Joe Biden, Defense Lloyd Austin, Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, “, Biden Organizations: New, Arizona State University, Apple, Spotify, CNN, Defense, United Nations, United Locations: New America, Yemen, Israel, Red, Suez, Lebanon, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Saudi, Riyadh, Gaza, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Iranian

☆ Found document suggests Iran sought to help Hamas make its own weapons ahead of attack, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Jake Tapper | Katie Bo Lillis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The Israeli government declined to comment on the document, though sources in the government confirmed its authenticity on background. Israeli officials say this is the first known instance of Iran attempting to fund this kind of university-hosted training for Hamas operatives, a claim US officials said they could not confirm. Current and former US officials say the program is part of a well-known training program Iran provides to students from allied countries and groups to project soft-power influence across the region. As of now, Israeli intelligence has identified only a few Hamas military operatives who have already arrived in Iran. One candidate is marked to study “technologies,” one to study “physics,” one to study engineering,” one to study “programming,” one to study “law” and two to study “management.”

Persons: Jonathan Panikoff, ”, Panikoff, ” Panikoff Organizations: Washington CNN, CNN, Hamas, Lebanese, United Nations, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Locations: Gaza, Iran, Israel, East, Tehran, “

U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 leaders' summit in Bali, Indonesia, November 14, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - The White House said on Monday President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will discuss strengthening communication and managing competition when they meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit this week. Biden and Xi have known each other for more than a decade and have shared hours of conversation over six interactions since Biden's 2021 inauguration. However, they have met only once in person since then and Xi has not visited the United States since 2017. Sullivan said that at APEC Biden would put forward his economic vision for the region and speak about "how the United States is the preeminent driver of inclusive, sustainable economic growth in the Asia Pacific."

Persons: Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Kevin Lamarque, President Joe Biden, Xi, Jake Sullivan, Biden, Sullivan, Nancy Pelosi, we've, Matt Murray, Steve Holland, Nandita Bose, David Brunnstrom, Alistair Bell Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, President, Economic Cooperation, San Francisco Bay Area, Biden, House, U.S ., United, U.S, APEC, Wednesday, APEC Biden, Thomson Locations: Bali , Indonesia, Asia, San Francisco Bay, U.S, People's Republic of China, United States, Washington, China, Taiwan, San Francisco, Israel, Ukraine, North, Russia, Beijing, Iran, East

☆ Iran envoy says Tehran had no direct role in Hamas’ Israel rampage, or proxy attacks on US forces
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Jennifer Deaton | Kathleen Magramo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Iravani said there was cooperation and collaboration, but that Iran was not directing any of those operations. He likened Iran’s role to that of the US in providing assistance to Israel. Tehran has long been accused of arming Hamas and other Iran-aligned groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, as regional attacks by its proxies have escalated and become increasingly frequent. CNN pressed Iravani as to whether Iran supported Hamas’ murder of women and children and its hostage-taking on October 7. Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shi’a movement based in Lebanon with one of the most powerful paramilitary forces in the Middle East, has also said that Hamas’ attack was kept secret from them.

Persons: Amir Saeid Iravani, Iravani, “, ”, Defense Lloyd Austin, General Hassan Nasrallah, Nasrallah Organizations: CNN, Republic’s United Nations, UN, United States, Pentagon, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Defense, Quds Force, US, Hamas, Israel Locations: Iran, Lebanon, Israel, Houthis, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, IRGC, UN, Tehran, Gaza, East

On Wednesday, Brazil arrested two people on terrorism charges as part of an operation to take down a suspected Hezbollah cell planning attacks on Brazilian soil. Later that day, Mossad publicly thanked Brazil's police and said, "Given the backdrop of the war in Gaza," Hezbollah was continuing to attack Israeli, Jewish and Western targets. A spokesperson for the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, which oversees the Mossad, had no immediate comment. Brazil's Foreign Ministry told Israel this week that the diplomatic relationship would become unsustainable if any harm were to befall the trapped Brazilians, the sources said. The Iranian government and Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group in Lebanon, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Persons: Brazil's, Flavio Dino, Israel, Dino, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Eli Cohen, Mauro Vieira, Vieira, Daniel Zonshine, Jair Bolsonaro, Lula, Zonshine, Andrei Rodrigues, Rodrigues, Gabriel Stargardter, Maytaal Angel, Jonathan Saul, Andrew Heavens, Brad Haynes, David Gregorio, Leslie Adler Organizations: RIO DE, Brazilian Federal Police, Prime, Office, Mossad, Foreign Ministry, Reuters, O Globo, Wednesday's Federal Police, Federal Police, Hezbollah, Thomson Locations: RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Israel, Gaza, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Iran, Lebanon

[1/2] A view shows smoke in the Gaza Strip as seen from Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel October 18, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON/BAGHDAD, Nov 9 (Reuters) - A defective drone in Iraq may have helped keep America from being dragged deeper into a widening Middle East conflict. The possibility of a major strike that draws America into a conflict is "a very realistic concern," he said. "I think they are calibrating the attacks to harass rather than kill en masse U.S. troops," he said of Iraqi and Syrian militias. "We had rocket attacks, mortar attacks, before we got hit with the big bomb," he said.

Persons: Amir Cohen, David Schenker, Joe Biden, Biden, Antony Blinken, Mohammed Shia Al, Sudani, Ali Turki, Arif al, didn't, Saddam Hussein, it's, Blinken, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, isn't, Biden's, Lloyd Austin, hasn't, Tom Cotton, Austin, Lindsey Graham, Austin demurred, Graham, David Madaras, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Ahmed Rasheed, Amina Ismail, Parisa, Michael Georgy, Pravin Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, Israel, Pentagon, Washington Institute for Near, Sunday, Haq, IRAN Iraq's, U.S . Navy, Wednesday, U.S . Defense, Democrat, Senate Armed Services Committee, Republican, United, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, WASHINGTON, BAGHDAD, Iraq, America, Erbil, Iranian, Syria, U.S, Iran, Syrian, Sudani's, Baghdad, IRAQ, IRAN, Tehran, Iraqi, Lebanon, Russian, Washington, TEHRAN, Yemen, Ukraine, China, pullout, Afghanistan, Ohio, Beirut, United States

☆ Brazil minister angered by Israeli statement on foiled Hezbollah attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Gabriel Stargardter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Brazil's Minister of Justice Flavio Dino gestures during a press conference at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, November 1, 2023. Dino was responding to a highly unusual statement published on Wednesday in which Israel's Mossad agency thanked Brazilian police and said that, "given the backdrop of the war in Gaza", Hezbollah was continuing to attack Israeli, Jewish and Western targets. Without explicitly naming Israel, Dino said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that "Brazil is a sovereign country," and "no foreign force orders around the Brazilian Federal Police." He did not explicitly deny any of the details in the Israeli statement, but seemed more angered by its timing, tone and the link it drew to the current war in Gaza. Dino's comments may chill relations with the Israeli government as Brazil tries to negotiate a safe exit for around 30 Brazilians still stuck in Gaza.

Persons: Flavio Dino, Adriano Machado, Dino, Israel, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Gabriel Stargardter, Maytaal Angel, Andrew Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, DE, Brazilian, Brazil's Federal Police, Brazilian Federal Police, Thomson Locations: Brasilia, Brazil, DE JANEIRO, Israel, Gaza, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Iran, Lebanon

☆ U.S. Forces Under Fire in Middle East as America Slides Towards Brink
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +10 min

By Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali and Ahmed RasheedWASHINGTON/BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A defective drone in Iraq may have helped keep America from being dragged deeper into a widening Middle East conflict. The possibility of a major strike that draws America into a conflict is "a very realistic concern," he said. "I think they are calibrating the attacks to harass rather than kill en masse U.S. troops," he said of Iraqi and Syrian militias. Iran says it had no role in Hamas' Oct. 7 raid on Israel, though it has welcomed the attack. "We had rocket attacks, mortar attacks, before we got hit with the big bomb," he said.

Persons: Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Ahmed Rasheed WASHINGTON, David Schenker, Joe Biden, Biden, Antony Blinken, Mohammed Shia Al, Sudani, Ali Turki, Arif al, didn't, Saddam Hussein, it's, Blinken, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, isn't, Biden's, Lloyd Austin, hasn't, Tom Cotton, Austin, Lindsey Graham, Austin demurred, Graham, David Madaras, Ahmed Rasheed, Amina Ismail, Parisa, Michael Georgy, Pravin Char Organizations: U.S, Israel, Pentagon, Washington Institute for Near, Sunday, Haq, IRAN Iraq's, U.S . Navy, Wednesday, U.S . Defense, Democrat, Senate Armed Services Committee, Republican, United Locations: BAGHDAD, Iraq, America, Erbil, Iranian, Syria, Gaza, U.S, Iran, Syrian, Israel, Sudani's, Baghdad, IRAQ, IRAN, Tehran, Iraqi, Lebanon, Russian, Washington, TEHRAN, Yemen, Ukraine, China, pullout, Afghanistan, Ohio, Beirut, United States

Brazil's Federal Police said in a statement they arrested two people, who they did not name, on terrorism charges in Sao Paulo. They also carried out search and seizure warrants in Sao Paulo, Brasilia and Minas Gerais states. Mossad thanked Brazilian security services for their role in helping to thwart the attack. Mossad said the "terrorist cell ... was operated by Hezbollah in order to carry out an attack on Israeli and Jewish targets in Brazil." Since the Oct. 7 attack, Hezbollah has been engaging Israeli forces along the border, in the deadliest escalation since it fought a war with Israel in 2006.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu's, Ricardo Berkiensztat, Jair Bolsonaro, Rodrigo Viga Gaier, Gabriel Stargardter, Steven Grattan, Lisandra, James Mackenzie, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: RIO DE, Hezbollah, Brazil's Federal Police, Islamic State, U.S . FBI, U.S . Treasury, Triple, Federal Police, Reuters, Jewish Federation of, State of, Iran's, Guards, Thomson Locations: RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Iran, Sao Paulo, Brasilia, Minas Gerais, Lebanon, al Qaeda, Argentina, Paraguay, Israel, Gaza, State, State of Sao Paulo, Britain, Canada, Germany, Honduras, United States, U.S, Gulf, Jerusalem

☆ Opinion: What’s Iran’s real plan in its proxy battle against Israel?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Henry Kissinger once observed that Iranian leaders must decide if Iran is a cause or a nation. But neither Iran nor Hezbollah seems to have had a plan for what to do following Hamas’s massacres last month in Israel. On Friday, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon, spoke publicly for the first time about the war in Gaza. For the moment, both Hezbollah and Israel are exchanging tit-for-tat fire along Israel’s northern border that falls short of anything close to a full-blown war. The Iranians, in short, have enough problems of their own not to start a shooting war with Israel backed by its American ally.

Persons: Peter Bergen, ”, CNN — Henry Kissinger, propping, Bashar al, Assad, Hassan Nasrallah, Nasrallah, Israel —, Manu Brabo Organizations: New, Arizona State University, Apple, Spotify, CNN, Hezbollah, Pentagon, Twitter, Facebook, US Locations: New America, Iran, East, Lebanon, Yemen, Iranian, Iraq, Hamas, Gaza, Lebanese, Israel, Tehran, Syria, Islam, Al Aqsa, Jerusalem, United States

☆ Israel’s cyber defense chief tells CNN he is concerned Iran could increase severity of its cyberattacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

So far, suspected Iranian hackers appear to have had minimal impact on their publicly claimed targets in Israel in the last month. But Portnoy said those hackers have been relatively quiet in the latest Israel-Hamas war (Israeli airstrikes have decimated internet infrastructure in Gaza.) “There is a gap between their [cyber] capabilities and their rhetoric,” the official told CNN, referring to Iran-backed hackers. “Even the successful, real cyberattacks are probably not going to be about the actual attack,” John Hultquist, Mandiant’s chief analyst, told CNN. This campaign is “maybe the most sophisticated we have seen from Iran on a technological level,” Sergey Shykevich, threat intelligence group manager at Check Point, told CNN.

Persons: “, ”, Gaby Portnoy, ” Portnoy, Portnoy, –, Christopher Wray, ” Wray, ” Eric Goldstein, CrowdStrike, ” John Hultquist, “ It’s, Solomon, Israel, Adam Meyers, CrowdStrike’s, ” Meyers, Sergey Shykevich Organizations: CNN, Israel National Cyber Directorate, Lebanese, Hezbollah, Palo Alto Networks, Hamas, Infrastructure Security Agency, FBI, Boston Children’s Hospital, ” CNN, Iranian, United Nations, “, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Locations: Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, East, Iranian, Syria, Iraq, Tehran, –, Palo, Gaza, Palestine, China, Russia

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Iranian teenage girl injured weeks ago in a mysterious incident on Tehran's Metro while not wearing a headscarf has died, state media reported Saturday. While a friend told Iranian state television that she hit her head on the station’s platform, the soundless footage aired by the broadcaster from outside of the car is blocked by a bystander. Internationally, Geravand’s injury sparked renewed criticism of Iran's treatment of women and of the mandatory hijab law. Amini died in a hospital on Sept. 16, 2022, after she was detained by Iranian morality police on allegations of improperly wearing the hijab. Since those large-scale protests subsided, many women in Tehran could be seen without the hijab in defiance of the law.

Persons: Armita Geravand, hadn’t, ”, Geravand, —, Amini, Narges Mohammadi, Mohammadi Organizations: United Arab Emirates, Metro, Tehran Metro, United Nations, Associated Press, Organization for Human Rights, West Locations: DUBAI, United Arab, Iranian, Tehran, Iran, Iran’s, Kurdish, Islamic Republic, Metro, Israel, Afghanistan

☆ Iranian agents plotting to stoke tensions during pro-Gaza protests, UK police sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Iranian agents are planning to stoke tensions during pro-Gaza protests, UK police have warned. A pro-Gaza rally in London last week had over 100,000 people in attendance. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementAdvertisementIranian agents are planning to provoke tensions during pro-Gaza protests, UK police have warned. The hostile state activity from Iranian operatives is complicating the policing of protests, a security source told The Times.

Persons: —, Robin Simcox Organizations: The Times, Gaza, Service, Metropolitan Police, Times, Gaza Health Ministry Locations: stoke, Gaza, London, Iran, Tehran, Israel

LONDON (AP) —The United States on Friday expanded its effort to cut off funding for Hamas, announcing a second round of sanctions against people and organizations linked to the group since it launched an attack on Israel that killed more than 1,400 people. The new sanctions highlight Iran’s role in providing financial, logistical and operational support to Hamas, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a statement. They include a Hamas representative in Iran and members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard. The U.S. also sanctioned a number of organizations, including the Iranian Bonyad Shahid, also known as the Martyrs Foundation. They also block financial transactions with those designated and prohibit the contribution of funds, goods and services to them.

Persons: Wally Adeyemo, America’s, “, ” Adeyemo, Khaled Qaddoumi, Ali Morshed Shirazi, Mostafa Mohammad Khani, Shahid Organizations: U.S . Treasury Department’s, Foreign, Control, Islamic Revolutionary Guard, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ’ Qods Force, Martyrs Foundation ., Palestinian, Charity Association Locations: United States, Israel, Iran, London, Britain, States, U.S, Gaza

☆ Iran may not want a full-blown war with Israel, but it may be dragged into one
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

And there are now concerns that more fronts will open in the war, including one with Iran. And the US now has specific intelligence that those same groups could escalate even further as the war between Israel and Hamas continues, CNN reported this week. “Tell Iran, tell its proxies in public, in private, through every means: Do not open another front against Israel in this conflict. Shine, of the INSS, said that Iran does not want a direct war with Israel because that would mean a direct war with the US. Iranian media has been brimming with news of the Gaza war, with officials across Iran’s political spectrum expressing solidarity with Palestinians.

Persons: ”, Sima Shine, Hossein Amir, Abdollahian, Al Jazeera, ” Abdollahian, Abed Khaled, Parsi, Joe Biden, ” Parsi, Israel, Hassan Nasrallah, Antony Blinken, “, ” Blinken, Thomas Coex, Lloyd Austin, Iran’s IRGC, “ They’re, Israel – Organizations: UAE CNN, Hamas, Tehran’s Azadi, Perspolis FC, Gol Gohar Sirjan FC, Palestinian, Institute for National Security Studies, CNN, Iranian, Quincy Institute, Israel, Revolutionary Guard Corps, United Nations Security Council, Getty, Defense, widener Locations: Abu Dhabi, UAE, Israel, Hamas, Gaza, Iran, Tel Aviv, Tehran, United States, Gaza City, Washington ,, Lebanese, Lebanon, Syria, Golan, Palestine, Iraq, Sderot, AFP, Iranian, US

“The United States does not seek conflict with Iran. We do not want this war to widen,” Blinken said at a convening of the U.N. Security Council in New York City. Do not attack Israel's partners.’”War in Israel and Gaza View All 69 Images“And we urge partners to go a step further,” Blinken added. “Make clear that if Iran or its proxies widen this conflict and put more civilians at risk, you – you – will hold them accountable. Act as if the security and stability of the entire region and beyond is on the line.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Blinken, ’, ”, John Kirby, Kirby, Carney, we're Organizations: . Security, Iran, Israel, White House, Defense Department, Navy, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Locations: Iran, U.S, Tehran, Israel, United States, New York City, Gaza, Iraq, Syria, Red, Iranian, Yemen

CNN —A teenage Iranian girl who fell into a coma after she was allegedly assaulted by the country’s morality police for not wearing a headscarf is “brain dead,” state-aligned media said. Earlier in October, the Norway-based Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, which focuses on Kurdish rights, said Geravand was “assaulted” by morality police and fell into a coma. “This request resulted in an altercation with the morality police officers physically assaulting Geravand. Iranian authorities have denied the allegations, saying Geravand was hospitalized due to an injury caused by low blood pressure. Armita Geravand was hospitalized in October following an incident at a Tehran metro station.

Persons: Armita Geravand, Geravand, “, ” Hengaw, Awyer Shekhi, ” Shekhi, Mahsa, Niloofar Hamedi, Elaheh Mohammadi, Hamedi’s, Mohammad Hossein Ajorloo, ”, Sherif Mansour Organizations: CNN, Organization for Human Rights, UN, Shargh, Twitter, Committee, Protect Journalists Locations: Tehran, Iran, Norway, Shohada, United States, Niloofar, Middle East, North Africa

☆ Intelligence shows Iranian-backed militias are ready to ramp up their attacks against US forces in the Middle East
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Natasha Bertrand Katie Bo Lillis Zachary Cohen Jennifer Hansler | Natasha Bertrand | Katie Bo Lillis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The US has intelligence that Iranian-backed militia groups are planning to ramp up attacks against US forces in the Middle East, as Iran seeks to capitalize on the backlash in the region to US support for Israel, according to multiple US officials. The militia groups have already launched multiple drone attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria. But the US now has specific intelligence that those same groups could escalate even further as the war between Israel and Hamas continues. Officials said that at this point, Iran appears to be encouraging the groups rather than explicitly directing them. In the case of the recent drone attacks on bases housing US forces, “Iran is certainly more culpable than in the case of the Hamas attack in Israel,” said another person familiar with the intelligence.

Persons: John Kirby, ”, Kirby, “, Matthew Miller, they’re, ” “ It’s, Defense Lloyd Austin, Naledi, Hossein Amir, Abdollahian, ” Abdollahian, ” Austin Organizations: CNN, Israel, Officials, National Security, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Quds Force, State, State Department, ISIS, Defense, Pentagon, US Navy, Iran’s Locations: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Tehran, Qatar, Iranian, Yemen, East

☆ White House says Iran 'actively facilitating' some attacks on US military bases
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Steve Holland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Military vehicles of U.S. soldiers are seen at the al-Asad air base in Anbar province, Iraq, January 13, 2020. "We know that Iran is closely monitoring these events, and in some cases, actively facilitating these attacks and spurring on others who may want to exploit the conflict for their own good, or for that of Iran," he said. "We are deeply concerned about the potential for any significant escalation of these attacks in the days ahead," Kirby said. "We know Iran's goal is to maintain some level of deniability here, but we're not going to allow them to do that," Kirby said. "We also are not going to allow any threat to our interests in the region to go unchallenged."

Persons: Asad, John Davison, Biden, John Kirby, Kirby, we're, Steve Holland, Doina Chiacu, Andrea Shalal, Deepa Babington, Grant McCool Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Department of Defense, Islamic Revolutionary Guard, Hamas, Thomson Locations: U.S, Anbar province, Iraq, Iran, Iranian, Syria, United States, Israel

The attacks prompted Israel to launch an intensive bombing campaign against the Gaza Strip, which is governed by Hamas. “I cannot remember a time when Israel’s struggle for security was not at the forefront of my mind,” Mr. Lew said. If confirmed, I will uphold President Biden’s commitment to deny Iran a nuclear weapon.”But his declarations did little to deter Republican senators. Senator John Barrasso, Republican of Wyoming, accused Mr. Lew of acting as the Iranian government’s banker by negotiating deals to release funds in exchange for American prisoners. “Preventing this from becoming a multifront war is hugely important for Israel, for the region, for the world,” he said.

Persons: Jacob J, Lew, Biden’s, Biden, Obama, Jim Risch of, Lew of, Lew’s, —, Chuck Schumer, Israel, Thomas R, Nides, Schumer, “, Mr, ” Mr, fides, Marco Rubio, John Barrasso, Barrasso, ” Organizations: Senate Foreign Relations, Israel, Hamas, Republican, Foreign Relations, Mr, Jewish, Investigations, State Department Locations: Israel, Gaza, Jim Risch of Idaho, Iran, United States, Florida, Oman, Tehran, Wyoming, Iranian, U.S, Saudi Arabia

Some executives are worried about the optics, pointing to an initial statement from Riyadh about the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks that appeared to blame Israel. The diplomatic normalization talks with Israel appear to be on hold, and the crown prince has reportedly begun talks with the Iranian government about preventing the conflict from metastasizing. Meanwhile, Riyadh has been cool to U.S. efforts to restore calm and preserve progress made in the Saudi-Israeli talks. Prince Mohammed reportedly made Secretary of State Antony Blinken wait hours before meeting, and then called for a halt in the “current escalation” of the conflict. Some have suggested that attending would help encourage Saudi Arabia in its modernization push.

Persons: Israel, Prince Mohammed, Antony Blinken, ” Ayham Kamel, DealBook, Jamal Khashoggi, Prince Mohammed’s Organizations: Reuters Locations: Riyadh, U.S, Saudi, Eurasia, East, North Africa, Israel, Saudi Arabia

While a Hamas spokesman told the BBC that Iran did assist in the attack, officials in Tehran have denied responsibility while praising the outcome. "If you had a large end-of-year bonus payment coming your way, might you start spending more money in the meantime? “This money belongs to the Iranian people, the Iranian government, so the Islamic Republic of Iran will decide what to do with this money,” Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi told NBC News. While the Biden administration renewed talks with Iran to reenter the pact, the discussions have led nowhere and U.S. negotiators publicly walked away. Though not believed to be directly connected, some analysts have speculated that the Biden administration move to free up the $6 billion could have been an incentive to continue talking even as Tehran slowed the pace of development of a nuclear weapon.

Persons: Trump, State Anthony Blinken, Benjamin Netanyahu, Richard Goldberg, Matthew Kroenig, Joe Biden, Nikki Haley, Ebrahim Raisi, ”, Biden, Adrienne Watson, Aaron David Miller, Obama, –, Donald Trump Organizations: White, Hamas, Biden, BBC, Treasury Department, “, ”, State, Israeli, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Wall, Georgetown University, GOP, NBC News, Former State Department, –, Trump, U.S Locations: Israel, Iran, Tehran, South Korea, Qatar, Tel Aviv, Gaza, Islamic Republic of Iran, Washington, U.S

☆ Fact Check: Video clip shows Israeli airstrike in Lebanon not Syria
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A widely shared video shows the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon on Oct. 9 not, as has been wrongly stated online, Israeli missile strikes on Syrian airports on Oct. 12. Syria said Israeli missiles hit airports in its capital Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo on Oct. 12, damaging runways and putting both hubs out of service. Joukhadar confirmed the film was shot in Lebanon in another X post on Oct. 12, saying: “I filmed this video on Monday 9th of October in Marwahin. This is an Israeli air strike right behind us and it has nothing to do with bombing Damascus!”VERDICTMiscaptioned. While Syria did say its airports were struck by Israeli missiles on Oct. 12, the video shows the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon, not Syria.

Persons: Hossein Amir, Carmen Joukhadar, Joukhadar, “, Read Organizations: Isreali Air Force, Aircraft, Iranian Government, Foreign, Al, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Lebanon, Syria, Israeli, Damascus, Aleppo, Western Syria, Al Jazeera, Marwahin, Israel

The funds were moved to Qatari accounts as part of a broad deal to secure the release of five Americans whom the US deemed had been wrongfully detained in Iran. There were bipartisan calls to freeze the funds in the wake of the deadly Hamas attacks in Israel this weekend. Still, the “quiet understanding” not to move the money right now appears to be largely symbolic, given the strict restrictions that were already tied to the funds. Blinken did not confirm that “a quiet understanding” had been reached but made clear the US is able to freeze the funds. The process for Iran to be able to spend the funds was expected to take months, if not years.

Persons: Wally Adeyemo, Adeyemo, Antony Blinken, Blinken, ”, ” Blinken, John Kirby, “ It’s, “, we’ve, Saturday’s, CNN’s Jim Sciutto, Max Organizations: CNN, Saturday, Democrats, Administration, National Security Council, White, State Department Locations: United States, Qatar, Iran, Israel, Tehran, Tel Aviv, Qatari

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