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☆ Oil prices break two-day losing streak after Israel threatens to strike Iran if attacked
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Crude oil futures rose Wednesday after two days of losses as Israel threatened to attack Iran if the Islamic Republic strikes Israel directly. The West Texas Intermediate contract for May delivery gained 31 cents, or 0.36%, to $85.54 a barrel. Oil prices pulled back after the consumer price index rose 0.4% for March and 3.5% over the previous year, compared with expected gains of 0.3% and 3.4%, respectively. Israel warned OPEC member Iran Wednesday it would attack the Islamic Republic if Tehran strikes Israel. "If Iran attacks from its territory, Israel will react and attack Iran," Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on the social media platform X, tagging Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Persons: Israel, Brent, Israel Katz, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Organizations: Quds Force, West Texas Intermediate, Iran Locations: Jerusalem, Syria, Tehran, Iran, Islamic Republic, Israel, Republic

☆ What We Know About the Iranian Commanders Killed by Israel in Syria
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Farnaz Fassihi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Iran’s supreme leader on Tuesday pledged to avenge the deaths of three commanders and four officers in Iran’s armed forces, one day after they were killed in a precision Israeli airstrike on the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus. The leaders, Iranian officials said, were some of the highest ranking leaders in the Quds Force, overseeing Iran’s covert intelligence and military operations in Syria and Lebanon. The strike was the deadliest against Iranian officials in recent memory and has shaken the country’s armed forces establishment. The strike, both the latest in a yearslong shadow war between Iran and Israel and a seeming escalation in that conflict, has again brought attention to Israel and Iran’s conflicting ambitions in the region and the network of proxies Iran employs to fight its battles. “We will make them regret this crime and similar crimes, with the help of God,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, said of the Israelis.

Persons: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Organizations: Quds Force Locations: Damascus, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Israel

☆ Despite Hard-liners Winning Recent Elections, Iran Is Heading for a Big Change - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Arash Azizi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The vote, for the Parliament and Assembly of Experts, which appoints the supreme leader, was far from a referendum on current leaders, though. Iranians instead had the option to vote for varying degrees of conservative and hard-line candidates, often competing only in their effusive praise for the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Despite their Islamist declarations, many politicians in the Islamic Republic are not ideologues or revolutionaries, but technocrats or pragmatists who have gathered around Ayatollah Khamenei for proximity to his power. Today’s Iran is held together by the octogenarian Ayatollah Khamenei and his authority. A new Iran may be on the horizon, even if it’s not the Iran anti-regime protesters have hoped for.

Persons: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Khamenei, it’s Organizations: Experts Locations: Gaza, Islamic Republic, Iran

☆ 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

☆ 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

☆ 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

☆ Calls for a Boycott Roil Iran’s Parliamentary Elections
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Farnaz Fassihi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As Iran prepares for a parliamentary election on Friday, calls to boycott the vote are turning it into a test of legitimacy for the ruling clerics amid widespread discontent and anger at the government. While it normally operates behind the scenes, the assembly has the all-important task of choosing a successor to the current, 84-year-old supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has ruled Iran for more than three decades. Iran’s leaders view turnout at the polls as a projection of their strength and power. But a robust vote appears unlikely with these elections taking place amid a slew of domestic challenges and a regional war stemming from Israel’s invasion of Gaza that has come to include Iran’s network of proxy militias. Analysts say Iranians have also lost confidence in elections after repeatedly voting for reformist lawmakers and presidents who pledged changes in foreign and economic policy and more individual rights that mostly failed to materialize.

Persons: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Organizations: Experts, Analysts Locations: Iran, Gaza

☆ ‘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

☆ Meta removes Facebook and Instagram accounts of Iran’s Supreme Leader
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Rosa Rahimi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Meta has removed the Facebook and Instagram accounts of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. According to Meta, the accounts have been disabled, which means they are permanently removed. “We have removed these accounts for repeatedly violating our Dangerous Organizations & Individuals policy,” a Meta spokesperson told CNN. Meta did not give a specific reason as to why Khamenei’s account fell under the Dangerous Organizations and Individuals Policy. “We expect the threat posed by Iran’s cyber and influence operations will grow as the conflict persists,” the Microsoft Threat Intelligence report said.

Persons: Ali Khamenei, Biden, ”, Mahsa Alimardani, Meta, “ Organizations: CNN, Meta, Facebook, Iran’s, Organizations, US State Department, Foreign Terrorist Organization, Microsoft, ” Microsoft, Intelligence Locations: Iran, Yemen, Israel, Tehran, “, Iranian, UAE, Canada

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Meta has removed Instagram and Facebook accounts run on behalf of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after criticism over his support for Hamas after its Oct. 7 attack on Israel that sparked the monthslong war still raging in the Gaza Strip, the company confirmed Friday. Khamenei and accounts associated with the supreme leader had been praising the Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw some 250 others taken hostage. Immediately after the attack, Khamenei backed Hamas in a speech, saying: “We kiss the hands of those who planned the attack on the Zionist regime." Iran has provided arms and support to Hamas, though Tehran isn't believed to have directed the Oct. 7 attack. “He’s used these platforms for years to incite violent antisemitism, to legitimize militant anti-zionism and to make genocidal threats,” Greenblatt wrote online.

Persons: — Meta, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Khamenei, Donald Trump, Mahsa Amini, Tehran isn't, Yemen's, Jonathan Greenblatt, Meta's, “ He’s, ” Greenblatt Organizations: United Arab Emirates, —, Iran's, Organizations, U.S ., United Nations, U.S, Trump, Facebook, Green Movement, Twitter, Zionist, Defamation League Locations: DUBAI, United Arab, Israel, Gaza, Menlo Park , California, Iran, America, Tehran, East

☆ Iran Tries to Avoid War With U.S. After Stoking Mideast Conflicts
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Farnaz Fassihi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council held an emergency meeting this week, deeply worried that the United States would retaliate after an Iran-aligned militia in Iraq killed three American soldiers and wounded more than 40 others in Jordan. The council, including the president, foreign minister, chiefs of the armed forces and two aides to the country’s supreme leader, debated how to respond to a range of possibilities, from a U.S. attack on Iran, itself, to strikes against the proxy militias that Iran backs in the region, according to three Iranians with knowledge of the council’s deliberations who were not authorized to speak publicly. They relayed the plans developed at the Monday meeting to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the people familiar with the discussion said, and he responded with clear orders: avoid a direct war with the United States and distance Iran from the actions of proxies who had killed Americans — but prepare to hit back if the United States struck Iran.

Persons: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Organizations: Iran’s, National Security Council Locations: United States, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, U.S

☆ Israel-Hamas War U.S. to Return Yemen’s Houthi Militia to Terrorism List
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Michael Crowley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

But even the lesser label of specially designated global terrorist group could jeopardize U.S. and Saudi efforts to construct a lasting peace deal to end the conflict. The conflict created a humanitarian catastrophe that Mr. Biden, as a candidate in 2020, vowed to address. Following a debate within the Trump administration, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo designated the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization and a specially designated global terrorist group in mid-January 2021. In February 2021, less than three weeks after Mr. Biden took office, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken reversed Mr. Pompeo’s designations. Asked by a reporter last week whether he considered the Houthis a terrorist group, Mr. Biden did not equivocate.

Persons: Biden, Yemen’s, Trump, Jake Sullivan, Tim Lenderking, Mike Pompeo, Antony J, Blinken, Tom Cotton, Mr, ” Mr, Cotton, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “, ” Organizations: U.S, State Department, Economic, Sana’a Center, Strategic Studies, United Arab Emirates, United Arab, U.S . Agency for International Development, United Nations, Associated Press, Republican, United Locations: Houthi, Yemen, Iran, U.S, United States, Saudi, Gaza, Israel, Davos, Switzerland, Al Qaeda, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Arkansas, United Arab

The SEALs found cruise and ballistic missile components, including propulsion and guidance devices, as well as warheads, Central Command said. Iran has an anti-ship missile called the Ghadir. The U.S. Navy ultimately sank the ship carrying the weapons after deeming it unsafe, Central Command said. However, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised the Houthis' attacks. Since November, the Houthis have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea, saying they were avenging Israel’s offensive in Gaza against Hamas.

Persons: Houthis, Jake Sullivan, Yahya Saree, Zografia, Yemen’s, USS Lewis B, Puller, Fabian Hinz, Hinz, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Elena Becatoros, Tara Copp, Aamer, Baldor Organizations: JERUSALEM, U.S, Greek Shipping, Ministry, U.S . Central Command, U.S . Navy, House, SEAL, USS, U.S . military's, Command, Central Command, International Institute for Strategic Studies, United Nations, Iran's, United, Associated Press Locations: U.S, Yemen, Malta, Red, Suez, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Iranian, Gulf of Aden, Gaza, United Nations, Tehran, Gibraltar, Gulf, Aden, Athens, Greece, Washington

☆ Why ISIS has unleashed its suicide bombers against Iran
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-14 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

By the day's end of the day, scores of supporters of the rulers of Iran were dead, and hundreds were injured in a twin suicide bombing. AdvertisementHe was considered a hero, she said, by many in Iran for driving ISIS out of Iraq and helping to defeat them in Syria. Stringer/Anadolu via Getty ImagesIt was the latest in a string of attacks by the ISIS affiliate that has been targeting Iran for five years. The Iranian intelligence ministry sought to blame its old enemy Israel for the atrocity and said one of the bombers had Israeli citizenship, the Times of Israel reported. AdvertisementThey will continue to attempt attacks against Iran "no matter what," Washington Institute for Near East Policy expert, Aaron Zelin, told the VoA.

Persons: Qassem, —, Qassem Soleimani, Kerman, Barbara Slavin, Soleimani, Stringer, Khomeini's, Abdollah Tajiki, Slavin, It's, it's, White, John Kirby, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Saudi King Salman, Prophet Mohammed, Salvin, Donald Trump, Aaron Zelin Organizations: Sunni, Service, Revolutionary, Reuters, The Stimson Center, Iran Initiative, Asia Center, ISIS, Anadolu, Getty, Iranian, Ministry of Intelligence, Revolutionary Guard, Saudi, US, UK, Red, Quds Force, The Stimson, Washington Institute for Near East, VoA Locations: Kerman, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Asia, Kerman City, Tehran, Tajik, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Hormuz, Soleimani, Iranian, Fars, Republic, Yemen, Iran's, United States, al Qaeda, American

A picture taken during an organised tour by Yemen's Houthi rebels on November 22, 2023 showing the Galaxy Leader cargo ship approaching the port in the Red Sea off Yemen's province of Hodeida. Oil prices fell Tuesday as traders monitored rising tensions in the Red Sea amid a backdrop of record U.S. crude production and worries about demand in China. Crude prices had jumped more than 2% earlier in the trading session on escalating tensions in the Red Sea, a crucial global trade chokepoint. And Iran on Monday deployed a destroyer to the Red Sea, according to the country's Tansim news agency. The move by Tehran comes after U.S. Navy helicopters destroyed three boats of Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

Persons: Yemen's Houthi, Brent, Helima Croft, Croft, Adi Imsirovic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Neil Beveridge, Lloyd Organizations: Galaxy Leader, The West Texas Intermediate, RBC Capital Markets, CNBC, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Monday, U.S . Navy, Navy, U.S . Central Command, Energy, Prosperity Locations: Red, Yemen's, Hodeida, China, The, Iran, Tehran, Singapore, Hangzhou, Brent, Israel, Gaza, Suez, Africa, The U.S

☆ Israel-linked hackers claim cyberattack that hit 70% of Iran's gas stations
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-18 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Iranian state TV cited the country's Oil Minister Javad Owji saying that outside interference was a possible cause after 70% of Iran's gas stations were hit by service disruptions, according to Reuters. "We, Gonjeshke Darande, carried out another cyberattack today, taking out a majority of the gas pumps throughout Iran. Gonjeshke Darande has claimed responsibility for previous cyberattacks on Iran, including on one of the country's major steel companies in June 2022. These cyber-attacks [are] being carried out carefully to protect innocent individuals," Gonjeshke Darande wrote in a Telegram post at the time. As for the Monday hit to Iran's gas stations, the country's civil defense agency said an investigation was underway and that it was still examining all possible causes for the disruption.

Persons: Hossein Beris, HOSSEIN BERIS, that's, Javad Owji, Gonjeshke, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Khamenei, Darande, Gonjeshke Darande Organizations: Getty, country's Oil, Reuters, Islamic, Revolutionary Guard Corps Locations: Tehran, Iran, Israel, Persian, Islamic Republic

☆ Iranian dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi rearrested less than two weeks after release from prison
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Artemis Moshtaghian | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Iranian dissident rapper Toomaj Salehi was rearrested in northern Iran on Thursday, less than two weeks after his release from prison, according to his official social media channel. A group of armed men suddenly approached Salehi and his friends and, without identifying themselves, started attacking the group, witnesses said. When nationwide protests started in mid-September last year, Salehi called for Iranians to protest against the government. “I was tortured a lot during my detention,” Salehi says in the video, posted on social media. Sources close to Salehi told CNN the rapper had recently started treatment and therapy for the injuries he sustained while in prison and was scheduled to undergo surgery in the coming days.

Persons: Toomaj Salehi, Salehi, Mahsa, ”, Shargh, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “, ” Salehi, “ It’s, Mizan Organizations: CNN, Isfahan’s Locations: Iranian, Iran, Babol, Isfahan

Israel's response has been a fierce military campaign that has killed more than 14,000 people inside Gaza so far. Israel regards the entire Hamas leadership as terrorists, accusing Haniyeh, Meshaal and others of continuing to "pull the strings of the Hamas terror organisation." The plan, drawn up by the Hamas military council in Gaza, was such a closely guarded secret that some Hamas officials seemed shocked by its timing and scale. During the decade in which Haniyeh was Hamas' top leader in Gaza, Israel accused his leadership team of helping to divert humanitarian aid to the group's military wing. Three senior officials told Reuters that Khamenei told the Hamas leader in that meeting, that Iran would not enter the war having not been told about it in advance.

Persons: Ismail Haniyeh, Haniyeh, Israel, Khaled Meshaal, Yahya Sinwar, Adeeb Ziadeh, Meshaal, Iran's, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Khamenei, Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, Yassin, Samia Nakhoul, Stephen Farrell, Edmund Blair Organizations: Palestinian, Gaza, Al, Hamas, Qatari, Qatar University, Reuters, Islamic University, Thomson Locations: Qatar, Gaza, Israel, Turkey, Doha, Iran, Al Jazeera, Meshaal, Muslim Iran, Egypt, Tehran, Iranian, Al, Gaza City, Al Jura, Ashkelon, Dubai

☆ Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh Leads Group's Diplomacy as Gaza War Rages
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +5 min

By Stephen Farrell and Samia Nakhoul(Reuters) - Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader based in Qatar, has been the tough-talking face of the Palestinian group's international diplomacy as war has raged back in Gaza where his family home was destroyed in an Israeli air strike in November. Israel regards the entire Hamas leadership as terrorists, accusing Haniyeh, Meshaal and others of continuing to "pull the strings of the Hamas terror organisation." The plan, drawn up by the Hamas military council in Gaza, was such a closely guarded secret that some Hamas officials seemed shocked by its timing and scale. During the decade in which Haniyeh was Hamas' top leader in Gaza, Israel accused his leadership team of helping to divert humanitarian aid to the group's military wing. Three senior officials told Reuters that Khamenei told the Hamas leader in that meeting, that Iran would not enter the war having not been told about it in advance.

Persons: Stephen Farrell, Samia Nakhoul, Ismail Haniyeh, Haniyeh, Israel, Khaled Meshaal, Yahya Sinwar, Adeeb Ziadeh, Meshaal, Iran's, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Khamenei, Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, Yassin, Edmund Blair Organizations: Palestinian, Gaza, Al, Hamas, Qatari, Qatar University, Reuters, Islamic University Locations: Qatar, Gaza, Turkey, Doha, Iran, Israel, Al Jazeera, Meshaal, Muslim Iran, Egypt, Tehran, Iranian, Al, Gaza City, Al Jura, Ashkelon, Dubai

☆ Why calls for oil embargo on Israel are unlikely to go anywhere
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Ahmad Ghaddar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A view shows the logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on their headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 2, 2023. The conflict has led many analysts, oil market watchers and politicians to draw parallels with the 1973 OPEC embargo, when Arab oil producers cut off oil exports to several allies of Israel, including the United States and Britain, following the Israeli-Arab war that year. Analysts and OPEC sources, however, say that the energy world today is far different from 50 years ago, and play down any possibility of a new embargo. Last month, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian urged members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to impose an oil embargo and other sanctions on Israel and expel all Israeli ambassadors. The embargo led to severe shortages with long queues forming at gas stations.

Persons: Leonhard Foeger, Israel, Hossein Amirabdollahian, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ebrahim Raisi, JPM Morgan, Giovanni Staunovo, Morgan Bazilian, Mark Heinrich, Jason Neely Organizations: Organization of, Petroleum, REUTERS, Hamas, of, Reuters, Iranian, of Islamic Cooperation, OIC, Arab, Israel, GCC, Gulf Cooperation, UBS, Payne Institute, Thomson Locations: Vienna, Austria, Gaza, Iran, Israel, United States, Britain, Russia, OPEC, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Netherlands, Japan, U.S, Asia, China, India

With a power vacuum and years of civil conflict following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, militias grew and multiplied in Iraq, some supported by Iran. While he came to power with the Iranian-backed groups' support, he also wants continued good relations with the U.S. and has backed the ongoing presence of American troops in his country. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a meeting with al-Sudani this month, warned of consequences if Iranian-backed militias continued to attack U.S. facilities in Iraq and Syria. An official with one of the Iranian-backed militias said al-Sudani put “great pressure” on the militias not to carry out attacks during Blinken's visit. But the U.S. military response to the attacks on its forces has been minimal.

Persons: Biden, Israel, Asad, Haq, Badr, Bashar Assad, Mohammed Shia, Antony Blinken, Sudani, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, —, Qassim Soleimani, Abu Mahdi al, Muhandis, Qassim Abdul Organizations: WASHINGTON, U.S, Islamic, Hamas, Pentagon, Islamic Jihad, WHO, State, Popular Mobilization Forces, Hezbollah, Iran’s, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Officials, Quds Force, Military, Associated Press Locations: Iraq, Syria, Islamic State, skyrocket, U.S, The U.S, Baghdad, Israel, Gaza, Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, Al, Tehran, Boukamal, Maysulun, Deir el, Bulbul, Mayadin ., IRAQ, Zahra

The conflict is also testing the limits of the regional coalition whose members - which include the Syrian government, Hezbollah, Hamas and other militant groups from Iraq to Yemen - have differing priorities and domestic challenges. On Oct. 7, Hamas' military commander Mohammed Deif called on its axis allies to join the struggle. Yet, like its backer Iran, Hezbollah has avoided an all-out confrontation. Iran does not recognise Israel's existence, while Israel has long threatened military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to curb its disputed nuclear activity. "Iran has shown a four-decade commitment to fighting America and Israel without entering into direct conflict.

Persons: Ali Khamenei, Ismail Haniyeh, wouldn't, Yemen's Houthis, Mohanad Hage Ali, Israel, Mohammed Deif, Khaled Meshaal, Dennis Ross, Hamas didn't, didn't, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Joe Biden, Lloyd Austin, Yoav Gallant, Israel didn't, Karim Sadjadpour, Parisa Hafezi, Laila Bassam, Arshad Mohammed, Tom Perry, Jonathan Saul, Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart, Pravin Organizations: Israel, Reuters, Hezbollah, Carnegie Middle East Center, Hamas, Washington Institute for Near, Iran, AMERICA, United, U.S, Pentagon ., . Defense, NORTH Austin, Carnegie Endowment, International, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Tehran, Israel, Iran, Palestinian, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Beirut, Gaza, Lebanon, Palestine, United States, U.S, East, Iranian, Afghanistan, Seoul, ISRAEL, America, Dubai, Saint Paul, Jerusalem, Washington

☆ Fact Check: Image of Barack Obama bowing to Ayatollah Khamenei is fake
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Two separate photographs of former U.S. President Barack Obama and Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were digitally combined into a single image to make it appear as if Obama was bowing before Khamenei. It was captured by AFP photographer Atta Kenare and shows Khamenei looking toward Ahmadinejad while former Iranian presidents, Mohammad Khatami and Ali Akbar Hashami Rafsanjani, are seen sitting next to Khamenei. The image of Obama bowing has been taken from an official White House photograph from May 8, 2009. Years later, Obama reconnected with the boy and posted a video about the encounter on Instagram (archived) on May 27, 2022. The image of Obama bowing to Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei is edited to combine two unrelated photographs.

Persons: Barack Obama, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Obama, Khamenei, ”, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Atta Kenare, Ahmadinejad, Mohammad Khatami, Ali Akbar Hashami Rafsanjani, Jacob Philadelphia, Read Organizations: Iran's, Twitter, Facebook, AFP, White House, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Iran’s, Tehran

☆ An Epic Pilgrimage Across Three Great Religions
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Aatish Taseer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +111 min

Before there was tourism, there was pilgrimage: a trip of endurance, hardship and ecstasy in celebration of one’s faith. On an epic pilgrimage of his own, one writer ventures into the heart of three great religions in Bolivia, Mongolia and Iraq. The Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala the day after Ashura. “They’re poor, but they come thousands of kilometers for the love of Imam Hussein.” PILGRIMAGE WAS A great equalizer. “Labaik ya Hussein,” came the solemn chorus of surrounding voices.

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☆ 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.

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