Showing posts with label Iran. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iran. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Iran Not Seeking War with US but ‘Not Afraid of It’, Says Military Chief

GUARDIAN EUROPE: Head of Islamic Revolutionary Guards defiant as US prepares ‘very consequential response’ to drone attack on Jordan base

The head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) has vowed the country is not afraid of war with the US, as the Pentagon weighs how directly to respond to the killing of three US servicemen in a drone attack in Jordan.

The IRGC commander-in-chief, Maj Gen Hossein Salami, said: “We hear some threats from American officials about targeting Iran. We tell them that you tested us and we know each other. We do not leave any threat unanswered, and we do not look for war, but we are not afraid of it. This is the well-known truth.” » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Thursday, January 18, 2024

Le Pakistan annonce avoir frappé en Iran et tué « des terroristes »

LE MONDE : Au moins neuf personnes, toutes de nationalité pakistanaises, ont été tuées jeudi dans le sud-est de l’Iran par des frappes de missiles menées par le Pakistan et dénoncées par l’Iran, ont rapporté des médias officiels.

Le Pakistan a annoncé, jeudi 18 janvier, avoir mené dans la nuit des « frappes contre des caches terroristes » en Iran, deux jours après une attaque iranienne sur son territoire ayant tué deux enfants.

« Ce matin, le Pakistan a mené une série de frappes de précision, hautement coordonnées et spécifiquement ciblées, contre des caches terroristes dans la province du Sistan-et-Baloutchistan », dans le sud-est de l’Iran, a annoncé dans un communiqué le ministère des affaires étrangères pakistanais. « La mesure (…) a été prise au vu de renseignements crédibles sur d’imminentes activités terroristes à une large échelle », a justifié le ministère, affirmant qu’un « certain nombre de terroristes » avaient été tués. » | Le Monde avec AFP | jeudi 18 janvier 2024

Friday, January 12, 2024

Houthi Attacks Mark the Beginning of Conflict over the Red Sea and the Gulf

Jan 12, 2024 | “It's very clear that they are part of a much wider strategy from Iran to sow chaos in the near abroad.” Houthi attacks mark the “beginning of a protracted conflict over the Red Sea and the Gulf”, says Politico’s correspondent Gabriel Gavin.

Monday, January 08, 2024

Iranian Woman Whipped 74 Times for Refusing to Wear Hijab

THE TELEGRAPH: 33-year-old was charged with 'encouraging permissiveness' after several Tehran outings

Roya Heshmati, 33, was told she was being punished because she had violated public morals

An Iranian woman received 74 lashes for refusing to wear the hijab, defying the strict dress code even as she was taken to be whipped.

Roya Heshmati, 33, was charged with “encouraging permissiveness” after appearing unveiled on several occasions in the capital, Tehran.

“Her penalty of 74 strokes of the lash was carried out in accordance with the law and with sharia,” and “for violating public morals,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said late on Saturday.

Ms Heshmati was also reportedly ordered to pay a fine of 12 million rials (£225).

“The convicted … encouraged permissiveness [by appearing] disgracefully in busy public places in Tehran,” Mizan reported.



“As the lashes struck my body, I whispered, ‘In the name of woman, in the name of life, dawn will come,’” BBC Persian quoted her as saying, adding she had refused to cover her hair even as she was transported to be flogged. » | Telegraph’s Foreign Staff | Sunday, January 7, 2024

As I have said before, Islam is a pox on the free world. Unfortunately, this dark thinking has been brought to our shores. Many a Muslim living in Britain longs for the introduction of the Sharia’h to replace our common law. Beware! – © Mark Alexander

Monday, December 25, 2023

L’Iran accuse Israël d’avoir tué un de ses commandants en Syrie

LE MONDE : Interrogée sur cette frappe, l’armée israélienne a dit ne « pas commenter les informations des médias étrangers ».

Les gardiens de la révolution, l’armée idéologique de l’Iran, ont accusé Israël d’avoir tué un de leurs commandants lundi dans une frappe en Syrie, et promis de venger sa mort. Selon la télévision d’Etat, le général de brigade Razi Moussavi a été visé par « trois missiles » dans un quartier de Sayeda Zeinab, au sud de Damas. La chaîne a diffusé des images de colonnes de fumée s’élevant, selon elle, de la zone de l’attaque. Interrogée sur cette frappe, l’armée israélienne a dit ne « pas commenter les informations des médias étrangers ». » | Le Monde avec AFP | lundi 25 décembre 2023

Friday, December 08, 2023

Le destin tragique de la dernière impératrice d'Iran | INA Mireille Dumas

Nov 28, 2023 | Mireille Dumas reçoit Farah Diba Pahlavi, la dernière impératrice d'Iran qui a du fuir son pays avec Mohammad Reza Pahlavi le 16 janvier 1979 après la chute de la monarchie iranienne. Elle raconte sa rencontre avec le shah, son rôle d'impératrice auprès des Iraniens et son regard sur la situation actuelle au sein de la république islamique d'Iran.


À mon avis, cela aurait été bien mieux pour l’Iran et pour les Iraniens s’ils étaient restés fidèles au Shah et à Shahbanou. Le trône du paon était ancré dans l’histoire et l’élégance. Sa Majesté l'impératrice Farah Pahlavi aurait pu apporter à l'Iran et aux Iraniens tant de respect, d'élégance et de position dans le monde. La chute de la dynastie est une véritable tragédie. C’est une grande perte non seulement pour les Iraniens mais aussi pour le monde entier. – © Mark Alexander

WIKIPEDIA: Farah Pahlavi »

Her Majesty Queen Farah Pahlavi [Official website] »

Iran Looks to Houthi Proxies to Escalate Fight With Israel

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The Iranian-backed militia in Yemen has launched drone and missile attacks on Israeli and American targets. American officials fear the group could go too far and incite a wider war.

Houthi fighters who have volunteered to fight in Gaza against Israel during a parade this month in Sana, Yemen. | Khaled Abdullah/Reuters

The Houthis, Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen who have launched recent drone and missile attacks on Israeli and American targets, are emerging as an unpredictable and dangerous wild card in the Middle East — the proxies that Iran considers most suited to widening the war with Israel.

Analysts close to the Iranian government said the Houthis’ base in Yemen makes them ideally positioned to escalate fighting in the region, in the hopes of pressuring Israel to end its war with Hamas in Gaza.

The analysts’ assessment tracks with descriptions of a plan by Iran and its network of militias to increase attacks on Israeli and American targets in the region, according to two Iranians affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps who were not authorized to speak publicly.

The Houthis, the analysts said, are Iran’s chosen proxies because from Yemen they are both close enough to the Red Sea’s strategic waterways to disrupt global shipping, and far enough from Israel to make retaliatory strikes difficult. Unlike Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group that has struck Israel from Lebanon, the Houthis are not beholden to domestic political dynamics — making them effectively accountable to no one. » | Farnaz Fassihi, Ronen Bergman and Eric Schmitt | Friday, December 8, 2023

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

A U.S.-Iranian Miscalculation Could Lead to a Larger War, Officials Say

THE NEW YORK TIMES: U.S. forces and militias backed by Iran have launched tit-for-tat attacks, fueling concerns as Israeli forces also clash with Iranian-backed groups.

Neither Washington nor Tehran wants the conflict in the Gaza Strip to trigger a wider war in the region, officials in both capitals say.

But in the seven weeks since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Iranian-backed militias have launched more than 70 rocket and drone attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria. The Pentagon, for its part, has responded with four rounds of airstrikes, killing as many as 15 people, U.S. officials say.

National security officials fear a miscalculation amid tit-for-tat attacks, combined with each side’s belief that the other does not want a larger fight, could trigger exactly that: a regional conflict, just two years after the United States ended 20 years of war in the Middle East and South Asia. » | Helene Cooper, Eric Schmitt and Julian E. Barnes | Reporting from Washington | Wednesday, November 29, 2023

MI6 Agent on the Upcoming Increase of Terrorism from Iran | The Jordan Harbinger Show | JHS Ep. 912

Nov 28, 2023 | Why are Iranian hit squads operating in the UK and even the US? Former MI6 intelligence officer and spy novelist Matthew Dunn shares his inside info here!

Iran Execution of Child Condemned by UN Human Rights Office

GUARDIAN EUROPE: Seventeen-year-old Hamidreza Azari was executed along with Milad Zohrevand, 22, as UN agency calls for moratorium on capital punishment

The United Nations said Tuesday it deplored the executions of a 17-year-old and a 22-year old in Iran and urged Tehran to immediately stop applying the death penalty.

The UN Human Rights Office said it was troubled by Friday’s executions. “The execution of Hamidreza Azari, who was accused of murder, is the first reported execution of an alleged child offender in Iran this year,” spokesperson Elizabeth Throssell said in a statement.

She reminded Tehran of its obligation under international conventions to prohibit death sentences and their implementation for crimes committed by individuals below the age of 18.

“We are also troubled by the execution, on the same day, of 22-year-old Milad Zohrevand – the eighth person to be executed in the context of the September 2022 protests,” said Throssell.

“Available information indicates that his trial lacked the basic requirements for due process under international human rights law. There are also troubling reports that Zohrevand’s parents were arrested following his execution.

“We deplore the executions.” » | Agence-France Presse | Wednesday, November 29, 2023

This tells us all we need to know about Islam! It is a religion characterised by mercilessness and brutality. – © Mark Alexander

‘It is not possible to organise in Iran’: jailed activist warns of totalitarianism after Mahsa Amini protests: Majid Tavakoli says protesters should have had more help from abroad but the west doesn’t understand what Iran has become »

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Ursprünge der Konfrontation: Iran, Israel und USA (1/2) | Doku HD | ARTE

Nov 28, 2023 | Es ist heute schwer vorstellbar, aber zu Zeiten des Schah-Regimes und vor der Geburt der Islamischen Republik waren der Iran und Israel befreundete Länder – ein strategisches Bündnis, das mit der Islamischen Revolution 1979 abrupt endete. Der erste ausländische Vertreter, der nach dem Volksaufstand in den Iran kam, war Palästinenserführer Jassir Arafat.

Zu Zeiten des Schahs und vor Gründung der Islamischen Republik waren der Iran und Israel befreundete Länder und Verbündete der USA im Kalten Krieg. Gemeinsam bildeten sie eine Front gegen den arabischen Nationalismus, der im Mittleren Osten an Einfluss gewann. Ihre strategische Partnerschaft wurde durch eine weitreichende wirtschaftliche und sicherheitspolitische Zusammenarbeit untermauert. Mit der Islamischen Revolution 1979 endete diese freundschaftliche Beziehung. Der erste ausländische Vertreter, der nach dem Volksaufstand in den Iran kam, war Palästinenserführer Jassir Arafat. In der diplomatischen Vertretung Israels zog die palästinensische Botschaft ein. Die Geiselnahme in der US-Botschaft besiegelte schließlich den Bruch mit der westlichen Welt. Bald schon kollidierten die Ambitionen und Interessen Teherans mit denen Washingtons und Tel Avivs. 1982 kam es zum Eklat, als Israel im Libanon einmarschierte – eine Verkettung unvorhersehbarer Umstände. Israel verfolgte die Absicht, die Entstehung eines neuen, christlich dominierten Libanon zu unterstützen, der zu einem Verbündeten werden könnte. Auf diese Weise wollte Tel Aviv den Palästinensern Einhalt gebieten, die den Libanon zum Brückenkopf für ihre Guerilla-Aktionen gemacht hatten. Tatsächlich aber geriet dadurch das strategische Gleichgewicht des Mittleren Ostens ins Wanken. Wenig später wurde ein Bombenanschlag auf das Hauptquartier der israelischen Armee im südlibanesischen Tyros verübt. Israel begriff zunächst nicht, wer hinter dem Angriff steckte. Später stellte sich heraus, dass es der erste Selbstmordanschlag einer neuen schiitischen Revolutionsbewegung gewesen war. Durch ihre Einmischung in einem tief und vielfach gespaltenen Land hatten die Israelis eine religiöse Minderheit auf den Plan gerufen, die bis dahin als Randgruppe galt und kaum politisiert war: die Schiiten, marginalisiert und zahlreich. Die Islamische Republik Iran bot den militanten und politisch-religiös motivierten Schiiten ihre ideologische, logistische und militärische Unterstützung an. So entstand die Hisbollah, die zunächst im Libanon und dann in der ganzen Region Fuß fasste. Bald schon wurden amerikanische und französische Militärstützpunkte zur Zielscheibe von Selbstmordanschlägen. Die westlichen und auch die israelischen Streitkräfte zogen aus dem Libanon ab. Noch nie war der Iran Israel so bedrohlich nah …

Dokumentation von Vincent de Cointet (F 2018, 54 Min)
Video auf YouTube verfügbar bis zum 03/02/2024


Thursday, November 23, 2023

"He's Very Ambitious" - Can Saudi Crown Prince MBS Help Stabilize the Middle East?

Nov 19, 2023 | Patrick Bet-David and the Crown Prince of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, discuss the role of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) in fostering stability in the Middle East.

Sunday, November 19, 2023

Iran's Last Monarch: The Events that Led to the Islamic Revolution | Last Persian Shah | Timeline

Oct 1, 2023 | Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's story begins with good ideas and ideals and ends in bloody chaos. On the one hand, he helped carry Iran into modernity. His wealth was legendary, and his marriages made tabloid headlines for years. However, his name also stands for a time of human rights violations, vicious oppression and intolerance. Had Shah Reza Pahlavi not come to power, it’s unlikely that radical Islam would have the widespread political and brutal effects it has today. The film shows what has remained of the legacy of the regime after the Islamic Revolution to this day combining his biography with the social, political, economic and religious tendencies of the time.


You can discover the past on History Hit with ad-free exclusive podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Matt Lewis and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code 'TIMELINE' here.

Thursday, November 09, 2023

Persia under the Shah

This is an amateur movie of Iran before the Mullahs got their mitts on the country and turned a delightful country into a nightmare.

Wednesday, November 08, 2023

En Iran, le Français Louis Arnaud condamné à 5 ans de prison pour propagande et atteinte à la sécurité de l’Etat

LE MONDE : La porte-parole du ministère des affaires étrangères a jugé « inacceptable » cette condamnation « que rien ne permet d’étayer ». Louis Arnaud est détenu en Iran depuis septembre 2022.

Le Français Louis Arnaud, détenu en Iran depuis septembre 2022, a été condamné à cinq années de prison « après plusieurs audiences dans un tribunal sans la présence de ses avocats », a déclaré mercredi 8 novembre sa mère, Sylvie Arnaud.

« Cette condamnation, que rien ne permet d’étayer, et l’absence de tout accès à un avocat, est inacceptable », a réagi la porte-parole du ministère français des affaires étrangères, Anne-Claire Legendre, lors d’un point presse du ministère. Mme Legendre a appelé à « sa libération immédiate, ainsi qu’à celle de la totalité des Français arbitrairement détenus en Iran ».

« Les accusations portées à son encontre, à savoir propagande et atteinte à la sécurité de l’Etat iranien, sont totalement infondées », a-t-elle ajouté dans un communiqué. Aucune information n’a été donnée en Iran sur le procès et sur le jugement. » | Le Monde avec AFP | mercredi 8 novembre 2023

Israel-Hamas War: Crown Prince of Iran Tells Piers Morgan Regime "Is The Godfather of Terrorism"

Nov 8, 2023 | Piers Morgan opens up his latest show with a monologue on Benjamin Netanyahu's desire to occupy Gaza before interviewing Iran's exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi. The prince discusses the rise of Islamic extremism across the region and warns that radicals want to change the way of life "even in Europe." Of terrorism he says: "It's a disease that needs to be cured… the cure is to put an end to what is the source to this extremism or radicalism." Asked if he had any doubt Iran was behind the events of October 7th, he said the regime were the “godfather of terrorism”, adding he hoped to see regime change in Iran in future.


I warned of the dangers of Islam to the West many years before even 9/11. One of the biggest problems is Islam's insistence on there being no separation of politics and religion, no separation of mosque and state. I have said it before, many times, and I will say it again: oil and water simply do not mix. The real problem will never be solved because Western politicians and the Western mainstream media simply skirt around the real problem. – @ Mark Alexander

Friday, November 03, 2023

In a Worldwide War of Words, Russia, China and Iran Back Hamas

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Officials and researchers say the deluge of online propaganda and disinformation is larger than anything seen before.

A recently erected billboard in Tehran depicts Muslims walking toward the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem while carrying their national flags. | Atta Kenare/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The conflict between Israel and Hamas is fast becoming a world war online.

Iran, Russia and, to a lesser degree, China have used state media and the world’s major social networking platforms to support Hamas and undercut Israel, while denigrating Israel’s principal ally, the United States.

Iran’s proxies in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq have also joined the fight online, along with extremist groups, like Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, that were previously at odds with Hamas.

The deluge of online propaganda and disinformation is larger than anything seen before, according to government officials and independent researchers — a reflection of the world’s geopolitical division.

“It is being seen by millions, hundreds of millions of people around the world,” said Rafi Mendelsohn, vice president at Cyabra, a social media intelligence company in Tel Aviv, “and it’s impacting the war in a way that is probably just as effective as any other tactic on the ground.” Cyabra has documented at least 40,000 bots or inauthentic accounts online since Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7.

The content — visceral, emotionally charged, politically slanted and often false — has stoked anger and even violence far beyond Gaza, raising fears that it could inflame a wider conflict. Iran, though it has denied any involvement in the attack by Hamas, has threatened as much, with its foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, warning of retaliation on “multiple fronts” if Israeli forces persisted in Gaza. » | Steven Lee Myers and Sheera Frenkel | Friday, November 3, 2023

Krieg in Nahost: Wie gefährlich ist der Iran? | Markus Lanz vom 2. November 2023

Nov 3, 2023 | Viele Menschen, egal ob Experten oder nicht, fürchten eine Ausweitung des Nahostkonflikts, einen Flächenbrand, der auch andere arabische Staaten mit in den Konflikt ziehen könnte. Eines der Länder, das besonders feindlich gegen Israel gestimmt ist, finanziert teilweise die Hamas, aber auch die Hisbollah aus dem Libanon. Die Rede ist vom Iran.

Die aus Teheran stammende Journalistin Mariam Lau blickt besorgt auf das in ihrem Heimatland regierende Mullah-Regime. Dieses Regime mache keinen Hehl daraus, dass es Israel als Land vernichtet sehen wolle. Israelfeindliche Parolen in den Schulen oder ein öffentlicher Timer, der die Tage Israels zähle. Deswegen sei es nicht ungewöhnlich, dass der Iran die palästinensische Terroristengruppe Hamas finanziell unterstütze.

Dass der Iran allerdings selber mit Militär in den Konflikt eingreife, bezweifelt Mariam Lau. Denn dies bedeute auch, sich mit den anderen Big-Playern auf dieser Welt anzulegen, wie zum Beispiel den USA, die schon zwei Flugzeugträger vor der Küste Israels stationiert haben.


Thursday, November 02, 2023

Iranian Mother Jailed for 13 Years after Denouncing Death of Son Shot at Protest

GUARDIAN EUROPE: Mahsa Yazdani convicted of blasphemy and ‘insulting supreme leader’ as Iran regime targets families of those killed in protests

Mohammad Javad Zahedi with his mother, Mahsa Yazdani. She was jailed after calling for justice for her 20-year-old son, who was killed after being shot in protests last year. Photograph: Twitter

A mother in Iran, whose son was reportedly killed after being shot repeatedly at close range by security forces, has been sentenced to 13 years in prison by an Iranian court after she demanded justice for her child on social media.

Mahsa Yazdani, whose 20-year-old son Mohammad Javad Zahedi was killed at an anti-regime protest in September 2022, was convicted on charges of blasphemy, incitement, insulting the supreme leader, and spreading anti-regime propaganda, according to human rights groups and family members. They say she will serve the first five years with no chance of parole.

Videos and photos of her son’s body riddled with shotgun pellets went viral on social media during the mass protests sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman who was arrested by Iran’s “morality police” for not wearing her hijab correctly. » | Deepa Parent | Thursday, November 2, 2023

Wednesday, November 01, 2023

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Iran’s involvement in the Israel-Palestine conflict | NPR

Oct 31, 2023 | Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian sat down with NPR’s Steve Inskeep to discuss how Israel’s intensifying military campaign in Gaza is raising the specter of a broader regional war involving Iran-allied groups.

"If this situation continues, and women and children and civilians are still killed in Gaza and the West Bank, anything will be possible," Abdollahian said.

The U.S. State Department says Iran has long provided weapons and support for Hamas. Ali Barakeh, a senior Hamas official based in Beirut has said that Iran provided "help and support" for its Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel where Israeli authorities say the group killed more than 1,400 people and took some 220 hostages.

Iran's warning comes as Israeli military operations have killed more than 7,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, and displaced more than a million others. Israel has acknowledged civilian casualties but contends its aim is to rid the territory of Hamas fighters.