Iran Set to Take ISIS’s Place as Chief Cause of Strife in Middle East

Staff Writer
-
0
Iran Set to Take ISIS’s Place as Chief Cause of Strife in Middle East

Iran Focus

London, 1 Nov – The Iranian Regime is seizing on the chance to further destabilise the Middle East- particularly Iraq and Syria- as the threat posed by ISIS is being steadily decreased by coalition forces.

In northern Iraq, Iran-backed forces seized an oil-rich region back from the Kurdish Peshmerga (who actually won it back from ISIS) following the independence referendum that the Kurds voted overwhelmingly in favour of.

There are two Kurdish groups fighting for dominance in the region; the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) who controls the majority of the Kurdish Government and is supported by the US and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), an Iranian ally.

The KDP was the group run out of Kirkuk in Iraq.

Continue

Iran’s Involvement in Iraq

Staff Writer
-
0
Iran’s Involvement in Iraq

Iran Focus

London, 31 Oct – Commander of the Iranian Quds Force, Major General Qassem Soleimani, was behind the operation that resulted in the recent takeover of Kirkuk by Iranian backed militias and the Iraqi army. This shows that Iran, without a doubt, has an extremely influential role in Iraq.

It is unclear how much of a role was played by the Prime Minister of Iraq Haider al-Abadi, but it is certain that the big decisions were made by Iran to be followed in Iraq.

Al-Abadi is being criticised for resorting to violence against the Kurds so early on and they say that he should have engaged in talks in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region. Furthermore, Erbil played a big role alongside Baghdad in the fight against ISIS.

Continue

IRGC Imports’ Role in Bankrupting Iran’s Economy

Staff Writer
-
0
IRGC Imports’ Role in Bankrupting Iran’s Economy

Iran Focus

London, 31 Oct – Smuggling and other imports by the entities of the Iranian Regime may soon bankrupt the economy according to recent reports.

The official figures from the Iran Customs Administration state that over $50 billion worth of goods is imported to Iran annually with a further $17-25 billion worth of goods being smuggled in.

It also shows that imports have risen by 15% in the first half of 2017 and non-oil exports have dropped by 3%. This is worrying because Iran’s economy is undeveloped and increased imports of goods that could easily be produced in Iran puts a real strain on native workers and contributes to the unemployment rate.

Continue

Iranian Porters Face Deadly Crisis

Staff Writer
-
0
Iranian Porters Face Deadly Crisis

Iran Focus

London, 31 Oct – A member of the Iranian Regime’s parliament has addressed that there is a major crisis facing porters (kolbars) in Iran that is resulting in the deaths of many.

Rassoul Khezri told a state-run news agency on October 28 that there are some 75,000 people in Iran who are working as porters- many of whom are students- and risking their lives for a pittance.

A porter will carry goods across the Iranian border through mountainous areas on their back (as in many instances, no vehicle could make the journey) in order to make a living. It is believed to be very widespread amongst students in border towns, as assessed by Ali Mohammad Zadeh, a teacher.

Continue

Saudi Arabia Seeks to Counter Iran With Nuclear Programme

Staff Writer
-
0
Saudi Arabia Seeks to Counter Iran With Nuclear Programme

Iran Focus

London, 31 Oct – Saudi Arabia has begun doubling down on its nuclear programme in order to counterbalance the threat posed by Iran as evidenced by a statement released on Monday.

The statement said that Saudi Arabia would begin uranium extraction efforts in order to achieve nuclear self-sufficiency.

Although it is not clear whether Saudi Arabia would then enrich the uranium (a process needed to create nuclear weapons), this statement is a huge turning point.

Continue

Iran: Rouhani Attacks Opposition Group and Defends Missile Programme

Staff Writer
-
0
Iran: Rouhani Attacks Opposition Group and Defends Missile Programme

Iran Focus

London, 31 Oct – The President of Iran, which has been dubbed the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, has viciously attacked the opposition party with baseless claims about their links to terrorism.

On October 29, Hassan Rouhani made a speech to the Iranian Parliament in which he showcased exactly how scared he- and by extension the rest of the Regime- is of the Iranian people’s organised resistance forces (the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran or PMOI), who have much support across the world, by hysterically attacking them.

Continue

Iran Seizes Great Swathes of Land in Iraq and Syria

Staff Writer
-
0
Iran Seizes Great Swathes of Land in Iraq and Syria

Iran Focus

London, 30 Oct – For months now, Middle East experts have been warning that Iranian-backed militias would set out to steal land, recovered from ISIS as part of a joint mission, along the Syria-Iraq border.

As it turns out, these predictions weren’t strong enough.

The proxies of the Iranian Regime have stolen almost the entire Iraq-Syria border zone, stretching almost all the way from the northern border with Turkey to Iraq’s Anbar province in the south.

Their biggest land grab occurred just last week, when Kurdish forces withdrew from disputed territory that they reclaimed from ISIS after receiving threats from Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Continue

Iran: Rouhani’s First 100 Days

Staff Writer
-
0
Iran: Rouhani’s First 100 Days

Iran Focus

London, 30 Oct – In 2013, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani promised to improve the everyday lives of the Iranian people within the first 100 days of his presidency and 100 days following his take over, he declared that he had achieved this.

This declaration was as much a lie as his promises were. He hadn’t achieved this by the end of his first term in office, let alone at the 100-day mark.

In 2017, he made similar promises and now, as we close in on the 100-day deadline, Iran analyst Taher Khaljani assessed on Zamaneh Media that it is doubtful that Rouhani will achieve these promises in the little time he has left, if he ever intended to at all.

Continue

IRGC Involved in 1983 Beirut Bombing

Staff Writer
-
0
IRGC Involved in 1983 Beirut Bombing

Iran Focus

London, 30 Oct – In 1983, a suicide bombing of a Marines barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, killed 241 American service members, 58 French military personnel and six civilians, and injured hundreds more.

On October 23, the suicide bomber drove a truck into the barracks and detonated about 1,000 kg of explosives (roughly 15,000 to 21,000 pounds of TNT).

The Islamic Jihad organisation, which claimed responsibility for the attack, was actually a special ops branch under the joint command of the Lebanese Hezbollah and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).

Continue

The Iran Nuclear Deal Is Collapsing

Staff Writer
-
0
The Iran Nuclear Deal Is Collapsing

Iran Focus

London, 30 Oct – A little over two weeks ago, Donald Trump decertified Iranian compliance with the 2015 Nuclear Deal, which was supposed to impose strict limits on the rogue state’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

Now Congress must decide whether or not to reimpose sanctions waived under the nuclear deal by mid-December.

The hope for the deal, signed by the permanent members of the UN Security Council (the US, UK, Russia, France and China) plus Germany, were high. Iran would give up its nuclear programme in order to obtain sanctions relief and then be slowly convinced through interaction with other countries to dispose of its other troubling behaviours, like support for terrorism and destabilisation of fellow nation states.

Continue
1...595596597...3,792Page 596 of 3,792