AP: Iran will target American aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf should a war between the two countries ever break out, the naval chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard warned Tuesday as the country completes work on a large-scale mock-up of a U.S. carrier.
Iran admiral: US ships are a target in case of war
Dictators need no excuses to crack down on dissent
The Hill: “Don’t give them an excuse to crack down on dissent,” is a favorite sophism spread among foreign-policy elites, lazy bureaucrats and big-chair academics. Dictators love it. The Obama administration remained shamefully silent throughout that tragic crackdown on Iranian dissent.
Iran Guards suspected of keeping secret funds in Asia
Kyodo News International: An Iranian elite group is suspected of keeping secret funds in various parts of the world including South Korea and Malaysia, dodging internationally coordinated economic sanctions, people familiar with the matter said Sunday.
China aims to boost military relations with Iran
Reuters: China wants deeper defense ties with Iran, Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan told his Iranian counterpart on Monday, according to Chinese state media, as Beijing moves to cement already close ties with a major oil supplier.
Iran tests foreign interest with oil fair
AFP: Iran’s annual oil and gas fair opens in Tehran on Tuesday, with 600 foreign companies seeking to position themselves for a return to large-scale operations if international sanctions are lifted.
Islamic Jihad gains new traction in Gaza
New York Times: Analysts say that because it is backed by Iranian funds and free of any burden of governing, Islamic Jihad has been able to assert itself while Hamas is partly blamed by a restive population for rampant unemployment and daily shortfalls of fuel, electricity and water.
Iran triples trade envoys abroad to boost commerce
AP: Tehran will almost triple the number of commercial attaches in its embassies abroad to boost trade ties. Miraboutaleb Badri, an official with the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran, is quoted on Monday as saying the government is raising the number of commercial attaches abroad from 11 to 30.
Eye-for-an-eye incivility
New York Times: The death penalty is an abhorrent attempt to sate an irrational cultural bloodlust. According to a 2014 report from Amnesty International, “only nine countries have continuously executed in each of the past five years — Bangladesh, China, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, U.S.A. and Yemen.”
Iran eyes new oil along border with Iraq
UPI: Iran said Friday it could get about 30,000 barrels of oil per day during the initial phase of operations at the Azar oil field straddling the border with Iraq. Iran said operations on its side of the border will begin during the first half of the next Iranian calendar year, which begins in March.
Rubio: Obama being played by Putin
The Hill: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said Saturday that President Obama has not done enough to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine. President Obama was also criticized by Republicans for his handling of the civil war in Syria and, more recently, the nuclear crisis in Iran.
