The Guardian: Iran and Hezbollah have built a 50,000-strong parallel force in Syria to help prolong the life of the Assad regime and to maintain their influence after his fall, Israel’s military intelligence chief has claimed.
Iran and Hezbollah ‘have built 50,000-strong force to help Syrian regime’
Iran cleric says Ahmadinejad Chavez remarks ‘heresy’
AFP: A senior Iranian cleri accused President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of “heresy” on Friday by saying in his tribute to late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez that he would be resurrected with Jesus Christ.
Wife of Christian pastor held in Iran to testify before Congress
Fox News: The wife of the American pastor imprisoned in Iran for his Christian faith is on her way to Washington, where she will press lawmakers to fight for her husband’s freedom.
U.S. imposes sanctions on covert Iran oil-shipping network
Reuters: The United States slapped financial sanctions on Thursday on a Greek businessman it says secretly operated a shipping network on behalf of the Iranian government to get around international sanctions on the country’s sale of oil.
Pentagon: Iranian plane pursued US spy drone
AP: An Iranian fighter jet approached a U.S. surveillance drone over the Persian Gulf but broke off its pursuit after the pilot of a U.S. escort plane radioed a verbal warning, the Pentagon said Thursday.
Obama says Iran a year away from nuclear weapon
AP: Iran is about a year away from developing a nuclear weapon and the United States remains committed to doing everything in its power to prevent that from happening, President Barack Obama said in an exclusive interview aired Thursday on Israeli TV.
Time to save Iranian exiles in Iraq before more lives are wasted
UPI: The international community should act to prevent a catastrophe and ensure that the story of the residents of Camp Liberty in Iraq does not go down as tragedy.
Ten years on, Iraq haunts US response to Syria, Iran
AFP: Ten years after the US-led invasion of Iraq, the searing memory of what became a deeply unpopular war has made Washington policy makers reluctant to use even limited force in Syria or Iran.
Wounded Iranian dies in Iraq, says group in exile
AP: A spokesman says a member of an Iranian opposition group exiled in Iraq has died of injuries sustained in an attack last month on their camp near Baghdad.
Iran steps up weapons lifeline to Syria’s Assad – envoys
Reuters: Iran has significantly stepped up military support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in recent months, solidifying its position alongside Russia as the government’s lifeline in an increasingly sectarian civil war, Western diplomats said.
