Iran Focus
London, 29 Jan – Prior to the US exit from the Iran nuclear deal last May, it was negotiating with the EU to coordinate pressure on Iran to fill gaps in the deal – specifically Iranian global terrorism and ballistic missile testing. There were other issues that the US wanted to address, but they were not part of the package, and the Trump administration decided to break with the EU and confront Tehran alone.
Iran Focus
London, 28 Jan – U.S. President Donald Trump exited the 2015 Iran nuclear deal last year as promised. He clearly stated that he would not allow the terrorist and criminal Mullahs ruling Iran to continue benefiting from a deal that only Iran benefitted from. Trump explained that the nuclear agreement guaranteed a nuclear arms race in the region instead of curbing the Iran threat. Trump also spoke about the people of Iran who are systematically being denied the most basic of human rights.
Iran Focus
London, 28 Jan – The Iranian government is gearing up to consolidate power in countries across the Middle East where it has influence, including Iraq, in an apparent bid to wage war against the US for sanctions imposed on Iran and its Hezbollah proxy last year.
Last November, the US reimposed sanctions against over 700 Iranian individuals and entities, including major banks, oil exporters and shipping companies, and designated the son of Iran-backed Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah a global terrorist, while in October, the US sanctioned Hezbollah and some of those who provide material, financial or technological support to the group.
Iran Focus
London, 27 Jan – This month the Dutch authorities publicly announced that it had “strong indications” the Iranian government had commissioned the murder of a prominent Dutch citizen of Iranian origin, Ahmad Mola Nissi. He was gunned down in front of his home in November of 2017. He was part of the leadership of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz, an activist group that agitates for the formation of a separate state in western Iran. Iran’s government condemns the group as a terrorist organization.
Iran Focus
London, 27 Jan – Iran secretly bought replacement parts for its Arak nuclear reactor during negotiations for the 2015 nuclear deal, knowing that they would be required to destroy the originals, according to the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi.
Iran Focus
London, 26 Jan – Europe has undeniable evidence about the Iran’s terrorist activities on the Green Continent, according to Ali Majedi, the former Iranian ambassador to Germany, in an interview with Iran’s state-run ISNA news agency.
This shocking admittance comes as European authorities have taken a series of measures against the Iranian government’s terrorist activities in their countries, including sanctions against an Iranian “commercial” airliner and the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS).
Iran Focus
London, 25 Jan – German officials have announced that an Iranian airline has been banned from all German airports. Mahan Air has been accused of using its aircraft to transport personnel and weapons to terrorists in Syria.
At the beginning of the week, the German foreign ministry said that the ban is effective immediately. The airline is the second largest Iranian carrier (after Iran Air). There were, until now, a number of regular flights between Iran and Germany.
Iran Focus
London, 25 Jan – The 2015 Iran nuclear deal was a great source of positivity for many when it was being signed. U.S. President Barack Obama who oversaw the negotiations promised his nation that the deal would make Iran more moderate and more of an international player than it had been. The EU saw the deal as necessary in order to contain the Iran nuclear threat. But the biggest winner of all was Iran.
Iran Focus
London, 24 Jan – The Iranian Writers Association (IWA) objected to the high and unaffordable bails that judicial authorities set for three of its members, accused of vague national security charges, which has caused the members to be stuck in the notorious Evin prison.
In the IWA’s Tuesday statement, they describe the roughly $240,000 bail set for Bektash Abtin, Kayvan Bazhan, and Reza Khandan Mahabadi as “unacceptable” and demanded their immediate release.
Iran Focus
London, 24 Jan – The UAE has condemned Iran for its interference in the Middle East, accusing the Gulf country of creating tension and instability in the region, during the UN Security Council’s quarterly Open Debate on the situation in the Middle East.
Saud Al Shamsi, Deputy Permanent Representative of the UAE to the UN, delivered a statement to the debate, which read: “The conflicts in Yemen and Syria clearly show that Iran is the common perpetrator. Iran has created more tension and instability in our region, posing a serious threat to the stability of the Middle East. We therefore call on the international community and the Security Council to seriously pressure Iran to end its interference and support for terrorist and sectarian militias in Arab countries.”
