Iran Focus

London, 18 Oct – There are four things in Iran that impact heavily on US foreign policy: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, his personal terror squads (the Revolutionary Guards and its Quds Force unit), the Iranian Government led by so-called moderate Hassan Rouhani, and the Iranian people themselves whose views and values are incredibly different to that of their oppressive rulers.

The first, second, and third elements are hard to untangle.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is only answerable to Khamenei, controls much of the Iranian economy (often through illicit means), while the Quds Force (designated as a terrorist supporter by the US and Canada) seeks to destabilise the Middle East through proxy terror cells.

Iran Focus

London, 17 Oct – Donald Trump believes that the Iranian Regime may be changing its tone, just days after he decertified their compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, but stressed that this shift may not be genuine because they are skilled negotiators.

He said: “They negotiated a phenomenal deal for themselves but a horrible deal for the United States, and we’re going to see what happens.”

On October 16, just days after decertifying them, Trump said: “This nation has been taken advantage of for many, many years—for many decades, frankly—and I’m tired of watching it.”

Iran Focus

London, 17 Oct – According to the reports, an athlete has been under arrest since August 2017 in Iran. He has been arrested for receiving an invitation from the Bodybuilding Federation of Israel and expressing interest in participating in the tournament. The athlete Mohammad Kahkesh was shortly detained in the ward of the Ministry of Intelligence and is currently in the general ward of Evin Prison.

In a letter, Mohammad Kahkesh emphasizes his innocence writing that he is the official trainer of the Iranian Fitness Federation, the sports consultant for more than 10 sports clubs in Khuzestan Province, and sports coach and consultant of the Iran national junior football team.

Iran Focus

London, 16 Oct – America should clarify that Donald Trump’s decision to decertify Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal does not mean that sanctions will be swiftly reimposed, but that the Iranian Regime will be given a chance to properly curb their nuclear and military activities according to an expert in the Middle East.

Abdulrahman Al-Rashed, the former general manager of Al Arabiya news channel, and former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat, wrote an op-ed for Arab News in which he said that America should lay out the terms before the Iranian Regime’s PR campaign has further painted the US as the Great Satan.