Iran Focus:
London, 6 May – On Friday, Republican leaders of the House Oversight Committee said that an investigation is being initiated to look into claims that Obama’s administration undermined a US counterproliferation effort to foil Iranian weapon trafficking activities. The administration has been accused of jeopardising national security in an effort to convince Iran to sign the nuclear deal and to carry out a prisoner swap.
Iran Focus:
London, 6 May – Most of Yurt mine’s stock belonged to the repressive organ, Basidj.
According to the report of the board of Yurt coal mine, three of the five members of the board of this mine depend on the Mehr financial group, which belongs to Bassidj, a repressive organ of the regime. This financial institution was founded in 1993.
Iran Focus:
London, 5 May – In 2012, Iranian diplomat Hamid Mohammadi said there were many Iranian-Canadians “working in influential government positions” and called on others to “occupy high-level and key positions.” Now, in Canada, Iran is making an effort to expand its presence, with an aim to use America’s neighbour as a “forward operating base” for influence operations against the American government.
Iran Focus:
London, 5 May – An agreement calling for the creation of four “safe zones” in Syria was signed by Turkey, Iran and Russia, but rejected by opposition fighters, who walked out of a press conference where the deal was announced, in the Kazakh capital, Astana.
The opposition delegation said they would never accept Iran as a guarantor of a peace process, and criticized Russia, claiming that there was a huge gap between its promises and actions. They suggested that the plan may lead to the disintegration of Syria.
Iran Focus:
London, 5 May – Pentagon officials saw more evidence of North Korea’s assistance when Iran tried to launch a cruise missile from a midget submarine earlier this week. Intelligence reports claim the submarine was the same type that sank a South Korean warship in 2010, which was Pyongyang designed.
Iran Focus:
London, 5 May – The “brutal assassination” of an Iranian television executive in Istanbul carries all the trademarks of a clandestine operation by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), writes former European lawmaker Struan Stevenson for the United Press International.
Stevenson wrote on Wednesday that the regime in Tehran “is no stranger to violence”.
Iran Focus:
London, 4 May – Last month, Iranian officials announced that Iran’s defense budget increased by 145 percent under President Hassan Rouhani, and the military is moving forward with massive restructuring to make it “a forward moving force,” according to regional reports. This is very concerning to U.S. national security insiders and sources on Capitol Hill,
as leaders have stated that they are using the money released under the agreement to purchase new military equipment and other armaments. Iran also has pursued multi-million dollar arms deals with Russia.
Iran Focus:
London, 4 May – Tehran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps have combined ideology and practicality in an effective way, producing results in Syria, Lebanon and Gaza, says Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) expert Afshon Ostavar, who added that Iran’s clandestine regional interference is a much bigger issue than the nuclear file.
Iran Focus:
London, 4 May – Iranian news agencies reported Thursday, that a coal mine explosion in northern Iran killed at least 35 people, and rescuers are working a second day to reach those trapped by the blast.
Similar reports were carried by Fars, Mehr and Tasnim news agencies Thursday morning. The explosion occurred on Wednesday at the Golestan province mine but was not immediately reported. Sadegh Ali Moghadam, the provincial director general of disaster management, in a live broadcast by state television, said 22 dead bodies had been recovered.
Iran Focus:
London, 3 May – It is reported that President Trump will travel to Riyadh later this month and will meet with the six leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. There are widely disparate views on the Iranian threat to stability in the Middle East and how to resolve the conflict in Yemen.It is difficult to coordinate on a policy regarding Iran without opening up conflict, because of these divergent views, analysts suggest. Efforts thus far focus on improving regional defense capabilities and US-GCC security cooperation. The Trump administration has indicated it will provide advanced munitions as well as logistics and intelligence support to assist the Saudi-led coalition fight the pro-Iranian Houthi insurgency in Yemen.
