Iran Focus
London, 9 Feb – Last Friday the United States imposed more sanctions on Iran as a response to its test-firing of ballistic missiles. The following day Iran launched more long-range missiles. US President Trump put Iran “on notice” and Foreign Minister of Iran Javad Zarif claimed that Iran “will never use our weapons … except in self-defense”.
Iran Focus
London, 9 Feb – The US Treasury Department announced last Friday that more sanctions are being imposed on several Iranian entities and individuals.
Undoubtedly this was to send a message to Iran that its terrorism, oppression at home and ballistic missile testing will not be tolerated.
Those on the receiving end of the sanctions are either in some way involved with supplying materials or technology for Iran’s ballistic missile program or provide support to the IRGC – Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Iran Focus
London, 9 Feb – Senator Robert Torricelli wrote a letter to the editors of the Associated Press regarding a story that was written about the Iranian opposition. The story about the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) that it published was biased, inaccurate and misleading.
Iran Focus
London, 9 Feb – The White House has issued a warning to Iran that there is a new President in town; one who will not take kindly to Iran’s expansionist ambitions.
The tensions between the two countries were heightened following the first public speech from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei since Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Iran Focus
London, 9 Feb – The White House is considering to place the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on the list of foreign terrorist operatives.
They have already consulted several U.S. government agencies regarding the proposal, which, if implemented, would increase the sanctions against Iran.
Iran Focus
London, 8 Feb – Security researchers are warning that Iranian hackers may be trying to target the US Defence Department and their industry colleagues, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Boeing.
Claudio Guarnieri and Collin Anderson, who are researching Iranian threats of cyber-espionage, found the malware (MacDownloader) on a website which spoofed the U.S. aerospace company United Technologies.
Iran Focus
London, 8 Feb – As Trump rolls out his more controversial executive orders, many people in the US and around the world are waiting to see if Trump will stand by his Iran campaign promises, namely renegotiating the Iran deal.
Granted, his stance on Iran has already been a lot more aggressive than his predecessor, but what choice does he have? Iran had two separate ballistic missile tests in the two weeks since the inauguration.
Iran Focus
London, 8 Feb – The Iranian Resistance group, MEK has released a rebuttal to the misleading article by the Associated Press (AP) which use old allegations and misleading information to paint the MEK as terrorists.
The AP published their story, “Trump Cabinet pick paid by ‘cult-like’ Iranian exile group”, on February 5.
The Iranian opposition responded almost immediately asking for factual corrections to the story but as of February 7, the AP had not corrected of removed their article.
Iran Focus
London, 8 Feb – Ukraine is allowing Iran to evade an international arms embargo which is sanctioned by the UN, according to policy experts.
Emanuele Ottolenghi, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), and Boris Zilberman, the FDD deputy director of congressional relations wrote an op-ed for The Hill, explaining why Ukraine must enforce the sanctions against Iran.
Iran Focus
London, 7 Feb – The next round of Syrian talks scheduled for Wednesday in Geneva has arrived. The final statement issued in Astana received a variety of reactions, most being positive as the text focused on cementing a ceasefire and the armed opposition participating in Geneva. The agreement also highlighted the sole possibility of a political solution for the Syria crisis.
