Fox News: The leader of the Iranian opposition likens its goal to overthrow the regime in Tehran to the war for American independence from Britain, the struggle to abolish slavery in the U.S. and the birth of the civil rights movement in the 1960’s. “I am confident that the Iranian resistance, which seeks the proven values of advanced societies, will reach its goal of a free, prosperous, democratic, just and non-nuclear Iran,” declared Maryam Rajavi.
Iran opposition compares its struggle to the American Revolution
Jarba insists Iran behind rise of ISIS
Daily Star: Syrian National Coalition President Ahmad Jarba said that the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) represented a serious threat to the entire Arab region. Jarba stressed that the SNC’s position on ISIS “has been clear since day one: This is a tool being used by the Iranians and the Syrian regime, and it does not hesitate to murder, slaughter, and terrorize.”
Iran overplays its hand
Washington Post: With the sudden rise of the terrorist Islamic State , a little-noted aspect is that Gen. Qassem Suleimani, the supposed strategic genius of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, has blundered disastrously. By overreaching in Iraq and Syria and triggering a violent reaction, Iran now faces dangerous instability on its border for years to come.
US: ‘Significant’ issues remain in Iran nuke talks
The Hill: Iran must still resolve “significant” concerns over its nuclear program before any deal can be struck, a senior administration official said Thursday, as talks neared a self-imposed July 20 deadline. Diplomats have a little over two weeks to reach an accord to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons in exchange for lifting crippling international economic sanctions.
Iraqi Kurdish leader urges independence referendum
AP: With large parts of Iraq in militant hands, a top Kurdish leader called on regional lawmakers Thursday to lay the groundwork for a referendum on independence, a vote that would likely spell the end of a unified Iraq. The president of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Massoud Barzani, told lawmakers to set up an electoral commission to “hurry up” and prepare for “a referendum on self-determination.”
Iran eases demands in Vienna nuclear talks: Western diplomats
Reuters: Iran has reduced demands for the size of its future nuclear enrichment programme in talks with world powers although Western governments are urging Tehran to compromise further, Western diplomats said on Thursday. The diplomats said it would still be hard to clinch a deal by the self-imposed July 20 deadline. Iran, a major oil producer, says it plans a future network of nuclear power plants to diversify its energy supply.
Iran’s top spy is the modern-day Karla, John le Carré’s villainous mastermind
Daily Beast: They call him “Keyser Soze.” That’s the nickname the most influential spy in the Middle East has earned among regional hands and Arab officials—likely because no one, apart from them, has ever heard of him. Like the spectral villain who haunts The Usual Suspects—and is said to have murdered his own wife and children in cold blood just to prove a point—Maj. Gen. Qassem Suleimani is a lethal international man of mystery.
French firms look to conquer Iran
France24: Western powers resumed talks with Iran Wednesday over its nuclear programme – negotiations likely to be followed closely by French businesses eager for the chance to gain nearly 80 million potential new customers. If a deal is reached, it would mean the lifting of economic sanctions against Tehran, opening the door for Western firms to tap into the potentially lucrative Iranian market.
Mr. President: keep your promises to Camp Liberty!
Townhall.com: We have a situation at Camp Liberty in Iraq where some 3,000 refugees from Iran, all of whom are opponents of the brutal Mullahs’ regime in Tehran, are being held. These refugees are being told to sever their ties to a group called MeK before they can be considered for asylum in the U.S. or Europe. They are being ordered to renounce their beliefs.
The Middle East’s three-way war
The Hill: How to make sense of the different factions and forces now fighting in Syria and Iraq? The conflict is best understood as a three-way war among ISIS (the radical Sunni offshoot of al Qaeda), moderate Sunnis, and Shiites. In this three-way war, each of the three sides is vying for victory against the other two, and each also represents a much greater cause.
