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Tensions Over Oil Exports Soar Between Iran and US

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Tensions Over Oil Exports Soar Between Iran and US

Tensions over oil exports soar between Iran and US

Iran Focus

London, 31 July – Tensions are soaring between the US and Iran following Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal and following recent Iranian threats against destroying oil imports, the US is now looking at military options to keep vital sea transport routes in the Middle East open.

Iranian officials have made many verbal threats against the safety of global oil trade in the Persian Gulf in recent days, while the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have attacked Saudi oil tankers.

According to CNN, this attack on the Saudi Arabian oil tankers on Wednesday is a cause of worry among many.

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Arab NATO Combat Iran Threat

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Arab NATO Combat Iran Threat

Arab NATO to combat Iran threat

Iran Focus

London, 30 July – Last week, the war of words between Iran and the United States became even more tense. After a threat from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that “war with Iran is the mother of all wars”, U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran a few hours later that Iran would “suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before”.

The Trump administration has taken a number of steps in recent months to push back against Iran. Pulling out of the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement was followed by the announcement that sanctions would be reapplied and new ones to be issued. Then the U.S. State Department announced that it expected foreign countries to reduce its imports of Iranian oil to zero by November this year.

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Senators Call on EU Leaders to Ensure Sanctions on Iran Are Not Undermined

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Senators Call on EU Leaders to Ensure Sanctions on Iran Are Not Undermined

U.S. President Donald Trump

Iran Focus

London, 30 July – At the beginning of May, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States would be exiting the 2015 nuclear agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). This came after months of speculation and much pleading from the European Union for Trump to remain within the framework of the deal.

However, Trump refused to bow down to pressure and he was very clear in his reasons for exiting the deal.

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Another Red Sea Target Under Fire, Iranian Terrorist General Soleimani Threatens

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Another Red Sea Target Under Fire, Iranian Terrorist General Soleimani Threatens

Iranian-Terrorist-General-Soleimani

Iran Focus

London, 28 July – General Qassem Soleimani commander of the Iranian Regime’s terrorist Quds force threatened President Trump this week, targeting a major Red Sea chokepoint.

“The Red Sea which was secure is no longer secure for the presence of American (military) … The Quds force and I are your match. We don’t go to sleep at night before thinking about you,” Iran’s top general said in a speech from Hamedan, Iran, in which, according to local media, he addressed the American president directly.

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Iran Won’t Close the Strait of Hormuz

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Iran Won’t Close the Strait of Hormuz

Iran won’t close the Strait of Hormuz

Iran Focus

London, 27 July – US-Iran relations are at an all-time low after their presidents’ war of words last weekend, but could this really lead to Iran cutting off a key oil shipping strait?

On Sunday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani threatened the US with “to the mother of all wars”, to which Donald Trump responded with an all-caps tweet warning Iran not to threaten the US ever again.

Their exchanges have only intensified since the US pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal in May and promised extensive sanctions against Iran, the first of which come into place next week.

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US Sends Signal to Iran in Syria

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US Sends Signal to Iran in Syria

The US’s military base near to southern Syria’s al-Tanf border crossing

Iran Focus

London, 27 July – The US’s military base near to southern Syria’s al-Tanf border crossing may have been set up to train local Syrians to fight ISIS militants, but it also provides an effective counterweight to Iran’s malign activities in the region.

Army Major Josh Jacques, a spokesman for US Central Command (CENTCOM), said: “Our mere presence there accomplishes that, whether it’s a goal or not.”

Even though the US military is primarily focused on training a Syrian group called Maghawir al-Thawra (MaT) to defeat ISIS, CENTCOM commander US Army General Joseph Votel reports that the American presence indirectly impedes Iran’s “destabilizing acts” in the nation.

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Indian Oil Refiner to Cancel Iran Oil Shipments

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Indian Oil Refiner to Cancel Iran Oil Shipments

India’s Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL)

Iran Focus

London, 27 July – Earlier this month, after its insurance company refused to provide coverage for purchase of an Iranian oil cargo, due to U.S. sanctions, India’s Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL), India’s third largest state-owned refiner, cancelled the purchase, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter.

Although HPCL renewed its installation insurance, which protects against any accidents at its refinery or storage sites, in early July, the sources say that its new policy will not protect against any incidents involving Iranian oil processed or stored at its refineries.

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In Ahvaz, All Evidence of Political Prisoners’ Graves Has Been Razed

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In Ahvaz, All Evidence of Political Prisoners’ Graves Has Been Razed

In Ahvaz, All Evidence of Political Prisoners’ Graves has been Razed

Iran Focus

London, 27 July – Human rights activist Shadi Sadr has reported that in the city of Ahvaz, southwestern Iran, mass graves of political prisoners including inmates who were executed in the late 1980s have been razed.

The Justice for Iran website published a photo on July 25th captioned, “This is a mass grave site in Ahvaz, Iran. At least 44 political prisoners executed in 1988 were secretly buried here. In the following years, the authorities turned the site into a rubbish dump. Now, the site is at imminent risk due to a road-widening project. There are fears that it will be destroyed for a ‘green space’ or commercial development.”

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Iran’s Houthis Attack Saudi Oil Tanker

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Iran’s Houthis Attack Saudi Oil Tanker

Iran’s Houthis attack Saudi oil tanker

Iran Focus

London, 26 July – The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have attacked a Saudi oil tanker that was sailing off the Yemen Coast, according to the Western-backed Arab coalition.

The US-backed Saudi-led collation to restore the legitimate government in Yemen confirmed on Wednesday that the Iran-aligned Houthis hit a Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea, inflicting slight damage on the ship, after the Houthis reported that they had targeted a Saudi warship in the area.

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Iranian Newspapers Publish Threats to West and Criticism of Rouhani

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Iranian Newspapers Publish Threats to West and Criticism of Rouhani

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani

Iran Focus

London, 26 July – A state-run newspaper in Iran with close ties to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has quoted a warning from the spokesman for the Yemeni Houthi rebels stating that Western companies should leave Riyadh, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi because “missiles are on their way.”

The Kayhan wrote on July 25, under the frontpage headline “Missiles On Their Way, Evacuate Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh”, that this spokesman warned Western companies not to invest in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

These are two countries who are supporting the legitimate Yemeni government in their quest to take back control of the country from the Iran-backed Houthi rebels; a conflict that has been raging since 2014.

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