Iran Focus
London, 28 May – In a recent statement following the US’s withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the Supreme Leader of Iran compared the US to the cat in the children’s cartoon Tom and Jerry and claimed that just like Tom, the US would lose again when challenging Iran.
This claim, while no doubt able to make the rounds on social media, actually shows the world how scared the Mullahs are of US sanctions.
Iran Focus
London, 28 May – In his speech about the United States’ new Iran strategy, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the Trump administration will ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon. He said that the administration will apply “unprecedented financial pressure” on the government of Iran and said that actions taken will be the “strongest in history”.
Furthermore, Pompeo listed the demands that the Trump administration has of the Iranian government.
Iran Focus
London, 25 May – The five countries that remain in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal will meet in Vienna today in a desperate bid to save the accord, which Iran warned was “in intensive care” after the US withdrawal earlier this month.
At Iran’s request, China, Russia, France, Britain and Germany will gather for the first time since signing the agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Iran Focus
London, 25 May – An image search on social media and the colour aquamarine has revealed Iran’s secret missile testing sites.
Weapons researcher Fabian Hinz was looking through social media posts by the deceased general Moghaddam, Iran’s chief rocket scientist, when he spotted a box marked with the name of small Iranian town, Shahrud, in the background of one picture.
Hinz, who works at California’s Middlebury Institute of International Studies, started to dig and soon he was pouring over satellite imagery of the town and its surrounding area.
Iran Focus
London, 25 May – Despite considerable efforts from many countries over the past 40 years, the world has been unable to tackle Iran’s destabilizing behaviour in the Middle East. One solution to the problem, according to an Iranian-American political scientist, is a global coalition that would confront Iran domestically, regionally, and internationally.
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, a leading expert on Iran, wrote an op-ed on Arab News to explain the proposal in great detail, but here we will summarise his main points.
Iran Focus
London, 24 May – Iranian mullahs formed Lebanon’s Hezbollah in 1981 and are fully supporting it in the region.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, has called on the group to cease its military activities in the region – namely in Syria and Lebanon.
According to several media outlets, Guterres sent a report to the United Nations Security Council several days ago.
Iran Focus
London, 24 May – Truck drivers in Iran have been holding a nationwide strike in protest against the Iranian regime’s corruption and mistreatment of the people. The strike started on Tuesday 22nd May and continued into Wednesday 23rd.
The Iranian regime has been plundering the wealth of the nation and it is now taking the people’s money directly.
The striking truck drivers are angry that the price of spare parts including tyres are continually rising. Furthermore, the country’s truck drivers are on extremely low wages, making life very difficult.
Iran Focus
London, 24 May – On Tuesday, a video surfaced showing hundreds of people chanting that they would “avenge” the deaths of several protesters murdered in Kazerun, South Iran, on May 16, when the suppressive security forces used deadly force against them.
The original protest opposed the redrawing of political districts in Kazerun, but it soon became an overwhelming anti-government demonstration, with protesters chanting: “The government supports Gazans but betrays Kazerun,” and “Our enemy is here, not in the US”.
Iran Focus
London, 24 May – US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the Princeton University student imprisoned in Iran is innocent, during a meeting of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
New Jersey Representative Chris Smith read a statement about Xiyue Wang, a Princeton graduate student who has now been imprisoned for 653 days, in which he quoted Wang’s wife as saying that he was “innocent” and had only been imprisoned because he was American.
Iran Focus
London, 24 May – Iran is increasing its support for the Taliban in retaliation for the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal, according to Afghan officials, which means that Kabul will now investigate Iran’s Taliban links.
The mullahs directly supported a Taliban attack on Farah, which lies on the Iran-Afghanistan border, last week. Taliban members, who were trained and armed in Iran, crossed over into Farah to kill hundreds of people, according to Farid Bakhtawar, the head of the provincial council of Farah.
