Iran Focus

London, 2 Feb – The Italian police arrested four people on suspicion of smuggling arms (including helicopters and surface-to-air missiles) into Iran and Libya between 2011 and 2015, in violation of international law.

According to La Repubblica, the three Italians in this case, Mario Di Leva and Annamaria Fontana, a couple, and a legal representative for the Rome-based Società Italiana Elicotteri Andrea Pardi, and the Libyan national, Mohamud Ali Shaswish stand accused of smuggling air ambulances and weapons such as assault rifles and anti-tank missiles to Libya and Iran.

Iran Focus

London, 2 Feb – Over the past 38 years, the Iranian Regime has committed more ruthless acts than even ISIS, according to a human rights expert.

Heshmat Alavi wrote an op-ed on Al Arabiya, in which he denounced the Iranian Regime as “the first ISIS”. It was ruled by a dictator, Ruhollah Khomeini, who wanted to punish all who opposed him, create a wave of terror across the world and create a police state, using the terror squad the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and paramilitary Basij militia.

Iran Focus

London, 1 Feb – Yahoo News ran an an article from Reuters on January 30, reported by Patricia Zengerle, about the chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Bob Corker, who condemned Iran on Monday after reports it conducted a ballistic missile test. He said he would work with other lawmakers and the Trump administration to hold Iran accountable.

Iran Focus

London, 31 Jan – An article in  Al Arabiya, published Tuesday, January 31, reports that on Monday, after the resignation of former minister Mohammad al-Ghabban, Qasim Mohammad was appointed Iraq’s Minister of Interior, He is a commander of the Iranian terrorist Quds Force installed in the Iraqi 9th Badr Corps. 

Qasim Mohammad Jalal al-Araji was born in the southern Iraqi city of Kuts, some fifty years ago. He is married, with four children. He studied accounting at the Ayatollah Motahhari University in Iran, and Islamic studies in the Imam Kadhim Institute.  He moved to Iran a few years after the Iranian revolution. He joined the Revolutionary Guards Quds Forces and was enrolled in the Badr Corps. He was trained to fight Iraqi forces during the Iraqi-Iranian war.

Iran Focus

London, 31 Jan – On January 31 Yahoo reports in an article by Mohammed Ghobari and Ali Abdelaty, that on Monday, three armed Houthi boats attacked a Saudi warship off the western coast of Yemen. Saudi state news agency SPA reported that the explosion killed two crew members and injured three others. 

According to the group’s official news channel al-Masira, the Houthis claim that they launched a ballistic missile at a Saudi-led coalition military base on the Red Sea island of Zuqar on Tuesday morning. It is still unclear if there were any casualties.