TheNewsGuru

Tag: Iran

  • Iran risks setting entire region on fire, Germany’s Scholz says

    Iran risks setting entire region on fire, Germany’s Scholz says

    German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has warned of a further escalation in the Middle East, after Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel.

    “Iran is risking setting the entire region on fire: This must be prevented at all costs,’’ the German leader was quoted as saying in a statement published on Wednesday.

    Scholz noted that it was only thanks to Israel’s air defence and allies that the Iranian attack on Tuesday evening had been largely repelled.

    Scholz called for the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon and Tehran to immediately cease their attacks on Israel.

    The German Government would continue to work together with its partners to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, Scholz said.

    A halt in fighting must be the first step in implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which stipulates that Hezbollah must withdraw from the border area with Israel, Scholz said.

    “This will pave the way for the return of people to northern Israel and at the same time open up the prospect of consolidating Lebanon’s statehood.’’ (

  • Iran extends airspace closure in anticipation of Israeli retaliation

    Iran extends airspace closure in anticipation of Israeli retaliation

    Iran has extended the closure of its airspace as it expects Israeli retaliation following its attack on the enemy country on Tuesday evening.

    All flights have been cancelled until 5 am (0130 GMT) on Thursday to maintain aviation security, state news agency ISNA reported, citing a spokesman for the aviation authority.

    Iran initially closed the airspace over Tehran cancelling all flights up until Wednesday morning after it launched a barrage of missiles at Israel on Tuesday evening.

    Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the attack was in retaliation for the killings of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah and an Iranian general.

    Three Israeli air bases and the headquarters of the Israeli foreign intelligence service Mossad were the targets of the attack, according to Iran.

  • Iran showers Israeli cities with multiple missiles

    Iran showers Israeli cities with multiple missiles

    The conflict in the Middle East worsened on Tuesday as Iran fired hundreds of ballistic missiles into several parts of Israel, including its state capital Tel Aviv.

    Reports indicates that while some of the missiles were intercepted by the Iron Dome, many others landed, including in densely populated areas.

    “A short while ago, missiles were launched from Iran to Israel,” the Israeli military confirmed in a statement.

    Air raid sirens were activated across the country, including in major cities like Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

    Loud explosions were heard in Tel Aviv, while Israel’s air defense systems intercepted many of the incoming missiles, lighting up the sky.

    The missile attack was in retaliation to the assassinations of Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, Hamas’s political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, and an Iranian commander, according to a statement from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps.

    Iran warned that further missile strikes would follow if their country were attacked.

    The missile barrage occurred just one day after Israeli forces launched a rare ground invasion of southern Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah, a militia backed by Iran.

    Hezbollah, which has been engaged in an armed conflict with Israel for decades, responded with missile strikes on Israeli targets, including the Glilot base near Tel Aviv, home to the headquarters of Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency.

    U.S. officials have expressed strong support for Israel in the face of the attack.

    A senior White House official warned that any direct attack on Israel would bring “severe consequences for Iran.”

    President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris held urgent meetings with national security officials on Tuesday to discuss plans to assist Israel and protect American personnel in the region.

    The U.S. has also begun mobilising additional military forces to the Middle East, with thousands of troops being sent to bolster the 40,000 already stationed in the region.

    The situation has remained volatile, with both Iran and Israel continuing to exchange threats.

    The Israeli military has called up additional reserve brigades to strengthen its northern border and is conducting airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, further heightening the risk of a broader regional conflict.

    Recall that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was last weekend killed in a targeted Israeli strike which sparked global reactions amid threat of retaliatory attack by Iran.

  • Why we fired missiles at Israel – Iran reveals

    Why we fired missiles at Israel – Iran reveals

    Iran revealed that it launched a barrage of missiles at Israel in response to the assassinations of senior Hezbollah, Hamas and Iranian officials, sending Israelis rushing to bomb shelters and raising fears of all-out war in the region.

    Alarms sounded across Israel and explosions could be heard in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv during the attack late on Tuesday.

    Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said there were no reports of casualties and that the army does not see “any more threats in our airspace”. He said in a video message that people in Israel were safe to leave shelters.

    Israel’s emergency services said at least two people sustained light injuries “from shrapnel in the Tel Aviv area”.

    The Palestinian news agency Wafa, citing the civil defence, said a 38-year-old Palestinian man died from shrapnel wounds in Jericho in the eastern occupied West Bank.

    Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said the missile attack on Israel was a response to the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and the IRGC commander Abbas Nilforoushan last week, as well as that of the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh earlier this year, Iran’s Fars news agency reported.

    “In response to the martyrdom of Ismail Haniyeh, Hassan Nasrallah and Nilforoushan, we targeted the heart of the occupied territories,” the IRGC said in a statement.

    It said its missile attack targeted “three military bases” in the Tel Aviv area.

    Earlier, the IRGC said it launched tens of missiles at Israel, and that if Israel retaliated, Tehran’s response would be “more crushing and ruinous”.

    Iran’s state television said 80 per cent of the missiles launched at Israel hit their targets.

    The Israel military, meanwhile, said a “large number” of missiles had been intercepted.

    Speaking to reporters, Hagari said the attack was serious and would have consequences “in a timely manner”.

    A senior Iranian official told the Reuters news agency that the order to launch missiles at Israel was made by the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei remains in a secure location, the senior official added.

    The United States said its forces were ready to provide “additional defensive support” to Israel after helping protect it from the Iranian missile attack.

    “Our forces remain postured to provide additional defensive support and to protect US forces operating in the region” after “defending against Iranian-launched missiles targeting Israel”, a US defence official said on condition of anonymity. (Aljazeera)

     

  • Iraq refutes U.S. congressmen’s allegation of smuggling oil to Iran

    Iraq refutes U.S. congressmen’s allegation of smuggling oil to Iran

    The Iraqi Oil Ministry has dismissed accusations from several U.S. Congress members that Iraq is smuggling and “illegally” selling oil to Iran to help it avoid U.S. sanctions.

    The ministry also called the claims “fabrications that have no basis.”

    This response followed a letter reportedly sent by five U.S. Congress members to President Joe Biden earlier on Wednesday, accusing several Iraqi parties and officials.

    According to the letter, the Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani, who plans to visit the United States soon for gas investment is aiding Iran’s sanctions evasion by smuggling oil.

    The lawmakers also called on Biden to bar Ghani from visiting Washington as scheduled until the relevant investigation is complete.

    The Iraqi Oil Ministry expressed “astonishment and condemnation” of the letter’s content.

    It emphasised that its oil activities were monitored by international inspectors and Iraqi waters were strictly controlled by the country’s naval forces.

  • ‘I regret have not been able to fulfill expectations’ – Iranian vice president resigns

    ‘I regret have not been able to fulfill expectations’ – Iranian vice president resigns

    Iran’s Vice-President Mohammed Javad Zarif has resign, leaving President Massud Pezeshkian’s cabinet just 11 days after his appointment.

    “I am not satisfied with my work and regret that I have not been able to fulfill expectations,” the moderate politician said on his X platform.

    Zarif hinted that the selection of ministers for Pezeshkian ‘s new cabinet had been the reason for his decision.

    According to Zarif, at least seven of the 19 ministers nominated were not his first choice.

    Zarif’s withdrawal is the second crisis for Pezeshkian since he took office at the end of July, following the killing of the Palestinian militant Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

    Zarif was Pezeshkian’s right-hand man during his presidential election campaign and, due to his popularity, also played a key role in Pezeshkian ‘s victory.

    However, after the election, Zarif and a group of experts were to compile a list of candidates for government posts who would implement promised reforms.

    Pezeshkian presented a list on Sunday which observers believe did not match the plans and promises of reform.

    Observers assume that Iran’s hardline arch-conservative faction imposed some ministers on Pezeshkian .

    Zarif was also one of the key figures for Pezeshkian in the implementation of his new foreign policy line.

    Zarif was the country’s chief diplomat between 2013 and 2021 and was able to conclude the international nuclear agreement with the six world powers in 2015 as head of the Iranian negotiating team.

    With him and a new team of diplomats, Pezeshkian hoped to resume the nuclear negotiations so that the sanctions that are paralyzing the Iranian economy could be lifted.

  • US Elections: Iran blamed for hacking Trump campaign, exposing internal documents

    US Elections: Iran blamed for hacking Trump campaign, exposing internal documents

    Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has reported that some of its internal communications were hacked, attributing the breach to the Iranian government due to previous hostilities between Trump and Iran, though no direct evidence was provided.

     

    The campaign’s statement came after Politico reported receiving emails from an anonymous source in July, offering authentic documents from within Trump’s operation, including a report on running mate JD Vance’s “potential vulnerabilities.”

     

    “These documents were obtained illegally from foreign sources hostile to the United States, intended to interfere with the 2024 election and sow chaos throughout our Democratic process,” said Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung.

     

    Trump posted on his Truth Social app that Microsoft had informed the campaign that Iran had hacked one of its websites. He blamed Iran, adding they were “only able to get publicly available information,” without further elaboration.

     

    Reuters has not independently verified the identity or motivation of the alleged hackers. The Trump campaign referred to a recent report by Microsoft researchers, which said Iranian government-tied hackers tried to breach the account of a “high-ranking official” on a U.S. presidential campaign in June. The hackers reportedly took over an account belonging to a former political advisor and used it to target the official.

    A Microsoft spokesperson declined to name the targeted officials or provide additional details.

  • WAR: Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas leader, reportedly killed in Iran by Israeli raid

    WAR: Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas leader, reportedly killed in Iran by Israeli raid

    Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh has been killed in Tehran, as reported by Iranian state media, Press TV, on Wednesday, citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

     

    Haniyeh, the exiled political chief of the militant group, had spent much of his recent years in Qatar. He played a key role as a negotiator in ceasefire talks and maintained close ties with Hamas’s main ally, Iran, during the Israel-Gaza conflict.

     

    According to a statement from Hamas, Haniyeh and his bodyguard were killed in a “Zionist raid” on his residence in Tehran after he attended the inauguration of the new Iranian president.

     

    CNN reported that it is unclear when Haniyeh was killed and noted it has reached out to the Israeli military for comment on Hamas’ claim.

     

    Previously, in April, Israeli airstrikes killed three of Haniyeh’s sons and four of his grandchildren, according to Hamas.

  • Iran rejects claims of seeking to influence U.S. election

    Iran rejects claims of seeking to influence U.S. election

    Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations in New York has rejected claims by U.S. intelligence officials that Tehran sought to influence the U.S. presidential election, local media reports on Tuesday.

    The remarks were made in a statement after U.S. intelligence officials on Monday claimed that Iran was working to “influence the U.S. presidential election and undermine Donald Trump’s bid to regain the White House,” the report said.

    Iran’s permanent mission stressed that Tehran had no objective or activity to influence the U.S. election.

    It added that a major part of such accusations were within the framework of the “psychological operations designed to artificially pep up election campaigns” in the United States.

    The U.S. presidential election is scheduled for Nov. 5, 2024.

  • Heart surgeon, Masoud Pezeshkian emerges winner of Iran’s presidential rerun election

    Heart surgeon, Masoud Pezeshkian emerges winner of Iran’s presidential rerun election

    Masoud Pezeshkian a reform advocate and  Heart surgeon has been declared the winner of the presidential runoff election in Iran.

    The lawmaker defeated hard fighting rival Saeed Jalili.

    Pezeshkian has already promised to reach out to the West for reforms to reposition Iran for advancement of the islamic country.

    “By gaining a majority of the votes cast on Friday, Pezeshkian has become Iran’s next president,” the country’s Ministry of Interior said on Saturday.

    Pezeshkian got 53.7 percent of the votes, or 16.3 million; while Jalili received 44.3 percent or 13.5 million.

    Pezeshkian said in his first public comments after the results were announced that he is not a winner-takes-it-all victory.

    “We are all people of this country; we will use everyone for the progress of the country,” he said on state television.

    Not long after the declaration of results, Jalili conceded defeat, asking Iranians to respect the president-elect.

    “Not only should he be respected, but now we must use all our strength and help him move forward,” he said on television.

    Participation in the election was 49.8 percent in the tight race between Pezeshkian and Jalili.

    The run-off on Friday followed a June 28 ballot for a successor to Ebrahim Raisi who died in a helicopter crash in May.