By Jubin Katiraie

Iran threatened on Saturday to take action against The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank, which it said was pushing for economic pressure against it.

The official Iranian announcement on FDD included a reference to actions by the country’s “security institutions,” drawing strong condemnation from current and former U.S. government officials. It also specifically targeted organization’s CEO, Mark Dubowitz.

By Pooya Stone

The Israeli military Saturday said it foiled an imminent large-scale attack by Iranian forces and Shiite militia on targets in northern Israel, with a series of airstrikes on Iranian targets near the Syrian capital Damascus.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed responsibility for the airstrikes, saying it was necessary to thwart multiple attacks by what it called killer, or kamikaze, drones, of a kind not previously used by Iranian forces against Israel.

By Jubin Katiraie

Sixteen years after the invasion of Iraq, the United States finally seems to understand Iran’s disturbing objectives in its neighbouring state. While U.S President Donald Trump withdrew from the disastrous 2015 Iran nuclear deal, maybe it is time for the EU to take the same path. After the capturing of the Iranian “Grace-1” oil tanker by Gibraltar for violating EU sanctions on Syria, in a contra move Iran seized a British-flagged oil tanker the “Stena Impero”. The “Grace-1” was released but Iran is still holding the “Stena Impero”.

By Pooya Stone

The US Department of State has published highlights of its Iran policy over the past week in a fact sheet summarizing 19-23 August.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo highlighted Iran's threats to Middle East peace and security in an address to the United Nations Security Council on 20 August 2019.

By Jubin Katiraie

Over the past weeks, the bases of the Shiite militias known as Popular Mobilization Forces were attacked by airstrikes. Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis told in a statement the U.S was responsible for a series of attacks on the bases run by the militias. But immediately Faleh Al-Fayyadh said that the statement holds by his deputy did not represent the view of these forces. An official with the brigades told that Iran played a direct role in wording the statement issued by Al-Muhandis on Wednesday.

By Pooya Stone

Since the beginning of the U.S. sanctions, Iran is trying to overcome the strongest sanction that this regime has ever seen. One of the aspects is, that they’re trying the continuation of oil selling. So the Iranian oil tankers are trying to carrying the oil in silence. One of the supertankers which tried, is the “Adrian Darya” which was released after being detained in Gibraltar, carrying 2 million barrels of crude. It’s now sailing east with trackers giving its stated destination the Greek port of Kalamata, with the arrival date of Aug. 26.

By Jubin Katiraie

The Swedish media have been reporting on the protests in Stockholm by supporters of the Iranian opposition over the visit of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

The protesters held their demonstration outside the Swedish Foreign Ministry building on Wednesday, during a meeting between Zarif and Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström.

By Pooya Stone

The United States will “aggressively” enforce its sanctions against Iran in order to deter the private sector or any foreign government from helping an Iranian oil tanker travelling through the Mediterranean that Washington want to seize, according to a State Department official on Thursday.

By Jubin Katiraie

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has submitted a bill to the country’s Parliament to propose eliminating four zeros from the Iranian national currency rial.

The proposed bill would change Iran's national currency from rials to toman, with each toman worth 10,000 rials.

By Pooya Stone

The British Council worker sentenced to 10 years in prison in Iran for spying on behalf of the UK is being used by the Iranian authorities as a "bargaining chip", according to her fiancé.

Aras Amiri, 33, lost an appeal against her prison sentence, for the charges of "acting against national security", earlier this week. Her lawyer had to be approved by the authorities and she had no access to them in the appeal process, so it cannot be considered a fair trial.

By Jubin Katiraie

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani threatened the safety of international waterways, on Wednesday, if Iran’s oil exports are cut to zero.

During a meeting with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Rouhani said: “World powers know that in the case that oil is completely sanctioned and Iran’s oil exports are brought down to zero, international waterways can’t have the same security as before. So unilateral pressure against Iran can’t be to their advantage and won’t guarantee their security in the region and the world.”

By Pooya Stone

US officials say that a US military MQ-9 drone was shot down over Dhamar governate, in Yemen, which is just southeast of the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa; the second incident of its kind this year.

One official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the drone was shot down late on Tuesday by a surface-to-air missile operated by the Iran-backed Houthis, confirming the statement of Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saria, but did not give any specifics. The official said that, whilst losing the armed military drone made by California-based General Atomics, was expensive, it was not unprecedented and the US would not have a major response.

By Jubin Katiraie

French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to meet Iranian officials this weekend’s G7 summit to talk about how to reduce tensions between Washington and Tehran, he announced on August 21.

Donald Trump accused Macron of sending mixed signals to Iran, saying no one was allowed to speak to Iranian officials on behalf of the US.

By Pooya Stone

The US has warned that Iran has sent a second oil tanker to Syria in clear defiance of US and EU sanctions.

Intelligence sources told Fox News that the Bonita Queen oil tanker was loaded with 600,000 barrels of crude oil near Iran’s Kharg Island on August 2. Shortly after that, the tanker was de-flagged by the country of St. Kitts and Nevis, fearing US sanctions.

By Jubin Katiraie

Federal authorities in the US have accused a man of plotting to export metal-processing machines to Iran, a move that violated the US’s non-nuclear proliferation and terrorism sanctions.

According to the 21-count indictment unsealed Tuesday by federal prosecutors, Mehdi Hashemi, also known as Eddie Hashemi, is accused of taking part in a scheme to export computer numerical control machines, which are used to process raw materials, such as metals that could be used to create nuclear weapons, to precise standards. These machines are export-controlled to Iran for nuclear non-proliferation and anti-terrorism reasons.

By Pooya Stone

The British charity worker wrongfully jailed in Iran is now having her access to her family restricted, according to her husband.

Richard Ratcliffe explained that new rules instituted by the Iranian authorities mean that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe can’t make international calls to him in London and is only allowed to see their five-year-old daughter, who is being looked after by her grandparents in Tehran, once a month.