Iranian mullahs caught off guard by scale of protests 1/2/2018 9:59:58 AM Iranian People everywhere Just wanna be free live,be free or die By Shahriar Kia American Thinker, January 1, 2018  - On the fourth day of the nationwide uprising of the Iranian people, regime officials are acknowledging popular anger against and abhorrence of the regime and the uprising spreading across the country.  The people are seeking regime change in Iran, and this has a major impact for the U.S.'s and the international community's foreign policy in the Middle East and possibly beyond. Maryam Rajavi  , the president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (  NCRI  ), which is a major force behind the protests, released a statement in which she said, in part, 'The ongoing protests in different cities against the regime reveal the explosive state of Iranian society and the people's desire for regime change,'  Fox news reported . ...

Rex Tillerson facing high-stakes diplomacy over Iran and North Korea — if he can keep his job 12/28/2017 1:26:00 PM Rex Tillerson has to try to rally international support for President Trumps more aggressive posture toward Iran and North Korea Washington Examiner, Dec 28, 2017  - A pair of rogue regimes with a longing for nuclear weapons promise to dominate Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s second year atop Foggy Bottom. Tillerson, in following President Trump’s distaste for former President Barack Obama’s decision-making, declared in 2017 an end to the era of “strategic patience” with Iran and North Korea. As the nation’s top diplomat, he has to try to rally international support for Trump’s more aggressive posture. Diplomacy doesn’t stop at home, though. Tillerson has to persuade Congress to support his vision for reorganizing the State Department, while maintaining his position in the administration, which has seemed precarious at times. Iran fro...

Murder Most Foul in Argentina 12/28/2017 10:33:43 AM Judge Alberto Nisman The Wall Street Journal, December 27, 2017  - Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman was investigating President Cristina Kirchner’s links to Iran in January 2015 when he was found dead in his Buenos Aires apartment with a gunshot wound to the head. Now a judge has ruled that he was murdered. In 2015 Mrs. Kirchner’s secretary of security immediately declared Nisman’s death an apparent suicide. That made little sense to those who knew Nisman, in part because he was hours away from presenting evidence to Congress that Mrs. Kirchner had made a deal with Tehran to cover up Iran’s responsibility for the 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish community center that killed 85 people. When President Mauricio Macri took office in December 2015 he pledged that investigators would have the independence to discover the truth. The Journal reported in September that “twenty-eight government forens...

Rep. Chris Stewart: Iran takes the Middle East to the edge of war 12/28/2017 8:53:55 AM Houthi Shiite fighters ride on a vehicle as they patrol a street near the residence of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa, Yemen By Rep. Chris Stewart    Washington Examiner, Dec. 28, 2017  - Last Tuesday, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen launched a ballistic missile against Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Fortunately, the missile was intercepted and destroyed by an American-made Patriot Surface to Air Missile. Had the ballistic missile hit any number of critical targets in Riyadh, such as the U.S. Embassy, the Gulf Cooperation Council Headquarters, or, as has been targeted before, the Riyadh International Airport, an immediate escalation of the ongoing war between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi rebels would have been inevitable. And it’s important to realize that this dangerous provocation is not an isolated incident. The Houthis ...

VIDEO: One way to counter Iran's aggression? Change the map of the Middle East 12/26/2017 9:03:30 AM The current political structure of the Middle East serves Iran’s interests Fox News, Dec. 25, 2017  - Iran’s geopolitical ascent is the most significant and dangerous development in the Middle East this century. But while the Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy properly identifies Iran as among the important challenges to U.S. security interests, it doesn’t offer a concrete strategy on how to counter Iran’s growing regional power. President Trump should follow the example of President Reagan, who pursued an offensive strategy to undermine the Soviet Union that included supporting indigenous anti-communist insurgents around the globe. Today, America should support indigenous forces that oppose – and seek independence from – Iranian domination. Reversing the strategic threat posed by Iran will require a continued U.S. military pre...

Under threat? Iran's quiet infiltration over Iraqi Christian communities 12/26/2017 12:10:02 PM Qasem Soleimani, head of the terrorist Qods Force Hollie McKay Fox News, December 26, 2017 -  Christians who have called northern Iraq their homeland since the first century are recovering from ISIS’ carnage only to face an emerging threat that they fear could be just as challenging: the growing influence from Iran. That influence comes in an array of shapes and forms, and even an infiltration within the Christian community itself. Most flagrantly, it includes the direct arming and funding of a prominent militia of Iraqi Christians. The real intentions of the militia, known as the Babylon Brigade, worry those Christians who remain in or want to return to their ancient homeland, known as the Ninevah Plains. “We had ISIS, and now we are struggling with this increasing Iranian rule, the changing demographics,” lamented Dr. Salem Hana, a 33-year-old Ira...

Rep. Zeldin Authors 24 Member Letter Seeking Confirmation of At Least 8 Iranian Violations of Iran Nuclear Deal 12/23/2017 10:57:26 AM U.S. Representative Lee Zeldin,     Washington, December 22, 2017  - Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1), member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, led 23 Members of Congress in authoring a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Mike Pompeo, seeking confirmation of at least 8 reported violations of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly referred to as the Iran Nuclear Deal. Full text of the letter is as follows: Dear Secretary Tillerson, Secretary Mattis and Director Pompeo: President Trump appropriately announced on October 13, 2017, that he would not recertify the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as specified under the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 (INARA, Public Law 114-17)...

U.S. lawmakers seek temporary extension to internet spying program 12/22/2017 7:24:44 AM Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), House Majority Leader, arrives for a Republican conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., December 20, 2017 WASHINGTON (Reuters) DECEMBER 20, 2017  - Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives are working to build support to temporarily extend the National Security Agency’s expiring internet surveillance program by tucking it into a stop-gap funding measure, lawmakers said. “I think clearly we need the reauthorization for FISA, and that is expected we’ll get that done” before the end of the year, Marc Short, the White House’s legislative director, said Wednesday on MSNBC. U.S. intelligence officials consider Section 702 among the most vital of tools at their disposal to thwart threats to national security and American allies. The law allows the NSA to collect vast amounts of digital communications from forei...