Hariri announced his suprise resignation on November 4, 2017, in a televised speech. "AFP" By: Shahriar Kia (Political analyst)   The waning power of Iran and Hezbollah The recent resignation of Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri dealt a serious blow to the Lebanese Hezbollah and its Iranian masters. Hariri, who  declared the decision  in Riyadh last Saturday, cited Iranian influence across the region and threats to his life if he remained at the helm of the government. His resignation came on the heels on a thwarted assassination attempt against him in Beirut. Hariri’s father, Rafiq, was assassinated by the Hezbollah in 2005. This will put an end to a year-long campaign that had seen the Iranian regime further its evil ends through Hezbollah and its political clout. Quite unsurprisingly, the Iranian regime reacted by calling Hariri’s resignation a Saudi-backed plot and accused Riyadh of having taken the Lebanese Premier as hostage, which is ironi...

Video: Iran’s Fake News Makes Families Work Against Each Other 11/2/2017 4:35:26 PM Iran regime using fake news against family members By: Pejman Amiri News Blaze, November 1, 2017  - Only a few days after the landmark speech delivered by U.S. President Donald Trump on the Iran nuclear deal and the oppression suffered by the Iranian people, state media in Iran suddenly launched a choir publishing completely fake news about a female member of the Iranian opposition defecting from her organization. This fake report is astonishingly linked to reports in Iran covering President Trump’s speech, which has been described as encouraging people inside the country to fuel their protests.   Somaye Mohammadi This woman, who has been the subject of an ongoing psychological war launched by Tehran, is Somaye Mohammadi. Along with other members of the Iranian opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK), she has been relocated to Tirana, ...

Growing Anxieties of Tehran Appeasers and Apologists Targeting MEK Is Understandable 11/2/2017 7:30:27 PM   facebook Google+ ► Print The Iranian regime has never hidden its worry and concern about the role and impact of the MEK. By Sia Rajabi IRAN FOCUS, 02 November 2017  -- The shift in US policy on Iran has been unmistakable. After years of conciliation and appeasement – not just under the Obama administration but at various points throughout the 38-year history of the Islamic Republic – President Donald Trump is spearheading a committed strategy of confrontation and assertiveness, which serves to expose the depths of the Iranian regime’s violence and contempt for human rights. The pace of this change has been rather dramatic. It was just about a year and a half ago that Tehran received windfalls of unfrozen assets and other benefits from nuclear negotiations, including the payment of more than one billion dollars in cash as a de fact...

Iran Sanctions Over Ballistic Missile Program Pass U.S. House 10/26/2017 6:50:20 PM   facebook Google+ ► Print US House overwhelminglypassed Iran ballistic missile sanctions bill • Two other non-nuclear sanctions bills passed on Wednesday • Trump called for tougher legislative stance than House bill Bloomberg, October 26, 2017  - The U.S. House on Thursday passed new sanctions in response to Iran’s ballistic missile program... The 423-2 vote was on the final bill in a legislative package adopted over two days, representing the first action from Congress against Iran since President Donald Trump earlier this month refused to certify the country is complying with the terms of the nuclear pact. The House passed two sanction bills on Wednesday, including one that imposes penalties on Iran for supporting Hezbollah. Trump previously called for a tougher stance from Congress that could include renegotiating or pulling out of the Joint...

Trump says Russia hurting U.S. efforts on North Korea nuclear issue 10/26/2017 8:31:08 AM   facebook Google+ ► Print U.S. President Donald Trump speaks before awarding the Medal of Honor to Vietnam War Veteran, retired Army Capt. Gary Rose WASHINGTON (Reuters)OCT, 26, 2017  - President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Russia was hurting U.S. efforts to rid North Korea of nuclear weapons while China had been helpful. In an interview with Fox Business Network, Trump said it would be easier to resolve the North Korea nuclear issue if the United States had a better relationship with Russia. “China is helping us and maybe Russia’s going through the other way and hurting what we’re getting,” Trump said of the North Korea situation. A series of weapons tests by North Korea and a string of increasingly bellicose exchanges between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have ratcheted up tensions. Trump has pressed China to help rei...

U.S. House to vote on non-nuclear Iran sanctions next week 10/20/2017 8:53:42 PM House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks during a press briefing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 23, 2017 WASHINGTON, Reuters, OCT. 20, 2017  - The U.S. House of Representatives will vote next week on new sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile program and on Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah militia, senior House Republicans said on Friday, seeking to take a tough line against Iran without immediately moving to undermine the international nuclear deal. “It is Congress’ responsibility to work with the executive branch on a clear-eyed strategy to stop Iran’s reckless behavior,” Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the number two House Republican, and Representative Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a joint statement emailed to Reuters. “Immediate action towards this goal will come from the House next week as we vote on legislation...

Unpacking Trump's Iran Policy Transition US President Donald Trump - White House Oval Office - October 19, 2017 in Washington, DC. / BRENDAN  We have surpassed a roller coaster month of intense developments over the Iran nuclear deal. Discussions in Washington, and talks between Europe and the United States catapulted us all into a simple conclusion: A major global policy change was in the making. U.S. President Donald J. Trump  followed suit  and delivered his landmark speech last Friday. It was the first time in over 30 years that a U.S. president completely devoted a speech to announcing his policy in regards to Iran. Trump delivered America’s new comprehensive strategy vis-à-vis Iran, following months of anticipation and talks. The issue at hand is not a discussion about personal differences between George W. Bush, Barack Obama or Donald Trump. Policies have reached a dead end and long term interests have left America no choice but to adopt new poli...

Heidarian: Aligning the global response to Iran’s human rights violations (Photo: Atta Kenare, AFP/Getty Images) The administration of President Donald Trump has begun pushing for a dramatic shift in U.S. policy toward the Islamic Republic of Iran. Even before taking office, the president was clear about his antipathy for his predecessor’s nuclear deal, representative of a conciliatory strategy unfortunately embraced by other Western powers. The role of the Trump administration has been not just to enforce an assertive shift in American policy; it has been to convince the international community to make a similar shift, as well. Trump’s speech to the United Nations was illustrative. In it, he pulled no punches, describing the theocratic regime as hiding behind a guise of democracy while acting contrary to the interests of its own people. In injecting reality into a flailing approach, there are aspects of Iran policy on which both the United States and the broader intern...