UK is concerned at Iran’s role in a confrontation at the border with Syria 2/13/2018 8:03:43 AM   facebook Google+ ► Print Britains Foreign Minister Boris Johnson and Thailands Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha in Bangkok on February 12, 2018 LONDON, REUTERS, 12 February 2018  - British foreign minister Boris Johnson said London was concerned at Iran’s role in a confrontation at Israel’s border with Syria. “We are concerned at the Iranian actions, which detract from efforts to get a genuine peace process under way,” Johnson said in a statement on Monday. 'We encourage Russia to use its influence to press the regime and its backers to avoid provocative actions and to support de-escalation in pursuit of a broader political settlement,” he said. Foreign Secretary Johnson was referring to the events two days ago that led to the downing of an Iranian drone after it entered Israeli air space from Syria, and the shooting down of an Israeli F-16 by a...

ANALYSIS: Understanding Washington’s fast-evolving Iran policy President Trump after speaking about the Iran deal at the White House in Washington, DC, October 13, 2017. (AFP) Heshmat Alavi, Special to Al Arabiya English Monday, 18 December 2017 Text size  A   A   A On the doorstep of US President Donald Trump’s first National Security Strategy speech, the administration launched an unprecedented campaign of pinpointing the crosshairs on the epicenter of all extremism causing havoc across the Middle East: Iran. This comes following a  Wall Street Journal  article explaining how in the post-ISIS world Washington will begin pinpointing its focus and resources on the larger and more dangerous threat posed by Tehran. ‘Hard look’ The Trump administration has made it clear that a wide array of destructive policies adopted by Tehran have become unacceptable, a clear indication of the end of Iran’s years of windblown successes, thank...

Trump strategy document singles out Russia as bad actor globally 12/18/2017 8:51:26 PM The administration warned that intellectual property theft by China is a national security problem. Washington, Reuters, December 18, 2017  - US President Donald Trump’s administration named Russia on Monday as a bad actor on the world stage in a policy document that offers a sober analysis of Moscow as a rival despite Trump’s own bid for warmer ties with President Vladimir Putin. The criticism of Russia, laid out in a new national security strategy formed from Trump’s “America First” foreign policy vision, reflects a view long held by American diplomats that Russia actively undermines US interests at home and abroad. Excerpts of the strategy document released on Monday made no direct mention of US allegations that Russia meddled in last year’s presidential election. A US federal investigation is also looking into whether Trump campaign aides colluded with Russia,...

Video: Powerful earthquake hits Iraq and Iran, killing more than 300 11/13/2017 11:41:31 AM A man sits outside a damaged belonging following an earthquake in Sarpol-e Zahab county in Kermanshah, Iran Nov 13, 2017 BAGHDAD/ANKARA, Reuters, November 13, 2017  - At least 332 people were killed in Iran and Iraq when a magnitude 7.3 earthquake jolted the region on Sunday, state media in the two countries said, and rescuers were searching for dozens trapped under rubble in the mountainous area. State television said more than 328 people were killed in Iran and at least 2,500 were injured. Local officials said the death toll would rise as search and rescue teams reached remote areas of Iran.  Iran-Iraq Earthquake 7.3 Magnitude Concrete Structures Had Collapsed The earthquake was felt in several western provinces of Iran but the hardest hit province was Kermanshah, which announced three days of mourning. More than 236 of the victims were in ...

Iran rejects Macron call for talks on Iranian missiles 11/12/2017 3:29:13 PM A display featuring missiles and a portrait of Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is seen at Baharestan Square in Tehran, Iran DUBAI, Reuters, November 12, 2017  - Iran rejected on Sunday a call by French President Emmanuel Macron for talks on Tehran's ballistic missiles, saying they were defensive and unrelated to a nuclear agreement with world powers. On Thursday, Macron said during a visit to Dubai that he was 'very concerned' by Iran's ballistic missile programme, mentioning a missile fired from Yemen and intercepted by Saudi Arabia earlier this month. He raised the prospect of possible sanctions with regard to those activities. 'There are negotiations we need to start on Iran's ballistic missiles,' Macron said. But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi rejected that possibility. 'France is fully aware of our country'...

Putin and Trump joint remarks: ‘No military solution to Syria conflict’ 11/11/2017 8:26:37 AM   facebook Google+ ► Print U.S. President Donald Trump and Russias President Vladimir Putin talk during the family photo session at the APEC Summit in Danang, Vietnam November 11, 2017 Reuters , 11 November 2017 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, in a joint statement on Syria, agreed to continue joint efforts on fighting ISIS until it is defeated, the Kremlin said on Saturday. The two leaders also confirmed their commitment to Syria's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and called on all parties to the Syrian conflict to take an active part in the Geneva political process. Moscow and Washington agree there is no military solution to the conflict, according to the text of the joint statement published on the Kremlin's website.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards arrest more dual nationals 11/9/2017 9:16:12 AM Iranian authorities have previously denied holding detainees for ransom and accuse Western governments of holding Iranians on trumped-up charges. LONDON (Reuters) NOV. 9, 201  - Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have arrested at least 30 dual nationals during the past two years, mostly on spying charges, according to lawyers, diplomats and relatives, twice as many as earlier reported by local or international media. The number marks a sharp rise since 2015, when an international nuclear deal raised hopes of detente with the West. In the years before that the number of dual nationals detained at any given time was in single figures. It also points up a new trend as a majority of those arrested since then, 19 out of the 30, have citizenship in Europe. Previously most of the detainees were Iranian Americans. Detainees’ relatives and lawyers said the Guards were using them as bargain...