Tag Archives: Iran

Mediaite reports: President Donald Trump took to Twitter to issue a threat against Iran amidst escalating tensions between the United States and the Middle Eastern country. The threat comes just days after the New York Times reported that Trump was seeking to tamp down escalated tensions between his administration and Tehran, telling acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan he doesn’t want …

Axios reports: At a special meeting on U.S.-Iran tensions with Israel’s intelligence chiefs and top military brass, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would make every effort not to get dragged into the escalation in the Gulf and would not interfere directly in the situation, Israeli officials tell me. Israel was one of the main sources of intelligence on alleged …

CNBC reports: Washington ordered the departure of non-emergency government employees from Iraq on Wednesday, after repeated U.S. expressions of concern about threats from Iranian-backed forces. The U.S. State Department has ordered the pullout of the employees from both the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and its consulate in Erbil, the embassy said in a statement. On Tuesday, the U.S. military reaffirmed …

The New York Times reports: At a meeting of President Trump’s top national security aides last Thursday, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan presented an updated military plan that envisions sending as many as 120,000 troops to the Middle East should Iran attack American forces or accelerate work on nuclear weapons, administration officials said. The revisions were ordered by hard-liners led …

Newsweek reports: President Donald Trump acknowledged the United States was “risking military confrontation” with Iran and said former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry should be prosecuted under the Logan Act for interfering with potential negotiations with Tehran. Trump repeatedly accused the former Obama administration secretary of state of violating the Logan Act—a federal law dating back to 1799 which …

The Associated Press reports: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made a lightning visit to Baghdad on Tuesday to show U.S. support for the Iraqi government as Washington steps up warnings to Iran against any action against American interests in the Middle East. The unannounced trip began and ended after nightfall and under heavy security. Pompeo’s visit came as the …

CNN reports: The United States is deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force to the Middle East in response to a “number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings” from Iran, US national security adviser John Bolton said Sunday. A US official with direct knowledge of the situation told CNN the threats were against …

The Wall Street Journal reports: President Trump’s National Security Council asked the Pentagon to provide the White House with military options to strike Iran last year, generating concern at the Pentagon and State Department, current and former U.S. officials said. The request, which hasn’t been previously reported, came after militants fired three mortars into Baghdad’s sprawling diplomatic quarter, home to …

The Guardian reports: The Trump administration has warned Tehran that there would be “hell to pay” if it continued to “cross” the US and its allies. The threat was delivered by the national security adviser, John Bolton, a longtime Iran hawk who told an audience of anti-Tehran activists: “The murderous regime and its supporters will face significant consequences if they …

Reuters reports: President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani on Saturday said that U.S. sanctions on Iran are leading to economic pain that could lead to a “successful revolution,” contrasting with administration comments that government change in Tehran is not U.S. policy. “I don’t know when we’re going to overthrow them,” said Giuliani, who spoke in his own capacity though …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter Tuesday that he is seeking “world peace” by imposing “the most biting sanctions ever” against Iran, the latest example of escalating tensions between the two nations. The sanctions were previously softened by the Obama administration as part of a landmark 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran. Trump scrapped that deal in May, putting …

The Hill reports: Defense Secretary James Mattis on Friday disputed a report that the U.S. is preparing a strike against Iran, calling it “fiction.” ABC News had previously reported, citing Australian officials, that the U.S. could launch missile strikes against Iran as soon as next month. “I have no idea where the Australian news people got that information,” Mattis told …

The Times Of Israel reports: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday commended US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for their “strong stance” on Iran, after the American leader fired off an angry tweet threatening the Islamic Republic and his top diplomat compared Tehran’s leadership to a “mafia.” “I would like to praise the strong stance …

ABC News reports: Germany is calling for restraint amid escalating rhetoric between the leaders of Iran and the United States. Foreign Ministry spokesman Christofer Burger told reporters in Berlin on Monday: “We support dialogue and talks, and we call on all sides to exercise restraint and rhetorical disarmament.” President Donald Trump tweeted late Sunday that hostile threats from Iran could …

The Associated Press reports: The White House says President Donald Trump’s threatening tweet shows he’s not going to tolerate critical rhetoric from Iran, but claims the U.S. leader isn’t escalating tensions between the two countries. Press secretary Sarah Sanders says that “if anybody’s inciting anything, look no further than to Iran.” Sanders said on Monday that Trump has been “very …

Mediaite reports: As CNN’s New Day covered President Donald Trump‘s explosive late-night tweet threatening Iran, the morning show concluded: this is a means to distract from his terrible week. New Day co-host Alisyn Camerota pointed out that Trump predicted multiple times during the Obama presidency that the former president would attack Iran to help him politically. “Is this a distraction …

Glorious Leader is reacting to this: Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani has urged U.S. President Donald Trump to “make peace” with Iran, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported on Sunday. The report quotes Rouhani as saying “American must understand well that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace and war with Iran is the mother of all wars.” Rouhani …

Leading economic indicator? New York’s Fox affiliate reports: With the summer travel season fast approaching, gas prices are on the rise but some people are getting sticker shock in Manhattan. Regular gas has hit $5 a gallon at at least one station. A Mobil station on 11th Ave. in Hell’s Kitchen has raised its prices to $4.999 a gallon. Across …

Business Insider reports: President Donald Trump’s crackdown on trade claimed a massive victim this week, as the Chinese tech giant ZTE shut down most of its operations. The Commerce Department recently banned the sale of US-made parts to ZTE, crippling its operations and leading to a shutdown of its factories. In a statement Wednesday, ZTE said that “the major operating …

CBS News reports: Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shared an image of himself reading the Persian-language edition of Michael Wolff’s 2018 book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” on Friday, just days after President Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear agreement. Wolff’s bombshell exposé on the Trump administration shot to the top of Amazon’s …