Tag Archives: Iran

Mediaite reports: It currently appears that, under President Donald Trump, American foreign policy has devolved into a game of grade school playground exchanging of insults. At least that’s where we are in light of the escalating tensions between the United States and Iran. Trump responded on Twitter Tuesday to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani calling the Trump administration’s new economic sanctions …

The Associated Press reports: Iran on Tuesday sharply criticized new U.S. sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader and other top officials, saying the measures spell the “permanent closure” for diplomacy between the two nations. For his part, Iran’s president described the White House as “afflicted by mental retardation.” President Hassan Rouhani went on to call the sanctions against Supreme …

“Trump has now put pressure on — massive pressure on the Iranians, which is why they’re acting out. I like the fact that people have an impression of Donald Trump that is inaccurate. Literally, Donald Trump said he’d do all these things and he did them. It makes him unique, that’s why he’s not a politician. He’s very, very predictable. …

The New York Times reports: President Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, warned Tehran on Sunday not to “mistake U.S. prudence and discretion for weakness,” saying that military action against Iran remained very much an option even though the United States last week called off one military strike. Tensions between the two countries had brought Mr. Trump to the brink …

Fox News reports: Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., joined Democrats on Friday in calling on President Trump to seek Congressional approval for military action against Iran. His comments came after the president called off a military strike against Iran — an offense operation that Amash indicated should have undergone congressional review. “Glad the president pulled back from striking Iran but still …

“President Obama made a desperate and terrible deal with Iran – Gave them 150 Billion Dollars plus I.8 Billion Dollars in CASH! Iran was in big trouble and he bailed them out. Gave them a free path to Nuclear Weapons, and SOON. Instead of saying thank you, Iran yelled Death to America. I terminated deal, which was not even ratified …

The Associated Press reports: Major airlines from around the world on Friday began rerouting their flights to avoid areas around the Strait of Hormuz following Iran’s shooting down of a U.S. military surveillance drone there, as America warned commercial airliners could be mistakenly attacked. The Federal Aviation Administration warned of a “potential for miscalculation or misidentification” in the region after …

“In coming days, we will know if the mullahs are smart enough to take the opportunity — which is a small window — it may not even exist within 5 minutes. Because if they don’t, the president will have no choice. He will bomb the hell out of them. No need for a long, protracted boots-on-the-ground kind of war. “We …

The New York Times reports: President Trump approved military strikes against Iran in retaliation for downing an American surveillance drone, but pulled back from launching them on Thursday night after a day of escalating tensions. As late as 7 p.m., military and diplomatic officials were expecting a strike, after intense discussions and debate at the White House among the president’s …

NBC News reports: President Donald Trump on Thursday told reporters that “you’ll soon find out” whether the U.S. will strike Iran as tensions between the two countries ratcheted up. U.S. officials said earlier in the day that an Iranian missile had shot down an American drone over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran claimed that the drone was above its territory. …

CBS News reports: Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, one of the most hawkish members of Congress, urged the Trump administration to order a military strike against Iran over recent attacks against oil tankers in the Middle East — a move he said will send the government in Tehran a message that the U.S. will not stand idle as commercial …

The New York Times reports: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that intelligence reviewed by American officials showed that Iran was responsible for attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, a critical waterway for the transit of much of the world’s petroleum. Mr. Pompeo did not present any evidence of Iran’s involvement when announcing the findings. …

Bloomberg reports: President Donald Trump has ordered the deployment of about 1,500 additional U.S. troops to the Middle East amid rising tensions with Iran, according to two people familiar with the matter. The purpose of the deployment is to enhance the protection of forces already in the region that are dedicated to missile defense, freedom of navigation in Persian Gulf …

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 …