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Israel was seriously dismayed when first reports reached Jerusalem about the telephone conversation between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin Tuesday, during which Trump agreed to consider Putin’s plan for “de-escalation zones” in Syria, in place of the American security zones proposal. The Russian president’s plan includes the posting of Iranian military officers as co-monitors for those zones, one of which is to be located on the Syrian-Israeli border. President Trump described the conversation as “Very good.” The four “de-escalation zones” proposed would be situated at: 1. The northwestern province of Idlib up to the Turkish border; 2. The central...

An Iranian propaganda campaign created fake Bernie Sanders supporters online, Facebook disclosed Tuesday. In a press release, the social-media giant said it had removed 652 pages associated with political-influence campaigns traced to Iran, including coordinated inauthentic behavior that originated in Iran and targeted people across multiple internet services in the Middle East, Latin America, U.K., and U.S.” The cybersecurity company FireEye, which first alerted Facebook to the influence campaign months ago, wrote in a separate posting on its site that it had traced the campaign—including posts from supposed “American liberals supportive of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders”—to Iran through email addresses...

In Iran, the tradition of "Charshanbe Soori" is the festival of fire, which occurs every year on the night before the last Wednesday of the Iranian calendar year. During this festival, which dates back to the 7th century, Iranians traditionally celebrate by lighting bonfires and jumping through the flames. In this ancient custom, they sing: "Sorkhie to az man, zardie man az to," which means: "I give my ill to the fire and receive the redness and warmth from fire." This ancient Persian "Festival of Fire," with its historic and ceremonial roots, is one of the most beloved celebrations among...

Iranians fear an even more painful squeeze on living costs after additional U.S. sanctions take effect on Monday, from businesses struggling to buy raw materials to the sick and elderly unable to afford life-saving medicines. Iran’s clerical rulers have played down the U.S. move, but many ordinary Iranians appear apprehensive. “All the prices are going higher every day ... I cannot imagine what will happen after 13 Aban (Nov. 4). I am scared. I am worried. I am desperate,” said elementary school teacher Pejman Sarafnejad, 43, a father of three in Tehran. “I cannot even buy rice to feed my...

President Hassan Rohani has warned Iranians that they may face more difficulties after the United States imposes new sanctions on the country, state television reports. "The situation was hard for people in the recent months, and it may be hard in the next several months, too," Rohani said on October 31 during a televised cabinet meeting, according to broadcaster IRIB. Iran is already in the grip of an economic crisis and has seen sporadic protests in recent months.

It is worth noting that some in the American press, most explicitly CNN, have fundamentally misunderstood these protests, mischaracterizing them as internal struggles between political hardliners and “reformists”. This is an almost comical error, and causes one to wonder whether anyone making it has actually seen the demonstrations. The people in the streets are shouting phrases like “marg bar dictator” (meaning ‘down with the dictator’, a reference to Iranian Grand Ayatollah and Supreme Leader Khamenei) and “marg bar Rouhani” (“down with Rouhani”, the current Iranian president). Their opposition to the brutal regime under which they suffer could not be clearer....

Reza Pahlavi is hated & feared by the Iranian regime, because he is very popular with the Iranian people & the regime view him as a huge threat. 2 days ago, Reza Pahlavi asked Iranians via social media, to use their local soccer match to show their disdain for the regime. He specifically asked Azeris, since as a whole they were not participating as much in the ongoing protests. Here is a video posted after that request: Thousands of soccer fans in Iranian province of Azerbaijan singing in praise of Reza Pahlavi in Turkish-Azeri language.

The Obama administration reportedly granted citizenship to thousands of Iranians during the Nuclear Deal talks back in 2015. According to a report from the Iranian Fars News Agency, high-ranking sources in Tehran are claiming conservative Iranian lawmakers have said Obama had taken measures to appease the Ayatollah regime. This picture of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader on July 11, 2015. (AP/Photo) This includes giving Iran cash and access to the U.S. financial system as well as harboring regime elites in the U.S. They also said at...

The Obama administration granted citizenship to 2,500 Iranians, including family members of government officials, while negotiating the Iran nuclear deal, a senior cleric and member of parliament has claimed. Hojjat al-Islam Mojtaba Zolnour, who is chairman of Iran’s parliamentary nuclear committee and a member of its national security and foreign affairs committee, made the allegations during an interview with the country’s Etemad newspaper, cited by the country’s Fars News agency. He claimed it was done as a favor to senior Iranian officials linked to President Hassan Rouhani, and he alleged the move sparked a competition among Iranian officials over whose...

The drama in St. Petersburg, the marriage proposal at the break and the Persian celebration. Yair Kattan heard from the Iranians why they are actually our friends. Video in Hebrew at link.

TEHRAN — Iran held major anti-Israel rallies across the country Friday, with protesters chanting “Death to Israel” and declaring that destroying the Jewish state is “the Muslim world’s top priority.” Iranians participating in Quds Day rallies also called for unity among pro-Palestinian groups against the “child-murdering” Israeli government, according to Iran’s Tasnim News Agency. Marchers in Tehran headed from various points of the city to the Friday prayer ceremony at Tehran University. Similar demonstrations were held in other cities and towns in Iran. Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard used the demonstration in the capital’s Valiasr Square to showcase three surface-to-surface ballistic...

While Iran’s economy is collapsing, and this will eventually be forcing poor people into disastrous condition and when the Trump administration is pushing its “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran into overdrive, with Tuesday’s announcement that the State Department is aiming to cut off all Iranian oil exports by November. While the Iranian rial has lost more than 85 percent of its value against the US dollar in recent months. last week Iran faced with Social unrest and Protests such as truck driver and merchants strike. Today Following calls for a strike on October 14 that was widely circulated on social...

“Death to Khamenei” and “Not for Gaza. Not for Lebanon. My life for Iran” are the most important slogans to explain how fed-up Iranians have become. Israel has only two options against Iran On August 27, Iran and Syria signed a military cooperation agreement. An official visit by Iranian Defense Minister Amir Khatami came at a time when the US started pressuring Iran to leave Syria. This clearly indicates both Syria and Iran want to show off the military cooperation and connections between Tehran and Damascus in light of US sanctions and pressures on the latter. This visit again proves...

Full Title: 'Death to the dictator!' Violence on streets of Iran as police use tear gas on furious protesters, including chador-clad women, demonstrating against 'corrupt regime' ruining the country while waging ideological war abroad Protests have broken out in a number of cities against Iranian regime this week Comes after the dramatic drop of Iran's currency and other economic problems 'The nation is forced to beg while the leader lives like God,' protesters chanted 'Death to the dictator!' Violence on streets of Iran as police use tear gas on furious protesters, including chador-clad women, demonstrating against 'corrupt regime' ruining the...

Israel is ramping up attacks against Iranian supply lines in Syria to block the flow of weapons to Hezbollah and other Tehran-backed militias, as it seeks to drive its foe away from its borders. In June Israel targeted a far-flung compound near the Syria-Iraq border, according to a security official, after carrying out multiple strikes closer to home against suspected Iranian military assets in Syria, where Iran is a key backer of President Bashar al-Assad. Israel, in accordance with its usual practice, didn’t confirm or deny it carried out the June airstrike. The U.S. denied responsibility, and a U.S. official...

Feb. is the Iranian regime's celebration of "The Revolution". Protesters have taken to the streets to call for the end of the regime and death to Khamenei. They are tearing down posters & banners celebrating the Revolution and burning them. The protests are happening in cities throughout the country. The women are still taking off their head scarves in protest and being arrested. Just because the media doesn't report it, doesn't mean it isn't happening. There are many photos & videos on Twitter @iranprotests, and #iranprotests

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, blames "Americans and Zionists" for the recent protests. The Shiite Muslim hard-liner says money supporting the citizens came from "one of the filthy-rich governments of the Persian Gulf." (Associated Press/File) Iran’s rulers have inflicted death by torture and gunfire on citizen protesters in a crackdown since the Dec. 28 street uprising erupted, the main opposition group said Tuesday. The Europe-based National Council of Resistance of Iran says the Islamic republic’s ubiquitous security apparatus has arrested more than 8,000 citizens and killed at least 50, all while the West has remained mostly silent. The...

In a volatile situation, Iranians have taken to the streets in three full days of protest with some calling for the end to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s reign of power. The protesters, angry about a corrupt government, a failing economy, and a lack of basic human rights throughout the Islamic Republic, could also pose a threat to the regime of President Hassan Rouhani. President Donald Trump weighed in twice on the protests as of Saturday. On Friday, the president said, “Many reports of peaceful protests by Iranian citizens fed up with regime’s corruption & its squandering of the nation’s wealth to...

The wave of violent protests churning across Iran differs dramatically from the last major uprising that rocked the country in 2009 and could spiral out of control if the regime moves too quickly toward military-style tactics to crush the unrest. While the abortive Green Revolution eight years ago was driven mainly by the children of wealthy political elites in Tehran in the wake of a questionable election, the spontaneous protests this time around are unfolding across the country and driven by what analysts describe as “the working poor” — a segment of the population that has little to lose in...

The outcome of the events in Iran remains far from clear, with the possibilities ranging from the restoration of the power of the existing government to its weakening to its complete overthrow, Avraam Shmulyevich says, with all but the first certain to have a dramatic impact in the post-Soviet space... On the one hand, the current Tehran government is one of Russia’s few allies in the world and that is a matter of concern for Putin. “Note that Russian television isn’t saying anything about the events in Iran, and this is very indicative,” the analyst continues. The Iranian events will...