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Irish President Michael Higgins accuses Israel of leaking the full text of a letter he sent to Iran’s new president as he was sworn in in July, an allegation rejected and denounced by the Israeli embassy. The July 11 letter congratulating Masoud Pezeshkian — whose existence was made public on July 26 by Ireland’s Foreign Ministry but whose full text was then published online on July 29 — drew backlash for its friendly nature; its claim that Iran will play a “crucial role” in achieving Middle East stability, cooperation and “peaceful resolving of disputes”; and its omission of Tehran’s major...

Iraqi officials – some on the record, some not – stated this week that they are finalizing an effort to remove nearly all American troops from the country following the collapse of the Islamic State “caliphate.” The plan would allegedly remove nearly all American military personnel from the country by 2025, leaving some in the autonomous northern region governed by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for another year. Defense Minister Thabit al-Abbasi reportedly announced the plan in an interview with the Saudi network Al Arabiya this week; the Washington Post quoted an anonymous “Iraqi military official” on Thursday describing the...

Iran on Tuesday categorically refused Western calls to drop its threat to retaliate against Israel for last month’s killing of Hamas terrorist leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Israel has been blamed for Haniyeh’s killing on July 31 during a visit to the Iranian capital for the swearing-in of President Masoud Pezeshkian. Israel has not commented. Iran has since been publicly vowing revenge and on Monday key Western allies urged it to reconsider, as Breitbart News reported. Britain, France, and Germany Warn Iran to Not Attack Israel, Meanwhile U.S. Sends Nuclear Submarinehttps://t.co/ymIyHqXEdZ — Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) August 12, 2024

Israeli intelligence officials believe Iran has settled on attacking Israel in the coming days over the assassination of Hamas’ top leader, according to a new report. The updated assessment on Tehran’s expected retaliation suggests the attack could even come before Thursday, sources told Axios reporter Barak Ravid. That would be before scheduled hostage negotiation talks between Hamas and Israel on Aug. 15, which the terror group announced Sunday it was backing out of. Iran has been assessing its options on attacking Israel for nearly two weeks, after a suspected Israeli bomb killed former Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh while he was...

Salemi) Officials in the US-led multinational coalition that is reportedly preparing to assist in repelling an expected Iranian attack have preemptively warned Israel not to respond too strongly to such an assault, according to a Tuesday report. “Don’t push it,” the unnamed officials told Jerusalem, according to Kan news. “Think carefully before you attack in return. The goal at the end of the day is not to lead to an all-out war.” In April, a massive drone and missile attack from Iran was foiled by a coalition that reportedly comprised Israel, the United States, Britain, France, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi...

The sole reformist candidate in Iran’s presidential elections this month has said he wants improved relations with the US, as he accused his conservative rivals of blighting the Iranian economy by not doing enough to revive the a nuclear deal with the west that had led to the lifting of some sanctions. Masoud Pezeshkian, who has unveiled the combative former foreign minster Javad Zarif as his foreign policy adviser, also suggested under his presidency he might also review its relations with Russia, arguing eastern powers should not think that they are Iran’s only option. ...The secretary of the Islamic Association...

European Parliament Member Criticizes EU Attendance at Inauguration Ceremony of Pezeshkian While officials of the Iranian regime attempted to present the inauguration ceremony of the 14th government’s president as a “symbol of power” in the world, the presence of some foreign guests, including Enrique Mora, has faced criticism. Adam Bielan MEP, foreign affairs coordinator for the ECR Group, was among those who protested against the attendance of the Deputy Foreign Policy Chief of the European Union at Pezeshkian’s inauguration. In a letter to Josep Borrell, he, wrote“This decision is not only misguided but stands in direct contradiction to the values...

During an extended edition of CNN’s “Laura Coates Live” that covered the reported assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson stated that the killing of Haniyeh means that his “moderate voice is off the table” because Haniyeh “was seen as a more moderate within Hamas.” Robertson said, “This is going to be an extreme test of the new President of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian. This is a man who’s quite literally just taken up his job, who has quite literally just seen one of his principal regional interlocutors who came to congratulate him and witness...

Iran elected Masoud Pezeshkian to its presidency, in an unexpected victory for the country's reformist camp amid deep social discontent, economic hardship, and regional war...Pezeshkian won 16.3 million votes...with the election seeing a 49.8% turnout...His rival Saeed Jalili, a hard-line right-wing former nuclear negotiator, finished the race with 13.5 million votes.

After the helicopter crash on May 19, 2024, that claimed the life of former president Ebrahim Raisi, the Iranian mullah regime swiftly scheduled early elections.Not being a particularly competent bunch, they announced the fictional date of Friday, June 31. They held the vote on Saturday.These elections were orchestrated under the watchful eye of the ailing 85-year-old Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, who aimed to use this occasion to solidify his succession plan. While it appeared that Saeed Jalili, a former Revolutionary Guard general close to Khamenei, was set to win, the historically low voter turnout effectively transformed the electoral process into...