WEATHER ALERT
What is the Hezbollah-linked financial institution Israel is targeting in Lebanon?
Read full article: What is the Hezbollah-linked financial institution Israel is targeting in Lebanon?The Israeli military has carried out a wave of airstrikes targeting branches of a financial institution affiliated with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, saying the quasi-banking system is being used to fund the militant group’s military wing.
Former Trump defense secretary urges Biden to do more to stop Iran's threats on officials
Read full article: Former Trump defense secretary urges Biden to do more to stop Iran's threats on officialsFormer Defense Secretary Mark Esper says it was time for the Biden administration “to do better than just playing defense” to Iranian threats on Trump administration officials.
Iran threat prompted more security at Trump rally as officials warn of potential for copycat attacks
Read full article: Iran threat prompted more security at Trump rally as officials warn of potential for copycat attacksFederal law enforcement officials are warning of possible copycat attacks or retaliatory violence after the attempt on Donald Trump’s life, as a visibly stronger security detail surrounds the Republican nominee and President Joe Biden.
Iran's hard-line parliament speaker emerges as the theocracy's top figure in the presidential vote
Read full article: Iran's hard-line parliament speaker emerges as the theocracy's top figure in the presidential voteIran’s hard-line parliament speaker has registered for the country’s June 28 presidential election.
Iran inters its late president at holiest Shiite site in nation after fatal helicopter crash
Read full article: Iran inters its late president at holiest Shiite site in nation after fatal helicopter crashIran has interred late President Ebrahim Raisi at the holiest Shiite shrine in the nation, days after a fatal helicopter crash killed him, the country’s foreign minister and six others.
Mourners begin days of funerals for Iran's president and others killed in helicopter crash
Read full article: Mourners begin days of funerals for Iran's president and others killed in helicopter crashMourners have begun the days of funerals and processions for Iran’s late president, foreign minister and others killed in a helicopter crash.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, a hard-line diplomat, dies in a helicopter crash
Read full article: Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, a hard-line diplomat, dies in a helicopter crashIran's state media has reported that Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has died in a helicopter crash that also killed the country's president.
Iran's foreign minister accuses US of giving Israel 'green light' to attack consulate in Syria
Read full article: Iran's foreign minister accuses US of giving Israel 'green light' to attack consulate in SyriaIran’s foreign minister has accused the United States of giving Israel the “green light” for a strike on its consulate building in Syria that killed seven Iranian military officials, including two generals.
Tehran vows response after strike blamed on Israel destroyed Iran's Consulate in Syria and killed 12
Read full article: Tehran vows response after strike blamed on Israel destroyed Iran's Consulate in Syria and killed 12Iran has vowed to respond to a deadly airstrike widely attributed to Israel that demolished Iran’s consulate building in the Syrian capital and killed 12 people, including two Iranian generals.
Iran marks the 45th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution as tensions grip the wider Middle East
Read full article: Iran marks the 45th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution as tensions grip the wider Middle EastIran has marked the 45th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution amid tensions gripping the wider Middle East over Israel’s continued war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
A look at the Iraqi government's relationship with armed groups that are clashing with US forces
Read full article: A look at the Iraqi government's relationship with armed groups that are clashing with US forcesA U.S. strike in Baghdad that killed a commander with the powerful Kataib Hezbollah paramilitary group this week highlighted the ambiguous status of the country’s Iran-allied armed factions.
How to strike back after deadly drone attack? US has many options, but must weigh consequences
Read full article: How to strike back after deadly drone attack? US has many options, but must weigh consequencesPresident Joe Biden has made it clear the U.S. will strike back after a deadly drone attack killed three service members and wounded more than 40 at a small base in Jordan over the weekend.
Iran strikes targets in northern Iraq and Syria as regional tensions escalate
Read full article: Iran strikes targets in northern Iraq and Syria as regional tensions escalateIran says it fired missiles at what it claimed were Israeli “spy headquarters” near the U.S. Consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, and at targets linked to the extremist group Islamic State in northern Syria.
From Houthis to Hezbollah, a look at the Iran-allied groups rallying to arms around Middle East
Read full article: From Houthis to Hezbollah, a look at the Iran-allied groups rallying to arms around Middle EastThe drone strike that killed three U.S. troops in Jordan and was apparently launched by Iran-backed militants was the latest in a flurry of attacks and reprisals across the Middle East.
Iran mourns those slain in Islamic State-claimed suicide blasts as death toll rises to 89
Read full article: Iran mourns those slain in Islamic State-claimed suicide blasts as death toll rises to 89Iranian officials have tried to link Israel and the U.S. to an Islamic State group-claimed suicide bombing while speaking to a mass funeral for some of the 89 people killed in the attack.
Islamic State group claims responsibility for Iran suicide bombings killing at least 84 people
Read full article: Islamic State group claims responsibility for Iran suicide bombings killing at least 84 peopleThe Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for two suicide bombings targeting a commemoration for an Iranian general slain in a 2020 U.S. drone strike.
US again renews protection for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and top aide over Iran threats
Read full article: US again renews protection for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and top aide over Iran threatsThe Biden administration has once again renewed taxpayer-funded protection for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and one of his top aides, who have been the target of persistent threats from Iran.
Iran says at least 84 were killed in blasts at a ceremony honoring slain general
Read full article: Iran says at least 84 were killed in blasts at a ceremony honoring slain generalIran says twin bomb blasts killed at least 84 people at an event honoring a prominent Iranian general slain in a U.S. airstrike in 2020.
Iran holds funeral for a general who was killed by an alleged Israeli airstrike in Syria
Read full article: Iran holds funeral for a general who was killed by an alleged Israeli airstrike in SyriaIran has held a funeral for a high-ranking general of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard who was killed by an alleged Israeli airstrike in Syria.
US should use its influence to help win the freedom of a scholar missing in Iraq, her sister says
Read full article: US should use its influence to help win the freedom of a scholar missing in Iraq, her sister saysThe sister of a Russian-Israeli academic at Princeton University who went missing in Iraq nearly six months ago says the United States should use its influence to help win her freedom.
US sanctions Iranians over alleged plots to kill John Bolton and others around the world
Read full article: US sanctions Iranians over alleged plots to kill John Bolton and others around the worldThe U.S. has imposed sanctions on an Iranian Revolutionary Guard official and others it says took part in wide-ranging plots to kill former national security adviser John Bolton and others around the world, including at least one additional U.S. government official.
Amid crisis, Hezbollah 'bank' a lifeline for some Lebanese
Read full article: Amid crisis, Hezbollah 'bank' a lifeline for some LebaneseAs more Lebanese fall into poverty in the country's economic crisis, increasing numbers are turning to the financial arm of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group for help. He could still pull out the dollars in his account at the al-Qard al-Hasan Association, the financial arm of the militant Hezbollah group. Stepping in where the state and financial institutions have failed, Hezbollah is providing a vital lifeline for some Lebanese. Over the past year, the al-Qard al-Hasan association has seen a significant increase in clients, despite it being under U.S. Treasury sanctions since 2007. That has proven a boon for the al-Qard al-Hasan association, as some turned to it as an alternative to store their cash.
Rally in Baghdad marks 1 year since Iran general's killing
Read full article: Rally in Baghdad marks 1 year since Iran general's killingThousands of Iraqis converged on a landmark central square in Baghdad on Sunday to commemorate the anniversary of the killing of Soleimanil and al-Muhandis in a U.S. drone strike. Sunday's rally was being held amid heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S. in the final days of President Donald Trump’s administration. Their killing dramatically ratcheted up tensions in the region and brought the U.S. and Iran to the brink of war. In Yemen, Iran’s embassy in the rebel-controlled capital, Sanaa, held a ceremony commemorating the killing of Soleimani and al-Muhandis. “This ceremony today shows the deep ties between the two governments and people of Yemen and Iran,” he said.
Iraq says it has dismantled mine on tanker in Persian Gulf
Read full article: Iraq says it has dismantled mine on tanker in Persian GulfBAGHDAD – Iraq's military on Saturday said explosives experts with its naval forces successfully dismantled a mine that was discovered stuck to an oil tanker in the Persian Gulf two days earlier. The announcement came a day after Iraq confirmed reports by private security firms that a mine had been discovered attached to the side of a tanker rented from Iraq's Oil Marketing Company, known as SOMO, as it was refueling another vessel. Iraq has not provided further details, but the two private security firms said the discovery was likely a limpet mine on the MT Pola, a Liberian-flagged tanker. Soleimani headed Iran's Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force, responsible for the Islamic Republic’s foreign operations and frequently shuttling between Iraq, Lebanon and Syria. His assassination dramatically ratcheted up tensions in the region and brought the U.S. and Iran to the brink of war.
Military expert: Iran’s response to general’s killing ‘extraordinary’
Read full article: Military expert: Iran’s response to general’s killing ‘extraordinary’TEHRAN – The Pentagon has confirmed that Iran launched “more than a dozen ballistic missiles" at two targets hosting against U.S. military and coalition forces in Iraq. Defense Department spokesman Jonathan Hoffman says “It is clear that these missiles were launched from Iran." He says the attacks “targeted at least two Iraqi military bases" at Ain Assad and Irbil. News4Jax spoke with Ken Timmerman, the president of the Foundation of Democracy in Iran. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in advance of a Pentagon briefing.
Instagram pulls account impersonating US government agency
Read full article: Instagram pulls account impersonating US government agencyCHICAGO, IL – An Instagram account masquerading as a U.S. government news agency was used to promote misinformation about potential fallout from America's targeted killing last week of Iran’s top general. The VOA Persian's official Instagram account uses the handle VOAFarsi and is verified, with a blue check mark in its profile. The caption of that Instagram post, written in Farsi, claimed that Zeinab Soleimani said she was a U.S. citizen. The fake Instagram account had 181 posts before it was removed, Facebook said. The fake Instagram account also listed a YouTube account in its profile.
Could more military forces in Jacksonville be mobilized in Middle East conflict?
Read full article: Could more military forces in Jacksonville be mobilized in Middle East conflict?Thousands of mourners had surrounded the coffin of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani in his hometown of Kerman when the crash occurred. With thousands of US troops recently deployed to the Middle East, some are asking if more military forces in the Jacksonville area could be mobilized in the conflict. She said it’s unclear the effect it could have on military personnel in Jacksonville, but she said if Iran retaliates that it’s likely a massive Naval presence in the Middle East would be necessary. “At the moment we aren’t sending massive Naval powers that would affect our local families but it is entirely possible," Soderberg told Ross. So if this goes really south, and this turns into a tit for tat, then Naval forces will certainly be affected.”