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Tag: Iran

  • SAP Admits to Illegal Software Exports to Iran

    SAP Admits to Illegal Software Exports to Iran

    SAP entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice (DOJ), admitting it illegally exported thousands of copies of its software to Iran.

    SAP is the one of the leading enterprise software companies in the world, with a focus on ERP, cloud and IoT solutions. The company does business all over the world, requiring it to adhere to the laws and regulations of the many countries it operates within.

    Unfortunately, the company has run afoul of the US, ignoring sanctions and export restrictions against Iran. As a result, SAP has entered a non-prosecution agreement with the DOJ, admitting it sold thousands of copies of its software to Iran, and agreeing to penalties and restitution.

    Under the terms of the agreement, SAP will pay combined penalties of more than $8 million. SAP will disgorge $5.14 million of the money it received through the illegal sales.

    “Today’s first-ever resolution pursuant to the Department’s Export Control and Sanctions Enforcement Policy for Business Organizations sends a strong message that businesses must abide by export control and sanctions laws, but that when they violate those laws, there is a clear benefit to coming to the Department before they get caught,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers for the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “SAP will suffer the penalties for its violations of the Iran sanctions, but these would have been far worse had they not disclosed, cooperated, and remediated. We hope that other businesses, software or otherwise, we heed this lesson.”

    “By supplying Iran with millions of dollars’ worth of illegally exported software and services, SAP circumvented U.S. economic sanctions against Iran—pressure that is intended to end Iran’s malign behavior. However, it was SAP that first uncovered and reported this sanctions violation, and we would like to thank them for working hard to enhance their compliance program to prevent future violations,” said Special Agent in Charge Joseph R. Bonavolonta for the FBI’s Boston Division. “Let this case be a lesson to others that it’s better to self-report and own up to one’s mistakes than undermine U.S. foreign policy and adversely affect our national security.”

  • GitHub Now Available to Developers in Iran

    GitHub Now Available to Developers in Iran

    GitHub has been granted a license to operate in Iran, giving Iranian developers access to a valuable resource.

    US sanctions against Iran have far-reaching consequences, including on many aspects of the tech industry. GitHub was one of those impacted, with sanctions preventing the company from offering its tools in Iran.

    GitHub announced today that has now secured a license from the US government, paving the way for it to offer the full range of its services — both free and paid — in Iran.

    First, even as we complied with sanctions, we went to great lengths to keep as much of GitHub available to as many developers as possible under US sanctions laws, making public repos available even in sanctioned countries.

    And separately, we took our case to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), part of the US Treasury Department, and began a lengthy and intensive process of advocating for broad and open access to GitHub in sanctioned countries.

    Over the course of two years, we were able to demonstrate how developer use of GitHub advances human progress, international communication, and the enduring US foreign policy of promoting free speech and the free flow of information. We are grateful to OFAC for the engagement which has led to this great result for developers.

    This is good news for GitHub and Iranian developers.

  • U.S. Charges Huawei With Racketeering and IP Theft

    U.S. Charges Huawei With Racketeering and IP Theft

    In the ongoing battle between the U.S. and Huawei, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed new charges against the Chinese firm.

    The DOJ has filed charges of racketeering and intellectual property (IP) theft, as well as accused the telecom company of having business in North Korea and aiding Iran in its efforts to surveil protesters. According to the indictments, Huawei is accused of successfully stealing IP from six U.S. firms, using several local subsidiaries.

    In a statement responding to the charges, Huawei accuses the U.S. government of “using the strength of an entire nation to come after a private company.” The company says this is a case of “political persecution, plain and simple.”

    Huawei then engages in a lengthy breakdown of the IP theft charges, saying that IP disputes are common to the industry. It then compares its own track record with Apple and Samsung, both of whom were involved in over 500 disputes, compared with Huawei’s 209.

    The company also says it has “been granted 87,805 patents, including 11,152 patents in the US. Since 2015, Huawei has received over US$1.4 billion in licensing revenue. We have simultaneously paid more than US$6 billion in royalties for the legitimate use of other companies’ patents. Nearly 80% of that amount was paid to US companies.”

    Noticeably, the statement does not address the accusations regarding the company’s involvement with North Korea or Iran. Either way, this battle is far from over.

  • Cyberattacks May Be Imminent In Wake Of U.S. Strike On Iranian Leader

    Cyberattacks May Be Imminent In Wake Of U.S. Strike On Iranian Leader

    In the wake of a U.S. strike that killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, Quds Force Commander, analysts and former officials are warning that a cyberattack may be imminent, according to The Washington Post.

    “At this point, a cyberattack should be expected,” Jon Bateman, former Defense Intelligence Agency analyst on Iran’s cyber capabilities, and currently a cybersecurity fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told The Post.

    Iran’s cyber troops are some of the best in the world and the country has a long history of successfully attacking Western targets. Between 2011 and 2013, Iran was responsible for ongoing attacks on U.S. banks. Similarly, Iran is believed to be responsible for an attack on the Las Vegas Sands casino in 2014 that resulted in data being wiped.

    Quds Force, the unit Soleimani commanded, specializes in unconventional warfare, including cyber warfare. The fact it was the Quds Force commander who was killed will likely add to the desire for revenge by a unit uniquely qualified to exact it.

    Philip Ingram, a former senior officer in British Military Intelligence, told Forbes that we can expect something “immediate and spectacular.” He went into sat the killing of Soleimani “cannot be underestimated.”

  • Michele Bachmann Gets Zinged by Obama at WHCD

    Michele Bachmann has made no secret of the fact that she let her beliefs about prophecies in Revelation and other apocalyptic notions lead her while she was doing the nation’s business in Congress.

    Recently, Michele Bachmann spoke to End Times broadcaster Jan Markell about her belief that the National Security issues she fielded on the Intelligence Committee in Congress were a result of Biblical prophecy.

    “I worked very hard on the Intelligence Committee to try and keep up with what was happening in the world. It got to such a crescendo that I could hardly keep up with it anymore. The events had picked up such a pace, and are going to continue.”

    Michele Bachmann also said that the United States has lost God’s favor because America’s citizens are becoming pagan. She says America’s founders intended it to be a Christian country.

    “Now the United States has taken a very different tact [sic] and turn than what we have known in our history. This new turn began somewhere along in the 40s and advanced especially in the early 60s, and now we are seeing, not only a post-Christian view that is prevailing int he United States, I think we are now embracing a pagan view.”

    Michele Bachmann lays much of this at the feet of President Obama.

    “Barack Obama is intent, it is his number one goal, to ensure that Iran has a nuclear weapon… It is interesting to me if you look at the President’s rhetoric and if you look at his actions, everything he has done is to cut the legs from under Israel and to lift up radical Islam… That’s why so many Christians I think are sad and despairing because we know what the word of God says… Why would you put the nuclear weapon in the hands of madmen who are Islamic radicals, who believe it’s their religious duty to bomb Israel and to bomb the United States? That is where we’re headed right now. And that’s why the best thing we can do is have churches and pastors explain our times, believers need to get our lives right with God. Jesus Christ is coming back. We, in our lifetimes potentially, could see Jesus.”

    President Obama got his chance to get a dig in at Michele Bachmann at the White House Correspondents Dinner this week when he said:

    “Michele Bachmann actually predicted I would bring about the Biblical ‘end of days.’ Now, that’s a legacy. I mean Lincoln, Washington – they didn’t do that!”

    In return, Michele Bachmann thanked him.

  • Michele Bachmann: Did She Leave Congress Because of The Last Days?

    Michele Bachmann was a member of the United States Congress for eight years. She ran for the Republican party’s nomination for President in the 2012 election, but dropped out. She has been called the “Queen of the Tea Party.”

    But Michele Bachmann left Congress after a career far shorter than many of her colleagues. In remarks to End Times broadcaster Jan Markell recently, Michele Bachmann may have dropped some clues about why she did that.

    Michele Bachmann has long touted her fundamentalist christian beliefs as the basis for her own rhetoric and stances while in Congress. Now she reveals how that mindset affected her job.

    “We need to realize how close this clock is to getting towards the midnight hour. And I think that’s why for our sake, for the sake of our family, our nation, for the next generations, we need to cry out to a holy God. This is coming faster than anyone can see. I worked very hard on the Intelligence Committee to try and keep up with what was happening in the world. It got to such a crescendo that I could hardly keep up with it anymore. The events had picked up such a pace, and are going to continue.”

    Michele Bachmann said that she truly believes that President Barack Obama wants Iran to become a nuclear power. She believes that this is one of the signs of the Last Days.

    “Barack Obama is intent, it is his number one goal, to ensure that Iran has a nuclear weapon. Why? Why would you put the nuclear weapon in the hands of madmen who are Islamic radicals, who believe it’s their religious duty to bomb Israel and to bomb the United States? That is where we’re headed right now. And that’s why the best thing we can do is have churches and pastors explain our times, believers need to get our lives right with God. Jesus Christ is coming back. We, in our lifetimes potentially, could see Jesus.”

  • Jon Stewart Says America’s Enemies Are Not the X-Men

    Comedian and Daily Show host Jon Stewart has a knack for simplifying things. His show is known for taking the hype and drama spun by the 24-hour “news” networks and reducing it to snips and bites that reveal what’s really going on. Jon Stewart is the kid who exposed the emperor as being naked, but that kid grew up to get a TV show.

    Stewart took a break from that show back in the summer of of 2013 to go film a movie. His hiatus left John Oliver in the big chair on the Daily Show set for Comedy Central, which went on to launch Oliver’s own show, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on HBO.

    It is that film that Stewart made in his eight-week absence from his own show that is getting attention now. It is called Rosewater, and it is based on the memoir Then They Came for Me by Maziar Bahari and Aimee Molloy. After participating in an interview on The Daily Show in 2009 where he answered questions about the presidential election in Iran, Bahari was arrested and imprisoned for four months because of that interview on Stewart’s show. He was brutally interrogated by a man Bahari came to call Rosewater.

    Bahari never saw his torturer. He would be blindfolded every time he was interrogated. But the man torturing him smelled like rosewater. Yet, in the film, Rosewater is not portrayed as some faceless representation of evil, but as a human. He is seen having a phone conversation with his wife. He has to deal with a pain in the ass boss.

    Stewart spoke to Salon about his treatment of this torturer in the film. He says he deliberately chose to present Rosewater as human.

    “Yes. Very much so. That was important for many different reasons. One is, they are human beings. So why not present them as such? You know, they’re not the X-Men. They’re not monsters, and if you’re going to battle something effectively, then to see it in a …”

    Stewart trails off into a more specific application of his point. Not seeing our enemies as human is an American habit that does not serve America well.

    “We have a tendency in this country, whether it be Ebola or ISIS, that whatever is the new threat becomes the new super-threat. It’s not a bug, it’s a superbug! It’s not a predator, it’s a super-predator! It’s this thing … We can’t bring prisoners from Guantánamo here because, for God’s sake, Magneto could break out of that cell. And what are we going to do then? They’ll wreak havoc throughout the land!”

    Keeping with his general mission of deflating the hyperbole and rhetoric of what passes for “news channels” in America, Stewart feels that it is important for Americans to see things as they really are, not as Big Headline declares them to be.

    “The general conversation between Iran and America has been this: ‘You are the axis of evil!’ … “Well, you’re the great Satan!” … So the bar has been set relatively low as far as nuance goes.”

    Seeing our enemies as human is not so much about sympathizing as it is about realizing that they are beatable. And that they are not all the same, not some faceless mass of a society that all have the same opinion on topics like democracy and the West in general.

    “More importantly, I wanted to portray not so much even his interrogator in that way, but that element of Iranian society, those kids and that [anti-Ahmadinejad, pro-democracy] movement as something that Westerners might look at and go, ‘Oh, you know, I had a sense of this culture as monolithic, but that’s very relatable.’ And it’s not exaggerated, it’s not unreal. That’s what is there.”

    Despite his even-handed treatment of the subject, Stewart — who is Jewish — is being accused by Iran of serving Zionist interests. In Iran, the presidential election of 2009 is called “the American-Israeli sedition of 2009.”

    “Jon has been directing an ultra-formulaic movie commissioned by his masters. Jon is filming Rosewater, the story of the American-Israeli sedition in 2009,” said an Iranian state TV report on Stewart’s film.

  • Mark Zuckerberg Ordered To Court In Iran

    Mark Zuckerberg Ordered To Court In Iran

    Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been ordered to appear in court in Iran to respond to complaints from Facebook users living in Iran.

    According to a judge, several Facebook users have complained that many Facebook apps including Instagram and Whatsapp violate their privacy. The judge also ordered that two Facebook apps be blocked.

    There is no extradition treaty between Iran and the United States and it is not likely that Zuckerberg will willingly go to Iran for the court case. Iranian courts have tried to block similar applications but have not been successful.

    Earlier this week a different Iranian court attempted to block Instagram but many Iranian users were still able to access the app.

    Iran is not fond of social networks and has blocked most up them including Facebook and Twitter. However, senior leaders like Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif use social networks often. Many Iranian people also use proxy servers to access their favorite social networks and other websites that have been blocked in Iran.

    Some government officials believe that Iran should offer alternatives for these social networks if they plan to block them. They feel that Iranians should have the right to use social networks if they please and that even though the government may not agree with the way American social networks are setup and operated, they could work to create new ones that meet the Iranian government’s standards.

    “We should see the cyber world as an opportunity,” The administration of moderate President Hassan Rouhani said. “Why are we so shaky? Why don’t we trust our youth?”

    The Iranian government has not said if they plan to create their own social networks and will continue to block those that they do not find acceptable.

    Do you think Mark Zuckerberg will show up in Iran to defend himself, Facebook and all social networks?

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • MERS Virus: Iran Confirms First Two Cases

    MERS Virus: Iran Confirms First Two Cases

    The MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) virus, which has been responsible for over 175 deaths in Saudi Arabia, has now been confirmed in Iran.

    Yesterday, Iranian officials explained that the first two cases of MERS virus in Iran had been confirmed.

    “Four suspected cases of new corona virus infection were observed in a family in the province of Kerman,” Mohammad Mahdi Gouya, the director-general of communicable diseases at the Iranian Health Ministry’s Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention said on Monday. “Two of these cases were confirmed in two sisters. One of the sisters is in critical condition and the other is currently receiving treatment under special circumstances.”

    There is currently no vaccine or specific treatment for MERS, which has led to the deaths of nearly 30 percent of its victims. The virus causes extreme symptoms that include: intense coughing, high fevers, flu-like symptoms, organ failure, and deadly bouts of pneumonia.

    Scientists have already completed research and determined that camels can carry the virus, and they are currently testing dogs and cats to see if they can as well. “The others that we are looking into or are trying to look into are cats, dogs where there is more intimate contact, and any other wild species we can get serum from that we are not currently getting,” said Thomas Briese of Columbia University.

    MERS virus is a virus from the same family as the SARS virus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which first appeared in China in 2002, and was responsible for the deaths of more than 800 people worldwide. MERS cases have also been confirmed in the United States, Britain and France.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Iran ‘Happy’ Video Lands Six Young People In Jail

    Six young Iranians were jailed for appearing in a video of Pharrell’s song “Happy.” Reports say that the Iranians have been freed on $100,000 bail, but the director of the video still remains in prison.

    According to reports, they were arrested for participating in an “obscene video clip that offended the public morals and was released in cyberspace.”

    The brother of the videographer said that police went to the homes of the Iranians, and searched their cellphones, computers, and cameras.

    Pharrell heard about the news and denounced the arrests. “It is beyond sad that these kids were arrested for trying to spread happiness,” he said on Twitter.

    Hossein Sajedinia, Tehran Police Chief, was the one who ordered the arrests of the participants. Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s president, seems to think otherwise. On his Twitter account, he said, “#Happiness is our people’s right. We shouldn’t be too hard on behaviors caused by joy.”

    In a speech that President Rouhani gave last weekend, he said that the internet is an opportunity to get voices heard. He also said that citizens have a right to connect to the internet.

    Aside from Pharrell and President Rouhani, support also came from Twitter users around the world. They used #FreeHappyIranians to respond to the arrests.

    With these arrests, it is evident that the president is not the only one making decisions in Iran. The National Iranian American Council condemned the authorities who were responsible for the arrest. In a statement, the council said, “There are forces within Iran’s government who want to keep the Iranian people isolated from the world.”

    Here’s the video that got them arrested

    Image via YouTube

  • Leila Hatami Scandal One Example of Iranian Misogyny

    Leila Hatami Scandal One Example of Iranian Misogyny

    We told you recently about the scandal that has erupted in Iran over famous Iranian actress Leila Hatami. While attending the Cannes Film Festival , Hatami was greeted by Festival president Gilles Jacob with a customary two-cheek kiss. The kiss was filmed and photographed, as everything surrounding the festival is, and ended up being seen by the folks back home in Iran.

    That’s when the Sharia hit the fan.

    Iranian deputy culture minister Hossein Noushabadi issued a strongly worded statement, accusing Leila Hatami of bringing shame on all Iranian women for her brazen act of public display of affection.

    “Those who attend international events should take heed of the credibility and chastity of Iranians so that a bad image of Iranian women will not be demonstrated to the world,” Noushabadi said.

    Gilles Jacob rode to Hatami’s rescue, claiming that he approached her and greeted her as was his custom, implying that she did not return the kiss.

    But women in Iran are often subject to all manner of rules and denigrations that Western women would never put up with.

    For example, a recent viral video showed girls in Iran dancing to the Pharrell Williams’ hit song “Happy”. The problem was, these women were not wearing the required hijab head covering for women. Now, according to Iranwire, some of these women have been arrested.

    Tehran Chief of Police Hossein Sajedinia said his security forces, “were able to identify [these young people] within two hours, and within six hours had arrested them all.”

    The girls confessed on the evening news that they had been deceived into appearing in the video. The families of the girls were all told that their loved ones would not be released from police custody if they talked to the press about the charges at all.

    The Iranian morality police arrested Zuhara Bani, a 27-year-old medical student, for walking in the park with her boyfriend. Bani hanged herself in the detention facility where she was being held after her arrest.

    Ahmad Ruzbahani, chief of the morality police, said, “If someone walks in the street with his partner and commits an offense, we will deal with it.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Leila Hatami in Trouble in Iran Over Kiss

    Iranian actress Leila Hatami co-starred in the 2011 film, “A Separation,” which won an Oscar for Best Foreign Film. But now she is in the world spotlight for a very different reason.

    Leila Hatami was attending the Cannes Film Festival where she was greeted by the president of the Cannes Film Festival, Gilles Jacob, with a customary two-cheek kiss. Most of those kisses never even make contact with skin. So what is the big deal?

    “Those who attend international events should take heed of the credibility and chastity of Iranians so that a bad image of Iranian women will not be demonstrated to the world,” said Iranian deputy culture minister Hossein Noushabadi.

    Conservative religious leaders in Iran, those who hold the real power in Iran’s government, interpret the laws that govern the daily lives of Muslims to mean that a woman should show no public sign of affection, even something as nonchalant as that kind of kiss, to anyone other than her husband.

    In fact, there is a severe limit on what couples may do in public, which is enforced by a morality police. One woman was arrested for walking in the park with her boyfriend.

    “If someone walks in the street with his partner and commits an offense, we will deal with it,” said Ahmad Ruzbahani, chief of the morality police.

    That woman, Zuhara Bani, a 27-year-old medical student, hanged herself in the detention facility where she was being held after her arrest.

    Knowing Iran’s draconian stance on such things, Gilles Jacob did the gentlemanly thing and insisted that Leila Hatami did not kiss him. He kissed her.

    “I kissed Mrs Hatami on the cheek. At that moment, for me she represented all Iranian cinema, then she became herself again. The controversy over a usual custom in the West has therefore no reason to be,” he wrote on Twitter.

    Image via YouTube

  • Leila Hatami’s Kiss On The Cheek Displeases Iran’s Media

    A simple kiss on the cheek has caused controversy in the international film community. Cannes Film Festival Gilles Jacob kissed Iranian actress Leila Hatami as a greeting on Sunday at the Cannes Film Festival. A public kiss, even on the cheek, can be a big no no in Iran, especially between people who aren’t married to each other.

    Jacob, along with Hatami, was condemned by Iranian deputy culture minister Hossein Noushabadi, who called the kiss “a bad image of Iranian women”. Jacob defended himself by saying that he did not just simply kiss her, the actress, but “all Iranian cinema”, since that’s what she represents at the festival. But it seems that some political, religious, and media leaders in Iran do not want to take the compliment.

    Leila Hatami serves on the competitive jury of the festival with Sofia Coppola, Willem Dafoe, Carole Bouquet, Jeon Do-yeon, Nicolas Winding Refn, and Gael Garcia Bernal, Iran’s Press TV reported last month. Together, they will decide who will be honored at Cannes.

    According to the Washington Post, The Young Journalists Club accused the actress of “unconventional and improper behavior” not only because of the kiss, but because her neck was showing. But most other higher level Iranian government and media outlets are remaining mum. After all, former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad received similar criticism last year, by embracing the late Hugo Chavez’s mother.

    Leila Hatami is best known for her movie, A Separation, which won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe in 2012 for best Best Foreign Language Film. She also won the prestigious Silver Berlin Bear award at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival for her acting in the movie. According to IMDB, she currently lives in Iran and is the daughter of Director Ali Hatami and Actress Zari Khoshkam.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons.

  • Utah Plane In Iran Actually Belonged To Ghanaians?

    To put it mildly, the United States and Iran have a rather strained relationship. Economic dealings between the two nations are almost non-existent.

    This is why so many people are extremely puzzled over a photograph of a private jet traced to the Bank of Utah at the Mehrabad Airport in Tehran.

    It’s not a case of mistaken identity.

    In the photograph two things are perfectly clear: The tail number of the plane (distinct to airplanes in the way a social security number is to the average person) and a small American flag.

    Conspiracy theories attempting to explain the image are abound. They no doubt increased as the United States government has proven reluctant to share exactly how or why the plane was permitted to travel to Iran.

    Meanwhile Iranian government officials seemed far more willing to offer an explanation for the plane’s presence in their country.

    The New York Times is reporting that Iran’s Foreign Ministry revealed on Friday that the plane had been used for transporting Ghanaian officials to Tehran.

    This is allegedly all part of an effort to strengthen ties between Ghana and Iran, quite possibly economically.

    Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham was also quick to add that both the passengers and crew were “Non-American”.

    The reason offered by the Ministry doesn’t explain why an American private jet belonging to trustees at a bank in Utah was used to shuttle high ranking Ghanaian officials to Iran.

    The Times was able to get to the bottom of this after accessing a confidential document. The document explained that the plane is held in trust by the Bank of Utah on behalf of the Engineers and Planners company, which is based in Accra, Ghana.

    Since Engineers and Planners is the beneficiary of that trust, they are free to use the plane. In fact Ibrahim Mahama, the company’s CEO, is the brother of Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama.

    Despite the story being told by Iran checking out, there is still one final matter left unexplained.

    Even if the beneficiaries free to use the plane, there are still numerous sanctions to which the Bank of Utah is bound with regard to the plane’s flight to and from Iran.

    How they were able to get around these sanctions and allow the beneficiaries to make use of the plane remains a mystery at the moment, though it suggests a possible loophole.

    Such a loophole may be why the US government is reluctant to comment on the plane’s trip to Iran.

    Image via Makik Makine Ltd., Twitter

  • Israeli Airstrikes Target Hezbollah Weapon Shipments

    In 2006, Israel and Hezbollah fought a 34 day battle which ultimately resulted in nothing gained but many lives lost. This conflict, known as the 2006 Lebanon War or 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War, was just part of the much larger Israeli-Iranian proxy-war, a perpetual struggle for power between the Jewish Israeli state and the Muslim state of Iran.

    Since hostilities officially ended in the summer of 2006, however, Israel and Hezbollah have not forgotten their deep-seated hatred for one another, a feud aided by the geographic closeness of the fighting parties. It was this close proximity which led to the airstrikes enacted by the Israeli government late Monday night somewhere along the Lebanese-Syrian border.

    On Tuesday, Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, declined to confirm reports that Israel had indeed conducted an airstrike along the Lebanon-Syria border, simply stating, “Our policy is clear. I don’t comment about what we did or didn’t do—but we will do whatever is needed to protect Israel’s security.”

    While Israel has a history of declining to comment on its foreign affairs, a senior Israeli security official confirmed to TIME that the strike had hit a convoy transporting surface-to-surface missiles from Syria into Lebanon, the homebase of Hezbollah militants.

    Hezbollah’s presence in Syria has increased drastically since the onset of the Syrian civil war in 2011. Because Hezbollah’s main population is derived from Shi’a Muslims, it closely follows the political actions of Iran, a state which has attempted to bolster the defense of the Assad regime in Syria to cement the ties between the two countries and maintain proper defense against the Israeli state.

    In return for Hezbollah’s assistance in the Syrian civil war, Assad and the Syrian regime have given Hezbollah many missiles to be transported and stockpiled in Lebanon. Since 2006, Israel estimates that Hezbollah has amassed a stockpile of over 100,000 rockets and missiles given by the Iranian and Syrian governments.

    Eyal Ben-Reuven, a former senior official in a military camp in Northern Israel near the Lebanese border, believes that Hezbollah’s engagement in the Syrian conflict makes it less likely that Israel will see any form of retaliation for striking the weapons convoy. Ben-Reuven does believe, however, that Hezbollah, Iran, and Syria pose severe threats to the existence of the Israeli state: “Israel has always stayed as the main objective for Hezbollah and Iran. A terror organization gets these kinds of capabilities not for deterrence, but for acts. This is the difference between states and organization. This is something that we have to keep in our hands to prevent this kind of transfer of game-changing weapons.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Iranian Warships: Is Threat Real or Not?

    Iranian warships that are making their way toward U.S. maritime borders could be in response to US occupation of Gulf waters, said somewhat official Fars news agency on Saturday, according to Reuters.

    Fars reported that the plan was part of “Iran’s response to Washington’s beefed up naval presence in the Persian Gulf.”

    Admiral Afshin Rezayee Haddad, identified as commander of the Iranian navy’s northern fleet seemed to confirm that statement saying, “Iran’s military fleet is approaching the United States’ maritime borders, and this move has a message,” as reported by Fars.

    Does the threat hold water? The thing is, this report from Fars could not be confirmed independently. In fact, the AP reported that the giant troop of warships is simply a destroyer and a helicopter-carrying supply ship. They left last month from the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, and they are only carrying 30 navy academy cadets for training along with their regular crews.

    In addition to that news, the White House doesn’t seem at all worried about this report by Fars. Apparently, the United States and our allies regularly stage exercises in the Persian Gulf in order to ensure that the waterway remains free through which a huge amount of the entire world’s oil exports pass through.

    An anonymous U.S. defense official said they doubt claims that the Iranian ships were even approaching U.S. maritime borders, however, they added that “ships are free to operate in international waters.”

    CNN reports another statement from an anonymous defense official who said, “It’s important to understand that, at this point, we have an announcement not a deployment. They’ve stated this aspiration before.”

    In fact, they stated it twice in 2011.

    They added, “Freedom of the seas doesn’t just apply to fish. It applies to all maritime nations, all navies, everywhere — so long as they understand the responsibilities which come with that freedom,” the defense official said. “So if they chose to send their ships to the Atlantic, I’m sure they won’t be surprised to find many, many others already there.”

    Considering the size of Iran’s Navy, this just may be another round of serious chest-beating. I suppose time will tell.

    Image via youtube

  • Iran Warships: Serious Threat Or More Posturing?

    Iranian officials announced recently that the country was sending ships in the direction of US maritime waters. The move is said to be in response to the United State’s own increased presence in the Persian Gulf.

    The semiofficial Fars news agency quoted Adm. Afshin Rezayee Haddad on Saturday as saying that, “Iran’s military fleet is approaching the United States’ maritime borders, and this move has a message”.

    It has not yet been confirmed, but Rezayee claims these ships are headed into the Atlantic Ocean, “via the waters near South Africa”.

    A US official told CNN that this is not the first time Iran has made such threats. It was noted that in 2011, Iran had stated they had plans for sending ships into American-controlled waters. The statement was released to local press during the thirtieth anniversary of the Iran-Iraq war.

    Back then, Iran had claimed there were “plans for the presence of this force in the Atlantic Ocean…same way that the world arrogant power is present near our marine borders” were underway.

    Said the anonymous official, “t’s important to understand that, at this point, we have an announcement not a deployment.”

    In other words the threats have been made once again, however there doesn’t seem to be any material proof to cause any sort of true concern. An “aspiration” to possess a strong naval presence is not the same as actually having one.

    It seems that for now Iran’s boast is being treated as posturing and little more. Is Iran “crying wolf” or are there really warships headed our way?

    The anonymous defense official that spoke with CNN, seems to think Iran doesn’t quite understand how maritime operations work.

    He says, “Freedom of the seas doesn’t just apply to fish. It applies to all maritime nations, all navies, everywhere…if they chose to send their ships to the Atlantic, I’m sure they won’t be surprised to find many, many others already there.”

    Iran’s navy is relatively small when compared with the rest of its military, and with the majority of its forces being a world away, it’s not likely help would immediately arrive should Iran engage in any truly aggressive activities in the Atlantic.

    Image via US Military Videos and Photos

  • Hassan Rouhani Isn’t Really Writing His Tweets

    It’s not uncommon for a public figure to employ a social media guy – you know, someone whose job is to maintain and yes, even post statuses to their various social media accounts.

    But it’s news when it’s Iranian President Hassan Rouhani who’s employing the Twitter ghostwriters.

    Rouhani’s Twitter account has been seen by many as a breath of fresh air, a somewhat moderate, inclusive voice that bears a stark contrast to the message of his predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

    Take for instance this tweet:

    Or this one:

    Rouhani has been an avid tweeter since joining the service, posting nearly 2,500 tweets. He also has a substantial following – 170,000 people.

    But in a revelation that can’t be all that surprising, Rouhani told reporters at the World Economic Forum that his English-language tweets are “written by friends.”

    Now, that simple admission doesn’t mean that Rouhani is unaware of what’s going out on his Twitter page or that he doesn’t agree with the sentiments – but it does mean that his fingers are doing the typing. I guess that kind of takes away from the account’s impact, no?

    Rouhani, a Muslim cleric, is the 7th President of Iran – taking office in August of last year. He ran on a platform of restoring the economy, in part by improving relations with the West.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Iran Nuclear Deal Purportedly Effective January 20

    The Iran nuclear deal that was agreed upon between the Middle Eastern nation and the six other world powers in November is now reported to be going into effect starting the 20th of January.

    President Barack Obama released a statement Sunday in which he attests, “Beginning January 20th, Iran will for the first time start eliminating its stockpile of higher levels of enriched uranium and dismantling some of the infrastructure that makes such enrichment possible.”

    The November deal that was finally struck after months of meetings and discussions between world officials requires Iran to greatly scale back its nuclear program and end uranium enrichment beyond 5%. The agreement also stipulates that Iran will not open any new enrichment facilities, and will begin destruction of their weapons-grade stockpile. In return, the United States and its negotiating partners agreed to provide Iran with billions of dollars in sanctions relief.

    When the plan was finally agreed upon in November, it was stated that Iran would be under surveillance for six months while a more thorough plan was constructed. However, those six months could not begin until the technical details surrounding such surveillance and monitoring could be worked out. After the initial half-year period, a more long-term and comprehensive course of action would begin when the details and strategies necessary for implementing such a plan were determined and agreed upon between Iran, the six world powers, and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

    Those initial six months are slated to begin January 20, 2014, as the necessary technicalities have been addressed, and the implementation phase can now move forward.

    Secretary of State John Kerry, who was in France in regards to a separate matter, commented on the latest details of the agreement, saying, “We are clear-eyed about the even greater challenges we all face in negotiating a comprehensive agreement. These negotiations will be very difficult, but they represent the best chance we have to resolve this critical national security issue peacefully, and durably.”

    At a conference held last month by the Saban Center for Middle East Policy, President Obama said that the odds of a compromise for a long-term plan being reached between Iran and the world powers is still no more than 50/50. However, according to ABC News, Mr. Obama has also said he will veto any new legislation regarding sanctions concerning Iran.

    Main image courtesy @WhiteHouse via Twitter.

  • Ayatollah Khamenei Discusses US Enmity Toward Iran

    In November, Iran, led by current president Hassan Rouhani, and the P5+1, comprised of the 5 permanent members on the UN Security Council (United States, China, Russia, United Kingdom, France) and Germany, came to terms regarding the cessation of certain aspects of Iran’s nuclear program in return for the lessening of non-major sanctions against Iran due to said production.

    Today, talks between Iran and the EU started once again in Geneva. While the initial terms of the agreement accounted for a six month period in which the final terms would be negotiated, the terms of the six month agreement are still being debated due to inconsistencies in interpretation: “I hope during the two-day talks we can resolve the remaining technical issues which are based on our different interpretation of text of the November accord,” stated Iran’s top negotiator Abbas Araqchi.

    Whenever negotiations are finished, they will have to be approved not only by Iranian president Rouhani, but also by Ayatollah Khamenei, who serves as the Supreme Leader of Iran. As such, Khamenei is the head political and religious leader of the nation.

    Unfortunately, the fact that these negotiations need Khamenei’s approval is worrisome. While Khamenei originally supported the terms laid out by the accord in November, his most recent rhetoric suggests that he is still skeptical of the aims and intentions of the treaty with the US.

    “We had announced previously that on certain issues, if we feel it is expedient, we would negotiate with the Satan (the United States) to deter its evil,” stated Khamenei in a speech given to the religious city of Qom. This statement came after Khamenei downplayed the notion that Iran had only entered into negotiations due to the sanctions placed upon the country by the US: “Our enemies do not know the great Iranian nation. They think that their imposed sanctions forced Iran to enter negotiations. No, it is a wrong.”

    Khamenei went on to say that the latest discussions between Iran, the P5+1, and the EU “… showed the enmity of America against Iran, Iranians, Islam and Muslims.”

    The latest controversy surrounding the original accord deals with what programs Iran will have to cease in order for the sanctions to be lifted. While Rouhani and Iran continue to insist that Iran’s nuclear program has only peaceful, energy-producing ends in mind, the western world still worries about the nuclear weapon potentiality of such a program. As such, the powers opposite Iran want large portions of the Iranian nuclear program shut down, such as the development of new centrifuges.

    Current negotiations are not only at risk due to differences in interpretation, but also due to actions of certain members of the United States Senate who seek to place even more sanctions upon Iran if the country does not agree to the terms of the nuclear agreement. This move has been met with opposition from conservative members of Iran’s government, who expressed intentions to enrich uranium beyond the 60% mark if the US places new sanctions upon their country.

    Many in Iran have tried to abate the fears of westerners who think the Iranian nuclear program will be used for weapons purposes by citing the fatwa, or religious decree, Khamenei has placed against the development or use of nuclear weapons. Mohammad Javiad Larijani, Secretary General of Iran’s High Council for Human Rights, has stated that this fatwa is Iran’s “biggest deterrent factor” against the development of nuclear weapons and holds more weight than “diplomacy and the administration’s policy.”

    French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has stated that “The biggest problem will be the next phase because the question that hasn’t been dealt with is: Do our Iranians partners want to just suspend production that could lead to them having a nuclear weapon or do they accept to give it up completely?” Fabius goes one step further and answers this question for us by saying, “Obviously, the second option is what’s acceptable, because the first none of the P5+1 will accept.”

    If all negotiations works as planned, powers involved want the terms of the agreement to begin on January 20th, meaning the topic will come to the table once again in July.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Robert Levinson Revealed To Be CIA Agent

    In 2007, Robert Levinson went to Kish Island, an Iranian resort, where he was said to have been kidnapped. His family has pleaded for nearly six years for the United States government to save his life and bring him home. Details surrounding his disappearance had been sketchy. It was known that he was a retired FBI agent and it was feared that his service to the government had made him a target.

    However, there was some suspicion that there was more to the story. Had Levinson gone to Iran on a secret mission? This wasn’t known to be the case until Levinson admitted to being in the country as an agent for the CIA. This contradicts previous reports that had Levinson in Iran to conduct private business. It has now been revealed that he in fact sent to Iran to gather intelligence for members of the CIA.

    The Associated Press had information on the matter. In their notes it was stated that three veteran analysts were fired and several individuals were disciplined over the botched mission.

    CNN also claims to have a source close to the ongoing situation that can confirm that Levinson’s allegations of CIA involvement are true.

    It appears that Levinson’s mission was an unauthorized one. Despite this, he remains angry at the Obama administration for abandoning him and not doing enough to make arrangements for his release.

    The revelation of what Levinson called a “rogue mission” raises the question of just how many unapproved missions involving the CIA are currently ongoing in the world. It makes one wary of what the ramifications there may be for American citizens from fallout regarding bad dealings.

    Dealings that Americans aren’t even aware of.

    Image: Help Bob Levinson Facebook