Iran attempts sub-launched missile test

According to U.S. Defense officials, Iran attempted to conduct a test launch of a cruise missile from a submerged submarine in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. The test ended in failure. Iran, which has received multiple warnings from the Trump White House regarding their efforts to increase their potentially nuclear-capable ballistic missile arsenals, conducted […]

Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces launch offensive near Mosul

The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a largely Shia paramilitary organization under indirect control of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), have launched an offensive against the Islamic State southwest of Mosul, the Long War Journal reports. The group’s presence on the battlefield, consisting of thousands of fighters from over 40 separate and predominately Shia […]

Iranian-born media mogul fatally shot by masked assailants in central Istanbul

ISTANBUL — An Iranian-born TV mogul who had run afoul of Iran’s government was fatally shot Saturday night by masked gunmen in Istanbul, media reports said. The identities of the assailants were unknown. But Saeed Karimian, the director of GEM Group, a Persian-language media conglomerate, was reported killed along with his Kuwaiti business partner, whose […]

The nuclear deal takes center stage as Iran’s election campaign gets underway

Iran’s short, intense presidential campaign kicks off Friday with the first televised debate featuring six candidates in a race widely seen as a referendum on whether Iranians feel they have benefited from the nuclear deal that took effect last year. The May 19 vote will see the moderate incumbent, President Hassan Rouhani, facing off against […]

In Yemen conflict, a window into deepening U.S.-Gulf ties

When U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis greeted Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister at the Pentagon last month, the first thing he did was joke about the time “the Iranians tried to murder you.” Mattis’ reference to a foiled 2011 plot, denied by Iran, was a telling sign of how much more aligned President Donald Trump’s administration […]

Israel launches airstrike against Hezbollah targets near Damascus International Airport

Israel launched a pre-dawn airstrike on a military arms depot near the Damascus International Airport in Syria, the Voice of America reports. The weapons supply belonged to Hezbollah, which has received stockpiles of missiles and munitions from Iran over the last several years, spiking recently as Hezbollah has been an active participant in the Syrian […]

U.S. Destroyer forced to alter course to avoid Iranian attack boat

An American destroyer was forced to alter its course when approached in an “unprofessional” and “provocative” manner by a vessel belonging to the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard in the Persian Gulf on Monday. A fast-attack craft belonging to the elite Iranian military group came within one thousand yards of the USS Mahan with its weapon […]

Hezbollah gives media tour of fighting positions, says Israel is now on the defensive

Hezbollah granted a contingent of journalists a tour of their fighting positions in southern Lebanon, warning Israel that they do not seek new hostilities, but are prepared for war. Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border have been mounting as Hezbollah continues to arm and prepare for another war with Israel. Iran has supplied Hezbollah with tens […]

Tillerson accuses Iran of ‘alarming provocations’ as U.S. reviews policy

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday accused Iran of ‘alarming ongoing provocations’ to destabilize countries in the Middle East as the Trump administration launched a review of its policy toward Tehran. Tillerson told reporters the review, which he announced on Tuesday, would not only look at Tehran’s compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal […]