Iran may have slaughtered 30,000 protesters in intense crackdown - TIME

This is Beirut, 25/01 13:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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As many as 30,000 people may have been killed across Iran during a two-day crackdown on January 8 and 9, TIME reported on Sunday, citing two senior Health Ministry officials and a separate compilation of hospital data shared with the publication.  The figures have not been independently verified and far exceed numbers publicly cited by ...

2026 NDS: America First Ushers in a New Era of Selective Engagement in the Middle East

Amal Chmouny, 24/01 19:40 - Reading : 7 minute(s)

United States Middle East Iran

The newly released 2026 National Defense Strategy (NDS) marks a dramatic pivot in American foreign policy, embracing what officials call “pragmatic realism” while fundamentally redefining U.S. engagement in the Middle East. Under an “America First” framework, the strategy moves away from large-scale military interventions in favor of ...

U.S. to Sanction Iran’s Shadow Fleet as Details of Protest Crackdown Surface

This is Beirut, 23/01 20:05 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United States Iran Sanctions Protests

On Friday, the U.S. announced that it had imposed sanctions on nine vessels and eight entities that are part of Iran’s shadow fleet, according to a press statement from State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott. The imposition of sanctions on Iranian shadow fleet vessels is a move of U.S. escalation against the Iranian ...

UN Rights Chief Urges Iran to 'End Brutal Repression'

This is Beirut, 23/01 15:40 - Reading : less than a minute

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The United Nations rights chief decried Friday that "thousands" of people, including children, had died in Iran's crackdown on nationwide protests and urged the authorities to "end their brutal repression." Speaking at the start of a UN Human Rights Council urgent meeting on the situation in Iran, Volker Turk urged the authorities in Tehran "to ...

Trump Says U.S. Still Watching Iran, Fleet Sailing to Region

This is Beirut, 23/01 09:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

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President Donald Trump said Thursday a US naval "armada" was heading toward the Gulf, maintaining pressure on Iran, although he has recently downplayed the prospect of imminent military action. Last week, Trump pulled back from a threat to strike Iran over its deadly crackdown on anti-government protests after the White House said Tehran had ...

Trump Open to Dialogue with Iran as Aftermath of Protests Comes into Focus

This is Beirut, 22/01 19:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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President Donald Trump signaled a willingness to engage in dialogue with Iran in remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Thursday, while reiterating his opposition to Iran’s nuclear program. These comments came as Trump was speaking about the Gaza ‘Board of Peace,’ as he highlighted the U.S. strikes against ...

Trump Warns of “Overwhelming Force” if Iran Carries Out Assassination Threats

This is Beirut, 21/01 21:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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President Trump escalated his rhetoric against Iran on Wednesday, vowing to respond with crippling force in the event that assassination attempts are carried out against him or other U.S. officials. Speaking to the press, Trump stated that “if anything happens, the whole country is going to blow up. I will hit them so hard, and I have given ...

Iran FM Says Davos Appearance Cancellation Based On 'Lies'

This is Beirut, 20/01 13:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi hit out at the World Economic Forum in Davos for cancelling his appearance over a crackdown on recent protests, saying the decision was based on "lies and political pressure". Protests in Iran sparked by economic strain in late December exploded into the biggest challenge to the Iranian leadership in years, ...

Israel Won the War, So Why Is the Muslim Brotherhood Winning the Peace?

Hussain Abdul-Hussain, 20/01 13:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

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The new regional order taking shape appears to be a haunting inversion of the post-9/11 era. At the time, the U.S. smashed Sunni powers, the Taliban and Saddam Hussein, incidentally empowering Iran and its sprawling proxy network. Washington even called Shia Islamism the more “reasonable” alternative and partnered with Tehran against ...

Iran Orders Protesters in ‘Riots’ to Surrender Within 72 Hours

This is Beirut, 20/01 10:05 - Reading : less than a minute

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The Middle East Will Not Heal Until Iran Is Free

Rawan Osman, 20/01 09:05 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

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As Iranians flood the streets in mass demonstrations, demanding freedom at extraordinary personal risk, a fundamental truth has become impossible to ignore. The Middle East cannot heal until Iran is free from the Islamist regime that has poisoned the region for nearly half a century. I came to this conclusion from lived experience, not ideology ...

Former Iranian Minister Meets Pahlavi During Protests

This is Beirut, 19/01 23:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Iran Protests

Israel Channel 14 reports that former Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif secretly met multiple times with Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during Iran’s recent protests and later briefed Iran’s former President Hassan Rouhani on the encounters.   During his 2013–2021 tenure as foreign minister under Hassan Rouhani, Zarif oversaw ...