Author: Nahajarm

Turkey has closed its airspace to planes taking off from and landing in Iraq’s northern city of Sulaimaniyah, citing what it said was the heightened presence of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters there, according to a spokesman from its Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The closure, announced on Wednesday, began on the same day and will continue until July 3 with the possibility of an extension, the spokesman said, adding that there had been PKK “infiltration” of Sulaymaniyah airport. The director of the airport, Handren al Mufti, said that the airport had received an email from Turkish Airlines on Monday saying…

A British-Iranian man who has been on hunger strike outside the Foreign Office in London for 43 days has said he is prepared to continue his protest for 100 days. Vahid Beheshti, who has lost more than 13kg of weight since starting his protest in late February, is demanding the government add the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp to the UK’s list of terrorist organisations. That is a policy the government appeared to be close to adopting earlier this year, but it has yet to press ahead with it. “I don’t know how long my physical body can cooperate with me. I meditate…

The leak of U.S. secret documents about Ukraine continued on social media on Friday as an ABC News review found that dozens of documents were first posted on the internet in early March shortly after they were drafted and also included secret documents about Iran’s nuclear program, North Korea’s missile program, and other regions of the world. The new developments highlight the broadening security concerns about what was already a major security leak of classified information about the U.S. effort to assist Ukraine’s military. Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said that “The Department of Defense is actively reviewing the…

TEHRAN, Apr. 07 (MNA) – Armenian sources reported that the Secretary of Armenia’s Security Council Armen Grigoryan will pay a working visit to Tehran on Sunday and will meet with the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran. The Secretary of Armenia’s Security Council Armen Grigoryan will pay a working visit to Iran’s capital Tehran on April 9, the press service of the Security Council reported. It said that during this visit to Tehran, Grigoryan is scheduled to meet with the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ali Shamkhani. In his…

If European policymakers thought supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression and worrying about a global confrontation between the United States and China was enough on their foreign policy plates, the last month brought a possible violent escalation in the Middle East back into focus.   This time, the news came from Jerusalem where US ambassador to Israel, Tom Nides, went on record to say: “Israel can and should do whatever they need to deal with [Iran], and we’ve got their back”. That’s on the heels of reports Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held meetings with senior defence and intelligence officials to prepare an attack on…

Saudi Arabia and Iran have agreed to follow up on arrangements to reopen their diplomatic missions to Tehran and Riyadh respectively and to discuss resuming flights between them. The agreement came as Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, shook hands in the Chinese capital, Beijing, on Friday in the first formal meeting of the two senior officials after a years-long rift between Tehran and Riyadh that fuelled instability in the region. The two powers had agreed on March 10 to restore ties in a landmark agreement brokered by China. But the two leading Shia and…

Iran has been haemorrhaging money by buying US dollars on the Iraqi black market and is now pressuring Iraq’s government to pay its debts to Tehran through official channels, Iraqi officials told Middle East Eye. Neighbouring Iran has been Iraq’s most important market over the past two decades, providing gas, electricity, food, and construction materials, amongst other necessities, with trade between the countries totalling about $14bn annually. Yet since the US imposed a harsh sanctions regime on Iran in 2018, Iraq has struggled to be able to pay for its Iranian goods and services. Last year, Iraq was able to pay off most…

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shown that anti-aircraft guns are still relevant to air defense in an age when relatively inexpensive drones can pose a growing threat to troops and civilians. As part of its latest military assistance package to Ukraine, the United States is providing the Ukrainians with nine 30mm “gun trucks” to destroy Iranian-made drones, such as the Shahed-131 and Shahed-136 kamikaze drones, a senior defense official said. Little information is publicly available about what the gun trucks, a new weapons system, would look like. “It’s literally what it sounds like, a 30-millimeter gun mounted on a truck,” the…

An Iranian court has ordered the execution of a man accused of killing seven people during nationwide protests last year, the judiciary said Friday. Abbas Kurkuri was accused of using a military weapon to fatally shoot seven people in Izeh, in Khuzestan province, in November, and charged with the capital crimes of “moharebeh,” or “war against God” and “corruption on earth,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online news website reported. The Islamic Republic witnessed several months of civil unrest following the September 16 death of Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, 22, after her arrest for allegedly flouting Iran’s strict dress code for…

February 23, 2023—Vancouver — Canada is committed to protecting Iranians already in Canada, and to helping Iranian families stay together. In light of the gross and systematic human rights violations being committed by the Iranian regime during its brutal crackdown on protestors, some may wish to prolong their stay in Canada rather than return home at this time. Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, on behalf of the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced new measures to support Iranian temporary residents in Canada. Effective March 1, 2023, these measures will make it easier…