Author: AIAINY

By Zahraa Alkhalisi   @CNNMoney April 20, 2017 America is turning up the heat on Iran. A day after ordering a review into whether lifting sanctions on Iran was good for U.S. national security, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson accused the Islamic republic of “alarming and ongoing provocations” and said it “has the potential to travel the same path as North Korea” if unchecked. Under a deal signed in 2015, Western powers agreed to lift some economic sanctions in return for Iran agreeing to rein in its nuclear program. Analysts say the Trump administration is now dropping hints that it will reimpose sanctions unless Tehran…

Iran Focus April 14, 2017 Ray Takeyh, an Iranian-American Middle East scholar, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and former United States Department of State official, gave his opinions and assessment of the stability of Iran before the Subcommittee on National Security of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government. He also advised what the US can do to weaken the regime and to counter its influence in the region. He noted the similarities between Iran and the Soviet Union during the seventies. At that time, it was believed that the Soviet Union was still going strong,…

April 13, 2017 This Tuesday, the European Union voted to extend sanctions against Iran until April 2018, in response to “serious human rights violations”, according to Reuters. This move has been welcomed by politicians, organizations and members of the general public who advocate for human rights. The EU stated that their ban targeted people who were complicit in “torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, or the indiscriminate, excessive and increasing application of the death penalty, including public executions, stoning, hangings or executions of juvenile offenders”, and those “responsible for directing or implementing grave human rights violations in the repression of peaceful demonstrators, journalists,…

March 6, 2017 INS-Once again, Iran has successfully test-fired new missiles during the Islamic Republic’s naval drills. During a large-scale drill, code-named Velayat 95, in the strategic southern waters, Iran’s navy tested its domestically-manufactured missiles. Just three weeks after the Trump administration put new sanctions on the Islamic Republic in place, Tehran is testing Washington again. The war games cross an area of about 2,000,000 square kilometers in the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf of Oman, the Bab el-Mandab and northern parts of the Indian Ocean. The naval maneuvers are limited to anti-terrorism and anti-piracy training purposes, according to an…

WASHINGTON, April 3, 2017-The United States has underscored the need for a refreshing approach to help change the ambivalent culture permeating the United Nations regarding the violations of human rights around the world. Organization of Iranian American Communities (OIAC) welcomes this development and applauds Ambassador Nikki Haley’s efforts to place human rights at the center of the U.S. mission at the U.N. As Ambassador Haley pointed out recently, “peace and security cannot be achieved in isolation from human rights.” The long-suffering people of Iran, Syria, and Iraq bear witness that “human rights abuses are not the byproduct of conflict; they…

Maryam Hejazi March 20, 2017 Raiding private ceremonies and night parties by the police has reached new dimensions in Iran. The most recent cases were arresting 34 girls and boys at a night party in Southwestern province of Khuzestan as well as organizers of another one in Tehran. Khuzestan revolutionary prosecutor-general announced on Sunday March 5 that 14 girls and 20 boys have been arrested at a night party in the province. A day before the police in Khuzestan raided a night party, Western Tehran Police Chief announced that police had raided a hen party. Mohsen Khancharli said that “some…

February 24, 2017 An editorial on February 16th in the state run daily newspaper, Mardom Salari, commented on the Iranian regime officials’ plans to reroute river waters and construct dams, which will allow a quick and inexpensive means to extract oil. However, this will result in the destruction of ponds in Khuzestan Province, southwest Iran. It will cause an environmental catastrophe that will endanger the locals’ wellbeing and lifestyle. In reference to the dust storms that make life difficult for the province locals, the editorial says:  “A large number of people believe in addition to foreign sources and various centers…

Defense News-Feb 8, 2017 Diplomatic activism by Russia in Syria is producing speculation about the Kremlin’s possible willingness to encourage genuine peace talks and spur transition from corrupt, incompetent and brutal family rule toward something stabilizing and inclusive. If Russia proves genuinely interested in converting military success to a sustainable political settlement, it would put Moscow sharply at odds with Iran and with the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Is Russian President Vladimir Putin truly prepared to turn a page in Syria? The litmus test will be Moscow’s view of whether or not Assad rule should be restored to…

INU – Feb 07, 2017 Last week four Kurdish porters were arrested in the border area of Banneh in Western Iran. Agents of the Iranian regime then proceeded to push them down into the valley. This resulted in three of the men being seriously injured. The fourth man, Azad Ghassemi, died as a result of the fall. He was father to a small child. Two other porters witnessed the assault and murder, but they too were arrested. They have been taken to an unknown location. The families of all six porters have been threatened by officials of the regime and…

Dr. Cyrus Samet January 27, 2016 There remain no credible challenge to the notion that Iran-backed Shiite militias significantly altered the nature of U.S. involvement and its eventual withdrawal from Iraq. Directly aided by Nouri Al-Maliki and taking advantage of ISIS infiltration, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has since 2009 cast a murderous net across Iraq. The most conspicuous of these militia organizations are the Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH), the Badr Corps, the Iraqi Hezbollah, and Saraya al-Salam.  Accordingly to the Washington Post, AAH is a wholly owned subsidiary of Iran’s Quds Force, whose operatives kidnapped three Americans in Baghdad on…