An extremely portentous symbol was raised over one of Iran’s holiest mosques in the city of Qom Sunday for one of the myriad funeral rallies of fallen IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani, says a researcher at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University.
The fate of the Iran nuclear deal appears to hang in the balance following an announcement by the regime that it will no longer comply with the curbs on its nuclear program, imposed by the 2015 agreement.
Iran vowed Sunday to defy the limits placed on its nuclear enrichment by the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and completely abandon the deal, in a response to the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani that also saw a red flag of Islamic martyrdom and vengeance raised over his funeral service in Qoms.
Syrian regime forces and Iranian militias fired three missiles at the Conoco gas fields in Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria and six rockets were fired into the Green Zone in Baghdad that houses the US embassy Sunday as tensions flared across the region.
Qassem Soleimani, the powerful head of Iran’s Quds Force, was killed in an airstrike at Baghdad International Airport, Iraqi TV and three Iraqi officials said Friday.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Thursday that the U.S. was anticipating more attacks from Iran following an assault on the American embassy Tuesday that caused serious damage, promising to pre-emptively strike the Islamic Republic if reliable intelligence of a forthcoming attack surfaced.
The US is scheduled to deploy 750 new troops to defend the US embassy in Iraq, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday night, following protests by Iran-backed groups that marched on the compound in retaliation for US strikes Sunday that killed 25 Kataeb Hezbollah fighters.
Three U.S. defense officials confirmed late Tuesday night that 4,000 troops from the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division’s alert brigade are preparing to mobilize to the Middle East after protesters encircled the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad earlier in the day.
One hundred marines were deployed to the US embassy in Iraq Tuesday under a “show of force” from two Apache helicopters, as Iraqi protestors assaulted the compound in retaliation for US strikes on Iran-backed forces that killed 25 militants.
Iran-backed militias in Iraq vowed to respond to US strikes Sunday that killed between 12 and 24 fighters sponsored by Iran, as the US promised to continue battling Iranian influence in the region.
12 Iran-backed fighters were killed in Iraq and Syria Sunday, as the US retaliated for a Friday strike by Iran proxies that left 4 American servicemen wounded and killed a military contractor.
Iran, Russia, and China began four days of naval drills in the Gulf of Oman Friday, following Iran’s activation of advanced centrifuges that enrich uranium at greater speeds.
Turkey is preparing to send troops and advanced weapons to the embattled UN-backed Libyan government. The military muscle-flexing puts it at odds with Russia and several Arab states backing Libya’s rival government.
Iran’s armed forces will hold a joint, four-day naval exercise with Russia and China in the northern part of the Indian Ocean, a spokesman said Wednesday.
President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Russia has got a strong edge in designing new weapons and that it has become the only country in the world to deploy hypersonic weapons.
A top Iranian official said that Israel ‘will regret’ its attacks in Syria, which have reportedly targeted Iranian resources and weapons shipments.
President Donald Trump on Saturday said the United States and China would ‘very shortly’ sign their so-called Phase One trade pact.
Turkey cannot handle a fresh wave of migrants from Syria, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday, warning that European countries will feel the impact of such an influx if violence in Syria’s northwest is not stopped.
American Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Thursday a new wave of sanctions against Iran for its harsh repression of protests that began on November 15 over austerity fuel prices.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced Wednesday his country would employ a new line of advanced centrifuges to speed up uranium enrichment, reducing the time it would take the Islamic Republic to acquire a nuclear weapon to under a year.