Russia said to pull troops from Syria to bolster forces in Ukraine
Russia has begun the process of withdrawing some of its troops in Syria to help bolster its forces in Ukraine, the Moscow Times reported.
Iran
Congress fires its first warning shot on Biden’s Iran deal
President Joe Biden’s bid to revive the Iran nuclear deal flunked its first test in the U.S. Senate.
Iranians chant ‘Death to Palestine’ to protest Islamic Republic
Iranians chanted “Death to Palestine” in protests over the last few days, triggering a range of reactions and analyses by experts on the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of the unusual event.
Iran Nuclear Deal Said Near Death, but West Not Ready to Pull Plug
Western officials have largely lost hope the Iran nuclear deal can be resurrected, sources familiar with the matter said, forcing them to weigh how to limit Iran’s atomic program even as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has divided the big powers.
Iran: Christian convert taken into custody for house church involvement
Iran’s intelligence authorities have taken a Christian convert into custody, accusing him of “propaganda against the [Iranian Islamic] regime through involvement in house church activities.”
Iran may attack Israel directly, Nasrallah warns in Quds Day speech
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel against continuing its “aggression against the Iranian presence in the region,” saying Iran may “attack Israel directly” during a video address delivered at a ceremony in Beirut on Friday as Iran and its proxies marked Quds Day.
UN Atomic Chief Fears Nuclear Disaster In Ukraine, Iran
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) director-general is rushing to avoid a nuclear disaster in Ukraine while trying to stop Iran develop a nuclear weapon soon, his latest comments suggest.
Blinken: Iran plotting to assassinate top American officials while negotiating nuke deal
Secretary of State Antony Blinken indicated this week that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps continues to plot the assassination of both current and former top United States officials while talks regarding the Iran nuclear deal are still underway.
Iran Christians Concerned About Jailed Convert
Iranian Christians have urged prayers for a house church leader who they say remains detained after being arrested at his home in Anzali on April 18.
Former Iranian Parliament member: Goal of nuclear program was to build bomb
Former Iranian Parliament member Ali Motahari said in an April 24 interview on the Islamic Republic’s ISCA News that when Iran began developing its nuclear program, the goal was to build a nuclear bomb.
U.S., Israeli security officials meet in Washington, discuss Iran ‘concerns’
U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met Monday with his Israeli peer, Eyal Hulata, “to discuss a range of regional and global security issues,” including Israel’s “concerns” about Iran, the White House said in a statement.
White House says Iran is ‘a few weeks or less’ from bomb breakout
The US said Tuesday that Iran’s nuclear breakout time was down to weeks, and blamed the previous administration, as negotiations between Tehran and world powers continued to stall.
US close to admitting failure of Iran nuclear talks, Israeli officials claim
With Israel’s national security adviser in Washington to meet his counterpart, Israeli officials have reportedly said the chances of world powers signing a new nuclear deal with Iran are greatly diminished.
New survey shows that around half of all Israelis fear a second Holocaust
Almost half of all Israelis worry that a second Holocaust could occur, devastating the Jewish People, a new survey shows.
Iran: Christian woman begins jail term for leading evangelical church
Christian convert Fariba Dalir has begun a two-year prison sentence handed down to her by an Iranian court because she started an Evangelical Christian church in Iran, Article 18 reports.
‘Christian Netflix Service Reaching Mideast Persecuted Believers’
“Isolated Christians in the Middle East,” including many struggling to survive, use their smartphones to connect with other believers through the “region’s first-ever faith-based video-on-demand service,” a Christian broadcaster says.
Hezbollah leader seeks $9 billion to destroy Israel
The head of Lebanon’s Shiite Islamist political party Hezbollah is declaring that it would take $9 billion to wipe the state of Israel from the face of the map.
Iran Christian Convert Starts Prison Term
Iranian Christian convert Fariba Dalir has begun serving a two-year prison sentence for “acting against national security by establishing and leading an Evangelical Christian church,” an advocacy group confirmed.
US: Iran will have to offer ‘reciprocity’ if it wants to negotiate status of IRGC
The US appeared to reject the key Iranian demand that it delist the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in order for Tehran to return to compliance with the multilateral nuclear agreement the two sides reached in 2015.
Tehran Warns Israel on Making ‘Tiniest Move’ Against Iran
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi Monday warned that Israel will be targeted by his country’s armed forces if it makes “the tiniest move” against Iran.