Iran has reportedly restricted the access of United Nations inspectors to its uranium enrichment facilities at the Natanz nuclear site, citing security concerns after what it alleges was an Israeli attack on the facility in April.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appealed to the U.S. administration to “lift or waive” all sanctions on Iran as agreed under the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.
As Iran continues a relentless campaign of persecution against Iranian believers, on June 26 the Revolutionary Court in Karaj, northern Iran sentenced three Christians to five years in jail for “engaging in propaganda against the Islamic regime,” Christians Worldwide Solidarity reports.
Israel and the United States share the same basic values even if they may disagree on how to achieve their goals, Israeli Foreign Minister told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a meeting in Rome on Sunday, the Jerusalem Post reports. America is Israel’s most important and loyal ally, Lapid reiterated, adding that the two countries’ new governments come from a very long and strong tradition of close friendship and cooperation.
Iranian Christians have urged prayers for a Christian convert after an appeals court upheld his 10-month prison sentence for “propaganda against the regime,” Worthy News learned.
US President Joe Biden sought to assure Israel that he would not tolerate a nuclear Iran as he met with outgoing Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Monday amid growing angst over the US administration’s effort to reenter the Iran nuclear deal.
Pro-Iranian militias fired several shells at a US base in eastern Syria’s Al-Omar oil field on Monday night, causing damage but no casualties, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The U.S. confirmed Monday that it launched airstrikes against facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups in Iraq and Syria.
Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq agreed to bolster security and economic cooperation at a tripartite summit on Sunday that saw an Egyptian head of state visit Iraq for the first time in three decades.
The United States said on Sunday it carried out another round of air strikes against Iran-backed militia in Iraq and Syria, this time in response to drone attacks by the militia against US personnel and facilities in Iraq.
Iran said Sunday it will not hand over images from some Iranian nuclear sites to the UN nuclear watchdog, as the monitoring agreement between the sides has expired, according to state media.
Christians said Thursday they fear that the election of Ebrahim Raisi as Iran’s president will lead to more persecution of religious minorities.
Iran is persecuting Christians in the country by wielding against them a new law that severely punishes “any deviant education that contradicts sacred Islamic shari’a,” Christian Today reports.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for the first time on Thursday publicly presented the shift on Iran policy from the previous government, saying that Israel will work closely with its allies on countering Tehran’s nuclear program, while maintaining a credible military threat.
The Biden administration reaffirmed a U.S. commitment not to allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons as IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi wrapped up four days of discussions with American defense and intelligence officials.
The attempted attack on an Iranian nuclear site outside Tehran that was reported on Wednesday targeted a facility used in the construction of centrifuges needed to enrich uranium, Iranian opposition sources said.
Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Tuesday that the Iranian election last week of ultraconservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi as the country’s president shows that Iran is headed toward “greater extremism” Israel News reports.
Top security officials seized approximately three dozen Iranian-based websites Tuesday, citing concerns over the spread of misinformation a national security official told Fox News.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi said during a visit to the Pentagon that a U.S. return to the Iran nuclear deal would be “dangerous” and that all options should be exhausted to prevent the Islamic Republic from acquiring nuclear military capabilities, the Israeli military said in a statement Monday.
The United States has said it will continue indirect talks with Iran on rejoining the 2015 nuclear deal, despite asserting that the June 18 election of ultraconservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi as Iran’s new president had not been a free and fair process, the Times of Israel reports. Raisi is viewed as an ally of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.