Iran may have moved significantly closer to actually building a nuclear weapon, the Wall Street Journal reports. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a confidential report Wednesday that Tehran has started work on an assembly line for producing a central component of nuclear warheads.
Israel carried out a series of airstrikes in eastern Syria early Wednesday, targeting Iran-backed forces and killing at least 57 fighters and wounding many others, the Associated Press (AP) reports.
Airstrikes near the Syria-Iraq border early Wednesday targeted sites used for Iran’s nuclear program, a senior US intelligence official told AlJazeera Wednesday.
Iranian lawmakers have begun debating a bill which includes the goal of destroying Israel in 20 years. Introduced to Iran’s parliament on Dec.30 2020, the bill describes Israel as the “aggressor Zionist regime” and states the Jewish nation constitutes a threat to Iran.
The European Union has warned Iran that its decision to increase uranium enrichment could undermine efforts to keep a nuclear deal alive. The warning comes amid diplomatic efforts to bring the United States back on board under a new administration.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday accused Iran of harboring al-Qaeda, saying the country has become a “home base” for the terror group.
Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in the Kremlin Monday, to discuss the reopening of transportation routes that were shut down amid the decades-long regional conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, the Associated Press reports. The meeting follows the November 10, 2020 peace deal brokered by Russia which ended 44 days of renewed hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The United Nations’ atomic watchdog chief stressed urgency Monday in reviving an Obama-era nuclear deal aimed at thwarting Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons, a report says.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to use newly declassified U.S. intelligence on Tuesday to publicly accuse Iran of ties to al Qaeda, two people familiar with the matter said, as part of his last-minute offensive against Tehran before handing over to the incoming Biden administration.
The outgoing Trump administration, in one of its last foreign policy acts, is putting Cuba back on the official list of state sponsors of terrorism, reversing an Obama-era decision that aimed to normalize diplomatic relations between the U.S. and the communist island.
The United Nations says thousands of migrants fleeing war, persecution, and poverty urgently need proper shelter and care in Bosnia-Herzegovina after weeks outdoors in the freezing cold. With authorities declining to open more adequate facilities, many are now sleeping in unheated tents or rough near the northern town of Bihac.
Iran warned Thursday that the country could ramp up its uranium enrichment to 90 percent — just around the weapons-grade level.
Syrian media outlets have said Israel carried out a number of targeted airstrikes around Damascus late Wednesday night, the Times of Israel reports. Following standard policy about commenting on operations in Syria, Israel has neither confirmed nor denied the reports.
An alleged Israeli airstrike targeted locations in southern Syria as explosions were heard in the skies over Damascus on Wednesday night, according to Syrian state media SANA.
Having just announced it plans to enrich uranium at a level far above that allowed by the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the Iranian regime said Tuesday that it is installing 1,000 additional centrifuges and increasing its supply of yellowcake, a uranium concentrate powder used for enrichment.
Iran confirmed Tuesday that it was now enriching uranium to 20 percent purity, well beyond the threshold set by its 2015 nuclear deal with major powers, sparking international concern.
The Iranian military on Tuesday launched a massive series of “drone combat wargames” and boasted that its new generation of aircraft — including ominous “suicide drones” — will give Tehran a battlefield edge over its enemies.
Saudi Arabia restored its severed ties with Qatar on Tuesday, as the two countries signed a US-brokered agreement to end their dispute and resolve the Gulf crisis that broke out three years ago, Axios reports. A Saudi-led coalition cut diplomatic relations with Qatar in 2017 on the grounds of alleged Qatari support for Iran and terrorist organizations.
South Korea and the United States have demanded the release of a South Korean-flagged oil tanker seized by Iranian authorities in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Pentagon announced Sunday that the US aircraft carrier USS Nimitz will stay in the Persian Gulf because of “recent threats” by Iran, the Times of Israel reported. The announcement came after reports that the vessel would be returning to the US after having patrolled the Gulf since the end of November.