Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on Twitter • Be a Facebook Fan • Tumble us!

28 Dec 2011 11:37

tags

World: Iran threatens major waterway in fight against U.S. sanctions

  • Closing the Strait of Hormuz is very easy for Iranian naval forces. Iran has comprehensive control over the strategic waterway.
  • Iranian Adm. Habibollah Sayyari • Claiming that Iran has the ability to close the Strait of Hormuz, a major waterway that’s extremely important for the distribution of one-sixth of the world’s oil. Sayyari’s threats come as Iran worries that the U.S. and its allies will start to sanction Iran’s all-important oil supply out of frustration with the country’s controversial nuclear program. Congress recently passed a bill to sanction the country’s central bank, which Obama plans to sign despite having misgivings about the effects it might have. As tensions continue to rise over Iran’s nuclear program, could military action become an option for the U.S.? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Dec 2011 10:33

tags

World: Uh, of course: Iran won’t give spy drone back to United States

  • problem Earlier this month, a secret radar-evading drone plane, owned by the U.S., went down over Iran, which claims they took it down using electronic warfare.
  • request After Iran got a hold of the plane (which, mind you, violated their airspace), they showed it off in footage, leading the U.S. to ask for their expensive toy back …
  • denial … however, Iran has no plans to do so, because they’re in the midst of studying it for intelligence reasons. Oh, well, the U.S. says it wasn’t expecting it back. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Dec 2011 14:47

tags

World: Missing ex-FBI agent to U.S.: Please meet my kidnappers’ demands

  • Above is the video of the former agent talking, along with his family talking before the clip. Bob Levinson went missing in Iran in March 2007, with little known about his situation — until today. In this clip, his son and mother show up beforehand. “Please tell us your demands so we can work together to bring my father home safely,” his son David says in the clip above. In the clip, the elder Levinson says that while he’s been treated well, he’s in poor health and low on diabetes medication. However, details on the group that has him are sparse and limited. The U.S. government believes he’s being held in southwestern Asia, and have asked the Iranian government for help in figuring out where he’s being held. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Nov 2011 10:31

tags

World: Britain to Iranian diplomats: GTFO out of our country, jerks

  • The Iranian Chargé in London is being informed now that we require the immediate closure of the Iranian Embassy in London and that all Iranian diplomatic staff must leave the United Kingdom within the next 48 hours. If any country makes it impossible for us to operate on their soil they cannot expect to have a functioning Embassy here.
  • British Foreign Secretary William Hague • Warning Iran to close its embassy, in a ratcheting-up of tensions between the two countries a day after activists raided the British Embassy in Tehran, upset over new sanctions against Iran. Hague was careful to emphasize diplomatic ties still exist between the two countries: “This does not amount to the severing of diplomatic relations in their entirety,” he said. “It is action that reduces our relations with Iran to the lowest level consistent with the maintenance of diplomatic relations.” In other words, they may get a phone call, but don’t expect it to be friendly. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Nov 2011 10:33

tags

World: Iranian protesters, upset over sanctions, storm British Embassy

  • And British officials aren’t happy: On Tuesday, Iranian protesters angry with the British government stormed the country’s embassy in Tehran, forcing diplomats to flee out the back door for their safety. The move came after the British government placed sanctions on Iran, preventing British banks from doing business with Iranian banks out of concern they were helping to facilitate the country’s nuclear program. The British government condemned the actions. “We are outraged by this. It is utterly unacceptable,” the UK Foreign Office said in a statement. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Oct 2011 16:33

tags

Politics, U.S., World: Bachmann: Iraq should repay money used in US invasion

  • I believe that Iraq should reimburse the United States fully for the amount of money that we have spent to liberate these people. They are not a poor country.
  • Rep. Michele Bachmann during an interview with CBS News’ “Face the Nation” Sunday morning.• Bachmann added that Iraq was a “wealthy country” that would be “subject to dominance by Iran and their influence in the region” once American troops withdraw by the end of the year. source
Posted by Matthew Keys • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Oct 2011 10:51

tags

World: Man at center of alleged Iran assassination plot not the brightest bulb?

  • His socks would not match. He was always losing his keys and his cellphone. He was not capable of carrying out this plan.
  • Tom Hosseini • Discussing his friend and former college roommate, Mansour Arbabsiar, considered the mastermind behind the the assassination plot that’s landed Iran in hot water with the U.S. While Arbabsiar did have some supporters among those who knew him from his days in Texas, many more weren’t so kind towards him, calling him “worthless” or “very creepy.” On top of this, he had a bit of a rep for being a somewhat shady/unsuccessful businessman. So, the real question: How did this guy get mixed up in this plot? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

12 Oct 2011 10:52

tags

U.S., World: Iran assassination plot: U.S. officials take super-hard line

  • The U.S. has something it’s trying to sell to the world. In case you’re wondering what that is, it’s that Iran is a very bad country — particularly in the wake of an assassination plot involving a Saudi diplomat —and we need to make sure they know it. “It’s critically important that we unite the world in the isolation of and dealing with the Iranians,” Vice President Joe Biden said today. “That’s the surest way to be able to get results.” He suggests that down the line, actions could go beyond sanctions, even, though we’re not at that point yet. He’s not alone. Here’s Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: “This really, in the minds of many diplomats and government officials, crosses a line that Iran needs to be held to account for.” You get the feeling from reading these that the U.S. has been waiting for a moment like this for a while. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Oct 2011 16:04

tags

U.S.: Officials say FBI foiled Iranian-backed bombing plot

  • Iranian bombing plot stymied by FBI: American officials reported today that the FBI infiltrated and derailed a terrorist plot backed by Iran. The plan involved paid collusion from an elite Iranian security force to the Zeta drug cartel of Mexico (unbeknownst to the Iranians, the contact they believed to be with the Zetas was cooperating with the FBI). The intended outcome was a bomb going off at a Washington D.C. restaurant, which would have killed Adel Al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States. This is big news, as a publicly disseminated example of Iran as a state supporter of terrorism; it has been viewed as such by the U.S. State Department since 1984. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Sep 2011 09:49

tags

World: American hikers freed from Iranian prison … finally

  • what After a process delayed by a judge’s vacation, American hikers Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were reportedly freed from an Iranian prison this morning.
  • how The two men were freed on a $500,000 bond — each — but the source of the bond money is being kept a secret by the lawyer for the men. Anonymous donor?
  • why The Iranian government jailed the men (and a woman who was with them) on spying charges, but their main crime seems to be trespassing. Crisis over. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
<< newer 
top tags
older >>