According to a report from The New Arab, the leader of the Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has slammed Saudi Arabia for its normalization deal with Iran. In a video released earlier this week, AQAP head Khalid Batarfi said Riyadh was conceding...
Iranian Forces Seize Second Oil Tanker Within a Week
Iranian forces seized a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday, marking the second such incident within a week. According to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, the ship, the Niovi, was seized after leaving Dubai and heading towards Fujairah, another...
Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Make Law Authorizing Iran Sanctions Permanent
A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House and the Senate on Monday introduced a bill that would make a law authorizing sanctions on Iran permanent. The 1996 Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) gives the president the authority to impose sanctions on Iran and needs to be...
Iran’s Tanker Seizure Came After the US Stole a Shipment of Iranian Oil
Iran's recent seizure of a US-bound oil tanker came after the Biden administration forced a tanker carrying Iranian oil to deliver the cargo to the US instead of China, Financial Times reported Friday. Using the pretext of sanctions enforcement, the US Justice...
US Sanctions Target Russia’s FSB, Iran’s IRGC for Detaining Americans
The US on Thursday imposed sanctions on the Russian intelligence agency FSB and the intelligence wing of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) over allegations that they're involved in the detainment of Americans. The sanctions also targeted four Iranian...
US Navy Says Iran Seized US-Bound Oil Tanker Near Oman
The US military said Thursday that Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker, the Advantage Sweet, that was bound for Texas. According to Iranian media, the ship was seized after it collided with an Iranian fishing vessel. "The oil tanker issued a distress...
Iran Claims it Forced a US Submarine to Surface in Persian Gulf
Iran's navy commander said Thursday that an Iranian submarine made a US submarine come to the surface as it entered Iranian waters in the Strait of Hormuz, a claim the US military later denied. "The US submarine was approaching while submerged, but the Iranian...
US Deploys Guided-Missile Submarine to Middle East Amid Iran Tensions
The US Navy has deployed a guided-missile submarine capable of carrying up to 154 Tomahawk missiles to the Middle East in a show of force amid heightened tensions with Iran. Cmdr. Timothy Hawkins, a spokesman for US Navy's 5th Fleet based in Bahrain, announced the...
Israel ‘Ready’ to Attack Iran Without US Help: IDF Chief
The head of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said Wednesday that Israel is "ready" to attack Iran and could do so without help from the US. "We are ready to act against Iran. The Israeli army has the ability to strike both in distant countries and near home," IDF...
CIA Director Tells Saudis the US Was Blindsided By Iran Normalization
CIA Director William Burns visited Saudi Arabia earlier this week to express frustration over Riyadh's surprise normalization deal with Tehran that was brokered by Beijing, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. According to the Journal, Burns told Crown Prince...