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Iran-Backed Militants Storm US Embassy in Yemen

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The State Department is working to secure the release of several kidnapped hostages taken by Iran-backed terrorists just a day after the militant group stormed the U.S. embassy facility in Sana’a, Yemen, U.S. officials told the Washington Free Beacon early Thursday.

A group of Houthi rebels reportedly stormed the U.S. compound on Wednesday seeking “large quantities of equipment and materials,” according to regional reports translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute. The raid comes just five days after the Houthis kidnapped Yemeni nationals who work for the U.S. embassy. “The alleged raid comes after the Houthis kidnapped three Yemeni nationals affiliated with the U.S. Embassy from one of the employee’s private residences in Sana’a on November 5,” according to MEMRI. At least 22 other Yemenis were kidnapped by the Houthis in recent weeks, “most of whom worked on the security staff guarding the embassy grounds,” according to MEMRI.

The State Department confirmed to the Free Beacon that the Yemeni staffers are being detained without explanation and that the Iran-backed militants stole property after breaching the American facility in Sana’a, which housed U.S. embassy staff prior to the suspension of operations there in 2015.

“The United States has been unceasing in its diplomatic efforts to secure their release,” a State Department spokesman told the Free Beacon. “The majority of the detained have been released, but the Houthis continue to detain additional Yemeni employees of the embassy.” (Read more from “Iran-Backed Militants Storm US Embassy in Yemen” HERE)

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Biden Lifts Sanctions on Iranian Missile Producers

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The Biden administration on Friday lifted sanctions on two Iranian entities involved in military missile programs.

The sanctions, targeting the Mammut Industrial Group (Mammut Industries) and its subsidiary Mammut Diesel, were originally imposed by the Trump administration in September 2020 as part of efforts to increase a maximum pressure campaign of sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear activity and actions in the region criticized as malign and destabilizing.

The move comes as the White House seeks to restart indirect talks between Washington and Tehran on rejoining an international nuclear deal.

The entities were identified as being “key producers and suppliers of military-grade, dual-use goods for Iran’s missile programs.”

They are part of an estimated 1,500 sanctions imposed by the Trump administration since 2018, when then-President Trump withdrew from the international nuclear accord with Iran, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). (Read more from “Biden Lifts Sanctions on Iranian Missile Producers” HERE)

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Iran Celebrates US ‘Defeat’ in Afghanistan

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Top Iranian officials are celebrating the United States’ “defeat” in Afghanistan as the Taliban seizes the capital of Kabul and the Biden administration scrambles to evacuate remaining U.S. forces.

President Ebrahim Raisi—the newly elected Iranian leader known for his hardline views and mass murder of regime opponents​​—applauded the American “defeat” in Afghanistan as an opportunity to “revive life, security, and lasting peace” in the region.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran believes that the reign of the will of the wronged people of Afghanistan has always created security and stability,” Raisi said. “While consciously monitoring developments in the country, Iran is committed to neighborly relations.”

Tehran also dispatched Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif to meet with China’s Afghanistan czar, Yue Xiaoyong, on Monday. Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China is prepared to pursue “friendly and cooperative” relations with Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

Both countries maintained friendly ties with the Taliban as the terrorist group combated American troops over the past decade. China opened up a secret backchannel with Taliban officials in 2015, and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi has called the group a “crucial military and political force” in the country. Iran has received multiple diplomatic delegations from the Taliban in 2021 alone. (Read more from “Iran Celebrates US ‘Defeat’ in Afghanistan” HERE)

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Report: Mike Pence and Benjamin Netanyahu Pushed Donald Trump To Bomb Iran After Losing the Election

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Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley was reportedly worried that Donald Trump might declare war on Iran as part of a last-ditch attempt to overturn his election loss, according to a New Yorker report on Thursday.

Miley was “engaged in an alarmed effort to ensure that Trump did not embark on a military conflict with Iran as part of his quixotic campaign to overturn the results of the 2020 election and remain in power,” journalist Susan B. Glasser wrote. “Trump had a circle of Iran hawks around him and was close with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu,” she continued, “who was also urging the Administration to act against Iran after it was clear that Trump had lost the election.” . . .

During one meeting in which the president was not present, Milley pressed former Vice President Mike Pence on “why they were so intent on attacking [Iran].”

Pence reportedly answered: “Because they are evil.” . . .

Last month, the New York Times revealed that in early 2020 Netanyahu had given the former president a “hit list” of Iranian targets for him to consider. One of these targets, a suspected nuclear production plant, was in fact the very factory that the U.S. attacked with a drone strike in June. (Read more from “Report: Mike Pence and Benjamin Netanyahu Pushed Donald Trump To Bomb Iran After Losing the Election” HERE)

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Feds: NYC Journalist Targeted By Iranian Operatives In Twisted Kidnapping Plot (VIDEO)

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Four Iranian intelligence operatives schemed to kidnap a Brooklyn-based journalist and smuggle her to Iran in a bid to silence her criticism of human-rights abuses in the Islamic republic, federal authorities said Tuesday.

In a series of tweets, writer and activist Masih Alinejad acknowledged she was the target, and she did the same in an email to The Post, without commenting further. . .

Manhattan US Attorney Audrey Strauss, who didn’t identify Alinejad by name, said she would have faced a fate that’s “uncertain at best” if the plan hadn’t been foiled by the FBI. . .

The ring, led by Iranian intelligence official Alireza Shavaroghi Farahani, allegedly began conspiring to kidnap Alinejad inside the US since as least as early as June 2020.

Earlier, Iranian government officials in 2018 tried in vain to induce her relatives in Iran to invite her to a third country where she would have been arrested or detained and then imprisoned in Iran, authorities said. (Read more from “Feds: NYC Journalist Targeted By Iranian Operatives In Twisted Kidnapping Plot (VIDEO)” HERE)

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U.S. Seizes Internet Domains Tied to Iran’s Government

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More than 30 web domains linked to the Iranian regime were seized by U.S. agencies on Tuesday, a U.S. government official said.

The U.S. seized sites operated by government-run PressTV as well as social media channels affiliated with Iran-backed militias in Iraq. The seizures come as the Biden administration is in the midst of negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program and follow the election of a new president who has rebuffed calls from Washington to curb its support for proxies fighting across the region.

Visitors to the affected websites were greeted with a banner that said the domains had been seized by the U.S. government as part of enforcement action taken by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but Tehran’s government has condemned previous seizures of Iranian websites as unlawful and part of an influence campaign against Iran. (Read more from “U.S. Seizes Internet Domains Tied to Iran’s Government” HERE)

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New Israeli PM Warns U.S. Before Rejoining Iran Nuclear Deal

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Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned the US and other nations seeking to rekindle the nuclear agreement with Iran to “wake up” following the election of a hardline judge as the country’s president.

Speaking at a televised cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Bennett said Ebrahim Raisi, a protege of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would establish a “regime of brutal hangmen,” Reuters reported.

“Raisi’s election is, I would say, the last chance for world powers to wake up before returning to the nuclear agreement, and understand who they are doing business with,” said Bennett, who replaced Benjamin Netanyahu last week after the former prime minister failed to form a new government.

“A regime of brutal hangmen must never be allowed to have weapons of mass-destruction,” Bennett said. “Israel’s position will not change on this.” (Read more from “New Israeli PM Warns U.S. Before Rejoining Iran Nuclear Deal” HERE)

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GOP Demand Answers After Biden Admin Lifts Iran Sanctions Without Consulting Congress

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Last week, the Biden administration gave Iran what it wanted. Without consulting Congress, the administration lifted sanctions on multiple former Iranian officials and businesses, thereby relaxing U.S. pressure on the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism.

Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee weren’t amused. On the contrary, they continue to assert that the administration chose not to consult Congress about the lifted sanctions in order to intentionally bypass legislative oversight. These Republicans are now demanding an explanation.

The State Department announced the sanctions were lifted “as a result of a verified change in status or behavior on the part of the sanctioned parties” and that “[t]hese actions demonstrate [America’s] commitment to lifting sanctions in the event of a change in status or behavior by sanctioned persons.” The Treasury Department echoed this announcement. Meanwhile, the State Department imposed new sanctions on “an Iranian-backed supply network” to the Houthi terrorists in Yemen.

While the Biden administration contends that the lifted sanctions are unrelated to continued negotiations with the Iranian regime in Vienna, Rep. Claudia Tenney and some of her colleagues say the Biden administration is lying. They demand that the State Department share its internal plans. (Read more from “GOP Demand Answers After Biden Admin Lifts Iran Sanctions Without Consulting Congress” HERE)

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Senior Swiss Diplomat in Iran Found Dead After Fall From Building

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The first secretary at the Swiss embassy in Tehran was found dead on Tuesday after falling from a high-rise building where she lived in the north of the city, a spokesman for emergency services was quoted as saying by Iranian news agencies.

The Swiss foreign ministry (FDFA) said an employee at its embassy in Iran had died of an accident, without identifying the victim. “The FDFA and its head Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis are shocked by the tragic death and express their deepest condolences to the family,” it said.

Iranian emergency services spokesman Mojtaba Khaledi said the diplomat’s body was found by a gardener after an employee who arrived at her apartment early on Tuesday noticed she was missing, the news agency Fars reported. (Read more from “Senior Swiss Diplomat in Iran Found Dead After Fall From Building” HERE)

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Iran Reaches Deals to Release Prisoners; U.S. Denies

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Iran will free prisoners with Western ties in Iran in exchange for billions of dollars from the United States and the United Kingdom, state television reported Sunday. The U.S. immediately denied the report, while the U.K. did not respond.

The state TV report quoted an anonymous official just as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei began giving what authorities earlier described as an “important” speech. However, Khamenei did not immediately discuss any proposed swap amid negotiations in Vienna over Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal with world powers.

The official quoted by Iranian state TV said a deal made between the U.S. and Tehran involved a prisoner swap in exchange for the release of $7 billion in frozen Iranian funds.

“The Americans accepted to pay $7 billion and swap four Iranians who were active in bypassing sanctions for four American spies who have served part of their sentences,” state TV said, quoting the official in an on-screen crawl. (Read more from “Iran Reaches Deals to Release Prisoners; U.S. Denies” HERE)

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