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Massive Explosion Rocks Suspected Nuke Site in Iran

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The Associated Press is reporting that a huge explosion occurred on Friday that rattled Tehran and lit up the horizon. The site of the blast was a region where many nuclear experts believe Iran conducted high-explosive tests relating to its nuclear program.

The explosion happened in the Alborz mountains, just east of the city. Satellite photos show the massive extent of the blast.

Fox News:

Satellite photos of the area, some 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) east of downtown Tehran, showed hundreds of meters (yards) of charred scrubland not seen in images of the area taken in the weeks ahead of the incident. The building near the char marks resembled the facility seen in the state TV footage.

The gas storage area sits near what analysts describe as Iran’s Khojir missile facility. The explosion appears to have struck a facility for the Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group, which makes solid-propellant rockets, said Fabian Hinz, a researcher at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California.

(Read more from “Massive Explosion Rocks Suspected Nuke Site in Iran” HERE)

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Iran Starting to Withdraw From Syria: Israel’s Outgoing Defense Minister; Iran’s Supreme Leader Releases Anti-Israel ‘Final Solution’ Poster

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By Al Arabiya. Iran has begun withdrawing its forces from Syria, Israel’s outgoing defense minister said on Monday, without offering any evidence to support his assertion.

Naftali Bennett also urged his successor, Benny Gantz, to maintain pressure on Iran, adding that the trend might otherwise reverse.

Iran, Israel’s archenemy in the Middle East, has been a key supporter, along with Russia, of President Bashar al-Assad during Syria’s civil war, sending military advisers as well as material and regional Shia militias that it backs.

Israel, which monitors neighboring Syria intensively, has carried out hundreds of air strikes in Syria targeting suspected arms and troop movements by Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas it sponsors.

“Iran is significantly reducing the scope of its forces in Syria and even evacuating a number of bases,” said Bennett in his valedictory address. (Read more from “Iran Starting to Withdraw From Syria: Israel’s Outgoing Defense Minister” HERE)

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Releases Anti-Israel ‘Final Solution’ Poster

By The Jerusalem Post. Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ali Khamenei on Tuesday published an antisemitic poster evoking Nazi Germany’s “final solution” that destroyed European Jewry in order to advance Tehran’s quest to abolish Israel.

The poster’s language reads: “Palestine will be free. The final solution. Resistance is referendum.”

Khamenei displayed the antisemitic poster in English, Farsi and Arabic on his official homepage.

The picture shows a conquered Jerusalem with photos of the late Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp Quds Force leader Qassem Soleimani.

(Read more from “Iran’s Supreme Leader Releases Anti-Israel ‘Final Solution’ Poster” HERE)

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Iran Calls Israel ‘Rabid, Predatory Dog’ as Jewish State Swears in New Government

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By Newsweek. The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ali Khamenei railed against Israel this weekend as the Jewish state’s parliament approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new unity government.

“The Zionist regime & its criminal supporters recognize no bounds in brutality & trampling of moral norms,” Khamenei wrote in a series of tweets on Saturday evening local time. “They consider genocide, destruction, the massacre of children & women, & any oppression permissible in #Palestine. This rabid, predatory dog attacks innocent ppl [sic].”

Khamenei also accused the Zionist regime of failing to abide by any treaty. They do not “understand any language but the language of force,” he wrote. “Israel has proven it only knows force. It cannot be spoken to except with the Palestinian nation’s language of power & the Islamic nation’s global power.”

(Read more from “Iran Calls Israel ‘Rabid, Predatory Dog’ as Jewish State Swears in New Government” HERE)

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Airstrike Attributed to Israel Said to Kill 7 Iran-Backed Fighters in East Syria

By The Times of Israel. Unknown warplanes attacked Iran-backed fighters in eastern Syria near the Iraqi border, killing several of the Iraqi militiamen, Syrian opposition activists said Sunday.

The strikes late Saturday targeted a base near the border town of Boukamal, killing seven fighters, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor.

Omar Abu Laila, a Europe-based activist from Syria’s eastern Deir el-Zour province, confirmed that a strike hit Iran-backed Iraqi fighters in the area, but had no exact word on casualties. The strikes came days after reinforcements were brought into the area from Iraq, the Observatory and Abu Laila said.

Abu Laila, who runs Deir Ezzor 24, an activist collective that reports on news in the border area, said Israel was most likely behind the attack, but gave no evidence. (Read more from “Airstrike Attributed to Israel Said to Kill 7 Iran-Backed Fighters in East Syria” HERE)

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Dozens Feared Dead as Iranian Destroyer Accidentally SINKS One of the Country’s Own Warships; Iran Says It’s Ready for Unconditional Prisoner Swap With U.S.

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By Daily Mail. An Iranian destroyer has reportedly opened fire on one of its own warships by accident, causing ‘dozens of casualties’.

The friendly fire reportedly sank one of Iran’s own warships in the Sea of Oman.

40 naval personnel are missing in the incident, according to local media reports this evening. . .

According to local media, an Iranian battleship was accidentally hit by a C-802 Noor missile during military exercises, causing it to sink.

ELINT News reported that the Iranian Jamaran frigate accidentally fired on the Konarak support ship with an anti-ship cruise missile during exercises. (Read more from “Dozens Feared Dead as Iranian Destroyer Accidentally SINKS One of the Country’s Own Warships” HERE)

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Iran Says It’s Ready for Unconditional Prisoner Swap With U.S. Amid Coronavirus Fears

By TIME. Iran says it is ready for unconditional prisoner swap talks with the United States because of fears that the coronavirus could put the lives of the prisoners at risk, Iranian media reported Sunday.

An Iranian news website, Khabaronline.ir, quoted Cabinet spokesman Ali Rabiei as saying there is a “readiness for all prisoners” to be discussed without condition.

“But the U.S. has refused to answer, so far,” said Rabiei. “We hope that as the outbreak of the COVID-19 disease threatens the lives of Iranian citizens in the U.S. prisons, the U.S. government eventually will prefer lives to politics.”

A senior U.S. official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “There has been no offer and no offer of direct talks.” (Read more from “Iran Says It’s Ready for Unconditional Prisoner Swap With U.S. Amid Coronavirus Fears” HERE)

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Senate Will Hold Vote to Override Trump Veto on Iran War Powers Resolution

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The Senate will vote on Thursday to override President Trump’s veto of a resolution that would have curbed his ability to use military action against Iran.

The vote will happen at 1:30 p.m., Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced after the veto on Wednesday, according to the Hill. The move, which would require the approval of two-thirds of Congress, is expected to fail.

“I urge my colleagues to join me in voting to override his veto. Unless there’s a carefully reached consensus in Congress that war is necessary, we should not be sending our troops into harm’s way,” said Democratic Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine in a statement after the president’s veto. . .

Trump blasted the resolution, which saw eight Republican senators join forces with Democrats, in a Wednesday statement from the White House. (Read more from “Senate Will Hold Vote to Override Trump Veto on Iran War Powers Resolution” HERE)

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Iranians Poisoning Themselves Faster Than the Virus Can Kill Them

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As if Iran wasn’t having enough problems during the pandemic already. They were among the slowest to respond to the novel coronavirus outbreak and they continued to allow regular flights to and from China until only recently. The percapita death toll in their nation was among the highest in the world and most average citizens couldn’t expect much help or relief from their corrupt government. And now, to top it all off, a rumor has been going around that drinking methanol (commonly known as methyl alcohol or wood alcohol) can stave off the virus or even cure COVID-19. The result? More than 700 people have died from methyl alcohol poisoning, and those are only the numbers that the government is willing to admit to. (Associated Press)

The false belief that toxic methanol cures the coronavirus has seen over 700 people killed in Iran, an official said Monday.

That represents a higher death toll than so far released by the Iranian Health Ministry.

An adviser to the ministry, Hossein Hassanian, said that the difference in death tallies is because some alcohol poisoning victims died outside of hospital.

. . .

At least according to their official numbers, 728 Iranians died from drinking this poisonous product during the 46 days between Feb. 20 and April 7. That’s vastly more than in previous periods, but such incidents weren’t unknown. Last year, before anyone had begun talking about the novel coronavirus, 66 Iranians died from methanol poisoning. What were they thinking? (Read more from “Iranians Poisoning Themselves Faster Than the Virus Can Kill Them” HERE)

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Iran Now ‘a Superpower,’ Iranian General Boasts After Satellite Launch

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A top Iranian commander has claimed the country is now a superpower and that the United States and “even greater powers will not dare do anything” to it, following the April 22 launch of Iran’s first military satellite.

In an interview with Iran’s Channel 2 last week, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ Aerospace Force, said that the Iranian satellite could now pass over the United States and other countries that its planes cannot fly over. . .

The two-stage rocket that launched the satellite took off from Iran’s Central Desert, the IRGC said, without elaborating or saying when exactly the launch took place. The paramilitary force said it used a Ghased, or “Messenger,” satellite carrier to put the device into space, a previously unheard-of system.

“Today, space is open to all. We can get anywhere. [Noor’s] orbit passes over America and many countries over which we cannot fly planes,” Hajizadeh said, in comments translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

“Thanks to the grace of God we are a superpower today. I say this decisively. America, and even greater powers, will not dare do anything,” he continued. “With determination and strength, we promise to the Iranian nation that we will advance space technologies. We will grow stronger every day in every field, because this is what the honorable Leader ordered us to do. (Read more from “Iran Now ‘a Superpower,’ Iranian General Boasts After Satellite Launch” HERE)

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Iran Says They Have 400 U.S. Targets Picked out If U.S. Moves Against Them

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A top Iranian general on Friday revealed the nation’s plan to attack 400 U.S. targets if the U.S. military responded to Iran’s attack on Al-Assad Air Base in January.

“The day, we attacked on Ain al-Asad, we thought the US forces would respond after 20 minutes, so we were ready to attack 400 American targets,” Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh told Iranian state media Mehr News. . .

“[Iran’s] satellite launch vehicle and others launched before it incorporates technologies identical to, and interchangeable with, ballistic missiles, including longer-range systems such as intercontinental ballistic missiles,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Saturday.

“I have to say that the obstacles have been removed from our path and from now on we will move faster,” Haijzadeh said on Friday. Although he did not elaborate on what those “obstacles” consisted of, it could be a reference to the nuclear agreement the U.S. withdrew from in 2018, which Iran has also been turning away from.

Iran also recently bragged about its expanded missile range, and threatened to “destroy” U.S. warships if the U.S. Navy threatens Iranian gunboats. The saber-rattling comes just days after President Trump issued a similar warning in authorizing the U.S. Navy to “shoot down and destroy” any Iranian gunboats threatening U.S. warships. (Read more from “Iran Says They Have 400 U.S. Targets Picked out If U.S. Moves Against Them” HERE)

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Iranian Citizen Accused of Trying to Sneak U.S. Military ‘Sensitive Parts’ to Iran

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A 38-year-old Iranian citizen has been taken to Texas after his arrest in Georgia to face federal charges for a scheme to obtain “military sensitive parts” and ship them to Iran. . .

The military parts that Merdad Ansari is accused of trying to send to Iran “had dual-use military and civilian capability and could be used in such systems as: nuclear weapons, missile guidance and development, secure tactical radio communications, offensive electronic warfare, military electronic countermeasures (radio jamming), and radar warning and surveillance systems,” authorities said.

“As alleged, the defendant helped Iran to develop its weapons programs by obtaining military parts in violation of the Iranian Trade Embargo,” Demers said.

Ansari and co-defendant Mehrdad Foomanie of Iran are charged in a federal grand jury indictment with conspiracy to violate the Iranian Transactions Regulations, conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. . .

“According to the indictment, Foomanie also bought or attempted to buy items in the U.S. and arranged to have them unlawfully shipped to Iran through his companies in Iran (Morvarid Shargh Co. Ltd.); in Hong Kong (Panda Semiconductor and Foang Tech Inc., aka Ofogh Electronics Co.); and, in China (Ninehead Bird Semiconductor). The indictment also alleges that Ansari attempted to transship and transshipped cargo obtained from the U.S. by Yip and Foomanie using Ansari’s company, Gulf Gate Sea Cargo L.L.C., located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates,” prosecutors explained. (Read more from “Iranian Citizen Accused of Trying to Sneak U.S. Military ‘Sensitive Parts’ to Iran” HERE)

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U.S. Officials Report Death of Robert Levinson, Former FBI Agent Kidnapped by Iran; ‘Iran May Well Collapse’ Under Coronavirus Strain, Warns Top EU Diplomat

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By Breitbart. The family of Robert Levinson, the former FBI agent who disappeared in Iran in 2007 and has been held illegally by the regime since then despite numerous pleas for his release, said on Wednesday that U.S. officials believe he “died while in Iranian custody,” sometime prior to the deadly outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus in Iran.

“It is impossible to describe our pain,” the Levinson family said. They went on to condemn the “cruel, heartless actions of the Iranian regime” as well as “those in the U.S. government who for many years repeatedly left him behind.”

“It has been 13 years waiting for answers,” they wrote. “Thirteen years since we last saw him or had any contact with him. How those responsible in Iran could do this to a human being, while repeatedly lying to the world all this time, is incomprehensible to us. They kidnapped a foreign citizen and denied him any basic human rights, and his blood is on their hands.”

“His body has not yet been returned to us for a proper burial,” the family noted. “We don’t even know when, or even if, his body would be returned to us. This is the very definition of cruelty.”

The Levinson family vowed to seek justice against both the Iranian regime and American officials who spared any effort to bring him home. (Read more from “U.S. Officials Report Death of Robert Levinson, Former FBI Agent Kidnapped by Iran” HERE)

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‘Iran May Well Collapse’ Under Coronavirus Strain, Warns Top EU Diplomat

By Washington Examiner. Iran’s theocratic regime could crumble under the pressure of the coronavirus outbreak that has spread through elite ranks and the broader population alike, according to the European Union’s top diplomat.

“Elsewhere, countries like Venezuela or Iran may well collapse without our support,” EU High Representative Josep Borrell wrote in a recent bulletin to European colleagues. “This means we should ensure they have access to IMF assistance. And with Iran, we need to make sure that legitimate humanitarian trade can proceed despite US sanctions.”

Borrell’s message reflects the long-standing European frustration with President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and renew U.S. sanctions on the regime. Yet it also suggests that some Western leaders are bracing for potentially seismic geopolitical shifts at the epicenters of the coronavirus pandemic, including Tehran.

“We should also remember that none of the other problems that we focused on before the corona crisis [have] gone away,” Borrell wrote. “In fact, they may get worse. COVID-19 may well deepen some of the longer running conflicts in the neighborhood.” (Read more from “‘Iran May Well Collapse’ Under Coronavirus Strain, Warns Top EU Diplomat” HERE)

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