Despite its crumbling economy, Iran will “expand its nuclear program, military sales and acquisitions, and proxy attacks,” says a new U.S. intelligence report.
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Pakistan says naval drill with Iran was ‘unplanned’
A day-long sea exercise conducted by Pakistan and Iran’s navies in the Arabian Gulf on Tuesday was unplanned and part of a “goodwill gesture,” a spokesman for the Pakistan navy has said, rejecting media reports that it was based on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two countries.
Tehran is now reactivating its Arak nuclear reactor
After restricting International Atomic Energy Agency inspection rights in Iran, Tehran is now reactivating its Arak nuclear reactor, reports Bassem Aly
Iranian oil surge to China hurts OPEC efforts to tighten supply
The torrent of Iranian oil that’s been gushing into China in recent weeks is crowding out imports from other nations and threatening to complicate efforts by the OPEC alliance to tighten supply in the global market.
Iran pushes development of major oil region under 25-Year China deal
Whether the Iranian leadership thinks that new U.S. President Joe Biden is set to go easier on the Islamic Republic or on China is unclear as yet but whichever it is, Tehran is pushing to increase oil output from all available fields in the coming 12 months
Iran to receive 1 Billion in oil funds previously blocked by sanctions
Iran said on Tuesday that South Korea had started to release the first US$1 billion of the US$7 billion Iranian oil funds blocked in Korean banks because of the U.S. sanctions on Tehran, but Seoul says that any transfer of the funds will be made only after consultations with the United States.
Iran demands compensation for the U.S. Sanctions
A major crisis was narrowly averted Sunday over Iran’s nuclear facilities and the planned booting of IAEA inspectors from key sites, scheduled according to a prior Iranian parliament decision for Feb. 21. Tehran reached a last-minute agreement with the UN nuclear watchdog, now being described as a temporary “technical understanding” to keep the inspections going for another three months.
Iran doubles down on nuclear ambitions as it expands oil influence
Tehran’s broad strategy regarding the U.S. is to seek to push new President Joe Biden back into a non-renegotiated nuclear deal, which favours Iran, whilst at the same time allowing Iran is own backdoor to continue to export its own crude oil and other related products
IAEA found uranium traces at two sites Iran barred it from
The UN nuclear watchdog found uranium particles at two Iranian sites it inspected after months of stonewalling, diplomats say, and it is preparing to rebuke Tehran for failing to explain, possibly complicating US efforts to revive nuclear diplomacy.
Watchdog slams Iran’s suppression of journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has condemned the Iranian regime’s use of “baseless charges” to suppress journalists in the country following the arrest and sentencing of a theater and cinema photographer.
Iran plans petrochemical boom despite U.S. Sanctions
Given the extreme unlikelihood of the U.S. returning to the currently structured Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and Iran’s unwillingness to renegotiate the deal any time soon, the Islamic Republic remains focused on three key areas where it can make money despite ongoing sanctions form Washington
