Washington, United States | AFP | New video footage has emerged showing two Iranian missiles tearing through the night sky and hitting a Ukrainian passenger plane, sending the aircraft down in flames and killing all 176 passengers and crew on board. The projectiles were fired 30 seconds apart and explain why …
Read More »EU states launch dispute process over Iran nuclear deal violations
Paris, France | AFP | Three EU countries on Tuesday said they were launching a dispute mechanism under the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran after accusing Tehran of repeated violations, but insisted they were committed to the agreement. The move by Britain, France and Germany comes as tensions soar between the West and Iran following …
Read More »‘Surviving was a miracle’: Iran’s missile attack on Iraq base
Iraq | AFP | Waves of ballistic missiles, soldiers hunkered down in bunkers for hours, intense shock waves — a top US commander said he reacted to Iran’s unprecedented attack against an Iraqi base with “disbelief”. In an exclusive interview with AFP at the Ain al-Asad airbase in western Iraq, Lt. …
Read More »Iran denies ‘cover-up’ as anger mounts over downed airliner
Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iran denied a “cover-up” Monday after taking days to reveal an airliner was accidentally shot down last week, a disaster that sparked demonstrations and calls for a fully transparent investigation. The Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 was shot down by a missile shortly after taking off …
Read More »Has Trump deterred Iran? Experts not so sure.
Washington, United States | AFP | US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday that the US strike that killed a top Iranian general had restored credibility to the US threat to Tehran to restrain itself militarily. “I believe that we’ve restored a level of deterrence with them,” he said. But Washington …
Read More »Pentagon chief: US has restored ‘level of deterrence’ on Iran
Washington, United States | AFP | US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday that the United States has reestablished some deterrence toward Iran in the wake of the January 3 drone strike that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad. “I think at this point with the strikes we took against …
Read More »Iran’s anti-US strikes: measured, but not final response
Paris, France | AFP | Iran’s missile strikes on US troop bases in Iraq were a measured first response to Washington’s assassination of a top commander, but are unlikely to be the last act in what could be a long and asymmetrical revenge campaign, experts say. With an outpouring of emotion …
Read More »Trump gambles big as commander in chief
Washington, United States | AFP | As a real estate magnate and politician, Donald Trump has always loved breaking rules and putting on a show. Now in Iran he’s following the same pattern — only this time as commander in chief of the world’s biggest military. Whether negotiating skyscraper deals or …
Read More »Killing Soleimani: Trump acted where other US leaders saw big risks
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump did Friday what previous presidents did not dare to do — eliminate a top Iranian general who aggressively expanded Tehran’s power while obstructing US efforts across the Middle East. Trump’s predecessors thought killing Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary …
Read More »Oil surges after US kills top Iranian general, fuels war fears
London, United Kingdom | AFP | World oil prices soared more than four percent on Friday after the US killed a top Iranian general, fanning fresh fears of a conflict in the crude-rich Middle East, with Tehran warning of retaliation. The head of Iran’s Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani, was hit in …
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