Page 2 - Us-iran Tensions

US sanctions Iran intelligence over malicious Albania cyberattack

The U.S. government on Friday imposed sanctions on Iran's intelligence agency and its leadership in response to malicious cyberattacks on Albanian government computer systems in July. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security and Esmail Khatib, who heads the ministry, for what it said were cyber-related activities against the U.S. and its allies. Albania, a NATO member, cut diplomatic ties with Iran and expelled its embassy staff this week over the cyberattack. It was the first known case of a country cutting diplomatic relations over a cyberattack. The Albanian government has accused Iran of carrying out the July 15 attack, which temporarily shut down numerous Albanian government digital services and websites. Microsoft, which assisted Albania in investigating the cyberattack, said in a blog post Thursday that it was moderately confident the hackers belong to a group that has been publicly linked to Iran's .

Iran won't compromise on any red lines in nuclear deal talks, says FM

All the US attempts to establish new political and security arrangements in the region without Iran's presence have ended in failure, Xinhua news agency quoted the Minister as saying

US B-52 bombers fly over Middle East amid heightened tensions with Iran

The United States military said on Monday it flew a pair of nuclear-capable B-52 long-distance bombers over the Middle East in a show of force, the latest such mission in the region as tensions remain high between Washington and Tehran. The bombers took off from the Royal Air Force base at Fairford, England, and flew over the eastern Mediterranean, the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea on Sunday in training missions together with Kuwaiti and Saudi warplanes, before departing the region. Threats to the US and our partners will not go unanswered, Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the top US Air Force officer in the Middle East said in a statement. Missions like this ... showcase our ability to combine forces to deter and, if necessary, defeat our adversaries. Although the US military's Central Command did not mention Iran in its statement, Washington has frequently dispatched B-52 bombers to the region as hostilities simmered between the US and Iran. The last such flyover was in June. For

Biden underscores US commitment to never let Iran acquire nuclear weapon

US President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and underscored the commitment of the United States to never allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon

Iran demands stronger US guarantees of lifting sanctions to reach nuke deal

"If America acts realistically and strengthens the existing text, an agreement will be within reach," the Iranian Foreign Minister said

Airstrikes in eastern Syria intended to send message to Iran, says US

US military airstrikes in eastern Syria were a message to Iran and Tehran-backed militias that targeted American troops this month and several other times over the past year, the Pentagon said Wednesday. Colin Kahl, the undersecretary of defense for policy, told reporters that the US airstrikes overnight on facilities used by "the United States will not hesitate to defend itself against Iranian and Iran-backed aggression when it occurs." He said the US decision to launch the strikes was based on both the nature of the militia attacks on August 15 at the al-Tanf Garrison, where US troops are based in the south, and the fact that, based on recovered drone parts, "we believe we have Iran dead to rights on attribution." Hours after the US strikes, two US military locations in northeastern Syria near large oil and gas fields were hit with rocket fire. According to US Central Command, the rockets hit near Green Village and the Conoco gas field in Deir el-Zour. One US service member was ..

EU's nuke deal revival: Iran yet to receive US response to proposal

Iran has not yet received any response from the US concerning the European Union (EU)'s recent proposals on the revival of a 2015 nuclear deal, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said

Biden faces new domestic political hurdles in the US-Iran nuclear deal

Last week's attack on author Salman Rushdie and the indictment of an Iranian national in a plot to kill former national security adviser John Bolton have given the Biden administration new headaches as it attempts to negotiate a return to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. A resolution may be tantalizingly close. But as the US and Europe weigh Iran's latest response to an EU proposal described as the West's final offer, the administration faces new and potentially insurmountable domestic political hurdles to forging a lasting agreement. Deal critics in Congress who have long vowed to blow up any pact have ratcheted up their opposition to negotiations with a country whose leadership has refused to rescind the death threats against Rushdie or Bolton. Iran also vows to avenge the Trump administration's 2020 assassination of a top Iranian general by killing former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Iran envoy Brian Hook, both of whom remain under 24/7 taxpayer-paid security ...

Iran dismisses US' allegations in plot to kill former NSA John Bolton

The US Justice Department announced the criminal charges against Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps for allegedly trying to assassinate John R Bolton, who served as NSA to Trump.

President Joe Biden meets with Arab Gulf countries to counter Iran threat

President Joe Biden will lay out his strategy for the Middle East as he closes out of the final leg of a four-day trip meant to bolster U positioning and knit the region together against Iran

Iran-US nuclear talks in Qatar end without making progress amid tensions

Indirect negotiations between Iran and the US over Tehran's tattered nuclear deal with world powers ended in Qatar after failing to make significant progress amid a growing crisis

Iran state TV announces rocket launch as nuclear talks to resume

The news comes after the European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, traveled to Tehran in a push to resuscitate stalemated negotiations over Iran's nuclear deal

US, Iran tensions high at Strait of Hormuz; Tehran preps new centrifuges

A US Navy warship fired a warning flare to wave off an Iranian Revolutionary Guard speedboat coming straight at it during a tense encounter in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, officials said Tuesday. The incident on Monday involving the Guard and the Navy comes as tensions remain high over stalled negotiations over Iran's tattered nuclear deal with world powers and as Tehran enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels under decreasing international oversight. Meanwhile, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog said Iran now plans to enrich uranium through a second set of advanced centrifuges at its underground Fordo facility amid the standoff. The Cyclone-class patrol ship USS Sirocco and Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport USNS Choctaw County found themselves in the close encounter with three Iranian fast boats while coming through the Strait of Hormuz to enter the Persian Gulf, the Navy said. In a video released by the Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, a high-spee

Oil prices rebound as new Iran sanctions fuel more supply concerns

The market had been lower earlier as interest rate hikes in the United States, Britain and Switzerland fed concerns about a slowdown in global economic growth.

Iran currency drops to all-time low of 332,000 per dollar amid US sanctions

Traders in Tehran exchanged the rial at 332,000 to the U.S. dollar, up from 327,500 on Saturday

G7 summit: Iran foreign minister makes surprise Biarritz appearance

The French official said that at this stage there was no plan for Zarif to meet members of US President Donald Trump's delegation at the summit venue

Iran reports death of another Revolutionary Guard colonel; blames US-allies

Quoting an unknown official, the early morning report by the official IRNA news agency said Col. Ali Esmailzadeh died during an incident in his residence days ago in city of Karaj

Iran reports death of another Revolutionary Guard colonel; blames US-allies

Quoting an unknown official, the early morning report by the official IRNA news agency said Col. Ali Esmailzadeh died during an incident in his residence days ago in city of Karaj

EU coordinator to meet Iranian leaders in bid to save nuclear deal

EU coordinator Enrique Mora said he'd meet with Iranian negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani during his visit to the Iranian capital

Iran govt vows to continue nuclear talks until interests protected

Iran insists on securing guarantees that the US government would not abandon the deal again and lifting the sanctions in a verifiable manner