Afghanistan
Al-Qaida leadership almost wiped out in Pakistan, British officials believe
Al-Qaida leadership almost wiped out in Pakistan, British officials believe
Iran Denies Harboring Al-Qaeda Financier
Iran ready to expand military links with Iraq
As Christmas arrives, crisis for Mideast Christians
Arab Spring and the Middle East: 2012 preview
The US government is offering a $10 million reward for information leading to the capture of Yasin al Suri, a senior al Qaeda facilitator based in Iran. Al Suri was designated by the Treasury Department in July.
Iran said its navy would hold war games beyond the Strait of Hormuz. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the US military was ready to engage in a conflict with Iran if necessary. Sanctions have impacted Iran’s trade ties with Arab Gulf states.
Prime Minister Maliki’s crackdown on the Sunni leadership threatens to plunge Iraq into civil war.
Arab Spring yields different outcomes in Bahrain, Egypt and Libya
The Gulf Cooperation Council called on Iran to stop interfering in the internal affairs of its members. Western sanctions are inflicting damage on Iran’s economy.
In an apparent reference to Iran, Saudi Arabia said the security of the Gulf states was being targeted. US, Europe, and key Arab states discussed how to maintain stability in the energy markets as a possible precursor to an embargo on Iran’s oil exports. Iran would be unlikely to replace its exports.
Iraqis celebrate US exit, but worry for future
The Intelligence Ministry claimed it arrested a “US spy” who was trained in Iraq and Afghanistan. The foreign minister urged Afghanistan not to permit US drones to operate in its airspace.
Yemeni Uprising Opens a Door to Besieged Rebels in the North
Russia seized 18 pieces of Sodium-22, a radioactive metal, from the suitcase of a passenger who was traveling to Iran. The military said it would shoot down any US drones that violate its airspace.
Musa Ali Daqduq, who was tasked with establishing a Hezbollah-like Shia terror group in Iraq, and who was involved in the 2007 attack on US troops in Karbala, is now in Iraqi custody.
Amid Claims of More Captured Drones, a Report on Their Vulnerability
Crashed drone was looking at Iran nuclear sites
Panetta, Speaking to Troops, Says US Has Edge on Taliban
Iran against US-Afghan military treaty: FM
Afghanistan does not want involvement in US-Iran hostilities
IRGC General Gholam Reza Jalali says Iran will move its uranium enrichment facilities to safer locations underground if necessary. Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz if attacked. Iran and Saudi Arabia held a rare high-level security meeting in Riyadh.
Iran may soon start nuclear work in bunker: sources
The Sunni Awakening Braces for an Iraq Without US
Beirut Bank Seen as a Hub of Hezbollah’s Financing
Pakistani fertilizer ignites tensions with US
The US Treasury placed sanctions on Major General Hassan Firouzabadi, chairman of Iran’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Revolutionary Guard Deputy Commander Abdollah Araqi. Iran’s judiciary has issued indictments against 15 “American and Zionist” spies.
The Iranian foreign ministry publicly responded to the article by Thomas Joscelyn that pointed out Iran’s links to the 1998 suicide attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
A “mysterious” explosion occurred at a steel mill in Yazd, killing seven employees, including foreign nationals. Iranian authorities blamed the blast on “old munitions.” Iranian experts are in the final stages of “recovering data” from the US surveillance drone captured by the country’s armed forces, state TV reported.
Iran will not return a US surveillance drone captured by its armed forces, General Hossein Salami, deputy head of the Republican Guard, said in a broadcast on Iranian state television. He described the penetration of Iranian airspace by a US drone as a “hostile act” and warned of a “bigger” response.