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Are the US and Iran Heading for a Showdown?

When President Trump named the seven majority Muslim countries named in January’s travel ban, which is now pending a legal review, it caused great concerns for Iranians with connections in the United States. Iran has one of their largest diasporas based in the United States, as well as the largest number of overseas students, and the highest number of people traveling on visitor visas.

These are anxious times for Iranians. BBC Persian received hundreds of messages from worried Iranians, whose lives were thrust into uncertainty once the ban was announced.

Arab Quartet to Form a NATO Against the Iranian ‘Warsaw Pact’?

The history of the region for roughly the past 100 years is made up of changing camps and shifting alliances, so and the rhetoric about the idea of proposing an Arab quartet NATO will be a normal reaction against Iran’s active tripartite alliance.

Discussions about the Arab military alliance allege that it resembles the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), established in the wake of Soviet expansion. NATO was the western military power that confronted the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Iran Under Fire at the Munich Security Conference

Much news is coming from the Munich Security Conference, including demands by Saudi Arabia that Iran be punished.  They call for justice over allegations that Iran was propping up the Syrian government, developing ballistic missiles and funding separatists in Yemen.

On Sunday, the Saudi foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, told delegates at the conference that Iran is the main sponsor of global ‘terrorism’ and a destabilizing force in the Middle East. “Iran remains the single main sponsor of terrorism in the world,” he said, “It’s determined to upend the order in the Middle East … [and] until and unless Iran changes its behavior, it would be very difficult to deal with a country like this.”

The MEK: A Leading Voice for a Democratic Iran

The Deputy Director of the National Council of Resistance of Iran. US Representative Office, Alireza Jafarzadeh, revealed in a press conference on Tuesday, February 14, new  information about the headquarters and foreign mercenary training centers of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).

Gathered and documented by the social network maintained inside Iran, including sources inside the Iranian regime and the IRGC itself, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) collected information over a period of several months, about the expansion of training by the IRGC, and its creation a large directorate in its extraterritorial arm, the Quds Force, as part of the regime’s strategy to increase their involvement abroad, including in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Bahrain, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Iran: New Political Unrest in the Oil Fields

Shocking the country, there’s an new disruptive potential inside Iran in its main oil field province, Khuzestan. “The Strikes” that occurred in this province by tens of thousands of oil workers, paralyzing the state thirty-eight years ago, and paved the way for the Shah’s downfall, are now happening again. Historically Iran’s oil supplies are the regime’s lifeline. 

Khuzestan province borders Iraq and the Persian Gulf. Its capital is Ahvaz. It’s the country’s oldest province, and produces 35 percent of the Iran’s water and electricity. More importantly, its oil fields and gas supply provides 90% of Iran’s national revenue.

Iran’s Fighter-Jets Are Not New

Although Tehran wants to produce its own jet fighters,  designing and manufacturing advanced combat jets poses formidable challenges, Still, the Iranian air force has showcased its development of several domestic fighter jets since the turn of the century, most notably the HESA Saeqeh (“Thunderbolt”), which Iranian media have claimed to be superior to the F-18 Hornet.

However, performance specifications and technical details for these aircraft remain vague or perhaps, nonexistent. This may be because additional details would likely be unimpressive, as the Saeqeh is a reverse-engineered American F-5 Freedom Fighter with a new tail and upgraded avionics.

Why Iran is threatening the US regarding Iran nuclear deal

The head of Iran’s parliamentary Commission on Foreign Policy and National Security, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, threatened the Trump administration regarding the release of documents related to the Iran nuclear deal. He said that if President Trump’s administration released any of the documents to the public it would constitute a violation. 

He said: “If Trump wants to publish confidential documents exchanged between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency, it will in fact constitute a violation of the agency’s obligations, because the agency has been committed not to make Iran’s confidential nuclear information and documents available to any country, including the US.”

Lebanese President Downplays Reality of Iranian Regime

Shortly before a scheduled visit to Cairo, the President of Lebanon, Michel Aoun was speaking in an interview with Al-Ahram news agency. He was asked about the country’s relations with Iran and Turkey. He said: “These countries must maintain special relations because there are many mutual interests.”

He was then asked whether he would have his country serve as a “bridge for a Gulf-Iranian or Arab-Iranian understanding”. President Aoun replied: “Why not? Trying is better (than doing nothing) as at least there is the honor of trying.”

What Is the Next Step in Dealing With Iran?

Last month the US put Iran “on notice” after it test-fired ballistic missiles. Two months later more sanctions were placed on 25 entities and individuals that are involved in the country’s weapons procurement. Iran, in a bold response this week, conducted another missile test in complete defiance of warnings from the US.

The Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei tried to deflect from the evident concern among the leaders of Iran and said: “No enemy can paralyze the Iranian nation. [Trump] says ‘you should be afraid of me.’ No!”

Supreme Leader of Iran Threatens President Trump

The new US President and his administration have made no secret about its opinions of Iran’s clerical regime and the Iran nuclear deal that was signed during President Obama’s time in office. 

James Mattis, the US Secretary of Defense, said that Iran spreads and sponsors terrorism across the region and further and the White House declared that military action is still on the table when it comes to confronting Iran’s aggressiveness.