Category Archives: Iran

The Guardian view on Trump’s folly: racing to war | Editorial

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If the 2015 nuclear pact cannot be rebuilt or a new one struck, then the choice will be to let Iran have the bomb or to bomb Iran

Next week the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists will unveil the current time on its Doomsday Clock, meant to convey the nuclear dangers facing the world. The closer the clock is to midnight, the greater the existential threat. If the stand-off between Iran and Donald Trump persists, or takes a frightening turn for the worse, then the clock’s hands may be closer to the bell tolling than they have ever been. This would mean the danger to the planet was judged greater than at any time since the first H-bomb tests.

The drumbeat of war reverberates around the Middle East. On Tuesday, Britain, France and Germany said that they had been “left with no choice” but to trigger a dispute mechanism in the six-nation nuclear deal with Iran after Tehran declared, in the aftermath of the US assassination of its top general, that it would no longer observe the pact’s “operational restrictions”. Iran’s president then warned that European soldiers in the Middle East “could be in danger”, a clear indication that if the continent stood with Mr Trump then its forces could expect to be treated as enemy combatants.

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European troops may be at risk after dispute process triggered – Iran

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Hassan Rouhani’s threat to western allies comes amid fears of reimposition of sanctions

Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani has warned that European soldiers in the Middle East could be in danger after the UK, France and Germany triggered a dispute mechanism in the nuclear agreement that could lead to the reimposition of international sanctions on the country.

Rouhani’s remarks on Wednesday were the first direct threat he has made against European powers as tensions have grown between Tehran and Washington since Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned the nuclear deal more than 18 months ago.

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Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert begs Scott Morrison to help get her out of Iranian jail

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Letter comes as human rights groups urge foreign governments to take a stronger line with Tehran

The imprisoned British-Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert has begged the Australian prime minister to secure her release from an Iranian jail, as human rights groups urge foreign governments to take a stronger line with Tehran.

A Cambridge-educated academic specialising in Middle East politics, Moore-Gilbert has been imprisoned in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison since September 2018, after she was arrested at Tehran airport while trying to leave the country after attending an academic conference.

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Trudeau: Canada ‘didn’t get a heads-up’ from US on Suleimani killing – video

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Justin Trudeau said on Monday that Canada did not receive a warning from the US before it killed the Iranian top general Qassem Suleimani on 3 January. 'We didn't get a heads-up,' the prime minister said, adding that Canada would 'obviously' have preferred a warning. Referring to the accidental shooting down of a Ukrainian plane outside Tehran in which 57 Canadians died, he said that 'if there were no tensions, if there was no escalation recently in the region, those Canadians would be right now home with their families'

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Justin Trudeau: US escalation partly to blame for Iran plane deaths

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Canadian PM says victims would still be alive if not for rising tensions party triggered by US

Victims of an Iran-downed jetliner would still be alive if not for a recent escalation of tensions partly triggered by the United States, Justin Trudeau has said.

“I think if there were no tensions, if there was no escalation recently in the region, those Canadians would be right now home with their families,” the Canadian prime minister said in an interview with Global television.

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Iran calls for UK ambassador to be expelled as arrests made over plane crash

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Effigy burned on streets of Tehran as diplomat accused of ‘interfering in internal affairs’

Iran’s judiciary has described the UK’s ambassador to Tehran as “persona non grata” and called for his expulsion, while crowds of regime supporters burned his effigy alongside the British flag.

The actions came after the envoy, Rob Macaire, was briefly arrested at the weekend and accused of “coordinating” anti-government protests.

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Crisis for Iran may present an opportunity for Washington

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It is not clear Trump is ready to adapt any US policies based on latest developments in Tehran

Donald Trump hailed footage of Tehran students refusing to walk over a US flag as “big progress”, but there is little sign his administration is prepared to offer more than verbal encouragement to what the US president called “wonderful Iranian protesters”.

Amid the furious popular backlash to the shooting down of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752, students at Shahid Beheshti University took pains to walk around the big US and Israeli flags painted on a concrete campus thoroughfare, a gesture of defiance to all-pervasive state propaganda.

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Iran’s ambassador to UK summoned over Tehran envoy arrest – as it happened

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Follow the latest updates as ambassador summoned to see UK’s Middle East minister

This was an unacceptable breach of the Vienna convention and it needs to be investigated. We are seeking full assurances from the Iranian government that this will never happen again. The FCO has summoned the Iranian ambassador today to convey our strong objections.

In a series of viral tweets, the head of a Canadian packaged meat company has lashed out at Donald Trump, suggesting the US president bears culpability for Iranian missiles that brought down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 last week. Most of the 167 passengers on board were bound for Canada.

“U.S. government leaders unconstrained by checks/balances, concocted an ill-conceived plan to divert focus from political woes. The world knows Iran is a dangerous state, but the world found a path to contain it; not perfect but by most accounts it was the right direction,” wrote Michael McCain, the chief executive of Maple Leaf Foods, calling Trump a “narcissist”who has destabilised the Middle East.

I’m Michael McCain, CEO of Maple Leaf Foods, and these are personal reflections. I am very angry, and time isn’t making me less angry. A MLF colleague of mine lost his wife and family this week to a needless, irresponsible series of events in Iran...

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Iranian police fired live rounds to disperse protesters, say witnesses

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Several people wounded during demonstrations in Tehran over plane deaths

Iranian authorities fired live ammunition to disperse protesters in Tehran, wounding several people, according to witness accounts provided to the Guardian and footage circulating on social media.

Hundreds of protesters on Sunday defied a heavy security presence in the Iranian capital to hold vigils and demonstrations throughout the day and march in the evening on Azadi Square in the centre of the city.

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Anti-government demonstrations erupt in Iran over downed plane – video report

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Iran is facing an escalating crisis as its leadership struggles to contain public anger over the military's shooting down of a commercial airliner with 176 people onboard. Footage on social media shows several people apparently wounded, including a woman lying on a blood-soaked pavement near Azadi Square in Tehran during anti-government protests on Sunday

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‘We will not rest until there is justice and accountability’: Trudeau — video

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Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has promised justice for victims of the Ukraine Airlines flight shot down in Iran. Memorials were held across Canada for the 57 Canadians killed in the crash - including one interrupted by a protester in Toronto

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Trudeau tells Iran crash vigil he will pursue ‘justice and accountability’

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Emotional prime minister tells Edmonton gathering that Canada ‘will not rest until there are answers’

Justin Trudeau, his voice sometimes breaking, has told a vigil for some of those killed in an Iranian plane disaster that he would “pursue justice and accountability” for what happened.

Iran says it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian airliner on Wednesday, killing 176 people. At least 57 Canadians died, most of them of Iranian descent, in one of the biggest single losses of life Canada has suffered in 40 years.

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Protests and teargas as Iran faces public anger over aircraft downing

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Authorities break up second day of demonstrations that continued into the evening

Iran was facing a renewed crisis on Sunday night with authorities using teargas to break up a second straight day of protests in Tehran and demonstrations spreading to other cities, as the nation’s leadership struggled to contain public anger over the Iranian military’s shooting down of a commercial airliner with 176 people on board.

Britain also found itself caught up in the furore as pro-regime protesters set alight a union jack flag in front of the UK embassy in Tehran after the British ambassador was briefly detained the night before and accused of coordinating protests, which he denies. Chanting “death to Britain”, up to 200 protesters including members of a pro-regime paramilitary organisation rallied outside the mission calling for it to be closed a day after Rob Macaire was arrested. He was later summoned by the Iranian foreign ministry.

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Impact of Suleimani’s death is playing out in unexpected ways

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Iranian general’s assassination has led to an eerie calm rather than the predicted turmoil

Qassem Suleimani’s wrecked car was still smouldering when the predicted consequences of his death started to rebound across the Middle East. There would be chaos, outrage, instability – maybe even war. Among those who opposed the killing and those who cheered it on, there was more or less consensus: things would never be the same again.

One week on, that maxim still holds in a region still grappling with it’s impact. Yet the aftermath of the most significant assassination of modern times has not created the turmoil that many had predicted. If anything, the heartland areas of the Iranian general’s extraordinary sphere of influence are, thus far, eerily calm. His home front, on the other hand, remains unsettled and reeling – not so much as a result of his death, but because of those of 176 passengers onboard a Ukrainian airliner shot from the sky in the panicked days that followed.

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Anti-government protests in Tehran after Iran admits it shot down Ukrainian jet – video

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A vigil in front of Tehran's Amikabir University for the victims of flight 752 that Iran said it accidentally downed turned into an anti-government protest on Saturday. Demonstrators called for the resignation of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, chanting 'death to the dictator'

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The Observer view on Flight 752 and its political fallout | Observer editorial

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Trump and Pompeo should act with extreme caution in the wake of this terrible incident

The crash of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 over Iran, which killed all 176 people on board, is a tragedy. The human cost should not be obscured by the recriminations that have followed. Many families in Iran, Canada, Britain and elsewhere have suffered a devastating blow. In addition to the lives lost, countless more lives have been irreparably damaged.

The Iranian government’s admission of responsibility is welcome. It should have come sooner. Tehran’s hasty claim, within hours of the disaster, that mechanical problems were to blame provoked immediate suspicion. Within 24 hours, video and other evidence emerged, clearly indicating the airliner was hit by a ground-to-air missile, yet Iranian spokesmen and diplomats persisted with their implausible denials.

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Iran’s admission of guilt over plane crash sparks unrest in Tehran

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Protesters speak out against supreme leader in response to deaths of Iranians in disaster

Iran’s embattled regime was shaken by a wave of international condemnation and domestic criticism on Saturday night after admitting its forces shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane with 176 people on board and lied in a bid to cover up its role in the tragedy.

Facing possibly the biggest crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution, senior clerical, political and military leaders scrambled to contain the fallout from what President Hassan Rouhani termed a “disastrous mistake”.

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Iran’s admission it shot down airliner is ‘important first step’, says Boris Johnson – live news

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Tehran says its military unintentionally shot down Ukraine International Airlines flight 752, killing all 176 people onboard

As Iranians protest over their government’s mishandling of the downing of Ukrainian International Airlines flight 752, in London Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn has addressed hundreds marching against the prospect of war with Iran.

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), which co-organised the demonstration with the Stop the War Coalition, is carrying photos of the protest on its Twitter feed.

Great to have @jeremycorbyn with us in Trafalgar Square calling for peace in the middle east and #NoWarOnIran! pic.twitter.com/ZiREqwadWO

Kate Hudson of @CNDuk and the legendary Tariq Ali speaking on #NoWarOnIran #NoWarWithIran platform pic.twitter.com/Veps8UjI0K

#NoWarOnIran protesters gathering in Trafalgar Square. Other protests taking place in Chesterfield, Manchester, Newcastle, Liverpool and Bristol today. Many more are planned. Thank you to you all. Let's rebuild our movement, get the troops out of Iraq and stop a war on Iran. pic.twitter.com/js7rbwgBli

Thousands marching down Regent Street in Central London to say #NoWarOnIran pic.twitter.com/STPXScEG0K

And we're off! Marching to Trafalgar Square to say #NoWarOnIran! pic.twitter.com/QNAhy3kUAV

Following on from the previous report about domestic reaction to the Iranian mea culpa, reports are emerging on Twitter of protests in the street in Tehran over the government’s handling of the fiasco.

Protest at Tehran's Amir Kabir university, students shouting "Shameless" #Iranplanecrash https://t.co/FtdC1GeTqI

Another video from the protest at a university in the Iranian capital where students call for justice over #Iranplanecrash "Resignation is not enough. Prosecution is necessary." https://t.co/Z4FzVSX60W

Images from #Tehran today. People chanting “down with the liar” #UkrainePlainCrash https://t.co/eugROR45Bo

ساعت ۴ و ۵۰ دقیقه: جمعیت اولیه جلوی دانشگاه امیرکبیر.

نه خودمان مسلحیم نه #عموهایمان.
اویی که مسلح است شمایید، اویی که می‌کشد، اویی که دروغ میگوید، اویی که فریب میدهد، و اویی باز میکشد شمایید.

اینبار کمتر خون بریزید..#دروغ_سخت pic.twitter.com/AcmNDg07pR

pic.twitter.com/QPZndWyh9G

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Iran plane crash admission triggers international calls for full investigation

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Ukrainian president also calls for full admission of guilt, justice and compensation

Iran’s admission that it accidentally shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane has been met with international demands for a full investigation into the disaster, in which 176 people died during a period of soaring tensions between Tehran and Washington.

A statement carried on Iran’s official IRNA news agency on Saturday morning said the military had made an “unforgivable mistake” in targeting Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 shortly after it took off from Tehran’s international airport on Wednesday. It was followed by condolences from Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and an apology from the country’s president, Hassan Rouhani.

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How strong is Iran’s military?

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Country has shaped an ‘axis of resistance’ with proxy forces and influence in Middle East


There has been a calibrated de-escalation of tensions between the US and Iran, after a drone strike killed General Qassem Suleimani, the second most powerful man in Iran and most influential military commander in the region. Missile strikes on US bases allowed Iran to claim it had responded in kind, without causing any American casualties that could have prompted a further US attack.

But there is little expectation that this will be the end of Iran’s response to such a significant loss. The country has spent years honing its assets and expertise in asymmetric warfare, to strike against better armed, better funded opponents.

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