Iran
June 10, 2018 — Scott Johnson
In its 2004 report the 9/11 Commission compiled and summarized the evidence of Iran’s links to al Qaeda. The report is accessible online here and easily searchable. Middle East Quarterly highlighted the commission’s findings on each of four threads concerning Iran here. Iran has always denied any involvement with al Qaeda. See, for example, the 2017 CBS News report “CIA docs from Osama bin Laden raid suggest Iran-al Qaeda link.”
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June 9, 2018 — Scott Johnson
The Free Beacon’s Adam Kredo reports: Iranian officials, in a first, have admitted to facilitating the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. by secretly aiding the free travel of al Qaeda operatives who eventually went on to fly commercial airliners into the Twin Towers in New York City, according to new remarks from a senior Iranian official. Mohammad-Javad Larijani, an international affairs assistant in the Iran’s judiciary, disclosed in Farsi-language
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June 8, 2018 — Scott Johnson
Glenn Reynolds could have trademarked his expression of exasperation “I don’t want to hear another goddamn word about my carbon footprint.” I have a similar feeling about of exasperation complaints of President Trump’s challenges to veracity. Reading Marc Thiessen’s great column today about newly revealed disgraces committed by Team Obama in furtherance of the Iran deal, I don’t want to hear another goddamn word about Trump’s lying. Here is the
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May 29, 2018 — Scott Johnson
Last week YnetNews posted the Reuters story reporting that Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was caught on tape Thursday joining a crowd in a chant calling for the destruction of Iran’s enemies—among them the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel. The chant broke out after a speech delivered by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei held in Tehran. The crowd then takes up the chant of “Death to
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May 25, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Several sources report an Israeli attack on a military airport in central Syria, an area where Hezbollah militias are located. There are conflicting reports about whether the attack was successful. Syria claims that its air defense system thwarted the attack. Syrian rebels say Israeli missiles destroyed that air defense system. The Israeli government has yet to comment. Jonathan Spyer, writing in the Jerusalem Post, provides context for the growing number
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May 21, 2018 — Scott Johnson
This morning Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered his first public address on President Trump’s termination of the absurd and humiliating nuclear deal with Iran. The speech came less than two weeks after President Trump’s May 8 announcement that the United States would withdraw from President Obama’s deal with the Iranian regime, a/k/a the world’s leading state sponsor of terror. Heritage President Kay Coles James introduced Secretary Pompeo and then
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May 13, 2018 — Scott Johnson
Former Trump campaign adviser Jason Osborne has been following the continuing adventures of John Kerry with Iranian officials. The latest chapter of Kerry’s conniving is taking place in Paris. Whatever Kerry is up to, I think we can be sure it is not calculated to advance the national security of the United States. Like a troubled teenager, he’s hanging out with a bad crowd. What an unsavory character. After his
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May 12, 2018 — Scott Johnson
Iran’s Supreme Leader (as he styles himself) wants it to be known that he is mightily unhappy with President Trump. That is what I deduce from Josh Delk’s story reporting in the Hill that “Iran’s supreme leader trolls Trump with photo of himself reading ‘Fire and Fury.'” If Fire and Fury is the Supreme Leader’s book of the week, let us recall that “Death to America” is the Supreme Leader’s
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May 11, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal has produced much hand-wringing from its supporters. Some of the angst is understandable. Former administration officials and many in the foreign policy establishment thought the deal was our best option for dealing with the threat of Iran developing nuclear weapons. I don’t agree, but acknowledge that the path Trump has chosen carries considerable risks (as, of course, did Obama’s). However, one
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May 10, 2018 — Scott Johnson
The IDF has posted a video of a direct hit on a Syrian SA22 air defense battery in connection with its response to the 20 rockets launched by Iranian forces from Syria toward Israel last night. As the Jerusalem Post puts it, “the video appears to be filmed from a camera loaded on the Israeli rocket. The rocket flies down toward the Syrian SA22, a combined short to medium range
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May 10, 2018 — Scott Johnson
Israel Defense Forces conducted predawn retaliatory airstrikes targeting dozens of Iranian bases, command centers and weapons caches in Syria. Targets included sites throughout Syria. On Twitter, retired IDF spokesman Peter Lerner reports that targeted Quds Force positions include intelligence observation posts, logistics command positions, military command posts and bases, and a weapons depot at Syria International Airport, and the vehicle on which the rocket launch that provoked the strikes. Israeli
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May 9, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Is there any shot at the Trump administration too lame for the New York Times to eschew? After reading this report from Brian Flood at Fox News, I’m starting to doubt there is. On Tuesday, the Times breathlessly reported that Secretary of State Pompeo was absent from Washington when Trump announced he was pulling the U.S. out of the nuclear deal with Iran. “At a Key Moment, Trump’s Top Diplomat
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May 9, 2018 — Scott Johnson
Tucker Carlson has occasionally denied that the Iranian regime represents a threat to the United States. His vehemence on the question has exceeded his knowledge. On a related matter, Noah Rothman found Tucker peddling Russian disinformation last month. I thought Tucker embarrassed himself when he had Rothman on as his guest for a bit of ritual abuse. Yesterday evening Tucker invited former National Security Council spokesman Michael Anton on the
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May 9, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
As President Trump seriously contemplated ending U.S. participation in the Iran nuclear deal, John Kerry, the deal’s main architect, reportedly met multiple times with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and French President Emmanuel Macron. Did Kerry thereby violate the Logan Act? That Act provides: Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly
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May 9, 2018 — Scott Johnson
On her FOX News show last night Laura Ingraham had a fantastic segment with National Security Advisor John Bolton following President Trump’s speech announcing our withdrawal from the Iran deal. Laura played clips of Democrats denouncing the deal in 2015, of John Kerry explaining himself on MSNBC yesterday, of John Brennan fulminating, also on MSNBC, of Samantha Power peddling the Obama line on Twitter and more. Sense meets nonsense, baloney
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May 9, 2018 — Scott Johnson
When I visited the White House last year for one of President Trump’s 100-day events, Roger Kimball asked the question I wanted to hear: “What about Iran?” Good question! And it elicited a good response. I reported it here on Power Line. “We can never let Iran have nuclear weapons,” Trump said, and, by contrast with his predecessor, seemed to mean it. “Israel wouldn’t have a chance,” he added. “They’ve
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May 8, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the JCPOA leaves Iran with hard choices to make. Before discussing its options, here, via Thomas Erdbrink of the New York Times, is a brief overview of the current situation in Iran: The sense of crisis in Iran runs deep and wide. The economy is in free fall. The currency is plummeting. Rising prices are squeezing city dwellers. A five-year drought is devastating the
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