Is the Russia-Iran nexus a real threat to the West?

[MenInG]

US seems to think so.

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Russia and Iran's relationship has warmed to a fully fledged defence partnership, the US has said.

Russia is giving an unprecedented level of military support, said US national security council spokesman John Kirby.

The US has seen reports that the two countries are considering joint production of lethal drones, he added.

Australia has announced it is sanctioning three Iranians and one Iranian business for supplying Russia with drones to use against Ukraine.

Co-operation between Russia and Iran has been highlighted recently, with Ukraine accusing Russia of using Iranian drones in its attacks.

After initially denying sending any drones to Russia, the Middle Eastern country later admitted it had supplied some before the invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Kirby said that a partnership between Iran and Russia to produce drones would be harmful to Ukraine, Iran's neighbours and the international community.

"Russia is seeking to collaborate with Iran in areas like weapons development, training," he said, adding that the US fears that Russia intended to "provide Iran with advanced military components" including helicopters and air defence systems.

"Iran has become Russia's top military backer..." he said. "Russia's been using Iranian drones to strike energy infrastructure, depriving millions of Ukrainians of power, heat, critical services. People in Ukraine today are actually dying as a result of Iran's actions."

In response to Mr Kirby's comments, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said that Iran had become one of Russia's main military supporters and that the relationship between them was threatening global security.

The "sordid deals" between the two countries have seen Iran send hundreds of drones to Russia, he said.

BBC

 

[ex-q-zit]

UK Spy, Defence Chiefs Among 32 Sanctioned By Iran

Iran on Monday sanctioned the heads of the UK's domestic spy agency and military along with British and German political figures, hitting back at Europe before it imposes new sanctions of its own.

At his weekly press conference, Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani blamed the Europeans and British for "intervening in the domestic affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran" and said the sanctions "are coming into effect today."

Britain and Germany have been particularly vocal in their criticism of Iran's response to almost three months of protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, 22.

The Kurdish-Iranian woman died in custody after her arrest by morality police who accused her of violating Iran's dress code for women.

Iran imposed its sanctions on 32 individuals and entities ahead of a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels. They were expected to impose additional sanctions of their own against Iran over its response to the demonstrations.

Iran's sanctions list named Ken McCallum, director general of domestic spy agency MI5, and Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin.

Others sanctioned include current and former members of the British parliament and the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.

Several German political figures and companies are also listed. These include Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, former head of the Christian Democratic Union party, and Claudia Roth, Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.

Also sanctioned is the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, and the Persian-language division of Radio Free Europe.

Those sanctioned will not be able to enter Iran, and they will be subject to asset freezes.

Britain and the EU last month expanded sanctions against Iranian officials and organisations over Iran's protest crackdown.

On Friday Britain announced further sanctions after Iran carried out its first announced execution connected with the protests.

Iran's judiciary said Monday that a second death sentence had been implemented.

Majidreza Rahnavard had been sentenced to death by a court in the city of Mashhad for killing two members of the security forces with a knife and wounding four other people, the judiciary's news service said.

The first execution, on Thursday, of Mohsen Shekari followed his conviction for wounding a member of the security forces with a machete.

NDTV

 

[James]

Only if the West is provocative.

Otherwise it will continue to be a “Cold War II” indefinitely.

 

[sweep_shot]

I think China-Russia-Iran have weakened western monopoly on global order. I personally think it is a good thing to reverse western cultural imperialism.

 

[ex-q-zit]

Iran Sentences Belgian Aid Worker To 28 Years In Jail: Report

Iranian authorities have imposed a 28-year sentence on jailed Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele, a spokesman for his family said Wednesday.
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The 41-year-old was arrested in Iran at the end of February and was at one point being held in Tehran's notorious Evin prison, reportedly suspected of spying.

Belgium and Mr Vandecasteele's family insist he is innocent, effectively held as a hostage in Tehran's efforts to force Belgium to release an Iranian agent convicted of terrorism.

"The family are devastated," spokesman Olivier Van Steirtegem told AFP, after the Belgian government informed the family of the news.

"Can you imagine? If there's no solution he could stay in prison until 2050. He'll be almost 70," he said, urging Belgium to find a way to revive a prisoner swap treaty.

Van Steirtegem said that Mr Vandescasteele's family had been invited to meet Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and several ministers on Tuesday.

Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne, the family ally said, had received a call from his Iranian counterpart communicating the court's verdict -- but that they had no details on the charges.

News of Mr Vandecasteele's sentence, which has not been publicly confirmed by Iranian authorities, will revive debate in Belgium over a prisoner exchange treaty with Iran.

De Croo's government has described this in the past as the only option for a transfer, and the family spokesman told AFP that this remained the position at Tuesday's meeting.

"There's no Plan B," he noted.

Last week, Belgium's constitutional court suspended the controversial treaty pending a final ruling on its legality in three months.

Opponents of the Iranian government challenged the deal, which they argue was "tailor-made" to permit the release of Assadollah Assadi, an Iranian diplomat sentenced last year to 20 years in prison.

An Antwerp court convicted Assadi of supplying explosives to a couple from Belgium who were to travel to Paris to target a meeting of Iran's exiled opposition.

Iran reacted with fury to the sentencing and the stalled prisoner exchange treaty was proposed as a way to win Mr Vandecasteele's release, despite concerns it would be seen to reward hostage-taking.

NDTV

 

[FearlessRoar]

Iran and Eurasian Economic Union forge historic agreement with Russia's support, paving the way for unprecedented economic opportunities and cooperation.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1739322611136377199

 

[FearlessRoar]

Russia tells Israel to not even consider attacking Iranian nuclear facilities​

Russia is warning Israel to not even consider striking Iranian nuclear facilities, state news agency TASS quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Thursday.

After Iran’s missile attack on Israel on Oct. 1, there has been speculation that Israel could strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, as it has long threatened to do.

“We have repeatedly warned and continue to warn, to caution (Israel) against even hypothetically considering the possibility of a strike on (Iranian) nuclear facilities and nuclear infrastructure,” Ryabkov was quoted by TASS as saying.

“This would be a catastrophic development and a complete negation of all existing principles in the area of ensuring nuclear safety.”

It was not clear in what form Moscow had conveyed such a message to Israel.

Israel and Western countries have long feared that Iran is developing a nuclear bomb under the cover of a civilian nuclear energy program, something Tehran denies.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on Tuesday that Israel would listen to the United States, which has also cautioned against striking nuclear facilities in Iran, but would determine its actions according to its own national interest.

The statement was attached to a Washington Post article which said Netanyahu had told President Joe Biden’s administration that Israel would strike Iranian military targets, not nuclear or oil targets.

Russian state media also quoted Ryabkov as saying that Moscow was in constant contact with Iran, irrespective of the level of tensions in the region.

Russia has strengthened ties with the Islamic Republic since the start of its war in Ukraine and is preparing to sign a major partnership agreement with Tehran.

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2024/10/17/russia-warns-israel-against-strikes-on-iranian-nuclear-facilities

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Russia tells Israel to not even consider attacking Iranian nuclear facilities​

Russia is warning Israel to not even consider striking Iranian nuclear facilities, state news agency TASS quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Thursday.

After Iran’s missile attack on Israel on Oct. 1, there has been speculation that Israel could strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, as it has long threatened to do.

“We have repeatedly warned and continue to warn, to caution (Israel) against even hypothetically considering the possibility of a strike on (Iranian) nuclear facilities and nuclear infrastructure,” Ryabkov was quoted by TASS as saying.

“This would be a catastrophic development and a complete negation of all existing principles in the area of ensuring nuclear safety.”

It was not clear in what form Moscow had conveyed such a message to Israel.

Israel and Western countries have long feared that Iran is developing a nuclear bomb under the cover of a civilian nuclear energy program, something Tehran denies.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on Tuesday that Israel would listen to the United States, which has also cautioned against striking nuclear facilities in Iran, but would determine its actions according to its own national interest.

The statement was attached to a Washington Post article which said Netanyahu had told President Joe Biden’s administration that Israel would strike Iranian military targets, not nuclear or oil targets.

Russian state media also quoted Ryabkov as saying that Moscow was in constant contact with Iran, irrespective of the level of tensions in the region.

Russia has strengthened ties with the Islamic Republic since the start of its war in Ukraine and is preparing to sign a major partnership agreement with Tehran.

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2024/10/17/russia-warns-israel-against-strikes-on-iranian-nuclear-facilities

if it happens its going to be the start of an atomic war

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Iran, Russia link banking systems, allowing Iranian bank cards in Russia to bypass sanctions

Iranian bank cards can now be used in Russia, state television reported, as the two countries linked their banking systems in the latest bid to counteract sanctions.

Iranian banks have been excluded since 2018 from the SWIFT international financial messaging service, which governs the vast majority of transactions worldwide.

The move is part of a raft of sanctions that were re-imposed on Iran after the United States withdrew from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal.

Iranian bank cards can now be used in Russia, state television channel IRINN said on Monday, showing the withdrawal of money using an Iranian bank card from an ATM in Russia.

The operation was made possible by connecting Iran’s interbank network Shetab to its Russian equivalent Mir, the channel said.

Iran, Russia link banking systems, allowing Iranian bank cards in Russia to bypass sanctions | The Express Tribune

Iranian banks have been excluded from SWIFT since 2018, limiting their access to global financial transactions

tribune.com.pk

 

[Ball Blazer]

Israel still eyeing a limited attack on Iran's nuclear facilities

Israel has not ruled out an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities in the coming months despite President Donald Trump telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. was for now unwilling to support such a move, according to an Israeli official and two other people familiar with the matter.

Israeli officials have vowed to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and Netanyahu has insisted that any negotiation with Iran must lead to the complete dismantling of its nuclear program.

U.S. and Iranian negotiators are set for a second round of preliminary nuclear talks in Rome on Saturday.

Over the past months, Israel has proposed to the Trump administration a series of options to attack Iran’s facilities, including some with late spring and summer timelines, the sources said. The plans include a mix of airstrikes and commando operations that vary in severity and could set back Tehran's ability to weaponize its nuclear program by just months or a year or more, the sources said.

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Trump told Netanyahu in a White House meeting earlier this month that Washington wanted to prioritize diplomatic talks with Tehran and that he was unwilling to support a strike on the country’s nuclear facilities in the short term.

But Israeli officials now believe that their military could instead launch a limited strike on Iran that would require less U.S. support. Such an attack would be significantly smaller than those Israel initially proposed.

It is unclear if or when Israel would move forward with such a strike, especially with talks on a nuclear deal getting started. Such a move would likely alienate Trump and could risk broader U.S. support for Israel.

Parts of the plans were previously presented last year to the Biden administration, two former senior Biden administration officials told Reuters. Almost all required significant U.S. support via direct military intervention or intelligence sharing. Israel has also requested that Washington help Israel defend itself should Iran retaliate.

In response to a request for comment, the U.S. National Security Council referred Reuters to comments Trump made on Thursday, when he told reporters he has not waved Israel off an attack but that he was not "in a rush" to support military action against Tehran.

“I think that Iran has a chance to have a great country and to live happily without death,” Trump said. “That's my first option. If there's a second option, I think it would be very bad for Iran, and I think Iran is wanting to talk.”

The Israeli prime minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A senior Israeli official told Reuters that no decision has been made yet on an Iranian strike.

A senior Iranian security official said Tehran was aware of Israeli planning and that an attack would provoke "a harsh and unwavering response from Iran."

"We have intelligence from reliable sources that Israel is planning a major attack on Iran's nuclear sites. This stems from dissatisfaction with ongoing diplomatic efforts regarding Iran’s nuclear program, and also from Netanyahu’s need for conflict as a means of political survival," the official told Reuters.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/middl...d-attack-irans-nuclear-facilities-2025-04-19/

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Trump calls on Iran to ‘move quickly’ on nuclear proposal

United States President Donald Trump says that Iran has his administration’s proposal regarding its rapidly advancing nuclear programme as negotiations between the two countries continue.

Trump made the remarks on Friday on board Air Force One as he ended his trip to the United Arab Emirates. It is the first time he has acknowledged sending a proposal to Tehran after multiple rounds of negotiations between US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

“We’re in very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace,” Trump told a journalist when asked about the proposal.

“We’re not going to be making any nuclear dust in Iran. I think we’re getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this,” he said.

“But most importantly, they know they have to move quickly, or something bad is going to happen.”

On Thursday, Araghchi spoke to journalists at the Tehran International Book Fair and said that Iran had not received any proposal from the US yet.

Trump calls on Iran to ‘move quickly’ on nuclear proposal

The US president has repeatedly threatened to unleash air strikes targeting Iran’s programme if a deal isn’t reached.

www.aljazeera.com