US-Iran Tensions

President Joe Biden has approved a new national security memorandum that is meant to serve as a roadmap for the incoming Trump administration as it looks to counter growing cooperation among China, Iran, North Korea and Russia, the White House said Wednesday. Biden administration officials began developing the guidance this summer. It was shaped to be a document that could help the next administration build its approach from day one on how it will go about dealing with the tightening relationships between the United States' most prominent adversaries and competitors, according to two senior administration officials. The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said the classified memorandum would not be made public because of the sensitivity of some of its findings. The document includes four broad recommendations: improving US government interagency cooperation, speeding up the sharing of information with allies about the four .

Palestinian medical officials said Monday that Israeli strikes in the central Gaza Strip overnight killed at least six people, including one woman. The strikes came as ousted Syrian leader Bashar Assad fled to Moscow on Sunday and received asylum from his longtime ally, according to Russian media, hours after rebels seized control of Damascus. The UN Security Council plans to hold emergency closed consultations on Syria later Monday at Russia's request. Among the dead in the overnight Israeli strikes were Raed Ghabaien, who was released from Israeli detention in 2014, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where the casualties were taken. He was killed along with his wife when an Israeli strike hit their tent in the central town of Zuweida, the hospital records showed. Two other people were killed in a strike that hit their house late Sunday in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp. Another two were killed in a strike in the Wadi Gaza area early Monday. An Associated Press journa

At least 300 fighters, primarily from the Badr and Nujabaa groups, crossed late on Sunday using a dirt road to avoid the official border crossing

As Trump prepares for a second term as US president, all eyes are on whether he will revive his so-called maximum pressure policy against Iran that came to mark his first spell

China's state-owned defence giant Norinco Group, which is subject to U.S. sanctions, will attend, Le Quang Tuyen, deputy head of the defence industry department, said on the sidelines

Iran successfully sought a meeting with Elon Musk, according to a US official, one in a series of steps that appeared aimed at easing tensions with President-elect Donald Trump. Iran's UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani met with Musk a Trump ally named this week to advise his administration on ways to cut the federal government on Monday in New York, according to a US official briefed on the meeting by a foreign colleague. The official said he had been informed that the discussion covered a variety of topics, most notably Iran's nuclear program, its support for anti-Israel groups throughout the Middle East and prospects for improved relations with the United States. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a non-US governmental meeting, said no immediate decisions were taken by either side. The official said the Iranians sought the meeting with Musk, the world's richest man, and that it did not take place at the Iranian mission to the UN. The Trump transition te

Iran successfully sought a meeting with Elon Musk, according to a US official, one in a series of steps that appeared aimed at easing tensions with President-elect Donald Trump. Iran's UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani met with Musk a Trump ally named this week to advise his administration on ways to cut the federal government on Monday in New York, according to a US official briefed on the meeting by a foreign colleague. The official said he had been informed that the discussion covered a variety of topics, most notably Iran's nuclear program, its support for anti-Israel groups throughout the Middle East and prospects for improved relations with the United States. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a non-US governmental meeting, said no immediate decisions were taken by either side. The official said the Iranians sought the meeting with Musk, the world's richest man, and that it did not take place at the Iranian mission to the UN. The Trump transition te

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US-Iran relations: Iranian diplomats described the discussions with the tech entrepreneur as 'positive' and 'good news'

An Iranian national charged by the FBI for plotting assassination on president-elect Donald Trump was tasked by the Iranians to target Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka, the Department of Justice has alleged. Farhad Shakeri, 51, of Iran was charged Friday in a criminal complaint in connection with their alleged involvement in a plot to murder a Trump. Shakeri is an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) asset, remains at large and is believed to reside in Tehran, Iran. "He was also tasked with targeting Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka, the Department of Justice said. According to documents filed in a federal court, Shakeri was asked by IRGC to target Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka and to plan a mass shooting event in October 2024. On or about October 23, 2024, the governments of the United States and Israel publicly warned travellers about threats of an attack targeting tourist locations in the Arugam Bay area, and, on or about the following day, Sri Lankan authorities reported having ..

Earlier, the US Department of Justice on Friday (local time) charged an Iranian citizen who was tapped by Iran to allegedly assassinate Donald Trump before the presidential election

Earlier, the US Department of Justice on Friday (local time) charged an Iranian citizen who was tapped by Iran to allegedly assassinate Donald Trump before the presidential election

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Iran's currency, the rial, fell on Wednesday to an all-time low as former President Donald Trump was on the verge of clinching the US presidency again. The rial traded at 703,000 rials to the dollar. In 2015, at the time of Iran's nuclear deal with world powers, it was at 32,000 to USD 1. On July 30, the day that Iran's reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian was sworn in and started his term, the rate was 584,000 to USD 1. Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord in 2018, sparking years of tensions between the countries that persist today. The slide comes as Iran's economy has struggled for years under crippling international sanctions over its rapidly advancing nuclear program, which now enriches uranium at near weapons-grade levels. Pezeshkian, elected after a helicopter crash killed hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi in May, came to power on a promise to reach a deal to ease Western sanctions. However, Iran's government has for weeks been trying to downplay the effect

The nation's federal law enforcement and election security agencies are debunking two new examples of Russian election disinformation on the eve of Election Day, highlighting attempts by foreign actors to sow doubt in the U.S. voting process and warning that the efforts run the risk of inciting violence against election officials. In a joint statement late Monday, federal officials pointed to a recent article posted by Russian actors falsely claiming that U.S. officials across presidential swing states were orchestrating a plan to commit fraud, as well as a video that falsely depicted an interview with an individual claiming election fraud in Arizona. U.S. intelligence reveals that Russia-linked influence actors are manufacturing videos and creating fake articles to undermine the legitimacy of the election, instill fear in voters regarding the election process, and suggest Americans are using violence against each other due to political preferences, read the statement issued by the .

Sharing a post on X, Iran's supreme leader wrote, 'United States of America and the Zionist regime will definitely get a crushing response for what they do against #Iran and the #Resistance Front'

America's presidential election next week comes just after Iran marks the 45th anniversary of the 1979 US Embassy hostage crisis and for many, tensions between Tehran and Washington feel just as high as they did then. Iran remains locked in the Mideast wars roiling the region, with its allies militant groups and fighters of its self-described Axis of Resistance battered as Israel presses its war in the Gaza Strip targeting Hamas and its invasion of Lebanon amid devastating attacks against Hezbollah. At the same time, Iran still appears to be assessing damage from Israel's strikes on the Islamic Republic last Saturday in response to two Iranian ballistic missile attacks. Iran's currency, the rial, hovers near record lows against the dollar, battered by international sanctions over Tehran's nuclear programme of enriching uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels. In public spaces, women still openly defy Iran's mandatory law on the headscarf, or hijab, a result of the mass .

Israeli officials said that, for security reasons, the cabinet wouldn't meet at its usual place in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem

Israel launched massive strikes targeting Iranian military sites on pre-dawn Saturday, triggering fears that a fresh round of escalation could erupt in West Asia

US reportedly investigating last week's leak of its highly classified intelligence about Israeli plans for retaliation against Iran's October 1 missile barrage