Target: Iran

[Swordsmyth]

Japanese refiners are unlikely to continue buying Iranian crude from April onwards, the president of the Petroleum Association of Japan said as quoted by Reuters.
However, Takashi Tsukuoka added they would continue importing Iranian crude if Tokyo agreed on a sanction waiver extension, which it was currently negotiating with Washington.
This makes Japan the second country to try and negotiate a waiver extension, after India entered identical talks earlier this month. Washington has signaled it would probably agree to some form of an extension as long as the importing countries agree to reduce their intake of Iranian crude.
Japan has been very strict in following Washington’s lead in the sanction department, but it has also indicated that finding an alternative to Iranian crude might be tough.
“Japan has told the U.S. that the sanctions should not negatively affect Japan’s stable supply of energy and Japanese companies’ operations,” one government official in Tokyo said, commenting on the waiver negotiations to Reuters.

More at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-N...-By-April.html

[Swordsmyth]

Oil data provider TankerTrackers.com first reported last year that Iranian tankers were turning off their transponders to hide the destination of their journeys. At the time, most tanker tracking data came precisely from transponders and port authorities, which made most Iranian tanker movement reports unreliable. This, in turn, contributed to the October-December oil price drop when it emerged that Iran was shipping more crude abroad than previously believed.
No wonder, then, that the United States is now targeting vessels transporting Iranian crude oil in violation of sanctions, a senior State Department official told VOA this week.
"We are closely tracking ship-to-ship transfers of [Iranian] oil to evade our oil sanctions," said Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Counter Threat Finance and Sanctions David Peyman. "And we're working closely with foreign governments to ensure they are monitoring ship-to-ship transfers off their coasts."
Peyman also said everyone involved in the transport and ship-to-ship transfer of Iranian oil in defiance of sanctions will be held accountable by Washington.
"If you are engaged in evasive action, which is really the worst kind of violation when it comes to U.S. sanctions, we will hold you accountable," the official said.

In fact, oil and fuel traders are resorting to measures that they already used during the previous term of Iranian sanctions when those were enforced by not just one country but the United Nations. Reuters reports, quoting industry sources from Asia, that since the sanction waivers do not extend to oil products, even countries granted waivers may be buying products such as fuel oil from Iran.

“Some buyers...will want Iranian oil regardless of U.S. strategic objectives to deny Tehran oil revenue, and Iran will find a way to keep some volumes flowing,” the agency quoted Economist Intelligence Unit analyst Peter Kiernan as saying.
VOA quoted TankerTrackers co-founder Samir Madani as saying the service had detected two such transfers in February alone, with one taking as long as three months to complete and the other a month. In both cases, Madani told VOA, the transferred fuel was then moved to a third vessel that shipped it to a port.
As for Washington’s call to foreign governments to join the effort of cutting access to Iranian oil to markets, for now only Panama has responded. VOA reports that the country took away the right of 59 tankers linked to Iran to fly the Panamanian flag.
"Panama really led the way for other countries to follow suit by pulling their own flags and for other countries to commit to the U.S. that they will not reflag those ships that the Panamanians withdrew their flag from,” Peyman commented to VOA.

More at: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oi...t-Tankers.html

[Swordsmyth]

The U.S. Administration has renewed for another 90 days a sanctions waiver for Iraq to continue importing energy from neighboring Iran despite the American sanctions on Tehran, an official with the U.S. State Department told Reuters on Wednesday.
“Iraq was granted a 90-day waiver to purchase energy imports from Iran,” the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
This is the third waiver for Iraq—which depends on Iranian electricity and natural gas imports for part of its energy needs—that the United States has granted since it re-imposed sanctions on Iran’s oil, energy, and shipping industries in early November 2018.
At the end of last year, the U.S. granted Iraq a 90-day extension to the initial 45-day waiver allowing Baghdad to continue imports of electricity from Iran after the U.S. sanctions on Tehran returned.
Major Iraqi power plants are dependent on Iranian natural gas supply, while Iraq also imports electricity from Iran, as Baghdad’s power generation is not enough to ensure domestic supply.
Iraq has argued that it needs more time to find alternative sources of electricity supply if it is to avoid more and more power outages, which is one of the main reasons for protest rallies in the heart of Iraq’s oil region in the southern city of Basra last summer.

More at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-N...From-Iran.html

[Swordsmyth]

While Iranian customers have started negotiations with the U.S. on possible waiver extensions to continue buying oil from Tehran, Iran’s oil exports so far in March are down from January and February to average around 1 million bpd-1.1 million bpd, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing industry sources and ship-tracking data.
This compares to around 1.3 million bpd estimated Iranian exports for February.
The U.S. waivers for eight key Iranian oil customers, including China, India, Japan, and South Korea, expire in early May. While the U.S. Administration says that it continues to pursue zero Iranian oil exports, analysts expect Washington to extend waivers to at least a few of the currently exempted buyers, with reduced volumes allowed under the new waivers, as the Administration wouldn’t want to push oil prices too high.
In January and February this year, Iranian crude oil exports were higher than expected, as several of Iran’s customers were using up their U.S. sanction waivers to continue importing Iranian oil, according to industry sources and shipping data, quoted by Reuters 10 days before the end of February.
According to tanker-tracking data from Refinitiv Eikon and a source at a company tracking Iranian oil flows, Iran’s exports in February averaged 1.25 million bpd, while the January exports were between 1.1 million bpd and 1.3 million bpd, higher than the previously expected below 1-million-bpd level, which was seen in December.

More at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-N...-Decision.html

[RonZeplin]

Pompeo: God Sent Trump to Invade Iran

Reading recent remarks made by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, it is obvious we have crossed over from light to dark into the twilight zone.

This must be the Old Testament God, because it has nothing to do with Christ, the Sermon of the Mount, and Christ’s teaching that one should turn the other cheek.

Indeed, the Old Testament, taken from the Jewish Tanakh, is chock full of violence, revenge, genocide, and acts of terrible punishment and cruelty. A vengeful Jewish God slaughtered the Sodomites, eradicated the Canaanites with leprosy, sent a plague into Egypt, and told his people to make slaves out of neighboring tribes. There are dozens of other references in the Old Testament to horrific acts of violence, most of it retributive.

Pompeo made his remarks on Purim, the celebration of the Jewish exodus from the ancient Achaemenid Persian Empire, today known as Iran.

From the BBC:

[Pompeo] was asked if “President Trump right now has been sort of raised for such a time as this, just like Queen Esther, to help save the Jewish people from an Iranian menace.”

The former tank commander declared, “I am confident that the Lord is at work here.”

For America’s top diplomat to say God has sent Trump to save the Jews (who are not threatened by Iran) is a new milestone in absurdity for the “indispensable nation.”
It demonstrates apocalyptic Christian Zionists like Pompeo have undue influence on a largely clueless president.

For Christian Zionists, the return of the Jews to the Holy Land and the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 followed biblical prophecy envisioning the return of Christ as King of the Earth. They believe in a dispensationalist view of the Bible, that is to say they believe the Old Testament foreshadows Christ and the New Testament.

Pompeo’s remarks are extremely dangerous. His commentary anchors the Trump effort to destroy Iran directly within the context of biblical prophecy—and such religious fanaticism, as history repeatedly demonstrates, often results in war and mass murder.

The Trump administration is now fully and unapologetically embracing Christian Zionism following the move of the US embassy from Tel Aviv in Israel proper to a divided (and increasingly ethnically cleansed) Jerusalem. Trump’s VP is an evangelical Christian and his daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner are Orthodox Jews.

https://kurtnimmo.blog/2019/03/23/po...o-invade-iran/

[Swordsmyth]

The governor of Khuzestan, the biggest oil-rich province in Iran, has banned government officials from leaving it despite the danger of floods in the region, Radio Farda reports, citing a statement by Gholamreza Shariati.
"Since there are some concerns over the basin of Karkheh River, forces have been assigned to check the floodgates, and do whatever necessary to confront a possible flash flood in the province," the Khuzestan governor said.
The local meteorological service has warned there is a danger of floods in parts of the west and southwest of the country as well as freezing temperatures. While drought is a typical occurrence in the southern province of Khuzestan, now it’s another disaster threatening the region and putting the capabilities of local authorities to handle emergencies to the test.
The Khuzestan governor’s statement comes after Iran’s vice president, Eshaq Jahangiri, fired another governor for failing to return from a trip to Europe to oversee the management of the flood emergency in his area.
According to a CIA file, Khuzestan accounts for almost 70 percent of the country’s oil production. More importantly, perhaps, the province produces almost all of Iran’s natural gas. It also houses four ports that are Iran’s largest exit point for various exports.

More at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-N...ood-Alarm.html

[Swordsmyth]

France on Monday banned flights by Iranian airline Mahan Air, on the grounds that Mahan is employed by the Iranian regime to send troops and weapons to hotspots across the Middle East, including Syria.

The move is a significant step toward European acceptance of the Trump administration’s argument that Iran is a major threat to stability in the Middle East.
Mahan Air, Iran’s oldest private airline, was sanctioned by the United States in 2011 for supporting the notorious Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the theocracy-controlled, terror-sponsoring wing of Iran’s military.
The airline was also banned by Germany at the beginning of 2019. France considered a ban under the previous administration but relented because it worried sanctions against the Iranian airline would destroy the allegedly positive diplomatic environment after the Iran nuclear deal was signed in 2015.
Germany cited Mahan Air’s ties with the IRGC’s Quds Force, an elite unit with a history of espionage activity, when it revoked the airline’s permits in January. The United States designated Mahan as a material supporter of terrorism due to its Quds Force ties.
“The French ban on the airline, which had four flights a week to Paris from Tehran, takes effect from April 1. The airline’s website is no longer taking reservations and calls to its offices in Paris were not answered,” Reuters reported on Monday.


More at: https://www.breitbart.com/national-s...ons-to-syria/#

[AngryCanadian]

France on Monday banned flights by Iranian airline Mahan Air, on the grounds that Mahan is employed by the Iranian regime to send troops and weapons to hotspots across the Middle East, including Syria.

The move is a significant step toward European acceptance of the Trump administration’s argument that Iran is a major threat to stability in the Middle East.
Mahan Air, Iran’s oldest private airline, was sanctioned by the United States in 2011 for supporting the notorious Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the theocracy-controlled, terror-sponsoring wing of Iran’s military.
The airline was also banned by Germany at the beginning of 2019. France considered a ban under the previous administration but relented because it worried sanctions against the Iranian airline would destroy the allegedly positive diplomatic environment after the Iran nuclear deal was signed in 2015.
Germany cited Mahan Air’s ties with the IRGC’s Quds Force, an elite unit with a history of espionage activity, when it revoked the airline’s permits in January. The United States designated Mahan as a material supporter of terrorism due to its Quds Force ties.
“The French ban on the airline, which had four flights a week to Paris from Tehran, takes effect from April 1. The airline’s website is no longer taking reservations and calls to its offices in Paris were not answered,” Reuters reported on Monday.


More at: https://www.breitbart.com/national-s...ons-to-syria/#

America is accusing Iran of starting the instability in the Middle East? that's rather comical coming from an nation that has armed and funded Jihadist groups within in Syria for the past 8 years now and all they do now is blame everything on Iran.

[Swordsmyth]

Unable to secure a waiver extension from Washington to continue buying Iranian oil, Japanese refineries are putting the brakes on further imports in order to give payments enough time to be processed under the existing waiver.
In total, Japanese refiners purchased over 15 million barrels of Iranian crude from January through March, but the waiver expires in early May and payments still have to be processed for those cargoes, Reuters reports, citing industry sources and data from Refinitiv Eikon.
In order to avoid sanctions violations, all necessary transactions with banks and insurance companies must be finalized before the waiver expires, with the last cargo set to arrive in Japan on April 9.

More at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-N...e-Imports.html

[Swordsmyth]

Three of eight importers granted waivers by Washington to buy oil from Iran have now cut their shipments to zero, a U.S. official said on Tuesday, adding that improved global oil market conditions would help reduce Iranian crude exports further.

The Trump administration is currently in consultations with the importers ahead of a May 2 deadline when the waivers expire.
"In November, we granted eight oil waivers to avoid a spike in the price of oil. I can confirm today three of those importers are now at zero," Brian Hook, the special U.S. envoy for Iran, told reporters.
Hook did not identify the three.
"There are better market conditions for us to accelerate our path to zero," Hook said. "We are not looking to grant any waivers or exceptions to our sanctions regime."
Hook said U.S. oil sanctions against Iran had removed about 1.5 million barrels of Iranian oil exports from the market since May 2018.
"This has denied the regime access to well over $10 billion in (oil) revenue - a loss of at least $30 million a day," he said.
Oil prices on Tuesday hit their highest level so far in 2019, with Brent crude approaching $70 a barrel on the prospect that more sanctions against Iran and Venezuelan disruptions could deepen an OPEC-led supply cut.
Analysts believe the administration is likely to extend the waivers to the remaining five importers to placate top buyers China and India and to decrease the chance of higher oil prices.
China, India, Japan, South Korea and Turkey are likely to be given waivers that could cap Iran's crude oil exports at about 1.1 million barrels per day, U.S.-based analysts at Eurasia Group said in January. That would remove Italy, Greece and Taiwan from the waivers list.
Hook said a decision on whether to extend the waivers would be made "in due course." A total of 23 importers that once took Iranian oil had cut imports to zero, he added.
"With oil prices actually lower than they were when we announced our sanctions and global production stable, we are on the fast track to zeroing out all purchases of Iranian crude," Hook said.
A senior Trump administration official told reporters on Monday that the U.S. government was considering additional sanctions against Iran that would target areas of its economy that have not been hit before.
Hook said more than 26 rounds of U.S. sanctions against Iran had restricted the country's cash flow and constrained its ability to operate in the region.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/three-importe...043424965.html

[Swordsmyth]

Two South Korean refiners have bought an unspecified amount of U.S. superlight to test it as a potential replacement for Iranian condensate, Reuters reports, citing sources. The country is currently negotiating an extension of the sanction waiver Washington granted it last November.
Whatever the outcome of those negotiations, South Korean refiners are preparing for low Iranian condensate intake as the U.S. plans to reduce the amount of oil it permits Iranian oil buyers to continue importing in line with its goal to cut the country’s oil exports to zero.
The buyers of the U.S. light, the source said, are South Korea’s largest refiner, SK Energy, and its smallest one, Hyundai Oilbank.
“The crude’s API seems to be 48 degrees so in a way it’s possible (to replace Iranian condensate) but again we need to check the oil’s quality,” Reuters quoted one of its sources as saying.
South Korea is a major importer of Iranian condensate, but light crude from the U.S. shale patch—especially the Permian—is comparable in terms of properties. The light grades are used to produce naphtha, a feedstock for petrochemicals.

More at: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-N...light-Oil.html

[goldenequity]

Guy Elster
BREAKING UN nuclear watchdog inspects Iran 'warehouse' Netanyahu pointed to in Tehran: Reuters
http://news.trust.org//item/20190404165714-8jo8d/

* Netanyahu singled out Tehran site in U.N. speech

* IAEA bristled at him telling it to go there immediately

* Decision to inspect shows IAEA felt it was necessary

* Samples taken should tell if nuclear material was present

* Analysis of those samples will not be available for months

* Iran granting access shows nuclear deal holding for now

By Francois Murphy

VIENNA, April 4 (Reuters) - The U.N. atomic watchdog policing Iran's nuclear deal has inspected what Israel's prime minister called a "secret atomic warehouse" in Tehran, three diplomats familiar with the agency's work said.

[goldenequity]

Pompeo: 'Iran's Suleimani will be viewed the same way as Al-Baghdadi'
https://aml.ink/23xy6

https://twitter.com/RonPaul/status/1115670374266679298



Guy Elster
Pompeo: 'Egypt's purchase of Russian Su-35s will lead to sanctions'

what a putz.





Blowback begins

https://twitter.com/guyelster/status...05864822218752




Tal Inbar‏ @inbarspace · 24 min.
Iranian president Rouhani orders installation of 20 IR-6 centrifuges at Natanz site.


Turkey too

https://twitter.com/Ozkok_/status/1115341226708959233

https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/sta...04524641599490


Defenseworld.net‏
India Russia T90: India To Sign $2B Deal For Russian T-90 Tanks
http://www.defenseworld.net/news/245...ian_T_90_Tanks


Enrico Ivanov
Japan Grounds F-35 Fleet After Jet Disappears From Radar Over Pacific.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-...r-over-pacific

[goldenequity]

Enrico Ivanov
Japan Grounds F-35 Fleet After Jet Disappears From Radar Over Pacific.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-...r-over-pacific

Military Advisor‏ @miladvisor
F-35A fighter's wreckage has been found off the coast of northeastern Japan, pilot still missing.

Japan's air force loses contact with F-35 stealth fighter as US blames China.
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ja...-idUKKCN1RL1FN

-----------

Sharmine Narwani‏@snarwani
One for all, all for one: Historic picture of Iranian Parliamentary deputies donning the uniform of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), after its ‘terrorist’ designation by the US. Brought the reformists and principalists together, it did.




Al-Masdar News‏@TheArabSource
Iranian commander issues stern warning to US about staying away from IRGC Navy
https://aml.ink/aqDny



Muraselon News‏ @Muraselon · 25 sek.
Breaking: Taliban claims it shot down US B-52 strategic bomber in Afghanistan
https://muraselon.com/en/2019/04/tal...r-afghanistan/



Drexl Spivey‏ @RisboLensky
#NATO mission admitted loss of UAV , which #Taliban seized in #Helmand 2 days ago

https://twitter.com/TOLOnews/status/1115819633418887168

Drexl Spivey‏ @RisboLensky · 6 sek.
#Taliban reached the perimeters of Sancharak district center. Their positions are currently 2 km SW of Tukzar #Saripul #Afghanistan



Drexl Spivey‏ @RisboLensky · 3 min.
10 soldiers joined #Taliban near #Farah via @drknurpakt2 #Afghanistan




----------

Ragıp Soylu‏@ragipsoylu
WTurkey says it can purchase a second S-400 missile system package if US doesn’t sell Patriots to Ankara — Turkish FM Cavusoglu

H.K @Ibra_Joudeh · 8 min.
Turkey mulling purchase of Russian Su-57 instead of US F-35
http://dlvr.it/R2XNhG


---------


Russia begins delivery of Solntsepyok heavy flamethrower systems to Saudi Arabia - source
Interfax

https://twitter.com/miladvisor/statu...28866722320385

[goldenequity]

https://twitter.com/JZarif/status/1116029968759361538

[goldenequity]

https://twitter.com/Iran_NewsRoom/st...40581732450305

https://twitter.com/Iran_NewsRoom/st...73232332267521

[goldenequity]

https://twitter.com/ejmalrai/status/1117448356261969926

https://twitter.com/ejmalrai/status/1117448916621041664

https://twitter.com/ejmalrai/status/1117450555327242240











Elijah J. Magnier
the trigger finger is ready in case of US-Israeli war
https://ejmagnier.com/2019/04/11/ira...s-israeli-war/

[goldenequity]

https://twitter.com/Iran_NewsRoom/st...40581732450305

https://twitter.com/Iran_NewsRoom/st...73232332267521

Arabiana @ArabianaINTEL
38 sek.
Syria President Bashar Al-Assad received Iraq National Security Adviser Faleh Al-Fayyad, asserting the necessity to develop relations between the two countries in different domains to serve the interests of the two brotherly people
https://www.sana.sy/en/?p=163296

Pakistan. Iran. Iraq. Syria. Lebanon.
What happens when Sovereigns WTFU and realize they have a common opponent!!!

Trans-national militias are ANOTHER excellent idea... like PMUs and Hezbollah.

Fat Mike is so blunt and thug primitive
that THIS knee jerk response is what is happening EVERYWHERE in his wake...
Europe, Latin Am, Asia and most certainly the ME.
Governments planetwide are RUNNING to Russia for protection, trade and defensive technology.
Good job Mike. Keep up the good work.

[goldenequity]

Like a good neighbor... Iran shipping oil through Iraq to Syria? unconfirmed...


=============
Syria, with large oil reserves, faces oil shortage as US occupant army holds the most important oilfields.
This reports come out today:

Bosni
news fuel trucks from Iraq enter the Syrian territory

this is unconfirmed, I hope it is true..

Photo of convoy heading towards Syria:




Bosni
the latest: Apparently sent by Iran, and the Iraqi army/PMU secures the convoy which is heading towards Syria. A video of the convoy circulates.
Damascus fuel director (2hours ago): No official information on the supply of oil by road from Iran via Iraq.

American occupants must leave the country immediately! They are prolonging humanitarian crisis intentionally. Shame on the US government, and Trump especially!

[goldenequity]

Pakistan. Iran. Iraq. Syria. Lebanon.
What happens when Sovereigns WTFU and realize they have a common opponent!!!

Trans-national militias are ANOTHER excellent idea... like PMUs and Hezbollah.

Fat Mike is so blunt and thug primitive
that THIS knee jerk response is what is happening EVERYWHERE in his wake...
Europe, Latin Am, Asia and most certainly the ME.
Governments planetwide are RUNNING to Russia for protection, trade and defensive technology.
Good job Mike. Keep up the good work.

Venezuela crisis: Maduro calls for million more militia members
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-47925324

[goldenequity]

oops

[AZJoe]

50+ Retired Generals and Diplomats Urge the United States to Reenter Iran Deal
by The American College of National Security Leaders
The United States should rejoin the Iran nuclear deal. …
Reasons for re-entry:
Iran is complying with the agreement. ...
Under the JCPOA regulations, Iran’s ... is subject to unprecedented international monitoring.
Our European allies are firmly committed to the agreement. ...

This statement was organized by The American College of National Security Leaders.
Rear Admiral Sandy Adams, USN (Retired)
Brigadier General Clara Adams-Ender, USA (Retired)
Brigadier General Ricardo Aponte, USAF (Retired)
Vice Admiral Don Arthur, USN (Retired)
Rear Admiral Jamie Barnett, USN (Retired)
Brigadier General Donald C. Bolduc, USA (Retired)
Ambassador Susan Burk, Retired
Brigadier General Stephen A. Cheney, USMC (Retired)
Rear Admiral Christopher Cole, USN (Retired)
Major General Peter S Cooke, USA (Retired)
Vice Admiral Dirk Debbink, USN (Retired)
Brigadier General James H. Doty Jr., USA (Retired)
Major General Paul Eaton, USA (Retired)
Major General Mari K Eder, USA (Retired)
Brigadier General Robert Felderman, USA (Retired)
Vice Admiral Michael Franken, USN (Retired)
Lieutenant General Walter Gaskin, USMC (Retired)
Rear Admiral Stephen Glass, JAGC, USN (Retired)
Ambassador Thomas Graham, Retired
Vice Admiral Kevin P. Green, USN (Retired)
Major General Richard S. Haddad, USAF (Retired)
Major General Bob Harding, USA (Retired)
Ambassador William Harrop, Retired
Brigadier General Don Harvel, USAF (Retired)
Major General Sanford E. Holman, USA (Retired)
Ambassador Richard Holwill, Retired
Ambassador Vicki Huddleston, Retired
Brigadier General David R. Irvine, USA (Retired)
Lieutenant General Arlen D. Jameson, USAF (Retired)
Lieutenant General Claudia Kennedy, USA (Retired)
Ambassador Laura Kennedy, Retired
Ambassador Patrick Kennedy, Retired
Ambassador Jimmy Kolker, Retired
Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer, Retired
Major General Dennis Laich, USA (Retired)
Major General Steven J. Lepper, USAF (Retired)
Major General Randy Manner, USA (Retired)
Ambassador Edward Marks, Retired
Brigadier General Carlos E. Martinez, USAF (Retired)
Brigadier General J. Scott O'Meara, USMC (Retired)
Rear Admiral David Oliver, USN (Retired)
Major General Gale S. Pollock, USA(Retired)
Rear Admiral Harold Robinson, USN (Retired)
Brigadier General John M. Schuster, USA (Retired)
Rear Admiral Michael E. Smith, USN (Retired)
Brigadier General Paul Gregory Smith, USA (Retired)
Brigadier General Francis X. Taylor, USAF (Retired)
Ambassador Edward Walker, Retired
Lieutenant General Willie Williams, USMC (Retired)
Major General Margaret C. Wilmoth, USA (Retired)
General Johnnie Wilson, USA (Retired)
Brigadier General Stephen N. Xenakis, M.D., USA (Retired)
Major General David T. Zabecki, USA (Retired)

[goldenequity]

https://twitter.com/leithfadel/statu...73050347986946


**another accnt bites the dust.

[goldenequity]

https://twitter.com/fresh_sadegh/sta...66929571221505

[RonZeplin]

Iran's Parliament Passes Vote Declaring US Central Command A "Terror Organization"

Following Monday's formal US listing of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, or FTO, Iran was quick to hit back as previously promised.
Iranian lawmakers voted Tuesday to in turn list US Central Command, or CENTCOM, as a terrorist organization, which means that any support given CENTCOM will be treated as an act of terrorism. It essentially means all American troops in the Middle East will be treated as terrorists, according to the newly passed law.


Iran parliament, via Iran Daily/ICANA
“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s government and Armed Forces are required to adopt preventive actions and preemptive defensive measures whenever necessary, to deter any hostile US forces’ use of any possibilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran’s interests,” the bill states, according to Fars news.

It passed with a near unanimous vote in parliament, taking effect immediately, and includes 13-article legislation which mandates the armed forces to gather intelligence about CENTCOM activities. Such material could be used to prosecute either individuals or foreigners giving any level of assistance to the US military in the Middle East.

CENTCOM covers the Middle East and Central Asia, and coordinates command of all US armed forces in places like Afghanistan and Iraq — both of which hold major potential for clashing up against Iranian forces or proxies, especially true of Iraq.

Iran's Defense Minister Amir Hatami said this week that Washington's moving forward with the FTO designation of the IRGC is proof that sanctions on Tehran were failing.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-...r-organization

[goldenequity]

https://twitter.com/PressTV/status/1119292782437253121

--------

250 people from Google & IT firms moved to federal government

More than 250 people have moved from Google and related firms to the federal government or vice versa since President Barack Obama took office. The Google Transparency Project, the work of Campaign for Accountability, poured over reams of data to find 258 instances of “revolving door activity” between Google or its associated companies and the federal government, national political campaigns and Congress since 2009.

Much of that revolving door activity took place at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, where 22 former White House officials went to work for Google and 31 executives from Google and related firms went to work at the White House or were appointed to federal advisory boards by Obama. Those boards include the President’s Council on Science and Technology and the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.

Regulation watchdogs may be just as keen about the moves between Google and the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission. Those government bodies regulate many of the programs that are at the heart of Google’s business, and there have been at least 15 moves between Google and its lobbying firms and those commissions.

The research also shows that 25 officials in national security, intelligence or the Department of Defense joined Google, and three Google executives went to work for the DOD.

the link:
https://www.watchdog.org/265844/goog...revolving-door
no longer exists!

[AZJoe]

Trump Hits Iranians With New Sanctions for Evading Existing Sanctions

On Tuesday, the Treasury Department announced new sanctions against what they described as a “vast network” of Iranians defying existing sanctions ...

[devil21]

Rhetoric is ratcheting up. Are they really going to try to start a war with Iran? When's the FF?


Iran threatens to close Strait over sanctions

https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-t...ction-waivers/

--------------------

Any move by Iran to close Strait "unacceptable", says random anonymous administration official (probably Bolton)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKCN1RY17Y

[Swordsmyth]

A new report in Wired magazine details how Iran has been target of a "Shadow Brokers-style" hack campaign which seeks to expose methods, names, and activities behind an elite cyber-espionage team linked to Iran's Ministry of Intelligence.
The Shadow Brokers leaks from 2016 famously targeted the National Security Agency, dumping tools used by the agency online, and later resulted some of the most devastating cyberattacks in history such as the NotPetya and Wannacry attacks, which devastated networks all over the world. Now it appears it's Iran's turn to be targeted by a powerful mystery group doxing Iran's foremost hacking team.

The leaks have been ongoing for the past month, as Wired reports:

Since March 25, a Telegram channel called Read My Lips or Lab Dookhtegan—which translates from Farsi as "sewn lips"—has been systematically spilling the secrets of a hacker group known as APT34 or OilRig, which researchers have long believed to be working in service of the Iranian government. So far, the leaker or leakers have published a collection of the hackers' tools, evidence of their intrusion points for 66 victim organizations across the world, the IP addresses of servers used by Iranian intelligence, and even the identities and photographs of alleged hackers working with the OilRig group.

The motive appears political in nature, given that along with the Iranian hackers' code being dumped online, the mystery agent behind the leaks posted the following message to Telegram in late March: "We are exposing here the cyber tools (APT34 / OILRIG) that the ruthless Iranian Ministry of Intelligence has been using against Iran's neighboring countries, including names of the cruel managers, and information about the activities and the goals of these cyber-attacks."
And further, the initial message ended with, "We hope that other Iranian citizens will act for exposing this regime's real ugly face!"
OilRig has long been seen by researchers as an arm of the the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence, active for several years against a number of Middle East and international companies and organizations, and often often starts by executing intrusions against organizations in the supply chain of a larger target.

Whoever is dumping Iran’s cyber-tools is deliberately excising core elements of the code so others can’t easily repurpose them for nefarious reasons (unlike The Shadow Brokers) �� https://t.co/K1Ie3gxR4p
— Aki Peritz (@AkiPeritz) April 19, 2019

According to the Wired report the leaks have continued up through late last week, with signs that they are to continue:

As of Thursday morning, the Read My Lips leakers continued to post names, photos, and even contact details of alleged OilRig members to Telegram, though WIRED couldn't confirm that any of the identified men were actually connected to the Iranian hacker group. "From now on, we will expose every few days the personal information of one of the cursed staff and secret information from the vicious Ministry of Intelligence so to destroy this betraying ministry," a message posted by the leakers on Thursday read.

A private cybersecurity research firm cited in the report has confirmed that at least some of the hacking tools released in the mystery attacks and code dumps match OilRig's hacking tools, and have identified victim companies that have been known to have been targeted by Iranian intelligence in the past.
It further appears a major and "embarrassing" setback for Iranian cyberintelligence, given further that "the Read My Lips leaker also claims to have wiped the contents of Iranian intelligence servers and posted screenshots of the message it says it left behind, like the one shown below," according to the report.
Screenshot of message left by mystery hackers targeting Iranian intelligence, via Wired:

"We have more secret information about the crimes of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and its managers," a message from the mystery agent posted last week promises. "We are determined to continue to expose them. Follow us and share!"
A number of online commentators have speculated that it could be US or Israeli intelligence conducting the current cyberattacks on the Iranian group, while under the guise of a Shadow Brokers-style independent hacker group.


https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-...ack-and-doxing

[Swordsmyth]

Iranian-Indian relations might be about to enter their worst-ever period in modern history as a result of two very important and uncoordinated moves undertaken at almost the exact same time by the American and Pakistani leaders. PM Khan just paid his first visit to Iran where he and his hosts announced that they’ll enter into a new era of anti-terrorist cooperation that geopolitical analyst Adam Garrie comprehensively analyzed in his recent piece on this breaking news event. The ball was indeed in Iran’s court to stop India’s anti-Pakistani Baloch terrorism like I wrote the other day, and to Tehran’s credit, its leadership finally understood this and decided to expand its military partnership with the global pivot state of Pakistan. This will greatly complicate India’s Hybrid War capabilities in clandestinely using Iranian territory to carry out terrorist attacks against Pakistan by proxy as it obsessively seeks to sabotage CPEC, meaning that PM Khan’s visit will have far-reaching and long-term geostrategic security consequences in the New Cold War.

In parallel with this, Trump decided that the US won’t renew its Iranian oil sanctions waivers and that Washington’s GCC partners of Saudi Arabia and the UAE will help the Islamic Republic’s energy customers replace their imports with Gulf resources instead. India was very vocal last year about its intent to defy the US’ unilateral sanctions against Iran, but as I wrote in my piece at the time about the “Indian Illusion“, all of this was just rhetoric to hide the fact that New Delhi was quietly implementing its new American patron’s will. Trump just put Modi on the spot, however, and it might augur negatively for the Indian leader during the ongoing month-long electoral process if he publicly capitulates to the US’ demands and replaces Iranian resources with Gulf ones like I suspected he’s been planning to do since late last year after his summit in Argentina with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. As such, this American move might also be yet another “bad cop” tactic against Modi to get more strategic concessions out of India.
It therefore wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Trump and PM Khan might have just ruined Iranian-Indian relations for good when considering the combined effect of their latest moves to that relationship. The Pakistani leader exposed India’s Hybrid War terrorist plot during his talks with the Iranian leadership which probably explains why the two neighboring nations decided to take their military cooperation with one another to the next level, while the American leader is forcing India to stop importing Iranian oil under the threat of potentially crippling “secondary sanctions” and to replace its resources with those from the Islamic Republic’s hated GCC foes.

More at: https://www.globalresearch.ca/trump-...ations/5675276