Notice again that the NYT is rewarded with carrying the Administration’s messages about Iran, and that this time there was one anonymous source in the U.S. government. One source is a violation of journalism ethics, and that it is secret makes it untraceable. Apparently the Biden administration and the NYT wanted this story out these so quickly to help Iran that we have relaxed media standards. “Israel notifies US it attacked Iranian ship in Red Sea – report,” Tzvi Joffre, Jerusalem Post, April 7, 2021.
“Iran ship said to be Red Sea troop base off Yemen attacked,” Jon Gambrell, Yahoo, April 7, 2021.
Marib. “Battle for Yemen desert city now a key to Iran, US tension,” Jon Gambrell and Isabel Debre, AP, April 7, 2021.
“The deal that the Obama team negotiated was fundamentally flawed if the goal was to restrain Iran. It enabled hundreds of billions of dollars to flow to Iran up front, while allowing the regime to continue work on ballistic missiles and to maintain a “civilian” nuclear program. In a frenzy to get Iran to agree to restrictions on uranium enrichment, negotiators did not address Iran’s sponsorship of international terrorism. And yet, a sunset clause allowed restrictions on enriching uranium to start to phase out over ten to 15 years. Even if Iran were to have followed the agreement to the letter, it would still have been allowed to become a more potent conventional threat and carry out terrorism while maintaining the long-term option of becoming a nuclear power. Of course, it has repeatedly violated the deal anyway, maintaining a nuclear archive the whole time. More recently, in February, the International Atomic Energy Agency announced that Iran had produced uranium metal at one of its nuclear plants.” “Iran Has a Reason to Be Happy with Biden,” National Review, April 7, 2021.
“Will Iran’s Infamous 25-Year Contract With China Become Operational?,” Sia Rajabi, Iran Focus, April 7, 2021.
This is significant (the story about former IRGC commander Saeed Mohammad) because of the issue of Iran becoming a military dictatorship, not even a theocracy. The tightening control of the IRGC (directed to do so by the ayatollahs) for years is leading to the country not just looking like organized crime but organized military crime—like Venezuela and Cuba. See “Iran: Ex-IRGC official’s election bid stirs controversy,” Syed Zafar Mehdi, AA, April 7, 2021.
“In Soleimani’s path, Iran’s IRGC is in Iraq for meetings,” Seth Frantzman, Jerusalem Post, April 7, 2021.
“Iran has produced 55 kg of 20% enriched uranium since January: official,” Reuters, April 7, 2021.
“The window for an Iran missile deal is already closing,” John Krzyzaniak, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, April 7, 2021.