“Iran mulls moving capital to ‘lost paradise’ on southern coast,” Yahoo, 2-18-25.
“Sa’ar tells US delegation Turkey cooperating with Iran to smuggle money to Hezbollah,” Times of Israel, 2-17-25.
Oh my goodness. They have now lost weeks, months, perhaps years of their life simply because they wanted to test Iran. So unwise. Quotes from the article about Craig and Lindsay Foreman: “The UK government advises against all but essential travel to these areas, and the news paints a pretty grim picture,” they posted on Facebook on Dec. 30. “We want to find out for ourselves. That is why we are here.” … The post included two images side-by-side: one of the Foreign Office’s orange and yellow map of Iran, advising British citizens not to travel to Iran, and another of a photo of the green lawns of a mosque, an image whose location was pinned to Norduz, near Iran’s border with Armenia.” See “British Couple on World Motorcycle Tour Is Detained in Iran,” NYT, 2-15-25.
“Students in Iran continue protests over 19-year-old’s murder on campus for second day,” Fox, 2-15-25.
“Iran’s abandoned bases in Syria: Years of military expansion lie in ruins,” BBC, 2-15-25.
“Iran is rearming; is China covertly resupplying them? – report,” JPost, 2-15-25.
What they say about Turkey. “The Turkish media’s role in shaping perceptions of Iran’s regional strategy,” Tehran Times, 2-15-25.
Iran has to strike back somehow, so it uses Hezbollah. “UNIFIL official wounded by Hezbollah supporters,” i24, 2-14-25. Hezbollah-linked agitators have been blocking the road to the airport and other roads in the capital to protest a decision by Lebanese authorities to revoke permission for a plane from Iran to fly to Beirut on Thursday. The decision to ban the Iranian plane came after the Israel issued a statement that Iran was smuggling cash to its proxy Hezbollah via civilian flights.
Happy Valentine’s Day. “IAEA chief says time running out to reach Iran nuclear deal,” Reuters, 2-14-25.
Notice how Al Jazeera takes sides when compared to how the other media are covering this story. Lebanon decides, not Israel. And Lebanon has decided (after years) to finally take a stand. “Iran accuses Israel of disrupting Lebanon flights amid rising tensions,” Al Jazeera, 2-14-25.
Keep in mind that this is not a situation of simply Israel making allegations. Lebanon would only stop flights if it is actually finding the cash. “Lebanon bars Iran airlines after Israel alleges Hezbollah cash smuggling,” Iran International, 2-13-25. Notice this quote also. “Iranian envoys have been flying into Beirut from Tehran with suitcases stuffed with US dollars to finance Hezbollah’s operations. Additionally, Israel has reported that Turkish nationals have been used as couriers to transport funds from Istanbul to Beirut, the report said.”
“Iran is rearming its missile program and a ship of supplies just arrived from China, Western sources say,” CNN, 2-13-25.
Uh oh, not looking good. More hostages. “Two British nationals in custody in Iran on ‘security charges’, state media reports,” Reuters, 2-12-25.
“Iran Update, February 11, 2025,” Institute for the Study of War, 2-11-25.
Give praise when warranted, even to the Supreme Leader, because here (they shouldn’t have been prosecuted) a full pardon was deserved. “Iran pardons journalists who reported woman’s death that triggered unrest,” Reuters, 2-11-25.
Mehr’s version. “Iran orbited ten satellites in past years,” Mehr, 2-11-25.
“Iran’s Dangerous Push To Become An AI Superpower,” MEMRI, 2-11-25. “According to findings released by Google on January 29, 2025, Iranian groups are using the company’s Gemini AI chatbot for researching defense organizations to target with hacking attempts, to generate content in English, Hebrew, and Farsi to be used in phishing campaigns, and other purposes. For Iran, AI is an inexpensive path to power. It is already using it for cyberattacks and influence operations abroad, and to upgrade its drones and ballistic missiles, deploy swarms of unmanned watercraft, surveil and repress its citizens, and control its borders. Alarmingly, it could now be exploring AI’s potential nuclear applications. … The most dangerous potential of Iranian mastery of AI is for military uses and nuclear weapons technology. Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said in January 2021 that the organization was striving to use the quantum technology it had been developing since 2016 for AI.”
“Iran Sends Warning To Donald Trump,” Newsweek, 2-10-25. Here are the two quotes to pay attention to, as a revolution is still what the Regime wants. This blog continually points this out—Will Iran be a normal country or will it be a revolution? “President Masoud Pezeshkian directly challenged Trump’s policies, accusing the U.S. of hypocrisy. “Trump says he wants dialogue, but in the same breath signs and announces every possible plot to bring the revolution to its knees,” he stated. … Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking in the city of Hamadan, reinforced Iran’s stance on sovereignty. “The Islamic Revolution was meant to ensure that no foreigner would dare dictate terms to the Iranian people and leadership.””
“After Assad’s fall, Iran hopes to creep back through Syria’s back door,” Al Monitor, 2-10-25.
“The Current Situation in Iran: A USIP Fact Sheet,” USIP, 2-10-25.
“Trump’s team worried Iranian spy would shoot down his plane with a missile after told of threat: book,” Independent, 2-9-25. See also “Iranian threat on Trump’s life was more serious than publicly known, book excerpt reveals,” JPost, 2-9-25. “[S]ecurity officials warned Trump that Tehran had access to surface-to-air missiles, and they were worried Iran would try to crash his private jet.” There are ways to get Iran to quit trying to kill American leaders.
I imagine the are not staying at the same accommodations where Ismail Haniyeh stayed last July. I also imagine they are not staying at the Supreme Leader’s house. “Iran leader Khamenei meets top Hamas leaders in Tehran, state TV says,” Reuters, 2-8-25.
There are so many dissidents and persons who have left Iran over the years. “Emboldened by Trump, Iranian dissidents demand overthrow of rulers,” Reuters, 2-8-25.
This is the most important news of the day, but with a twist. First, it is declaration, again, that the government of Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon(s). Second, as this blog has regularly pointed out, is a reminder there was never a fatwa by the Grand Ayatollah, either one, that Iran religiously disavowed nuclear weapons. It is a fiction that there is such a fatwa. They’ve never shown it, produced it, said where the document is stored, etc. They do not store fatwas with official numbers like a U.S. presidential executive order, and then you can read the thing. No, fatwas are on a shelf and are generally known and read. But here, Ali Hosseini Khamenei says he has issued a fatwa, but no one has ever seen it, including those in his closest circles. It is a fiction the IRI produced several years ago to make the world believe that Shia Islam would never possess such a weapon. See “Revoke fatwa against nuclear weapons, Iranian commanders tell Ayatollah,” Telegraph, 2-8-25.
“Iran currency plunges to record lows amid escalating U.S. tensions,” Reuters, 2-8-25.