Iran - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

By JEFF MASON, AHMED RASHEED and SAMIA NAKHOUL

Iran says it gave warning before attacking Israel. US says that’s not true

TURKISH, Jordanian and Iraqi officials said that Iran gave wide notice days before its drone and missile attack on Israel, but U.S. officials said Tehran did not warn Washington and that it was aiming to cause significant damage. Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles on Saturday in a retaliatory strike after a suspected Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria. Most of the drones and missiles were downed before reaching Israeli territory, though a young girl was critically injured and there were widespread concerns of further escalation. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Sunday that Iran gave neighbouring…

Apr

2024

By NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI

Iran’s attack on Israel stirs admiration among Gaza Palestinians

WORLD

IRAN'S attack on Israel drew applause from many Palestinians in Gaza as rare payback for the Israeli offensive on their enclave, although some said they suspected Tehran had staged the assault more for show than to inflict real damage. "For the first time, we saw some rockets that didn’t land in our areas. These rockets were going into the occupied Palestine,” said Abu Abdallah, referring to land that became Israel in 1948 rather than the occupied West Bank and Gaza. “We are hopeful that if Iran or any other country enters the war a solution for Gaza might be nearer than ever. The Americans may…

Mar

2024

By PHIL STEWART

US warned Niger about ties to Russia, Iran before junta revoked accord, Pentagon says

NEWS

U.S. officials travelled to Niger last week to express concerns about the country's potential development of ties to Russia and Iran before the ruling junta revoked an accord governing the roughly 1,000 U.S. military personnel there, the Pentagon said. The Pentagon added it was seeking clarification about the way ahead. Niger said on Saturday it had revoked "with immediate effect" its military accord with the United States that had allowed Pentagon personnel to operate on its soil. Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said the U.S. government had "direct and frank" conversations in Niger ahead of the junta's announcement, and was continuing…

Mar

2024

By The African Mirror

Key facts about Iran’s elections on Friday

WORLD

IRANIANS will vote in a parliamentary election on March 1 seen as a litmus test of the clerical establishment's popularity amid growing discontent over economic, political and social strains. Iran's clerical rulers are seeking a big turnout to shore up their legitimacy, damaged following months of mass protests ignited by the death in custody of a young woman in 2022. On the same day as the parliamentary vote, Iran holds elections to pick 88 members of a powerful clerical body known as the Assembly of Experts, which is tasked with appointing or dismissing the supreme leader. Following are some facts about Iran's election process:…

Feb

2024

By The African Mirror

Man guns down 12 relatives in Iran, state media say

WORLD

A 30-year-old man killed 12 relatives, including his father and brother in Iran, official media reported, in a rare mass shooting in the country. They said the man, who was not identified, used a Kalashnikov assault rifle and was later shot and killed by security forces in the south-central province of Kerman. They said the cause of the shooting, in a remote rural village, was a family dispute. They did not elaborate. Mass killings are rare in Iran, where hunting rifles are the only weapons people are allowed to possess. Two years ago, a dismissed employee of a state institution…

Feb

2024

By The African Mirror

Iran won’t start a war but will respond to bullies, says president

WORLD

IRAN will not start a war but would "respond strongly" to anyone who tried to bully it, President Ebrahim Raisi said, a day after the U.S. said it was planning attacks on Iranian sites in Iraq and Syria. There has been mounting speculation this week about how Washington might retaliate after three U.S. soldiers were killed last Saturday in a strike on their base in Jordan by an Iranian-backed group. CBS News, citing U.S. officials, reported on Thursday that the United States had approved plans for multi-day strikes in Iraq and Syria against multiple targets, including Iranian personnel and facilities in those…

Jan

2024

By IDREES ALI and PHIL STEWART

Pentagon says it is not seeking war with Iran after Jordan attack

WORLD

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin vowed the U.S. would take "all necessary actions" to defend its troops after a deadly drone attack in Jordan by Iran-backed militants, even as President Joe Biden's administration stressed it was not seeking a war with Iran. The attack on Sunday killed three U.S. soldiers and wounded more than 40 troops. It was the first deadly strike against U.S. troops since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October and marks a major escalation in tensions that have engulfed the Middle East. "Let me start with my outrage and sorrow (for) the deaths of three brave U.S. troops in…

Jan

2024

By ASIF SHAHZAD and GIBRAN NAIYYAR PESHIMAM

Pakistan fires retaliatory strike at Iran, stoking regional tension

WORLD

PAKISTAN said it used rockets and drones to strike separatist Baloch militants inside Iran, in a retaliatory strike two days after Tehran said it attacked the bases of another group within Pakistani territory. Iranian media said several missiles hit a village in the Sistan-Baluchestan province that borders Pakistan, killing at least nine people, including four children. The neighbours have had rocky ties in the past, but the strikes are the highest-profile cross-border intrusions in recent years and come amid growing worries about instability in the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted on October 7. "A number of terrorists…

Jan

2024

By GIBRAN NAIYYAR PESHIMAM

Pakistan says Iran violated airspace, killing two children

NEWS

PAKISTAN said neighbouring Iran has violated its airspace resulting in the death of two children, hours after Iranian state media said missiles targeted two bases of militant group Jaish al Adl. Islamabad warned that the incident could have "serious consequences" and was "completely unacceptable" in a statement released by Pakistan's foreign office spokesperson in the early hours of Wednesday. Iran’s foreign ministry was not immediately available for comment. On Monday, Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards attacked targets in Iraq and Syria with missiles. Jaish al Adl has previously mounted attacks on Iranian security forces in the border area with Pakistan. "These bases were…

Jan

2024

By PARISA HAFEZI and TIMOUR AZHARI

Iran says Revolutionary Guards attack Israel’s ‘spy HQ’ in Iraq, vow more revenge

WORLD

IRAN'S Revolutionary Guards said they attacked the spy headquarters of Israel in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, state media reported late, while the elite force said they also struck in Syria against the Islamic State. The strikes come amid concerns about the escalation of a conflict that has spread through the Middle East since the war between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas began on October 7, with Iran's allies also entering the fray from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. "In response to the recent atrocities of the Zionist regime, causing the killing of commanders of the Guards and the Axis of Resistance…