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Report: Hizbullah Fighters Carrying Out Raids in Syria   5.17.12 

Free Syrian Army (FSA) sources said Tuesday that 20 Hizbullah kill-squads, numbering around 200 fighters, had raided several villages in the al-Qasir region, including Al-Safsafah, Al-Masriyah, Al-Sawadiyah, Mutribah, and Zaytah. >> MORE

Iran to expand 20-pc uranium enrichment at Fordo with new centrifuges    5.17.12  

New cascades of centrifuges are being installed at Iran's Fordo nuclear underground facility raising the total to 3,000 machines. >> MORE

Iran Nuclear Output Seen Steady before Baghdad Talks   5.17.12 

Getting Iran to stop higher-level uranium enrichment is expected to be a priority for world powers when they meet with Iran in Baghdad next week. >> MORE

Iran Flouts UN Sanctions, Sends Arms to Syria   5.17.12 

Syria remains the top destination for Iranian arms shipments in violation of a UN Security Council ban on weapons exports by Iran, according to a confidential report by a panel of sanctions-monitoring experts to the Security Council's Iran sanctions committee. >> MORE

Iran drills first large-scale paratroop drops for offensive action    5.17.12

Special operations units of the Iranian army and Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Tuesday, May 14, began a two-day practice of offensive tactics, for the first time dropping large-scale forces from the air deep behind enemy lines. >> MORE

Syrian Rebels Get Arms with Gulf Money, U.S. Coordination   5.16.12

Syrian rebels battling the regime of President Bashar al-Assad have begun receiving significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks including antitank weaponry, an effort paid for by Persian Gulf nations and coordinated in part by the U.S., according to opposition activists and U.S. and foreign officials. >> MORE

Iran's Foreign Minister Was Involved in Clandestine Nuclear Program   5.16.12

Communications from the 1990s suggest Iran's current foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, had knowledge of a program to procure goods for a clandestine nuclear program, U.S. nuclear expert David Albright, founder of the Institute for Science and International Security, said Tuesday. >> MORE

Iranian Oil Sales Stymied by Sanctions   5.16.12 

Tighter sanctions have paralyzed Iran's tanker fleet, forcing more than half of the country's vessels to lie idle in the Gulf because of an absence of buyers for their oil. >> MORE

Arafat Aide Suspected of Stealing Millions   5.16.12  

Mohammed Rashid, the shadowy financial adviser of the late Yasser Arafat, is being sought on suspicion he stole millions of dollars in public funds, the chief of the PA's Anti-Corruption Commission, Rafik Natche, said Wednesday. >> MORE

UN Nuclear Agency to Push Iran on Military Site Access   5.15.12  

The UN nuclear watchdog signaled on Monday it would press Iran for access to a military installation where it suspects Iran has built a chamber for high-explosive tests that could serve to develop atomic bombs. Iran has so far resisted requests by the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit the Parchin complex southeast of Tehran. >> MORE

U.S. to Lift Ban on Iran Exile Group   5.15.12  

The Obama administration is moving to remove the Iranian opposition group Mujahedin-e Khalq (MeK) from the State Department's terrorism list. >> MORE

U.S.: Syrian Military Violating Ceasefire, Attacking Aid Workers   5.15.12 

USAID reported in detail at the end of April on the extensive attacks perpetrated by Syrian government troops (SARG) in direct violation of the "cease-fire" there. >> MORE

Iran Sees Success in Stalling on Nuclear Issue   5.15.12 

As Iran starts a critical round of talks over its nuclear program, its negotiating team may be less interested in reaching a comprehensive settlement than in buying time and establishing the legitimacy of its enrichment program, Iranian officials and analysts said. >> MORE

Iran executes man convicted of spying for Israel   5.15.12 

Iran executed a man convicted of spying for Israel and of assassinating an Iranian nuclear scientist. >> MORE

Haredi Orthodox burn Israeli flag in Antwerp   5.15.12

Dozens of haredi Orthodox schoolchildren participated in a Lag b'Omer bonfire in Antwerp that featured the burning of an Israeli flag. >> MORE

Greek gov't, Jews slam Golden Dawn chief for Holocaust denial   5.15.12

The Greek government and Jewish community condemned the leader of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn Party after he denied there were gas chambers or ovens at Nazi death camps. >> MORE

Cuban official: Cuba is ready to negotiate status of Alan Gross   5.15.12

Authorities in Cuba are ready to negotiate the status of jailed American Alan Gross, a senior Cuban official said. >> MORE

Syrian Businessmen Defecting from Assad's Regime   5.14.12 

Assad is today witnessing an increasing number of businessmen defecting from the regime; a phenomenon that did not receive the same media coverage given to the defections from the Assad regime's army. >> MORE

New proof of Iran nuclear arms program no surprise to Israel   5.14.12

The Associated Press at the weekend published a graphical rendering of what appears to be a pressure chamber used to test nuclear weapons. >> MORE

Iran, the Next Cyberthreat   5.14.12  

In recent months, Iran has launched an ambitious $1 billion governmental program to boost its national cybercapabilities. That effort reportedly includes the acquisition of new technologies, major investments in cyberdefense and the creation of a new cadre of cyber experts. >> MORE

Iran Funding Yemeni Separatist Conference in Beirut   5.14.12  

A Yemeni official informed Asharq Al-Awsat that Yemeni authorities have banned a number of MPs and officials from traveling to Beirut to attend the Yemeni opposition summit there which is being financed by Iran under the supervision of Hizbullah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp [IRGC]. >> MORE

US drone strike kills 5 militants in Yemen, residents say   5.12.12 

An apparent US drone attack killed at least five al-Qaida-linked militants in south Yemen on Saturday while Yemeni government forces killed 15 others in a new offensive against insurgents, officials and residents said. >> MORE

Ahmadinejad slams neighbors for buying arms from West   5.12.12  

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday criticized regional governments for purchasing arms from "arrogant powers," an apparent reference to the US and its western allies, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported. >> MORE

Saudi Clerics Use Social Media to Spread Hate   5.11.12 

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies has released "Facebook Fatwa," the first-ever study of what radical Saudi Wahhabists are preaching to their followers about the U.S. and non-Muslims on social media sites. >> MORE

Mexican Jihad   5.11.12 

Mexico has been targeted by Islamists and jihadists who, through a number of tactics - from engaging in da'wa, converting Mexicans to Islam, to smuggling and the drug cartel, to simple extortion, kidnappings and enslavement - have been subverting Mexico in order to empower Islam and sabotage the U.S. >> MORE

Iran Seeks a Lifting of Sanctions in Upcoming Talks   5.11.12  

A senior Iranian figure stated that Iran's "minimum expectation" for the upcoming negotiations on May 23 was a lifting of some sanctions. >> MORE

Egypt Seizes Arms Convoy Headed to Sinai   5.11.12  

Egyptian security forces intercepted three trucks carrying weapons en route to Sinai, Ynet learned Thursday. The arms shipment, which included surface-to-surface and anti-tank missiles, as well as RPG rockets, originated from Libya. >> MORE

Between Calm and Chaos   5.11.12 

Huge dramas continue to roll across the Middle East. This week, too, the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad continued to kill civilians and opposition activists who are trying to drive out the regime. >> MORE

Multinational force massed on Jordanian-Syrian border as 50 killed in Damascus bombings   5.11.12

Beset on two fronts, Bashar Assad rushed his elite Presidential Guard Division to Damascus Thursday, May 10, as two massive car bombs in the al Qaza district of Damascus demolished the command center of the Syrian military security service's reconnaissance division, killing 55 people and injuring more than 300. >> MORE