Middle East tensions ratchet up: 73 dead as blasts rock ceremony for slain Iran general January 3, 2024 Explosions at an event honouring a prominent Iranian general who died in a US air strike in 2020 have killed at least 73 people and injured 170 others, state-run media in Iran reported on Wednesday. A senior official called the blasts a “terroristic” attack, without elaborating on who could be behind them, amid wider tensions [...]
British merchant ship struck by missile in Red Sea attack December 4, 2023 A British-owned ship has been hit by a missile in the Red Sea as part of an assault by Iranian-backed rebels, the US military said.
Gaza war: Joe Biden lands in Israel and says hospital blast was ‘done by the other team’ October 18, 2023 US President Joe Biden began his visit to Israel and claimed the deadly explosion at a Gaza Strip hospital appears to have been carried out “by the other team” – not the Israeli military. Biden arrived in Tel Aviv on Wednesday vowing to show the world the US stands in solidarity with the Jewish people [...]
Foreign Office staff told not to say ‘hostile state’ for fear of upsetting China August 21, 2023 Government officials have reportedly been told not to use the term “hostile state” by the Foreign Office in case it upsets China. The term cannot be used in documents and internal messages via email and WhatsApp between advisers, civil servants and ministers, The Times reported today. One official in another department was reportedly told by [...]
Exclusive: IOC could ban Iran from Olympics over human rights abuses August 7, 2023 The International Olympic Committee (IOC) stands ready to ban Iranian athletes from competing at next year’s Olympic Games in Paris if human rights abuses in the country continue, City A.M. understands. With tensions in the nation between protestors and both the government and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, athletes have been targeted by the regime. Former [...]
Hackers from Iran and Russia have ‘ruthlessly’ hit British journalists and politicians, GCHQ’s cyber centre warns January 26, 2023 Officials warn Iranian and Russian hackers have been “ruthlessly” trying to steal sensitive information from British journalists and politicians. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), part of GCHQ, issued a fresh alert on increased hacking attempts directed at individuals and groups, though not at members of the public. “The Russia-based SEABORGIUM (Callisto Group/TA446/COLDRIVER/TAG-53) and Iran-based [...]
Iran executions condemned by Cleverly amid Tehran crackdown on Mesa Amini protests January 7, 2023 Britain has condemned Iran’s execution of two men connected to nationwide protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini as “abhorrent”. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly urged Tehran to “end the violence against its own people”, with four men known to have been executed since demonstrations began in September. Iran’s judiciary said Mohammad Karami and Mohammad [...]
Ukraine shoots down wave of Moscow’s Iranian-made exploding Kamikaze drones January 2, 2023 Russia has deployed exploding drones in another night-time attack on Ukraine, officials said, as the Kremlin pressed its strategy of targeting civilian infrastructure to wear down resistance to its invasion. The barrage was the latest in a series of relentless year-end attacks, including one that killed three civilians on New Year’s Eve. According to the [...]
Labour calls for new sanctions on Iran over ‘repression’ of Amini protests December 28, 2022 Britain’s Labour Party has called for new sanctions to be imposed on those engaged in suppressing protests in Iran. The UK’s shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, called for new “sanctions against individuals and organisations involved in the suppression” of the protests that have swept Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini in September. Amini, a [...]
Hostage-taking by Iran has become ‘industrialised’, senior MP tells Nazanin Zachari-Ratcliffe December 28, 2022 Hostage-taking by states has become “industrialised”, according to the chairwoman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee. Conservative MP Alicia Kearns made the claim as she appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme as it was guest-edited by Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was imprisoned in Iran for six years until her release earlier this year. Zaghari-Ratcliffe also [...]