Latest news with #PersianGulf
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iran's Supreme Leader spends his days sleeping and getting high, Mossad-linked account says
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spends all day sleeping and using drugs while most of the country lacks access to clean water and electricity, according to a social media account linked to Israel's national intelligence agency. "How can a leader lead when they sleep half the day and spend the other half high on substances?" the Mossad's Farsi account wrote Friday on X. "Water, electricity, life!" "Consuming drugs and conversing with spirits are not desirable traits for someone leading a country," the account wrote on July 9. The post came from a new X account with a premium subscription created last month, claiming to be the official Mossad spokesperson in Farsi — the official language of Iran — though the Israeli intelligence agency has not officially confirmed the account's affiliation. Europeans Meet With Iranian Officials Face-to-face For First Time Since Israel, Us Bombings Began The account has made several posts over the last month about Khamenei's health and the state of Iran, including its lack of clean water, electricity and education. Read On The Fox News App "To everyone contacting us through private messages, for your own security, please ensure you are using a VPN," the account's bio reads. A post on the account addressed the designation of the newly appointed, but officially unnamed, commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, which is the command headquarters of the Iranian Armed Forces. After the Tasnim News Agency, Iran's semi-official news agency associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported that Iran would not reveal the commander's identity for his protection, the Mossad-linked account said it already knew the name and urged Iranians to send in their guesses. 27 Inmates From Notorious Iranian Prison Still At Large After Israeli Strike: Tehran The account responded to the "lucky winner" who guessed the name Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi and told him to "contact us privately to receive your prize." The satirical jabs and provocative claims coming from the account are unlike the way the Mossad usually communicates with the public, but two intelligence experts told JFeed, an Israeli news outlet, that the unusual Mossad-linked account appears to be authentic. "Some of the information it has shared could only have come from Mossad," Beny Sabti, an Iran expert at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies and a former IDF Persian-language officer, told the outlet. Khamenei's alleged drug use has been suggested in the past, with an Iranian academic saying in 2022 that the Iranian Supreme Leader often uses drugs. "Many viewers do not know this, but Khamenei himself uses drugs," Nour Mohamed Omara said on Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated TV in Turkey at the time. "He has a special village in Balochistan, where the drugs used by the leader are produced," the academic added. "This village is run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and no one is allowed in." The Ayatollah publicly declared drug use as "un-Islamic" after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Penalties for drug-related offenses can include article source: Iran's Supreme Leader spends his days sleeping and getting high, Mossad-linked account says Solve the daily Crossword
Reuters
7 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Iran says it warned US destroyer to move away from waters monitored by Tehran
DUBAI, July 23 (Reuters) - Iran warned a U.S. destroyer on Wednesday to change course after it approached waters being monitored by the Islamic Republic, leading the U.S. ship to turn away, Iranian state media reported. The U.S. Navy and U.S. Central Command, which overseas U.S. forces in the Middle East, had no immediate comment on the report. The reported incident follows U.S. strikes last month on Iranian nuclear facilities that Washington says were part of a program geared towards developing nuclear weapons. Tehran maintains that its nuclear programme is for purely civilian purposes. "U.S. destroyer 'Fitzgerald' attempted to approach waters under Iran's monitoring in a provocative move", Iranian state TV said, adding that a Navy helicopter quickly approached the destroyer and issued a stern warning to leave the area. The U.S. destroyer threatened the Iranian helicopter, but moved out of the area upon continued warning, state TV said. Iranian state media identified the vessel in question as "DDG Fitzgerald", adding the Iranian Army contacted the vessel asserting the helicopter was under its protection and asking the ship to change it direction to the south.
Asharq Al-Awsat
7 days ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Iran Says It Warned US Destroyer to Move Away from Waters Monitored by Tehran
Iran warned a US destroyer on Wednesday to change course after it approached waters being monitored by the country, leading the US ship to turn away, Iranian state media reported. The US Navy and U.S. Central Command, which overseas US forces in the Middle East, had no immediate comment on the report. The reported incident follows US strikes last month on Iranian nuclear facilities that Washington says were part of a program geared towards developing nuclear weapons. Tehran maintains that its nuclear program is for purely civilian purposes. "US destroyer 'Fitzgerald' attempted to approach waters under Iran's monitoring in a provocative move", Iranian state TV said, adding that a Navy helicopter quickly approached the destroyer and issued a stern warning to leave the area. The US destroyer threatened the Iranian helicopter, but moved out of the area upon continued warning, state TV said. Iranian state media identified the vessel in question as "DDG Fitzgerald", adding the Iranian Army contacted the vessel asserting the helicopter was under its protection and asking the ship to change it direction to the south.
Reuters
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Iranian lawmaker points to regional insecurity if UN sanctions are reimposed
DUBAI, July 21 (Reuters) - Iran could withhold security commitments if European states invoke a U.N. mechanism to reimpose international sanctions on the Islamic Republic, a member of Iran's parliamentary national security commission said on Monday, according to Borna news. "We have many tools in our disposition. We can withhold our commitment to security in the region, Persian Gulf and Hormuz Strait as well as other maritime areas," Abbas Moqtadaei said in reference to Tehran's potential counter-measures to the reimposition of international sanctions. He was speaking ahead of a meeting on Friday between Iranian deputy foreign ministers and British, French and German diplomats in Istanbul. The three European states, known as E3, have said they would restore international sanctions on Iran by the end of August if the country did not enter productive talks on its nuclear programme with Western powers, notably the United States. E3 countries and Iran have in recent months held inconclusive talks on Tehran's nuclear program, in parallel to indirect nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington. Israel's attack on Iran in June led to the suspension of such talks. "Europe is not in a position to endanger itself in the... Hormuz Strait when it is itself in political, economic and cultural conflicts with Russia, China and even the United States," Moqtadaei said in an interview with Iran's semi-official Borna news agency. Last week, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said Tehran would react to the three European states if they invoked the UN snapback mechanism, which expires on October 18. In a letter to the UN Secretary-General, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday that the E3 lack the legal standing to invoke the mechanism, arguing that their stance on Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities last month made them no longer participants to a 2015 nuclear deal to which the snapback mechanism is linked. The three European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to the nuclear pact - from which the U.S. withdrew in 2018 - that lifted sanctions on Iran in return for restrictions on its nuclear programme. In the past, Iran has used the threat of disrupting maritime transit in the Strait of Hormuz or no longer stopping Europe-bound drug trafficking as a means to push back against Western pressures on its nuclear programme.
The Independent
16-07-2025
- The Independent
Iran seizes foreign tanker smuggling 2 million litres of fuel
Iran has seized a foreign tanker accused of smuggling two million litres of fuel through the Gulf of Oman, a regional justice chief said, according to Mehr news agency. Seventeen crew members were arrested and a judicial case was opened at the Jask county prosecutor's office, Hormozgan's chief justice Mojtaba Ghahremani said. 'During the continuous process of monitoring and surveilling suspicious fuel smuggling movements in the Gulf of Oman, officers inspected a foreign tanker due to its lack of legal documents regarding its cargo and seized it on charges of carrying 2 million litres of smuggled fuel,' he added. The Gulf of Oman, southwest of Iran, is a vital shipping route for oil produced around the Persian Gulf. It is linked to the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's total oil supply passes. As the only maritime access from the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea to the Persian Gulf, security in the Gulf of Oman is a major concern for both oil importers and exporters. In the past Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz but has never followed through on the move, which would restrict trade and impact global oil prices. 'The actions of fuel smugglers, who in coordination with foreigners, attempt to plunder national wealth will not remain hidden from the judiciary and punishment of perpetrators, if their crimes are proven, will be without leniency,' Mr Ghahremani said. The name of the tanker and its registered flag have not yet been disclosed. While this information can help identify the ship's country of origin and its owners, vessels often register under foreign flags to avoid identification or bypass regulations. Fuel smuggling is an increasing problem for Iran, which has some of the world's lowest fuel prices due to subsidies and a sharp decline in the value of its national currency Three vessels, two in 2023 and one in 2024, were seized by Iran near or in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Reuters. Some of the seizures followed US seizures of tankers related to Iran.
