Administration Targets Iranian Rights Abusers, Including Maker of ‘Spying’ App

As the Trump administration works towards imposing what Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says will ultimately be the “strongest sanctions in history” against Iran, the Treasury Department on Wednesday targeted three Iranian organizations and six individuals for “serious human rights abuses.” Read

Ukraine’s Faked Assassination Reportedly Exposed Russian Plot – But Draws Sharp Criticism

Press freedom groups have expressed dismay at the revelation that Ukrainian security officials collaborated with an exiled Russian journalist and Kremlin critic to fake his assassination, in what they said was an operation to foil an actual Russian plot to kill him. Read

US Calls it a ‘Travesty’ As Syria Assumes Presidency of UN-Funded Disarmament Body

The United States led a chorus of condemnation Tuesday as Syria assumed the rotating presidency of the U.N.-linked Conference on Disarmament, calling it a “travesty” that a regime guilty of using chemical weapons against its own people should preside over the very body that created to Chemical Weapons Convention. Read

Report: ‘Praying, Singing Hymns, and Reading the Bible’ Can Lead to Prison Camp in North Korea

Weeks before President Trump is expected to meet with Kim Jong Un, a State Department report issued Tuesday painted a grim picture of religious freedom abuses at the hands of the Stalinist regime – including “executions, torture, beatings, and arrests” of people of faith. Read

South Korean President Won’t Say If Kim Jong Un Is Willing to Denuclearize

Is Kim Jong Un ready to accept a long-standing U.S. demand for “complete, verifiable and irreversible” relinquishing of his nuclear weapons arsenal? South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Sunday sidestepped the question, saying that would have to be discussed at working-level talks between the U.S. and North Korea. Read

Sanctioned North Korean General Heading to the U.S. for Talks

As preparations continue for a summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un, a hardline North Korean general targeted for sanctions by both the United States and South Korea for acts including terrorism is heading Tuesday to the U.S. on Tuesday. Read

Irish Pro-Lifers After Referendum Defeat: ‘We Fight On’

Pro-life campaigners in Ireland have vowed to keep fighting after sustaining a crushing blow in Friday’s referendum on repealing the 8th Amendment of the Irish Constitution, which for 35 years has given equal status to a mother and her unborn child. Read

Trump Suggests China is Responsible For Setbacks With North Korea

President Trump’s decision to call off a planned summit with Kim Jong Un comes after heavy hints that China may have had something to do with the change in attitude and tone from Pyongyang, which recently resumed its customary U.S.-baiting rhetoric. Read

State Dep’t to Russia: Stop Lying and Account For Your Role in Shooting Down Malaysian Airplane

The State Department Thursday called on Russia to “cease its lies” about the shooting down of a civilian aircraft over Ukraine in 2014 and account for its role in the atrocity, after investigators concluded that the plane was brought down by a Russian surface-to-air missile that originated from a Russian military unit. Read

Tempers Flare as US, China Clash at UN Over Activist Beijing Calls ‘Terrorist’

A U.S. delegate lashed out at the U.N. this week at an attempt by China to punish a non-governmental organization based on its ties to a Uighur activist whom Beijing accuses of terrorism. Read

Under Obama, US Twice Invited China to Take Part in Major Pacific Exercises; Now Pentagon Says No

An administration decision to “disinvite” China from taking part in an international military exercise in the Pacific this summer comes two years after the Obama administration allowed it to participate, despite concerns about its aggressive behavior in the South China Sea. Read

Trump: ‘Gotta Get Out and Vote’ to Secure Pro-Life Gains

President Trump on Tuesday night urged pro-life Americans to campaign and vote this November for conservative lawmakers to safeguard gains and further advance the pro-life agenda. Read

Pompeo: ‘We Wouldn’t Tolerate Iceland Doing What the Iranians Are Doing’

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pushed back Tuesday on criticism that the administration is making foolishly unrealistic demands of Iran, saying it was actually setting a low bar, and that Iran’s behavior would not be tolerated if coming from another nation. Read

US Seeks Support for Campaign to Force Radical Change in Iran’s Behavior

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday laid out an ambitious plan for an international campaign aimed at bringing about a radical change in the conduct at home and abroad of the Iranian regime as it approaches its 40th anniversary. Read

Trump’s New Iran Strategy Seen As a Push for Regime Change

Some prominent supporters of the Iran nuclear deal say the Trump administration’s proposed campaign of “unprecedented financial pressure” designed to change Iran’s conduct is in fact aimed at bringing about regime change. Read

US-Europe Rift Widens Over Trump Policy to Crack Down on Iran

Signaling a widening transatlantic split over Iran, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini on Monday dismissed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s call for unprecedented financial pressure to force a drastic change in behavior from Tehran, saying there is no alternative to the nuclear deal which the U.S. has now abandoned. Read

Hillary Clinton Decries a ‘More Polarized Than Ever’ America; Whips Out Russian Hat

America is “more polarized than ever,” with deep political, racial and religious divisions, Hillary Clinton said Sunday, pointing a finger of blame squarely at one side of the political spectrum. Read

Kerry in Abu Dhabi Swipes Trump Policies: US ‘Cannot Turn its Back on The World’

Former Secretary of State John Kerry, in a speech in the Middle East Sunday, implicitly criticized President Trump for policies such as withdrawing from the Paris climate accord, saying that the United States “needs to build partnerships and cannot turn its back on the world.” Read

Trump: We’re Not Looking at ‘Libya Model’ For North Korea, But a Deal That Would See Kim Jong Un ‘Running His Country’

Any denuclearization deal the United States strikes with North Korea will differ from the disarmament of Libya 14 years ago because it would entail Kim Jong Un remaining in power, and presiding over a country enriched as a result of the agreement, President Trump said Thursday. Read

Two Reportedly Killed by Regime Forces as New Protests Erupt in Iran

At least two people were reportedly killed by Iranian regime forces after protests erupted in the small southwestern city of Kazeroon on Wednesday, the latest in a series of anti-government demonstrations across the country since late last year. Read

Iran’s FM Cries ‘Shame’ As US and Sunni Allies Sanction Top Hezbollah Terrorists

The U.S. joined six Arab Gulf states on Wednesday in targeting Hezbollah’s leadership for sanctions, an orchestrated push aimed at disrupting the destabilizing influence of the Shi’ite terrorist group and its Iranian patron in the region. Read

Senior Hamas Official Says 50 of 62 Palestinians Killed in Gaza This Week Were ‘From Hamas’

Israel stands accused of massacring “Palestinian civilians exercising their right to peaceful protest” along the Gaza-Israel border this week, but a senior member of Hamas told Palestinian television on Wednesday that 50 of the 62 Palestinians killed in the rioting were members of the terrorist organization. Read

Now North Korea Says It’s Not Interested in Talks That Will ‘Force Us to Give Up Nukes’

A day after North Korea hinted that next month’s summit between Kim Jong-un and President Trump could be in jeopardy, a senior official in Pyongyang said the regime is “not interested” in nuclear talks where it comes under pressure to “unilaterally” abandon its nuclear weapons. Read

European Ministers Scramble to Salvage Iran Nuclear Deal

Iran’s foreign minister will meet with his British, French and German counterparts in Brussels on Tuesday as the governments scramble to salvage the nuclear deal in the wake of President Trump’s withdrawal. Read

Israel, U.S. Blame Hamas for Palestinian Deaths; Hamas Blames ‘American-Zionist Aggression’

Israel’s military blamed Hamas for Monday’s deadly violence along the Gaza-Israel border, and said impoverished Palestinians were being offered cash incentives, bankrolled by Iran, to storm the security fence. Read

Pompeo: Denuclearization Deal Would Allow ‘Real Economic Prosperity’ in North Korea

In the event a denuclearization deal is struck with North Korea, the private sector, not American taxpayers, would account for the benefits that the impoverished Stalinist nation could expect, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday. Read

Mother, Father and Four Children Bomb Three Churches in Indonesia

“Violence and terrorism should not be associated with any religion,” the bloc of Islamic nations declared on Sunday, condemning a series of suicide bombings on Christian churches in Indonesia reportedly carried out by six members of the same family – mother, father, two teenage sons, and daughters aged nine and 12. Read

Hamas Gears Up For Mass Border-Breaching Protest as US Embassy in Jerusalem to Open

Israel is bracing Monday for a culmination of weeks of Hamas-instigated protests along the border with the Gaza Strip, as the terrorist group that rules Gaza declared in a propaganda video that masses will breach the border and that “we will not die alone.” Read

Trump Swipes Obama Over Iran: We Got Americans Back From North Korea ‘For Nothing’

President Trump on Thursday night contrasted this week’s release of three Americans from North Korea with the release in 2016 of five Americans held by Iran, and alluded to the view that the Obama administration had effectively paid a ransom for their freedom. Read

Pro-Iran Group Predicts Strong Showing in Iraqi Elections

As Iraqis prepare to go to the polls on Saturday, a pro-Iran alliance closely linked to Shi’ite militias is banking on winning enough support to play a key role in the next government, 15 years after the U.S. invasion toppled Saddam Hussein. Read

Khamenei to Trump: 'You Will Go to Hell'

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a speech Wednesday berated President Donald Trump for withdrawing from the nuclear deal, but said that the Islamic Republic of Iran will be standing strong long after Trump’s corpse is “worm food.” Read

Israel Strikes Back After Accusing Iran of Firing Rockets at Military Bases on Golan

Israel has been bracing for an Iranian military response to recent attacks on Iranian positions in Syria, and early Thursday a barrage of around 20 rockets fired from Syrian territory targeted military bases in northern Israel. Read

Trump Welcomes Home Three Freed by North Korea: ‘A Lot of Very Good Things Have Happened’

Against the backdrop of a large American flag hoisted between two fire trucks, President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence in the early hours of Thursday morning welcomed home three Americans freed by North Korea during Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to Pyongyang. Read

Obama, Reacting to Trump Iran Deal Decision, Raises Specter of War

President Obama broke his silence Tuesday on the Iran nuclear deal, saying his successor’s decision to withdraw risks eroding America’s credibility and could hasten the day when the U.S. faces the choice of living with a nuclear-armed Iran, or going to war to prevent it. Read

After 580 Days in Prison, American Pastor’s Fate Remains Uncertain

American pastor Andrew Brunson has spent 580 days behind bars in Turkey, and will now remain incarcerated for at least 72 more, after a court Monday refused to release him pending his next appearance on terrorism and espionage-related charges, set for July 18. Read

US Wants a Broad New Coalition to Tackle All of Iran’s ‘Malign Activities’

In walking away from the nuclear deal, the Trump administration hopes to build a broad coalition of nations that will counter not just Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions but all of its “malign activities,” including ballistic missiles and support for terrorism. Read

Iran’s Proxy Hezbollah Scores Big in Lebanese Elections

Lebanon’s first parliamentary election in nine years has handed a significant victory to the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah and its allies, reinforcing concerns about Iran’s spreading influence in its neighborhood. Read

Iran’s Zarif: I Lobbied Influential Americans on Trump’s Nuclear Deal Decision

Ahead of President Trump’s announcement Tuesday on the Iran nuclear deal, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif confirmed he has lobbied influential Americans and made it clear a U.S. withdrawal from the agreement would result in its isolation. Read

North Korea to US: Don’t Miscalculate and Put ‘Peace’ Initiative At Risk

North Korea accused the Trump administration Sunday of misleading public opinion by characterizing peace overtures as a result of U.S. pressure, and warned the U.S. was putting the initiative at risk. Read

WH: China Trying to Impose ‘Political Correctness’ on American Companies

China’s foreign ministry and state media rejected a sharply worded pushback from the White House over China’s demands that U.S. companies fall in line with Beijing’s views on the status of Taiwan. Read

Giuliani: Trump Supports Regime Change in Iran; Hints of Withdrawal From Nuclear Deal

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani told a gathering of Iranian Americans Saturday that President Donald Trump is as supportive as they are of regime change in Tehran, and predicted that he will withdraw from the Iran nuclear agreement later this week. Read

59% Drop in Refugee Admissions Through April

A total of 6,865 refugees were admitted to the United States during the first four months of 2018, down from 16,743 for the same period last year and 21,121 for the same period in 2016. Read

First Iranian American Convention in 12 Years Happening in D.C. This Weekend

Just days before President Trump is expected to announce whether or not he will withdraw the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal, Iranian Americans will hold their first national convention since 2006, meeting in Washington on Saturday at a time when many feel buoyed by a more supportive president in the White House. Read

Biggest Foreign Aid Recipients Voted With US at UN Only 26.5% of Time

The 13 biggest beneficiaries of U.S. foreign assistance in the current, previous and next fiscal years voted in line with U.S. positions at the United Nations an average of just 26.5 percent of the time in 2017. Read

Son of American Held in North Korea ‘Hopeful’ for His Release

The son of one of three Americans incarcerated in North Korea said Wednesday the family has had “no indication that they have been released,” but was hopeful, after reports that the three men had been moved from a labor camp to a hotel near Pyongyang, ahead of a planned summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un. Read

Human Rights Activists Refuse S. Korea’s Request to Stop Sending Leaflets, Info Into North

South Korea’s government is asking human rights activists to stop sending material across the DMZ into the North, but prominent campaigners are refusing to comply. Read

State Dep’t Changes Way of Tallying UN Voting Patterns to Better Reflect Who’s With U.S.

The State Department used new methodology when compiling the latest annual report on voting practices at the United Nations – in an attempt, it says, to “capture more accurately the voting conduct of U.N. member states.” Read

North Korean State Media Fume About Human Rights Criticism From U.S.

North Korean state media on Tuesday slammed the Trump administration for spotlighting the regime’s human rights record and for demonstrating an “anachronistic” approach towards Pyongyang. Read

Israel: Iran Kept Blueprints ‘To Use At a Time Of Its Choice To Develop Nuclear Weapons’

A trove of stolen Iranian data revealed by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday appear to provide evidence to corroborate long-held suspicions that the Tehran regime actively sought nuclear bombs and the means to deliver them. Read

Pompeo: Iran Documents Are ‘Authentic' and Show Iranians Lied

As Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flew to Washington from the Middle East late Monday night, he assured reporters that documents released by Israel relating to Iran’s nuclear weapons program were both “authentic” and included new revelations. Read