2020-12-20: News Headlines

Mehr News Agency (2020-12-20). Iran performed better than Europe in fight against COVID-19. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 20 (MNA) — Chief of General Staff of Iranian Armed Forces says Iran, in comparison to European countries who are not under the US sanctions, performed better in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic in recent 10 months.

Rod Driver (2020-12-19). Scary 'R' Us 3 — The Exaggerated Threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction. zcomm.org The term WMD is propaganda to confuse chemical weapons with nuclear weapons, in order to exaggerate a threat…

Ricardo Vaz (2020-12-18). Venezuela: Oil Production Stagnant as Iran Deepens Cooperation. venezuelanalysis.com A fleet of Iranian fuel tankers is reportedly en route to the Caribbean nation.

South Front (2020-12-18). Video: Israel Will Take Care of Gulf Monarchies. US Alliance against Iran. globalresearch.ca Finally, democracy is coming to the Persian Gulf. | Israel announced plans to deploy a joint missile defense system in the Persian Gulf as a part of a joint effort with US- and Israeli-allied monarchies to deter Iran. | The idea was …

John Laforge (2020-12-18). Air Force Veterans of Plutonium Dust Disaster Win Class Action Standing. counterpunch.org Air force veterans exposed to plutonium after a first-ever US nuclear weapons disaster in Spain have won extremely rare recognition as a class in a lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs. On Jan. 17, 1966, an air force B-52 bomber exploded over the village of Palomares, Spain during a routine airborne refueling. Seven airmen

Peoples Dispatch (2020-12-18). Progressive International calls for end to US-imposed unilateral sanctions. peoplesdispatch.org In a statement released on Friday, December 18, the Progressive International called for "take urgent steps to put an end to the unilateral. Illegal (primary and secondary) sanctions" imposed by the US on over thirty countries, and in particular against Cuba, Iran and Venezuela. The statement was addressed to United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres, G-77 chair Moses Nagamootoo and United Nations High Commissioner for human rights Michele Bachelet. | The US-backed economic sanctions are causing massive suffering to more than one-third of humanity by blocking their access to global markets and damaging th…

Ed Rampell (2020-12-17). Nasrin Sotoudeh, Iran's Courtroom Gladiator, for the Defense. progressive.org A stirring new documentary captures the fight for women's rights in the Islamic Republic.

sputniknews (2020-12-17). 'No Doubt': Iran's Rouhani Says US Will Rejoin 2015 Nuclear Deal, Lift Sanctions Under Biden. sputniknews.com Under the Trump administration, the US withdrew from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), arguing that Iran had violated its terms and that the deal was not beneficial. The move reimposed sanctions lifted under the deal and was one of many decisions by the administration that heightened tensions with the Middle Eastern country.

teleSUR (2020-12-17). Vietnam Critical of US Sanctions Over Its Trade With Iran. telesurenglish.net The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced the U.S. decision to sanction a company from the Southeast Asian country for maintaining "civil" relations with Iran. "Trade relations between Vietnam and Iran are strictly civilian, and include goods that meet the essential needs of the people and are not contrary to UN resolutions," Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang made clear at a press conference Thursday. | RELATED: | China to Take Countermeasures Against New US Sanctions | The diplomat urged the United States to reconsider its decision while stressing that Hanoi fully complies w…