(2021-02-03). Biden and Iran. counterpunch.org 
Last week's statements by the Biden appointees made the matter unnecessarily more complicated, sounding more like a continuation of the Trump policy rather than its refutation. In his confirmation hearing, Antony Blinken, Biden's choice for secretary of state, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the new administration believes that Iran needs to resume strict compliance with the nuclear agreement before the US contemplates a return to the JCPOA. In response to the question of lifting the economic sanctions that the previous administration imposed on Iran, Blinken told the committee that "we are a lon…
(2021-02-03). The Threat of Nuclear Weapons with Noam Chomsky. theanalysis.news As the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons enters into force on January 22, join the world-renowned intellectual for "The Threat of Nuclear Weapons: Why Canada Should Sign the UN Nuclear Ban Treaty" Presented by the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute.
(2021-02-03). The Threat of Nuclear Weapons with Noam Chomsky. theanalysis.news As the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons enters into force on January 22, join the world-renowned intellectual for "The Threat of Nuclear Weapons: Why Canada Should Sign the UN Nuclear Ban Treaty" Presented by the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute.
(2021-02-03). Iran reiterates its commitment to JCPOA, proposes US return to the deal. peoplesdispatch.org Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif, in an interview with CNN, said that talks about nuclear weapons in the western media is baseless speculation aimed at directing public opinion against the country…
(2021-02-03). Were the Canaanites from Iran? Genomic History Shows that Israelis, Palestinians, Lebanese have Zagros Ancestry. juancole.com 
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — There are no races. Human beings are all mixed up, and genomic history demonstrates this principle better than any other approach. So much of Middle Eastern politics depends on a kind of "sleeping beauty" nationalism (in Ernest Gellner's phrase) in which it is alleged that there was an ancient race …
(2021-02-03). Where is Biden's Foreign Policy Headed? — Phyllis Bennis and Larry Wilkerson. theanalysis.news Biden has appointed many old guard interventionists and new Cold Warriors, but there is some hope for a better Iran policy. Watch out for attempts by Israel to scuttle the nuclear deal. A wide-ranging discussion with Phyllis Bennis and Larry Wilkerson on theAnalysis.news with Paul Jay.
(2021-02-03). Where is Biden's Foreign Policy Headed? — Phyllis Bennis and Larry Wilkerson. theanalysis.news Biden has appointed many old guard interventionists and new Cold Warriors, but there is some hope for a better Iran policy. Watch out for attempts by Israel to scuttle the nuclear deal. A wide-ranging discussion with Phyllis Bennis and Larry Wilkerson on theAnalysis.news with Paul Jay.
(2021-02-03). 'Victory': Iran hails UN court decision to hear case over US sanctions. middleeasteye.net 
'Victory': Iran hails UN court decision to hear case over US sanctions | International Court of Justice says it has jurisdiction to take on Iran's case against US over Trump-era sanctions | Wed, 02/03/2021 – 16: 36 | Zarif asked the European Union to coordinate a synchronised return of Washington and Tehran to the nuclear deal (AFP) | Iran's foreign minister hailed a decision by the UN's top court on Wednesday…
(2021-02-03). ICJ verdict another legal victory for Iran: Zarif. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Feb. 03 (MNA) — Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that the verdict issued by the International Court of Justice over the US objections is another victory for the Islamic Republic.
(2021-02-03). Iranian Army region's superior drone power. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Feb. 03 (MNA) — Army Chief Commander Major General Mousavi named the Iranian Army the superior drone power of the region.
(2021-02-03). Iran, India geographical capacities key to boost defense coop. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Feb. 03 (MNA) — Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami said the significant geographical capacities of Iran and India can help boost the two countries' defensive cooperation.
(2021-02-03). 'Martyr Soleimani expanded Iran's experience in resistance'. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Feb. 03 (MNA) — Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General said that Lt. General Soleimani internationalized the Iranian experience in resisting oppression.
(2021-02-03). Strategic implications of Israeli inclusion in CENTCOM. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Feb. 03 (MNA) — Less than a month after the transfer of Israeli regime into CENTCOM's area of responsibility from EUCOM's, what consequences could this shift have for the region and beyond?
(2021-02-03). ICJ upholds jurisdiction on US-Iran Treaty of Amity. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Feb. 03 (MNA) — Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman said that the International Court of Justice has upheld jurisdiction on the case of the 1955 Treaty of Amity.
(2021-02-03). Iraqi foreign minister visits Tehran for talks. yenisafak.com Iraq's Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein arrived in Tehran on Wednesday for talks with Iranian officials on issues of mutual concern, according to an official statement.A statement by the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said Hussein will meet with his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif and other senior officials during his stay.The statement did not give details about issues scheduled to be discussed during Hussein's visit.Wednesday's visit is the second by the top Iraqi diplomat to Tehran since his appointment in September.The visit comes amid media reports suggesting that Iraq was seeking to mediate between Tehran and Washingt…
(2021-02-03). Biden, Putin extend New START at start of a difficult relationship. laprensalatina.com Washington, Feb 3 (efe-epa).- President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, have agreed to extend the New START nuclear arms treaty for another five years, making what appears to be a good start in a bilateral relationship that, by all accounts, will be a difficult one. "Especially during times of tension, verifiable limits …
(2021-02-03). Sunday 2/7: Free Nasrin and ALL Iran's Political Prisoners: Heroism for These Times. indybay.org Revolution Books, 2444 Durant Ave. Berkeley CA 94704…
(2021-02-03). Iran — give diplomacy a chance. peoplesworld.org  …
(2021-02-03). Biden must inspect America's embrittled reactors. nationofchange.org Biden must act to prevent what would constitute nuclear suicide in the United States.
(2021-02-02). China's New Aircraft Carrier Killer Is World's Largest Air-Launched Missile. anti-empire.com 
Navies are racing to develop hypersonic missiles which may change the pace of naval warfare. Russia will deploy the Zircon hypersonic missile aboard warships and submarines. The US Navy has started down the path of the common hypersonic glide body (c-HGB) for its destroyers. Meanwhile China's latest hypersonic weapon is something completely different; it is air launched. | The massive new missile, labelled CH-AS-X-13, is probably the largest air-launched missile in the world. | The missile was first reported by Ankit Panda, the Stanton Senior Fellow at the Nuclear Policy Program, Carnegie Endowment for Internatio…
(2021-02-02). US General Manipulates Media To Push For War With Iran. popularresistance.org Red Lines host Anya Parampil speaks with investigative journalist Gareth Porter about his recent piece in The Grayzone which explores the role CENTCOM Chief General Kenneth McKenzie played in escalating tensions with Iran in the final days of the Trump Administration. Porter also discusses the role General McKenzie will have in the Biden Administration as well as the new president's Iran strategy.
(2021-02-02). Iran allows crew of seized South Korean oil tanker to leave in 'humanitarian move'. middleeasteye.net 
Iran allows crew of seized South Korean oil tanker to leave in 'humanitarian move' | Development comes as Tehran urges Seoul to release Iranian assets frozen in South Korea due to US sanctions
| Tue, 02/02/2021 – 16: 06 | South Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun (L) meets his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi (R) in Tehran on 10 January, after the seizure of a South Korean-fl…
(2021-02-02). Forever Wars by Pepe Escobar. thealtworld.com 
Description: | I have the pleasure to welcome you to the third in a series of e-books recovering the Pepe Escobar archives on Asia Times. | The archives track a period of 20 years — starting with the columns and stories published under The Roving Eye sign in the previous Asia Times Online from 2001 all the way to early 2015. | The first e-book tracked the interplay between China, Russia, and the U.S. between 2017-2020. | The second tracked the Islamic Republic of Iran throughout the "axis of evil" era, the Ahmadinejad years, the nuclear deal, and "maximum pressure" im- posed by the Trump administrat…
(2021-02-02). Likud Minister Says US Will Never Attack a 'Nuclear Iran', Israel May Have to Act Alone – Report. sputniknews.com While no actual steps have been implemented to bring the 2015 nuclear deal back to life under the new US administration so far, Israel has continued to raise concerns about Iran's alleged plans of developing a nuke, which Tehran has strongly denied and dismissed as efforts to target the country.
(2021-02-02). Biden admin. makes contradictory remarks on JCPOA. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Feb. 02 (MNA) — US special envoy for Iran said in an interview that Washington seeks to end its maximum pressure policy on the Islamic Republic of Iran.
(2021-02-02). Let's just say 'RAMSAR' wetlands convention. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Feb. 03 (MNA) — On February 2, 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar, nestling between the Alborz mountains and the Caspian Sea coast, the representatives of 18 nations put their signatures to the text of a remarkable treaty.
(2021-02-02). Iran makes progress in health sector after Islamic Revolution. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Feb. 01 (MNA) — After the Islamic Revolution (1979), many advances have been made in the health sector, namely, increased medical facilities, the growth of medical universities, and upgraded medical equipment.
(2021-02-02). Iran-India relations enjoy of paramount importance: MoD. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Feb. 02 (MNA) — Iranian Minister of Defense Brigadier General Amir Hatami said that the relationship between Islamic Republic of Iran and India is of special significance.
(2021-02-02). Cleaning, documenting project of Salt Men in Zanjan. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Feb. 02 (MNA) — The following is the video of documenting and cleaning 3 ancient salt men and their belonging at an archaeology museum in the Zanjan province of Iran.
(2021-02-02). Parliament's open session on Tuesday. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Feb. 02 (MNA) — Iranian lawmakers held an open session chaired by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Tuesday.
(2021-02-02). Indonesia studying case of Iranian ship independently. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Feb. 02 (MNA) — On Jan. 25, the Indonesian Coast Guard announced that it had seized two Iranian and Panamanian-flagged tankers in its territorial waters and intends to release both ships by the end of the week if there is no solid evidence.
(2021-02-02). Iran less than 2 years away from nuke weapons: Israel. yenisafak.com Israel's Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz warned on Tuesday that Iran needs a year or two to acquire a "nuclear weapon".Speaking to the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, Steinitz claimed that Iran needs "around half a year" to produce enough uranium for a nuclear weapon."As for nuclear weaponry, the range is around one or two years", he said.Steinitz also credited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former US President Donald Trump for weakening Iran's goal of acquiring nuclear weapons."The withdrawal [of Trump] from the nuclear deal has weakened Iran," he said.Senior Israeli officials, including…
(2021-02-02). US-Russia Nuclear Treaty Only First Step In Ensuring 'Future Existence' Of Humanity. popularresistance.org The total number of nuclear weapons both Russia and the US could possess was limited by New START, signed between the two countries in 2010. The treaty would have expired on 5 February 2021, had the Biden administration not agreed to extend it for another five years. | Peter Kuznick is a professor of history at American University, where he founded the Nuclear Studies Institute. He has authored and co-authored numerous books, including The Untold History of the United States, Rethinking the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Japanese and American Perspectives and Nuclear Power and Hiroshima: The Truth Beh…
(2021-02-02). Why We Can't Give Up On A World Free From Nuclear Weapons. popularresistance.org Nine countries of the 193 member states of the United Nations possess nuclear weapons. Two of them—the United States of America and Russia—have more than 90% of all the 13,410 warheads. Four countries—the US, Russia, the UK and France—have at least 1,800 warheads on high alert, which means that they can be fired at very short notice. | To compare the warheads currently deployed with the atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima is enough to make the heart stop: the yield from the "Little Boy" used on Hiroshima is estimated at 15 kilotons, whereas the yield from one W88 warhead that is deployed on a T…
(2021-02-02). As The Doomsday Clock Nears Midnight, We Can Abolish Nuclear Weapons. popularresistance.org On January 22, the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons went into effect. This treaty, which is supported by more than two-thirds of the countries in the world but none of the nuclear states, is groundbreaking in many ways and is a significant step toward nuclear disarmament at a time when the threat of nuclear war is the highest it has ever been. I speak with Seth Shelden of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons about the treaty, how it came about, what it will do and what people in the United States can do to press our government to ratify it.
(2021-02-02). Does Iran's Government Persecute Its Christian Population? thelastamericanvagabond.com A report published last year by experts working at the United Nations has been repeatedly cited, especially throughout Right-Wing press in the United States, as proof that Iran persecutes its Christian population for practicing their faith. But are these charges true, or is there more to the story? Iran's constitution unequivocally protects the rights of
(2021-02-02). Why the Biden administration has set itself up for failure on the Iran nuclear deal. thealtworld.com By laying out unrealistic demands to Iran and engaging in fearmongering about its nuclear program, Secretary of State Tony Blinken has underscored America's real intent about rejoining the controversial agreement. | President Joe Biden has made
(2021-02-02). Building a Nuclear Weapon-Free World. dissidentvoice.org On January 22, 2021, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) became international law for the 122 states who signed the agreement in July 2017. Article 1a of TPNW states: "Each State Party undertakes never under any circumstances to… Develop, test, produce, manufacture, otherwise acquire, possess or stockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive …
(2021-02-02). Biden's Most Urgent Challenge: More Countries Wanting Nukes. counterpunch.org Former President Donald Trump had placed the United States on the runway to take off on another nuclear arms race. Trump threw out two treaties that held Russia and the U.S. in check. It also deterred other nations from developing nuclear weapons over the last thirty years. President Joseph Biden cut the throttle by agreeing to
(2021-02-01). Triple shock of US sanctions, oil price collapse and the pandemic decimates Iranian living standards. wsws.org The "hardline" faction around the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is attacking the faction around President Hassan Rouhani who negotiated the nuclear agreement with the Obama administration, amid indications that the Biden administration intends to continue enforcing the "maximum pressure" campaign of draconian sanctions and military provocations against Iran.
(2021-02-01). Embrittlement in Nuclear Power Plants. counterpunch.org Of all the daunting tasks Joe Biden faces, especially vital is the inspection of dangerously embrittled atomic reactors still operating in the United States. A meltdown at any one of them would threaten the health and safety of millions of people while causing major impact to an already struggling economy. The COVID-19 pandemic would complicate
(2021-02-01). A US HR institute calls for lifting Iran sanctions. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Feb. 01 (MNA) — A US-based Human Rights Institute named "CODEPINK" called on the new US administration to lift sanctions imposed by US against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
(2021-02-01). Iran's Zarif says time for US to return to nuclear deal is 'not unlimited'. middleeasteye.net 
Iran's Zarif says time for US to return to nuclear deal is 'not unlimited' | Commenting on 'who complies first' impasse, Iranian foreign minister says Tehran has shown that it fulfils its promises, and Washington has not | Mon, 02/01/2021 – 22: 14 | Zarif says Iran could have built a nuclear weapon if it were seeking one (AFP/file photo) | Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has warned the United Sta…
(2021-02-01). Zarif Suggests EU High Representative Borrell 'Choreograph' US-Iran Joint Return to JCPOA. sputniknews.com Earlier on Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed Iran would be just "a matter of weeks" away from building an atomic bomb if it further strayed from its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal. However, Tehran has dismissed the claims, saying it is sworn against producing such a weapon.
(2021-02-01). Iran launches satellite carrier with solid fuel engine. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Feb. 01 (MNA) — Iran has successfully launched the Zol-Jannah combined satellite carrier which is equipped with the most powerful solid-fuel engine in the country.
(2021-02-01). Shir Sangi, Median stone lion, in Hamedan. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Feb. 01 (MNA) — Stone Lion in Hamadan is a tourist attraction in Iran. As the oldest stone lion in Iran, it is a relic of the Medes.
(2021-02-01). Iranian FM calls on citizens to avoid traveling Myanmar. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Feb. 01 (MNA) — Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman urged all citizens to avoid traveling Myanmar after country's powerful military has taken the control of the country in a coup and declared a state of emergency.
(2021-02-01). Police confiscate over 1 ton of narcotics in SE Iran. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Feb. 01 (MNA) — The Sistan and Baluchestan police commander announced the arrest of 4 smugglers and the confiscation of 1,403 kilograms of illicit drugs in an armed clash.
(2021-02-01). Inauguration of projects at Mehrabad Airport. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Feb. 01 (MNA) — The ceremony to inaugurate a number of projects at Mehrabad Airport projects was held on Sunday morning in the presence of Iranian Road Minister Mohammad Eslami at Mehrabad Airport.
(2021-02-01). Iran urges Islamic centers in UK to ban a sacrilegious movie. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Feb. 01 (MNA) — Iran has condemned a divisive movie that was recently produced by a UK-based production house and is deemed harmful to Muslim unity, urging the Islamic centers in the UK to condemn it and block it from media platforms.