(2020-01-10). Rare FOOTAGE shows Ukrainian Boeing crash site in Tehran after 'site bulldozed' claims (PHOTOS). rt.com 
RT's video agency Ruptly has obtained footage of the site where a Ukrainian Boeing 737-800 crashed after taking off in Iran. It shows what appear to be passengers' belongings strewn about, but parts of the plane have been removed. | The still images were taken on Friday morning in Laleh Park, the site of the wreck. The site does not appear to be cordoned off any longer, and plane parts and bodies have been removed. | | © RT / Ruptly | | © RT / Ruptly | The footage appears to counter recent media reports that suggested the site had been "bulldozed" to remove physical evidence, a claim that seems d…
(2020-01-10). EU foreign ministers hold emergency meeting on Iran crisis, nuclear deal. rt.com 
Foreign ministers for the EU states are holding an emergency meeting on Friday to seek ways to guide the United States and Iran away from confrontation, Reuters reported. | President Donald Trump had earlier urged European allies to "break away" from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. However, the EU says it "will spare no effort" in attempts to keep alive the deal, aimed at preventing Iran from developing atomic weapons. | The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, on Thursday defended the crumbling Iran nuclear deal, but warned Tehran against "irreversible acts" that would sink the accord. He also…
(2020-01-10). Panic mode? Iran could have 'access' to nuclear weapon in 1-2 years, French FM warns. rt.com 
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has claimed that if Iran continues to roll back the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA), it may get a nuclear bomb in a very short period of time. | If the Islamic Republic continues "with unraveling" the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on its nuclear program, Tehran could obtain a nuclear weapon in the nearest future, Le Drian told RTL radio on Friday. | Within a fairly short period of time, between one and two years, they could have access to a nuclear weapon, which is not an option. | EU foreign ministers will hold an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss ways of…
(2020-01-10). EU meeting to focus on bringing Iran back into nuclear deal — Slovakia. rt.com 
European Union foreign ministers at a meeting in Brussels will focus on finding ways on how to bring Tehran back into the nuclear deal, after its decision to scrap the deal's enrichment limits, Slovakia's foreign minister said on Friday. | "The steps they announced are reversible and verification by the [nuclear watchdog] IAEA is ongoing, but we are not happy with the step five that was announced," Miroslav Lajcakbut told reporters on arrival at the meeting. | "We hope that we can help Iran return to the game," the minister added.
(2020-01-10). Iran showcases recovered BLACK BOXES of crashed Ukrainian jet (VIDEO). rt.com 
Iran has released a video showing the black boxes of Ukrainian Boeing 737-800 that went down outside Tehran killing 176 on board. The devices have been damaged in the crash and it's expected to take several months to read them. | Short footage of the recorders was released by Iranian media on Friday. The black boxes — that are actually bright orange — are seen sitting inside a crate, handled by the officials with the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization (CAO). | The flight data recorder appears to be largely intact, yet it's quite charred and has a handful of visible dents in its body. The cockpi…
(2020-01-10). India considers tightening drone policy after Soleimani's death in US airstrike — report. rt.com 
Indian officials are alarmed by new security risks arising from the use of UAVs after a US drone strike killed Iranian military commander, Qassem Soleimani, in Baghdad. | The country's authorities are considering an update to recently adopted regulations on drones, which are due to take effect this month, the Indian Express reported on Friday, citing two high-ranking government sources. | "There is a realization of the need to up the guard [on who gets licenses]… there will be a step back on that," a source said, explaining that the existing drone policy requires "careful reassessment, given the new risks."
(2020-01-10). U.S. Dismisses Iraq Request to Work on a Troop Withdrawal Plan. truthdig.com 
BAGHDAD — Iraq's caretaker prime minister asked Washington to work out a road map for an American troop withdrawal, but the U.S. State Department on Friday bluntly rejected the request, saying the two sides should instead talk about how to "recommit" to their partnership. | Thousands of anti-government protesters turned out in the capital and southern Iraq, many calling on both Iran and America to leave Iraq, reflecting their anger and frustration over the two rivals — both allies of Baghdad — trading blows on Iraqi soil. | The request from Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi pointed to his determin…
(2020-01-10). Iraqi Communists say their country should not be battleground for U.S.-Iran war. peoplesworld.org 
Iraqi Communists called for the international community to respect national sovereignty yesterday, warning against their country being used as an arena for war between the U.S. and Iran. In a statement issued in response to Iran's retaliatory missile attack on the U.S. bases in Ain al-Assad in Anbar and Harir in Erbil, the Iraqi Communist …
(2020-01-10). Iran to announce preliminary cause of Ukrainian Boeing crash on Saturday — report. rt.com 
The cause of the deadly crash of Ukrainian International Airlines flight PS752 in Iran will be given on Saturday, following a meeting of the commission investigating the incident, which will be attended by "domestic and foreign parties," Iran's Fars News Agency said, citing "an informed source." | The meeting will hear a "preliminary report" on the circumstances of the catastrophe that claimed lives of all 176 people on board of the Ukrainian Boeing. The investigation into the crash is ongoing, and Iran is cooperating with Ukrainian specialists who've arrived in Tehran. Iran has also unveiled the recovered bla…
(2020-01-10). And We Allow this Madness to Continue. dissidentvoice.org 
Try as I did, I found it impossible to send New Year's greetings to friends in Iraq given the unthinkable and shameless actions of Trump and his regime in the last weeks. His decision to assassinate Iranian Major General Qasim Soleimani at the Baghdad airport led to the Iraqi Parliament voting to expel all foreign …
(2020-01-10). Gregory Shupak on Iran Assassination, Brett Hartl on Biodiversity Loss. fair.org 
Media…
(2020-01-10). U.S. Blames Iran for Ukrainian Jetliner Downing, Pledges Probe. truthdig.com 
WASHINGTON — The U.S. promised "appropriate action" Friday in response to its assessment that an Iranian missile was responsible for downing a Ukrainian jetliner that crashed outside Tehran, as the Iranian government denied playing a role in the killing of all 176 people on board. | Secretary of State Mike Pompeo became the highest-level U.S. official to directly pin the blame on Iran, after Canadian, Australian and British leaders announced similar intelligence conclusions Thursday. "We do believe it is likely that that plane was shot down by an Iranian missile," he said. | Pompeo said an investigation wou…
(2020-01-10). From Resistance to Assistance: Little Pushback to Trump's Iran Assassination. fair.org 
Qassem Soleimani (cc photo: Sayyed Shahab Odin Vajedi) | After Donald Trump's election, both the New York Times and Washington Post saw huge jumps in subscribers, all hoping that the outlets would hold the president to account. Both papers tapped into this sentiment: In February 2017,…
(2020-01-10). Iran's civil aviation chief certain Ukraine plane 'not hit by missile'. rt.com 
Iran's civil aviation boss Ali Abedzadeh said on Friday he was "certain" a Ukrainian airliner which crashed outside Tehran this week was not hit by a missile. | "One thing is for certain, this airplane was not hit by a missile," Abedzadeh told reporters in Tehran after Britain and Canada both said intelligence sources suggested a catastrophic error by Iranian air defense batteries had downed the aircraft, AFP said. | France said on Friday it was ready to join the probe into the crash that killed all 176 people abroad. Ukraine said it could not rule out a missile strike but that had not been confirmed, Reuters…
(2020-01-10). US acting 'like ISIS' threatening to destroy Iran's cultural sites – FM Zarif. rt.com 
The US was behaving like terrorists when President Donald Trump threatened to target Iranian cultural sites if Tehran retaliated for the killing of its top general Qassem Soleimani, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has said. | In a speech directed to the United Nations Security Council on Thursday, Zarif said Trump's threat could be compared to the Islamic State's destruction of cultural sites during its reign of terror in the region, Iran's PressTV reported. | The US "seeks to emulate the war crimes of Daesh, menacing the cultural heritage of the millennia-old civilization of Iran," he said. His remarks were deli…
(2020-01-10). Japan's Abe heading to Middle East despite crisis in region. rt.com 
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit the Middle East from Saturday, hoping to ease regional tensions that have soared after the US killing of a top Iranian general. | Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said on Friday that the January 11-15 trip to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman would go ahead. | Abe will also seek to explain Tokyo's decision to deploy a military vessel and two patrol planes to the region to "ensure safety of Japan-related vessels," AFP reports. | "To avoid further escalation of the tense situation in the Middle East, [Abe] will exchange opinions with the thr…
(2020-01-10). Asian oil buyers unfazed by Iran crisis. rt.com 
Oil prices rose and fell in the aftermath of the latest escalation between the United States and Iran, but one kind of oil remained more resilient than the rest: heavy crude. | Heavy crude grades traditionally trade at a discount to lighter crudes, and they still are. But if, as some fear, Iraq becomes a battlefield, this may change. | Asian refineries are the main drivers of heavy crude oil demand even after the new sulfur emissions rules of the International Maritime Organisation took effect at the start of this year. Many warned that IMO 2020 will seriously dampen demand for heavy crude but this doesn't see…
(2020-01-10). House majority heeds demands that Trump stop his war on Iran. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—By a 224-194 vote, the U.S. House heeded mass anti-war sentiment and invoked the War Powers Act to stop GOP President Donald Trump's escalation against Iran. Eight Democrats voted with Trump, while 220 voted against his war on Iran. So did three Republicans. The 186 others stuck with Trump. Independent Justin Amash of Michigan switched …
(2020-01-10). Ukraine says Iran cooperating with Boeing crash probe, calls to reduce media speculation. rt.com Ukraine's foreign minister has called for the media to avoid speculation about what caused the crash of the Ukrainian Boeing 737-800 outside Tehran, explaining that the investigation is ongoing and nothing has been ruled out. | Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko asked that the media not spread "unconfirmed" information on Friday, pleading with reporters to "reduce the level of speculation" while the probe continues. The experts are still analyzing evidence, looking at the bodies of the victims and the wreckage in hope of gaining insight into what took down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752, killing all…
(2020-01-10). Killing of Soleimani 'wake-up call' to get rid of US presence in the region — Iran's envoy to UN. rt.com 
The killing of Qassem Soleimani by the US has not only crossed crucial "red lines" but provided an impetus to expel American troops from the Middle East, an Iranian envoy to the UN's office in Geneva told RT. | The assassination of Major General Soleimani had "surpassed the red lines that distinguish barbarism from civilized rules of engagement," Esmaeil Baghaei Hamaneh told RT's Afshin Rattansi on his show Going Underground. | The diplomat argued that the raid served as "a wake-up call for the people in the region and beyond." | I think this is the beginning of a process: the people of our region would get ri…
(2020-01-10). Ukrainian prosecutors call for an end to 'shameless self-promotion' & speculation about deadly plane crash in Iran. rt.com 
Ukrainian investigators have asked that people stop spreading unfounded claims about the deadly crash of its passenger airliner in Iran. The call comes amid a flood of rumors that the jet was downed by an Iranian missile. | The office of the Prosecutor General in Kiev has urged that everyone "refrain from speculations" concerning the plane crash. | We ask the politicians, the former prosecutors with no legal training or basic knowledge of criminal law and procedures to refrain from the shameless self-promotion on…
(2020-01-10). PayPal blocks donations to The Grayzone that mention Iran. thegrayzone.com Small donations to The Grayzone were delayed and reversed by PayPal because they mentioned the word "Iran" in messages praising…
(2020-01-10). War with Iran Is at Stake — and Democrats' High Jumps Over Low Standards Aren't Helping. indybay.org Bowing down to the military-industrial complex…
(2020-01-10). Fresno Peace in Iran Vigil Coordinates with Nationwide Protests. indybay.org Over 100 people attended a vigil for peace with Iran in Fresno at 5 p.m. on January 9, in one of around three hundred demonstrations around the United States. The protest was coordinated with others by being held at the same time on the same day with the same message: no war with Iran.
(2020-01-10). Savage. Brutal. After the Assassination of Soleimani, Can We Just Admit that the United States Has No Morality at All? globalresearch.ca Qassem Soleimani, the top Iranian military commander, who was assassinated this week by the United States in Baghdad, while he was on a peaceful mission, is just the latest, but perhaps most brazen and alarming, declaration by the United …
(2020-01-10). Ex-UK ambassador to Tehran backs Corbyn's assessment of the murder of Iranian general. thecanary.co This article was updated at 18: 05 on 10 January. It previously stated that Boris Johnson did not respond to Jeremy Corbyn's request for a Privy Council briefing. However, Johnson refused the request. | A former UK ambassador to Tehran has confirmed that Iranian general Qasem Soleimani was in Iraq as part of a peace mission to Saudi Arabia, with the full agreement of the Iraqi government, when he was assassinated by a US drone strike on the orders of president Donald Trump. | Richard Dalton added that the decision to assa…
(2020-01-10). S.F. Rep Pelosi Postponed Vote on War Powers Act. indybay.org San Francisco Representative Nancy Pelosi postponed the urgently needed vote on a War Powers Resolution to prevent a US war against Iran. And Top House Democrats want to abandon any vote on a War Powers Resolution. See | www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/08/kicking-can-next-week-irresponsible-progressives-rebuke-pelosi-delaying-iran-war…
(2020-01-10). No War With Iran! Protest in Walnut Creek. indybay.org Corner of Civic Dr. and Ygnacio Valley Rd., Walnut Creek, CA 94596…
(2020-01-10). No War With Iran! Protest in Sonoma. indybay.org Sonoma Plaza, 453 1st Street East, Sonoma, CA 95476…
(2020-01-10). No War With Iran! Redwood City Protest. indybay.org Intersection of Jefferson Avenue and El Camino Real, Redwood City, CA 94063…
(2020-01-10). No War With Iran! Protest in Livermore. indybay.org Livermore Flagpole Plaza, First Street and South Livermore Ave, Livermore, CA 94550…
(2020-01-10). No War with Iran! Castro Valley Protest. indybay.org Intersection of Castro Valley Blvd. and Redwood Road, Castro Valley 94546…
(2020-01-10). No War With Iran! Protest in Fremont. indybay.org Veterans Memorial Park (outside Fremont Courthouse), intersection of Walnut Ave. and Paseo Padre Parkway, Fremont, CA 94538…
(2020-01-10). No War With Iran! Protest Santa Rosa. indybay.org Old Court House Square, 3rd St. & Mendocino Ave and 4th St. & Santa Rosa Ave, Downtown Santa Rosa, CA 95405…
(2020-01-10). No New War on Iran! Emergency Protest. indybay.org Photos: Leon Kunstenaar | People rush to demonstrate against Trump war on Iran…
(2020-01-10). South Koreans Rally Near US Embassy in Seoul to Protest Sending Troops to Persian Gulf – Photos. sputniknews.com SEOUL (Sputnik) – The demonstration was preceded by a press conference where the organisers described the US airstrikes in Iraq as "an obvious violation of international law and Iraq's sovereignty" and urged the government to not send troops to the Hormuz Strait.
(2020-01-10). Iran Will Make Huge Political Gains From This Crisis. counterpunch.org The Iranian missile attack on two US bases in Iraq is symbolic retaliation for the US assassination of General Qassem Soleimani on 3 January. Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei said there would be direct action against the US by the Iranian armed forces, and this has now happened. The message is that the Iranian leadership More
(2020-01-10). Video: US Simulates A War with Iran Scenario. globalresearch.ca The United States and Iran are balancing on the edge of a fully-fledged open military conflict, with many claiming that President Donald Trump had to respond militarily to the Iranian retaliatory missile strike on US military bases in Iraq. However, …
(2020-01-10). "Fake Intelligence"? Washington Blames Iran for Ukraine Airliner Crash. Was the Plane Brought down by a Missile? globalresearch.ca Disinformation, Big Lies and fake news repeated enough get most people to believe the official (falsified) narrative. | That's what state-sponsored propaganda is all about — supported by establishment media, operating as press agents for powerful interests, manipulating the public mind, …
(2020-01-10). The Current U.S. Approach to Nuclear Weapons Can Only Lead to Armageddon. counterpunch.org The decade ends with two major threats to humanity: global warming leading to a climate catastrophe and the threat of a nuclear war extinguishing our civilization. The U.S. has pulled out of the Paris Agreement and is wrecker-in-chief of the weak climate change agreement that all the countries had signed to limit the emission of More
(2020-01-10). Trump's Foolish Decision to Assassinate Soleimani Brings 'Nuclear Freedom' for Iran – Professor. sputniknews.com On Sunday, Iran announced it would scrap its remaining obligations under the nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The decision comes amid growing tensions between the United States and Iran in the wake of a top Iranian commander's assassination by US forces.
(2020-01-10). The Two Faces of Warmongers. globalresearch.ca The American people are now facing a new political challenge brought on by the recent U.S. assassinations of Iranian and Iraqi military figures. | On one hand, they realize that their government has become unattached more than ever from their immediate …
(2020-01-10). US House Sends Loud 'No War on Iran' Message to Trump With War Powers Resolution. theantimedia.com (CD) — The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a non-binding War Powers Resolution that would prohibit President Donald Trump from taking further military action against Iran without first gaining congressional approval. JUST IN: House passes Iran war powers resolution, 224-194. Eight Dems opposed: Brindisi, Cunningham, Gottheimer, Horn, Luria, McAdams, Murphy, Rose Three Republicans …
(2020-01-10). America' System of "Checks, Balances and Reality" Crumbles as It Seeks War with Iran: Send in Pope Francis, Not the Marines. globalresearch.ca "Any Muslim who denies #JesusChrist's and #SaintMary's infallibility is rejected by #Islam. This is how Islam respects Jesus and Mary (pbut).The honor #Muslims attribute to #JesusChrist (pbuh) is no less than his position and merit in the eyes of the …
(2020-01-10). Iran Puppet Master: Mike Pompeo Talked Trump Into Killing Soleimani — Reports. sputniknews.com Mike Pompeo has reportedly long cherished plans to take the Iranian general off the Middle East battlefield, as he is said to have for quite a while seen late Commander Soleimani as the one behind the spiralling tensions with Tehran.
(2020-01-10). German government defends US war drive against Iran. wsws.org Having previously defended the US assassination of Gen. Qassim Soleimani, an illegal act of state terror, Berlin condemned Iran's retaliatory strike.
(2020-01-10). The Democrats pass Pelosi's phony antiwar resolution. wsws.org On Thursday, House Democrats backed a meaningless binding "concurrent" resolution that places no meaningful restrictions on Trump's ability to launch a war against Iran.
(2020-01-10). US, Canada blame plane crash on Iran as causes remain unclear. wsws.org With the investigation into the causes for the crash having barely begun, US and Canadian officials have accused Iran of downing of the plane.
(2020-01-10). "Trust Us Not to be Really Impartial": Reflections on the Structure and Content of the BBC. counterpunch.org As Iran responds to US war crimes and tensions escalate, we can expect the BBC to increase its anti-Iranian propaganda. The BBC's Defence Correspondent, Jonathan Marcus, opines: "it was rocket attacks from Iran's proxies — local Shia militia — against US bases [in Iraq] that formed the prelude to this recent crisis," referring to Iranian More
(2020-01-10). Trump Administration had Set a Trap for Soleimani. globalresearch.ca As we breathe a sigh of relief that, for the moment, a massive escalation of regional tensions in the Middle East has been averted, it is important to raise some simple (though disturbing) questions about the assassination of Iran's Major …