• Iran Regime TV accused of muting anti-regime stadium chants
TEHRAN: Iranians reported Saturday that the state broadcaster had muted stadium noise during the previous evening’s football match in Tehran, in an apparent attempt to drown out anti-government chants.
Mobile phone footage shared widely on social media showed thousands of fans in Tehran’s Azadi stadium chanting “Death to the dictator” during the fixture between the capital’s Esteghlal and Tractor Sazi from the northwestern city of Tabriz.
• Saudi envoy exposes Iran regime’s role in assault on KSA oil tankers
JEDDAH: Khalid bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US, has reiterated his condemnation of the Iranian regime’s “menacing role” in Yemen.
His remarks on Twitter on Friday came days after Saudi Arabia resumed shipping through the Bab Al-Mandeb.
Maritime activity had been temporarily halted following Houthi attacks on two of the Saudi Arabia’s oil tankers.
“There should be no doubt about the Iranian regime’s ‘menacing role’ in Yemen,” the prince said, referring to Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Commander Nasser Shabani’s admission that the regime was behind recent attacks on the two oil tankers.
• Iran’s Economic Worries Mount as Iraq Applies New US Sanctions
Iraq has begun to apply new U.S. economic sanctions against Iran, turning back shipments of Iranian goods at a number of border crossings, according to Al Hurra TV, quoting Iranian merchants.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is straddling the political fence as he seeks a second term following parliamentary elections in May, told journalists Wednesday that he was “totally opposed to the principle of sanctions, given the price [Baghdad] itself had paid for international sanctions.”
Nonetheless, Abadi said he would apply them, since “the world does business in dollars and it would hurt the interests of the Iraqi people” if he ignored them.
• Iranian Regime test-fired anti-ship missile during drills last week
Iran test-fired a short-range anti-ship missile in the Strait of Hormuz during naval drills last week that Washington believes were aimed at sending a message as the United States reimposes sanctions on Tehran, a U.S. official said on Friday.
“It’s pretty clear to us that they were trying to use that exercise to send a message to us that as we approach this period of the sanctions here, that they had some capabilities,” Votel told reporters at the Pentagon.
Votel said the U.S. military was keenly aware of Iran’s military activities.
“We are aware of what’s going on, and we remain ready to protect ourselves as we pursue our objectives of freedom of navigation and the freedom of commerce in international waters,” Votel said.
