Title: General Information Thread Source:
[None] URL Source:[None] Published:Nov 27, 2020 Author:Name on Post Post Date:2020-11-27 17:45:42 by Gatlin Keywords:None Views:705 Comments:4
The damaged car of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh after it was attacked near the capital Tehran - AFP
Iran blamed Israel for the killing of one of its top Iranian nuclear scientists in an assassination near Tehran yesterday that threatens to provoke a military confrontation during the final months of the Trump presidency.
Mohsen Fakhrizadeh succumbed to injuries in hospital after gunmen fired on his car in Damavand county, Iranian media reported.
Western and Israeli intelligence had long identified Mr Fakhrizadeh, 59, as the head of a covert Iranian project to develop a nuclear weapon that was shelved in 2003. He was subject to UN sanctions and named by the International Atomic Energy Agency in its 2015 "final assessment" of questions about Iran's nuclear programme.
There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attack but Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said there were serious indications of Israeli involvement.
Terrorists murdered an eminent Iranian scientist today, he tweeted. This cowardicewith serious indications of Israeli roleshows desperate warmongering of perpetrators.
He called on the international community and particularly the European Union to condemn the killing "as an act of state terror".
Iranian figures vowed swift retaliation for Mr Fakhrizadehs killing, with the military adviser to Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also blaming Zionists for the assassination.
"In the last days of the political life of their ... ally [US President Donald Trump], the Zionists seek to intensify pressure on Iran and create a full-blown war," tweeted Hossein Dehgan.
"We will strike as thunder at the killers of this oppressed martyr and will make them regret their action.
The chief of staff of Irans armed forces also threatened severe revenge" for those behind the attack. "We assure (Iranians) that we will not rest until we have chased and punished" those responsible, Mohammad Bagheri tweeted.
Iranian media reported that the ambush in Absard town, less than 100km east of the capital Tehran, started when a pickup truck carrying explosives concealed under a cargo of wood exploded in front of Mr Fakhrizadeh's car. The vehicle was reportedly then sprayed with bullets from an SUV in another lane.
Photos taken at the scene show a black sedan with a shattered windscreen next to a pool of blood on a debris-strewn road.
Semi-official Fars news agency reported that witnesses claimed "three or four individuals, who are said to have been terrorists, were killed" in the attack.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would not comment on speculation that Mossad was behind the attack.
The Pentagon declined to comment. The State Department and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. ;
Benjamin Netanyahu named Mohsen Fakhrizadeh during a news conference in 2018 - AMIR COHEN /REUTERS A brigadier general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Mr Fakhrizadeh was seen by Western and Israeli intelligence agencies as the father of Irans alleged nuclear weapons programme, with Mr Netanyahu identifying him by name in a 2018 presentation.
He is by far the most important Iranian nuclear scientist targeted for assassination. Tehran has previously accused Israel of complicity in the killing of four other Iranian nuclear scientists between 2010 and 2012.
Israeli agents have also reportedly carried out more recent assassinations in Iran, including of Al-Qaeda's second-in-command, who was allegedly killed by gunmen on a motorcycle in Tehran in August.
The New York Times reported earlier this month that Abu Muhammad al- Masri was shot alongside his daughter, who was the widow of Osama bin Ladens son Hamza. Washington allegedly provided intelligence to support the attack.
Mr Fakhrizadehs killing comes amid concern at Irans growing enriched uranium stockpiles, which have exceeded limits imposed by a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
After President Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the agreement in 2018, Iran progressively walked back its commitments to limit its nuclear work.
Tehran denies seeking atomic weapons, insisting its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.
In its final months in office, the outgoing administration of President Trump has vowed to intensify its maximum pressure campaign aimed at forcing Tehran to negotiate a more restrictive agreement.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Washingtons policy "extraordinarily effective" during a visit to Jerusalem last week.
On the same Middle East tour, Mr Pompeo refused to rule out a military strike against Iran during an interview with The National, a state- aligned newspaper in the United Arab Emirates.
The US and Iran looked close to war in January, when a US drone strike killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in January.
The heightened tensions will likely complicate efforts by President- elect Joe Biden to rejoin the nuclear deal after he assumes office in January. The agreement is still supported by its other signatories the UK, China, France, Russia, Germany and Iran.
Trump urged his supporters to turn out on behalf of Georgias Republican Senate candidates
President Trump spoke out Friday against the possibility that his supporters could boycott Georgias two Senate runoff election races amid his campaigns ongoing legal challenge of the states presidential election results.
Trump reiterated his frequent claim that the 2020 election was a total scam, but urged his supporters to turn out on behalf of Georgias Republican Senate candidates, Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Sen. David Perdue. The president also confirmed that he plans to travel to Georgia in the coming days to support their campaigns.
No, the 2020 Election was a total scam, we won by a lot (and will hopefully turn over the fraudulent result), but we must get out and help David and Kelly, two GREAT people, Trump tweeted. Otherwise we are playing right into the hands of some very sick people. I will be in Georgia on Saturday!
The outcomes of Georgias Jan. 5 runoff votes will determine which party controls the Senate. Victories in both races would give the Democrats a 50-50 tie in Congress upper chamber, with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris serving as the tiebreaker.
Trump spoke out after Politico reported on growing calls among some conservatives to boycott the runoffs amid his campaigns claims of election fraud. Donald Trump Jr. urged supporters this week to ignore calls not to participate in the vote.
Perdue is running against Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff, while Loeffler is seeking to retain her seat against Democratic challenger Raphael Warnock. Both races proceeded to runoffs after no candidate received at least 50% of the vote in the general election.
Georgia certified voting results earlier this month following the completion of a full hand recount. The Trump campaign has repeatedly criticized Georgia Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, for his handling of the election in the days since Nov. 3.
WASHINGTON Michael Flynn said Thursday that he can breathe freedom and liberty for the first time in four years after President Donald Trump granted him a full pardon a day earlier.
I say thank you from the bottom of my heart. For the first time in more than four years and because of my fearless attorney, Sidney Powell, the Guardian Angel of American Justice, and thousands of good people with endless energy rallying together on my behalf, I breathe freedom and liberty today, Flynn said in a lengthy personal statement released on the afternoon of Thanksgiving.
Flynn, Trumps first national security adviser who twice pleaded guilty to the FBI, did not explicitly thank Trump for the pardon. He did, however, denounce critics of the president.
Never again should any family or individual be so viciously targeted, maligned, smeared, and threatened such has been the experience of my family and I. Not you and your loved ones, not me nor President Trump, our First Lady, and the Trump children, he said.
Stand with me today in renouncing this betrayal of trust that has burdened our nation and proclaim with one united voice across this land that we will never again allow the rightful power of the citizens of this country to be uprooted, undercut, usurped, or held hostage by a coup against our nation, a duly elected President or any future president of these United States.
Flynn had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with with then-Russian ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak, in December 2016. The Justice Department, however, stepped in in May and took action to dismiss the criminal charges against Flynn.
The pardon made by Trump on Wednesday afternoon had been expected for a while.
"In the last days of the political life of their ... ally [US President Donald Trump], the Zionists seek to intensify pressure on Iran and create a full-blown war," tweeted Hossein Dehgan.
"We will strike as thunder at the killers of this oppressed martyr and will make them regret their action.
Hooks in their jaws?
Ezekiel 38:4,5
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia (Iran), Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet...