Cash-flush Iran to buy 114 Airbus jets, may seek Boeings

Cash-flush Iran to buy 114 Airbus jets, may seek Boeings

Special to WorldTribune.com Iran has already begun its post-sanctions spending spree. Flush with cash after implementation of the nuclear deal with world powers, the Teheran regime on Jan. 16 approved the purchase of 114 aircraft from Airbus. And next on the shopping list may be Boeings. “Airbus Group is ready to support Iranian civil and […]

Reformists candidates in Iran, 3 of every 5, rejected in bids to run for parliament

Reformists candidates in Iran, 3 of every 5, rejected in bids to run for parliament

Special to WorldTribune.com Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty State media reports from Iran say about 60 percent of the people who have applied to be candidates in Iran’s February parliamentary elections have been rejected — with most of those rejections involving reformists. Siamak Rah-Peyk, a spokesman for Iran’s Central Elections Supervising Committee, said on […]

Saudi media reports point to national anxieties over lifting of Iran sanctions

Saudi media reports point to national anxieties over lifting of Iran sanctions

Special to WorldTribune.com As trade and investment are set to pour into Iran, and oil pours out, Saudi media are reporting on widespread unease within the Kingdom over the lifting of international sanctions on Teheran. The al-Jazirah daily’s cartoonist drew an incarnation of American capitalism in striped trousers and top hat carrying a bottle marked “sanctions,” from […]

Turkey arrests academics critical of Kurdish policy, condemns others including Chomsky

Turkey arrests academics critical of Kurdish policy, condemns others including Chomsky

Special to WorldTribune.com A group of academics who criticized Turkish military action against Kurds in the country’s southeast were briefly detained by Turkish security forces. The 27 academics were part of a group of 1,000 signatories of a published document critical of the military campaign against Kurdish PKK forces. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced the […]

Nuclear deal marks ‘turning point’ for Iran’s economy, Rouhani says

Nuclear deal marks ‘turning point’ for Iran’s economy, Rouhani says

Special to WorldTribune.com Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Iranian President Hassan Rouhani hailed the lifting of international sanctions on his country, saying a nuclear deal with world powers opened “new windows” for Teheran’s engagement with the world. Rouhani told parliament on January 17 that the deal was also a “turning point” point for Iran’s […]

ISIL abducts 400 Sunni civilians, killed 300 in eastern Syria attack

ISIL abducts 400 Sunni civilians, killed 300 in eastern Syria attack

Special to WorldTribune.com Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) massacred 300 Sunni civilians and took 400 more hostage in a Jan. 16 attack on the eastern Syrian city of Deir Ezzor. “After their attack on Deir Ezzor, ISIL abducted at least 400 civilians from the residents of the Al-Baghaliyeh suburb it captured and adjacent […]

‘Dangerous moment’ for America, Israel lobby warns

‘Dangerous moment’ for America, Israel lobby warns

Special to WorldTribune.com Implementation of the nuclear deal marks a “turning point for Iran’s strength as a terrorist state” and a “dangerous moment for America and our allies,” the American pro-Israel lobby AIPAC warned on Jan. 16. AIPAC surprised some Democratic Party observers when it broke with the Obama Administration last year over the Iran […]

Israel warns ‘implementation day’ is ‘difficult’ for many states situated near Iran

Israel warns ‘implementation day’ is ‘difficult’ for many states situated near Iran

Special to WorldTribune.com While Iran and the Obama administration are caught up in the euphoria of nuclear deal “implementation day,” Teheran’s neighbors fear the Middle East is entering “a new and dangerous era.” “Iran is continuing to strive for nuclear weapons and the optimism of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) report must not blind […]

The foreign policy ‘vision’ at Obama’s last State of the Union cries for an opthalmologist

The foreign policy ‘vision’ at Obama’s last State of the Union cries for an opthalmologist

Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address, the annual speech to a joint session of Congress, has emerged as more of a political pep rally than a clear overview of America’s standing in the world both domestic and foreign. The address was touted as […]

U.S. widow sues Twitter for giving voice to ISIL

U.S. widow sues Twitter for giving voice to ISIL

Special to WorldTribune.com The widow of an American killed in a Jordan terrorist attack is filing suit against Twitter for giving a voice to Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL). In the lawsuit, Tamara Fields said the social media company until recently had given jihadists “unfettered” ability to maintain official Twitter accounts to spread […]