Iranian&nbsp;President&nbsp;Masoud Pezeshkian said the result of the U.S. election did not matter to his country, state media reported on Thursday, amid heightened tensions with Washington over its support for Iran's arch-enemy, Israel.

Donald Trump's return to the White House following his election victory this week could mean tougher enforcement of U.S. oil sanctions against Iran, which he initiated in 2018 after quitting a nuclear pact between Tehran and global powers.

The Biden administration has strongly supported Israel in its wars against the Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as Israeli actions against Iran itself.

Some analysts believe Trump will give Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a greater free hand in dealing with Iran.

"To us it does not matter at all who has won the American election, because our country and system relies on its inner strength and a great and honourable nation," Pezeshkian said late on Wednesday, quoted by the state news agency IRNA.

It was his first comment on Trump's election victory.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trumps-win-in-us-election-a-chance-for-washington-to-iran-774280">Donald Trump's win a chance for Washington to reassess 'wrong policies': Iran</a>

"We will not be close-minded in developing our relations with other countries (while) we have made it our priority to develop relations with Islamic and neighboring countries," Pezeshkian said.

It was not immediately clear if Pezeshkian was also referring to the United States, with which Iran does not have diplomatic relations. Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in all matters of state, has banned holding any direct talks with the United States.

An&nbsp;Iranian&nbsp;government spokesperson earlier played down the importance of the U.S. election, while a Revolutionary Guards commander voiced readiness for confrontation.

The&nbsp;Iranian&nbsp;leaders' main concern is the potential for Trump to empower Netanyahu to strike Iran's nuclear sites, conduct assassinations, and reimpose his "maximum pressure" policy through heightened sanctions on the country's oil industry.

Some, however, suspect Trump will be cautious about the possibility of war.

In 2018, the then-Trump administration exited Iran's 2015 nuclear pact with six world powers and reimposed harsh sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to violate the pact's nuclear limits.

International sanctions over Tehran's nuclear programme forced Tehran to reach the 2015 pact under which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for lifting the punitive measures.

Trump's tough stance could force Ayatollah Khamenei to approve talks "whether direct or indirect" with the United States, two&nbsp;Iranian&nbsp;officials have told Reuters.

In September, Pezeshkian said Tehran was ready to end its nuclear standoff with the West, which accuses it of seeking capacity to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only.

Disclaimer: This story has been published from a news agency feed with minimal edits to adhere to WION's style guide. The headline may have been changed to better reflect the content of the story or to make it more suitable for WION audience.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the result of the U.S. election did not matter to his country, state media reported on Thursday, amid heightened tensions with Washington over its support for Iran's arch-enemy, Israel.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the result of the U.S. election did not matter to his country, state media reported on Thursday, amid heightened tensions with Washington over its support for Iran's arch-enemy, Israel. Donald Trump's return to the White House following his election victory this week could mean tougher enforcement of U.S. oil sanctions against Iran, which he initiated in 2018 after quitting a nuclear pact between Tehran and global powers. The Biden administration has strongly supported Israel in its wars against the Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as Israeli actions against Iran itself. Some analysts believe Trump will give Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a greater free hand in dealing with Iran. "To us it does not matter at all who has won the American election, because our country and system relies on its inner strength and a great and honourable nation," Pezeshkian said late on Wednesday, quoted by the state news agency IRNA. It was his first comment on Trump's election victory. Also read: Donald Trump's win a chance for Washington to reassess 'wrong policies': Iran "We will not be close-minded in developing our relations with other countries (while) we have made it our priority to develop relations with Islamic and neighboring countries," Pezeshkian said. It was not immediately clear if Pezeshkian was also referring to the United States, with which Iran does not have diplomatic relations. Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in all matters of state, has banned holding any direct talks with the United States. An Iranian government spokesperson earlier played down the importance of the U.S. election, while a Revolutionary Guards commander voiced readiness for confrontation. The Iranian leaders' main concern is the potential for Trump to empower Netanyahu to strike Iran's nuclear sites, conduct assassinations, and reimpose his "maximum pressure" policy through heightened sanctions on the country's oil industry. Some, however, suspect Trump will be cautious about the possibility of war. In 2018, the then-Trump administration exited Iran's 2015 nuclear pact with six world powers and reimposed harsh sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to violate the pact's nuclear limits. International sanctions over Tehran's nuclear programme forced Tehran to reach the 2015 pact under which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for lifting the punitive measures. Trump's tough stance could force Ayatollah Khamenei to approve talks "whether direct or indirect" with the United States, two Iranian officials have told Reuters. In September, Pezeshkian said Tehran was ready to end its nuclear standoff with the West, which accuses it of seeking capacity to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only. Disclaimer: This story has been published from a news agency feed with minimal edits to adhere to WION's style guide. The headline may have been changed to better reflect the content of the story or to make it more suitable for WION audience.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian says Trump's win ‘doesn’t matter’

The United States on Friday confirmed its participation in the meeting on the Iran nuclear deal next week and offered to talk directly with Tehran.&nbsp;

"These remain early days, and we don't anticipate an immediate breakthrough as there will be difficult discussions ahead. But we believe this is a healthy step forward," State Department spokesman Ned Price was quoted as saying by news agency AFP.&nbsp;

"We do not anticipate presently that there will be direct talks between the United States and Iran through this process, though the United States remains open to them."

Earlier on Friday, the European Union (EU) announced an in-person meeting of all parties in Vienna of the 2015 nuclear deal, named the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, from which the US under former president <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;pulled off.&nbsp;

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/iran-rejects-meeting-us-at-nuclear-deal-talks-in-vienna-375001">Iran rejects meeting US at nuclear deal talks in Vienna</a>

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif confirmed the Islamic Republic's presence in the meeting, but denied any meeting with the US, calling it "unnecessary".&nbsp;

The meeting aimed to "rapidly finalise sanction-lifting and nuclear measures for choreographed removal of all sanctions, followed by Iran ceasing remedial measures," Zarif said.&nbsp;

"No Iran-US meeting. Unnecessary," the Iranian foreign minister wrote on Twitter.&nbsp;

US President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;has said that Washington would return to the nuclear accord if Tehran agrees to follow its commitments under the deal.

However, Iran has insisted on lifting off the sanctions imposed under Trump before beginning any negotiations.&nbsp;

 
&nbsp;

The United States on Friday confirmed its participation in the meeting on the Iran nuclear deal next week and offered to talk directly with Tehran. "These remain early days, and we don't anticipate an immediate breakthrough as there will be difficult discussions ahead.

The United States on Friday confirmed its participation in the meeting on the Iran nuclear deal next week and offered to talk directly with Tehran. "These remain early days, and we don't anticipate an immediate breakthrough as there will be difficult discussions ahead. But we believe this is a healthy step forward," State Department spokesman Ned Price was quoted as saying by news agency AFP. "We do not anticipate presently that there will be direct talks between the United States and Iran through this process, though the United States remains open to them." Earlier on Friday, the European Union (EU) announced an in-person meeting of all parties in Vienna of the 2015 nuclear deal, named the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, from which the US under former president Donald Trump pulled off. Also read | Iran rejects meeting US at nuclear deal talks in Vienna Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif confirmed the Islamic Republic's presence in the meeting, but denied any meeting with the US, calling it "unnecessary". The meeting aimed to "rapidly finalise sanction-lifting and nuclear measures for choreographed removal of all sanctions, followed by Iran ceasing remedial measures," Zarif said. "No Iran-US meeting. Unnecessary," the Iranian foreign minister wrote on Twitter. US President Joe Biden has said that Washington would return to the nuclear accord if Tehran agrees to follow its commitments under the deal. However, Iran has insisted on lifting off the sanctions imposed under Trump before beginning any negotiations.

US confirms participation in nuclear deal meet, 'open' to talk with Iran

The United States and Iran have ratcheted up military activity in the Middle-East ahead of the first death anniversary of slain Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.&nbsp;

According to a report in CNN, Iran has increased its maritime presence in the Persian Gulf in the last two days and is also moving short-range ballistic missiles into neighbouring Iraq.

This comes a day after Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif accused the Trump administration of fabricating a reason to start a war with Iran -- and less than three weeks before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

The US has repeatedly blamed rocket attacks on its embassy in Iraq's highly fortified Green Zone on Iranian proxies.&nbsp;

US President Donald Trump, who reportedly asked for military options to deal with Iran in November, tweeted last week that he would "hold Iran responsible" should any Americans be killed.

Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, to this end, charged Thursday that Trump is creating a pretext for war.

All this is playing out as Biden prepares to enact his own policies after his January 20 inauguration.&nbsp;

The President-elect, he said, wants to ease Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign against Tehran, resume engagement and return to the Iran nuclear deal.

The relations between the two countries soured after the Trump administration withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018. The US killing Qassem Solaimani in a drone strike last year in January added fuel to the fire.

Tehran then attacked two American bases in Iraq a few days later.

Iran on December 31 had appealed to the United Nations Security Council to stop the US from conducting military activities in the Middle-East after reports emerged that Washington had sent bombers and aircraft carriers to the Gulf.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, Soleimani's successor on Friday marked the death of the former Quds Force commander's death by pledging that "those who took part in this assassination and crime will not be safe on earth."

The United States and Iran have ratcheted up military activity in the Middle-East ahead of the first death anniversary of slain Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.

The United States and Iran have ratcheted up military activity in the Middle-East ahead of the first death anniversary of slain Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. According to a report in CNN, Iran has increased its maritime presence in the Persian Gulf in the last two days and is also moving short-range ballistic missiles into neighbouring Iraq. This comes a day after Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif accused the Trump administration of fabricating a reason to start a war with Iran -- and less than three weeks before President-elect Joe Biden takes office. The US has repeatedly blamed rocket attacks on its embassy in Iraq's highly fortified Green Zone on Iranian proxies. US President Donald Trump, who reportedly asked for military options to deal with Iran in November, tweeted last week that he would "hold Iran responsible" should any Americans be killed. Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, to this end, charged Thursday that Trump is creating a pretext for war. All this is playing out as Biden prepares to enact his own policies after his January 20 inauguration. The President-elect, he said, wants to ease Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign against Tehran, resume engagement and return to the Iran nuclear deal. The relations between the two countries soured after the Trump administration withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018. The US killing Qassem Solaimani in a drone strike last year in January added fuel to the fire. Tehran then attacked two American bases in Iraq a few days later. Iran on December 31 had appealed to the United Nations Security Council to stop the US from conducting military activities in the Middle-East after reports emerged that Washington had sent bombers and aircraft carriers to the Gulf. Meanwhile, Soleimani's successor on Friday marked the death of the former Quds Force commander's death by pledging that "those who took part in this assassination and crime will not be safe on earth."

US, Iran beef up military activity in Gulf ahead of Soleimani's first death anniversary

President-elect Joe Biden has made it clear that his preferred method for dealing with Iran is to find a way back to the nuclear deal the Obama administration concluded in 2015, while bargaining for an extension to some of its key provisions.

“If Iran returns to strict compliance,” Biden wrote in a September op-ed for CNN, “the United States would rejoin the agreement as a starting point for follow-on negotiations.”

The Iranian regime, for its part, has made it clear that, in reaction to last month’s assassination of its nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, it intends to ramp up its production of enriched uranium while threatening to expel international inspectors by early February if the United States doesn’t immediately lift sanctions.

The regime has also ruled out any extensions to the nuclear deal, from which President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018. “It will never be renegotiated,” said Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. “Period.”

There’s a way out of this impasse. The Biden administration should — and, more important, can — bide its time.

Tehran is desperate to have sanctions lifted. In 2016, after the nuclear deal had taken effect, it exported roughly 2.1 million barrels of crude oil a day. In 2020, after the Trump administration imposed sanctions, it exported less than a quarter of that. The inflation rate is running somewhere between 42% and 99%. Protests a year ago, triggered by a rise in fuel prices, led to massive street demonstrations calling for an end to the regime.

The regime’s response to its economic and political crises has been to up the stakes. It wagers that it can provoke a nuclear crisis and then stampede the new administration into giving up its immense economic leverage even before meaningful negotiations begin. Once the main sanctions are lifted, Tehran can concede things it never had a right to withdraw, such as U.N. access to its nuclear facilities under the terms of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, while haggling for things it shouldn’t be allowed to get, such as the lifting of sanctions on an Iranian airline that supports the regime’s proxies.

But Tehran’s escalation is also a bluff. There’s a limit to how far it can go in provoking a nuclear crisis with the United States without risking a confrontation with an enemy that is much closer to home.

In the past six months, explosions in Iran have destroyed large parts of a centrifuge manufacturing facility in Natanz, a secretive military installation at Parchin, a power plant in Isfahan, a missile facility in Khojir and an underground military installation in Tehran, among other places. Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, al-Qaida’s second-highest leader, was gunned down in August in the streets of Tehran. As for Fakhrizadeh, he was not the first Iranian nuclear scientist to meet a violent end and probably won’t be the last.

Nobody has taken responsibility for these attacks, but nobody is in much doubt about their source, either. They reveal an astonishing degree of penetration of the Iranian security complex. If Tehran tries to race toward nuclear breakout, it knows it will encounter a determined and effective challenge. There’s a limit to how far the regime can go with its provocations before those provocations become dangerous to the regime itself.

In short, Tehran’s negotiating position is weak and its options for escalation are limited. (Even its apparent attack last year on Saudi Arabia’s oil installations, while technically impressive, did little permanent damage to the kingdom while accelerating the recent Arab-Israeli rapprochement.) If disputed rumors of the 81-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s ill health prove true, the country would experience its first transfer of real authority since 1989, another tumultuous event for an already unpopular regime.

Contrast this with the Biden administration, which will come into office holding four powerful cards — assuming it chooses to play them. First, it can credibly outsource effective deterrence to Israel without having to bear the immediate risks. Second, it can leverage the military, economic, intelligence and diplomatic resources of an increasingly united Israeli-Arab front. Third, it doesn’t have to impose new sanctions to cripple Iran’s economy. It merely has to enforce the ones already in place.

Finally, there is growing evidence that Iran has long been in breach of its past commitments by hiding hundreds of tons of nuclear equipment and material that should have been disclosed under the terms of the nuclear deal. The Biden administration and its European partners have a right and responsibility to insist that Tehran provide a full accounting of that material as the entry price of negotiations.

There is a road toward a credible and durable deal with Iran that can muster the kind of regional support and bipartisan buy-in the last one lacked. It’s a deal that forces the regime to choose between a nuclear program or a functioning economy, rather than getting both. A Biden administration that has the patience to see through Tehran’s bluster can be rewarded with a lasting diplomatic achievement that a future administration, unlike the last one, will not easily erase.

President-elect Joe Biden has made it clear that his preferred method for dealing with Iran is to find a way back to the nuclear deal the Obama administration concluded in 2015, while bargaining for an extension to some of its key provisions.

President-elect Joe Biden has made it clear that his preferred method for dealing with Iran is to find a way back to the nuclear deal the Obama administration concluded in 2015, while bargaining for an extension to some of its key provisions. “If Iran returns to strict compliance,” Biden wrote in a September op-ed for CNN, “the United States would rejoin the agreement as a starting point for follow-on negotiations.” The Iranian regime, for its part, has made it clear that, in reaction to last month’s assassination of its nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, it intends to ramp up its production of enriched uranium while threatening to expel international inspectors by early February if the United States doesn’t immediately lift sanctions. The regime has also ruled out any extensions to the nuclear deal, from which President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018. “It will never be renegotiated,” said Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. “Period.” There’s a way out of this impasse. The Biden administration should — and, more important, can — bide its time. Tehran is desperate to have sanctions lifted. In 2016, after the nuclear deal had taken effect, it exported roughly 2.1 million barrels of crude oil a day. In 2020, after the Trump administration imposed sanctions, it exported less than a quarter of that. The inflation rate is running somewhere between 42% and 99%. Protests a year ago, triggered by a rise in fuel prices, led to massive street demonstrations calling for an end to the regime. The regime’s response to its economic and political crises has been to up the stakes. It wagers that it can provoke a nuclear crisis and then stampede the new administration into giving up its immense economic leverage even before meaningful negotiations begin. Once the main sanctions are lifted, Tehran can concede things it never had a right to withdraw, such as U.N. access to its nuclear facilities under the terms of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, while haggling for things it shouldn’t be allowed to get, such as the lifting of sanctions on an Iranian airline that supports the regime’s proxies. But Tehran’s escalation is also a bluff. There’s a limit to how far it can go in provoking a nuclear crisis with the United States without risking a confrontation with an enemy that is much closer to home. In the past six months, explosions in Iran have destroyed large parts of a centrifuge manufacturing facility in Natanz, a secretive military installation at Parchin, a power plant in Isfahan, a missile facility in Khojir and an underground military installation in Tehran, among other places. Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, al-Qaida’s second-highest leader, was gunned down in August in the streets of Tehran. As for Fakhrizadeh, he was not the first Iranian nuclear scientist to meet a violent end and probably won’t be the last. Nobody has taken responsibility for these attacks, but nobody is in much doubt about their source, either. They reveal an astonishing degree of penetration of the Iranian security complex. If Tehran tries to race toward nuclear breakout, it knows it will encounter a determined and effective challenge. There’s a limit to how far the regime can go with its provocations before those provocations become dangerous to the regime itself. In short, Tehran’s negotiating position is weak and its options for escalation are limited. (Even its apparent attack last year on Saudi Arabia’s oil installations, while technically impressive, did little permanent damage to the kingdom while accelerating the recent Arab-Israeli rapprochement.) If disputed rumors of the 81-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s ill health prove true, the country would experience its first transfer of real authority since 1989, another tumultuous event for an already unpopular regime. Contrast this with the Biden administration, which will come into office holding four powerful cards — assuming it chooses to play them. First, it can credibly outsource effective deterrence to Israel without having to bear the immediate risks. Second, it can leverage the military, economic, intelligence and diplomatic resources of an increasingly united Israeli-Arab front. Third, it doesn’t have to impose new sanctions to cripple Iran’s economy. It merely has to enforce the ones already in place. Finally, there is growing evidence that Iran has long been in breach of its past commitments by hiding hundreds of tons of nuclear equipment and material that should have been disclosed under the terms of the nuclear deal. The Biden administration and its European partners have a right and responsibility to insist that Tehran provide a full accounting of that material as the entry price of negotiations. There is a road toward a credible and durable deal with Iran that can muster the kind of regional support and bipartisan buy-in the last one lacked. It’s a deal that forces the regime to choose between a nuclear program or a functioning economy, rather than getting both. A Biden administration that has the patience to see through Tehran’s bluster can be rewarded with a lasting diplomatic achievement that a future administration, unlike the last one, will not easily erase.

On Iran, Biden can bide his time

The President of United States of America has announced the new sanctions on Iranians for violating the United Nations' arms embargo. President Donald Trump demanded the enforcement by US allies who have disputed the fact that he has any such authority to reimpose the sanctions.

US President announces new sanctions on Iranians for violating UN arms embargo

US President Donald Trump has announced that he intends to move next week to trigger a "snapback" of international sanctions against Iran at the UNSC.

Trump threatens 'Snapback' of UN sanctions against Iran

A number of rockets were fired targetting foreign troops deployed in an Iraqi base north of Baghdad, Iraqi and US security sources said.&nbsp;

"The initial toll is two wounded Iraqi Air Defence personnel who are in very critical condition," said Tahsin al-Khafaji, spokesman for Iraq's Joint Operations Command on the attack at the Taji airbase.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/iran-warns-donald-trump-after-us-carried-air-strikes-in-iraq-286169">Iran warns Donald Trump after US carried air strikes in Iraq</a>

At least 33 rockets struck Iraqi air defence units at the airbase, the country's military said, in one of the largest such volleys ever.&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uk-says-us-strikes-in-iraq-proportionate-response-286170">UK says US strikes in Iraq 'proportionate' response</a>

Another 24 missiles at a nearby launching site have been found and the owner of the plot of land and security forces from an adjacent checkpoint are detained for questioning, Iraq's military said.&nbsp;

This was the 23rd attack since late October that aim installations across Iraq where American forces and diplomats are present. None of the groups has claimed responsibility for these attacks but the US has blamed hardline elements of the Hashed al-Shaabi, a network of armed groups.

The US-led coalition said three of its people and two Iraqi soldiers were injured in the latest attack.&nbsp;

The US-led coalition's surveillance capabilities have been affected by cloudy weather in recent days, which a US official said could have motivated the attackers to launch the rockets during the day instead of night.

This attack came three days after a similar attack which killed two American military personnel and a British soldier, the deadliest attack of such nature at an Iraqi base in years.

The US responded on Friday with airstrikes on arms depots, which it said were used by Kataeb Hezbollah, an Iran-favoured group within the Hashed.&nbsp;

The strikes killed at least five personnel of Iraq's security forces and one civilian, as per the country's military.&nbsp;

Iraq has faced trouble because of the enmity between two of its allies: Iran and the US. And the country started facing a lot of trouble because of this when the tussle between Iran and US spiked in late 2019 when a US contractor was killed in a rocket attack in northern Iraq.&nbsp;

The US, in a retaliatory move, killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and Hashed deputy chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis which greatly increased the global concerns.&nbsp;

After the death of Soleimani, Iran launched ballistic missiles at US military in Iraq, while Iraqi parliament voted in favour of expelling all foreign armies from its soil, a move that is still not implemented. &nbsp;

Some 5,200 American troops are deployed in Iraq as part of US-led coalition to help local forces weed out the remnants of the Islamic State group.

A number of rockets were fired targetting foreign troops deployed in an Iraqi base north of Baghdad, Iraqi and US security sources said. "The initial toll is two wounded Iraqi Air Defence personnel who are in very critical condition," said Tahsin al-Khafaji, spokesman for Iraq's Joint Operations Command on the attack at the Taji airbase.

A number of rockets were fired targetting foreign troops deployed in an Iraqi base north of Baghdad, Iraqi and US security sources said. "The initial toll is two wounded Iraqi Air Defence personnel who are in very critical condition," said Tahsin al-Khafaji, spokesman for Iraq's Joint Operations Command on the attack at the Taji airbase. Also read: Iran warns Donald Trump after US carried air strikes in Iraq At least 33 rockets struck Iraqi air defence units at the airbase, the country's military said, in one of the largest such volleys ever. Also read: UK says US strikes in Iraq 'proportionate' response Another 24 missiles at a nearby launching site have been found and the owner of the plot of land and security forces from an adjacent checkpoint are detained for questioning, Iraq's military said. This was the 23rd attack since late October that aim installations across Iraq where American forces and diplomats are present. None of the groups has claimed responsibility for these attacks but the US has blamed hardline elements of the Hashed al-Shaabi, a network of armed groups. The US-led coalition said three of its people and two Iraqi soldiers were injured in the latest attack. The US-led coalition's surveillance capabilities have been affected by cloudy weather in recent days, which a US official said could have motivated the attackers to launch the rockets during the day instead of night. This attack came three days after a similar attack which killed two American military personnel and a British soldier, the deadliest attack of such nature at an Iraqi base in years. The US responded on Friday with airstrikes on arms depots, which it said were used by Kataeb Hezbollah, an Iran-favoured group within the Hashed. The strikes killed at least five personnel of Iraq's security forces and one civilian, as per the country's military. Iraq has faced trouble because of the enmity between two of its allies: Iran and the US. And the country started facing a lot of trouble because of this when the tussle between Iran and US spiked in late 2019 when a US contractor was killed in a rocket attack in northern Iraq. The US, in a retaliatory move, killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and Hashed deputy chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis which greatly increased the global concerns. After the death of Soleimani, Iran launched ballistic missiles at US military in Iraq, while Iraqi parliament voted in favour of expelling all foreign armies from its soil, a move that is still not implemented. Some 5,200 American troops are deployed in Iraq as part of US-led coalition to help local forces weed out the remnants of the Islamic State group.

At least 33 rockets target US, UK troops in Iraq

US President Donald Trump warned Iran on Sunday&nbsp;that the United States is targetting 52&nbsp;sites in Iran and asserted of hitting them "very fast and very hard" if threats to the US are not stopped.&nbsp;

Taking to Twitter, Trump said Iran is talking very boldly about targetting "US assets" after the killing of top commander Qasem Soleimani.&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/chants-of-death-to-america-as-iraqis-mourn-death-of-iranian-commander-272136">Chants of 'Death to America' as Iraqis mourn death of Iranian commander Soleimani</a> 
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Iran is talking very boldly about targeting certain USA assets as revenge for our ridding the world of their terrorist leader who had just killed an American, &amp; badly wounded many others, not to mention all of the people he had killed over his lifetime, including recently....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1213593965838163968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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....hundreds of Iranian protesters. He was already attacking our Embassy, and preparing for additional hits in other locations. Iran has been nothing but problems for many years. Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1213593974679769093?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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....targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level &amp; important to Iran &amp; the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1213593975732527112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
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"Iran is talking very boldly about targeting certain USA assets as revenge for our ridding the world of their terrorist leader who had just killed an American, &amp; badly wounded many others, not to mention all of the people he had killed over his lifetime, including recently hundreds of Iranian 
protesters. He was already attacking our Embassy, and preparing for additional hits in other locations. Iran has been nothing but problems for many years."

He added that 52 represents the number of US hostages taken by Iran many years ago.&nbsp;

"Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have targetted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level &amp; important to Iran &amp; &nbsp;the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran 
itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!," Trump tweeted.

The threat by the US President comes after two mortar rounds hit an area near the US embassy in Baghdad on Saturday, in apparent retaliation after the killing of Soleimani.&nbsp;

After the mortar attack, almost simultaneously, two rockets also were fired aiming the Al-Balad airbase where American troops are deployed. However, the US and Iraqi military confirmed that there were no casualties.&nbsp;

Soleimani, a much-revered figure in Iran and nearby region, was the leader of Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' and was killed in a drone strike by the US near the Baghdad international airport. The strike killed 10 people including Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.&nbsp;

Yesterday, thousands of people in Iran chanted "Death to America" and called for "revenge" in the funeral procession in honour of late commander.&nbsp;

Pro-Iranian groups in Iran are threatening of targetting US installations across Iraq with missiles and warnings to Iraqi troops, part of great anger against the killing of Soleimani.&nbsp;

Earlier Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also called for "severe revenge" and vowed that "God willing, his work and his path will not be stopped".&nbsp;

US President Donald Trump warned Iran on Sunday that the United States is targetting 52 sites in Iran and asserted of hitting them "very fast and very hard" if threats to the US are not stopped.

US President Donald Trump warned Iran on Sunday that the United States is targetting 52 sites in Iran and asserted of hitting them "very fast and very hard" if threats to the US are not stopped. Taking to Twitter, Trump said Iran is talking very boldly about targetting "US assets" after the killing of top commander Qasem Soleimani. Also read: Chants of 'Death to America' as Iraqis mourn death of Iranian commander Soleimani Iran is talking very boldly about targeting certain USA assets as revenge for our ridding the world of their terrorist leader who had just killed an American, & badly wounded many others, not to mention all of the people he had killed over his lifetime, including recently.... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2020 × ....hundreds of Iranian protesters. He was already attacking our Embassy, and preparing for additional hits in other locations. Iran has been nothing but problems for many years. Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have..... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2020 × ....targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2020 × "Iran is talking very boldly about targeting certain USA assets as revenge for our ridding the world of their terrorist leader who had just killed an American, & badly wounded many others, not to mention all of the people he had killed over his lifetime, including recently hundreds of Iranian protesters. He was already attacking our Embassy, and preparing for additional hits in other locations. Iran has been nothing but problems for many years." He added that 52 represents the number of US hostages taken by Iran many years ago. "Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have targetted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!," Trump tweeted. The threat by the US President comes after two mortar rounds hit an area near the US embassy in Baghdad on Saturday, in apparent retaliation after the killing of Soleimani. After the mortar attack, almost simultaneously, two rockets also were fired aiming the Al-Balad airbase where American troops are deployed. However, the US and Iraqi military confirmed that there were no casualties. Soleimani, a much-revered figure in Iran and nearby region, was the leader of Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' and was killed in a drone strike by the US near the Baghdad international airport. The strike killed 10 people including Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Yesterday, thousands of people in Iran chanted "Death to America" and called for "revenge" in the funeral procession in honour of late commander. Pro-Iranian groups in Iran are threatening of targetting US installations across Iraq with missiles and warnings to Iraqi troops, part of great anger against the killing of Soleimani. Earlier Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also called for "severe revenge" and vowed that "God willing, his work and his path will not be stopped".

US to target 52 Iranian sites if Americans are attacked: Donald Trump

The killing of Iranian military leader Qassim Soleimani proves the point: The United States has perfected the art of strengthening Iranian hardliners fuelled by an apparently ingrained misreading of Iranian politics and strategy sustained over decades.

It also suggests that the Trump administration has walked into a trap in which spiralling tension between the United States and Iran is likely to be played out on Iranian rather than US terms.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/thousands-gather-in-baghdad-to-mourn-soleimani-others-killed-in-us-airstrike-272067">Thousands gather in Baghdad to mourn Soleimani, others killed in US airstrike</a>

Iran moved last year away from its initial strategic patience response to the US withdrawal from the 2015 international agreement that curbed the Islamic republic’s nuclear program and the imposition of harsh economic sanctions to a strategy of gradual escalation.

Iran is banking on the assumption that taking the United States to the brink of yet another Middle Eastern war will ultimately persuade the Trump administration to return to the negotiating table. It’s a high-risk gamble that so far has produced results.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/qasem-soleimanis-killing-what-options-does-iran-have-to-avenge-top-commanders-assassination-272107">Qasem Soleimani's killing: What options does Iran have to avenge top commander's assassination</a>

Last week’skilling of an American contractor on an Iraqi military base constituted Iran’s latest chess move.

It sparked a US military strike against an Iranian-backed militia, the subsequent killing of Mr Soleimani and the leader of the militia, Abdul Mahdi al-Muhandis, and the targeting of a militia convoy.

The Iranian move led to the siege of the US embassy in Iraq that evoked images of the humiliating 1975 evacuation of the US mission in Saigon towards the end of the Vietnam war and the 444-day occupation of the US embassy in Tehran in 1979.

It also has put at risk the future of US forces in Iraq, seventeen years after US forces toppled Saddam Hussein and US$1 trillion later. Iraq’s parliament is about to discuss moves to remove foreign forces from the country.

“A humiliating departure for the US from Iraq now seems inevitable,” said International Crisis Group Iran expert Ali Vaez.

Pro-Iranian militias are counting on the fact that they are Iraqis with close ties to the Iraqi security establishment, which they expect will exclude them from the moves that would primarily target the United States.

Iraq’s influential Shiite leader Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has so far limited himself to calling for restraint in the wake of Mr Soleimani’s killing. Yet, Mr Al-Sistani could prove to be the player who definitively sways the pendulum.

“How long before Ayatollah Sistani issues a fatwa (religious opinion) asking US troops to leave?” Mr. Vaez asked.

In a similarly humbling development, Iraq, long a primary venue for an ongoing US-Iranian proxy war, has become in the wake of Mr Soleimani’s death a no-go zone for Americans with the Trump administration urging US citizens to leave immediately to avoid becoming targets.

Earlier, an attack in September on two key Saudi oil facilities, widely believed to have been instigated by Iran, coupled with US President Donald J. Trump’s hesitant response to the assault and the earlier downing of a US drone by Iran, persuaded Saudi Arabia to tone down its rhetoric and explore ways of reducing tension with Iran.

The spectre of a Saudi Iranian rapprochement was put on hold with the eruption in recent months of anti-government protests in Lebanon and Iraq that threatened to throw a monkey wrench into Iran’s strategy of exerting regional influence through proxies.

While it is likely to remain on hold amid the escalating tension, it has not been taken off the table.

Earlier, the United Arab Emirates reached out to Iran after the Islamic republic was sought to have instigated attacks on tankers off the Emirati coast.

The “sequence of events shows that, thus far, the Iranian strategy of calculated counter-escalation is working… By escalating on its own, Iran forced a number of key players to change their cost-benefit calculus,” said Eldar Mamedov, an advisor to the social-democrats in the European parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee.

While that may be a positive development in and of itself, it also means that regional US allies, with the exception of Israel that wholeheartedly endorsed the killing of Mr Soleimani, are likely to be more circumspect in their support of the US amid escalating tensions.

Already, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have called for restraint in the wake of Mr Soleimani’s death.

Mr Soleimani’s killing has widened the opening for a tit-for-tat war in which Iran has the advantage of being a master of asymmetric warfare and at playing in grey areas.

Amid massive speculation about how it will respond to the killing, Iran is likely to take its time and strike out of the left field, potentially prompting an American response that again risks playing into Iranian hands.

“The Iranians will definitely respond, but not in a way that triggers an all-out war, which they know they would lose,” said Iran expert Dina Esfandiary.

In a further indication of US misreading of the tea leaves, the killing of Mr Soleimani threatens to amount to a gift of God for Iranian hardliners who are now expected to win next month’s parliamentary election in Iran.

A hardline victory would spotlight the United States’ repeated shooting of an own goal by adopting policies that undermine its own long-standing aim of persuading Iran to moderate its policies and tone down its revolutionary rhetoric.

Rather than provide incentives, like with the 2015 nuclear accord, US policy has more often than not reinforced perceptions in Tehran that the United States’ real goal was regime change.

Mr Trump’s former national security advisor John Bolton reinforced those perceptions in response to Mr Soleimani’s killing: &nbsp;“Hope this is the first step to regime change in Tehran,” he tweeted.

US policy prompted Iran to adopt a defence and security policy that compensated for the Islamic republic’s intrinsic weakness by emphasizing the very things the United States has long wanted to see change. These include Iran’s successful use of proxies across the Middle East.

At the bottom line, the strengthening of Iranian hardliners not only undermines US policy goals but also risks putting the United States in difficult, if not impossible and at times humiliating positions, and sucking it into a conflict for which it is ill-equipped.

Said political anthropologist Negar Razavi: “The US foreign policy establishment has collectively created a culture of expert impunity when it comes to Iran, which has contributed in no small part to the unstable and dangerous policy conditions we see under Trump today.”

(Views expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

The killing of Iranian military leader Qassim Soleimani proves the point: The United States has perfected the art of strengthening Iranian hardliners fuelled by an apparently ingrained misreading of Iranian politics and strategy sustained over decades.

The killing of Iranian military leader Qassim Soleimani proves the point: The United States has perfected the art of strengthening Iranian hardliners fuelled by an apparently ingrained misreading of Iranian politics and strategy sustained over decades. It also suggests that the Trump administration has walked into a trap in which spiralling tension between the United States and Iran is likely to be played out on Iranian rather than US terms. Also read: Thousands gather in Baghdad to mourn Soleimani, others killed in US airstrike Iran moved last year away from its initial strategic patience response to the US withdrawal from the 2015 international agreement that curbed the Islamic republic’s nuclear program and the imposition of harsh economic sanctions to a strategy of gradual escalation. Iran is banking on the assumption that taking the United States to the brink of yet another Middle Eastern war will ultimately persuade the Trump administration to return to the negotiating table. It’s a high-risk gamble that so far has produced results. Also read: Qasem Soleimani's killing: What options does Iran have to avenge top commander's assassination Last week’skilling of an American contractor on an Iraqi military base constituted Iran’s latest chess move. It sparked a US military strike against an Iranian-backed militia, the subsequent killing of Mr Soleimani and the leader of the militia, Abdul Mahdi al-Muhandis, and the targeting of a militia convoy. The Iranian move led to the siege of the US embassy in Iraq that evoked images of the humiliating 1975 evacuation of the US mission in Saigon towards the end of the Vietnam war and the 444-day occupation of the US embassy in Tehran in 1979. It also has put at risk the future of US forces in Iraq, seventeen years after US forces toppled Saddam Hussein and US$1 trillion later. Iraq’s parliament is about to discuss moves to remove foreign forces from the country. “A humiliating departure for the US from Iraq now seems inevitable,” said International Crisis Group Iran expert Ali Vaez. Pro-Iranian militias are counting on the fact that they are Iraqis with close ties to the Iraqi security establishment, which they expect will exclude them from the moves that would primarily target the United States. Iraq’s influential Shiite leader Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has so far limited himself to calling for restraint in the wake of Mr Soleimani’s killing. Yet, Mr Al-Sistani could prove to be the player who definitively sways the pendulum. “How long before Ayatollah Sistani issues a fatwa (religious opinion) asking US troops to leave?” Mr. Vaez asked. In a similarly humbling development, Iraq, long a primary venue for an ongoing US-Iranian proxy war, has become in the wake of Mr Soleimani’s death a no-go zone for Americans with the Trump administration urging US citizens to leave immediately to avoid becoming targets. Earlier, an attack in September on two key Saudi oil facilities, widely believed to have been instigated by Iran, coupled with US President Donald J. Trump’s hesitant response to the assault and the earlier downing of a US drone by Iran, persuaded Saudi Arabia to tone down its rhetoric and explore ways of reducing tension with Iran. The spectre of a Saudi Iranian rapprochement was put on hold with the eruption in recent months of anti-government protests in Lebanon and Iraq that threatened to throw a monkey wrench into Iran’s strategy of exerting regional influence through proxies. While it is likely to remain on hold amid the escalating tension, it has not been taken off the table. Earlier, the United Arab Emirates reached out to Iran after the Islamic republic was sought to have instigated attacks on tankers off the Emirati coast. The “sequence of events shows that, thus far, the Iranian strategy of calculated counter-escalation is working… By escalating on its own, Iran forced a number of key players to change their cost-benefit calculus,” said Eldar Mamedov, an advisor to the social-democrats in the European parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee. While that may be a positive development in and of itself, it also means that regional US allies, with the exception of Israel that wholeheartedly endorsed the killing of Mr Soleimani, are likely to be more circumspect in their support of the US amid escalating tensions. Already, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have called for restraint in the wake of Mr Soleimani’s death. Mr Soleimani’s killing has widened the opening for a tit-for-tat war in which Iran has the advantage of being a master of asymmetric warfare and at playing in grey areas. Amid massive speculation about how it will respond to the killing, Iran is likely to take its time and strike out of the left field, potentially prompting an American response that again risks playing into Iranian hands. “The Iranians will definitely respond, but not in a way that triggers an all-out war, which they know they would lose,” said Iran expert Dina Esfandiary. In a further indication of US misreading of the tea leaves, the killing of Mr Soleimani threatens to amount to a gift of God for Iranian hardliners who are now expected to win next month’s parliamentary election in Iran. A hardline victory would spotlight the United States’ repeated shooting of an own goal by adopting policies that undermine its own long-standing aim of persuading Iran to moderate its policies and tone down its revolutionary rhetoric. Rather than provide incentives, like with the 2015 nuclear accord, US policy has more often than not reinforced perceptions in Tehran that the United States’ real goal was regime change. Mr Trump’s former national security advisor John Bolton reinforced those perceptions in response to Mr Soleimani’s killing: “Hope this is the first step to regime change in Tehran,” he tweeted. US policy prompted Iran to adopt a defence and security policy that compensated for the Islamic republic’s intrinsic weakness by emphasizing the very things the United States has long wanted to see change. These include Iran’s successful use of proxies across the Middle East. At the bottom line, the strengthening of Iranian hardliners not only undermines US policy goals but also risks putting the United States in difficult, if not impossible and at times humiliating positions, and sucking it into a conflict for which it is ill-equipped. Said political anthropologist Negar Razavi: “The US foreign policy establishment has collectively created a culture of expert impunity when it comes to Iran, which has contributed in no small part to the unstable and dangerous policy conditions we see under Trump today.” (Views expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

The killing of Qasem Soleimani will lead to the strengthening of Iranian hardliners

An Iranian held in the US and an American held in Iran have been freed, the two sides said Saturday, in an apparent prisoner swap at a time of heightened tensions.

Tehran announced the release of Iranian scientist Massoud Soleimani from the United States shortly before Washington declared American researcher Xiyue Wang was returning home.

"Glad that Professor Massoud Soleimani and Mr. Xiyue Wang will be joining their families shortly," Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted.

"Many thanks to all engaged, particularly the Swiss government," which has looked after US interests in Iran in the absence of diplomatic ties, Zarif said.

In a statement issued in Washington, US President Donald Trump said that "after more than three years of being held prisoner in Iran, Xiyue Wang is returning to the United States".

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US was "pleased that Tehran has been constructive in this matter" while also thanking Switzerland for its role.

A statement on the Iranian judiciary's Mizan Online website said Wang had been "freed on Islamic clemency" and handed over to Swiss officials in order to be returned to America.

Wang, a Chinese-born American, was serving 10 years on espionage charges in Iran.

A doctoral candidate in history at Princeton University, he had been researching Iran's Qajar dynasty when he was imprisoned in August 2016.

Iran's state news agency IRNA said Soleimani had been "freed moments ago after one year of illegal detention and was handed over to Iranian officials in Switzerland".

Soleimani, a professor and senior stem cell researcher at Tehran's Tarbiat Modares University, was arrested on arrival at Chicago airport in October 2018 for allegedly attempting to ship growth hormones, according to Iranian media.

"Going home," Zarif said in another tweet.

The Twitter post featured photos of the foreign minister alongside Soleimani outside and inside a plane bearing an Iranian flag. It was unclear when the picture was taken.

Spying allegations&nbsp;

The United States and Iran have not had diplomatic ties since 1980.

Relations between the two foes worsened in May 2018 when Trump withdrew the US from an international accord that gave Iran relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.

Iran retaliated one year later by suspending some of its commitments under the nuclear pact.

The arch-enemies came to the brink of a military confrontation in June this year when Iran downed a US drone and Trump ordered retaliatory strikes before cancelling them at the last minute.

Iran has over the years arrested several foreign nationals most often on accusations of spying.

They include former US soldier Michael R. White, British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, French academic Roland Marchal and Australian university lecturer Kylie Moore-Gilbert.

Two other Australians, travel bloggers Jolie King and Mark Firkin, were released in October by Iran, in another apparent prisoner swap for Iranian student Reza Dehbashi, who had been wanted in the United States.

In September, an Iranian woman sentenced in the United States for violating Washington's sanctions against Tehran was released and returned home.

Negar Ghodskani was arrested in Australia in 2017 and later extradited to the United States, which said she confessed to participation in a conspiracy to illegally export technology to Iran in breach of sanctions.

Pregnant at the time of her arrest, she was sentenced to 27 months but released after already serving time in custody.

An unknown number of Iranians are detained abroad.

An Iranian held in the US and an American held in Iran have been freed, the two sides said Saturday, in an apparent prisoner swap at a time of heightened tensions.

An Iranian held in the US and an American held in Iran have been freed, the two sides said Saturday, in an apparent prisoner swap at a time of heightened tensions. Tehran announced the release of Iranian scientist Massoud Soleimani from the United States shortly before Washington declared American researcher Xiyue Wang was returning home. "Glad that Professor Massoud Soleimani and Mr. Xiyue Wang will be joining their families shortly," Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted. "Many thanks to all engaged, particularly the Swiss government," which has looked after US interests in Iran in the absence of diplomatic ties, Zarif said. In a statement issued in Washington, US President Donald Trump said that "after more than three years of being held prisoner in Iran, Xiyue Wang is returning to the United States". Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US was "pleased that Tehran has been constructive in this matter" while also thanking Switzerland for its role. A statement on the Iranian judiciary's Mizan Online website said Wang had been "freed on Islamic clemency" and handed over to Swiss officials in order to be returned to America. Wang, a Chinese-born American, was serving 10 years on espionage charges in Iran. A doctoral candidate in history at Princeton University, he had been researching Iran's Qajar dynasty when he was imprisoned in August 2016. Iran's state news agency IRNA said Soleimani had been "freed moments ago after one year of illegal detention and was handed over to Iranian officials in Switzerland". Soleimani, a professor and senior stem cell researcher at Tehran's Tarbiat Modares University, was arrested on arrival at Chicago airport in October 2018 for allegedly attempting to ship growth hormones, according to Iranian media. "Going home," Zarif said in another tweet. The Twitter post featured photos of the foreign minister alongside Soleimani outside and inside a plane bearing an Iranian flag. It was unclear when the picture was taken. Spying allegations The United States and Iran have not had diplomatic ties since 1980. Relations between the two foes worsened in May 2018 when Trump withdrew the US from an international accord that gave Iran relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear programme. Iran retaliated one year later by suspending some of its commitments under the nuclear pact. The arch-enemies came to the brink of a military confrontation in June this year when Iran downed a US drone and Trump ordered retaliatory strikes before cancelling them at the last minute. Iran has over the years arrested several foreign nationals most often on accusations of spying. They include former US soldier Michael R. White, British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, French academic Roland Marchal and Australian university lecturer Kylie Moore-Gilbert. Two other Australians, travel bloggers Jolie King and Mark Firkin, were released in October by Iran, in another apparent prisoner swap for Iranian student Reza Dehbashi, who had been wanted in the United States. In September, an Iranian woman sentenced in the United States for violating Washington's sanctions against Tehran was released and returned home. Negar Ghodskani was arrested in Australia in 2017 and later extradited to the United States, which said she confessed to participation in a conspiracy to illegally export technology to Iran in breach of sanctions. Pregnant at the time of her arrest, she was sentenced to 27 months but released after already serving time in custody. An unknown number of Iranians are detained abroad.

Iranian and American freed in apparent prisoner swap