Incredible revelations from pilot of Iran's Mahan Air on transporting weapons to Syria, bribing Iraqi airport security & hiding Gen. Qasem Sulaimani:
(see thread) eheyat.com/%d8%ae%d8%a7%d…
2/ Transporting 7 tons of "prohibited equipment" from Iran to Syria in June 2013 on a flight with 200 civilian passengers.
Sulaimani was present in the cockpit.
3/ Iraq orders the plane to land in Baghdad airport as it was crossing its airway on route to Syria. US military was present there. Sulamiani changes into a flight crew uniform and hides in the cockpit.
4/ When Iraqi forces attempt to search the plane, the pilot opens his wallet & shows them dollar bills. It does the job. They are cleared to fly to Syria.
5/ At destination Sulaimani tells the pilot he deserves a medal of honor.
Note: It's against international law to use civilian passengers as human shield to transport or smuggle military equipment.
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Iran nuclear deal in its final crunch. Will it survive or will it be the first diplomatic casualty of the Ukraine war? Russia's demand for sanctions exemption has undermined the deal. Suspension of talks is possible, a temporary agreement is possible, says @AliVaez
2/ Iranian sources say deal can't go through without Russia on board. Russia is Iran's most powerful ally and Iran appears unwilling or unable to alienate it, sources say.
3/ Lots of backlash among Iranian analysts & jornos that Iran might forgo its own national interests for the sake of securing Russia's interests. Is Iran willing to live with sanctions but not without Russia?
2/ With sanctions on Russia's oil and gas, Iran would enter the energy market at a critical time. Iran can produce more than two million barrels of oil a day, and if these supplies were able to reach the markets, the surge in prices would be slowed.
3/ Statement by Britain, France and Germany today:
“The window of opportunity is closing,” they said. “We call on all sides to make the decisions necessary to close this deal now, and on Russia not to add extraneous conditions to its conclusion.’’
Tonight's Security Council meeting on Ukraine was the most dramatic one I have covered. In real time, history in the making. As diplomats pleaded for peace and diplomacy news came of Putin's declaring start of special military operation. The room was stunned.
“Call Putin to stop the aggression,” said Ukraine’s ambassador Mr. Kyslytsya to Russia's ambassador. “There is no purgatory for war criminals, they go straight to hell ambassador.”
“We aren’t being aggressive against the Ukrainian people but against the junta in power in Kyiv," replied Russian ambassador Nebenzya.
Israel cyber hacked Iran's gas stations. Iran cyber hacked Israel's dating website & hospital.
The covert war enters a new phase of targeting civilians. Millions of ordinary people caught in the crossfire.
our latest w/ @ronenbergman
2/ For years, Israel and Iran have engaged in a covert war, by land, sea, air and computer, but the targets have usually been military or government related. Now, the cyberwar has widened to target civilians on a large scale.
3/ In recent weeks, a cyberattack on Iran’s nationwide fuel distribution system paralyzed the country’s 4,300 gas stations, which took 12 days to have service fully restored.
Our months of investigation into how the Mossad assassinated Iran's top nuclear scientist Fakhrizadeh using a killer robot. Here's how the plot unfolded.
Straight out of a spy thriller:
w/ @ronenbergman
2/ Convinced that Mr. Fakhrizadeh was leading Iran’s efforts to build a nuclear bomb, Israel had wanted to kill him for at least 14 years. But there had been so many threats and plots that he no longer paid them much attention.
3/ This time they were going to try something new.
The assassin, a skilled sniper, took up his position, calibrated the gun sights, cocked the weapon and lightly touched the trigger.
NEW: Hundreds of Afghan students & alumni of American University in Kabul told evacuations are canceled after 7 hours waiting in buses today to get to the airport. They are in panic and say their names and passport information was shared with the Taliban.
2/ “I regret to inform you that the high command at HKIA in the airport has announced there will be no more rescue flights,” said an email sent to students from the university administration on Sunday afternoon, which was shared with The New York Times.
“They told us: we have given your names to the Taliban,” said Hossy, a 24-year-old sophomore studying business administration who was on the bus on Sunday. “We are all terrified, there is no evacuation, there is no getting out.”