Iraq | AFP | Waves of ballistic missiles, soldiers hunkered down in bunkers for hours, intense shock waves — a top US commander said he reacted to Iran’s unprecedented attack against an Iraqi base with “disbelief”. In an exclusive interview with AFP at the Ain al-Asad airbase in western Iraq, Lt. …
Read More »Iran denies ‘cover-up’ as anger mounts over downed airliner
Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iran denied a “cover-up” Monday after taking days to reveal an airliner was accidentally shot down last week, a disaster that sparked demonstrations and calls for a fully transparent investigation. The Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 was shot down by a missile shortly after taking off …
Read More »Iran’s statement on downed Ukrainian airliner
Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iran said on Saturday that its armed forces had “unintentionally” shot down a Ukrainian airliner, killing all 176 passengers and crew on board. The incident came hours after Iran launched a wave of missiles at Iraqi bases housing American troops in retaliation for the killing …
Read More »BREAKING: Iran says it unintentionally shot down Ukrainian plane
Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iran’s armed forces said Saturday they unintentionally shot down the Ukrainian airliner that crashed this week blaming “human error”. The plane, which crashed on Wednesday killing all 176 people on board, was mistaken for a “hostile plane” and was hit while enemy threats were …
Read More »Iran denies missile downed Ukrainian plane
Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iran’s civil aviation chief denied Friday that a missile downed a Ukrainian airliner which crashed killing all 176 on board, dismissing claims of a catastrophic mistake by Tehran’s air defences. The declaration came as Tehran faced mounting international pressure to allow a “credible” investigation into the …
Read More »Trump, US lawmakers battle over war powers amid Iran tensions
Washington, United States | AFP | A defiant US President Donald Trump clashed with congressional Democrats Thursday before lawmakers hold a largely symbolic but politically charged vote to rein in his ability to take military action against Iran. With the resolution triggering a scalding debate about presidential war powers amid heightened …
Read More »US officials believe Iran accidentally shot down Ukraine airliner
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump said Thursday he had “suspicions” about the crash of a Ukrainian airliner outside Tehran as US media reported it had been mistakenly shot down by Iran. Unnamed officials told American media that Iranian air defense systems likely accidentally shot down …
Read More »Unswayed by Iran briefings, Democrats seek to check Trump war power
Washington, United States | AFP | US Democratic lawmakers pressed ahead Wednesday with plans to check President Donald Trump’s ability to take military action against Iran, despite Congress breathing a collective sigh of relief at the de-escalation of conflict with the Islamic republic. Republicans and Democrats alike expressed broad support for …
Read More »Pentagon chief: US has restored ‘level of deterrence’ on Iran
Washington, United States | AFP | US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday that the United States has reestablished some deterrence toward Iran in the wake of the January 3 drone strike that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad. “I think at this point with the strikes we took against …
Read More »‘We don’t retreat in face of America’: Iran president
Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said the Islamic republic’s response on Wednesday to a US strike that killed one of its generals shows “we don’t retreat in the face of America”. “If America has committed a crime… it should know that it will receive a decisive response,” …
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