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An influential Iranian general who has reportedly been near the front line against the Islamic State group was quoted Thursday saying the jihadists are "nearing the end of their lives". General Qassem Suleimani, the once rarely seen commander of the powerful Quds Force, has become the public face of Iran's support for the Iraqi and Syrian governments against jihadists.

[1]The Goldberg interview with Obama reads like a conversation with an idiot. Actually make that two idiots, both of whom are also compulsive liars.One of the highlights of their insane exchange is when Obama tries to insist that Iran won’t be more dangerous if it gets another $150 billion. Obama: The question is, if Iran has $150 billion parked outside the country, does the IRGC automatically get $150 billion? Does that $150 billion then translate by orders of magnitude into their capacity to project power throughout the region? So Obama brings out the math, and by math, I mean...

The Trump administration threatened Iran with “unprecedented financial pressure” on Monday, issuing a laundry list of harsh demands for Tehran to change its foreign and domestic policies. In a speech touted to outline the administration’s strategy toward Iran, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo promised “the strongest sanctions in history” should Tehran not buckle to US demands. […] Pompeo said the United States would not try to renegotiate the JCPOA. Instead, any new deal would require Iran to meet 12 demands, including halting its ballistic missile program and ending interventions in Syria and Yemen, as well as wide-ranging concessions on its...

European firms that stop doing business with Iran because of reimposed U.S. sanctions could in turn be sanctioned by the E.U., a special adviser to the 28-country bloc's top diplomat has warned. “If E.U. companies abide by U.S. secondary sanctions they will, in turn, be sanctioned by the E.U.," Nathalie Tocci, an aide to E.U. foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, told Britain’s BBC Radio 4 on Monday night.

The European Union on Tuesday reacted to Iran’s announcement that it will boost uranium enrichment capacity, saying a “first assessment” indicated the plan does not breach its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal. “Following a first assessment, the announced steps per se are not a violation of the JCPOA,” Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini, told AFP, using the official name for the agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). “However, at this particularly critical juncture, they will not contribute to build confidence in the nature of the Iranian nuclear program,” she added. Earlier on...

The EU’s foreign policy chief suggested that the bloc is in “full unity” in support of Jerusalem becoming the capital ...'of both Israel and a future Palestinian state',... adding that the EU’s member states and the EU institutions would not recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital before a final status peace agreement.

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini speaks during a press conference after their meeting at the Ankara Palace on Dec. 8. (© AFP Photo/Adem Altan) Turkey can still join the EU if it meets the necessary conditions, European Union foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said on Friday.Speaking to reporters following an EU foreign ministers meeting in Malta, Mogherini said “The accession process continues, it is not suspended, not ended (although) we are currently not working on any new chapters.”“The criteria are very clear, well known and if Turkey is interested in joining, as...

"The idea of a clash between Islam and “the West” – a word in which everything is put together and confused – has misled our policies and our narratives. Islam holds a place in our Western societies. Islam belongs in Europe. It holds a place in Europe's history, in our culture, in our food and – what matters most – in Europe's present and future."

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, responded on to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s speech on Iran, in which he vowed that Washington would impose unprecedented sanctions against Tehran following its withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal. In a statement quoted by AFP, Mogherini warned that there is “no alternative” to the Iran nuclear deal. “Secretary Pompeo’s speech has not demonstrated how walking away from the JCPOA has made or will make the region safer from the threat of nuclear proliferation or how it puts us in a better position to influence Iran’s conduct in areas outside the...

Former Secretary of State John Kerry is under fire over a report claiming that he has been engaged in “shadow diplomacy” with officials from Iran and Europe as part of a final attempt to save the seemingly doomed 2015 Iran nuclear deal. The Boston Globe reported Friday that Kerry sat down twice with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in recent months to strategize in a bid to save the deal, as part of what the Globe described as “an aggressive yet stealthy” mission to put pressure on the Trump administration to keep the deal in some form. Trump faces a...

The leader of the Liberal group in the European Parliament has slammed the bloc’s Foreign Minister and top diplomat for failing to raise human rights concerns on a trip to Communist Cuba. High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini used the trip to boast that the EU is now Cuba’s most important trading partner, and also met with dictator Raúl Castro. She also made a subtle dig at President Donald J. Trump, saying the EU would continue the approach to Cuba championed by predecessor Barack Obama “regardless of the...

Why the president's Jerusalem decision was the right thing to do. The Trump administration vetoed a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution last week that called on the U.S. to rescind its decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and ultimately move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the seat of Israel’s parliament (Knesset), the Supreme Court, and where the Prime Minister and President of the Jewish State reside.  The UNSC resolution drafted by Egypt and backed by 13 other members of the Security Council affirms that “any decision and actions which purport to have altered the character,...

U.S. ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley knew exactly how to respond to CNN anchor Jake Tapper's depressing assessment of the U.S. embassy move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem during their interview on Sunday. "President Trump is supposed to be a master negotiator," Tapper noted. "Isn't this just cashing in a chip and getting nothing for it? How does this move the peace process forward in any way?" Watch Video HereIn addition to leading questions like that, Tapper quoted the Arab League calling the move a "dangerous development," then played a clip of the PLO Secretary-General declaring that Trump had...

Monday, The New York Times published the Palestinian response to an alleged Saudi peace plan. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly presented it to PLO chief and Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas last month. According to the Times’ report, Mohammed told Abbas he has two months to either accept the Saudi proposal or leave office to make way for a new Palestinian leader who will accept it. The Palestinians and their European supporters are up in arms about the content of Mohammed’s plan. It reportedly proposes the establishment of limited Palestinian sovereignty over small portions of Judea and Samaria....

The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia issued a ruling forbidding war against the Jews and proclaiming that Hamas is a terror group. The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz Al Sheikh, issued a surprising religious ruling, saying that fighting against Israel was inappropriate and that Hamas is a “terror organization.” The Muslim cleric issued the ruling while answering a question on a television program regarding the Palestinian riots surrounding the Temple Mount in July, Turkey’s Anadolu news agency reported. Israel’s Communications Minister Ayoub Kara welcomed the unexpected decision and invited the Mufti to visit Israel.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri is now disclosing the nature of his resignation, and why he left Lebanon to spend time in Saudi Arabia. It appears the Saudi and regional partners provided evidence that Iran and Hezbollah were planning an assassination targeting Hariri and his family.

Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince vowed to "pursue terrorists until they are wiped from the face of the earth" as officials from 40 Muslim countries gathered Sunday in the first meeting of an Islamic counter-terrorism alliance. "In past years, terrorism has been functioning in all of our countries... with no coordination" among national authorities, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is also the Saudi defence minister, said in his keynote speech at the gathering in Riyadh. "This ends today, with this alliance." The summit is the first meeting of defence ministers and other senior officials from the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism...

The European Union is set to approve the creation of a headquarters for its military training missions in Somalia, Mali and the Central African Republic. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said she would urge foreign and defense ministers Monday to “take immediate decisions on the establishment of a military planning and conduct capability.” She said it would provide a “more efficient approach to the existing military training missions we have.” …

EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini will call on the UN Security Council Monday to approve military action against people smugglers as the bloc splits over a new migrant quota plan. "I am ashamed that Europe only wakes up when it is confronted by the dead," Mogherini, the former Italian foreign minister, said recently. EU leaders tasked Mogherini with drawing up a list of military options, including action "to capture and destroy the smugglers' vessels," on the key condition it should be in accordance with international law. Normally that would require an agreement with the government concerned, but Libya is...

While US President Barack Obama’s administration has been so busily celebrating the framework deal sealed last Thursday with Iran over its nuclear program, official Iranian statements in Farsi appear to disprove Obama’s claims about what has or hasn’t been agreed. The New York Post outlined on Saturday the different statements about the agreement. Those statements include one by Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy head Federica Mogherini, as well as an official Iranian text, a text in French, and US Secretary of State John Kerry’s summary which presents the framework as being a done deal. […] But...