Trump signed an executive order on Friday blocking all refugees from coming to the United States for 120 days and suspending entry for nationals of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia for 90 days. The order, aiming to boost the country's security, has sparked controversy around the world and led to multiple protests in the United States. "Our response is this: we will not issue visas to Americans who want to visit Iran," Mohammad Javad Zarif said at a press conference alongside French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault. Zarif clarified that individual exceptions would be reviewed on a case-by-base basis. © AFP 2019 / ATTA KENAREWhy Iran Ended Up on Trump's List of Countries Posing Terrorist Threat to USIran has established a committee to address the challenges that Iranian nationals living abroad may face after US President Donald Trump signed Friday immigration decree … [Read more...] about Iran Threatens to Stop Issuing Entry Visas to US Citizens After Trump’s Order
Executions in iran
Trump executive orders on immigration, border wall met with apprehension
President Donald Trump followed his campaign promises by signing two executive orders for the southern border wall and immigration policy. The wall The plan is to start construction as soon as possible on the wall across a large section of the 2,000-mile-long border and to limit immigration from several countries with Muslim majorities, including Yemen, Sudan, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia and Syria. Many of these countries are facing refugee crises due to U.S. or other foreign intervention. The executive order for the southern border wall caused Enrique Peña Nieto, the President of Mexico, to cancel his upcoming trip to the U.S. No specific cost details have been announced, but Trump has said Mexico will ultimately pay for the wall, which is estimated to cost upwards of $20 billion or more. RELATED: UA students walk out in protest of President Trump's climate change vision Benjamin Fortna, director and professor of modern Middle East and Ottoman Empire history at … [Read more...] about Trump executive orders on immigration, border wall met with apprehension
New documents link Huawei to front companies in Iran, Syria
The U.S. case against the chief financial officer of China’s Huawei Technologies, who was arrested in Canada last month, centers on the company’s suspected ties to two obscure companies. One is a telecom equipment seller that operated in Tehran; the other is that firm’s owner, a holding company registered in Mauritius. U.S. authorities allege CFO Meng Wanzhou deceived international banks into clearing transactions with Iran by claiming the two companies were independent of Huawei, when in fact Huawei controlled them. Huawei has maintained the two are independent: equipment seller Skycom Tech Co Ltd and shell company Canicula Holdings Ltd. He won’t take no for an answer But corporate filings and other documents found by Reuters in Iran and Syria show that Huawei, the world’s largest supplier of telecommunications network equipment, is more closely linked to both firms than previously known. The documents reveal that a high-level Huawei executive … [Read more...] about New documents link Huawei to front companies in Iran, Syria
Iran Fast Facts
(CNN)Iran is a republic in Asia, sharing a border with seven countries: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Iraq, Turkey and Turkmenistan. It has been officially known as the Islamic Republic of Iran since the overthrow of the Shah in 1979. About Iran:(from the CIA World Factbook)Area: 1,648,195 sq km, slightly smaller than Alaska Population: 83,024,745 (July 2018 est.) Median Age: 30.8 years Capital: Tehran Read More Ethnic Groups: Persian, Azeri, Kurd, Lur, Baloch, Arab, Turkmen and Turkic tribes Religion: Muslim (official) 99.4% (Shia 90-95%, Sunni 5-10%), other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish and Christian) 0.3%, unspecified 0.4% (2011 est.) GDP (purchasing power parity): $1.64 trillion (2017 est.) GDP per capita: $20,100 (2017 est.) Unemployment: 11.8% (2017 est.) Other Facts:Before the 1930s, Iran was known as Persia to outsiders. Iran and the United States have not had diplomatic relations since 1980. Timeline:1921 - Officer Reza Khan stages a coup and takes … [Read more...] about Iran Fast Facts
Syrian government forces seal victory in southern territories
The Syrian regime has reclaimed a sliver of territory in southern Syria that was under the control of Islamic State, sealing its military victory in the strategic southern territories that rebelled in 2011 against Bashar al-Assad and fully reestablishing its hold over the frontier with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said forces loyal to the Syrian regime had taken control of the last towns and villages in the province of Daraa that were under the control of Jaysh Khalid ibn al-Waleed, an Isis affiliate that controlled the Syrian part of the Yarmouk River basin, a tributary that runs through Syria, Jordan and Israel. The military victory in the area means Assad now fully controls the province of Daraa, the birthplace of protests in 2011 that spread throughout the country and challenged his family’s totalitarian rule. The Assad regime, backed by Russian airstrikes, launched a campaign in mid-June to recover control of the … [Read more...] about Syrian government forces seal victory in southern territories