Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, welcomed President Obama's emphasis on diplomacy to resolve tensions over the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. Iranian state TV reported Thursday that Khamenei had embraced Obama’s position that there was a “window of opportunity” to address the Iranian nuclear issue through diplomacy. “This expression is a good word. This is a wise remark indicating taking distance from illusion,” Khamenei told a group of clerics, according to the …More

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov urged Israel to not attack Iran’s nuclear program, calling such a strike “catastrophic for the region and for the whole system of international relations.” "Therefore I hope Israel understands all these consequences ... and they should also consider the consequences of such action for themselves," Gatilov said on Wednesday. The Russian politician then stressed the need for more talks between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency, despite …More

An article written by a former Iranian politician is calling for the annihilation of Israel. Former Governor of the Kish Province Alireza Forghani published an article entitled “Iran Must Attack Israel by 2014," which was then picked up by several Iranian websites. "Israel is the only country in the world with a Jewish majority. According to the last census of [the] 'Israel Central Bureau of Statistics,' this country has a population of 7.5 million, including 5.8 million Jews. The other ethnicities in …More

Iran has the capabilities to strike back against the United States and Israel if attacked, says a senior Iranian military commander. Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri, the deputy head of Iran’s armed forces joint chiefs of staff, described the US and Israel as vulnerable to counterattacks, adding that Iran “brushes aside” the United States’ attempts at sanctions. Iranian Ambassador to Russia Seyyed Mahmoud-Reza Sajjadi also made comments about Iran’s military capabilities on …More

Jewish organization J Street has released a video quoting many notable Israeli and American officials and foreign policy thinkers about the downside of a strike against Iran’s nuclear program. “The state of Israel cannot be destroyed. An attack on Iran could affect not only Israel, but the entire region for 100 years. While Iran should be prevented from becoming a nuclear power, its capabilities are still far from posing an existential threat to Israel,” says former Mossad Director Ephraim …More

Israel will inform the United States only 12 hours before a potential attack on Iran and the Jewish state will not ask for approval from Washington before launching a strike, Israeli officials told United States General Martin Dempsey during a closed meeting in Jerusalem last week. Dempsey, who is the U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was in Israel last week to discuss ways of increasing cooperation between the two countries on their efforts to restrict Iran’s nuclear program. According to his …More

General Martin Dempsey, the United States’ top military officer, visits Israel Thursday as part of an effort between the two countries to increase coordination in their efforts to hinder Iran’s nuclear program. While some speculate that the U.S. chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s visit to the Jewish state is to curb Israel’s desire for a preemptive strike against Iran, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak dismissed the notion. “I don’t think the chairman of the Joint …More

A senior Iranian nuclear scientist was assassinated in Tehran on Wednesday, leading Iranian officials to claim Israel was behind the attack. Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan, the supervisor of a department at Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment facility, was killed when a bomb was attached to his car by a motorcyclist and then detonated. It was immediately clear to Tehran Deputy Governor Safarali Baratloo who was responsible for Ahmadi-Roshan’s death. “The bomb was a magnetic one and the same as the ones …More