House Intel Democrat questions US Iran action

Tehran’s IRGC chief said Iran would destroy Israel, invoking the legacy of Ahmad Motevaselian, a Revolutionary Guards commander who disappeared in Lebanon in 1982.

“We promise that Haj Ahmad Motevaselian’s wish … that Israel be destroyed … will be fulfilled,” Hassan Hassanzadeh, commander of Tehran's IRGC’s said.

Arezoo Abedi, a mountaineer and fitness coach, was shot on Baghe Daryacheh Street on January 8 while her children were with her, sources said.

Bystanders helped her children transport her to Saadi Hospital, but the facility declined to admit her, according to her family. They then headed toward Alzahra Hospital.

On the way, members of the Basij and other security forces stopped the vehicle and fired warning shots in an attempt to force the passengers out, sources said.

The family was eventually allowed to proceed, but Abedi died before reaching the hospital. Her body was transferred to Alzahra’s morgue.

Her family said authorities released the body after three days on the condition that no public funeral be held. She was buried at night under security presence at Bagh-e Rezvan cemetery beside her father’s grave.

The official forensic report listed the cause of death as “cardiac arrest.”

US Republican Senator Dave McCormick said on Tuesday that President Donald Trump issued Iran an ultimatum and could resort to additional military force if Tehran fails to respond.

“Iran has blood on its hands, American blood, Israeli blood. It's threatened to destroy America with nuclear capability. So it's a terrible actor. It's been underwriting terror for decades in the Middle East, McCormick told CNBC.

“So I think what we're trying to do now is tighten the noose. That's what the President is trying to put pressure on Iran to act as a good actor. We shouldn't have a lot of trust for Iran and I think what they're going to see is, if President Trump's saying he's going to do something, I think, and they don't, they don't respond appropriately, I think that he's likely to use additional capability, additional military force in some form or another,” he added.

A senior director of the Tehran bureau of Japanese public broadcaster NHK has been arrested and transferred to Evin Prison, people familiar with the matter told Iran International.

One source told Iran International the journalist is currently being held in Ward 7 of Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison.

In a report earlier on Tuesday, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty identified the journalist as Shinnosuke Kawashima.

The exact date of his arrest and the charges against him remain unclear.

NHK did not immediately respond to Iran International’s request for comment.

Iranian state media on Tuesday denied reports of an armed clash near the office of Ali Khamenei in downtown Tehran on Monday.

The exiled opposition group Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK) had earlier announced that more than 100 of its members were killed or arrested in heavy fighting in the area.

According to a statement by the group, “more than 100 Mujahids were martyred or detained from dawn until the afternoon of Monday in a series of clashes with regime forces” that began at Khamenei’s office at the time of the morning call to prayer.

Later on Tuesday, the group announced it had shared the names of 16 of its members detained during the clashes with the UN special rapporteur and was investigating the fate of “other detainees and victims.”

The semi-official Mehr News Agency wrote on Tuesday: “In a funny and staged act, four mercenaries used PVC pipes to construct something resembling a child’s toy and attempted to create noise in central Tehran in order to continue benefiting from the favors of their masters.”

The agency added that the individuals were “arrested during a regional patrol by FARAJA,” Iran’s Law Enforcement Command.

Bultan News, a media outlet affiliated with security institutions, had written in a piece on Monday afternoon: “The sound of repeated explosions last night in the vicinity of Pasteur Street, the most secure area of the capital, has raised a serious question before all officials and those concerned about the establishment.”