Iran Archives - WPTF-AM

Israel attacks Iran’s nuclear sites and its top military leaders. Iran retaliates with drones

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel has attacked Iran’s capital in strikes that targeted the country’s nuclear program and raised the potential for an all-out war between the two bitter Middle East adversaries. It appeared to be the most significant attack Iran has faced since its 1980s war with Iraq. Multiple sites around the country were hit, including Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility, where black smoke could be seen rising into the air. The leader of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Salami and chief of staff of Iranian armed forces, Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, were also confirmed dead. Israeli security officials say the Mossad spy agency smuggled weapons into Iran ahead of the strikes.… Continue Reading

A massive explosion at an Iranian port linked to missile fuel shipment kills 18, injures some 800

MUSCAT, Oman (AP) — A massive explosion and fire has rocked a port in southern Iran purportedly linked to a shipment of a chemical ingredient used to make missile propellant. State media said the blast killed 18 people and injuring around 800 others. Helicopters and aircraft dumped water from the air on the raging fire through the night into Sunday morning at the Shahid Rajaei port. The explosion occurred just as Iran and the United States met Saturday in Oman for the third round of negotiations over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.… Continue Reading

Satellite images show damage from Israeli attack at 2 secretive Iranian military bases

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Israeli attack on Iran damaged facilities at a secretive military base southeast of the Iranian capital that experts in the past have linked to Tehran’s onetime nuclear weapons program and at another base tied to its ballistic missile program. That’s according to satellite photos analyzed Sunday by The Associated Press. Some of the buildings damaged sat in Iran’s Parchin military base, where the International Atomic Energy Agency suspects Iran in the past conducted tests of high explosives that could trigger a nuclear weapon. The other damage could be seen at the nearby Khojir military base, which analysts believe hides an underground tunnel system and missile production sites. Iran’s military has not acknowledged damage at either Khojir or Parchin.… Continue Reading

Efforts by Russia, Iran and China to sway US voters may escalate, new Microsoft report says

NEW YORK (AP) — A new threat intelligence report from Microsoft says foreign adversaries have showed continued determination to influence the U.S. election and there are signs their activity will intensify as Election Day nears. The company said Wednesday that Russian operatives are doubling down on fake videos to smear Kamala Harris’ campaign, while Chinese-linked social media campaigns are maligning down-ballot candidates who are critical of China. Microsoft says Iranian actors who allegedly sent emails aimed at intimidating U.S. voters in 2020 have been surveying election-related websites and major media outlets. Russia, China and Iran have all rejected claims that they are seeking to meddle with the U.S. election.… Continue Reading

Israel says it killed a Hezbollah official expected to be the group’s next leader

BEIRUT (AP) — The Israeli military says a top Hezbollah official who had been widely expected to be the group’s next leader was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Beirut in early October. Earlier on Tuesday the Israeli military leveled a building in a suburb of Beirut that it said housed Hezbollah “facilities,” sending smoke and debris into the air a few hundred meters from where a spokesperson for the militant group had just briefed journalists about a weekend drone attack that damaged the Israeli prime minister’s house. Also on Tuesday U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Blinken aims to revive cease-fire efforts after last week’s killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.… Continue Reading

Iran fires at least 180 missiles into Israel as regionwide conflict grows

JERUSALEM (AP) — Iran launched at least 180 missiles into Israel, the latest in a series of escalating attacks in a yearslong conflict between Israel and Iran and its Arab allies. The missile attack — and a retaliation promised by Israel — threaten to push the Middle East closer toward a regionwide war. Before Iran’s attack on Tuesday, Israel had landed a series of devastating blows in recent weeks against Hezbollah’s leadership in Lebanon. It ratcheted up the pressure on the militant group — which has been firing rockets into Israel since the war in Gaza began — by launching what it said is a limited ground incursion in southern Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Iran will pay a price for its missile barrage.… Continue Reading

Wall Street retreats from records and oil prices jump after Iran’s missile attack on Israel

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are retreating from their records as worries worsen about the escalating violence in the Middle East. The S&P 500 was down 1.2% in afternoon trading Tuesday, a day after setting an all-time high for the 43rd time this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 259 points, or 0.6%, after coming off its own record. The Nasdaq composite fell 2%. Oil prices jumped as Iran launched missiles at Israel, worsening tensions that investors worry could lead to disruptions in the flow of crude from the region. Treasury yields fell following an encouraging update on inflation in Europe.… Continue Reading

In Iran, the old-time US radio detective ‘Johnny Dollar’ returns to the airwaves

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — “Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar,” a radio program created by CBS in 1949 that found a devoted listenership in Farsi, has returned to Iranian radio. It’s not clear why exactly the network controlled by hard-liners have decided to bring back “the man with the action-packed expense account,” but his reappearance harkens back to an era when Iran and the U.S. enjoyed incredibly close relations. And the newly produced episodes introduce younger generations to a character that many older Iranians still have a decades-old fondness for, their ears perking up as show starts with its signature three gunshots and Johnny Dollar answering a ringing phone with his name.… Continue Reading