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New photos emerged Saturday of a new prototype of Iran's stealth fighter jet, previous models of which were mocked by aviation experts who predicted it "would never fly."

The updated version of Qahar F-313 stealth fighter jetwas unveiled during an exhibition for Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, The Aviationist editor David Cenciotti reported. The exhibition showcased the achievements made by Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehghan within the last two years.

The prototype had the same shape as its 2013 predecessor but featured multiple changes, including a bigger cockpit, non-plexiglass canopy, dual exhaust nozzles, dorsal antenna and FLIR (Forward Looking Infra-Red) turret installed to the nose of the fighter jet.

The F-313 was first unveiled in February 2013, though it was criticized for being too small. The cockpit couldn't accommodate a "normal-sized" pilot and the wings weren't big enough to get it up in the air, according to The Aviationist.

The original version also had a slew of technical errors. The engine was not properly built, putting the back of the aircraft at risk of melting from heat. The craft's air intakes seemed too small, the blog said.

Ahmad Vahidi, Iran's defense minister at the time, said Iranian aerospace experts designed the jet to fly at a low altitude, carry weapons and land on short runways, according to DailyMail.com.

Iranian news site Khouz News did publish photos of F-313 appearing to fly over mountains in 2013, but was accused of photoshopping the image, DailyMail.com reported.

It's still unclear if the new prototype would be able to fly. The jet conducted taxi tests on Saturday during the exhibition.

Recent statements released said that the F-313 fighter jet will be "a light close air support aircraft," The Aviationist reported.

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Photos of Iran's new Qahar F-313 fighter jet prototype emerges - Fox News

In Iran, candidates have begun to register for the Iranian presidential election scheduled for May 19 ina vote that will once again position the countrys reformists against its conservative elite.

Last year, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former president and one of the countrys most prominent populists, began giving off signals that he was preparing a third run at the leadership.

Read more:Here are five of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's weirdest conspiracy theories

Despite being encouraged not to run by Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in September 2016, Ahmadinejad registered his name in what seemed a direct challenge to the countrys highest religious figure.President Hassan Rouhani, like Ahmadinejad, dreams of another term. But in the run up to the vote, a candidate has emerged who experts say could render Rouhani a one-term president: 56-year-old former prosecutor-general and hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi.

Raisi is custodian of the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, Irans second-biggest city, and presides over a billion-dollar religious fund known as the Astan-e Qods Razavi. He is a close ally of Khamenei, who appointed him as head of the foundation last year. Many Iranians speculatethat Raisi is Khameneis choice to stand against Rouhani, although Irans top cleric has not yetsaid who he is supporting.

Raisis role presiding over the shrine, visited by 30 million religious pilgrims every year, will likely improve his standing with Iranians who may not immediately recognize himespecially when up against Rouhani, who has led the country for the past four years.

Irans conservative elite has not yet agreed upona single candidate it can back against Rouhani. But while a lot can change before election season officially begins on April 28, many see Raisi as the man with themost potential to pose a serious challenge to Rouhani. Before Ahmadinejads announcement, Raisi was the frontrunner among five hardline candidates.

It's possiblethat the conservative right will select whoever they consider the strongest challenger to Rouhani, with others stepping aside to allow a one-on-one battle for the presidency. In 2013, several conservative candidates ran against each other, splitting the vote and allowing Rouhani to win. If that happensagain, it could thwart the conservative camps electoral chances once more.

Iranian senior cleric Ebrahim Raisi speaks in the holy city of Mashhad, Iran, in this handout photo believed to be taken in February 2016. Raisi on Sunday announced his candidacy for the Iranian presidential election on May 19. Tasnim News Agency/Handout via Reuters

With close connections to the Ayatollah and the Iranian intelligence services, Raisi has always been considered a potential successor to Khamenei, who is now 77, rather than as president. As a result, many are surprised by his decision to risk a presidential run.

If Raisi is such a strong contender for the Supreme Leadership, its slightly puzzling as to why he is throwing his hat into the rather unpredictable presidential race.If there is a serious weakening of the right-wing vote by having more than one candidate, he could fall a victim, says Sir Richard Dalton, former British ambassador to Iran.

On the other hand, victory could boost his chances of succeeding Khamenei.

While little is known about Raisi personallybar a generalhatred toward the Westhis intentions in the elections have become clearer. In his bid for the presidency, Raisi has tried to paint himself as a man of the people, highlighting the economy and corruption as key focuses in the early stages of his campaign.

Read more: After nuclear deal, Iran could receive first Boeing jet a year earlier than expected

The landmark nuclear agreement signed between Tehran and world powers in July 2015, on the back of Rouhanis promises to boost the economy, should have ensured he coasted to a second stint as the countrys leader.

But Iranian citizens say they have not reapedthe economic benefits the leadership touted as the main justification for the deal. While Iran has struck deals with foreign companies since the agreement, most are not really underwayand even though the economy is performing better under Rouhani, Iranians do not see the country reaching its fullpotential.

Whilst the Rouhani camp will try to present a positive picture of the trickle-down effects of the nuclear deal for the Iranian economy, the opposite front will likely criticize the deal as unable to provide the economic recovery portrayed by the administration and present an alternative based on a populist economic policy, says Tabrizi.

Raisi has targeted corruption in the country, and said that he would not use his position as the head of a wealthy foundation, or its finances, to help his election campaign.

Experts say a Raisi victory could increase already simmering tensions between the Islamic Republic and the West, particularly with the U.S.under President Donald Trump, who has voiced his opposition to the Iranian regime and the nuclear deal and cut off all diplomatic contacts with the country after Barack Obamas thaw in relationswith the country.

But if the Trump administration does an about-turn in the future and seeks cooperationwith Tehran on some level, Raisi would present a bigger challenge than the current leader.

It will be harder to reestablish diplomatic links under Raisi than it would under Rouhani, says Dalton. So crisis management would be more problematic under Raisi.

Rights groups have criticized Rouhani for a lack of reform on political and social freedoms, a promise he made when he rode to power on the back of votes from young Iranians. But if Raisi is elected, the situation for more liberal-minded Iranians is not optimistic, Dalton concedes. You could certainly kiss goodbye to any relaxation."

Original post:
In Iran, Hardline Cleric Ebrahim Raisi Emerges to Challenge Hassan Rouhani - Newsweek

In the nineteen-eighties, when I was a child, my family rarely took vacations. There had been a revolution in Iran, and there was a war on. Most of our trips were to the gardens of family and friends; a couple of times we went to Shomal, as the green band of forests south of the Caspian Sea is known. In those days, travelling was all about us pleasing the group.

We once rented a house by the sea. Everybody had tasks. The women cooked. I was told to keep the frogs and cats away from my paranoid aunt. In the afternoon, when my uncle went jogging, I had to run behind him, carrying a boom box playing Eye of the Tiger. He had just returned from the front, and he loved Rocky.

That was a rare memory. At home and on trips, we often spent our time hiding from others. We gathered behind walls and inside houses to avoid the sternness of the Islamic Revolution. Public space was no fun: there was always someone disturbing your privacy, making you feel uncomfortable.

Now I look at the youth of today, who are hitchhiking their way through the country, discovering its islands, mountain passes, and changing-color deserts. It took more than three decades for Iranians to venture out once again; now they cant seem to get enough of it.

Newsha Tavakolian

Here is the original post:
Vacation in Iran - The New Yorker

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Qasem Soleimani walks near an armored vehicle at the front line of operations against Islamic State militants in the town of Tal Ksaiba in Iraq's Salahuddin province, March 8, 2015.(photo byREUTERS/Stringer)

Author:Fazel Hawramy Posted April 17, 2017

Today Iran stands at the forefront of the battle and confrontation with the project of the Islamic caliphate, in a way that it funds more than 90 armed militia groups in Islamic cities, the narrator proclaimed in a newly released Islamic State (IS) video in which Shiite-majority Iran is portrayed as the source of division in the Muslim world.

In the 37-minute clip published in late March, titled Persian Land, From Yesterday to Today, Iranian IS members list what they see as crimes against Sunnis committed by the Islamic Republic and call on their brethren to take up arms against Tehran, saying, Our war has started against the Persians. I call in particular on the Sunnis in Iran to prepare for this war and we are behind you.

Despite Irans important role in degrading IS, the terrorist group has not been able to carry out any attacks inside the Islamic Republic, unlike much of the rest of the Middle East, Europe and the United States. Since its establishment in 1979, the Islamic Republic has been under constant domestic and foreign threats. As a result, it has developed a sophisticated intelligence and surveillance network that has effectively dealt with internal threats. In terms of external threats, Iran prefers to fight them in neighboring countries and has in those endeavors managed to prop up and support various proxies including Shiite, Sunni and secular groups across the region. Perhaps the most potent aspect of this strategy to deal with external threats has been the streamlining of the Iranian decision-making process.

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Brett McGurk, who was pushing the White House for a military response to IS advances in Iraq in the summer of 2014, must have envied Qasem Soleimani, the powerful commander of Irans Quds Force, who was on the front line in Jalawla in Diyala province deploying Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) advisers and heavy artillery to stop IS at that time. I was advocating as aggressive a response as possible, just given how dire the situation was. So those who were responding that this needs a political solution, I just thought they were completely out of their minds, McGurk recalled in a PBS documentary.

Soleimani, who has battled IS and other groups since 2012, knew the dangers that IS posed to Iran and presented the Islamic Republics strategy in dealing with the threat, Daesh [IS] is a plague and a grave catastrophe in the world, said the Iranian commander. To safeguard the security of our nation, we need to quarantine our borders and aid our neighbors so this cancer does not spread to our country.

Iranian officials are quick to point out that this strategy has been successful and that IS has not succeeded in carrying out attacks inside their country. Due to the vigilance of the security forces and the people, Daesh [IS] has not been able to even set off a firecracker for propaganda [purposes], IRGC public relations chief Ramazan Sharif said last year.

But the cancer that Soleimani referred to may have already spread to Iran and Tehran might come to regret one pillar of its strategy in dealing with external threats in the region.

From 2001, when the US-led invasion forced the jihadis of al-Qaeda out of Afghanistan, and until late 2011, when US forces left Iraq, Iran reportedly turned a blind eye to jihadis transiting its territory in order to bleed the United States and coalition forces in both countries. Salafijihadis from eastern Iran, near the Afghan border, are said to have traveled freely across Irans Sunni heartland. Toleration of jihadis so long as Tehran was not at the receiving end of their violence is reported to have created a mass following for these groups in Irans Sunni areas.

For instance, the number of young Kurds adopting Salafijihadi ideology has greatly increased in western Iran since 2001. Many Iranian Sunnis have traveled through Turkey to join IS and other jihadi groups in Iraq and Syria, often facing IRGC commanders aiding Iraqi and Syrian forces on the front lines.

Some IS supporters in Irans Kurdish areas even celebrated IS gains in the summer of 2014, as the group swooped across northern Iraq, according to Kurdish media. In the latest IS video, which is labeled as originating from the IS wilayah (province) of Diyala in Iraq, four members of the Popular Mobilization Units are seen kneeling down. They are then beheaded by four IS militants, two of whom are apparently Iranian Kurds.

Secular Kurdish activists inside Iran often complain about how parts of Iranian Kurdistan havebeen turned into battlegroundswhere supporters of IS and Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (previously known as Jabhat al-Nusra) settle scores in the streets. Indeed, there have been reports in the Iranian media about a number of clashes between elements that espouse IS ideology and the security forces in Kurdish areas.

As Salafijihadis become degraded and lose their territory in Iraq and Syria, some of the Iranian Sunnis who have honed their military and intelligence skills over the years will inevitably survive the battlefield and pose a threat to the Iranian state.

Tawhid Qoureishi, an Iranian Sunni religious scholar, traveled to northern Syria via Turkey to join IS along with two other Iranians in the fall of 2013. Prior to that, he engaged in religious studies near the Afghan border and then became a preacher in a Sunni village in the northern Iranian province of Gilan. Qoureishi, who was 30 when he joined IS, stayed with the group for over six months, roaming around northern Syria and meeting many high-ranking IS members. However, he later came to question some of the brutal methods IS deployed, which created division among Salafijihadis. He participated in the first battles between IS and Jabhat al-Nusra, but soon afterward, he became disillusioned with the group and returned to Iran in the spring of 2014, where he was arrested upon arrival. The main reason [I left IS] was the crimes that were committed there [in Syria], such askilling people. I went there to defend people and confront oppression, Qoureishi said from an Iranian prison when asked why a young man from a village in northern Iran would go to Syria to join IS.

He is now serving a seven-year prison term in Iran.

While most Iranian Sunnis reject the ideology promulgated by IS and other Salafijihadi groups,some of the government policies deemed oppressive appear to push more young Sunnis into the arms of jihadi groups, which are quick to exploit such situations. "Iranian Jews live in security under the protection of the government and have synagogues in Tehran and Esfahan, said the narrator in the IS video from March, comparing the status of the over 1 million Sunnis in Tehran with that of the Iranian Jews who are mostly concentrated in the capital. There is not a single mosque for the Sunni people in Tehran, disputing the Iranian authorities assertion that there are nine Sunnimosques in the capital.

This [jihadi] thought is spreading day by day. I think they must have grown by a hundredfold since the Taliban era," warned Qoureishi in the prison interview, adding, "I dont think it is possible to contain these movements.

Read More: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/04/iran-islamic-state-kurdistan-recruitment-jihadism-at-home.html

Read the original:
How Iran's military strategy against IS may backfire - Al-Monitor

Trump administration lawyers objected to allowing live testimony, saying that written declarations were sufficient. | Getty

President Donald Trumps attempts to impose a visa ban on a set of majority-Muslim countries has sparked unusual anger and activism among members of a wealthy, highly educated group that generally avoids U.S. politics: Iranian-Americans.

Now, theyre about to get their day in court, winning the first chance to present in-person testimony against the travel ban. Leaders of groups fighting the travel restrictions plan to use the opportunity to detail how students, medical researchers and others coming to America from Iran could be disproportionately hurt by Trumps executive order.

Story Continued Below

The testimony in Washington on Tuesday, allowed by U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, is an important moment not just for the fate of one of Trumps signature initiatives, but also for Iranian-Americans stunned by a measure they say is illogical, counterproductive and outsize in its impact on their community.

It was a dagger in my heart as someone of Iranian-American heritage, said Cyrus Mehri, a civil rights attorney who is leading the litigation. I really saw it as a flash point for this diaspora, over half a million strong, that has done so much to contribute to this country and is now in such danger of being potential scapegoats.

A core part of Trumps recent executive order aimed at limiting legal immigration was a temporary halt to the issuance of U.S. visas to citizens from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Over the past two years, Iranians received more than half of the U.S. visas issued to passport holders from those six countries, according to State Department figures.

The visa ban is on hold for now due to court rulings in Maryland and Hawaii that found Trumps executive order which also pauses refugee admissions was likely unconstitutionally tainted by anti-Muslim bias. Both decisions are being appealed.

There are two Iran-related suits being heard this week. One was filed in February by advocacy groups, including the National Iranian American Council and the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans.

The plaintiffs include women planning weddings in the U.S. and trying to bring their parents from Iran, medical researchers concerned that if they return home to Iran they wont be able to come back, and members of the LGBT community seeking refugee status because of anti-gay discrimination in Iran. Most are using pseudonyms in court papers because they fear retaliation from the U.S. government if identified. The leaders of the advocacy groups will be the ones testifying in court on Tuesday.

Trump administration lawyers objected to allowing live testimony, saying that written declarations were sufficient.

The second suit was filed late last month by the Universal Muslim Association of America, a Shiite Muslim religious group in coordination with Muslim Advocates, the Southern Poverty Law Center and others. It argues Trumps order has a particularly severe impact on Shiite Muslims because so many prominent clerics and scholars from that branch of Islam are based in Iran.

Trump has cast the visa ban as a national security measure aimed at keeping out potential terrorists, especially those recruited by groups such as the Islamic State. Iran is targeted in part because the United States labels it a state sponsor of terrorism for reasons including its support for Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based militia blamed for the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut.

This is a country that has shown itself capable of exporting terrorists and terrorism abroad, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said last month.

But the broader Iranian community has been tied to very few terrorism cases inside the United States. Perhaps the best-known case came in 2012, when Iranian-born, naturalized U.S. citizen Mansour Arbabsiar pleaded guilty to plotting to kill the Saudi ambassador to the United States by bombing the popular Caf Milano in Washington.

Because most Iranians are Shiite Muslims, they are targets for killing by Sunni Muslim extremist groups like the Islamic State. In fact, Iranian-supported militias have fought alongside U.S.-backed Iraqi forces to beat back the Islamic State.

Critics allege Trumps ban on Iranian travelers is prompted less by terrorism concerns than by his administrations hostility toward Tehran and eagerness to curry favor with Arab allies such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, technically U.S. partners in the fight against terrorism, are not targeted by the proposed visa ban even though their citizens have been involved in several attacks on Americans, including on Sept. 11, 2001.

Activists note that rather than target Iranian government officials or military leaders, many of whom are already under sanctions, the travel ban hits ordinary Iranians, including those who hope to escape the oppression of the Islamist regime in Tehran.

In our eyes, this is essentially some form of collective punishment for the transgressions of the Iranian government, said Elham Khatami, outreach director for the National Iranian American Council. If anything, it helps the Iranian government because it furthers the narrative that the U.S. isnt willing to treat Iranians like anyone else is treated.

Although Trump has declared the ban on visas would be temporary lasting 90 days it could prove permanent for Iranians. Thats because Trumps executive order appears to make lifting the ban conditional upon getting more information from targeted countries. But the United States does not have diplomatic relations with Iran, making such cooperation unlikely.

Activists say the travel ban has energized the Iranian-American community. Iranian-Americans helped organize a protest that drew thousands outside the White House shortly after Trumps first attempt at the visa ban came in late January. Advocacy groups have sought to keep up the energy even after courts halted the ban.

Kia Hamadanchy, a U.S.-born son of Iranian immigrants, was working as a legislative aide to Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) when the Trump visa ban inspired him to run for a House seat from his home state of California. Hes hoping to unseat GOP Rep. Mimi Walters, who has many Iranian-Americans in her Irvine, California-area district.

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This is the most engaged Ive ever seen the community, said Hamadanchy, 31. You look at Iranian-Americans, and we are such a wealthy, educated, affluent population, but we dont have the political power that we should. If we cant come together right now in the face of Donald Trump and stand up, its never going to happen.

Studies have found that Iranian-American communities are among the most successful in the United States. Many Iranian-Americans live in Southern California, where they or their parents fled after Islamist forces took control of Iran following the late 1970s Iranian revolution. Iranians are prominent in fields such as medicine, business and technology, including in Silicon Valley. The communitys affluence has been captured or lampooned by the reality show Shahs of Sunset, which focuses on Iranians living in the Beverly Hills area.

While many Iranian-Americans are left-leaning, they are hardly a cohesive political bloc. Some supported Trump because they thought he would take a tough line toward the regime in Tehran. Many others, scarred by upheavals in Iran, try to avoid politics altogether. In general, however, Iranian-Americans oppose Islamist rule.

While Iranian-Americans may be upset with Trump, Irans inclusion on the visa ban list has roots in a 2015 law signed by President Barack Obama. In a compromise with Congress to avoid gutting the refugee program, Obama agreed to require visas from people whose countries are usually visa-exempt if they were dual nationals of or had recently traveled to Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen or Libya.

The Trump administration has pointed to that Obama-era law as a basis for its own restrictions. Trumps first attempt at a visa ban included Iraq, but after lobbying by Iraqi officials, who noted they were helping America fight the Islamic State, Trump removed Iraq from his second draft of the ban in early March.

James Jeffrey, a former U.S. ambassador to Iraq and Turkey, said some restrictions on Irans government made sense, but he disagreed with slapping a ban on Iranians wishing to come to the United States.

Many of the people who are going to be impacted by this are no fans of the Iranian regime, Jeffrey said. It really doesnt make any sense.

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Read more from the original source:
Iranian-Americans, livid over Trump visa ban, to get their day in court ... - Politico