KYIV, Ukraine — A leaked recording of an exchange between an Iranian air-traffic controller and an Iranian pilot purports to show that authorities immediately knew a missile had downed a Ukrainian jetliner after takeoff from Tehran, killing all 176 people aboard, despite days of denials by the Islamic Republic. Ukraine's...
Top Commander Sees Increased Iran Threat in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan — There has been an increase in Iranian activity in Afghanistan that poses a risk to American and coalition troops there, a senior U..S. commander said, as the threat from Tehran continues to churn across the Middle East. Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, the top U.S. commander for the...
Lemoore Navy Fighter Squadrons Return After Historic Deployment
Two U.S. Navy fighter squadrons based in Lemoore returned home to loved ones Saturday following nearly 10 months away in the Mediterranean and Middle East. The squadrons were assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which just completed a 294-day deployment — the longest since the end of the Cold...
‘Days of God’: A Look at Iran’s Mounting Crisis
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran's supreme leader says his nation is living through “days of God.” The Islamic Republic has been reeling from one crisis to another, from the targeted killing by the United States of its top general to the Revolutionary Guard's accidental shootdown of a passenger plane...
Iran's Top Leader Strikes Defiant Tone Amid Month of Turmoil
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's supreme leader lashed out at Western countries as he led Friday prayers in Tehran for the first time in eight years, dismissing “American clowns” who he said pretend to support the Iranian nation but want to stick their "poisoned dagger” into its back. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei...
Iran Announces Arrests Over Downing of Plane That Killed 176
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran said Tuesday that authorities have made arrests for the accidental shootdown of a Ukrainian passenger plane, which killed all 176 people on board and set off protests in the country demanding accountability after officials initially concealed the cause of the crash. Iran's Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili...
EU Rebukes Iran Over Nuclear Violations, Sanctions Possible
BRUSSELS — Britain, France and Germany ratcheted up pressure on Iran Tuesday to cease its violations of a landmark nuclear deal, stressing that they want to resolve differences through talks while starting the clock on a process that could result in a so-called “snapback” of United Nations sanctions. The three...
AP Fact Check: Trump Says Pelosi, Dems Defended Iran General
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's relentless attacks on the impeachment investigation and Democrats' stance on Iran strained the truth on various fronts, from claiming that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani to asserting that even Ukraine's president said Trump did nothing wrong in withholding military aid. In weekend tweets...
McEwen: Give Peace a Chance, but How Do We Get It With Iran?
About 75 people assembled on a northeast Fresno street corner on a cold Thursday evening to urge that the United States avoid a war with Iran at all costs. At exactly the same time, in Toledo, Ohio, President Donald Trump addressed a crowd of 8,000 at a campaign rally. As...
US Dismisses Iraq Request to Work on a Troop Withdrawal Plan
BAGHDAD — Iraq's caretaker prime minister asked Washington to start working out a road map for an American troop withdrawal, but the U.S. State Department on Friday bluntly rejected the request, saying the two sides should instead talk about how to “recommit” to their partnership. Thousands of anti-government protesters gathered...