Thursday, March 12, 2015

3/12/15

* Iranian President: Diplomacy With U.S. is an Active 'Jihad' Iranian President Hassan Rouhani described his country's diplomacy with the United States as an active "jihad" that is just as significant to Tehran's advancement as the slew of new weapons and missiles showcased by the Islamic Republic's military.

* Iran test-flies 1st US drone replica An Iranian copy of a US reconnaissance drone captured in 2011 has carried out its first flight, and the Revolutionary Guards have declared the test a success.

* How Iran and the US intersect in "Syraq" A cliffhanger debate will take place this Wednesday at the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

* 'Koran invites people to violence' - Queen's chaplain The Koran contains passages which incite violence and people can decide for themselves whether it is good or evil, according to the Queen's own chaplain.

* Russia says it has the right to deploy nuclear weapons in Crimea: reports Moscow: Russia has the right to deploy nuclear arms in the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine last year, a Foreign Ministry official said on Wednesday.

* Incitement to Murder Yehuda Glick at Shechem University Five months after a Muslim terrorist critically wounded Temple Mount activist Yehuda Glick in an assassination attempt, Islamist incitement against Glick is continuing apace.

* Kuwaiti Muslim preacher, Islamic State call for demolition of Sphinx, pyramids "Attacks on the Sphinx date back centuries. Despite many legends surrounding the monument's missing nose - with harm from Napoleon's cannon being among the most popular myths - historians believe it was actually destroyed by Sufi Muslim Muhammad Sa'im al-Dahr in the 14th century, after he learned that some peasants worshipped the Sphinx."

* Angry Egypt feels the squeeze from jihadis, US and Hamas There is one thing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can take comfort in regarding his relations with the US administration - he is not the only Middle Eastern leader struggling to understand American President Barack Obama.

* Iraqi forces enter IS-held Tikrit after 10-day push Iraqi forces entered Tikrit Wednesday, dodging bombs and sniper fire in search of their biggest victory yet against embattled jihadists who tried to light new fires elsewhere in Iraq and Syria.

* For Palestinians, Israel's election offers bleak horizon As Israelis prepare to elect a new government next week, the view from the Palestinian territories in the West Bank and Gaza is not one of hope.