April, 2021

• 30 April

  Romania To Expel Russian Diplomat Amid Prague-Moscow Dispute Over Arms Depot Blast

  Romania says it is expelling a Russian diplomat, the latest European country to do so amid a diplomatic dispute between Moscow and Prague over Russia’s alleged role in a deadly 2014 explosion at a Czech arms depot. The Foreign Ministry decided to declare Aleksei Grichayev, the deputy military attaché at …

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• 30 April

  Iran Nuclear Pact Talks Resume

  World powers resumed talks Tuesday in Vienna about revitalizing the 2015 international pact to restrain Iran’s nuclear development program and bring the United States back into the accord that former U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from in 2018. Current U.S. President Joe Biden wants to rejoin the pact aimed …

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• 30 April

  U.S. Coast Guard Cutter enters the Black Sea

  The Legend-class national security cutter USCGC Hamilton (WMSL 753) transited into the Black Sea in support of NATO Allies and partners, April 27, 2021. Hamilton is the first U.S. Coast Guard Cutter to visit the Black Sea since 2008. The last U.S. Coast Guard Cutter to visit the Black Sea, …

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• 30 April

  IRGCN Interaction with U.S. Naval Vessels in the North Arabian Gulf

  At approximately 8 p.m. on April 26, three Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) fast inshore attack craft (FIAC) failed to exercise due regard for the safety of other vessels as required under international law as they came into close proximity to U.S. naval vessels in international waters of …

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• 28 April

  PA President Mahmoud Abbas: No Palestinian elections without Jerusalem

  

  He praised the residents of east Jerusalem for their “steadfastness in the face of Israeli schemes aiming to control the holy city.” The Palestinian Authority will not hold general elections without the participation of Jerusalem residents, PA President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday night. He made his remarks during a meeting …

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• 28 April

  Sirens heard in Sderot as 3 rockets launched into Israel from Gaza

  

  It is possible there were multiple interceptions by the Iron Dome defense system. Rocket sirens went off in Sderot and in the Gaza border area in the early hours of Monday morning as three rockets were launched into Israel from the Gaza Strip.The IDF confirmed that two of the rockets …

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• 28 April

  What is Israel’s policy during US-Iran negotiations? – opinion

  Iranian leaders have repeatedly declared that Israel should be destroyed. Therefore Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasizes that Israel will not let Iran have nuclear weapons. The Biden administration wishes to prevent Iran from producing nuclear weapons. Israel is of the same mindset, and believes the United States should impose tough, …

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• 28 April

  Iran FM Zarif bemoans IRGC, Soleimani overreach in leaked interview

  

  The Iranian foreign minister complained about how he was forced to act for military interests instead of diplomatic ones. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed discontent with the influence the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps has over diplomatic affairs, expressing rare criticism of former IRGC Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, …

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• 28 April

  Iran’s secret tapes: Is Iran’s Zarif really sidelined by the IRGC?

  

  Leaked tapes appear to show Zarif claiming that Russia wanted to sabotage the Iran nuclear deal signed in 2015. Leaked recordings are the latest twist in a strange saga that appears to pit Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. IRGC Quds Force commander Qasem …

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• 28 April

  After Deby’s Death, Chad—and the Region—Brace for the Worst

  

  On Tuesday, just one day after Chad’s incumbent president, Idriss Deby, was declared the winner of the country’s April 11 presidential election, a military spokesperson announced that Deby had been killed on the battlefield while overseeing fighting with rebels known as the Front for Change and Concord in Chad, or …

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