LATEST: US Chartered Plane from Afghanistan Forced to Land in Iran

Iran and the 5+1 Powers (US, Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia) will resume nuclear talks on September 18 in New York.

Michael Mann, the spokesman for European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, confirmed the resumption on Thursday. The announcement followed a flurry of Iranian bilateral meetings with members of the 5+1, including the US.

The two sides are seeking a comprehensive settlement before the expiry of interim arrangements on November 24. Their last summit — 16 days in Vienna, finishing on July 18 — ended without resolution of key issues such as the number and level of Iran’s centrifuges for uranium enrichment.

Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, have pointed for weeks to talks in late September in New York. However, the process seemed to be in difficulty after the Supreme Leader’s criticism of discussions with the US as “useless” and the American imposition of a new round of sanctions on Tehran.

The talks in New York will be preceded by preparatory discussions in Vienna and Geneva, including Iranian sessions wiht senior diplomats from France, Britain, and Germany.

(Featured Photo: European Union’s Catherine Ashton and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at Vienna talks, July 2014)


US Chartered Plane from Afghanistan Forced to Land in Iran

An aircraft chartered by US forces in Afghanistan, en route from Bagram air base to Dubai, landed on Friday in Bandar Abbas in southern Iran after Iranian officials questioned its flight plan.

The plane was carrying about 100 Americans and possibly a pair of Canadians.

US officials said the plane was contacted by Iranian air traffic controllers, who instructed it to return to Afghanistan and file the correct plan. When the pilots informed the Iranians they did not have enough fuel to return to Bagram, they were asked to land.

One official said Iranian fighter jets escorted the plane to the ground, but other officials denied this.

The plane was chartered from Fly Dubai, a company based in the United Arab Emirates.

Despite Claims of US-Iran Cooperation in Iraq, Senior Clerics & Revolutionary Guards Insist Washington Supports Islamic State

Reports are circulating this afternoon that the Supreme Leader has agreed to cooperation with the US against the Islamic State in Iraq.

Iran Feature: Has Supreme Leader Approved Cooperation with US over Iraq?

If so, someone has forgotten to tell senior clerics and the Revolutionary Guards.

The Guards’ outlet Fars News features the Tehran Friday Prayer of Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, declaring that Western powers are backing the jihadists.

Khatami, speaking about mass killings by the Islamic State in Iraq, told the US and its partners, “The support given by you to the Takfiri terrorists will backfire on you and you will see the repercussions soon.”

Meanwhile, hardline Iranian media has exalted the role of the elite Qods Force in a Kurdish-Iraqi victory on Sunday, lifting the siege of Amerli in northern Iraq. Raja News posts a photo of Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani (third from right in first row) praying in the town:

SOLEIMANI IN IRAQ

Supreme Leader: Palestine Resistance “Has Brought Israel to Its Knees”

An unsurprising message from the Supreme Leader on Thursday as he closed the meeting of the Assembly of Experts — he praised Palestinian resistance movements for standing up to the Israeli military during the recent 50-day war in Gaza.

Ayatollah Khamenei declared a “miracle” in Palestine’s bringing the “Zionist regime” to its knees despite having limited resources. that the military achievements of Palestinians against Israel manifested an example of a miracle.

The Leader added that Palestinians had in fact managed to bring the Zionist regime, the symbol of Western power in the region, down to its knees by relying on very limited resources.

The Supreme Leader continued that the world is witnessing a “new order” — led by the Islamic Revolution of Iran — even if “certain countries have failed to understand that and believe they should stay subordinate to the West”.

On Wednesday, Khamenei’s top foreign policy aide, Ali Akbar Velayati, said Iran would continue its cooperation with Palestine “until the liberation of Holy Quds (Jerusalem) and the Palestinian nation and annihilation of the Zionist regime”.

“Iran has contributed greatly to the Palestinians, and everyone knows this,” he added.