Pod Save America Hosts Call on Democrats to Cut All Israel Military Aid, No Longer Accept AIPAC Funding
Jews, Israelis Targeted in Austria Amid Surge in Antisemitic Incidents; Local Jewish Community Calls for Action
‘All of Our Strength’: Over 1,000 Pro-Israel Activists Gather in DC for Solidarity Conference
‘Devastated’: Wesley LePatner, Killed in Manhattan Mass Shooting, Was a Jewish Communal, Philanthropic Leader
Sen. Angus King Vows to No Longer Vote for Israel Military Aid Until Gaza Conditions Improve
Europe Won’t Pressure Israel to ‘Commit Suicide’ Amid Gaza Backlash, Palestinian State Push, Says Israeli FM
Israel’s National Soccer Coach Attacked in Athens Before Soccer Fans Chant ‘F–K Israel, Free Palestine’ at Match
New York Judge Sentences Neo-Nazi to 5 Years for Livestreaming Bomb Threats Against Jewish Hospitals
US Pressures Lebanon to Issue Cabinet Decision to Disarm Hezbollah Before Talks Continue
UK Plans to Recognize Palestinian State in September Unless Israel Meets Conditions, Starmer Says
Iranian Satellite Launch Inconsistent With Civilian Uses: US Official
Error: Contact form not found.
by Reuters and Algemeiner Staff
A military satellite named Noor is launched into orbit by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), April 22, 2020. Photo: Tasnim News Agency / Handout via Reuters.
The United States believes an Iranian military satellite launch this week was overseen by a high-ranking commander involved in past attacks on American targets, a senior administration official said on Thursday.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a declassified assessment of the launch determined that it was overseen by Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Force, at a site in eastern Iran.
Hajizadeh was behind the downing of a US military drone in the Gulf last June, a missile attack on US service members in Iraq in January, and the downing of a Ukrainian Airlines flight near Tehran the same month, the official said.
No US troops were killed in the attacks in Iraq but more than 100 were later diagnosed with traumatic brain injury. Both Iranian and US officials have said the shooting down of the Ukrainian civilian plane was an error.
Iranian state TV reported that the Revolutionary Guards launched Iran’s first military satellite on Tuesday. It said the satellite named “Noor” had reached orbit.
The space shot was from “a rapid deployment, mobile launch system, which is inconsistent with any civilian application,” the administration official said.
“This was a space launch conducted by the Iranian military for military purposes,” the official said.
With tensions running high between the two countries, Trump said on Wednesday he had instructed the US Navy to fire on any Iranian ships that harass it at sea.
