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A production team member of the animated film 'Battle of the Persian Gulf II' holds the movie's poster, in Tehran.

Movie theaters in Tehran started showing a feature-length animation depicting a battle between Iranian and U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf amid rising tensions between the two longtime foes.

The Battle of the Persian Gulf II imagines Irans response to a U.S. attack, director Farhad Azima said by phone on Monday. The 88-minute animation, which was screened two weeks ago in the holy city of Mashhad, shows the wide range of Irans weaponry and military tactics, he said.

Production began before the 2015 accord that lifted a host of economic sanctions on Iran in return for curbing its nuclear activities. Its release, however, comes at a time of worsening relations between the two countries after the election of Donald Trump who said he was putting the Islamic Republic on notice after it carried out a missile test in February.

Azima said one of the leading figures portrayed in the animation is inspired by General Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds force, an elite unit that operates overseas and supports regional militant movements like Lebanons Hezbollah.

This is Iran, a place that for the likes of you means the end of the world, the commander is shown as saying in the trailer released online as he addresses enemy forces. If you attack Iran we will turn this into your cemetery, he says.

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Iranian Animation Depicts Battle With US Forces in Gulf - Bloomberg

Iranian clerics watch the firing of a Shahab-3 missile during a war game in a desert near the city of Qom. (photo credit:REUTERS)

Russian President Vladimir Putin was right when he respectfully told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop living in the past.

Putins comments were made in response to an attempt by Netanyahu, during a one-day visit in Moscow, to tie present-day tensions between Tehran and Israel to the events of Purim.

The story told in the Megila took place in the fifth century BC, noted Putin. We now live in a different world. Let us talk about that now.

Indeed, the world is a very different place today. Unlike in the time of Mordechai and Esther, when Jews lacked political sovereignty and military might, and they had to rely on the largesse of the nations of the world and on quixotic leaders such as Ahasuerus.

But while the prime minister might have failed to convince Putin of the relevance of ancient Persian history to contemporary events, he was right to prioritize the Iranian threat to Israel.

That is important, as the international community and in particular the US, Russia, Turkey and Arab states work toward an arrangement for Syria that will put an end to the civil war there.

Israel and Russia have cooperated in the past to advance their respective interests. The sharing of intelligence and open communication between the two countries have prevented incidents like Turkeys downing of a Russian warplane on its border with Syria in November 2015.

According to foreign media reports, Russian warplanes have operated over the Golan Heights against forces opposing the Assad regime, and Israel has carried out air strikes within Syria to prevent Iran and Hezbollah from smuggling arms to Lebanon.

Continued cooperation with Moscow is important as a means of curtailing Tehrans influence in Syria.

That was Netanyahus message to Putin during their meeting in Moscow on Thursday. The concern in Jerusalem is that the Russian-backed Assad regimes victory over ISIS-affiliated forces will pave the way for Iran, Assads other ally, to fill the vacuum created by ISISs departure to gain a lasting foothold in Syria. An Iranian front on Israels northern border and not just via its Hezbollah proxy would be a strategic nightmare for the Jewish state.

And there is a good chance Netanyahu found Putin to be attentive to Israels concerns. While it has coordinated extensively with Iran as part of the campaign to protect its interests in Syria, Russia likely does not relish seeing Iran build up military forces and infrastructure and even a naval base in Syria. Russian cooperation with Iran during the civil war does not preclude cooperation with Israel in preventing Tehran from remaining a dominant force in Syria.

The prime ministers push to shift international focus to Iran is also important now as the Trump administration formulates its policy for the region. Last Monday, Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump spoke by phone at length about the dangers emanating from Iran and Iranian aggression in the region and the need to work together to deal with these threats, according to the Prime Ministers Office.

On the same day, Netanyahu said that 80% of Israels fundamental security problems stem from Iran, speaking during a ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, which the Islamic Republic orchestrated.

As noted by The Jerusalem Posts diplomatic correspondent Herb Keinon, the prime ministers renewed efforts to put the Iranian threat on top of the USs agenda came after Trumps inauguration, which ushered in an administration with an instinctively more hard-line approach to Iran than that of the Obama administration.

Netanyahu believes that there is a unique opportunity now to enlist US support, and to a lesser degree British and Australian support, for ensuring that Iranian violations of the nuclear deal are punished. He also hopes to curtail Irans conventional capabilities, which are not addressed in the nuclear deal.

Iranian mullahs threats to wipe Israel off the map might be reminiscent of the genocidal machinations of the historical Haman. But much has changed in two millennia.

Today Jewish sovereignty empowers the Jews to take control of their fate. Jews are no longer dependent on the grace of host countries like ancient Persia for their well-being.

They can bring to bear international diplomacy and the leveraging of military might. Netanyahus prioritization of the Iranian threat as the geopolitical map shifts is a living example of the radical change in Jews standing in the world.

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Netanyahu pushes Putin and Trump to curtail the Iranian threat to Israel - Jerusalem Post Israel News

ASTANA Russia, Turkey and Iran are pressing ahead with a fresh round of Syria talks in Kazakhstan, Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov said on Monday, despite a request from Syrian rebels to delay the meeting.

"We are awaiting confirmations from the other parties to the meeting," Abdrakhmanov told parliament, adding that delegations had already started arriving in the Kazakh capital, Astana.

Syrian rebel groups called last week for the postponement of the talks and said further meetings would depend on whether the government and its allies adhered to a newly declared March 7-20 ceasefire.

The third round of Astana talks is due to take place on March 14-15. The previous meetings aimed to shore up a widely violated ceasefire between the sides that was brokered in December by Russia and Turkey, which backs the rebels.

(Reporting by Raushan Nurshayeva; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Dominic Evans)

GENEVA North Korea boycotted a U.N. review of its human rights record on Monday, shunning calls to hold to account the Pyongyang leadership for crimes against humanity documented by the world body.

MOSUL Iraqi forces battling Islamic State faced tough resistance from snipers and mortar rounds on Monday as they tried to advance on Mosul's Old City and a bridge across the Tigris river in their campaign to retake the western part of the city.

BEIRUT The Syrian army and its allies gained control of an arterial road in a small rebel pocket in northeast Damascus early on Monday, bringing them close to splitting the enclave in two, a Britain-based war monitor reported.

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Russia, Turkey, Iran to press ahead with Syria talks: Kazakhstan - Reuters

by Zack Hedrick, News 4 San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO -- Later this week, President Trump's latest version of the temporary travel ban will go into effect.

This after the previous one was met with widespread scrutiny and blocked by federal courts.

When the revised ban was signed, a family from Iran was reunited here in San Antonio after escaping persecution in their home country.

Ariana Ashkanzad and her mother Sara are Christian Jews and arrived in the United States just days before President Trump's revised travel ban goes into effect on Thursday.

I never, never, never [want to] go [back] to Iran," said Sara Shali Ashkanzad.

The family's journey to America has been a long one -- 10 years to be exact.

Sara's husband, Hooman, began preaching the gospel in Iran about 10 years ago.

And he was imprisoned about 10 years ago and that's when he escaped, said Roy Garcia, a minister with the Emmanuel Worship Cetner. And after he escaped, he left his family behind. If he stayed there he would have been killed."

The revised 90-day ban will stop people in six predominantly Muslim countries, including Iran, from getting visas.

Garcia who helped the Ashkanzad family reach the United States says since the revised ban has been issued, the demand for help has gone up.

"40 families have asked for us to help them in this time period but they just have a small time period to get here," said Garcia.

Garcia hopes he can get a few more families to call the United States home before the ban takes effect.

I think here is my home, said Sara. I'm happy because I'm here. we are free."

A few local law firms are offering free consultations beginning next month. More info is listed below.

Immigration Clinic Pop Up Event Saldivar Brannan Law Firm Saturday, April 1 from 10am 2pm

The firm will begin pop up legal clinics across San Antonio every weekend until the end of May. The firm will be giving free consultations and answering any questions people may have about immigration, deportation, legal permanent residency, and work permits.

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It is a known fact that the Trump White House and Congress are weighing options of how to take action against Irans hostilities, especially the mounting belligerency of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), rendering escalated tensions between Iran and the U.S. in the Middle East to an unprecedented level.

Iran poses the greatest long-term threat to stability for this part of the world, said CENTCOM commander Gen. Joseph L. Votel at a Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.

U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley further emphasized the threat posed by Iran in the region, underscoring how Syria cannot become a safe haven for terrorists and the importance of getting Iran and their proxies out of the Levant.

At such a sensitive timing, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), known as the main Iranian opposition organization, staged a press conference on Tuesday in London exposing malign IRGC practices to cloak its efforts to continue fueling terrorism in the Middle East and expand smuggling activities.

The NCRI cited information obtained by sources affiliated with the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) inside Iran, and especially the IRGC apparatus, shedding light on the Guards owning 90 of Irans official 212 piers.

The IRGC employs these docks to transfer arms and ammunition, amongst other military ordinance, to proxy groups fighting to advance Irans interests across the Middle East. This policy of Iran procuring sensitive equipment to these groups is now a known fact considering the mullahs expanding influence.

Established in the Iranian regimes early years, the then fledgling IRGC took on the task to launch a significant network of such piers. The intended objective was to provide means for the Guards to sidestep any domestic supervision, evade customs limitations and maintain international monitoring mechanisms at bay regarding its illegal activities.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has remained loyal to this objective, tasking the IRGC under his watch to inflate the network of Bahman Docks, as they are known amongst regime institutions.

Misusing their leverage, the Guards jumped to the opportunity and established a decisive grip over the regimes economy. A large percentage of Irans imports and exports are now literally controlled by the IRGC, using this leverage to flood the countrys market with low-priced goods and inflicting huge damage on local-based factories and trade.

The Guards now are reeling in $12 billion in annual profits through various methods of illegal transactions, according to reports. This renders an obvious conclusion that large portions of such revenue is directed to fund Irans backing of worldwide terrorism, meddling in the Middle East, nuclear program, ballistic missile drive, and the ongoing campaign by Tehran to get a hold of different weapons of mass destruction.

The NCRI has listed names and images of numerous IRGC docks and shipping companies, used as cover by Tehran to keep its true intentions in the dark. The Guards have also established ownership of a number of large oil tankers, rented to foreign states to funnel in further revenue.

The Iranian opposition held yet another press conference, this time by the NCRI-US office in Washington, announcing a new publication, the Rise of the Revolutionary Guards Financial Empire: How the Supreme Leader and the IRGC Rob the People to Fund International Terror, focusing on the IRGCs rising economic empire. American experts, including Ambassador Adam Ereli, were present to emphasize how Khamenei and the Guards have expanded their sphere of influence over Irans vast economic resources.

Tensions are currently growing between Washington and Tehran, specifically following the Trump administration placing Iran on notice in response to a January 29th intermediate-range ballistic missile launch, which in a failure and humiliation for the mullahs.

The troubles have escalated as Iran tested two short-range ballistic missiles last weekend, IRGC fast-attack boats harassed a U.S. Navy surveillance vessel on Thursday and successfully launched a naval missile hitting a target at a range of 250 kilometers.

The Trump administration, busy overhauling its predecessors destructive appeasement mentality, is evaluating the possibility of blacklisting the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization. New revelations made by the Iranian opposition highlight the necessity of such a move.

Despite arguments otherwise, this designation of the IRGC will in fact de-escalate tensions in the flashpoint Middle East. As written in The Washington Post, U.S. President Donald Trump should not miss the best opportunity we will have going forward to contain and defang Iran short of a war.

Shahriar Kia is an Iranian dissident and a political analyst writing about Iran and the Middle East.He is the member of the Iranian opposition and he graduated from North Texas University. He tweets at @shahriarkia.

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Iran Opposition Unveils Secret IRGC Tactics | The Daily Caller - Daily Caller