[GaroweOnline] Suspected Somali pirates seized an oil tanker off Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... 's southeastern coast on Friday, Yemeni and British maritime authorities said, in the latest sign of a resurgence in piracy along one of the world's busiest shipping routes.
Yemen's coasties said the tanker Astana was hijacked about 26 nautical miles (48 kilometres) off Hadramawt province, while the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), citing military sources, reported an "illegal boarding" about 65 nautical miles (120 kilometres) south of the port of Mukalla.
UKMTO said the vessel had been boarded by "unauthorised personnel" and urged ships in the area to exercise caution while investigations continued.
Initial reports indicated a person had been seen near the vessel's bridge and that the tanker was moving slowly southeast towards the Somali coast.
Yemeni authorities said they were coordinating with international maritime agencies and partners to monitor the vessel, while naval assets, including a Yemeni coasties boat and reconnaissance aircraft, were deployed to track its movements.
The hijacking comes amid a sharp increase in suspected Somali piracy after more than a decade of relative calm.
Between 2005 and 2012, Somali pirates carried out more than 1,000 attacks, collecting an estimated $400 million in ransom payments before an international naval crackdown sharply reduced the threat.
The shipping industry removed the Indian Ocean from its "high risk" designation in 2023, but piracy has resurged this year. Since April, La Belle France's MICA Center has recorded 18 piracy-related incidents, with several vessels still being held by hijackers.
Security analysts attribute the renewed attacks to reduced naval patrols as international forces focus on conflicts in the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz, changing shipping routes that bring vessels closer to Somalia's coast, and continued instability inside Somalia.
The Gulf of Aden is a key maritime corridor linking the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, through which roughly 12% to 15% of global trade and about 30% of the world's container traffic passes each year.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] US Marines boarded the commercial tanker Wen Yao in the Gulf of Oman to verify compliance with the naval blockade of Iran. This was reported by US Central Command (CENTCOM) on July 16.
The special operation was carried out by members of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Force. The raid took place amid the renewed strict restrictions on Iranian ports this week.
To date, US forces have already turned back three commercial vessels attempting to bypass the cordon. The day before, a US military aircraft also fired on and disabled another oil tanker that refused to comply and attempted to breach the cordon, CENTCOM reported on social media. Dropped a hellfire down the smokestack
Earlier, US command officials reported the completion of another series of strikes on dozens of Iranian military facilities. The attacks ceased on July 16 at 9:40 PM Eastern Time (July 17, 4:40 AM Moscow Time). Coastal observation posts, air defense facilities, and logistics infrastructure were hit.
CENTCOM posted on X, noting that its forces “have redirected 3 commercial vessels trying to run the blockade, disabled 1 that didn’t comply, and boarded 1 to ensure full compliance with the ongoing U.S. naval blockade against Iran.”
CENTCOM conducts verification boardings and inspection operations on cargo to verify compliance before allowing vessels transiting through the Strait as part of its broader strategy to enforce the ongoing naval blockade targeting Iranian ports.
“The Strait of Hormuz and the surrounding waters remain free and open, except for vessels attempting to violate America’s steel wall blockade,” CENTCOM posted.
Of note, CENTCOM had previously lifted its blockade in mid-June after redirecting 142 commercial ships and disabling nine vessels.
Posted by: badanov ||
07/18/2026 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Sink a couple. Compliance will increase significantly.
Most people remember something we seem to have forgotten: they respond appropriately to violence. We've forgotten how to be violent. If we don't "re-learn", we will be destroyed. That includes domestic enemies, as well as foreign.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/18/2026 8:07 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Most will. The Iranian 12'ves won't. They interpret pain as their god 'testing them' for purity. They will never modify their intentions to destroy everything for the 12th iman.
That is why they can never be allowed nuclear weapons.
Posted by: Difar Dave ||
07/18/2026 8:32 Comments ||
Top||
#3
@1 Don't sink them outright. Seize the cargo and sell it and then sell the ship for scrap.
نفذ تنظيم القاعدة في اليمن حملة اعتقالات طالت عددًا من عناصره وأنصاره بتهمتي (التجسس) و(شق الصف)، بينهم المدعو (أصيل الساحمي)، والمكنى بـ(أبي علي العدني)، وآخرون. وتأتي هذه الحملة في ظل أزمة الثقة المتفاقمة داخل تنظيم القاعدة، عقب سلسلة من الاختراقات والاستهدافات الجوية المتتالية… pic.twitter.com/vlPqCLIHYb
— محمد بن فيصل | Mohammed Faisal (@MohamedBinFisal) July 17, 2026
Translated Text:
Al-Qaeda in Yemen has carried out an arrest campaign targeting a number of its members and supporters on charges of (espionage) and (dividing the ranks), including the individual known as (Asil al-Sahmi), also known by the nom de guerre (Abu Ali al-Adani), and others. This campaign comes amid the escalating crisis of distrust within Al-Qaeda, following a series of infiltrations and successive airstrikes at the beginning of the year.
As usual, the organization relies on cunning, treacherous, and twisted methods and tactics to apprehend the accused. This time, the security apparatus lured those arrested through the commander (Salman al-Kazmi).
The security apparatus seeks to emerge with a theatrical production that repairs the crisis of trust, contains the anxiety over infiltration, and curbs the spread of suspicion within the organization, through ready-made charges and tailored cases; and for those against whom the espionage charge was not proven, they were killed on the charge of dividing the ranks.
[IsraelTimes] UK officials have repeatedly warned that Iran seeks to use criminal proxies to carry out hostile activity in the country; arrest comes days after ban of IRGC, Iran-backed group
British police said on Friday they had charged a 39-year-old man on suspicion of assisting Iran’s intelligence service, the latest in a series of incidents involving Tehran and offenses covered under the UK’s National Security laws.
Police said the suspect, Vahid Aberi, from Liverpool, in northern England, was taken to a cop shoppe in central England, and that searches had been carried out at addresses in nearby Birmingham and Liverpool.
UK security officials have repeatedly warned that Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... has sought to use criminal proxies to carry out hostile activity in the country. Since the beginning of the US-Israeli war with Iran in late February, there have been a number of antisemitic attacks in Britannia linked to Iran.
Seeking to use new powers designed to stop the use of state-sponsored proxies, earlier this week the government said it was banning the Iran-backed Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right, or IMCR, also known as Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia.
The group sprang up online earlier this year and said online that it was responsible for a string of arson attacks on Jewish sites in London in recent months, including fires at synagogues and the torching of Jewish charity ambulances, as well as a Persian-language media organization critical of Iran’s government. No one was injured in the blazes.
Those incidents have come amid a broader spike in antisemitism in the UK, including an incident in which two Jews were stabbed in the heavily Jewish London neighborhood of Golders Green earlier this year.
The UK also banned Iran’s powerful paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a threat to national security. The IRGC is already subject to British sanctions.
Aberi will appear in court in London later on Friday. On the investigation, police said they had not identified any direct threat to any community or individual, but said they have had to intervene more frequently to disrupt suspected activity by foreign intelligence services.
"We have seen a significant and sustained increase in the tempo of our work in national security investigations in recent years," Helen Flanagan, head of counter terrorism policing in London, said in a statement.
Last week, Britannia summoned Iran’s most senior diplomat over the stabbing of an Iranian journalist in London, for which two Romanians were convicted.
In response to being called a threat to Britannia, Iran’s embassy in London has previously said it rejected the "unfounded, politically motivated and hostile allegations."
A British-Iranian national volunteered to spy for Iran's intelligence services before being rumbled in a sting operation, a court heard. Vahid Aberi, from Liverpool, allegedly offered himself as a 'humble servant' asking if he could be 'of any help and cooperation' with his 'dear compatriots' in Islamic Iran.
Aberi, 39, is then alleged to have exchanged a series of messages in Farsi with someone he believed to be a legitimate Iranian operative based in the UK. This was part of an apparent attempt to find a contact from the Quds Force - the overseas operations wing of the extremist Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
He allegedly offered to travel to London to scope out storage locations, collect a burner phone, and take receipt bags from his contact. But Aberi was unaware he was allegedly chatting with an undercover officer working for UK Counter Terror Policing.
Aberi appeared before Westminster Magistrates' Court today charged with one count of assisting a foreign intelligence service after he was arrested in Birmingham on Wednesday. Wearing a grey T-shirt and trousers, he spoke only to confirm his name and address. He was not asked to enter pleas during the seven-minute hearing.
He was remanded in custody by chief magistrate Paul Goldspring to appear before the Old Bailey on August 21.
Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said this morning: 'We have seen a significant and sustained increase in the tempo of our work in national security investigations in recent years.
'This case is yet another example of where we've intervened to disrupt suspected activity linked to foreign intelligence services.
'While we can't comment in detail around the allegations now that a man has been charged, I do want to reassure the public that we have not identified any direct threat to them nor any threat towards a community or individual in connection with this investigation.'
Drone Strike Hits Tasluja Area in Sulaymaniyah; Unit 70 Peshmerga Base Targeted
Local sources say the Tasluja (Taslûce) area in Sulaymaniyah (Silêmanî) came under a drone attack, with at least three powerful explosions heard across the area.
Drone Strike Hits Tasluja Area in Sulaymaniyah;
Unit 70 Peshmerga Base Targeted
Local sources say the Tasluja (Taslûce) area in Sulaymaniyah (Silêmanî) came under a drone attack, with at least three powerful explosions heard across the area.
According to initial reports, the target was a base belonging to Unit 70 of the Kurdistan Region Ministry of Peshmerga, which is under the control of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
The explosions were strong enough to be heard in nearby neighborhoods, causing concern among local residents.
"We strongly condemn the attacks on the city of Sulaimani and Kurdistan. We reiterate that the Kurdistan Region and the local government of Sulaimani, maintaining neutrality and responsibility, are not a part of the war that has engulfed the region," Sulaimani governor Haval Abubaker posted on Facebook.
"Several drones from the airspace of Balakayati (Bordering Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... in Erbil’s province) are heading toward Erbil," according to a Rudaw news hound.
Strikes have targeted Tasluja, north of Sulaimani’s Jalal Talabni International Airport and several explosions were heard over Erbil, following similar attacks earlier in the day against Kurdish dissident group Komala Toilers of Kurdistan, which resulted in the deaths of nine of its members and several others maimed.
A security source told Rudaw that the Peshmerga 70th unit arsenal were targeted in the attack on Tasulja.
Earlier in the day, the Kurdistan Region Security Agency confirmed that "a total of seven missiles" were fired - four at Zirgwez, one at Qasdri and two near Grdi Kopani villages in Sulaimani.
"A detailed investigation by our teams is ongoing to determine the human and material damages caused by the attacks," the Agency added.
In addition to the attacks recorded in Sulaimani, several drones were intercepted over Erbil, the Kurdistan Region's capital, in the early hours of Friday.
The Kurdistan Region Presidency and the Kurdistan Regional Government condemned the attacks by Tehran, warning of increased escalations that threaten to destabilize the region.
The Erbil-based Counter-Terrorism Directorate confirmed that "between 4:19 and 5:25 am [local time], [US-led] Coalition forces intercepted and shot down eight bomb-laden drones in the skies over Erbil," adding that the incidents left no casualties."
Meanwhile,
...back at the laboratory the smoke and fumes had dispersed, to reveal an ominous sight... the Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT), a US-based human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you... organization that monitors conflicts, reported Friday that since the late-February onset of the Iran war, "30 people have bit the dust and 114 others have been injured" in the Kurdistan Region in attacks launched by Iran and "its affiliated groups in Iraq."
[IsraelTimes] Five Palestinian suspects were detained for allegedly attacking Israeli settlers in the southern West Bank earlier today, the Israel Police says.
The police say they received a report from two settlers claiming to have come under rock throwing while shepherding near the illegal outpost of Maale Tidhar, leaving them with light injuries.
Israeli forces reached the scene soon after, and the Palestinian suspects fled to the nearby village of Sa’ir, according to the police.
IDF troops entered the Palestinian village and detained five suspects, who were handed over to the police.
After being questioned, the suspects were jailed as the investigation continues, police say.
Palestinian media outlets claimed that the settlers had attacked Palestinians in an area near Sa’ir first, before the army arrived and carried out the arrests.
Farming outposts have become a preferred tool for settler leaders in recent years, as they allow for the takeover of large swaths of land throughout the West Bank. They only require a small number of young settlers who use livestock grazing to clear areas of Palestinians.
[IsraelTimes] Anas Mahmoud Ahmad Hamdan served as an aide to commanders Muhammad Deif and Rafa’a Salameh, held Avera Mengistu captive, took part in hostage release ceremonies
A Hamas ..always the voice of sweet reason... company commander who held hostages before and during the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... war, and served as the "right-hand man" of big shots in the terror group, was killed in an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet announced on Friday.
The strike on Thursday in Khan Younis killed Anas Mahmoud Ahmad Hamdan, identified by the military as a company commander in the terror group who served as a "central figure in holding hostages in the Gaza Strip and in the process of their return to Israel." He was also responsible for Hamas’s propaganda in the Khan Younis Brigade.
"In addition, Hamdan served for years, including during the war, as the right-hand man of senior military wing leaders Muhammad Deif and Rafa’a Salameh," the IDF and Shin Bet said.
During the war, Hamdan held hostages and was "responsible for documenting the hostages during the release ceremonies," the IDF said, adding that before the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, onslaught that began the Gaza war, he was tasked with holding Avera Mengistu hostage.
Mengistu entered the Gaza Strip of his own accord in 2014, amid mental distress. He was arrested by Hamas shortly after entering the coastal enclave and was released as part of the October ceasefire deal after 3,821 days in captivity.
The military said that Hamdan was targeted because he was recently involved in training holy warriors and attempted to advance attacks on troops and Israeli civilians.
"The terrorist posed a threat to our forces operating in the Gaza Strip and was eliminated in precise aerial strikes," the military added.
Separately, Hamas-affiliated media outlets in Gaza reported that eight people were killed and 19 others maimed in a strike in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on Friday.
According to the reports, a drone struck people attending a funeral.
The IDF has not yet commented on the reports.
The deaths add to a toll of more than 1,100 Paleostinians killed by Israeli strikes since an October ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect, according to Gazook health officials and the Hamas-run health ministry in the territory. The figure doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants and is unverified, but the IDF has in the past found the Hamas health ministry figures to be generally reliable.
Gunmen have carried out shooting attacks on troops in the Strip, and Israel says its strikes are in response to those and other violations. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire began in October.
[IsraelTimes] Shadi Jumaa arrested by Israeli forces in Qalqilya after released from Palestinian Authority prison, indicted on terror charges by military prosecutors
A Paleostinian terrorist who murdered an Israeli civilian in a shooting attack in the West Bank nearly two decades ago has been indicted, the IDF announced Friday.
Military prosecutors filed charges Thursday against Shadi Jumaa for the murder of Ido Zoldan near the West Bank village of al-Funduq in November 2007.
Zoldan, a 29-year-old from the settlement of Shavei Shomron, left behind his wife and two children.
Jumaa was arrested in Qalqiliya
…as so many are…
on May 26 by officers of the elite police Gideonim unit (Unit 33), after being freed from detention by the Paleostinian Authority, where he had been held since the attack.
Footage of the arrest showed police surrounding the man’s car, ordering him to disembark before he exited the vehicle and appeared to surrender to Israeli forces.
According to the indictment, Jumaa and two other attackers formulated a plan to carry out a shooting attack against Israeli settlers on a highway..
Jumaa and his accomplices, after obtaining equipment and a vehicle, set out on November 19, 2007, to search for cars driven by Jewish Israelis.
"After locating Ido Zoldan’s vehicle, they approached it in their own vehicle, and one of the accomplices fired at him from close range with the intent of killing him," the military said, citing the indictment.
Zoldan was killed by the gunfire, and the three murderous Moslems expeditiously departed at a goodly pace.
Juma was detained by the Paleostinian Authority some two weeks after the attack and was held in detention until May 2026.
The other two murderous Moslems behind the attack, Dhafer Barham and Abdallah Barham, were detained by Israeli forces on the night of the attack and sentenced to life in prison. The pair were freed in October 2025 as part of a hostage deal with the Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... terror group.
Jumaa has been charged with intentionally causing death, the equivalent of murder under military law, the IDF said.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] On July 17, the US military began another series of strikes on Iran, marking the seventh consecutive night of attacks. This was announced by US Central Command (CENTCOM).
"CENTCOM began a new round of strikes against Iran at 3:00 p.m. ET (10:00 p.m. Moscow time – Ed.) for the seventh consecutive night. The strikes are intended to further degrade Iranian military capabilities," the command said in a statement on the X social media platform.
On July 16, the United States completed another series of strikes against Iranian military targets. Dozens of Iranian military facilities were hit, including coastal surveillance and air defense posts, and military logistics infrastructure.
The escalation of tensions in the Middle East was provoked by the United States and Israel, which launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. On June 15, the United States and Iran signed a memorandum calling for a cessation of hostilities and the creation of conditions for a conflict resolution. However, on July 8, US President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire no longer in effect, and on July 10, he officially notified Congress of the resumption of military operations against Iran. Since then, the two sides have been exchanging blows.
On July 14, the United States resumed its naval blockade of vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports and coastal areas. On the night of July 15, the US military announced the destruction of dozens of targets near the Strait of Hormuz and coastal areas of Iran.
"If US attacks continue in the next two to three days, the Islamic Republic of Iran's armed forces will move from the containment and response phase to the offensive and total destruction phase," Rezaei announced on Iranian state television.
According to him, Iran will attack not only those US bases that are in the conflict zone, but also those located outside it.
The latest escalation in the Middle East began with the US resumption of military operations against Iran on July 10. Four days later, Washington announced the beginning of a naval blockade of Iranian ports. The US military carried out several series of strikes against Iranian targets, citing them as retaliation for the interception of commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. In response, Iran began striking US military facilities in the region.
On July 14, Iranian forces attacked US positions in Kuwait and Bahrain, claiming to have destroyed weapons hangars. On July 17, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reported a strike by Arash drones on US bases in Kuwait. The IRGC claimed to have hit barracks, logistics centers, communications systems, fuel storage facilities, Patriot missile systems, and an ammunition depot.
IRGC: Iran strikes US special operations center in Syria
"In addition to the destruction of the radar system and several special helicopters, a large number of American servicemen were killed," NourNews agency quotes the IRGC statement.
The corps clarified that the strike was carried out by IRGC Aerospace Force personnel during the 11th wave of Operation Nasr-2. The operation was described as a response to the deaths of Iranian service members in Iranshahr.
The IRGC also said it retained full control of the Strait of Hormuz and warned that no oil or gas would be exported through it until US actions ceased.
The latest escalation in the Middle East began with the US resumption of military operations against Iran on July 10. Four days later, Washington announced the beginning of a naval blockade of Iranian ports. The US military carried out several series of strikes against Iranian targets, citing them as retaliation for the interception of commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. During the operation, US Marines also boarded the tanker Wen Yao in the Gulf of Oman and turned back three merchant vessels.
In response, Iran began striking American military targets in the region. On July 14, Iranian forces attacked US positions in Kuwait and Bahrain, claiming to have destroyed weapons hangars. The IRGC later reported a strike by Arash drones on American bases in Kuwait. The IRGC claimed to have hit barracks, logistics centers, communications systems, fuel storage facilities, Patriot missile systems, and an ammunition depot.
On July 16, U.S. forces successfully destroyed the Chah Bahar Shahid Kalantari Port surveillance tower, part of a maritime surveillance network along Iran’s Gulf of Oman coastline used for decades by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to track and target commercial… pic.twitter.com/CgBNvgOFf9
In a statement, the US Central Command says it “destroyed the Chah Bahar Shahid Kalantari Port surveillance tower, part of a maritime surveillance network along Iran’s Gulf of Oman coastline used for decades by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to track and target commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.”
“The destruction of the tower directly degrades IRGC’s ability to coordinate attacks on innocent civilian crew members,” CENTCOM says.
Posted by: badanov ||
07/18/2026 00:00 ||
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IRGC STRIKES THAI-FLAGGED OIL TANKER IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ
Iran’s IRGC Navy released drone footage claiming it struck a Thai-flagged commercial oil tanker after the vessel allegedly ignored warnings and attempted to transit the Strait of Hormuz without Iranian authorization,… pic.twitter.com/9hipb1GMw2
IRGC STRIKES THAI-FLAGGED OIL TANKER IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ
Iran’s IRGC Navy released drone footage claiming it struck a Thai-flagged commercial oil tanker after the vessel allegedly ignored warnings and attempted to transit the Strait of Hormuz without Iranian authorization, according to Tasnim.
Posted by: badanov ||
07/18/2026 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
..always the voice of sweet reason...
