Quds Force

Iran is quietly seeking to expand its ties with Latin America in what U.S. officials and regional experts say is an effort to circumvent economic sanctions and gain access to much-needed markets and raw materials. The new diplomatic offensive, which comes amid rising tensions with Washington and European powers, includes a four-nation swing through South and Central America this month by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad . His government has vowed to increase its economic, political and military influence in the...

A former used-car salesman accused of conspiring with Iranians in an audacious murder-for-hire plot pleaded guilty Wednesday to helping plan the assassination of a Saudi diplomat at a posh Georgetown restaurant. Manssor Arbabsiar, 58 , a Texan with dual Iranian and U.S. citizenship, entered the plea in a New York courtroom just over year after his arrest in a case that shocked the world and drove U.S.-Iranian relations to a new low. Arbabsiar faces up to 25 years in prison for his role in the plot, which U.S....

U.S. officials say Iran is dispatching increasing numbers of trainers and advisers — including members of its elite Quds Force — into Syria to help crush anti-government demonstrations that are threatening to topple Iran's most important ally in the region. The influx of Iranian manpower is adding to a steady stream of aid from Tehran that includes not only weapons and riot gear but also sophisticated surveillance equipment that is helping Syrian authorities track down opponents through their Facebook and Twitter accounts, the sources...

Iran recently has mounted a series of disruptive computer attacks against major U.S. banks and other companies in apparent retaliation for Western economic sanctions aimed at halting its nuclear program, according to U.S. intelligence and other officials. In particular, assaults this week on the Web sites of JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America probably were carried out by Iran, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said Friday.

When White House officials first heard an informant's report last spring of an Iranian plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington, they found it implausible . They asked the same question we all have been puzzling over since the indictment Tuesday of the alleged plotters: If the Iranians planned such a sensitive operation, why would they delegate the job to Mansour Arbabsiar, an Iranian American former used-car dealer, and a hit team drawn...

The straight-out-of-pulp-fiction plot by alleged Iranian operatives to assassinate a Saudi diplomat in Washington was so badly bungled that investigators initially were skeptical that Iran's government was behind it, U.S. officials said Wednesday. Officials laying out the details of the case owned up to their early doubts about an Iranian role as they sought to counter skepticism and confusion about the unusual scheme — one that happens to carry far-reaching international...

As the United States and Iran move closer toward open confrontation, it's important that both take quiet steps to avoid the miscalculations and misunderstandings that can lead to an inadvertent military conflict. It's been done before: During the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, President John F. Kennedy used a back channel to communicate U.S. resolve to the Soviets and also explore a formula for settlement. The key points of contact were his brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, and the Soviet...

Let's try for a moment to put ourselves in the mind of Brig. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. For it is the soft-spoken Soleimani, not Iran's bombastic president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who plays a decisive role in his nation's confrontation with the United States. Soleimani represents the sharp point of the Iranian spear. He is responsible for Iran's covert activities in Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan and other battlegrounds. He oversees the regime's relations with its militant proxies,...

A former used-car salesman accused of conspiring with Iranians in an audacious murder-for-hire plot pleaded guilty Wednesday to helping plan the assassination of a Saudi diplomat at a posh Georgetown restaurant. Manssor Arbabsiar, 58 , a Texan with dual Iranian and U.S. citizenship, entered the plea in a New York courtroom just over year after his arrest in a case that shocked the world and drove U.S.-Iranian relations to a new low. Arbabsiar faces up to 25 years in prison for his role in the...

When nearly $100,000 landed in an undercover FBI bank account from a source linked to an Iranian paramilitary force, officials began taking seriously an alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador that at first had seemed outlandish . And as the investigation unfolded over recent months, a name emerged that chilled some in the U.S. government. The Iranian cousin of the man accused of plotting the assassination was Abdul Reza Shahlai, a senior commander...

"We are of the opinion that the Iranian regime is a rational actor," said Gen. Martin Dempsey , chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on CNN on Sunday. That sounds right to me, but his comment raises a tricky question: How much pressure will it take to get this "rational" country to curb its nuclear program? The answer here isn't comforting: Recent history shows that the Iranian regime will change behavior only if confronted with overwhelming force and the prospect of an unwinnable war. Short of that, the Iranians...

As the United States and Iran move closer toward open confrontation, it's important that both take quiet steps to avoid the miscalculations and misunderstandings that can lead to an inadvertent military conflict. It's been done before: During the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, President John F. Kennedy used a back channel to communicate U.S. resolve to the Soviets and also explore a formula for settlement. The key points of contact were his brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, and the Soviet ambassador to...

Iran is quietly seeking to expand its ties with Latin America in what U.S. officials and regional experts say is an effort to circumvent economic sanctions and gain access to much-needed markets and raw materials. The new diplomatic offensive, which comes amid rising tensions with Washington and European powers, includes a four-nation swing through South and Central America this month by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad . His government has vowed to increase its economic, political and military...

As Roya Hakakian sat on a panel in Washington last month listening to another Iranian writer speak, she had a small epiphany. The speaker was sounding a familiar theme among many Iranians in the West, who for three decades have felt responsible for showing the world that Iran is about more than just stern ayatollahs, political repression and international terrorism. "It was a completely harmonious panel," Hakakian recalled. "We were all in agreement about everything, and then this...

TEHRAN — An Iranian police unit that was formed this year to counter alleged Internet crimes is playing a key role in an escalating online conflict between the United States and the Islamic Republic. The "cyber police" force is part of a broad and largely successful government effort to block foreign Web sites and social networks deemed a threat to national security. Iranian officials say they must control which sites Iranians are able to visit, to prevent spying and protect the public from "immoral" material.

A mere moment or two after the Obama administration announced it had discovered and thwarted a plot by Iran to kill Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States by bombing a Washington restaurant, the doubters started to air their doubts. Columnists and experts, even some columnists who were not experts, said the Iranians would never be so sloppy as to commit a virtual act of war by setting off a bomb in the nation's capital. The alleged plot was crazy, they said. I agree. But so is Iran.

President Obama pledged Thursday to hold Iran accountable for "dangerous and reckless behavior" in pursuing an alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States. In his first comments on the purported murder-for-hire scheme unveiled Wednesday by the Justice Department, Obama described the U.S. allegations as well supported by evidence and said they would contribute to stronger enforcement of existing sanctions against Iran. Speaking to reporters at the White House after meeting with...

Iran recently has mounted a series of disruptive computer attacks against major U.S. banks and other companies in apparent retaliation for Western economic sanctions aimed at halting its nuclear program, according to U.S. intelligence and other officials. In particular, assaults this week on the Web sites of JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America probably were carried out by Iran, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said Friday.

TEHRAN — Iran is ready to "investigate" U.S. charges that its elite Quds Force plotted to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said Monday, while continuing to deny any Iranian involvement. "We are ready to patiently investigate any issue, even if it is fabricated," Salehi told the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. "We also asked America to give us the information related to this scenario. " Salehi and other Iranian officials nevertheless continued to maintain that...

When nearly $100,000 landed in an undercover FBI bank account from a source linked to an Iranian paramilitary force, officials began taking seriously an alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador that at first had seemed outlandish . And as the investigation unfolded over recent months, a name emerged that chilled some in the U.S. government. The Iranian cousin of the man accused of plotting the assassination was Abdul Reza Shahlai, a senior...