Japan increases its four-stage danger ranking level for most of Iran, including Tehran, to Level 3, which urges Japanese citizens to avoid all travel to Iran. 2024-04-15
Iran launches retaliatory airstikes at Israeli military bases from Iran, Iraq, Syria, southern Lebanon, and Yemen. 2024-04-13
It is reported that Israel is preparing for a direct retaliatory strike from Iran on southern or northern Israel as soon as the next 24 to 48 hours. A person briefed by the Iranian leadership says that while plans to strike are being discussed, no final decision has been made. 2024-04-12
During a meeting with Japanese foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi in Tehran, Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi urged Japan to release $3 billion in Iranian assets frozen in Japan due to international sanctions against Iran. 2021-08-22
Lebanese Druze villagers confront the Hezbollah rocket-launch convoy after it fires at Israel, accusing the militant group of endangering them by firing projectiles near civilian houses. The Lebanese Army later confiscates the launcher and arrests four suspects. 2021-08-6
A missile strikes the Israeli-owned cargo ship MV "Hyperion Ray" off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. There is no immediate claim of responsibility, however Israeli officials suspect Iran of being behind the attack on the vessel. 2021-04-13
An unnamed U.S. official says that Israel has informed the United States that its forces struck the vessel at about 7:30 a.m. local time in retaliation for earlier Iranian strikes on Israeli vessels. 2021-04-6
Kyodo News Agency reports that during his visit to mediate between the U.S. and Iran, Japanese PM Shinzō Abe asked Iran to release American prisoners held by Iran, though the response is "unclear" to the press. But Iran says it will not negotiate with the United States, rejecting Abe's bid to broker dialogue between the two countries amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif accuses the "B-Team" (Mohammed bin Salman, John Bolton and Benjamin Netanyahu) of sabotaging diplomacy, including Abe's meeting, to hide its "economic terrorism" by accusing Iran of attacking oil tankers. 2019-06-14