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Added on the 14/05/2019 12:47:28 - Copyright : Wochit
An Iranian diplomat and three others have gone on trial in Belgium. The case is noteworthy because the three men and one woman are accused of planning a terrorist attack on a rally where Rudy Giuliani was the keynote speaker. Prosecutors say the targeted event was a rally held in Villepinte, France, on June 30, 2018. Fortunately, a tip from Mossad thwarted the attack. According to Business Insider, Iran's Assadollah Assadi was not in the dock--having claimed diplomatic immunity. Maryam Rajavi, leader of the exiled Iranian opposition group known as MEK, was the main target of the attack. If the powerful bomb had exploded, it could have exploded in a packed crowd of 25,000. Other prominent public figures who attended, included Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the US House of Representatives.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announces that the US will send “an additional 1,000 troops” to Poland, on top of the 4,500 already present there, during a press conference in Warsaw. SOUNDBITE
US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper says he has approved the deployment of 3,000 additional troops and military hardware to Saudi Arabia to boost the country's defenses in the wake of attacks on its oil installations blamed on Iran. SOUNDBITE
Donald Trump blasts President Joe Biden over Iran's major attack on Israel, alleging that his rival in November elections showed American "weakness" in the Middle East. "God bless the people of Israel. They are under attack right now. That's because we show great weakness," he says at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. SOUNDBITE
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan tells reporters that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to send a team to Washington to discuss a potential military operation in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. SOUNDBITE
The United States announces sanctions on Iraqi low-cost airline Fly Baghdad, saying it provided assistance to Iran's Revolutionary Guards and proxies, while also targeting leaders of a pro-Iranian Iraq militia for sanctions. US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby tells reporters the sanctions are "designed to protect not only our financial system but our national security." SOUNDBITE