Iran Pledges Huge Cash Bonuses to Palestinian Terrorists Who Kill Israeli Jews

This is extremely troubling, from Jonathan Tobin, at Commentary, "Iran Pledges Cash for Killing Jews."

Iranian-Backed Militia Suspected in Kidnapping of 3 Americans in Iraq (VIDEO)

I tweeted that the hostages were probably already in Tehran when this story first broke. The mullahs can act with impunity in the face of the craven Obama administration.

Watch, here's Bill Hemmer, on America's Newsroom.

PREVIOUSLY: "U.S. Pays Steep Ranson for Four Innocent Hostages Held Captive by Iran."

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader, Warns Against the 'Deceit and Treachery' of the United States (VIDEO)

It's like the playground bully takes your lunch money and beats you up anyway.

Obama's the hapless kid who keeps giving the playground bully his lunch money only to come in for some more lumps.

Watch, via Euronews:

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that his country remain wary of its old enemy the United States.

In his first comments since most EU sanctions were lifted along with many important US embargoes, Iran's highest authority made it clear that Washington should be treated with suspicion.

"I reiterate the need to be vigilant about the deceit and treachery of arrogant countries, especially the United States...

Family of Robert Levinson 'Betrayed and Devastated' by Obama Administration (VIDEO)

This is why people just hate Barack Hussein. They hate him with an unbridled passion.

At the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel, "Family of Robert Levinson, who went missing in Iran in 2007, upset he wasn't among freed prisoners, say reports."

And watch, at CBS This Morning, "Levinson family feels "betrayed and devastated" after U.S.-Iran prisoner swap." Levinson’s wife, Christine, didn't even get a phone call notifying them of what was happening.

More at CNN, "The family of Robert Levinson speaks." They're really bitter, understandably. This reminds me of the administration's treatment of the Benghazi families, which has been marked by lies and abandonment.

PREVIOUSLY: "U.S. Pays Steep Ranson for Four Innocent Hostages Held Captive by Iran."

U.S. Pays Steep Ranson for Four Innocent Hostages Held Captive by Iran

I get sick thinking about this.

America is being held hostage, by the Kenyan interloper in the White House most of all.

At WSJ, "Iran’s Hostage Triumph":

Now we know that Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian and three other Americans were hostages held by Iran in return for U.S. concessions, in case there was any doubt. And on Saturday we learned the ransom price: $100 billion as part of the completed nuclear deal and a prisoner swap of Iranians who violated U.S. laws. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps should call this Operation Clean Sweep.

The timing of Iran’s Saturday release of the Americans is no accident. This was also implementation day for the nuclear deal, when United Nations sanctions on Tehran were lifted, which means that more than $100 billion in frozen assets will soon flow to Iran and the regime will get a lift from new investment and oil sales. The mullahs were taking no chances and held the hostages until President Obama’s diplomatic checks cleared.

We’re as relieved as anyone to see the four Americans coming home, though there was no legal basis for their arrests. Mr. Rezaian had been held since July 2014 and was convicted last year of espionage without evidence. The other freed Iranian-Americans include former Marine Amir Hekmati, Christian pastor Saeed Abedini and Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, a dual citizen whose detention wasn’t previously reported.

But the Iranians negotiated a steep price for their freedom. The White House agreed to pardon or drop charges against seven Iranian nationals charged with or convicted of crimes in the U.S., mostly for violating sanctions designed to retard Iran’s military or nuclear programs. Iran gets back men who were assisting its military ambitions while we get innocents. This is similar to the lopsided prisoner swaps that Mr. Obama previously made with Cuba for Alan Gross and the Taliban for alleged deserter Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.

The U.S. didn’t resolve the case of Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent who disappeared in Iran in 2007. Iran claims it doesn’t know where he is. Iran also refused to release its newest hostage, oil-industry executive Siamak Namazi, who was detained in October and accused of espionage though no charges have been brought. Perhaps he’ll be held for some future ransom.

The Obama Administration also agreed to drop the names of 14 Iranian nationals from an Interpol watch list. Most notable is the CEO of Mahan Air, an Iranian carrier sanctioned for transporting members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards that is suspected of transferring arms to Bashar Assad’s regime.

The prisoner swap helps to solve the mystery of the Obama Administration’s December flip-flop on new sanctions against Tehran’s ballistic-missile program...

Still more.

United States to Pay $1.7 Billion in Interest to Iran in Settlement of Claims

This is taxpayer funded, of course.

At Twitchy, "'Iran won the Powerball': ABC's Jonathan Karl reports U.S. just made $1.7 billion 'direct payment' to Iran."

And at Hot Air, "Iran getting $1.7B from U.S. in “debt and interest”."

PREVIOUSLY: "Obama Administration Ends Sanctions on Iran," and "Removal of Iran Sanctions Stokes Regional Anxieties."

Removal of Iran Sanctions Stokes Regional Anxieties

Following-up, "Obama Administration Ends Sanctions on Iran."

At WSJ, "Iran Accord Stokes Anxiety Among Its Rivals":

Foes worry about how Tehran will use billions of dollars of unfrozen oil receipts

Iran celebrated the removal of economic sanctions on Sunday, even as regional rivals warned that it was still out to destabilize the Middle East and needed to be closely monitored.

Western officials said the implementation of Iran’s nuclear deal with six world powers, which allowed for the lifting of some economic sanctions, raised prospects for overhauls within Iran’s political system. The deal has been a priority for President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate in the conservative clerical regime who was elected on a platform of engagement with the world in 2013.

Mr. Rouhani hailed the implementation of the deal, saying this had turned a “golden page” in the country’s history and heralded an economic revival.

“Conditions will be better than before for political and economic relations with regional countries, and we can resolve regional problems,” Mr. Rouhani said in a televised news conference, pointing to hope that the deal would create an atmosphere of reconciliation in the region.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that his country would continue to monitor Iran’s behavior closely.

“Even after the signing of the nuclear agreement, Iran has not relinquished its aspiration to obtain nuclear weapons and it will continue to undermine stability in the Middle East and spread terrorism around the world while violating its international obligations,” a statement from Mr. Netanyahu’s office said.

In Saudi Arabia, there was concern that the lifting of sanctions would bolster Iran and its allies. A statement by 140 Sunni Muslim clerics urged Muslims to unite against the threat of Shiite Iran. It criticized actions by some minority groups in Muslim countries and accused them of “serving foreign agendas,” a veiled reference to what they view as the loyalty of Shiites in Sunni-majority Arab countries to Iran.

Iran’s rivals are also worried that Tehran will spend some of the billions of dollars of oil revenue unfrozen by the lifting of sanctions on aiding regional allies that include Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the Shiite group Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Shiite-linked Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Iran’s central bank governor, Valiollah Seif, estimated these funds at $32.6 billion on Sunday. But Treasury Secretary Jack Lew estimated last July that Iran would have access to about $50 billion after sanctions relief.

Mr. Seif said on Saturday that bringing the funds back to Iran would be unreasonable, adding they would likely be used to purchase imports, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. In his speech on Sunday, Mr. Rouhani only said the money “will be at the disposal of our people for economic activities.”

Mr. Seif and other Iranian officials such as Foreign Minister Javad Zarif held up the sanctions relief as a catalyst for investment in Iran and for future cooperation in the fight against terrorism...

More.

Obama Administration Ends Sanctions on Iran

Barack Hussein makes Neville Chamberlain look like a piker.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Nuclear deal ends era of crippling sanctions for Iran":

World powers signed off Saturday on a historic deal that curbs Iran's nuclear weapons-building, eases economic sanctions that have long crippled the Islamic Republic and rewrites diplomatic dynamics throughout the Middle East.

Tens of billions of dollars will soon be available to Iran, as well as access to the international banking system and global markets for the sale of oil and gas for the first time in years, greatly bolstering its ability to rejoin the world economy.

President Obama immediately issued an executive order canceling numerous sanctions levied by the U.S.

The deal, coupled with a secretly negotiated swap that freed prisoners including Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, signals a new, if still tentative, era of cooperation between Washington and Tehran after decades of sharp-edged acrimony.

“Today marks the first day of a safer world,” Secretary of State John F. Kerry said in Vienna after the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, headquartered there, certified that Iran had complied with significant steps aimed at dismantling its nuclear production capabilities and had agreed to the most rigorous inspections on Iranian soil to date.

“Today marks the moment that the Iran nuclear agreement transitions from an ambitious set of promises on paper to measurable action in progress,” Kerry added.

Word of the U.N. certification rang out from Vienna to the capitals of the negotiating countries; on the campaign trail, where Republicans were quick both to praise the Americans' release and to decry the administration's negotiating techniques; and in Los Angeles, home to the world's largest Iranian expat community.

The two countries have been bitter enemies since Iranian Islamic revolutionaries seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and took hostages. No one is expecting the renewal of diplomatic ties any time soon — indeed, sanctions remain in place tied to Iran's human-rights record and funding of groups the U.S. views as terrorists — but the Obama administration credited a newfound rapprochement with seeing the nuclear deal to fruition as well as securing the freedom of the American prisoners.

That same spirit, which experts agree has to have been approved by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, also led to the quick release last week of 10 U.S. sailors detained in Iranian waters. What might have become a major international incident a few years ago was resolved within hours.

Even as Washington's relationship with Tehran seems on a smoother course — Kerry and his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, are on the phone just about daily — the United States' longest-standing allies in the region, Saudi Arabia and Israel, have appeared increasingly on the outs.

Both Saudi Arabia and Israel opposed the nuclear deal, saying Iran could not be trusted and fearing a less-isolated Iran able finally to join the world economic and political stage. The governments of both are notoriously distrustful of and unfriendly with the Obama administration. U.S. officials can point to more fruitful talks with Iran while relations with Israel and the Saudis have turned increasingly frigid...

Still more.

Holly Williams Reports on the Crisis in Europe's Refugee Policy (VIDEO)

Watch, via CBS Evening News, "More than a million refugees fled to Europe last year, desperate to escape the turmoil in the Middle East. Thousands more are still making the journey. But Europe's welcome mat is wearing thin."

Outrage Over Iran Releasing Images of Captured U.S. Sailors on Their Knees (VIDEO)

Watch, via Inside Edition.

A nice clip that should go viral, jeez.

PREVIOUSLY: "WATCH: Humiliating Video Shows U.S. Sailor Apologizing for Vessel Drifting Into Iranian Waters," and "WATCH: Footage Shows U.S. Sailors Being Captured by Iranian Naval Forces (VIDEO)."

WATCH: Humiliating Video Shows U.S. Sailor Apologizing for Vessel Drifting Into Iranian Waters

Total humiliation.

This is the treatment we get for giving Iran the nuclear green light, to say nothing of the freed $100 billion in financial assets to be released this week.

Americans are laid down low with this jihad-loving administration. For shame. For stinking shame.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Iranian video shows U.S. sailors kneeling in surrender pose":

U.S. Central Command spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Ben Tisdale said the video "appears to be authentic" but said he had no other information about its contents.

"We cannot speak to the conditions of the situation or what the crew was experiencing at the time," Tisdale said in a statement. "The crew is currently undergoing the reintegration process and we will continue to investigate this incident. What matters most right now, however, is that our sailors are back safely."

The video depicts seized weapons and ammunition laid out on a platform and scenes from inside a boat, including shots of a U.S. Navy uniform, a storage room and racks of equipment, along with a scene of an Iranian officer in a green beret and fatigues examining a document as he sits in a pilot’s chair.

In one part, Americans are seen being served food in a room, while someone flips through a number of U.S. passports, presumably belonging to the sailors.

One of the captives identified as the commander is interviewed and makes a statement that at times is directed straight at the camera.

“It was a mistake that was our fault and we apologize for our mistake," said the U.S sailor, whose name was not given.

"It was a misunderstanding. We did not mean to go into Iranian territorial water," he said. "The Iranian behavior was fantastic while we were here. We thank you very much for your hospitality and your assistance.”

The U.S. State Department says no formal apology was proffered to Iran.

Vice President Joe Biden said there was "nothing to apologize for."

"When you have a problem with the boat, you apologize the boat had a problem? No, and there was no looking for any apology," Biden told "CBS This Morning." "This was just standard nautical practice."

It is still unclear if the stricken boat suffered mechanical or navigational failure. The two vessels, known as riverine command boats, were en route from Kuwait to Bahrain when U.S. authorities lost contact with them, the Pentagon said.

More at WSJ, "Videos Raise Questions About Iran’s Treatment of U.S. Sailors."

WATCH: Footage Shows U.S. Sailors Being Captured by Iranian Naval Forces (VIDEO)

The sailors were forced to apologize before their release.

We grovel to Iran. We just grovel to that tinpot country.

Via CNN:

Secretary John Kerry Thanks Iran for 'Quick Release' of U.S. Sailors Held Hostage (VIDEO)

Well, thank goodness they're released.

The U.S. had to get down on bended knee for the mullahs.

At the BBC, "Iran frees US Navy sailors held in Gulf after incursion," and the Los Angeles Times, "Iran releases 10 detained U.S. sailors who strayed into country's waters."

And watch, via CNN:

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Demands 'Apology' Before Releasing U.S. Sailors: Dismisses Talk of Prompt Release

I said as much earlier, "DEVELOPING: Tehran Takes 10 U.S. Sailors Captive as Two Small Navy Ships Seized by Iran (VIDEO)."

At the Telegraph UK, "Iran demands apology from US before it releases 10 sailors":

As well as playing down reports of a prompt release of the sailors, Iran is said to be demanding an apology from the US after its sailors were arrested for "violating" Iran's waters.

"Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was in touch with US Secretary of State Kerry," Iran's Revolutionary Guards' naval commander, Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, said in an interview broadcast live on state television.

"Zarif took a firm stance as the sailors had violated Iran's territorial waters and asked the United States for an apology," he added.

Source: Sky News on Twitter.

Reuters: Iran's Revolutionary Guards dismissed talk of the prompt release of 10 U.S. sailors they had arrested as speculation by others

— Sky News Newsdesk (@SkyNewsBreak) January 13, 2016

Update - Reuters: Iran's Revolutionary Guards say Tehran has asked the U.S. for an apology for "violating" Iran's territorial waters

— Sky News Newsdesk (@SkyNewsBreak) January 13, 2016

Previous blogging on Iran's seizure of U.S. naval vessels here.

UPDATE: Reports Say Iran Accusing Captured U.S. Navy Vessels of 'Snooping'

At IBT, "Iran-US Navy Dispute Live Updates: Iranian Military Holds 10 American Sailors On Iran’s Farsi Island":

UPDATE: 5:50 p.m. EST — Two small U.S. Navy boats that were stopped by Iran Tuesday may have run out of gas or had mechanical problems when they drifted into Iranian territorial waters in the Persian Gulf, the Washington Post reported. The ships were within 12 nautical miles of Iran when they broke down. It was unclear how the American crew and vessels were “picked up” by Iran, according to a Defense Department official. Fars, an Iranian state news agency, said 10 sailors had been arrested and were suspected of “snooping,” the New York Times reported.

The two boats each had several 50. cal guns and were "snooping around" in Iranian waters, Fars News Agency says

— Thomas Erdbrink (@ThomasErdbrink) January 12, 2016

I seriously doubt reports that Iran will be releasing our people shortly:

Iran agreed to return sailors soon, after 2 U.S. Navy boats drifted into territorial waters https://t.co/RHBaiWeQXb

— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) January 13, 2016

German Chancellor Angela Merkel Expressed Sympathy for Victims of Suicide Bombing in Istanbul (VIDEO)

Following-up from earlier, "Islamic State Suicide Bomber Kills 10 in Istanbul's Sultanahmet Square (VIDEO)."

Perhaps as many as nine German tourists were killed in the attack.

Watch, at Euronews, "Germany's Merkel offers condolences to families of Istanbul bomb victims."

Jen Psaki, White House Communications Director, Says Obama Has 'No Plans' to Address Iran Hostages at Tonight's #SOTU

This just in:

Obama has 'no plans" to address new Iranian hostage crisis in tonight's #SOTU, per Jen Psaki, the administration's Baghdad Bob. Via @CNN.

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) January 12, 2016

I'll update with video if it becomes available.

PREVIOUSLY: "CNN's Barbara Starr Reports: Iran Assures U.S. of Safe Return of Sailors (VIDEO)." 

Also, "DEVELOPING: Tehran Takes 10 U.S. Sailors Captive as Two Small Navy Ships Seized by Iran (VIDEO)," and "UPDATE: U.S. Sailors Taken Hostage by Iran Revolutionary Guard, the Gestapo of the Tehran Mullahs!"

Islamic State Suicide Bomber Kills 10 in Istanbul's Sultanahmet Square (VIDEO)

But, watch, Obama will claim ISIS is on the run at tonight's State of the Union Address.

At the New York Times, "Istanbul Suicide Bombing Kills 10; Turkey Blames ISIS."



Plus, more video, at Agence France-Presse, "Terror attack strikes fear in Istanbul tourists."

CNN's Barbara Starr Reports: Iran Assures U.S. of Safe Return of Sailors (VIDEO)

I don't believe a word the Iranians say, although Barbara Starr is a judicious and reputable source.

Watch:



PREVIOUSLY: "DEVELOPING: Tehran Takes 10 U.S. Sailors Captive as Two Small Navy Ships Seized by Iran (VIDEO)," and "UPDATE: U.S. Sailors Taken Hostage by Iran Revolutionary Guard, the Gestapo of the Tehran Mullahs!"

UPDATE: U.S. Sailors Taken Hostage by Iran Revolutionary Guard, the Gestapo of the Tehran Mullahs!

CNN's Jim Sciutto reports:

Key here: Iran's Fars News agency says US sailors picked up by Revolutionary Guard Corps, from hardline camp & v. opposed to nuclear deal

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) January 12, 2016

@jimsciutto @NickKristof if Fars is reporting that Rev Guard is involved suggests this was no Good samaritan rescue mission.

— Aaron David Miller (@aarondmiller2) January 12, 2016

Iranian hardliners have been systematically trying to undermine Rouhani and damage US-Iranian relations. Seizing sailors, that'll do it.

— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) January 12, 2016

PREVIOUSLY: "DEVELOPING: Tehran Takes 10 U.S. Sailors Captive as Two Small Navy Ships Seized by Iran (VIDEO)."