The Netherlands played a crucial role in sabotaging Iran's nuclear program in 2007. An agent from Dutch general intelligence service AIVD infiltrated the atomic complex at Natanz and spread a devastating digital virus that delayed the nuclear program for years, the Volkskrant reports based on sources and its own investigation.
Iran
Sep 3 '19 08:18
Aug 22 '19 08:05
The Netherlands is willing to send a naval ship to the Strait of Hormuz near Iran to protect oil tankers against attacks, as the United States requested, but only if this happens in a European context, the Telegraaf reports based on sources in The Hague.
Aug 12 '19 15:20
Dutch marines expect that there will be more skirmishes with Iran, should the Dutch government decide to agree to the American request to send a naval ship to the Strait of Hormuz near Iran. Though the Dutch navy is definitely up for the challenge and the risks involved in such a mission are limited, naval experts said to newspaper AD.
Jul 18 '19 07:56
Prime Minister Mark Rutte will meet with United States president Donald Trump in the White House for the second time this evening. During the meeting, Rotterdam collector Bert Kreuk will hand Trump a D-Day flag he is donating to the United States. The main topic on the agenda for Rutte and Trump is trade, though Trump will likely also bring up the U.S. request to allies for a military contribution in Syria and to increase pressure on Iran, NOS reports.
Jun 21 '19 10:10
KLM stopped using Iranian airspace for the time being, the company announced on Friday. The measure has to do with an American drone being shot down by Iran at great height earlier this week. "Safety is the top priority for KLM", the Dutch airline said in a statement, NU.nl reports.
"We are closely following all developments that may be related to the safety of airspace 24/7 and we are organizing the operation in such a way that the safety of flights is guaranteed", KLM said. "The incident with the drone is reason for us to no longer fly over the area for the time being."
Jun 17 '19 08:30
The umbrella organization for Dutch shipping companies KVNR will be meeting with the Ministry of Defense on Monday to discuss increased tensions on the Persian Gulf. Recent attacks on oil tankers in the region prompted fears that more commercial ships may be targeted.
Jun 14 '19 11:50
A Dutch ship rescued the crew of one of two burning oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday, the Dutch shipping company Acta Marine from Den Helder confirmed to NOS after reports in the Telegraaf. There were explosions on two oil tankers in the Gulf region on Thursday. The cause of the explosions has not yet been officially confirmed, but the general belief is that they were attacks.
Jun 12 '19 15:30
The national coordinator for counter-terrorism and security NCTV expressed concerns about the fact that almost all of the Netherlands' vital processes and systems have been digitized, and that there are virtually no fall-back options. This makes the Netherlands insufficiently resilient and therefore vulnerable to digital attacks, the NCTV said on Wednesday, NU.nl reports.
May 16 '19 10:10
The Dutch military training mission in Iraq was suspended due to an increased threat in the region. The nature of the threat is unknown. The commander of the international coalition that coordinates training in the region ordered the mission to stop, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense said to NU.nl.
This temporary halt applies to all international allies who provide training in the area. Some 50 to 60 Dutch soldiers were ordered to cease their work "until further notice" due to an increased threat.
Jan 30 '19 13:10
So far the investigation into the murder of electrician Ali Motamed in Almere in 2015 revealed no link to Iran, the Public Prosecutor said on Tuesday in a proforma hearing against the Naoufal F. - the man suspected of ordering Motamed's assassination, NOS reports.
Jan 10 '19 10:00
The European Union placed two Iranians and Iran's military intelligence service on the European terrorism list after it was revealed that Iran was likely responsible for two murders in the Netherlands, NU.nl reports.
Jan 10 '19 08:07
A group of around 10 protesters gathered at the Iranian embassy in The Hague on Wednesday. A number of them climbed over the embassy's fence. Others pelted the building with objects. The police arrested four of the demonstrators, the Volkskrant reports.
The protesters were shouting slogans like "Iran regime terrorist", according to the newspaper.
Jan 8 '19 14:09
Iran is almost certainly behind the assassination of two persons of Iranian descent in the Netherlands, Ministers Stef Blok of Foreign Affairs and Kasja Ollongren of Home Affairs wrote in a letter to parliament on Tuesday.
Oct 18 '18 08:22
Twitter accounts run by Russian trolls from St. Petersburg tweeted about the MH17 disaster 1,400 times, according to an analysis by NOS of a database of tweets released by Twitter on Wednesday. The database consists of 9 million tweets from Russian trolls and another 1 million tweets by Iranian trolls, including retweets. The tweets were posted by 3,814 accounts that Twitter linked to the Internet Research Agency based in St. Petersburg. Another 770 accounts are based in Iran.
Sep 24 '18 10:00
The Iranian government called the Dutch ambassador in the country to account after an attack on a military parade in the city of Ahvaz on Friday morning. One of the groups that claimed the attack, the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Al-Ahwaz (ASMLA) can be found on the Dutch Chamber of Commerce and is based in Delft, NOS reports.
May 17 '18 08:01
Prime Minister Mark Rutte called the decision of United States president Donald Trump to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal "clumsy". The European Union leaders discussed this issue at an EU summit in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia on Wednesday, NOS reports.
May 9 '18 07:46
Donald Trump withdrew the United States from an agreement with Iran that limits the Middle Eastern country's nuclear program in exchange for sanction relief. Minister Stef Blok of Foreign Affairs calls this decision bad news for Dutch and European safety.
Dec 26 '17 15:00
50Plus leader Henk Krol admitted that he made a mistake when he threw away a Christmas gift from the Iranian ambassador during a broadcast of PowNews, but he does not intend to offer his apologies to the embassy, NOS report.
Dec 26 '17 07:25
The Iranian embassy released a statement saying that they are very upset about 50Plus leader Henk Krol throwing away a Christmas present the ambassador sent him. Krol threw the bag of pistachio nuts in the dustbin during a broadcast of PowNews, saying that the ambassador only sent gifts to male parliamentarians and that he found this so offensive that he can't accept his gift, NU.nl reports.
Nov 10 '17 13:09
The Arabic-Iranian separatist group Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz (ASMLA) is demanding clarity into the murder of their leader Ahmad Mola Nissi. Nissi was shot dead on the street in a central Den Haag neighborhood on Wednesday evening.
Nov 9 '17 08:30
A shooting in the Bezuidenhout district of Den Haag left one man dead Wednesday evening, police said. Sources close to the victim said he was Ahmad Mola Neissi, the leader of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz, an Omroep West report stated.
A spokesperson for the separatist movement confirmed the victim's identity to newspaper AD, saying Neissi fled Iran in 2005. He had been living in the Netherlands with his wife and five children for about ten years, the report added. Police did not confirm the man's identity in a report published hours after the incident.
Oct 26 '17 08:35
There are indications that Dutch technology was used in weapons of mass destruction or missile programs of Iran, Pakistan and Syria, departing Ministers Lilianne Ploumen for Foreign Trade, Bert Koenders of Foreign Affairs and Klaas Dijkhoff of Defense wrote to the Tweede Kamer, ANP reports.
Sep 18 '17 16:00
The Netherlands is an interesting "supermarket" for countries that want to make weapons of mass destruction, director Onno Eichelsheim of military intelligence service MIVD said in an interview with ANP. According to him, the Dutch intelligence services annually block a "significant number of attempts" of "countries of concerns" trying to acquire knowledge or materials for such weapons from the Netherlands.
Aug 14 '17 15:50
On Sunday the police pulled over a refrigerated truck on the A29 near Klaaswaal and found six stowaways inside. Two of them were hypothermic, NOS reports.
The truck was pulled over based on a tip from a motorist who heard knocking from the truck while in traffic. According to the broadcaster, all six stowaways are Iranian. It is believed that they got into the truck in France.
The stowaways were checked over by paramedics before being transferred to the immigrant department.
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