[FoxNews] An ICE representative said that the investigation is still ongoing and that the exact number of individuals impacted is still unknown.
ICE has uncovered a massive identity theft scheme led by illegal immigrants and possibly tied to organized criminal networks following a workplace raid at a meatpacking plant in Omaha.
According to an ICE statement, approximately 70 illegal aliens working at the plant were discovered to be using stolen Social Security numbers and identities to unlawfully obtain employment authorization, wages and benefits at the expense of over 100 victims. The statement said that the victims have faced "devastating financial, emotional and legal consequences" as a result of the identity theft.
Working with other federal and state partners, ICE agents conducted a major workplace raid at Glenn Valley Foods in Omaha on June 10. The raid resulted in over 70 illegal immigrants being arrested, which sparked protests both in the community and across the country.
While the arrests have sparked outrage from some in both the local community and nationally, ICE said the illegals’ identity theft proves they were not innocent, hardworking members of society, as some have suggested.
Another ICE representative told Fox News Digital that the illegal aliens who were apprehended at Glenn Valley Foods were behind the crime and that "some may have used organized criminal networks" to carry out the crime.
The representative said that the investigation is still ongoing and that the exact number of individuals impacted is still unknown.
The ICE spokesperson pointed to a few examples of those victimized by the apprehended illegals’ identity theft scheme.
The spokesperson said a disabled person in Texas, who was unable to work, struggled to get their Social Security disability payments because an illegal alien was fraudulently using their identity and earning wages at Glenn Valley Foods.
Another victim in Colorado received a notice from the IRS to repay more than $5,000 after their income was falsely increased due to an illegal alien using their identity to work at the plant.
In Missouri, a full-time nursing student lost their college tuition assistance because it was fraudulently reported that they earned too much money due to an illegal alien at Glenn Valley Foods using their Social Security number.
Another person living in California has had to work for nearly 15 years to regain their identity and fix the financial damage done by an illegal who was working at Glenn Valley Foods, according to the spokesperson.
Mark Zito, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations Kansas City, which covers Omaha, said in a statement emailed to Fox News Digital that "the criminals who stole these identities didn’t just break the law, they upended lives."
There have been individuals who have gone on the record recently referring to the identity thieves we arrested last week as ‘good, hardworking, and honest,’" he said. "These so-called honest workers have caused an immeasurable amount of financial and emotional hardship for innocent Americans. If pretending to be someone you aren’t in order to steal their lives isn’t blatant, criminal dishonesty, I don’t know what is."
"These victims aren’t faceless statistics; they’re real people who are being denied healthcare and have lost educational opportunities," added Zito.
So much for the claim that honest citizens benefit because illegals with stolen Social Security numbers donate to the fund without ever getting anything back.
#2
ICE has uncovered a massive identity theft scheme led by illegal immigrants and possibly tied to organized criminal networks following a workplace raid at a meatpacking plant in Omaha.
"Criminal networks" or Deep State mischief. You decide.
#4
Given E-verify, shouldn't we be seeing arrests and $$$$$$$ fines of the business owners/Mgr's.?
As much as I am against ILLEGALS to ensure National Safety and Security. They are doing the jobs, that this Lazy-A$$ smartphone generation would either demand 4x the wages to do, or break down and cry to mommy about.
#6
I vote for criminal networks. Along with transportation, food, shelter, those that supported by the NGOs (and USAID) get documents, including social security cards. They pass E-Verify.
The big contractor I worked eith for ten years always used E-Verify, but one April, one of the workers discovered he had the same SSN as his cousin. At an ICE 'raid' at Dulles Airport, half the laborers split and half of those never came back. 30 or 40 were detained.
On the other hand, I guess NGOs and USAID could be considered part of the deep state...
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/21/2025 8:16 Comments ||
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#7
^ Their operations fall entirely with the DS, even if not directly administered by them.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
06/21/2025 9:48 Comments ||
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[Jpost] The US military is ready to carry out any decision that President Donald Trump may make on Iran, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday.
American B-2 stealth bombers took off from the Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri towards a strategic base in Guam in the western Pacific, Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported on Saturday.
The bombers were reportedly accompanied by four Boeing KC-46 Pegasus refueling aircraft. Two of them have already performed refueling for the B2 aircraft over the Pacific Ocean, according to reports. The other two are about 75 kilometers behind them.
Two additional refueling aircraft took off from north of San Francisco and are heading north, the report added. Their next refueling point is said to be in Hawaii later.
Continued on Page 47
[WND] Leftists, Marxists, activists for illegal immigration into America and even gangs have objected to President Donald Trump's agenda to secure America's borders and deport illegal alien criminals.
His plans come after Joe Biden essentially unlocked the doors, opened the borders and let millions of illegal aliens into America to take jobs, benefit from government social programs and more.
Trump's work has shown results: Statistics show during May border agents released no illegal aliens into the U.S., compared to more than 60,000 given that privilege under Biden a year earlier.
But this the agenda has come criticism, legal opposition, organization resistance and even riots, like those in Los Angeles that activists tried to spread across the country in their "No Kings" protests.
But one state now is offering an addition to Trump's program that takes will take a few breaths away.
It's proposed by Florida and it's called "Alligator Alcatraz," a secure detention facility to be located in the Everglades on land surrounded by alligators and pythons.
[FOXNEWS] President Donald Trump ...The cad! Twice caught beating wimmin!... announced on Friday he and Secretary of State Marco Rubio ...The diminutive 13-year-old Republican U.S. Senator from Florida, Secretary of State in the second Trump administration... had secured a "wonderful" treaty between Rwanda and Congo, as Pakistain formally nominated him for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize.
"I am very happy to report that I have arranged, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a wonderful Treaty between the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka Republic of Congo, which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principle industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material... , and the Republic of Rwanda, in their War, which was known for violent mostly peaceful bloodshed and death, more so even than most other Wars, and has gone on for decades," Trump wrote in a Truth Social announcement.
The president noted representatives from Rwanda and the Congo will be in Washington on Monday to sign documents.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
06/21/2025 09:00 ||
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Link ||
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[IsraelTimes] Order will allow international students to continue studying at Ivy League university while case plays out in court; US president claims deal possible ‘over the next week or so’.
The order by District Judge Allison Burroughs will allow international students to continue to attend the elite university while a lawsuit filed by Harvard plays out in the courts.
Sure, but the mind of international students who go to Harvard really, really dislike uncertainty. So every time a judge changes things in either direction, more international students look at transferring somewhere else. So President Trump wins, whether his win is finals or he is handed a loss that can be appealed or reworked as the next stage of the proceedings.
[IsraelTimes] Khalil was the first arrest under Trump’s crackdown on students who joined campus protests against Israel
A federal judge on Friday ordered the US government to free former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil
…at age 30 the Damascus-born Palestinian (with dual Algerian citizenship through his mother, whose family were revolutionaries back home) got a Masters in Paleo Protest from Columbia, applying his training as Apartheid Divest’s frontman supporting Hamas since 10/8/2023, which overlapped his work as a UNWRA political affairs officer. Since his arrest by ICE he’s been represented by 19 attorneys, including CUNY law prof Ramzi Kassem, himself a Paleo student activist at Columbia back in the day, and the ACLU. Mr. Khalil worked his way through college in Beirut as a popular, MI-6 vetted local staffer at the British embassy leading soft power projects, on one of which he worked with his future wife — Leb-American dentist Noor Abdalla, who interestingly is a hijabi, suggesting either Muslim Brotherhood or Hezbollah connections. No doubt it was for her sake he went to Columbia instead of Oxford…
from the immigration detention center where he has been held since early March while the Trump administration sought to deport him over his role in pro-Paleostinian, anti-Israel protests.
US District Judge Michael Farbiarz announced the decision from the bench in New Jersey, responding to a request from Khalil’s lawyers to free him on bail or, at the very least, move him from a Louisiana jail to New Jersey so he can be closer to his wife and newborn son.
A mere federal district judge? This will need to go through the appeals court, then the US Supreme Court before the ruling is final. And then, either Mr. Khalil’s lawyers will file another lawsuit trying a different argument orthe US Justice Department will ditto. Either way, Mr. Khalil probably isn’t going anywhere until the last idea has been tried, at which point he will be sent
Khalil was the first arrest under US President Donald Trump ...They hit him with slander, they impeached him twice. Nancy Pelosi tore up his State of the Union address on national TV. They stole an election and put his adherents in jail. They vilified him. They couldn't crucify him, so they shot him. Still, they can't keep him down... ’s crackdown on students who joined campus protests against Israel’s war in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , launched after the October 7, 2023, Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... massacre.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ...The diminutive 13-year-old Republican U.S. Senator from Florida, Secretary of State in the second Trump administration... has said Khalil must be expelled from the country because his continued presence could harm American foreign policy.
Farbiarz had ruled earlier that the government can’t continue to hold Khalil on those grounds, but the government argued the legal US resident was instead being held based on allegations that he lied on his green card application. Khalil disputes the accusations that he wasn’t forthcoming on the application.
Khalil was detained on March 8 at his apartment building in Manhattan over his participation in pro-Paleostinian demonstrations. His lawyers say the Trump administration is simply trying to crack down on free speech.
Khalil isn’t accused of breaking any laws during the protests at Columbia. The international affairs graduate student served as a negotiator and spokesperson for student activists. He wasn’t among the demonstrators arrested, but his prominence in news coverage and willingness to speak publicly made him a target of critics.
The Trump administration has argued that noncitizens who participate in such demonstrations should be expelled from the country, as it considers their views antisemitic.
[IsraelTimes] Turkish president says buildup ‘ensures deterrence’ in light of recent developments; officials, analysts see little chance of war spreading to Turkey, but fear regional arms race
The escalating Iran-Israel confrontation is quickly reaching "the point of no return," Ottoman Turkish President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important... said on Friday and announced plans by Ankara to boost production of medium- and long-range missiles so no country dares attack The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... member, but not the most reliable... , sparking fears of a regional arms race.
Iran and Israel have been at war for eight days after Israel, claiming that the Islamic Theocratic Republic — sworn to Israel’s destruction — was on the brink of acquiring a nuclear weapon, launched a massive wave of strikes on its arch-rival, triggering an immediate response from Tehran.
"Unfortunately, the genocide in Gazoo and the conflict with Iran are quickly reaching the point of no return. This madness must end as soon as possible," Erdogan said, warning the consequences could affect the region, Europa ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... and Asia "for many years."
"It is imperative that fingers are removed from the triggers and buttons before more destruction, bloodshed, civilian casualties and terrible disaster occur, that could affect our region, as well as Europe and Asia for years to come," he said.
His remarks were made at an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) youth forum in Istanbul ahead of a gathering of OIC foreign ministers over the weekend.
Among those due to attend was Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, with the ongoing crisis with Israel likely to feature high on the agenda at the two-day talks.
Erdogan also discussed the Israel-Iran war with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in a telephone call on Friday, telling Merz that the Iranian nuclear issue can only be resolved through negotiations, according to Erdogan’s office.
Erdogan has indicated that Turkey needs to boost its deterrence capabilities to ensure nobody attacks the country amid the war, which began last week.
Following a cabinet meeting on Monday, he said: "We are making production plans to bring our medium- and long-range missile stockpiles to a level that ensures deterrence, in light of recent developments."
"God willing, in the not-too-distant future, we will reach a defense capacity that is so strong that no one will even dare to act tough toward us," Erdogan said.
In a separate address days later, the Ottoman Turkish leader highlighted Turkey’s progress in its domestically developed defense industry, which includes drones, fighter jets, armored vehicles and navy vessels, but stressed that continued effort was needed to ensure full deterrence.
Despite Ankara’s tense relations with Jerusalem, analysts and officials don’t see an immediate threat of the Israel-Iran war spreading into NATO-member Turkey. Still, some see Erdogan’s plans to increase missile production as a sign that the conflict could trigger a new arms race in the region, with countries not directly involved ramping up their military efforts to preempt future conflicts.
Ahmet Kasim Han, a professor of international relations at Istanbul’s Beykoz University, said Turkey was reacting to what he described as an unraveling world order.
"The Ottoman Turkish government is drifting toward what is the name of the game in the Middle East right now: an escalation of an arms race," said Han.
Israel and the US have set a high standard in aerial warfare, creating a technological gap that Turkey and others are eager to close, he said.
Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, a Turkey analyst at the German Marshall Fund think tank, said that "although Turkey has a very large army — the second largest in NATO — its air power, its air defense is relatively weaker."
The ongoing conflict has reinforced the importance of air superiority, including missiles and missile defense systems, prompting "countries in the region, including Turkey, to strengthen their air power," he said.
IRAN CONFLICT EFFECTS FURTHER DETERIORATION IN ISRAEL-TURKEY TIES
Since the start of the conflict, Erdogan has been scrambling to end the hostilities. He has held a flurry of phone calls with leaders, including US President Donald Trump ...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party... and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, offering to act as a "controller" for the resumption of negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.
There are deep concerns in Turkey that a prolonged conflict will cause energy disruptions and lead to refugee movement from Iran, with which it shares a 560 kilometer-long (348 mile) border.
Turkey relies heavily on energy imports, including from Iran, and rising oil prices due to the conflict could aggravate inflation and further strain its troubled economy.
Turkey has strongly assailed Israel’s Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s in Iran and said the Islamic Theocratic Republic has the right to defend itself. The strikes have triggered deadly Iranian missile attacks across Israel.
Once close allies, Turkey and Israel have grown deeply estranged, especially after the Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... onslaught of October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza. Erdogan, who supports Hamas, has been one of the fiercest critics of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct in the Strip.
Relations further deteriorated after the ouster in December of Syrian President Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs... ’s government, as Israel grew increasingly wary of expanding Ottoman Turkish influence in Syria.
Earlier this year, however, Turkey and Israel established a "de-escalation mechanism" aimed at preventing conflict between their troops in Syria. The move came after Syria’s foreign ministry said that Israeli jets had struck a Syrian air base that Turkey reportedly hoped to use.
Israel hasn’t commented on Turkey’s announcement that it plans to ramp up missile production, but Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar responded to Erdogan’s criticisms of Israel over its attack on Iran in an X post on Wednesday. He accused Erdogan of having "imperialist ambitions" and of having "set a record in suppressing the freedoms and rights of his citizens, as well as his country’s opposition."
Erdogan’s nationalist ally, Devlet Bahceli, suggested that Turkey was a potential target for Israel, accusing the country of strategically "encircling" Turkey with its military actions. He didn’t elaborate.
Analysts say, however, that such statements were for "domestic consumption" to garner support amid growing anti-Israel sentiment in Turkey.
"I don’t think that Israel has any interest in attacking Turkey, or Turkey has any interest in a conflict with Israel," Han said.
[BIZPACREVIEW] An Obama judge on Tuesday held Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier in civil contempt of court for not following her orders.
In early April, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued a 14-day restraining order blocking Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' new law, signed in February, making it a state crime for illegal aliens to enter his state.
Williams issued the temporary restraining order (TRO) in response to a suit filed by the Florida Immigrant Coalition, according to Fox News.
After discovering that the Florida Highway Patrol had, despite her TRO, arrested over a dozen people, including a citizen, using the new law, she extended the restraining order by another 11 days.
During an April 18 hearing, Williams also ordered Uthmeier to notify all Florida law enforcement officers of her order. The AG reportedly initially complied with a letter to law enforcement, but with a twist.
''In the notice, the attorney general said he disagreed with the order, calling it 'both wrong on the merits and overbroad on its scope,''' according to The Independent.
He added that his office would ''continue to press these scope-of-relief arguments in the district court and, as appropriate, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.''
On April 23, he sent a follow-up letter to law enforcement telling them that ''no judicial order—properly restrains you from'' enforcing the new law, adding that he had no intention of trying to ''prevent you from enforcing'' the challenged law.
''It is my view that no lawful, legitimate order currently impedes your agencies from continuing to enforce Florida's new illegal entry and reentry laws,'' he wrote.
[IsraelTimes] Justices uphold 2019 law allowing American citizens harmed in attacks outside the United States to file lawsuits against the Palestinian entities
The US Supreme Court upheld on Friday a statute passed by Congress to facilitate lawsuits against Paleostinian authorities by Americans killed or injured in attacks abroad as plaintiffs pursue monetary damages for violence years ago in Israel and the West Bank.
The 9-0 ruling overturned a lower court’s decision that the 2019 law, the Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act, violated the rights of the Paleostinian Authority and Paleostine Liberation Organization to due process under the US Constitution.
Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts, who authored the ruling, said the 2019 jurisdictional law comported with due process rights enshrined in the Constitution’s Fifth Amendment.
"It is permissible for the federal government to craft a narrow jurisdictional provision that ensures, as part of a broader foreign policy agenda, that Americans injured or killed by acts of terror have an adequate forum in which to vindicate their right" to compensation under a federal law known as the Antiterrorism Act of 1990, Roberts wrote.
The US government and a group of American victims and their families had appealed the lower court’s decision that struck down a provision of the law.
Among the plaintiffs are families who in 2015 won a $655 million judgment
Goodness! Any chance they’ll actually get anything like that amount out of the other side?
in a civil case alleging that the Paleostinian entities were responsible for a series of terror shootings and bombings around Jerusalem from 2002 to 2004. They also include relatives of Ari Fuld, who was fatally stabbed by a Paleostinian terrorist in 2018.
"The plaintiffs, US families who had loved ones maimed or murdered in PLO-sponsored terror attacks, have been waiting for justice for many years," said Kent Yalowitz, a lawyer for the plaintiffs.
"I am very hopeful that the case will soon be resolved without subjecting these families to further protracted and unnecessary litigation," Yalowitz added.
The ongoing fighting involving Israel and the Paleostinians served as a backdrop to the case, with Fuld’s murderer released as part of a hostage-prisoner exchange earlier this year between Israel and the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... -ruling Hamas ..always the voice of sweet reason... terror group.
US courts for years have grappled over whether they have jurisdiction in cases involving the Paleostinian Authority and PLO for actions taken abroad.
A fair question.
Under the language at issue in the 2019 law, the PLO and Paleostinian Authority automatically "consent" to jurisdiction if they conduct certain activities in the United States or make payments to people who attack Americans.
Roberts in Friday’s ruling wrote that Congress and the president enacted the jurisdictional law based on their "considered judgment to subject the PLO and PA (Paleostinian Authority) to liability in US courts as part of a comprehensive legal response to ’halt, deter and disrupt’ acts of international terrorism that threaten the life and limb of American citizens."
New York-based US District Judge Jesse Furman ruled in 2022 that the law violated the due process rights of the PLO and Paleostinian Authority.
Do terror orgs have due process rights?
The New York-based 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that ruling.
President Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. Joe's wife and daughter weren't killed by a drunk driver. He didn't graduate with three or even two degrees, wasn't in the top half of his law class, and his daddy didn't come home from a hard day's work in the mines and play football with the guys. The NAACP hasn't endorsed him every time he's run.... ’s administration initiated the government’s appeal, which subsequently was taken up by President Donald Trump ...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US... ’s administration. The Supreme Court heard arguments in the case on April 1.
[IsraelTimes] Israeli official slams review of pact governing Israel-EU ties for ‘exemplifying the double standards’ of the European Union; bloc’s FMs to discuss report but concrete decisions unlikely
The European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... ’s diplomatic service said on Friday there were indications that Israel had breached its human rights ...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... obligations under the terms of a pact governing its ties with the bloc, according to a document seen by Rooters.
Citing assessments by independent international institutions, the European External Action Service said "there are indications that Israel would be in breach of its human rights obligations under Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement."
The report comes after months of deepening concern in European capitals about Israel’s operations against Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip and the humanitarian situation in the enclave.
"Israel’s continued restrictions to the provision of food, medicines, medical equipment, and other vital supplies affect the entire population of Gaza present on the affected territory," the document said.
Asked about the EU review, an Israeli official called it "a one-sided report that exemplifies the double standards the EU uses towards Israel."
Under the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which came into force in 2000, the EU and Israel agreed that their relationship "shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles."
The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, announced in May that the bloc would examine whether Israel was complying with the terms of the pact, after over half of EU members backed the conducting of a review.
The report includes a section dedicated to the situation in Gaza, covering issues related to denial of humanitarian aid, attacks with a significant number of casualties, attacks on hospitals and medical facilities, displacement, and lack of accountability.
The report also looks at the situation in the West Bank, including settler violence.
The document relies on "facts verified by and assessments made by independent international institutions, and with a focus on most recent events in Gaza and the West Bank," it said.
Israel has said that it respects international law and that operations in Gaza are necessary to destroy Hamas, the Paleostinian terror group responsible for the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, which started the ongoing war in the Strip.
EU foreign ministers are set to discuss the review during a gathering in Brussels on Monday. Member countries remain divided in their approach to Israel.
While some ministers could advocate for moving toward taking action based on the review, no concrete decisions are expected at Monday’s session.
Diplomats expect EU officials will reach out to Israel with the outcome of the review in an effort to influence it, and that ministers will return to the subject during a July meeting.
Several European diplomats said they expected Kallas to propose some options during that meeting, with one stressing no action was likely to be agreed on before the end of the summer, adding the war in Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... has moved the goalposts — pushing some nations to voice renewed support for Israel.
The EU is Israel’s biggest commercial partner, with 42.6 billion euros ($48.2 billion) traded in goods in 2024. Trade in services reached 25.6 billion euros in 2023.
More than 100 aid groups and other organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, on Thursday urged Brussels to suspend the EU-Israel agreement "at least in part."
Suspending the EU-Israel accord outright would require unanimity among member states — something diplomats have said from the outset was virtually impossible.
Halting diplomatic dialogue with Israel — a measure that was already rejected last year — also requires backing from all EU countries.
Trade measures could instead be adopted with a qualified majority, diplomats said, cautioning however that agreeing on those might also prove tricky.
Continued on Page 47
[IsraelTimes] Eyal Zamir says Iran had 2,500 missiles at start of campaign, was set to reach 8,000 in two years; military sources indicate Israel not running low on interceptors
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said Friday that Israelis must prepare for a “prolonged campaign” against Iran to “eliminate a threat of this magnitude,” indicating that a quick end to the campaign was unlikely.
In a video statement, Zamir said Iran had been “building for years a clear plan to destroy the State of Israel” and that in recent months, “the plan reached the point of no return, where the capabilities reached operational capability.”
Zamir said Israel launched its opening attack on Iran knowing that “Iran possessed around 2,500 surface-to-surface missiles, with a high production rate, such that within approximately two years, they were expected to possess around 8,000 missiles.”
Iran’s ballistic missile efforts, nuclear advances and regional terror proxies “compelled us to strike and deliver a preemptive blow,” said the general.
“The IDF will not stand by and watch as threats develop,” he said. ”
As part of an emerging doctrine, we will act proactively and in advance to prevent an existential threat and to face any challenge.”
Israel launched the operation against Iran following some 20 months in which the Jewish state has significantly degraded the Islamic Republic’s proxies in Gaza, Lebanon, and Yemen, in a series of conflicts that began with the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023.
According to Zamir, the IDF “prepared for this operation for years” and launched it “thanks to the convergence of operational and strategic conditions.”
“Had we delayed, there was a risk of losing these conditions and entering the campaign in the future from a position of clear disadvantage,” he said. “We understood that history would not forgive us if we failed to act now to defend the existence of the Jewish people in the State of Israel.”
The IDF’s opening “surprise” strikes on Iran “achieved extraordinary results,” said Zamir.
“We eliminated the enemy’s senior command, inflicted deep damage to components of the nuclear program, opened an aerial corridor to Tehran, identified and destroyed about half of the missile launchers, some just minutes before launch, and surprised the enemy despite its heightened state of alert,” he said.
“Dear citizens of Israel, he continued. “Alongside the offensive operations, the defense of the home front continues. This is a different challenge from what we have known until now. The enemy, in its weakness, deliberately targets civilians, as we have experienced once again in the recent barrage. Our enemies do not understand that the Israeli home front is the source of the IDF’s strength, not its weakness.”
“We are preparing for a range of possible developments. We have embarked on the most complex campaign in our history. We launched this campaign in order to eliminate a threat of this magnitude, against such an enemy, which requires readiness for a prolonged campaign,” said Zamir.
“The IDF is prepared for this. With each passing day, our freedom of action is expanding, and the enemy’s is shrinking,” he said. “The campaign is not over. While we have achieved significant results, challenging days still lie ahead, and we must remain alert and united until the mission is complete.”
“I am confident that together, we will finish this campaign with Israel’s hand on top,” added Zamir.
His caution to gird for a long campaign came as Channel 12 reported that Israel’s security establishment has realized that the military campaign against Iran, which began last Friday, will take longer than thought just days ago.
IDF officials told reporters on Tuesday that the campaign’s goals would be reached within a week or two. The shift is likely connected to US President Donald Trump saying that he would take up to two weeks to decide whether the US would join the campaign.
Israel says its sweeping assault on Iran’s top military leaders, nuclear scientists, uranium enrichment sites, and ballistic missile program is necessary to prevent the Islamic Republic from realizing its avowed plan to destroy the Jewish state.
Iran has retaliated by launching over 470 ballistic missiles and around 1,000 drones at Israel. So far, Iran’s missile attacks have killed 24 people and wounded thousands in Israel, according to health officials and hospitals.
Some of the missiles have caused heavy damage to apartments and other civilian infrastructure, including a university, a hospital and an oil refinery.
IDF INDICATES IT’S NOT RUNNING LOW ON INTERCEPTOR MISSILES
Answering the question discussed yesterday.
As Israel prepared for a longer conflict, the IDF said Friday that it is “prepared and ready to handle any scenario,” appearing to belie US media reports that Israel would have to begin rationing its interceptor missiles.
The military has officially declined to comment on specific munitions matters.
Military officials have told The Times of Israel that the operation in Iran was months in the planning, and that preparations took into account Iran’s stock of ballistic missiles and drones that it could fire at Israel.
Huh. One wonders where certain news media got the idea that Israel was about to be defenseless, or if once again certain media were making stuff up to advance their preferred narrative.
This means the IDF had prepared ahead of time for the roughly 2,500 surface-to-surface missiles that Zamir said Iran possessed at the start of hostilities.
Additionally, the IDF is actually running through fewer interceptors than it anticipated at this point in the operation. The IDF estimated that Iran would fire several hundred ballistic missiles at Israel in its initial response. In reality, it launched just 100.
The 470 ballistic missiles that Iran has fired at Israel in the past week were also below the IDF’s “reference scenario” for the operation, military officials said.
According to the military, most of the Iranian missiles fired at Israel in recent days have been intercepted, at similar rates to Iran’s two first-ever attacks on Israel, in April and October of last year.
Military officials said 5-10 percent of the missiles “leak” through and impact Israel. This includes missiles that the IDF says it does not try to shoot down “according to protocol,” allowing them to strike open areas without causing damage to any critical infrastructure, as well as missiles it failed to intercept which hit urban areas and caused casualties and damage.
The military has routinely emphasized that, as good as Israel’s multilayered air defenses may be, they are not hermetic.
NETANYAHU SAYS IRAN OP WILL SAVE ISRAELIS AND IRANIANS ALIKE
Standing in front of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Netanyahu said in an English-language statement Friday that the world-renowned institution was “smashed by a rocket from this evil regime.”
On Sunday morning, an Iranian ballistic missile destroyed two buildings at the Weizmann Institute — a life science building and an empty building that was still under construction. Dozens more were damaged.
The premier said Iran was working “to destroy human progress. That’s what this regime is about.”
“They subjugate their own people,” said Netanyahu. “They’ve trampled on them for almost 50 years — the long-suffering Iranian people whom we embrace. We understand what they’ve been going through, and we understand what the region has been going through and what the world has been going through.”
Netanyahu argued that Israel is operating against Iran to save itself from annihilation, “but by doing so, we’re saving many, many others.”
The premier said he had warned then-US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld ahead of the 2003 Iraq invasion, “you will finish this very quickly. But your primary goal is the Iranian regime. And the Iranian regime is trying to develop a nuclear weapon, even then.”
The comment came as some US media have ridiculed Netanyahu this week by airing his 2002 congressional testimony, when the premier, then a private citizen, urged the US to invade Iraq, insisting that it would stabilize the region.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/21/2025 00:00 ||
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[52 views]
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#3
While the world is focused on Israel/Iran war, Israel should take the opportunity to lay waste to Gaza and permanently remove land the Gazans have access to.
#4
"Israel would never invade Iran. We would find a rifle behind every blade of grass." Isoroku Netanyahu (well, except there aren't many blades of grass in Iran...)
[IsraelTimes] Netanyahu agreed to ensure the safety of Russian personnel at Russian-built Bushehr nuclear reactor, Russian president says, as he threatens to seize more land from Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin ...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances... said Friday he has secured Israel’s pledge to safeguard Russian personnel at Iran’s Russia-built nuclear power plant and that he has reached out to both sides to try to end the week-old war.
Answering questions on a variety of issues at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin also warned Ukraine that it could lose more territory if it keeps rejecting Russia’s conditions for peace.
Putin said Russia has proposed "some ideas" for a possible settlement between Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... and Israel that are currently being discussed.
He said Moscow asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ensure the security of Russian personnel who are working to construct two more reactors at the nuclear power plant in Iran’s port of Bushehr, and that he also raised the issue with US President Donald Trump ...They hit him with slander, they impeached him twice. Nancy Pelosi tore up his State of the Union address on national TV. They stole an election and put his adherents in jail. They vilified him. They couldn't crucify him, so they shot him. Still, they can't keep him down... "Prime Minister Netanyahu has agreed with that, and President Trump has promised to support our legitimate demands," Putin said.
But he strongly rejected allegations that Moscow has failed to back its ally, Tehran, saying the Kremlin has maintained good ties with both Iran and Israel. He noted that Israel is home to nearly 2 million people from Russia and other former Soviet nations, "a factor that we always have taken into account."
At the same time, Putin said, Russia has always met its obligations to Iran, adding that Moscow has firmly backed Tehran’s right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
He voiced concern about the spiraling conflict, saying we "are strongly worried about what’s going on around the Iranian nuclear facilities and possible consequences."
[Townhall] The mainstream media has been getting plenty wrong when it comes to the delivery of aid to Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , including stories that portray Israel and the IDF in a negative light. There's also been muddled reporting on attacks taking place from Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... , and where they're happening. While outlets such as the News Agency that Dare Not be Named and the BBC have updated their reports after being called out by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)--outlets who have put out notoriously bad reporting on the issue in the past--there are still more not issuing the necessary corrections.
To recap, the GHF sent out a blurb on Tuesday calling for media to correct their reports claiming that Paleostinians were killed at a GHF site. In reality, they were killed near a United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... World Food Programme (WFP) location. That highlights plenty of problems with the UN which has been less than friendly to Israel, with the GHF also calling on the body to take more security measures.
While the outlets above corrected their reports, still more did not. A GHF Operational Update from Wednesday called out The Washington Post, Rooters, and CNN ...formerly the Cable News Network, now who know what it might stand for... in particular, with Rooters putting out multiple problematic articles, including those citing the UN.
The update from Wednesday also further called out the UN [emphasis original]:
Yesterday, several news outlets, including the Washington Post, Reuters and CNN, refused to correct their news reporting after the Associated Press confirmed with the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) that reported casualties at a GHF distribution site were false. Sadly, the casualties occurred at a UN WFP food delivery event, unassociated with GHF. We appreciate the confirmation from OCHA in revealing the truth about this terrible attack.
We continue to experience a growing pattern of false information seemingly formulated by the Gaza Health Ministry, an arm of Hamas, and then reported first by Al Jazeera and then echoed by the UN. It is unfortunate that both organizations, especially the UN, continue to push false information regarding our operations. We understand the UN is also trying to deliver aid into Gaza, but yet are unaccountable about the percentage of their deliveries that are being looted versus arriving at a final destination. We continue to support their efforts and call on them to work with us to ensure more aid reaches the people of Gaza, not Hamas and other criminal elements
.
Another GHF Operational Update, this one from Thursday, continued to call out the media and the UN [emphasis original]:
UPDATES AND CORRECTIONS
INACCURATE NEWS REPORTING: Our GHF news monitoring continues to reveal inaccurate news coverage by the international media outlets linking GHF sites to violent incidents that did not occur near our sites but occurred at United Nations’ (UN) convoy sites.
We continue to experience a growing pattern of false information seemingly formulated by the Gaza Health Ministry, an arm of Hamas, and then reported first by Al Jazeera and then echoed by the UN. It is unfortunate that both organizations, especially the UN, continue to push false information regarding our operations. We understand the UN is also trying to deliver aid into Gaza, but yet are unaccountable about the percentage of their deliveries that are being looted versus arriving at a final destination. We continue to support their efforts and call on them to work with us to ensure more aid reaches the people of Gaza, not Hamas and other criminal elements.
Such outlets have also been notorious for their bias when it comes to the Israel-Hamas conflict, even parroting pro-Hamas propaganda. Many have cited not only the UN, but also the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
Al Jazeera in particular is problematic, as the propaganda outlet has been kicked out of Israel and has also been banned in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates for inciting terrorism. The BBC ran into trouble over their reports claiming that the IDF killed those seeking aid, and blamed Al Jazeera in a fact-checking post of sorts earlier this month, though the outlet also doubled down on their reporting on the conflict.
[X]
GHF OPERATIONAL UPDATE - THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 2025
Nearly 3 million meals today across three distribution sites⁰More than 33.5 million meals distributed to date  The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) continued its operations today to provide vital food aid for the Palestinian… pic.twitter.com/4hIy6TB2Ps
[IRANINTL] Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi informed Israeli officials that he would be flying to Geneva for talks with European powers, as Israel currently controls Iranian airspace, ZDF reported Friday. Link to the German language news clip.
Despite 10/7 Aragchi wasn't arrested in Geneva.
If Netanyahu or Gallant had flown to Geneva they would have been arrested. Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 ||
06/21/2025 07:07 ||
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#1
Yeah, Iran wants a cease fire and a return to 'negotiating'. Like Hamas and Hezbollah.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/21/2025 8:22 Comments ||
Top||
Didn’t Elon Musk recently offer limited but free Starlink to Iranians to enable them to communicate despite the government internet blackout?
[IsraelTimes] Iranians seeing only images of missiles hitting Israel amid fears from the regime that the public could rise up when they see how the leadership has been weakened
As the war between Israel and Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... hits the one-week mark, Iranians have spent nearly half of the conflict in a near-communication blackout, unable to connect not only with the outside world but also with their neighbors and loved ones across the country.
Civilians are left unaware of when and where Israel will strike next, despite Israeli forces issuing evacuation warnings through their Persian-language online channels.
When the strikes hit, disconnected phone and web services mean not knowing for hours or days if their family or friends are among the victims, even though Israelis jets have been targeting Iran’s military leadership, air defenses, nuclear and missile programs and not firing into random civilian areas like Iran’s missile strikes on Israel
That’s left many scrambling on various social media apps to see what’s happening — again, only a glimpse of life able to reach the internet in a nation of over 80 million people.
Activists see it as a form of psychological warfare for a nation all too familiar with state information controls and targeted internet shutdowns during protests and unrest.
"The Iranian regime controls the information sphere really, really tightly," Marwa Fatafta, the Berlin-based policy and advocacy director for digital rights group Access Now, said in an interview with The News Agency that Dare Not be Named. "We know why the Iranian regime shuts down. It wants to control information. So their goal is quite clear."
WAR WITH ISRAEL TIGHTENS INFORMATION SPACE
But this time, it’s happening during a deadly conflict that erupted on June 13 with Israeli Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s targeting nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists. At least 657 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 2,000 maimed, according to a Washington-based group called Human Rights Activists.
Iran has retaliated by firing more than 450 missiles and 1,000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli military estimates. Most have been shot down by Israel’s multitiered air defenses, but at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds of others maimed. Guidance from Israeli authorities, as well as round-the-clock news broadcasts, flows freely and consistently to Israeli citizens, creating in the last seven days an uneven picture of the death and destruction brought by the war.
The Iranian government contended Friday that it was Israel who was "waging a war on truth and human conscience." In a post on X, a social media platform blocked for many of its citizens, Iran’s Foreign Ministry falsely asserted Israel banned foreign media from covering missile strikes.
The statement added that Iran would organize "global press tours to expose Israel’s war crimes" in the country. Iran is one of the world’s top jailer of journalists, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, and in the best of times, news hounds face strict restrictions.
Internet-access advocacy group NetBlocks.org reported on Friday that Iran had been disconnected from the global internet for 36 hours, with its live metrics showing that national connectivity remained at only a few percentage points of normal levels. The group said a handful of users have been able to maintain connectivity through virtual private networks.
FEW AVENUES EXIST TO GET INFORMATION
Those lucky few have become lifelines for Iranians left in the dark. In recent days, those who have gained access to mobile internet for a limited time describe using that fleeting opportunity to make calls on behalf of others, checking in on elderly parents and grandparents, and locating those who have fled Tehran.
The only access to information Iranians do have is limited to websites in the Islamic Theocratic Republic. Meanwhile,
...back at the alley, Bugs Moroni was holding Slats from behind while his brother Greasy Thumb was pounding his face into paste ... Iran’s state-run television and radio stations offer irregular updates on what’s happening inside the country, instead focusing their time on the damage wrought by their strikes on Israel.
The lack of information going in or out of Iran is stunning, considering that the advancement of technology in recent decades has only brought far-flung conflicts in Ukraine, the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip and elsewhere directly to a person’s phone anywhere in the world.
That direct line has been seen by experts as a powerful tool to shift public opinion about any ongoing conflict and potentially force the international community to take a side. It has also turned into real action from world leaders under public and online pressure to act or use their power to bring an end to the fighting.
But Mehdi Yahyanejad, a key figure in promoting internet freedom in Iran, said that the Islamic Theocratic Republic is seeking to "purport an image" of strength, one that depicts only the narrative that Israel is being destroyed by sophisticated Iranian weapons that include ballistic missiles with multiple warheads.
"I think most likely they’re just afraid of the internet getting used to cause mass unrest in the next phase of whatever is happening," Yahayanejad said. "I mean, some of it could be, of course, planned by the Israelis through their agents on the ground, and some of this could be just a spontaneous unrest by the population once they figure out that the Iranian government is badly weakened.
Continued on Page 47
[IsraelTimes] CIA director cited saying Tehran ‘very close’ to nuclear weapons; US officials tell NY Times assassination of Khamenei, US strike on Fordo could prompt breakout to bomb
Despite Iran’s development of a large stockpile of enriched uranium that cannot serve any peaceful purpose, US intelligence agencies continue to differ with more foreboding Israeli assessments that the Islamic Theocratic Republic is actively pursuing a nuclear weapon, according to a Thursday report.
According to The New York Times
...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... , the Mosssd ...sees all, knows all, gets 'em all in the end... believes that Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... could assemble a nuclear weapon within 15 days, while US assessments are more conservative, estimating it would take Tehran several months or up to a year to make a bomb, and that it is not currently actively pursuing one.
Citing intelligence and other US officials, the report said the current US assessment has not changed since the issue was last evaluated in March, even though Israel has since launched an extensive bombing campaign against Iran’s nuclear facilities, research centers and scientists, along with its ballistic missile program and other military infrastructure.
Senior US intelligence officials cited in the report, however, that Tehran could decide to actively break out to the bomb should Israel assassinate Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...> Israel has not ruled out killing Khamenei, with Defense Minister Israel Katz saying on Thursday at the site of an Iranian missile strike that the Iranian leader "cannot continue to exist."
A second possible instigator of an Iranian breakout, mentioned in the report, would be a US attack on Iran’s uranium enrichment facility at Fordo.
The site, located north of the city of Qom, is buried deep underground underneath a mountain, leading experts to assess that only bunker buster bombs, possessed exclusively by the US, could destroy the facility. However,
a clean conscience makes a soft pillow... Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview on Thursday that Israel could destroy Fordo without US assistance.
The White House said on Thursday that US President Donald Trump ...Oh, noze! Not him!... would decide within the next two weeks whether to join the Israeli offensive against Iran.
The announcement came following an intelligence briefing in which CIA Director John Ratcliffe said Iran was very close to attaining an atomic bomb, the report said, noting that he was echoing the Mossad assessments.
While some senior US officials, including Vice President JD Vance, said that new information has come in since intelligence agencies declared in March that Iran was not seeking a weapon, officials were quoted as saying that Vance was, in fact, referring to new analysis of existing information.
On June 13, Israel launched a campaign of Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s in Iran to decimate its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, which Jerusalem characterized as an imminent, existential threat. Iran has responded with deadly barrages of ballistic missiles at civilian population centers and military targets in Israel.
A Washington-based Iranian human rights ...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... group said at least 639 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 1,300 maimed.
#3
15 to 365+ days.
Either way, any day that these murderous Islamic Radicals, with their openly stated and aggressive agenda, acquire a Nuke (Clean or Dirty), it is 1 day too soon.
BTW: Remember when the USSR broke up, they lost a bunch of nukes (100). Of which 18 were highly enriched uranium hand-carry nukes, that a suicide bomber could carry. I wonder who has them and if IRAN could buy one?
[BusinessToday] What’s fueling suspicions is their listed destination: Luxembourg. Yet none were spotted anywhere near Europe, flight data shows.
Three massive cargo jets departed China in quick succession just days after Israel’s strike on Iran and then vanished near Iranian airspace, triggering fears of secret Chinese arms transfers to Tehran.
The Boeing 747 freighters, known for hauling heavy military gear under government contracts, lifted off from various Chinese cities, including Shanghai, over three consecutive days. Each followed a near-identical westward route over northern China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan — before disappearing from radar as they approached Iran, The Telegraph reported.
“These cargos cannot but generate a lot of interest,” Andrea Ghiselli, a China-MENA relations expert at the University of Exeter was quoted as saying in a Telegraph report.
He noted growing expectations that Beijing could step in to support Iran as tensions rise across the region.
The stakes are high. Iran, a key oil supplier to China with nearly 2 million barrels a day flowing east, is a strategic partner in Beijing’s push against the US-led world order. Supporting Iran’s regime, analysts suggest, may be a way for China to preserve its energy lifeline and maintain influence in the volatile Middle East.
“The collapse of the current regime would be a significant blow,” Ghiselli warned, citing the economic and geopolitical shockwaves it could send through the region and into China’s core interests.
Still, no direct evidence has confirmed the nature of the flights’ cargo. Independent inspections would be needed to verify whether the aircraft were carrying weapons, aid, or other materials. Publicly available flight logs only add to the mystery, with similar routes repeatedly terminating near the Iran-Turkmenistan border.
The flights’ disappearance and strategic timing have amplified concerns about a deepening axis between Tehran and Beijing — one that may soon challenge not just regional stability, but global balance.
#2
You may want to check flight aware to track the frequency of 5Y / Atlas Air cargo flights to Tel Aviv. They aren't slowing down. Makes sense for the Chinese to set down their MU flights East of the AO to minimize liability for their aircraft
[NAHARNET] Hezbollah will certainly not join the Israel-Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... war, the group's ally Parliament Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri
...perennial Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, head of the Amal Shiite party aligned with Hezbollah, a not very subtle sock puppet of the Medes and Persians... has reportedly told his visitors.
Berri's visitors told al-Jadeed, in remarks published Friday, that the speaker is "certain" that Leb ...The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... will not join the war.
On Thursday, Berri said Lebanon will "200 percent" not enter the war. "It has no interest in that and would pay the price if it did," he said, adding that Iran "does not need us."
A Lebanese government source also told al-Jadeed Thursday that Hezbollah will not join the fray after an Iranian official told al-Jazeera that Hezbollah would act if the United States intervened to back up its ally Israel.
- HEZBOLLAH CHIEF SAYS GROUP WILL 'ACT AS WE SEE FIT'-
Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem ... the Grand Vizier of the Hezbullies... said on Thursday that the group would "act as we see fit" in response to the ongoing war between Iran and Israel.
In a statement, Qassem said Hezbollah was "not neutral" in the conflict between the two regional superpowers, saying that the group would "act as we see fit in the face of this brutal Israeli-American aggression".
Berri said Qassem's remarks are only aimed at showing "solidarity" with Iran and certainly do not mean that Hezbollah will join the war.
Earlier this week, Hezbollah political bureau member Mahmoud Qmati denied that Hezbollah would get involved and said that "Iran is strong enough and does not need military support from anyone".
- HEZBOLLAH HAS NOT FIRED A SINGLE ROCKET -
U.S. special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack on Thursday warned Hezbollah against getting involved in the war between Iran and Israel, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the entire "Shiite axis" is not responding to Israeli attacks on Iran and that "Hezbollah has not fired a single rocket".
Caroline Rose, a director at the Washington-based New Lines Institute think tank said that "Iran-backed proxies across the region — particularly Hezbollah— just do not have the capacity" to enter the fray. But Israel could still target them, she said.
Geagea tells Hezbollah's Qassem only state ''can act as it sees fit''
[NAHARNET] Lebanese Forces A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb... leader Samir Geagea ....Geagea was imprisoned by the Syrians and their puppets for 11 years in a dungeon in the third basement level of the Lebanese Ministry of Defense. He was released after the Cedar Revolution in 2005.... said Friday that only the Lebanese state "can act as it sees fit" after Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said that the Death Eater group would "act as we see fit" in response to the ongoing war between Iran and Israel.
"Sheikh Naim, you cannot act as you see fit. Only the Lebanese government can do that because it represents the majority of the Lebanese people," Geagea said, adding that it is "absolutely unacceptable" for anyone to allow themselves to act as they like.
"Leb is a country and a state," Geagea said. "This is absolutely unacceptable, otherwise Lebanon will turn into a chaotic place with no rules or laws."
This comes after the U.S. special envoy for Syria warned Hezbollah against getting involved in the war.
Geagea urged Qassem to propose his ideas through Hezbollah's ministers in the government. "Only there, such matters can be discussed," he said.
Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem to tread carefully Friday after the latter said his terror group would "act as we see fit" in the war between Israel and Iran.
"The Hezbollah leader hasn’t learned from his predecessors and is threatening to act against Israel," said Katz, referring to former Hezbollah chief His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah ...The late, lamented satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...> , who was killed by Israel last
September.
"I suggest that the Lebanese proxy be careful, and understand that Israel has lost patience with the murderous Moslems who threaten it," Katz added, warning: "If there is terror — there will be no Hezbollah."
On June 13, Israel launched a campaign of Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s in Iran to decimate the Islamic Theocratic Republic’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, which Jerusalem characterized as an imminent, existential threat.
Iran has responded with deadly barrages of ballistic missiles at civilian population centers and military targets in Israel.
Hezbollah, an Iran-backed proxy, has largely stayed out of the fray in the recent conflict.
The group was severely weakened by last year’s fighting with Israel and remains under the tight watch of the Lebanese government, which issued a warning to the group not to involve Leb in the war.
But Qassem said Thursday that the Iran-backed proxy is "not neutral" in the conflict between the two regional superpowers, saying that the group would "act as we see fit in the face of this brutal Israeli-American aggression."
The remarks came after US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack warned Hezbollah against getting involved in the war, saying it would be a "very bad decision."
Since a ceasefire agreement went into effect in Lebanon in November 2024, Israel has continued to launch targeted strikes on Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure, claiming violations of the truce by the terrorist organization.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, over 180 Hezbollah operatives have been killed in Israeli strikes since the deal was reached.
The military has continued to attack Hezbollah targets in dronezaps on southern Lebanon since the fighting with Iran broke out.
The IDF announced Thursday morning it had killed Yassin Izz a-Din, commander of Hezbollah’s rocket artillery unit in the Litani River sector, in a strike on Barish, in southern Lebanon, the night before.
The IDF said he had advanced numerous rocket attacks on northern Israel during the war, and was involved in "attempts to restore Hezbollah’s artillery forces."
Northeast of Harish that same night, in Nabatieh, the IDF said it killed Mohammad Ahmad Khreiss, who it said was the commander of Hezbollah’s anti-tank unit in the Shebaa area.
"During the war, the terrorist advanced numerous attacks against the State of Israel," including an anti-tank missile attack on Mount Dov on April 26, 2024, which killed Sharif Sawaed, an IDF civilian contractor, the military said.
The IDF on Thursday killed a third Hezbollah operative in a strike, saying he had been involved in efforts to restore the terror group’s infrastructure in the Houla area.
[NAHARNET] Hezbollah condemned Thursday Israel's threats to kill Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...> after an Israeli hospital was hit during an Iranian missile attack.
"Khamenei openly declares that he wants Israel destroyed -- he personally gives the order to fire on hospitals. He considers the destruction of the state of Israel to be a goal," Israel's defense minister Israel Katz told journalists in Holon near Tel Aviv. "Such a man can no longer be allowed to exist."
Hezbollah said the Israeli threat is "foolish and reckless" and "would have grave consequences".
It "constitutes an offence to hundreds of millions of believers", the group added.
Iraq's top Shiite holy man Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani also warned against targeting Iran's leadership and said it would have "dire consequences on the region".
Sistani, an Iranian, is the highest religious authority for millions of Shiite Moslems in Iraq and around the world, with the power to mobilize a huge portion of that base in Iraq.
Despite his Iranian roots, Sistani is seen as an essential figure in Iraq's recent history and has been known for pushing back against Tehran's growing clout in the country.
Shiite Moslemholy mans rallied late Wednesday, wearing military fatigues in southern Iraq, near the Iranian border. They held Iraqi and Iranian flags and shouted slogans condemning Israel's attack.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
06/21/2025 00:00 ||
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[27 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies
[NAHARNET] The Free Patriotic Movement Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic... said Wednesday that Leb ...home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade.... should not take part in the Israeli-Iranian conflict as the arch foes shot it out for the sixth day.
"The war in the region is concerning and is threatening peace and stability in the region and in Lebanon," the statement said, describing the Israeli strikes on Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... as an aggression and condemning it. "The FPM is against any aggression on the illusory sovereignty of any county."
The statement, despite the condemnation, stressed that Lebanon must stay neutral and should not get involved, in order to preserve national interests and the security of the Lebanese people.
"Lebanon's national interests require a full commitment to a policy that keeps Lebanon out of foreign conflicts, fortifies the domestic front, enhances stability, and prevents Lebanon from becoming an arena for regional festivities," the FPM said, as it urged international powers to restart nuclear talks and look for peaceful solutions that "preserve countries' illusory sovereignty and spare people in the region more destruction and divisions."
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
06/21/2025 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hezbollah
So, it turns out that reports of Israeli agents recruiting individuals to assist them during the airstrikes and attacks were, after all, true....
That is what spy masters do. Just like Iran’s spy masters hired a bunch of Israeli Jews and Arabs, and Palestinians to spy and act up for them. We’ve had an entire series of articles over the past six months or so about the people Shin Beth arrested for doing stupid stuff and reporting common knowledge information to Iran for relatively small payoffs. I guess Mossad picks better agents, and trains them to better effect.
by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] Iran continues to hunt for the Israeli agents who organized the "air breakthrough" of the Israeli army in the first days of Operation Lion Force.
A wave of arrests and raids swept across the country, resulting in the detention of a large number of foreign citizens, mostly migrant workers and illegal refugees, all of whom Iranian security officials believe were assisting the Mossad.
And while the presence of Indians among the detainees was not a big surprise - given New Delhi's characteristic sympathy for Tel Aviv - the capture of individuals with links to the Afghan Taliban movement has prompted Tehran to ask its neighbors some uncomfortable questions.
EASY MONEY
In less than a week, Iranian special services have detained, according to various sources, between forty and eighty people. Most of them are labor migrants who were recruited several months before the start of Operation Lion Force. In all cases, the recruiter was one of their fellow countrymen who offered to earn easy money.
At the same time, there was no talk of building a centralized sabotage network.
The agents acted independently of each other and received instructions through special chats. Most of them cannot identify the "customers" or remember the identifying features of their "fellow countrymen".
The Israelis, for their part, do not hide the fact that at the initial stages of the operation they outsourced some of the tasks. The commandos deployed to Iranian territory were assigned primarily a coordinating role, while the removal of imported weapons from hiding places and their installation at designated points was carried out by third-party mercenaries.
Some of them even subsequently took part directly in the strikes on the illuminated objects - motivated, according to the Israelis, by “patriotic and ideological impulses” and not by financial reward.
AFGHAN CONNECTION
The Iranian law enforcement officers were most concerned about the appearance of Afghan citizens among the detainees. There were almost two dozen of them among the agents, most of whom were from Kandahar.
The majority of the Pakistani Jewish population fled first to India following partition, then settled in Israel in Ramla, though there are also groups in Bombay and Toronto. So it would be easy enough for Mossad to get native speakers to train their controllers.
According to the latest data, about 4.5 million Afghans live in Iran, most of whom moved here after the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan in 2021. At the same time, only 50 thousand are officially listed as refugees - the rest prefer to live on "bird rights" and create semi-legal communities far from big cities. Most of those detained were from such closed communities.
Iran, along with Pakistan and Turkey have been sending their Afghan refugees home in a steady stream — we’ve had a number of articles on the subject.
There were, however, exceptions.
One of the detainees was a student at Tehran University who lived in the city of Rey. According to investigators, he was responsible for installing covert surveillance systems near Iranian missile bases in the Israeli operation and also participated in assembling several homemade drones.
Getting salable skills for later — was he an engineering student, perchance?
It turned out that the detainee knew nothing about Mossad’s plans, and allegedly coordinated his actions with Mawlawi Talib, the chief of police in Kandahar Province, who in the past specialized in conducting sabotage operations behind enemy lines.
See? I bet Mawlawi Talib was very pleased at the idea of getting a trained tech specialist.
Other detained Afghans also had interesting connections.
For example, at least three of them corresponded with Qari Yasser, a mid-level functionary working in the Ministry of National Intelligence. Another two had deleted chats on their phones with unknown people calling themselves “assistants to the commander of the Afghan special forces.”
Could it be that their contacts were not actually such eminent Islamist persons back home??
The message in all cases boiled down to one thesis: Iran's geopolitical ambitions are growing, and Tehran is increasingly "looking predatorily" at neighboring countries. And especially Afghanistan, which is weakened by a long-standing civil war and looks like a promising direction for a throw. An unexpected blow in the Iranian rear was supposed to thwart the "plans of conquest."
In addition, in gratitude for their service, the refugees were promised safe return to their homeland, immunity from prosecution for “serving the old regime,” and expanded social guarantees for family members.
So not for the the Jewish Entity at all, or so they were informed. Those Mossad agents are tricksy liars, indeed.
INTERFERED IN SOMEONE ELSE'S GAME
A combination of signs indicates that most of the Afghan refugees were indeed used “in the dark”: under the guise of Taliban commanders, Israeli intelligence officers interacted with them.
Tel Aviv's calculation was simple: the scandal with the Afghan refugees was supposed to provoke mass raids and arrests (and possibly deportations) and start a process of fermentation in the Afghan community in Iran.
The formation of such a large group of dissatisfied people within the country would become a convenient “pain point” that the Israelis could press on to achieve new tactical victories.
On the other hand, upon a more detailed analysis of the connections of the detainees, Iranian law enforcement officials unexpectedly discovered new threads leading to Afghanistan.
In particular, a group of Afghan construction specialists was identified who came to the country to exchange experiences, but in fact collected information about public sentiment in Iran and the local Afghan diaspora.
So there really were Taliban spies? And they were revealed in the hunt for Mossad? Golly.
Most likely, the strengthened Taliban government tried to organize its own spy network to keep a closer eye on the plans of its powerful neighbor. However, the unexpected intervention of the Mossad exposed it before its time.
They were not involved in the Israeli attack, but they were compromised: Iranian law enforcement officers discovered archives of data they had collected about the operational situation in the country.
So far, Tehran has preferred to keep its dirty linen in public and has not brought any charges against the Taliban. The arrested Afghans are considered exclusively as agents of Israeli intelligence.
This is seriously funny.
However, there are still hints that Afghanistan should not interfere in someone else's game.
Thus, the head of Iran's border police, Brigadier General Ahmad-Ali Goodarzi, warned that Tehran will not tolerate the use of foreign territory for carrying out covert attacks or espionage operations, and any attempts to create influence structures on its territory "will be met with a decisive response."
Afghanistan will likely heed Tehran's warnings and curtail its work with local diasporas for some time. At least until Iranian intelligence stops hunting for Israeli moles.
Things are waaaay more convoluted over there than I was prepared for.
[Rudaw] Iranian authorities have arrested a European national accused of spying while traveling in the country as a tourist, media reported on Friday.
Was he really a spy, or is Iran just refilling its store of useful and lucrative hostages?
The foreigner, from an unnamed European country, was arrested by the intelligence wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad province in southwestern Iran, according to the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News.
Tasnim said the European national had entered Iran as a tourist at the start of Israel’s attacks and was on a mission to gather information about “sensitive and important centers” in desert areas of the country. Images of these sites were found in the person’s possession.
The European national had reportedly been residing in an Iranian city with the help of a local contact and was in possession of a SIM card registered to an Iranian citizen, along with several mobile phones, Tasnim said.
Iranian authorities and state-affiliated media have reported the arrests of dozens of civilians accused of spying for Israel or cooperating with it since the conflict began.
More than 80 foreigners have been arrested in Qazvin province, northwest of Tehran, over the past two days, the IRGC’s local office said, Tasnim reported. On Tuesday, a foreigner was arrested and accused of filming near Bushehr nuclear power plant.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council announced a June 22 deadline for individuals who were “deceived” into cooperating with Israel to voluntarily turn themselves in to authorities in exchange for potential amnesty, Fars news agency reported on Friday.
After the deadline, anyone who acted as collaborators with Israel during wartime will face a harsh punishment, it said.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: badanov ||
06/21/2025 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Potential amnesty?
That means cutting off only one arm and burning you only from the waist down.
Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin:
[ColonelCassad] In fact, Iran's ability to wage a long war depends not on whether the US manages to bomb Fordow and still penetrate the Natanz facility, but on the ability to continue launching missiles at Israel and US facilities in the region over a long distance.
In fact, we do not know how many missiles Iran actually has (almost all missile cities are now functional) and whether Iran has the ability to produce missiles in underground structures.
It is simpler with drones, because, as the example of Ukraine shows, hidden production can be quite easily dispersed throughout the country.
As it seems to me, the main risks for Iran in this kind of war are the under-suppressed internal agents of Israel, the integrity of the command and the stability of society in the medium term when socio-economic security facilities are damaged.
You cannot win a war with airstrikes alone. To plant a puppet regime in Tehran, either direct intervention is needed, which is unlikely. Or destruction from within (a coup, a military mutiny, mass protests of the dissatisfied). If Iran can control the negative factors for itself, it will be able to exist quite confidently in the conditions of a long campaign against Israel and those who stand behind it. If not, at some point everything may break down. As it was with Yugoslavia, which went to the Dayton Accords and signed its own death warrant. Actually, this is what the US and Israel are counting on. So Iran may indeed lose.
But if it maintains control, the struggle may lead to completely unpredictable results for the entire region.
Merely thousands? Historically they got tens or hundreds of thousands — huge crowds competing to see who could shout their devotion to their overlords and hatred of Israel and America the loudest.
[IsraelTimesDemonstrators chant ‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to Israel,’ burn the two nations’ flags, as Iran proxies and other Shiite Muslims rally after noon prayers in Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen
Thousands of people rallied in Tehran, Baghdad and Beirut on Friday after weekly prayers to protest Israel’s strikes on Iran, chanting slogans against Israel and its main backer, the United States.
Images on Iran’s state television showed protesters in Tehran holding up pictures of commanders killed since the start of the war last week. Other protesters waved the flags of Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah. Protesters could be heard chanting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” in footage from the protests.
“This is the Friday of the Iranian nation’s solidarity and resistance across the country,” the news anchor said.
“I will sacrifice my life for my leader,” read a protester’s banner, referring to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
According to state television, protests took place in other cities around the country, including in Tabriz in northwestern Iran and Shiraz in the south.
Last Friday, the IDF launched a sweeping assault on Iran’s top military leaders, nuclear scientists, uranium enrichment sites, and ballistic missile program. Israel says the operation is necessary to prevent the Islamic Republic from realizing its avowed plan to destroy the Jewish state.
Mohammad Javad Haj Ali Akbari, the Imam leading Tehran’s prayers, told worshippers that Israel had attacked Iran out of “despair,” the official IRNA news agency reported.
He accused Israel of launching a “psychological war” to “pit the people of the country against the government.”
Israel launched a real war, buddy. The psychology follows instead of replacing it.
“Their plans were precise, but their calculations were laughable,” the imam said.
Iran has retaliated to the IDF strikes by launching over 470 ballistic missiles and around 1,000 drones at Israel.
So far, Iran’s missile attacks have killed 24 people and wounded thousands in Israel, according to health officials and hospitals. Some of the missiles have hit apartment buildings, causing heavy damage.
With warnings of all-out regional war intensifying, fears are growing over an intervention by Iran-backed Iraqi factions, who have threatened Washington’s interests in the region if it were to join Israel in its war against Iran.
‘NO RIGHT’
In Iraq, thousands of supporters of powerful cleric Moqtada al-Sadr rallied after Friday prayers in Baghdad and other cities, AFP correspondents said.
Again, only thousands?
Sadr, who has previously criticized Tehran-backed Iraqi armed factions, retains a devoted following of millions among Iraq’s majority community of Shiite Muslims.
“No to Israel! No to America!” chanted demonstrators gathered in the Sadr City district of Baghdad, the cleric’s stronghold in the capital.
“It is an unjust war… Israel has no right” to hit Iran, said protester Abu Hussein.
“Israel is not in it for the [Iranian] nuclear [program]. What Israel and the Americans want is to dominate the Middle East,” added the 54-year-old taxi driver.
In the city of Kufa, protesters set fire to Israeli and American flags.
Iraq is both a significant ally of Iran and a strategic partner of the United States.
In Lebanon, hundreds of Hezbollah supporters took to the streets in the group’s stronghold in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
To be fair, most of Hezbollah is dead, which interferes with marching and screaming.
Men, women, and children waved the flags of Iran, Hezbollah, and Lebanon, with some holding pictures of Khamenei.
“It is my duty to stand with [Iran] against the Zionist Israeli enemy,” said Adnan Zaytoun, 60.
To supporters like Zaytoun, “if anyone attacks us, we will defend ourselves, but we do not support war.”
Hezbollah has not expressed any intention to intervene militarily on Iran’s side against Israel.
They are fanatics, not stupid…
The terror group emerged severely weakened from a nearly 15-month war it launched against Israel on October 8, 2023, a day after fellow Iran-backed group Hamas invaded Israel and sparked the war in Gaza.
“We are here to show the American and Israeli enemies that we are resilient and will not be defeated… even if they destroy our homes over our heads,” said Fadel Saad, an 18-year-old student.
In Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and other areas, tens of thousands of people gathered for protests organized by the Houthi authorities, according to their official media outlets.
They haven’t anything better to do in Yemen except protest and chew khat.
The Iran-backed rebels — whose banner includes the words “death to America, death to Israel, a curse on the Jews” — have launched ballistic missiles and drone attacks on Israel, and attacked Red Sea shipping, since November 2023, a month after the Hamas onslaught.
Continued on Page 47
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka 
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
[IRANINTL] Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi informed Israeli officials that he would be flying to Geneva for talks with European powers, as Israel currently controls Iranian airspace, ZDF reported Friday.
...
...sees all, knows all, gets 'em all in the end...
...The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...>
...home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade....
