France 24 carried out a months-long investigative operation with to prove that the Muslim Brotherhood Sudanese Armed Forces is using chemical weapons in the Sudanese Civil War.
They collected visual evidence, geolocated footage and managed to uncover photos of industrial… pic.twitter.com/Mabs44k1lC
France 24 carried out a months-long investigative operation with to prove that the Muslim Brotherhood Sudanese Armed Forces is using chemical weapons in the Sudanese Civil War.
They collected visual evidence, geolocated footage and managed to uncover photos of industrial chlorine containers at SAF-controlled sites such as the Barri and Garri military bases near the al-Jaili refinery 70 km north of Khartoum.
They also carried out an analysis of impact craters and gas release events in September 2024, proving that SAF deliberated uses chlorine as a chemical weapon in the civil war.
The U.S. State Department also studied the evidence and announced in May 2025 that they had come to the same conclusion.
Posted by: badanov ||
03/18/2026 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[1763 views]
Top|| File under: Muslim Brotherhood
[IsraelTimes] The conflict has produced a flood of fabricated imagery, much of it coming from tens of thousands of pro-Iranian TikTok accounts, highlighting a growing challenge in the deepfake era.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted an unusual video this week: of himself buying coffee at a Jerusalem-area cafe.
It was hardly typical fare for wartime, when Netanyahu can more often be seen giving recorded addresses or touring missile damage within Israel. But the prime minister had come with an important mission: to debunk viral claims of his death.
The claims, which originated on Iranian state media last week, were picked up by social media users on Thursday after Netanyahu gave his first press conference during the war with Iran, launched on February 28 with joint US-Israeli missile strikes against regime targets.
Zooming in on details in the seemingly innocuous address, some claimed that Netanyahu had an extra finger on his right hand and missing teeth, signs they said were key tells of AI-generated content.
“Imagine Netanyahu was actually dead this entire past week,” the pro-Palestinian TikTok influencer Guy Christensen wrote in a post on X. “It’s too good to be true but Israel has been using AI generated videos of Netanyahu ever since. One can only hope.”
From the cafe Sataf, Netanyahu issued his response to the conspiracy, posting a video on Sunday of him ordering a coffee, chatting with baristas and telling Israelis that the wars against Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon were going well.
“They say I’m what?” the caption read. Mocking the idea that he had been killed, he joked, “I’m dying for coffee!” Then, alluding to the speculation about the earlier video, he asks, “Do you want to count the number of fingers?” before holding up each hand with his fingers outstretched.
JUST IN: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shares proof that he is alive after online users started speculating that he was dead.
Netanyahu also showed off how many fingers he has.
"We're doing things I can't share right now, but we're striking hard in Iran today and… pic.twitter.com/5tyD5HImCG
Could we be looking at an A.I. Media enhanced conflict?
While I doubt it.
We have already seen a handful of A.I. FAKE Video's being submitted trying to push Anti-USA, Anti-Israel & Anti-Trump for Political and Propaganda purposes.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
03/18/2026 00:36 ||
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[1851 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Sounds like a good time to say fuck NATO and get out. Let Europe take care of themselves for once, especially since they think they are the all knowing mf'ers of the world.
Posted by: chris ||
03/18/2026 5:39 Comments ||
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#9
It's the German, Dutch, Belgian, Italian and Norwegian navies that should be stepping up. England has proven she couldn't step up if she wanted to, I never expected Spain and Portugal and most of the rest of NATO only have coastal defense navies and would be mostly a hindrance rather than an asset in the Persian Gulf
1) Trump insults nations which participated in Afghanistan (my son is still angry about this).
2) Trump wants Canada as 51st state and wants to annex Greenland (Denmark is a NATO member).
3) Trump doesn't even bother to consult with NATO before starting a war with Iran.
4) Iran is out of area. And NATO is a defense treaty.
5) When offered (British) help, Trump says we don't need you.
6) Suddenly he wants help (not just NATO, but also China?)
7) When faced with refusal, he's back to "we don't need you anyway".
He may have written "The Art of the Deal", but certainly not "The Art of Winning Allies".
Posted by: European Conservative ||
03/18/2026 16:10 Comments ||
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#12
The question EC, is whether you think there is method to his madness? Or is it just madness?
#13
Note his weight loss.
If he's on the pill, he's hungry and his stomach hurts, plus he can't 'evacuate'. So prob very agitated.
If he's not on the pill, it's stress or disease and he's gonna breakdown.
#14
responding to EC's 1)-7)
We don't need you, you need us, militarily. You can't even materially contribute to your own energy needs, in fact, you were willing to put your energy throat under Putin's sword. Idiots. Militarily, you have become welfare children. Quit crying when someone points it out. Brits offered minimal help after the hard work is done, and still wouldn't arrive to defend their own base in Crete in days. Would be nice to have them contribute, but we already have enough salvage tugs
/Slightly snarky, but honestly pissed and not willing to alleviate EU weakness/victimhood
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/18/2026 18:11 Comments ||
Top||
#16
@14 Agree with Frank, I'm not interested in listening to a bunch of whiny Europeans, almost all of whom would be speaking German if it wasn't for the United States. Grow up and stop acting like spoiled little children.
from tweet
Copenhagen Iranian embassy just raised the lion and sun flag: I don’t know how, but it just happened a couple of hours ago.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
03/18/2026 00:00 ||
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[1783 views]
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#1
A big step in the right direction!
Posted by: Oregon Dave ||
03/18/2026 0:21 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Some commenters are now claiming that a protester climbed up and attached the flag, not the embassy. So we’ll see if the initial report is right and indicates a tipping point.
[YouTube] North Texas Antifa cell was convicted by a federal jury of carrying out an ambush attack on an ICE detention facility in Alvarado, Texas. This was 100% funded by Soros and his orgs, but he's untouchable. He holds the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Not just Mr. Soros. A bunch of other very rich Progressives were involved as well. This was trial for the July 4th, 2025 attack on the Prairieland ICE Detention Center where anti-ICE protesters with guns and wearing body armour covered for vandalizing government property (vehicles, guard shack, security cameras), throwing fireworks at the guards, and shooting a police officer. Nine were convicted.
[FoxNews] Acting Deputy Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Administrator Adam Stahl warned Tuesday that smaller airports might be forced to shut down if more security workers call out or quit amid an ongoing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown that has withheld their paychecks.
Stahl said the TSA has already depleted its National Deployment Office of all available workers, spreading its resources as thin as they’ll go.
"So at this point, we're fully stretched," he told "Fox & Friends." "Frankly, there's not much else we can do. As the weeks continue, if this continues, it's not hyperbole to suggest that we may have to quite literally shut down airports, particularly smaller ones, if callout rates go up... A lot of those officers can't afford to come in."
This is Joe Kent on Tucker Carlson's show in January 2024 — the same Joe Kent who resigned today as NCTC Director — laying out… pic.twitter.com/rPDf6cZntj
…laying out exactly what he predicted a war with Iran would look like. Tucker called it "the most reasonable, common sense, factual assessment I've seen from anyone."
Let's check the predictions against reality.
𝗞𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱: 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘺.
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: 13 American service members have been k!lled — a tragedy, and every one matters. But "very bloody" predicted a catastrophic casualty toll. Operation Epic Fury is Day 18 with 6,000 combat flights flown, Iran's nuclear program buried, navy destroyed, and top leadership eliminated.
𝗞𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱: 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘐𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳.
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘺: Iranians danced in the streets when Khamenei was k!lled. They celebrated Larijani's death today. The regime had to shut down the internet and deploy security forces to stop Iranians from rising up. One doctor called it "the best night of our lives."
𝗞𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱: 𝘐𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘹𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴.
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘺: Iran's proxy network — Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis — was already largely dismantled before the war began. The IRGC infrastructure that funded and directed them has been systematically destroyed over 18 days.
𝗞𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱: 𝘞𝘦'𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘢'𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴.
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘺: China is now being asked to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz — the waterway carrying their own oil — and being told that failing to do so will affect the Trump-Xi summit. The leverage is reversed.
𝗞𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱: 𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘢'𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘹. 𝘈𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺.
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘺: Trump says it will be wrapped up soon. The Iranian people are celebrating in the streets. The regime's nuclear program is buried under rubble.
This is the man Tucker called the most reasonable analyst he'd ever heard on Iran. This is the man who just resigned as America's counterterrorism director saying Iran posed no threat.
Gabbard posted on X about the conflict, writing that her job is to present the president with all the best information to inform his decisions. Trump had decided that Iran posed “an imminent threat,” according to her statement.
“Donald Trump was overwhelmingly elected by the American people to be our President and Commander in Chief. As our Commander in Chief, he is responsible for determining what is and is not an imminent threat, and whether or not to take action he deems necessary to protect the safety and security of our troops, the American people and our country,” Gabbard wrote on X, adding that her job is to “coordinate and integrate all intelligence” for the president to make decisions.
“After carefully reviewing all the information before him, President Trump concluded that the terrorist Islamist regime in Iran posed an imminent threat and he took action based on that conclusion,” she added.
In the hours after Kent resigned, two Trump administration officials told the Caller that he had been left out of all conversations on Iran.
One senior Trump official told the Caller that Kent was cut out of the president’s daily intelligence briefings months ago, alleging that he was a known leaker.
#1
One feels for Tucker’s brother, dealing with competing loyalties while working for JD Vance. But there is a tradition — imagine being President Jimmy Carter’s brother Billy.
Back on topic. Townhall has a roundup of tweets about Mr. Kent’s announcement, which yielded this:
Gold Star wife here.
When ISIS killed your wife, you supported going after the people responsible. You understood exactly why we were fighting and never called it “Israel’s war.”
My husband, Alan, was killed by Iranian proxies in Iraq. And now, after decades, the fight is… https://t.co/lNOJOnGvcC
#3
Other media sources indicate that Kent was considered the source of many leaks to the media. As such he had been excluded from much sensitive information of strategic value. His resignation was more of realization of his position in the administration.
#5
We're in an information war, and Mr. Kent has just handed the other side (i.e., the Iranian regime, the MSM, and the Democrats) a win.
Posted by: Matt ||
03/18/2026 9:38 Comments ||
Top||
#6
We're in an information war
The besieged Basij | Israeli intelligence uncovered Iran’s fallback plan: if bases were destroyed, security forces would muster at local sports complexes. Israel watched those venues fill up, and then struck. Some of the deadliest hits of the war followed, killing hundreds of… pic.twitter.com/aMBHt3PUzi
#8
If you have ever lived with a truly abusive, violent man, then you know that the threat is always imminent. Always.
"Doc, You gotta understand, I am not a violent guy ... I ONLY smack her when she makes me angry."
[This is a real quote.]
The mullahs and their followers have been methodically grooming us in "The West" for years. Patiently. This guy Kent has been through a lot in his life. Imho he is psychologically fried, kinda like some American POWs held in North Korea.
#9
#6 Grom, Israel's intelligence penetration of Iran is the atomic bomb of intelligence operations. I'm curious as to why with that intel and total air supremacy, the US and Israel haven't been able to fully suppress Iran's missiles and drones.
Posted by: Matt ||
03/18/2026 12:05 Comments ||
Top||
#11
I’ve read speculation that Command and Control have gone silent in fear of being noticed by the IDF, so the missile launch commanders are launching when they please.
🚨 BREAKING: Iran-backed terror group Kataeb Hezbollah demands all “foreign soldiers” leave Iraq.
The group’s new security chief, Abou Moujahed al-Assaf, claims Iraq’s instability is caused by the “malicious American presence,” insisting security will only come once the last… pic.twitter.com/muKFatpleW
🚨 BREAKING: Iran-backed terror group Kataeb Hezbollah demands all “foreign soldiers” leave Iraq.
The group’s new security chief, Abou Moujahed al-Assaf, claims Iraq’s instability is caused by the “malicious American presence,” insisting security will only come once the last foreign soldier leaves Iraqi territory.
Kataeb Hezbollah—designated a terrorist organization by the US—is part of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which has been claiming near-daily attacks on US interests in the region.
Posted by: badanov ||
03/18/2026 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[1768 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] Since the outbreak of the conflict in the Gaza Strip, Israel has faced an unprecedented increase in criticism, which has damaged its image and threatened to translate into losses on the international stage.
To rectify the situation somewhat, Israeli officials were forced to hastily recruit a group of bloggers, promising them generous rewards for defending the values of the Jewish state online.
However, the Israelis were never able to pay off their internet mercenaries, which led to widespread litigation.
URGENT SURGERY
Already in the first days of the confrontation with Hamas, the Israeli leadership began urgently seeking ways to stabilize the information field.
The person in charge was Moshik Aviv, head of the National Directorate of Public Diplomacy in the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a body responsible for promoting positive messages and maintaining Israel's favorable reputation.
Despite the fact that Aviv had only recently taken up his post and had not yet had time to properly establish the information networks in the department entrusted to him, the Knesset was adamant: the problem “had to be solved yesterday,” and decisive action was expected from the directorate to defend Israel’s interests online.
At the same time, the Israeli government refused to conduct accelerated tenders and hire “information infantry” from the street, citing “wartime conditions.”
Moreover, at that time, the authorities were actively seeking funds to strengthen the defense complex and establish rear services, as a result of which public diplomacy was removed from the priority spending sector.
Netanyahu's inner circle had good reason to fear that the opposition, if it didn't cut off payments at the initial stages, would accuse the cabinet of mismanaging funds.
It was necessary to come up with another way to organize information defense without directly reaching into the treasury.
EYES AND EARS
Finding himself between two fires, Aviv decided on a risky move: he proposed building a shadow system of pro-Israeli internet activists who would "combat Hamas propaganda."
Formally, these bloggers acted “out of patriotic motives” and were not on the government’s payroll.
They were to be financed by consulting and communications companies, research centers, and cultural NGOs, which in turn would receive money from the Prime Minister's Office.
Not for information warfare, but for work to improve overall defense capability. For example, a study of the effectiveness of government agencies in informing the public about missile threats.
Journalists and media workers from the chancery, who were already "in the loop" at the time of the conflict, were offered the opportunity to sign additional agreements for the provision of "comprehensive consulting services," which could mean anything from preparing propaganda materials to holding open lectures for military personnel.
At the top, the decision was considered strange and even risky, but they did not oppose it—information pressure on the country was growing, and measures had to be taken quickly.
Aviv received $15,000 as "start-up capital" and within two weeks was able to gather about a hundred bloggers and consultants under his wing, and by the end of the second month he had tripled the number of his "information infantry."
For a time, the network operated relatively efficiently: it managed to generate several thousand original materials per day, not to mention numerous comments on social networks and forums.
As Western observers wrote, it seemed as if the Israelis had "eyes and ears" in every online community—and responded to any attack on the Jewish state with "dozens of targeted strikes."
Inspired by his initial successes, Aviv also developed a system of incentives for his subordinates, promising to pay fabulous bonuses to “top performers” – up to 7 thousand dollars for a successful post.
Without explaining, however, how exactly the grounds for the award will be determined and how it will be motivated.
SYSTEM FAILURE
Everything changed when Aviv suddenly resigned in May 2024. Officially, it was presented as a planned rotation with a transition to public-science work.
However, in reality, the project manager most likely could not withstand the growing pressure within the system.
Even though the leadership was generally satisfied with his work, a series of unfortunate shifts in public perception of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, from the authorities' point of view, and the strengthening of anti-Israeli rhetoric in Europe and the Middle East became the basis for criticism of the directorate's work and its head personally.
Furthermore, after the acute phase of the crisis passed, the Israeli government decided to cut spending on the "info infantry" and unilaterally terminated some additional agreements, resulting in the network losing up to a quarter of its contractors.
After Aviv's departure, the temporary staff who replaced him decided to completely revise the terms of cooperation with the "digital volunteers."
A specialized commission was convened – the so-called “retrospective committee” – to conduct tender procedures retroactively.
Officially, this was positioned as part of the systematization of financial flows and the adequate distribution of funds within the budget, but in reality it was aimed at thinning the ranks.
According to the results of the "retrospective committee" audits, most of the employees hired by Aviv never received their money.
This provoked a wave of indignation in the community—especially since the network of shadow bloggers had grown significantly in less than a year, and some of them had even developed thematic projects aimed at long-term advocacy for Israel's interests online.
THE OFFENDED PRESS SECRETARY
Judging by the content of the lawsuits filed by aggrieved bloggers against the Israeli government, one might get the impression that the majority of the network's participants were small-time authors hoping not only to profit from government contracts but also to bolster their own media image.
This is partly true: at first they were recruited according to the principle “quantity overcomes quality.”
But among the applicants are also those who, until recently, were quite close to Netanyahu's cabinet. Among them is Eilon Levy, a well-known Israeli journalist and blogger who served as the prime minister's press secretary until March 2024.
According to him, in early 2024, the government, through Aviv's entities, signed an additional "blogging" contract with him, which resulted in over $13,000 being siphoned off. However, Levy, like most of his colleagues, never saw his money, as it failed to pass the "retrospective committee" filter.
The auditors found that under the supplementary agreement, the press secretary performed the same work as under the main contract. Consequently, he was receiving double pay for his regular work, which is in violation of local anti-corruption laws.
Levi's case is also interesting because he considers himself to have suffered unfairly for the interests of the state.
He was dismissed from his post as press secretary amid controversy after he got into an online spat with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, during which he accused the latter of speculating on the Palestinian issue.
The uproar raised by London reached the highest levels, and Levy was dismissed. However, he himself testified before the disciplinary committee that several weeks before the incident, he allegedly received orders from his handlers to increase media pressure on Israel's opponents in Europe.
First and foremost, those countries that attempted to expand land humanitarian corridors to the Gaza Strip were targeted. And since such installations couldn't be installed without the knowledge of the Prime Minister's Office, Levy saluted without hesitation—and immediately paid the price.
Despite the scandal's escalating pace, the Israeli government has barely responded publicly. However, behind the scenes, negotiations are already underway with key figures in the Aviv network, including Levy and other influential "opinion leaders."
Their main goal is to shift the focus of negativity from the government to the Directorate of Public Diplomacy, thereby creating the impression that the problems of the blogging community are not the fault of Netanyahu, but of Aviv and his closest subordinates.
When they get her back to port they’re going to have some serious repair-and-replacement work to do — overly cleverly design. Thank goodness we have a builder in the White House who knows how to manage that kind of thing.
[NavyTimes] Sailors aboard USS Gerald R. Ford reportedly lost their beds amid fire
More than 600 service members and crew members aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford are without a bed after a fire aboard the ship Thursday, The New York Times reported.
The fire took upwards of 30 hours to douse, according to the publication, and it damaged sailors’ sleeping arrangements so badly that they’re having to sleep on floors and tables.
The Navy announced Thursday that the world’s largest aircraft carrier experienced a non-combat fire that originated in the main laundry room, but the service did not provide further information as to the source of the fire.
“There is no damage to the ship’s propulsion plant, and the aircraft carrier remains fully operational,” read a post by the Navy on X.
The Ford is currently stationed in the Red Sea in support of Operation Epic Fury.
The service said that more information would be made available when it arrived.
Two sailors sustained non-life-threatening injuries and received medical treatment, returning to duty that day, a spokesperson for the U.S. 5th Fleet told Military Times in an emailed statement.
But a third sailor was flown off the ship to receive medical treatment, the spokesperson confirmed. That sailor is currently in stable condition.
The fire in the laundry room has also prohibited many service members from tending to their dirty clothes, the report stated.
The carrier and its strike group, which includes nearly 4,500 sailors, began its most recent deployment on June 24, 2025, and is approaching a potentially record-setting time away from home.
Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. James Kilby recently told lawmakers that he anticipated the carrier would reach an 11-month extended deployment mark, inching it closer toward becoming the longest at-sea U.S. Navy deployment ever. The current record is held by the USS Midway, which was deployed at sea for 332 days during the Vietnam War.
[IsraelTimes] Leaders have urged displays of support, warned against usual new year period mass festivities, citing need to ‘neutralize the potential plots of elements of the Zionist enemy’
Crowds gathered in Iranian cities Tuesday after authorities called for nationwide rallies to defy enemy "plots," state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
said, over two weeks into the war with Israel and the United States.
The rallies came on a night usually marked by Persian New Year (Nowruz) festivities, with the authorities apparently keen to prevent any anti-government dissent at a time when people traditionally take to the streets.
Large crowds rallied from the early evening in the capital Tehran and other cities, many waving the Iranian flag, images on state TV showed.
It had earlier broadcast a message from authorities urging people to join religious groups across the country for a "popular gathering to neutralize the potential plots of elements of the Zionist enemy," referring to Israel.
The call came after Israel said it had killed Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani, which has not been confirmed by Tehran, and ahead of expected evening celebrations of Chaharshanbe Suri, an ancient Iranian festival of light and fire marked before Nowruz.
Reza Pahlavi, the eldest son of Iran’s last shah ousted by the revolution that brought the Islamic Theocratic Republic to power, on Tuesday called for peaceful Chaharshanbe Suri celebrations and for people to "avoid any tension, confrontation, or even approaching" security forces in the streets.
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... was rocked by mass protests that peaked in January but were met with a violent mostly peaceful crackdown in which thousands were killed.
Images on state TV showed a large crowd of men being led in prayer in Punak Square in Tehran, which in January was a site of massive protests full of people chanting slogans against the Islamic Theocratic Republic.
Around 8 p.m. local time, Tehran’s main streets were quiet, with the exception of some cars flying Iranian flags.
But the smell of fire wafted over some streets and a few fireworks burst over the city as people whistled joyfully from apartment windows.
’TRADITION MUST NOT DISAPPEAR’
Since the outbreak of the war, authorities have warned against renewed anti-government rallies and imposed heavy security measures.
Judicial authorities had on Sunday warned people not to go into the streets as usual for Chaharshanbe Suri.
"To maintain public peace and safety, please refrain from lighting fires or setting off firecrackers" for the holiday, they said, according to the Tasnim news agency.
The semiofficial news agency on Tuesday published an image of a bonfire burning the Israeli and American flags.
Judiciary chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei on Tuesday warned that if anyone disrupted public security over the upcoming Nowruz holidays, "they will face strict legal action and there will be no tolerance or forgiveness for these elements."
State TV reported six people were arrested over accusations of being "ringleaders of the monarchist terrorist network" planning unrest on Tuesday. It did not give further details.
A near-total internet blackout imposed by Iranian authorities since the war started has severely hindered access to information inside the country, though some Iranians manage to send messages out through sporadic connections.
A 35-year-old man living in Bukan in a Kurdish-populated region of northwestern Iran told AFP outside the country that despite pressures not to light the traditional fires, the city was preparing to celebrate.
"We know there’s a risk of festivities with government forces, but we’re trying not to provoke them too much so they don’t shoot at us," he said, adding that more security had been deployed in the city center.
"Our town is famous for its grand Chaharshanbe Suri celebrations. This tradition must not disappear because of the war or for any other reason," he added.
Iranian officials had also called on citizens to join the funeral ceremonies on Tuesday for 84 navy sailors killed when their frigate was sunk by a US submarine.
Israel and the United States, citing Tehran’s nuclear threat, launched strikes on Iran on February 28, killing the Islamic Theocratic Republic’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei ...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...> , and triggering a conflict that has spread across the Middle East.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/18/2026 12:00 ||
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[1807 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
[IsraelTimes] Moscow said providing its own domestically produced components to improve strike capabilities of Iranian Shahed drones; White House says support not making any difference to war
Russia has been expanding its intelligence sharing and military cooperation with Iran, providing satellite imagery and improved drone technology to aid Tehran’s targeting of US forces in the region, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
According to the report, Moscow is helping its ally 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... with the aim of dragging out the war, as it has economic and military benefits for Russia.
Sources, among whom was a senior European intelligence officer, said Russia has been supplying Iran with parts to modify Shahed drones, providing them with improved communications, navigation, and targeting capabilities. Shahed drones are made by Iran, but the Russians have their own domestically produced versions. The Russians have also been sharing their experience in using the weapons in Ukraine, with advice on how best to launch attacks with multiple drones.
The Journal and the Washington Post have both previously reported that Russia was also giving Iran satellite information about the location of US forces in the Middle East. Sources told the Journal in its recent report that such cooperation has further increased and is believed to have aided the Iranians in hitting US radar systems in the region.
The information is coming from satellites operated by the Russian Aerospace Forces, one official said.
The Kremlin did not respond to a request for comment.
However,
the difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits... White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales shrugged off the report, saying that Russian support to Iran is not having a significant impact on war achievements.
"Nothing provided to Iran by any other country is affecting our operational success," she said, claiming that US strikes on Iranian assets have led to "their missile attacks decreasing by 90 percent and their drone attacks decreasing by 95%."
Iran has launched numerous missile and drone attacks on countries hosting US bases in the region, as well as on Israeli population centers, in retaliation for the American-Israeli campaign that began on February 28 with extensive Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s and has continued unabated ever since.
Earlier this month, CNN ...formerly the Cable News Network, now who know what it might stand for... reported that satellite imagery shows several US radar sites in the region have been hit, impeding air defense capabilities, including one servicing a THAAD defense battery in Jordan and several radar systems in the United Arab Emirates. The New York Times
...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... reported on seven US radar and communication sites hit across the region. Drone and missiles have also hit civilian targets and oil infrastructure in Gulf countries, causing casualties and damage.
Ukraine says that Russia has used some 57,000 Shahed drones in the ongoing war between the two countries. In addition to thousands it received from Iran, Russia has also been manufacturing the drones itself, giving them improved targeting abilities and better resistance to electronic warfare jamming, the Journal said. Some of those improvements are now being shared with Iran.
Meanwhile,
...back at the pond, the enormous newt was trying to decide if Gloria was edible... Kyiv has developed a range of cheap and effective drone interceptors — aerial craft designed to hit incoming attack drones mid-air. Earlier this month, the Washington Post reported that Ukrainian military personnel were expected to arrive in the Gulf to help countries there fend off Iranian drone attacks.
With Iran seeking to strangle off the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping route connecting the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea, oil prices have risen, boosting a key element of the Russian economy. In addition, Moscow is seen to be benefitting from the US depleting stocks of interceptor missiles that the Ukrainians want for their own air defenses.
Russia and Iran have long enjoyed close ties, and in January 2025, the two countries signed a strategic partnership agreement to further improve cooperation, including military and defense partnerships.
🇸🇾🇱🇧 Les États-Unis font pression sur la Syrie pour qu’elle envoie des troupes contre le Hezbollah.
Un responsable syrien déclare que la Syrie refuse malgré le passé sulfureux avec le Hezbollah, n’y voyant pas d’intérêts stratégiques et craint qu’une intervention entraîne des… pic.twitter.com/EQSxNAFrXq
The United States is pressuring Syria to send troops against Hezbollah.
A Syrian official states that Syria refuses despite the contentious history with Hezbollah, seeing no strategic interests in it and fearing that an intervention would lead to sectarian unrest.
You want the benefits of being a Friend of Trump? You have to do the work, work you should be doing automatically as a good citizen nation. (Yes, yes — we do realize your plan is to conquer the world for Allah, but in the meantime this is the hoop you must jump through repeatedly if you want to fool us. Ok, “fool” — but you see what it cost Iran when they were caught pretending. We’ll be watching, as will Israel.)
Posted by: badanov ||
03/18/2026 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[1768 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria/HTS
[EuropeanBusinessMag] Why Iran’s Most Dangerous Weapon in This War Isn’t a Missile. It’s the Yuan
March 14, 2026
QUICK ANSWER
A senior Iranian official has told CNN that Tehran is considering allowing a limited number of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz — but only if cargo is traded in Chinese yuan, not US dollars. The condition, if formalised, would represent the most significant challenge to the petrodollar system in its fifty-two-year history, striking at the financial architecture that underpins American global power rather than at US military assets.
Fourteen days into the war that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February, the strategic picture has shifted in ways that no oil price chart yet reflects. While markets have focused on Brent crude’s surge above $100 a barrel and the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding across the Persian Gulf region, a single sentence attributed to a senior Iranian official on Friday may prove more consequential than any of the preceding military exchanges.
Iran is considering allowing a limited number of oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz on the condition that the cargo is traded in Chinese yuan, a senior Iranian official told CNN. Yenisafak The official described the potential move as part of Tehran’s plan to manage the controlled reopening of the strategic waterway, which has been effectively closed since March 1 following US-Israeli attacks on Iran. Yenisafak
The financial implications deserve more attention than they have so far received.
THE ARCHITECTURE OF AMERICAN FINANCIAL POWER
To understand why the yuan condition matters, it is necessary to understand what the petrodollar system actually is. Born from the Nixon shock of 1971 and formalised in 1974, the arrangement under which Saudi Arabia and the broader Gulf agreed to denominate all oil sales in US dollars created a self-reinforcing loop that has governed global finance ever since. Because oil — the world’s most traded commodity — must be purchased in dollars, every nation that imports energy must first acquire dollars. Every central bank holds dollar reserves for precisely this reason. The dollar’s status as the world’s primary reserve currency is not an abstract achievement; it flows directly and mechanically from oil.
Global oil is predominantly traded in US dollars, except for sanctioned Russian oil, which is priced in roubles or yuan. Yenisafak Iran’s proposal would extend that exception to the world’s single most critical maritime chokepoint.
THE STRAIT AS A FINANCIAL WEAPON
The Strait of Hormuz, a major maritime choke point for global energy trade, has experienced ongoing geopolitical and economic disruption since 28 February 2026, following joint military strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran, which included the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Wikipedia
Starting on March 4, 2026, Iranian forces declared the Strait “closed,” threatening and carrying out attacks on ships attempting to transit. USNI News The disruption is not marginal. The conflict disrupted approximately 20% of global oil supplies transiting the Strait of Hormuz, causing prices on the Brent crude oil market to rise from around $70 to over $110 per barrel within days. Wikipedia
At least 16 oil tankers, cargo ships and other vessels have been attacked in and around the Strait of Hormuz, the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman since the war began two weeks ago, according to the UK’s maritime agency. CNN War-risk insurance through the strait has become effectively prohibitive for most commercial operators.
The United States has responded to the blockade with escalating military pressure. Trump said the US bombed “every military target” on Iran’s Kharg Island and threatened to attack the island’s oil infrastructure if Iran continues to block ships from traversing the strait. CNN
Iran’s response was not another missile strike. It was the yuan condition.
A BIFURCATED OIL MARKET TAKES SHAPE
What makes the Iranian proposal structurally significant is not simply that it challenges the dollar — de-dollarisation rhetoric has circulated for years without materialising into meaningful change. What is different here is the mechanism. Tehran is not merely proposing that some bilateral trade occur in yuan. It is proposing that access to the world’s most critical energy chokepoint be conditional on currency denomination.
The practical consequence, if even partially adopted, would be a bifurcated global oil market: yuan-denominated barrels flowing through Hormuz for those willing to pay in China’s currency, dollar-denominated barrels rerouted at significant additional cost and time for those who are not. The war premium that Western energy importers are already absorbing would become structural rather than temporary.
This is not hypothetical infrastructure. Since 28 February, between 11.7 and 16.5 million barrels of Iranian crude have transited the Strait to China via shadow fleet under IRGC protection while every other nation’s shipping is locked out. China pays in yuan. China’s tankers move freely. X The architecture for a parallel yuan-denominated energy corridor already exists and is already operating.
On March 5, the IRGC announced that Iran would keep the Strait of Hormuz closed only to ships from the US, Israel and their Western allies. On March 13, Turkey’s transport minister said that Iran approved the passage of a Turkish ship through the strait. It was also reported that two Indian-flagged gas carriers and a Saudi oil tanker with one million barrels for India were allowed to pass. Wikipedia
Selective passage is already the reality. The yuan condition would formalise the criteria.
WASHINGTON’S DILEMMA
The United States faces a set of choices, none of them comfortable. Forcing the Strait open militarily — the option Trump has repeatedly signalled — would require sustained naval operations against an adversary with mines, shore-based missiles, submarines and drone swarms in confined waters.
Or we could just kill all the missile launchers, submarines, and whatever drones launch from as, in fact, the IDF and the US Navy have been doing.
The Congressional Research Service, in a report delivered to Congress on 11 March, noted that while there had been consensus among analysts that the US military has the capacity to counter Iran’s forces and restore the flow of shipping, such an effort would likely take some time — days, weeks, or perhaps months — depending on what forms an Iranian attempt to close the Gulf to shipping might take.
Or hours. That was a week ago. What say the experts now?
Every week of delay is a week in which energy-importing nations confront the practical reality of the yuan alternative. India, which received Iranian assurances of safe passage directly from Tehran’s ambassador, is already navigating that calculus. So are Turkey, and the Gulf states now diverting oil through the East-West pipelines to Yanbu and Fujairah — pipelines that cannot absorb the full volume that previously transited Hormuz.
The capacity of these pipelines is unable to match the amount of oil shipped through the strait, with a deficit of about 12 million barrels per day. Wikipedia The arithmetic of energy desperation is working in Iran’s favour.
THE LONGER GAME
It would be analytically premature to conclude that the petrodollar system is imminently at risk of collapse. The dollar remains the world’s primary reserve currency, underpinned by the depth and liquidity of US capital markets, decades of institutional trust, and the absence of any credible single alternative. China has sought for years to expand the use of yuan in oil transactions, but the dollar remains the world’s primary reserve currency.
What the Hormuz crisis does represent, however, is the most operationally specific challenge to dollar energy dominance since the system was established. Previous de-dollarisation discussions were theoretical. This one comes with a chokepoint, a shadow fleet, an operational payment system, and a geopolitical crisis that has already lasted two weeks with no clear resolution in sight.
The bombs are visible. The financial architecture being renegotiated behind them is not.
FAQs What is the petrodollar system and why does the yuan condition threaten it?
The petrodollar system refers to the post-1974 arrangement under which oil is priced and traded globally in US dollars, creating structural global demand for dollar reserves. Iran’s condition that Hormuz passage be paid in yuan would, if adopted by energy importers, redirect a portion of that structural demand away from the dollar and toward China’s currency, weakening one of the foundational pillars of dollar reserve dominance.
Has Iran actually closed the Strait of Hormuz before?
Iran has previously threatened closure but never fully implemented it at this scale. The February-March 2026 conflict represents the most severe disruption to Hormuz traffic in the waterway’s modern history, with tanker traffic dropping to near zero following the US-Israeli strikes that began on 28 February.
Could the yuan realistically replace the dollar in global oil trade?
Not quickly, and not fully. China’s CIPS payment system has expanded significantly, and yuan-denominated oil trades already occur with Russian and Iranian crude. However, the dollar’s reserve currency status is reinforced by capital market depth, liquidity, and institutional inertia that no single crisis is likely to dissolve. The more likely near-term outcome is a fragmented market with parallel pricing systems rather than a clean currency transition.
Posted by: Clem+Elmish4239 ||
03/18/2026 00:00 ||
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#1
Or how about we just blow up the Iranian leadership? Let’s try that instead.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/18/2026 5:58 Comments ||
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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.
...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 
