[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Donald Trump is considering punishing members of NATO that he believes were unhelpful to the US and Israel in the war against Iran by pulling American troops out of the country's bases.
The proposal would involve moving troops out from North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member countries deemed uncooperative with the military campaign, and transferring them to nations who are more supportive of Washington.
Trump has in recent weeks repeatedly threatened to withdraw America from the 32-member alliance, after several NATO countries rejected his calls to help reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz through which 20 per cent of the world's oil and gas flows.
The President's belief that the nations didn't do enough to help the US during Operation Epic Fury is threatening to tear apart the trans-Atlantic alliance, creating what is perhaps the greatest challenge it has faced in its history.
Washington has around 84,000 soldiers stationed across Europe, with US bases serving as a critical hub of global military operations, as well as providing an economic boon to the host country through investment.
Bases stationed in Eastern Europe also serve as a deterrent against Moscow.
Beyond transferring troops away, the punishment could also involve the closure of a US base in at least one of the European countries, possibly Spain or Germany, according to two administration officials who briefed the Wall Street Journal.
It comes as Trump attacked NATO in a furious post on Truth Social following a private meeting with its Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House on Wednesday, telling his followers: 'NATO WASN'T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON'T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN.'
In the Truth Social post, Trump also made a thinly-veiled threat about Greenland, which the President has repeatedly sought to take over.
The relationship between the White House and NATO had already soured before the war with Tehran, largely as a result of disagreements over Trump's desire to seize the semi-autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
The plan to transfer US troops away from certain NATO nations has circulated and gained support among senior administration officials in recent weeks, highlighting the growing rift between Trump and his European allies.
'It’s quite sad that NATO turned their backs on the American people over the last six weeks when it’s the American people who have been funding their defence,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday.
She said the President planned to have a very 'frank and candid conversation' with Rutte, who was expected to cajole and convince Trump that it's in his interest, and America's, to stay in the alliance.
When asked for comment on the proposals, White House referred to recent statements made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticising NATO nations for failing to be more supportive to Washington with the war in Tehran.
While it is still unclear which countries would lose US troops, several alliance members have publicly condemned Trump's military campaign, and may in turn be considered as the nations to be punished.
Spain - the only NATO country that has not pledged to spend five per cent of its GDP on defence - prevented US planes involved in the war from using its airspace, and American officials are also frustrated with Germany after top politicians criticised the war strategy.
Nevertheless, Germany serves as one of the largest and most significant hubs for the US military to support its activities in the Middle East.
Italy also briefly blocked American use of the Sigonella air base in Sicily, and Emmanuel Macron permitted the US to use a base in southern France after it promised only planes not involved in Iranian strikes would land there.
Administration officials said that the countries which may benefit from more troop deployment include Poland, Romania, Lithuania and Greece, because they are deemed by the President as more supportive.
The Eastern European countries have some of the highest defence spending rates in NATO and were some of the first to announce they would join an international coalition to secure the Strait of Hormuz.
After the joint US-Israeli operation against Iran began on February 28, Romania quickly approved Washington's requests to allow its bases to be used by the US Air Force.
The proposal could result in deploying more US soldiers closer to the Russian border, in a move that will likely antagonise Vladimir Putin.
Following his sit-down with Trump, Rutte described the conversation as 'very frank' and 'very open', despite clear disagreements.
While the President took to Truth Social to attack the alliance further, Rutte, who infamously called Trump 'daddy' at a summit last year, took on a conciliatory tone as he praised him for the ceasefire agreement in Iran.
The NATO Secretary General told CNN that Trump was 'clearly disappointed' by his allies refusal to send help, adding: 'He clearly told me what he thought of what happened over the last couple of weeks.'
When anchor Jake Tapper asked if Rutte believed the world is safer today than before the war started at the end of February, the NATO leader said: 'Absolutely... this is thanks to President Trump's leadership.'
But Rutte declined to comment on whether Trump had expressed any desire to leave NATO, telling CNN: 'It is a nuanced picture.'
He then went on to explain that degrading Iran's nuclear capabilities is 'really important for yours and my safety here in the US, in Europe and in the Middle East'.
Trump last week warned that he was strongly considering pulling the US out of the 'paper tiger' bloc.
He said: 'I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way.'
On Monday, he said he was 'very disappointed' with the alliance and that their unwillingness to support the US on the Iran war is 'a mark on NATO that will never disappear'.
During his first term in 2020, Trump ordered the withdrawal of around 12,000 troops from Germany, but the move was reversed by President Joe Biden after he took office in 2021.
Once the USSR Union fell, we were no longer needed there.
Heck we even helped Russia get back own its feet, only to be pissed on by
the USSR former elite now running it.
The EU has since formed its own Socialist Union.
How many 100's of BILLIONS in US Taxpayer were pumped into the ungrateful EU?
The USA needs to embark on its own rebuilding mission focused only on itself.
Because the seeds of what is happening in the EU have already been sowed
here and starting to sprout in Blue Cities.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
04/10/2026 11:24 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Brussels is the Mecca of Globalism.
We should probably bomb them a little just for practice. I do like their sprouts, though.
As for Greenland, it has not been in the news here since Trump stopped saying outrageous things, but last I heard, there were discussions about economic development and military basing rights. Kind of makes you wonder if that was the end game all along.
#7
I hope he does, then when the economies surrounding those bases collapses we can hear what euro dipshit has to say about that.
Posted by: chris ||
04/10/2026 12:22 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Should have been done when the Wall came down.
We closed a bunch of bases in the 1990s — downsized by over 50%, I suspect. The German rental market was noticeably affected, and no doubt elsewhere as well.
#9
Hopefully we won't make the same mistake as the cut and run in Afghanistan. Leave no airstrip and materiel behind for the Euroban to sell to their terrorist friends.
Posted by: Regular joe ||
04/10/2026 12:52 Comments ||
Top||
#10
^^^ exactly , I don't want to hear "it would cost more to ship it back" . Fuck em. Have fun with your new friends .
Posted by: chris ||
04/10/2026 13:37 Comments ||
Top||
#11
Way I see it, those American influencers in Greenland were arrested, despite being registered, were so because too many of the locals were in agreement.
#16
At this point, our non-CONUS (and, unfortunately, CONUS) military members are, in many cases, surrounded by philosophical hostiles increasingly easily provoked to malicious activities.
The considerations consist of moving a lot of $US and additional resources to locales more appreciative of their presences or, maybe, simply brought back to the US and "attrited".
The bad guys continue to identify themselves. And now all the names here are in the Rantburg archives for future searchability.
[IsraelTimes] Founded by a self-described libertarian who recently called Israel the ‘synagogue of Satan,’ AZAPAC distances itself from a cadre of left-wing pro-Palestinian PACS that largely share its goal
A new group opposing AIPAC is backing anti-Israel candidates across party lines. Some of its endorsees have blamed Israel and Jews for 9/11 and the Charlie Kirk liquidation. Its founder claims the bloody Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... -led invasion of October 7, 2023, was a "false flag" operation and has referred to Jewish people as "the Synagogue of Satan."
This is the Anti-Zionist America PAC, or AZAPAC.
With a stated aim to "de-Zionize" the American government and end military aid to Israel, AZAPAC is unlike the other PACs that have recently popped up as a counterweight to AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby that has poured millions of dollars into political races across the country.
Those groups — including American Priorities, PAL PAC and Citizens Again AIPAC Corruption — are rallying their support around a brand of pro-Paleostinian progressives in line with Congress’s left-wing "Squad" members. Michael Rectenwald, AZAPAC’s founder and a self-described libertarian, is taking a different approach.
"We’re not like leftist anti-Zionists, calling for ’from the river to the sea’ and all this nonsense," said Rectenwald in an interview. "We are not trying to say the State of Israel should not exist. That is not our concern. Our concern is the US government only, and what it’s doing."
To that end, Rectenwald’s group, which was founded last summer, has endorsed fringe candidates across the political spectrum, from both Republican and Democratic parties, as well as independents. The primary criteria for endorsement, Rectenwald said, are that candidates will vote against aid to Israel and do not take money from pro-Israel lobbying groups.
AZAPAC’s spending has been relatively minimal (it had raised $111,556 by the end of 2025, according to FEC filings), but it taps into an ascendant set of sentiments, including a rising anti-Israel faction of Republicans, as well as the conspiracy-theory mindset increasingly occupying Americans of all stripes.
Some of the candidates it has endorsed have promoted conspiracy theories about Jews. Multiple AZAPAC-endorsed politicians believe that Jews were responsible for 9/11 and that Israel was behind the liquidation of Charlie Kirk.
Meanwhile,
...back at the dirigible, the gondola was dangling by a single thread of rope.
Jack! Cynthia cried. I just realized I'm afraid of heights! I don't even like high heels!... Rectenwald himself has taken to social media (and tried courting avowed antisemite Nick Fuentes) in an attempt to broaden the group’s reach, leaning into antisemitic tropes about Jews and Israel himself in the process.
"Don’t die for ’israel’. Don’t die for the Syn@gogue of S@t@n," he wrote in a since-deleted tweet in March about the war in Iran.
In another tweet, he wrote that "The Synagogue of Satan refers to those who are genetically Jewish but have rejected Christ and thus utterly forfeit the heavenly Jerusalem."
He wrote that Hamas’s bloody invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, was a "false flag" operation, and suggested that 9/11 was, as well.
In the group’s launch video, Rectenwald, narrating, called pro-Israel politicians "puppets" whose "strings are pulled by donors loyal to the modern nation state of Israel."
Rectenwald’s gripe, he says, is the control that the pro-Israel lobby has over US politicians. "Every zionist in the U.S. government should be tried for treason," he wrote, adding in a reply that those politicians are more loyal to Israel than to America.
But his theories about Jews controlling governments have exceeded the bounds of the United States and Israel.
"Once you study England beginning with Cromwell, you know it wasn’t the British empire to follow but the Jewish empire," he wrote last year. "That’s not antisemitism. It’s just history."
Rectenwald acknowledged that AZAPAC has faced accusations of antisemitism.
"Every once in a while we get somebody coming along and saying we’re antisemites — ’This is Hitler ...late Fuehrer of Germany, founder of the Third Reich, currently communing with his pals Himmler and Heydrich. He is reincarnated every few days, sometimes every few hour if it's an election year, as a politician somebody doesn't like... ’s playbook,’ or something like that," Rectenwald said. "We just answer by saying this: It’s nothing to do with antisemitism. We have Jewish supporters. Listen, if Max Blumenthal [a journalist who writes critically about Israel] wanted to join our board, we would welcome him with open arms, for example. So there’s nothing about discrimination."
Opposition to AIPAC and US aid to Israel have become increasingly normative positions among Democrats ...every time you hear the phrase white people, white supremacy,white anything but paint, you're listening to a Democrat. Ask him/her/it to reimagine something for you; they do that a lot, though not well. They can hear a dog whistle a mile or two away. They invented the spoils system and Tammany Hall, and inspired the addition of the word (Thomas) Nasty to the English language. They want to stop continental drift and repeal the law of unintended side effects... . The bulk of AZAPAC’s candidates, however, are Republicans running on "America First" platforms against pro-Israel, AIPAC-endorsed incumbents, such as Reps. Randy Fine and Keith Self, who the group sees as being "Israel-first."
The challengers are part of a growing anti-Israel movement within the Republican Party, along with personalities including Tucker Carlson and Fuentes, that opposes Donald Trump ...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried.... ’s Israel alliance and is considered by some Republicans to pose a threat to the party’s future. Like Carlson and Fuentes, candidates have espoused conspiracy theories about Jews.
Mike Wilnau, a Republican congressional candidate in Florida, was endorsed by GOP gubernatorial candidate James Fishback in addition to AZAPAC. Wilnau, who has been vocally opposed to the war in Iran, claimed that "Israel killed Charlie Kirk for war in Iran," and wrote on X, "Don’t forget, the Jewish messiah is the Christian antichrist."
Wilnau isn’t the only AZAPAC endorsee pushing Charlie Kirk conspiracy theories.
When Michael Faris, who is running for Mitch McConnell’s Senate seat in Kentucky with AZAPAC’s support, posted a poll on X, asking his followers, "Was Charlie Kirk assassinated because of his shifting views on Jewish billionaire donors?" 79% of the 299 voters said "Yes."
In February, Faris reposted an AI-generated video dramatizing a conspiracy theory in which a Jewish real estate mogul orchestrated 9/11. He also wrote that until "about 18 months ago, I had never even heard the word Zionist," adding that it was time to "wake up." And in response to billionaire Robert Kraft’s Super Bowl ad about antisemitism, Faris wrote, "I will not be posting a blue square. Thanks anyway. That’s a fake, manufactured crises."
So far in this midterm election cycle, AZAPAC has not picked winners.
Endorsee Mark Newgent lost his Texas Republican primary against Self in early March, 80.2% to 19.8%. Newgent repeatedly challenged Self to support the release of the Epstein files rather than "continue to protect pedophiles for AIPAC."
Zeeshan Hafeez — an AZAPAC-backed Democrat — received the fourth-most votes in Texas’s 33rd district primary, with 8.5%. Colin Allred won with 44% of the vote.
Cynthia McKinney, a former Democratic congresswoman who was running with the Green Party in Georgia, would have been an AZAPAC pick except that she suspended her congressional campaign because it did not raise enough funds for the state’s filing fee. "We were asked to provide the funds but with insufficient time in which to do so," Rectenwald wrote in an email.
McKinney tweeted back in 2021 that "Zionists did" 9/11, and includes a complimentary quote from Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam leader who has a history of antisemitism, on her website. She is now pivoting to run for governor of Georgia, according to her website.
The group has also endorsed Republicans Tyler Dykes, who was arrested for assaulting law enforcement during the January 6 Capitol attack, and Nick Hankins, whose positions include banning "Islamic followers from immigrating" because "Islam is not compatible with the Constitution or American values."
Casey Putsch, who is running for governor of Ohio, had been endorsed by AZAPAC, but the group has since removed his name from its website. Putsch drew accusations of dog whistling to Nazis when he advertised an upcoming "beer hall rally," which, combined with his last name, evokes the name of the "beer hall putsch," a failed coup attempt led by Adolf Hitler ...late Fuehrer of Germany, founder of the Third Reich, currently communing with his pals Himmler and Heydrich. He is reincarnated every few days as a politician somebody doesn't like... . He had also made a YouTube video in which he asked the AI tool Grok to name Hitler’s "good" qualities. AZAPAC did not provide an explanation for its withdrawn endorsement, referring questions to the Putsch campaign. The campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Rectenwald, who is Catholic, said he was raised in a predominantly German and Italian neighborhood in Pittsburgh, and that he "didn’t know what a Jewish person was until I was an adult, frankly." Since then, he has lived near a predominantly Jewish Pittsburgh neighborhood and said his kids have made a number of Jewish friends in school.
Though Rectenwald denies being a purveyor of antisemitism, he has also not been one to denounce it online. Leo Terrell, the often-tweeting leader of the Justice Department’s antisemitism task force, wrote last year, "We will eliminate antisemitism!!"
Rectenwald responded, "Antisemitism is free speech."
Good for them, pushing back against the party’s Jew hating, radical left.
[NewRepublic] TheDemocratic National Committee has once again proved it is out of step with the base of the party.
"The use of massive outside spending to support or oppose candidates based on their positions regarding international conflicts or foreign governments raises concerns about undue influence over democratic debate and policymaking, potentially constraining elected officials’ ability to represent the views of their constituents," read the nonbinding resolution.
At least two potential 2028 Democratic nominees may have played a role in killing the resolution, with one DNC member telling Politico they received direct calls from the presidential hopefuls expressing concern about the resolution.
Any idea who they are?
The DNC resolutions committee also punted on two other resolutions on recognizing a Palestinian state and conditioning military aid to Israel.
It’s clear that the Democratic establishment is not ready to let go of AIPAC, even as Israel’s genocide on Gaza and influence on American politics has become perhaps the defining progressive issue of this era. AIPAC wouldn’t be spending millions of dollars every year trying to oust progressive Democrats if that wasn’t the case. And while public opinion continues to shift sharply against it, party leadership continues to squirm and offer nonanswers when confronted with that reality.
Resolutions Committee instead advances resolution condemning ‘dark money’ more broadly, after proposed resolution only specifically named the pro-Israel US lobby group.
The Democratic National Committee will not vote on a resolution that condemns the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC specifically, after a sub-committee rejected the resolution on Thursday during the DNC (If you're white you ain't right!) ...Democrat National Committee, where all those off-the-wall talking points originate... ’s annual meeting in New Orleans.
The DNC’s Resolutions Committee instead advanced a resolution condemning "dark money" more broadly in electoral politics. AIPAC is one of several lobbies that have flooded elections with millions of dollars of spending, along with technology and real estate PACs, but it was the only one mentioned specifically in the proposed resolution.
Proponents of the resolution said AIPAC’s $14 million spend during Illinois’ primaries last month made it worth calling out specifically. But its critics — including some who are themselves critical of AIPAC — said the resolution’s singling out of AIPAC carried an "undercurrent of antisemitism."
Chair Ken Martin said the DNC had opted to take the more inclusive approach. "We had various resolutions that focused on different industries and groups, and instead of going one-by-one, we passed a blanket repudiation," he tweeted. "I have made my position on this clear from day one: We must end the influence of dark money in our politics and restore power back to the people."
The DNC’s rejection of the resolution comes as a new poll finds that about 80% of Democratic voters say they have an unfavorable view of Israel, up sharply over the last three years. The Resolutions Committee also declined to adopt two resolutions supporting the Paleostinians and opposing the war in Iran, instead referring them to the party’s year-old Middle East Working Group, which is also meeting this week.
"We’re pleased that the DNC Resolutions Committee rejected a set of divisiveooo ...politicians call things divisive when when the other side sez something they don't like. Their own statements are never divisive, they're principled... , anti-Israel resolutiokns," Democratic Majority for Israel President and CEO Brian Romick said in a statement. "These measures would be a gift to Republicans, would further fracture our party, and do nothing to bring Israelis and Paleostinians closer to peace."
He’s the clean and articulate doctor, candidate for the Muslim Brotherhood. He used to be keen on the environment, but of course as a Progressive cause that is now passé.
[IsraelTimes] The far-left streamer accused of antisemitism doubled down on anti-Israel rhetoric to cheering crowds on Tuesday, as Democrats seem likelier than ever to agree with him.
[IsraelTimes] Muslim worshipers throng Al-Aqsa gates for dawn prayers; extended ‘Ramadan hours’ remain in place for Jewish visitors to Temple Mount; police gear up for Holy Fire ceremony; Western Wall reopens
The Find Out stage of the proceedings. Much more at the link.
[IsraelTimes. Security cabinet decision constitutes largest number of settlements okayed by any government at one time, brings total number approved by current government to 103
[IsraelTimes] Dozens of families in Silwan already removed from their homes, and several more expected to follow, as Ateret Cohanim takes over houses by claiming trusteeship over land of pre-state Jewish owners.
[IsraelTimes] All two dozen fatalities in Israel and West Bank were civilians, most of whom were outside bomb shelters; 16 conventional missiles, hundreds of cluster bomblets hit populated areas
With a ceasefire 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... taking effect early Wednesday morning, the full scope of the joint Israeli-American 40-day campaign against the Islamic Theocratic Republic began to emerge.
Israel, on February 28, launched its campaign against Iran, alongside the United States, to degrade the Iranian regime’s military capabilities, distance threats posed by Iran — including its nuclear and ballistic missile programs — and "create the conditions" for the Iranian people to topple the regime, the military and other Israeli leaders said.
Iran’s ballistic missile attacks on Israel continued until around 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday. And the Israeli Air Force continued at the same time to bomb Iranian launchers and other military sites, before halting its fire.
THE CIVILIAN TOLL
Iran, during the fighting, launched some 650 ballistic missiles at Israel. According to the military, more than half of the missiles carried cluster bomb warheads, which spread bomblets indiscriminately over wide areas.
The missile attacks killed 20 Israeli civilians and foreign nationals in Israel, along with four Paleostinians in the West Bank. More than 7,000 people in Israel were maimed, according to the Health Ministry.
On the first day of the war, Iran fired some 80 missiles at Israel. The following day, the Islamic Theocratic Republic fired around 60, and on the third, around 30. Over the following weeks and until the final day of the war, Iran launched on average 10-20 missiles per day.
In all, at least 16 missiles carrying conventional warheads — with hundreds of kilograms of explosives — struck populated areas in Israel, causing extensive damage.
There were also some 50 incidents of missiles carrying cluster bomb warheads hitting populated areas, with hundreds of separate impact sites.
All 24 fatalities from Iran’s missile attacks were civilians, and all but two were not inside bomb shelters. Cluster munitions killed 10, and conventional missiles killed 14.
According to the Home Front Command, more than 5,500 Israelis were displaced due to damage caused to their homes by the attacks
ISRAEL’S STRIKES AND IRAN’S REMAINING CAPABILITIES
The Israeli Air Force dropped over 18,000 bombs in Iran amid the war, in over 1,000 waves of strikes, the military said.
According to the IDF, over 10,800 separate strikes were carried out on over 4,000 targets, including air defense systems, ballistic missile launchers, weapon production sites, nuclear facilities, various headquarters, and military commanders and leaders.
IAF fighter jets conducted some 8,500 sorties to Iran, the military said.
The American military said that it alone carried out 13,000 strikes on Iranian military targets.
According to the military, Israel destroyed or disabled around 60% of Iran’s estimated 470 ballistic missile launchers. Around 200 of the launchers were destroyed in strikes, while another 80 were not considered to be operational after the IAF struck tunnel entrances to subterranean facilities where they are stored, according to the military.
At the start of the war, the IDF assessed that Iran had 2,500 ballistic missiles. IDF intelligence officials recently said they estimated that Iran still has around 1,000 missiles that are capable of reaching Israel.
In addition, the military assessed that its strikes have destroyed around 85% of Iran’s air defense and detection systems. More than 300 targets relating to Iran’s air defenses, including missile launchers and radars, were struck, the IDF said.
However,
a hangover is the wrath of grapes... the most significant blow was to Iran’s weapon production industry, with the military reporting that it struck all of the key sites used to develop weapons that threaten Israel. Thousands of targets relating to Iran’s military production industry were destroyed, according to the IDF.
Israel has said that these strikes have caused significant damage to Iran’s ballistic missile production industry, and as a result, it currently cannot manufacture any new missiles.
IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said the military "met all the goals and objectives set for it, and even exceeded them" during the war.
"We set out for Operation Roaring Lion to severely damage the Iranian terror regime and remove existential threats to Israel over time. We significantly struck all of its systems and capabilities, eliminated its leadership, damaged its command and control systems, eliminated many of its commanders, and severely hit its military industries, ballistic missile array, economic targets, and nuclear targets," he said in a presser on Wednesday.
NUCLEAR PROGRAM
While Israel carried out several strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities during the conflict, as well as in the 12-day war in June 2025, the effort against the Iranian nuclear program was being led by the US.
This included the issue of Iran’s stockpile of over 400 kilograms of 60 percent enriched uranium, which Israeli officials have said is enough for 11 nuclear bombs.
Among the nuclear sites that the IDF hit during the war were a yellowcake production plant near the central Iranian city of Yazd; Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor; a nuclear research and development site at the Malek Ashtar University in Tehran; the Taleghan 2 facility at the Parchin military complex; and a secret underground site on the outskirts of Tehran known as Minzadehei, where the IDF said Iran transferred much of its nuclear program after the war with Israel in June.
ECONOMIC DAMAGE
Israel shifted to bombing "economic targets" in Iran during the later weeks of the war, aimed at causing massive financial damage to the Iranian regime.
The targets included major Iranian gas infrastructure in the country’s south; two of Iran’s largest steel factories; several petrochemical facilities; and 10 "key" rail sections and bridges.
The military has said that the petrochemical facilities were used to manufacture materials for ballistic missiles, and the rail sections and bridges were used by Iran to move weapons. But Israeli security officials said the strikes were also aimed at causing economic damage to Iran.
IRAN’S MILITARY LEADERSHIP
Israel’s opening strikes on Iran on February 28 killed Iran’s former supreme leader, Ali Khamenei ...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...> , and eliminated another 40 top Iranian military commanders within 40 seconds, according to the IDF.
Others were killed over the following weeks.
They included top military adviser to Khamenei Ali Shamkhani; commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Mohammad Pakpour; IRGC Navy chief Alireza Tangsiri; IRGC intelligence chief Majid Khademi; Basij paramilitary force commander Gholamreza Soleimani; IRGC front man Ali Mohammad Naini; National Security Council head Ali Larijani; defense minister Aziz Nasirzadeh; SPND chairman Hossein Jabal-Amelian; and Khamenei’s military secretary Mohammad Shirazi.
Dozens more senior and medium-level officers were killed by Israel.
The IDF has estimated that some 5,000 Iranian soldiers have been killed in Israeli strikes, along with tens of thousands more maimed, many of them members of the internal security forces and Basij paramilitary force.
#1
Obviously, a great victory for Iranian arms. (Egyptians celebrate their October Triumph every year - even though it took the two superpowers working in concert to save Cairo from Arik.)
🚨🇺🇸 BREAKING: The U.S. Army’s hypersonic “Dark Eagle” weapon is designed to strike targets over 1,700 miles away at speeds above Mach 5, according to a report submitted to Congress.
The system, officially called the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), launches a missile that… pic.twitter.com/6OOKl0K35y
🚨🇺🇸 BREAKING: The U.S. Army’s hypersonic “Dark Eagle” weapon is designed to strike targets over 1,700 miles away at speeds above Mach 5, according to a report submitted to Congress.
The system, officially called the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), launches a missile that deploys a maneuverable hypersonic glide body, making it extremely difficult for enemy defenses to detect or intercept.
It is intended to hit high-value and time-sensitive targets in heavily defended areas, giving the U.S. a rapid long-range conventional strike capability.
The missile booster is being developed by Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, while the hypersonic glide body is produced by Dynetics (a subsidiary of Leidos).
#1
There is a place in the inventory for such tings, but cost should limit how many. Asymmetric kill rates in the latest unpleasantness make the point quite dramatically, 3 million dollar missile to kill a 30k drone cannot be sustained.
[FoxNews] The few vessels that are transiting are doing so through a corridor near Iran’s Larak Island rather than standard commercial lanes, according to Windward, with some ships switching off tracking systems as they pass.
At the same time, cargo is increasingly being rerouted through ports in Oman and along the United Arab Emirates' east coast, adding roughly two weeks to some voyages and increasing costs by about 25%.
Iran is demanding fees from the vessels that do pass, an Israeli intelligence official told Fox News. "The Strait is effectively under full IRGC control. They decide who gets to go through, but more importantly, who doesn’t."
Posted by: Skidmark ||
04/10/2026 09:03 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1814 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
BREAKING: The IDF gave it a name. Operation Eternal Darkness. Read the name as a capability statement, not a codename.
Fifty fighter jets. One hundred and sixty precision-guided munitions. One hundred targets. Ten minutes. Three geographic zones spanning 170 kilometres from… https://t.co/Y5RI3u591Vpic.twitter.com/n7vsbwbS33
— Shanaka Anslem Perera ⚡ (@shanaka86) April 9, 2026
Text:
BREAKING: The IDF gave it a name. Operation Eternal Darkness. Read the name as a capability statement, not a codename.
Fifty fighter jets. One hundred and sixty precision-guided munitions. One hundred targets. Ten minutes. Three geographic zones spanning 170 kilometres from Beirut’s southern suburbs to the Beqaa Valley to southern Lebanon. Simultaneous impact. Zero warning to the targets. Defence Minister Katz said it was the largest concentrated blow Hezbollah has suffered since the pager operation in September 2024.
The pagers were hardware infiltration. This was something else entirely.
In September 2024, Israel compromised Hezbollah’s supply chain, embedded explosives in pagers, and detonated them simultaneously. It required months of physical engineering, covert procurement, and logistical insertion. It killed approximately 40 commanders. Operation Eternal Darkness killed over 200 operatives in a single ten-minute window without touching a single device in advance. The penetration was not physical. It was informational.
The IDF confirmed that the operation was planned several weeks in advance and was going to proceed regardless of whether the Iran ceasefire was reached. The timing was driven by what the military described as optimal operational conditions. Translated from military language into plain language: the intelligence picture was complete. Every target’s location was known. Every target’s location was current. And every target’s location was known to be current at the same moment.
"Some time ago, the Israeli army began striking the launch sites of the Shiite movement Hezbollah in Lebanon," the official statement said.
On April 8, the Lebanese Red Cross reported that an Israeli rocket attack on Beirut had killed more than 80 civilians and injured another 200. This occurred the day after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran. On the night of April 8, he announced an agreement with Iran on a two-week ceasefire. The politician also assured that the ceasefire would be bilateral.
Following the strike, Iran's Fars news agency reported that the Islamic Republic was considering launching a new military operation against Israel due to its violation of the ceasefire.
On April 9, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the cabinet to begin direct negotiations with Lebanon to establish peace and disarm Hezbollah. The decision was made the previous day after repeated requests from Lebanon.
Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin
[ColonelCassad] A map of the Strait of Hormuz passage regime agreed upon with Iran along an established corridor. Iran plans to charge a fee (in yuan or cryptocurrency) for each barrel of oil transported through this route. The money will be used to rebuild Iran.
According to various estimates, Iran could earn between $60 and $90 billion per year from this scheme.
Or nothing but more death and destruction, which is how the smart money is betting.
But there are, of course, nuances.
1. Negotiations to end the war haven't even begun yet and could easily be disrupted.
2. Oman refused to participate in the deal, although Iran effectively offered the Sultan a kickback from the sums received for tanker transit.
3. Trump wants a share of this sum, openly offering to share the strait toll with Iran in an unknown proportion (knowing Trump, I wouldn't be surprised if he wants half of the $60-$90 billion in tolls).
4. What will be the status of passage for vessels from friendly countries—Russia, China, Pakistan, etc.—be? Most likely free, but this hasn't been officially confirmed yet.
5. Gulf states are already complaining loudly about not wanting to pay Iran the de facto tribute it would collect from their oil traffic. Bahrain and Qatar, which cannot do without the Strait of Hormuz, are especially complaining.
So Iran's plans are certainly ambitious. If they are implemented, it will recoup the costs of the war and reconstruction in two to three years. But there are plenty of people who want to prevent Iran from doing so.
The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament said that the US violated three out of the 10 framework conditions for the talks even before they began. The 10-point proposal of the Islamic Republic of Iran is the "working basis for the negotiations" and the main document for discussions. However, three points of this proposal have been violated so far:
1. Failure to comply with the first point of the 10-point proposal regarding a ceasefire in Lebanon, a commitment that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also directly referred to and announced as "an immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon and other regions, with immediate effect";
2. Penetration of a drone into Iranian airspace, which was shot down over the city of Lar in Fars province, which is a clear violation of the clause prohibiting any further violations of Iranian airspace;
3. The denial of Iran's right to enrichment,
…there is no right to enrich, which in fact is what the current war is proving…
which was included in the sixth point of the framework. Now the very "working basis for negotiations" has been openly and blatantly violated even before the negotiations began. In this situation, a bilateral ceasefire or negotiations are unfounded. (c) Iranian Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf
Posted by: badanov ||
04/10/2026 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1768 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Why not just cut another Suez type Canal, or deeply bury a new oil pipeline just north of Dubai the area?
Thus, eliminating the dangerous area and Toll fees?
There is plenty of low-cost labor in the area and the oil dollars to fund it.
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.
...late Fuehrer of Germany, founder of the Third Reich, currently communing with his pals Himmler and Heydrich. He is reincarnated every few days, sometimes every few hour if it's an election year, as a politician somebody doesn't like...
...Democrat National Committee, where all those off-the-wall talking points originate...
...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 
