The Muslim Brotherhood is making a comeback in Sudan.
The UAE has uncovered a weapon smuggling network masterminded by Salah Gosh, fmr director of Sudan’s intelligence agency NISS under the previous Bashir regime
The Muslim Brotherhood is making a comeback in Sudan.
The UAE has uncovered a weapon smuggling network masterminded by Salah Gosh, fmr director of Sudan’s intelligence agency NISS under the previous Bashir regime
Gosh is an Islamist who has been setting up Eritrean islamist military training camps and offered to provide thousands of Islamists fighters to the Sudanese Armed Forces. He knows the fighters from his time as an Islamist agent of Hassan al-Turabi’s National Islamic Front (MB-allied).
He started his career with intelligence gathering as an Islamist student at the University of Khartoum in the late 1970, passing on information to the Islamists about his socialist friends who were student activists at the university.
[IsraelTimes] Hundreds of British sailors in Gibraltar are getting ready to secure the vital oil pathway alongside France after US-Iran deal inked; clearing entire strait could take years
Aboard the RFA Lyme Bay docked off the coast of Gibraltar, hundreds of British sailors are waiting to be deployed for a mine-clearing mission to the Strait of Hormuz that is still in doubt.
US President Donald Trump ...His ancestors didn't own any slaves... has lashed out at allies for not doing more to support the US war effort in Iran, whose chokehold on the strait, a key artery for the global oil supply, has crippled international shipping and sent energy prices soaring. In March, Trump told NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and structure.... allies to "go get your own oil" and secure the strait themselves.
On the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, the UK’s Royal Navy is preparing to do that — but only once a peace agreement is reached. Trump said Saturday that a deal with 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 been "largely negotiated" after calls with Israel and other allies in the region, but it still needs finalizing.
Britannia’s Armed Forces Minister Al Carns took a small group of news hounds to visit the RFA Lyme Bay as it prepares for a possible international operation, led by the UK and La Belle France, to secure the strait. As Carns spoke, the amphibious landing vessel, docked at the gateway to the Mediterranean, was being loaded with ammunition and mine-hunting sea drones equipped with sonar.
With a crew of several hundred sailors, the RFA Lyme Bay will soon depart Gibraltar to link up with the UK destroyer HMS Dragon and allied ships for air support before sailing through the Suez Canal to the Persian Gulf.
"Which other country can pull together 40 nations and come up with a solution to deal with a complex problem that we couldn’t predict because we weren’t involved?" asked Carns, responding to a question from The News Agency that Dare Not be Named about what Trump wants from his British ally.
After the US and Israel launched the war on February 28, Tehran retaliated by effectively closing the strait, causing global economic pain. The UK in particular has drawn the ire of Trump, who has described Britannia’s navy as "toys" and Prime Minister Keir Starmer as "not Winston Churchill."
At least 6,000 ships have been blocked from passing through the strait since the conflict began, Carns said.
RANGE OF THREATS ANTICIPATED FROM IRAN’S MINES
Iran could have a "huge" variety of mines throughout strait, said Cmdr. Gemma Britton, who is in charge of the Royal Navy’s Mine and Threat Exploitation Group. Mines could be rocket-propelled, cabled or sit on the seabed and be triggered by sound, movement or light.
AP was shown autonomous systems that can scan the seabed and the water with sonar in about half the time it takes for a crewed vessel to enter and map potential dangers. The sea drones equipped with sonar produce a picture of objects under the water, from fishing traps to pipelines. The picture is used to identify mines that can be explored with advanced acoustic systems and cameras, Britton said.
Some of the systems on the RFA Lyme Bay can be loaded onto a smaller vessel that can be launched and piloted autonomously from the ship, which acts as a mother ship, waiting outside any potential minefield, Britton said. That reduces the number of people needed to enter, she said.
Once a mine has been located, a diver with explosives normally places a charge on the mine before swimming away to detonate it. But RFA Lyme Bay is trialing a remotely operated vehicle that dives and drops a charge by a mine before setting it off, Britton said.
The priority, she said, will be to clear a transit lane in the strait to allow around 700 ships to leave. A lane flowing in the opposite direction will then be cleared, allowing ships to enter, she said, but added that clearing the entire strait could take months or years.
IT’S STILL NOT CLEAR IF THE UK AND ITS ALLIES WILL BE DEPLOYED
It’s still not clear if any mines are in the strait — or if the UK and its allies will be deploying to remove them.
A US official speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered... to discuss sensitive military matters told the AP that the US has not found or destroyed any mines in the strait, nor have any ships been damaged. Commercial traffic has quietly continued to flow, though at a much lower volume than before the conflict.
When asked by the AP if the British effort was partly for show, to curry favor with the US, Carns said he was sure some mines had been blown up or floated away but that assurance is not good enough for commercial insurance companies. He said those companies need "absolute certainty" to get vessels traveling through the strait again.
"That’s what this capability will provide," he said.
The international effort to secure the strait would happen only once hostilities are over.
"Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly," Trump said Saturday on social media, with no details on timing.
This is not the first time in recent weeks that a deal has been described as close.
"We don’t know when the Americans, Iranians and Israelis are going to come up with a suitable solution," Carns said.
In the meantime, the RFA Lyme Bay and its crew will be waiting and will be "really, really ready," Carns said.
[IsraelTimes] A senior lawyer tells the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion that only four police officers were at the Hanukkah event at Bondi Beach in December when two terrorists opened fire on a crowd of around 1,000 people.
The comments come during public hearings in the wide-ranging inquiry known as a Royal Commission that focus on the events leading up to last December’s Bondi attack, in which 15 people were killed when gunmen targeted the Jewish community at a Hanukkah celebration.
Within 29 seconds of the start of the shooting, 10 people had been fatally shot and an 11th had been wounded, says Richard Lancaster, Senior Counsel Assisting the Royal Commission.
Within five minutes, 11 police officers were at the scene. Three of those officers were wounded, he says.
A Jewish security organization, the Community Security Group, had requested the New South Wales Police Force post officers at the beachfront park for the duration of the Hanukkah event, Lancaster says.
Instead, officers were instructed to attend from time to time.
Police gave the Hanukkah celebration the lowest security priority on a three-tier scale, with police resources managed by a local commander, Lancaster says.
Jewish High Holy Days in September and October were top-tier events in which police resources were managed by the specialized Police Force Major Events Group in liaison with the paramilitary Police Force Counter Terrorism and Special Tactics Command.
“There is no evidence that any intelligence agency or law enforcement agency had any actual knowledge or specific information to suggest there might be an armed attack on the Hanukkah celebration,” Lancaster says.
“In that sense, it was a surprise attack,” he adds.
[Breitbart] French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin has called for a three-year pause on immigration, arguing that the country has reached its “limit” due to the mass influx of foreigners over the past few decades.
Darmanin, a member of President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party who has served in multiple cabinet roles, including as Interior Minister, the post responsible for policing France’s borders, has cast doubt on the ability of the country to accept any more migrants while remaining a cohesive society, or at least his political faction’s ability to survive public outcry if no action is taken.
Speaking to Le Journal du Dimanche, the Justice Minister said he rejects the notion that race prevents some migrants from assimilating; however, he said that some migrants lack a “respect for the values” of the nation, thereby posing problems for integration. Suggesting that one impediment to cohesion was the scale of immigration, Darmanin called for a complete halt to further immigration.
“We have reached the limit of our capacities for integration and assimilation. So I now have a very strong conviction: we must put an end to immigration as it is today. This is why I am proposing a three-year moratorium on legal immigration,” he said.
“Let’s put a stop to immigration, let’s expel those who must be expelled by conditioning visas on the acceptance of OQTFs (deportation orders), and let’s work today on the assimilation of those who are on the national territory,” Darmanin added.
In addition to a three-year pause on migration, the Justice Minsiter called for reforms to the immigration system, including eliminating the automatic right of family reunification, or chain migration, in which one immigrant can bring multiple family members to the country on the back of a single visa. Darmanin said the government should also establish “restrictive quotas” on the number of visas issued per year, the skills sought, and the regions represented.
Darmanin is widely expected to be a candidate in next year’s presidential elections to replace Macron; however, he has yet to confirm his intentions to throw his hat in the ring. The cabinet minister has previously argued that it is essential for a “single candidacy “from the right and the centre, and perhaps even from the Republican left,” to ensure that the radical left is prevented from taking power.
Perhaps casting himself in the role of the “Republican left” to which various factions could rally around, Darmanin said that the issues of immigration are not only caused by the government, but also by “wild capitalism” in which big businesses use the importation of cheap foreign labour to depress wages.
He also noted that “many difficult jobs are now reserved for foreign workers”, who he said are “particularly poorly paid and exploited by unscrupulous bosses.”
Although France is officially a “colour blind” society and therefore does not keep detailed census information on race and heritage, a study this month from the National Institute of Demographic Studies (INED) found that one in three people in the country were either migrants or the descendants of migrants as of 2020.
The rapidly changing demographics are likely to be a major issue in the upcoming presidential race, with Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella of the populist Rassemblement National party likely to make it central to their campaign. Centre-right candidates like Les Républicains Senator Bruno Retailleau are also likely to focus heavily on the issue.
However, the number of migrants already in the country is expected to have a major impact on the election, with a survey from Ifop this month finding that four in ten voters with two non-European heritage parents plan to vote for far-left radical Jean-Luc Mélenchon in next year’s elections. This jumps to 51 per cent of Muslims in the country.
[EpochTimes] Khalil’s legal team wants to take his high-profile case to the Supreme Court after a split decision from the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Lawyers for Mahmoud Khalil, a foreign-born Columbia University graduate who led pro-Paleostinian protests after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... terrorist attack on Israel, said on May 22 that they will ask the Supreme Court to review his high-profile immigration case after a federal appeals court refused to reconsider his case. "NO. GTFO"
In a split 6-5 decision, the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on May 22 that it would leave in place a ruling that stated U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz lacked jurisdiction when he ordered that Khalil could be released from immigration detention last year.
Friday’s ruling by the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals takes effect on May 29, which leaves a pathway for President Donald Trump ...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party... ’s administration to re-arrest and deport Khalil, whose deportation was ordered by an immigration judge in 2025.
Khalil can’t legally be detained until the ruling takes effect in one week, but his legal team quickly requested on Friday that the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stay the mandate.
If the court grants the stay, it would temporarily prevent Khalil from being removed from the country until after the case is heard by the nation’s highest court—if the justices take it.
If the mandate is rejected, then on May 29, Khalil could be vulnerable to being detained and removed from the United States.
"In light of the seven-day timeline for issuance of the mandate, Mr. Khalil respectfully requests that the Court rule on his motion at the earliest possible date, but at the latest within four days—by Tuesday, May 26—so that he can seek emergency relief in the Supreme Court, if necessary," court documents filed by his lawyers stated.
The administration wanted to deport Khalil under a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act that allows foreign nationals to be removed from the country if they pose "serious adverse foreign policy consequences" for the United States.
If his removal eventually proceeds, Khalil, a Green Card holder, would be ordered to be sent either back to his home country of Algeria or Syria.
His lawyers argued that despite the setbacks, Khalil has a strong argument to stay in the United States.
"Federal courts must have the power to step in when the government exploits our country’s immigration system to punish people for their constitutionally protected speech," senior counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement on Friday.
"If the Trump administration can target, arrest, detain, and deport Mahmoud for his speech, they can do it to anyone expressing an opinion they disagree with."
Khalil separately filed an appeal with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, requesting it to reverse the Board of Immigration Appeals’ deportation order, and he is asking to stop all removal efforts, per the American Civil Liberties Union.
[JTN] Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, a departing top intelligence officer in the Trump administration and former CIA undercover officer, called a Washington Post article claiming she left her position over disputes with President Donald Trump's military involvement in Iran "hogwash."
"I stand with the President EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. And I will be at his side, serving on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board and the Intelligence Oversight Board with pride, devotion, and deepest gratitude for the coming two and a half years," Kennedy, who is daughter-in-law of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said in a scathing post on X responding to the article.
The Washington Post article cited an anonymous source claiming she left her position as deputy to director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbarb in part over her disagreement with Trump's military involvement in Iran.
The article goes on to share an email to colleagues, which the Post had obtained, stating that she was leaving to return to the private sector in order to focus on her family. The Post noted that the email praised Trump.
Kennedy's post on X reiterated that her departure had nothing to do with any disagreements with Trump. She said she's returning to the private sector to keep her "family financially on track." She has a daughter about to enter college, and two younger children to educate, she said.
"The Washington Post – who swamp-cheered their way through the last two decades’ disastrous and violent wars – speculated yesterday that perhaps I’m rejoining the private sector due to disagreement with the President’s foreign policy," Kennedy said.
She said that there can be no stable peace so long as Iran is allowed to enrich uranium, and she called the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz "masterful."
"It’s doing so with vastly fewer casualties than Bush and Obama’s disastrous war in Iraq, where hundreds of thousands died, millions were displaced, and the threat of WMD did not actually exist. Whatever the media may say, this is a President who treasures human life. A brilliant tactician and tough negotiator, who delivers peace through strength," Kennedy said.
[IsraelTimes] Request was met with silence on call with Middle Eastern leaders, Axios reports; it comes as Israeli officials said alarmed that emerging deal ‘does not serve Israel’s interest’
US President Donald Trump ...The Hero of Butler, Pennsylvania... told the leaders of several Arab and Moslem countries in a Saturday phone call that he expects them to normalize relations with Israel if he reaches a deal to end the war with Iran, two US officials told the Axios news site on Sunday.
Trump also referenced the request in a social media post, and suggested 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 "perhaps" also establish relations with Israel. But the ask was reportedly met with silence from the Arab and Moslem leaders.
The request suggests that Trump is seeking to offer Israel an upside in the nascent deal to end the war, whose reported terms have raised alarm in Jerusalem. Channel 12 reported on Sunday that senior Israeli officials have warned, "As it seems, [the agreement] does not serve Israel’s interest." Other officials have been quoted as calling it a bad deal and highly problematic for Israel.
Israeli officials are concerned that the deal, which will begin with a 60-day extension of the ceasefire, does not address Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs or its support for regional proxies, delaying negotiations on these and other key war goals. According to the report, officials fear the deal would grant Iran time for economic and military recovery, after which "it will be hard for the Americans and us to go back and fight."
In social media posts on Sunday, Trump said any deal he negotiated would be "good and proper," and derided critics of the agreement as "losers." He also said he told negotiators "not to rush into a deal."
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... likewise told The New York Times
...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... that a nuclear deal could not be achieved "in 72 hours on the back of a napkin."
Trump’s posts came after he held a phone call on the emerging deal with the leaders of Saudi Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start... , the United Arab Emirates, Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... , Pakistain, The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... , Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain. In 2020, the UAE and Bahrain were among the countries to normalize relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords.
According to Axios, Trump told the leaders that he wants countries that don’t have ties with Israel to establish them. Of the countries represented on the call, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistain do not have relations with Jerusalem. Trump, his predecessor Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. Too old and senile to be prosecuted, not too old and senile to set national policy... and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have pursued a Saudi-Israeli accord for years.
In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump thanked "all of the countries of the Middle East for their support and cooperation" with the deal. He then wrote that the agreement "will be further enhanced and strengthened by their joining the Nations of the historic Abraham Accords and, who knows, perhaps the Islamic Theocratic Republic of Iran would like to join, as well!"
The leaders all expressed support for the agreement to end the war, according to one of the officials who spoke with Axios. "They all said we are with you on this deal. And if it doesn’t work we will be with you too," the official said.
But they reportedly reacted to the normalization request with silence.
"There was silence on the line and Trump joked and asked if they are still there," one of the officials told Axios. The report also said Riyadh was unlikely to move forward with normalization before Israeli elections, which must take place by October.
One of the officials said Trump told the leaders he would call Netanyahu next, and that he hoped the Israeli prime minister would join a group call with the Moslem and Arab leaders in the future.
Trump also said his envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, would follow up on the issue within weeks, according to the report. Kushner was one of the architects of the Abraham Accords.
Several US senators from Trump’s Republican Party have criticized reports of the emerging deal, but on Sunday, one of them called Trump’s request for normalization with Israel "brilliant."
"If in fact as a result of these negotiations to end the Iranian conflict, our Arab and Moslem allies in the region agreed to join the Abraham Accords, it would make this agreement one of the most consequential in the history of the Middle East," Senator Lindsey Graham ...soft-spoken senator from South Carolina, former best buddy of John Maverick McCain. Since McCain's demise, Graham has become more outspoken, more Republican and more of a supporter of President Trump. The speech he gave in support of Brett Kavanaugh was downright manly and really cheesed off the Dems... of South Carolina posted on X.
Graham then threatened the countries that haven’t established ties with Israel.
"If you refuse to go down this path as suggested by President Trump, it will have severe repercussions for our future relationships and make this peace proposal unacceptable," he wrote. "Further, it would be seen by history as a major miscalculation."
#4
^Are you serious? Pieces of paper never kept Arabs from plotting against Israel (or anybody else) c.f. Egypt. The only thing that can keep their predator instincts in check is fear.
I hope people understand what’s happening because it’s been the same story over and over again.
The Islamic Republic and their allies leak their preferred details as if they are agreed to western sources. Then when U.S. refuses to agree to those absurd terms and insists we… https://t.co/3bU7bf1LUO
#6
… and insists we stick to the deal that had already been under discussion, they claim the U.S. is backing out of the deal.
Then they blame America or Israeli influence for the lack of a deal instead of The Islamic Republic making unreasonable demands for a settlement after they lost the military fight and are facing an economic crisis.
#7
^ But the NY Times, Axios, and WaPost all claim to have "inside" anonymous sources!
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/25/2026 17:24 Comments ||
Top||
#8
And it's past 9PM central and there are now reports of air attacks etc. near Bandar Abbas. Maybe also near Kharg Island. I'll check on stuff in the morning.
[IsraelTimes] Israel said to inform US it wants freedom of operation in southern Lebanon, although terms of deal reportedly stipulate it may only act if Hezbollah attacks first
The Israel Defense Forces has been preparing for the possibility that an emerging deal between the US 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... would force it to rein in its war against Hezbollah in 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.... , according to Hebrew media reports on Sunday.
It was unclear as of Sunday afternoon whether any agreement to end the war with Iran would extend to Hezbollah, as, recently, the matter of Israel’s fight against the Iran-backed terror group has been dealt with in separate negotiations in Washington.
On Saturday, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem ... the Grand Vizier of the Hezbullies... , expressed hope for an agreement that would include Lebanon, and reiterated the terror group’s ongoing refusal to disarm. He also urged Lebanese authorities to abandon direct talks with Israel, ahead of a fourth round of such discussions next month, charging that Washington "is not an honest broker."
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, meanwhile Sunday, approved plans for the continuation of fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon after holding a situational assessment, the military said. During a visit to the Northern Command and later to the headquarters of the 401st Armored Brigade, which has been operating in Lebanon, Zamir said the IDF is "determined to deepen the blow against Hezbollah."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to address Lebanon’s possible inclusion in the US-Iran deal during a limited security cabinet meeting on Sunday evening, the Walla news site reported.
In his first comments on the emerging deal on Sunday, Netanyahu asserted he had received assurances from US President Donald Trump ...Oh, noze! Not him!... that Israel would retain freedom of action against military threats, "on every front, including Lebanon."
Sources familiar with the matter were cited by Walla as saying that Israel would refuse to return to the status quo in Lebanon, and was insisting that it be allowed to maintain freedom of operation within the parts of southern Lebanon that it has captured since the fighting with Hezbollah renewed on March 2.
The sources said that Israel had expressed its intentions to the US to keep hold of roughly seven or eight kilometers of land on the Lebanese side of the border.
Similarly, sources told the Ynet news outlet that even if forced by the US and Iran to halt its offensive in southern Lebanon, the IDF would keep up its efforts to clear the area of Hezbollah operatives.
Among the options being considered is the establishment of permanent military outposts inside villages in southern Lebanon, preventing Hezbollah operatives and residents alike from returning to the area, Ynet reported.
Security officials told the news outlet that allowing residents to return to their home villages would pose additional risk to IDF troops and Israeli communities close to the border.
Another option would be for the IDF to step up its targeted raids in southern Lebanon, the outlet reported, thereby maintaining control over the area without the need for permanent outposts. It said the military could also pursue a combination of the two methods.
Despite the IDF’s apparent intentions to keep up offensive action against Hezbollah operatives in the vicinity of the Israeli border, Axios has reported that under the terms of the US-Iran deal, Israel will only be able to strike Hezbollah if the terror group instigates or carries out attacks.
At the same time, Ynet reported that the IDF Northern Command was of two minds regarding the best approach to take in Lebanon while awaiting a potential ceasefire.
On one hand, the report said, the IDF wants to work through as many goals as quickly as possible, given that it could be forced to stop fighting and withdraw at any moment. But on the other hand, it said, this could pose a greater risk, as Hezbollah may make the same calculation as Israel and escalate its operations until it is forced to stop.
The latest round of fighting in Lebanon, which began anew on March 2 after Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in response to the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, has claimed more than 3,000 lives, according to Lebanon’s health ministry last week.
Several hundred of that number were said to have been killed in the wake of a fragile ceasefire brokered by the US, which reduced, but failed to stop, the fighting.
Many Hezbollah fighters who have been killed in the war are not included in the health ministry corpse count, sources familiar with Hezbollah’s casualty numbers have said.
Twenty-two IDF soldiers have been killed in Lebanon in the same period, nine of whom were killed after the start of the ceasefire. A civilian contractor was also killed in southern Lebanon.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, known for his outrageous behavior, has found himself embroiled in a major scandal. He is accused of deliberately torturing detained members of the humanitarian flotilla heading to the Gaza Strip.
The case generated such a strong backlash that both insiders and outsiders turned against the controversial minister; several European leaders demanded a public apology for the "act of aggression." Furthermore, criticism came from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, marking the first public "debriefing" within the coalition in a long time.
Of course, Ben-Gvir is no stranger to finding himself at the center of international scandals. However, the backhanded slap from his superiors apparently really hurt him. And it prompted him to prepare a retaliatory strike—albeit with a delayed effect.
"VARIOUS RABBLE"
The scandal began with the interception of the Sumud humanitarian flotilla by Israeli forces on May 18. The convoy of 54 vessels, with a total crew of over 400, had departed from Marmaris, Turkey, four days earlier but was stopped in international waters approximately 250 nautical miles from Gaza.
Within hours, Israeli speedboats, escorted by large warships, cut through the flotilla's formation, and the boarding parties aboard the largest vessels completely paralyzed its command. The Sumud was escorted to the port of Ashdod.
The detention of "Sumud" was not a big surprise—Israeli authorities had previously used a similar method to break up the "Greta Thunberg flotilla," which was heading to Gaza in October 2025 with a cargo of medical supplies and building materials. The activists were indirectly prepared for both psychological pressure and provocations in Israeli captivity, mindful of previous similar incidents.
However, what happened at the Ashdod port shocked even seasoned resistance fighters. The detainees were handcuffed and escorted into a large room, where they were forced to kneel before National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who had arrived at the site.
The far-right minister not only looked at the "guests" with relish but also allowed himself several mocking remarks about them. This included the statement that Abu Kashak and Thiago Avila (the key figures of Sumud, who organized the flotilla's current voyage) "were too scared to show up in his country" and sent "all sorts of rabble" in their place.
Interestingly, Ben-Gvir himself published the video of the flotilla participants being abused, without bothering to edit out the portions of the footage showing the unlawful use of force against the detainees.
Specifically, the published footage shows him forcibly lowering the head of one of the activists after she shouted "Freedom for Palestine" and telling her to "shut up." In another clip, he waves an Israeli flag and shouts at the flotilla participants, "Welcome to Israel! We are the masters here." And in a third, he sings the national anthem while standing over activists who are forced to their knees with their hands bound with plastic zip ties.
Ben-Gvir accompanied the selection of materials with the scathing phrase: “The resort is over.”
"A SHAMEFUL PERFORMANCE"
The Ashdod incident sparked a strong public reaction, particularly among Europeans. A total of fifteen EU countries criticized Ben-Gvir. Some European leaders, such as Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni, demanded a "personal apology" from the Israeli leadership for the incident.
Polish officials went even further. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski initiated a request to the Polish Ministry of the Interior calling for Ben-Gvir to be banned from entering the country.
Moreover, unlike Spain, which closed the door to the Israeli minister back in the fall of 2025, the "Polish option" also includes restrictive measures for his deputies and closest supporters from the Otzma Yehudit party.
However, the Israelis themselves were no less shocked by their ally's actions. After the publication of the provocative images, Netanyahu, according to some reports, convened an emergency closed-door meeting to raise the issue of how to respond to the incident.
And judging by the behavior of the local establishment, there were no supporters of the "defense line" this time. They decided to shift responsibility entirely to Ben-Gvir.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar was among the first to speak out. He accused Ben-Gvir of deliberately harming Israel, writing: "You have deliberately harmed the state with this shameful spectacle, and not for the first time. No, you are not the face of Israel."
Netanyahu responded more measuredly: “The way Minister Ben-Gvir treated the flotilla participants is not in line with the values and norms of the State of Israel.”
Interestingly, after the Ben Gvir scandal, Israeli leaders temporarily toned down their previous rhetoric about a "harsh response" to attempts to breach the naval blockade. Apparently, they felt that arguments about such actions boosting Hamas's image would be counterproductive to the baseless harassment of ordinary activists.
Netanyahu limited himself to a cautious mention of the “right to security” and a promise to “deport the detainees as soon as possible,” but did not elaborate on the topic.
Over time, opposition forces also joined the criticism, albeit with their own emphasis. Opposition leader Yair Lapid, for example, placed full responsibility for the incident on Netanyahu, who had decided to include "a man with a criminal past" in the cabinet.
Naftali Bennett and Yair Gollan later developed this idea, noting that the prime minister himself created the problem by turning a blind eye to his ally's antics.
DEFERRED PUNISHMENT
Ben-Gvir has yet to publicly respond to the numerous attacks directed at him. Representatives of the Minister of National Security have also refrained from commenting to the press, only occasionally offering brief responses calling for people "not to believe the detractors."
The Minister of National Security is reluctant to engage in open conflict with Netanyahu right now. There are several reasons for this. First, the coalition would lose nothing from Ben-Gvir's ouster, which could very well follow his attempts to "assert his rights" in response. Netanyahu, on the other hand, would gain a boost in his approval ratings for removing one of the most controversial figures in the current parliament.
Moreover, by challenging the authorities, Ben-Gvir will likely lose his advocate in his litigation with the Supreme Court. And under pressure from the legal establishment, he could quickly not only lose his seat but also be sent to prison for fraud and multiple abuses of power.
However, as the elections (scheduled for October 2026) approach, Ben-Gvir's value to the system will grow. Especially since he hasn't lost his influence on political processes.
According to recent polls by public opinion centers, his Otzma Yehudit party could win at least 10 seats in the upcoming elections, thanks to votes from social groups "disgruntled by the government" and those advocating a tougher response to "foreign provocations." This would strengthen its position in the Knesset by at least four seats.
And although this is three times less than Netanyahu's Likud Party predicted, Ben-Gvir could very well ruin the current prime minister's multi-move plan, regardless of the election results.
If the coalition manages to cling to power, without the far-right forces, their position will be unstable, and Ben-Gvir will retain a universal lever of blackmail. If he loses and goes into opposition, the odious minister will retaliate by splitting the former government camp in two, depriving Netanyahu of the opportunity to speak face-to-face with the government.
Especially if Ben-Gvir's parliamentary rebellion is supported by another hawk—Religious Zionism party leader Bezalel Smotrich (7 seats). The outcome in both cases is the same: the far-right will cease to be Netanyahu's crutch.
Those close to the Israeli Prime Minister see this threat, and therefore are refraining from taking any real action against Ben-Gvir and are not raising the issue of his removal from office or imposing a disciplinary sanction on him.
This is partly based on the expectation that the scandal surrounding Sumud will eventually subside and the coalition heading into the elections will be able to maintain its previous contact with the "far-right flank." At least for now, that's necessary.
New data shows a major shift among the Druze of the Golan Heights. More than 35% now hold Israeli citizenship, and the majority of new citizens are under the age of 30.
New data shows a major shift among the Druze of the Golan Heights.
More than 35% now hold Israeli citizenship, and the majority of new citizens are under the age of 30.
For decades, many Golan Druze lived in a painful identity limbo between Syria, Israel, and their Druze heritage.
But after the collapse of Syria, the rise of jihadist forces, the massacre of Druze in southern Syria, and Hezbollah’s deadly attack on Druze children in Majdal Shams, more and more young Druze are choosing a future with Israel.
[Rudaw] US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Saturday that its forces have redirected 100 commercial vessels as part of a blockade targeting Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman.
CENTCOM said its forces "reached the milestone of redirecting 100 commercial vessels, May 23, while enforcing a maritime blockade against Iran," which began on April 13.
The blockade has caused major disruptions to Iran’s economy amid reports of raw material shortages across the country.
The measures remain in place despite the halt in the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, which began in late February and continued until April 8, when a Pakistain-mediated ceasefire temporarily halted hostilities to pave the way for negotiations on a permanent truce.
Diplomatic mediation efforts by Pakistain and Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... have intensified in recent days, though no final agreement has yet been reached.
"Over the past six weeks, more than 15,000 Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen have redirected 100 vessels, disabled four, and allowed 26 humanitarian aid ships to pass," CENTCOM said, adding that around 200 US aircraft and warships are supporting the mission.
"The blockade is being enforced against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman," the statement added.
Meanwhile,
...back at the shootout, Butch shot Black Bart's gun out of his hand...... Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Thursday that more than 30 ships had passed through the Strait of Hormuz since Wednesday under the coordination and protection of its navy despite the US naval blockade.
CENTCOM cited its commander, Admiral Brad Cooper, as saying US forces have allowed "zero trade into and out of Iranian ports which has squeezed 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... economically."
On Friday, separate Pak and Qatari delegations arrived in Tehran as part of mediation efforts between Washington and Tehran aimed at securing a permanent truce.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told state media that as part of the negotiations, "There has been a trend towards reducing issues of disagreement," adding that the sides are "close to a draft" agreement.
Baghaei added that Iran’s nuclear program "is not being discussed and is among the issues that will be discussed later."
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... said Friday at a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and structure.... summit in Sweden that there has been "some slight progress" in negotiations with Iran, while reiterating the US position that "Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon."
[Rudaw] Seven Australian women and 14 children arrived in Damascus from the notorious Roj camp in northeast Syria (Rojava), marking the departure of the last known Australian group from camps housing families linked to the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS).
"I just don't know how many of them are going to arrive in Australia," Jamal Rifi, who has been involved in coordinating the return of Australian ISIS-linked families between Damascus and Canberra, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Friday. He confirmed the group’s arrival in Damascus but did not say whether they would return to Australia this month.
Roj camp, located in Hasaka province, is one of the last remaining facilities in Syria housing foreign women and kiddies linked to ISIS.
"Nobody could stop those kids once they reach adulthood from coming back, because they are Australian citizens and they either come now with their mothers or they come later on their own and then into adulthood, [when it would] be even more difficult for our security and agencies to keep tabs on their behaviour, ideology or action," he added.
Earlier in May, another group of four women and nine children returned to Australia after spending years in the camp. According to ABC, three of the women were arrested and charged by the Australian Federal Police upon arrival in Melbourne and Sydney.
Sheikhmous Ahmed, the Kurdish official overseeing refugee and displacement camps in Rojava, told Rudaw in late February that authorities and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had agreed to empty the camp.
"For this purpose, coordination has taken place with the High Commissioner for Refugees regarding their transfer," Ahmed said. He added that Syrian families would also be returned to their original areas at the request of the Hasaka governor and their relatives.
As of late February, Roj camp housed 730 foreign families from around 42 countries, according to Kurdish authorities. The camp also held 15 Iraqi families and 11 Syrian families, with a total population of approximately 2,225 people.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/25/2026 2026-05-25 03:20 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1765 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic State
[IsraelTimes] Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is hiding in a secret location and communicates via an elaborate network of messengers, American officials tell CBS News, citing US intelligence.
The precautionary measures, meant to keep Israel from assassinating Khamenei, are causing delays in US-Iran talks to end the war, the report says. It adds that even senior Iranian officials cannot contact Khamenei directly.
“This is why you see people saying things like, ‘The supreme leader has agreed to the framework,’ or ‘We’re waiting to hear back on the final deal points.’ Every piece of information he receives is dated and there’s a lot of latency to his responses,” one official tells the network.
Khamenei’s father and predecessor, Ali Khamenei, was killed on February 28, the first day of the US-Israeli war with Iran. Mojtaba, who was also injured in the US-Israeli strikes, was appointed to succeed his father in March but has not been publicly seen or heard since then.
He is not the only senior Iranian official who has gone underground, according to the CBS report. The report says the leaders spend weeks in bunkers and try to avoid communicating with each other.
“Watching them try to figure out how to talk to each other is almost like watching a sitcom. They are completely exasperated,” one official says.
#1
IIRC, Osama bin Laden's whereabouts were disclosed by a messenger who had been turned. I'd be willing to bet that Mossad has people working on the same concept right now.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/25/2026 12:36 Comments ||
Top||
#2
^
not quite
The US gained some intel by interrogation of an inmate at Gitmo who was cooperating to a degree by giving up information that he thought wouldn't be important. This intel was the names and/or pretend names of couriers in Afghanistan. By process of elimination and other intel they narrowed down their surveillance to just a few people. One of them was found to be visiting Abbottabad at regular intervals. Further intel led to the CIAl having confidence that this was the location of OBL. It took about 18 months from the interview at Gitmo until the CIA had confidence that OBL was where he was.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
05/25/2026 17:57 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Thanks for all those details, Lord Garth. All I really remembered was bin Laden's communications, old fashioned as they were, were not as secure as he hoped.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/25/2026 19:09 Comments ||
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#4
^ Especially considering the Pakistani ISI/Mil were protecting him
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/25/2026 19:46 Comments ||
Top||
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards allegedly used a UAE-based company to procure Chinese satellite communications equipment tied to its drone and missile programs.
The equipment reportedly moved through Dubai and Ras al Khaimah before reaching Iran via an Iranian vessel that appeared… pic.twitter.com/Uo9fQy04mN
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards allegedly used a UAE-based company to procure Chinese satellite communications equipment tied to its drone and missile programs.
The equipment reportedly moved through Dubai and Ras al Khaimah before reaching Iran via an Iranian vessel that appeared to spoof its GPS location to conceal the delivery.
The shipment was linked to firms connected to the IRGC Aerospace Force despite existing US sanctions on related entities.
#3
By most accounts the air campaign against Iran went extremely well, but it reminded us that it is historically difficult to force a regime change against an entrenched group without boots on the ground.
#5
Just take out the infrastructure - like you did to Germany & Japan in WW11.
We are still holding that card, ready to be played if necessary.
The previous "war" was not *the* war. It was merely an opening bid, a costly threat to demonstrate our sincerity. And our capabilities.
It is a pity we cannot see the back room negotiations between the factions on the Iranian side. 'Factions' may be a bit strong, maybe more like centers of interest. But the main parties, in order of influence at the moment, seem to be the Ayatollah/IRGC, the civilian government + Army, and lastly the People. Stay tuned!
#6
The "Virtual Ayatollah" seems to be a sock puppet to give the IRGC 'authority' to continue running the country into the ground. Think Biden, but ghey, and Hunter as a tool
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/25/2026 17:22 Comments ||
Top||
#7
@4 WWII wasn't that selective. We destroyed entire cities, if sometimes the bombing destroyed factories and other needed production, so much the better.
IIRC it is now a war crime to bomb a country the way strategic bombing was done in WWII.
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 
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
...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....
...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 
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
