[IsraelTimes] Jews in New York City were targeted in 55% of all confirmed hate crimes in the city in the first half of 2026, despite making up around 10% of the population, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani says.
“There is no room for hatred of any kind in our city,” Mamdani says at a quarterly crime briefing, highlighting City Hall’s budgeting increase for preventing hate crimes.
There have been 178 confirmed antisemitic hate crimes so far in the city this year, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch says.
Hate crimes overall are up 8% in the city in the past six months, since Mamdani took office at the start of the year.
Most other major crimes, such as murders and robberies, are down across the city, continuing a downward trend that started under the previous mayoral administration.
Hate crimes have increased by 2% against Jews, Mamdani says, a smaller increase than hate crimes against some other groups, but Jews were already targeted far more than any other group.
#3
The question is not whether the law is on the books, Glenmore, but whether the district attorney chooses to prosecute it — either the hate crime piece or the underlying crime at all. The other day that distinguished Moslem computer professor was sentenced to something like 18 months for storming up to that old Jewish Zionist with his buddies and smacking him so hard with his megaphone that the man died.
#4
Rookie numbers, son. Got to get 'em up.
-- Adolph H.
Posted by: Regular joe ||
07/03/2026 12:59 Comments ||
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#5
Even with honest and objective investigation, it is often hard to tell whether a crime is motivated by hate.
Also the number of hate crimes doesn't necessarily correspond proportionately with the number of victims. Suppose a person invades a synagogue during the sabbath service and viciously threatens people. That's just one crime but maybe hundreds of victims.
If the investigation is not honest, the data isn't worth much.
F
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
07/03/2026 14:14 Comments ||
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A Houthi influencer is seen in this video in Saada Governorate, which borders Saudi Arabia and has long served as a transit corridor for drug smuggling into the Kingdom. For decades, narcotics, including hashish, have reportedly moved through the region from Afghanistan and… pic.twitter.com/s7fK5ybjXT
A Houthi influencer is seen in this video in Saada Governorate, which borders Saudi Arabia and has long served as a transit corridor for drug smuggling into the Kingdom. For decades, narcotics, including hashish, have reportedly moved through the region from Afghanistan and Pakistan, either directly or via the Horn of Africa.
In the video, the influencer holds what appears to be a 1,200 gram package of Afghan hashish bearing a sticker with President Donald Trump’s face. The packaging is labeled “LK Afghan Product” and “No. 1 Quality” on what appears to be a sealed commercial bag.
The Houthi's Deputy Minister of Information, Dr. Ahmed Al-Shami, whose public profile has recently risen despite being a longtime loyalist, launched a scathing attack on the anti-Houthi tribal gathering in eastern al-Jawf during a… https://t.co/WInbeY5s2wpic.twitter.com/liDJ1QxJ9c
The Houthi's Deputy Minister of Information, Dr. Ahmed Al-Shami, whose public profile has recently risen despite being a longtime loyalist, launched a scathing attack on the anti-Houthi tribal gathering in eastern al-Jawf during a rival pro-Houthi tribal gathering in western al-Jawf. Al-Shami, who has more than 332,000 followers on @drahmedalshami, mocked anti-Houthi tribal leaders and Saudi-backed Yemeni officials while praising the Houthis' role in Yemen and their regional military campaign.
"The battle is coming, God willing," Al-Shami said. "Neither a new Danbu' nor an old Danbu'" using a derogatory nickname for former Yemeni President Hadi, "nor an old pair of shoes nor a new pair of shoes," a derogatory reference to Saudi-backed Yemeni officials, "will be of any benefit to you."
[IsraelTimes] Anti-Zionist activists are planning to protest against a purported visit to New York by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, but a Ben Gvir spokesperson says he’s not actually planning on traveling to New York.
Anti-Israel activist groups, including the Palestinian Youth Movement and the New York branch of Jewish Voice for Peace,
… neither Jewish nor for peace, it was founded by Hamas BDS activist Hatem Bazian, while its social media managers live in Lebanon and a large chunk of its funding comes from the Soros Open Society Foundations. But some of its useful idiots identify as “Jewish”…
say that Ben Gvir is planning to attend a United Nations summit for police next week.
The groups announce a rally at the UN on July 7 and issue an open letter to New York State Attorney General Letitia James asking her to “use the full power of your office to pursue this war criminal.”
Anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian groups such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Hind Rajab Foundation
…another Hezbollah front project, launched in 2024 in Belgium by one Dyab Abou Jahjah. It’s a lawfare boiler room generating endless lawsuits and demands for arrests against Israelis daring to travel outside their country on the pretext that as Israeli soldiers they must have committed war crimes. This is why one mustn’t post travel information on social media until back home…
also issue statements in protest of the visit.
A spokesperson for Ben Gvir tells The Times of Israel, however, that he’s not planning on attending the UN summit.
Last month, the Haaretz daily reported that Ben Gvir would be leading a delegation to the United Nations Chiefs of Police Summit (UNCOPS) that is set to take place on July 7 and 8. But the report was never confirmed by Ben Gvir’s office and he reportedly later canceled the trip.
Far-right ministers have made surprise visits to New York in the past.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich made an unannounced appearance at New York City’s annual Israel parade in May, causing an uproar.
Ben Gvir last visited the US in 2025, making stops in Florida, Connecticut, New York and Washington.
Hebrew media reported last month that the far-right minister canceled an earlier visit after he was required by the US embassy to arrive in person and provide his fingerprints as a condition for receiving a visa, apparently due to his past criminal convictions.
#1
Given the energy and outrage the activists have spent on a non-existent genocide, it is only fitting that they protest against a visit that isn't happening.
[IsraelTimes] Seven protesters who blocked traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge in a 2024 pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protest against Israel’s actions in Gaza are convicted of misdemeanor charges by a San Francisco jury that remained deadlocked on the more serious charge of felony conspiracy.
The jury convicts each of the seven protesters on six misdemeanor counts, including false imprisonment, obstruction of thoroughfare and unlawful assembly, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins
…she claimed to be radically different when she led the recall effort against her Soros-supported predecessor, then fired most of his staff. But it sure looks like the biggest difference is that she is not him…
says in a statement on Thursday.
One defendant was also convicted of another misdemeanor charge of refusing to disperse, Jenkins says.
The protesters will be sentenced in August and face up to five years in a county jail.
The seven protesters are named Bhavika Anandpura, River Allen, Rocky Chau, Sara Cantor, Conrad de Jesus, Sarah Ferrell, and Em Tillotson, according to local media.
The jury could not reach a verdict on the most serious charge of felony conspiracy — an agreement between two or more people to commit a crime coupled with an overt act — which could have led to a sentence as long as 15 years upon conviction.
“At this time we will evaluate our options and consider next steps,” Jenkins says.
#1
"The jury convicts each of the seven protesters on six misdemeanor counts, including false imprisonment, obstruction of thoroughfare and unlawful assembly, ... The protesters will be sentenced in August and face up to five years in a county jail."
Seriously does anyone expected more than time served and probation? To be later pardoned by the Cal. Gov. just before elections.
#2
But their information is now in the system, NN2N1, and the feds just had their first win in Texas, prosecuting Antifa/Black Bloc as a terror organization. I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up treating the entire network as a RICO thingy, including the financiers behind it.
[NY Post] The middle-class upstate New York mom accused of donating $30,000 to a deadly anti-Israel terrorist group "turned more Muslim" after Oct. 7 and even forced her own young daughter to wear a hijab, neighbors told The Post.
She once screamed at her now 6-year-old daughter to "come inside and get dressed up" in her hijab, neighbor Donna Glover said.
Catherine Beth Washburn — a 37-year-old mom of two from Irondequoit — who allegedly led a home-grown anti-Israel extremist group, began wearing Muslim garb shortly after the Hamas attack on Israel in 2023, according to neighbors who described the radical as standoffish and unfriendly.
Washburn wasn’t wearing the outfit when Glover moved into the quaint neighborhood outside Rochester around five years ago, she said — but after the start of the war in Gaza "she just turned more Muslim."
A tattered Palestinian flag remained on the ranch-style home Thursday when The Post visited — three months after neighbors reported seeing a SWAT team break down the door and raid the house.
"I have a feeling they were trying to push, well not them, but her, really was trying to push [Islam] on the kids," a next-door neighbor said, describing Washburn as "very, very f—king weird."
The neighbor, who declined to give his name, said he spoke with Washburn’s husband Adam briefly on Wednesday.
She’s married? For every Jack a Jill, I guess.
Adam Washburn, who seemed to be living separately from the family, described his wife as a "dumb bitch" and said he wouldn’t help her with bail, according to the neighbor. Smart
Washburn allegedly spearheaded the Direct Action Movement for Palestinian Liberation, an anti-Israel group formed in the wake of Oct. 7 that encourages sabotage and property destruction, according to prosecutors in the Western District of New York.
She is believed to have helped funnel $30,000 in cryptocurrency — through 80 separate transfers — to a terrorist in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group in Gaza, once telling him "I wish every day were October 7."
Old media photos show her as a modest middle-class mother of two children, smiling with her husband. Face made for a hijab
#2
Per the article they appear to be separated. Like many of the far left, they don't believe anything bad will happen to them. This moron is going lose custody of her children, probably lose visitation rights and spend years in jail with inmates smarter, meaner and stronger than her.
[pakicasualtytracker.info] Background
In November 2013, after TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud was killed in a United States drone strike, Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan entered a period of serious internal division. The appointment of Maulana Fazlullah, a commander from Swat, created resentment among several factions, especially those based in Mohmand Agency.
By August or September 2014, Abdul Wali, better known as Omar Khalid Khorasani or Umar Khurasani, broke away from the main TTP structure. Khorasani was a founding member of the TTP, a former commander for Mohmand, and had previously worked as a journalist. His split from the organization was driven by several factors, including opposition to Fazlullah’s leadership, disagreement over reported peace talks with the Pakistani government, and accusations that the TTP leadership had drifted away from its original goals.
Khorasani and his supporters accused the TTP leadership of abandoning the movement’s core agenda: enforcing Sharia, overthrowing the Pakistani state, and pursuing a wider global caliphate. There were also accusations surrounding Khorasani’s alleged conspiracies against the Afghan Taliban and his links to other militant circles.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar was formed through the merger of Khorasani’s Mohmand faction and Ahrar-ul-Hind, a group led by Umar Qasmi, formerly associated with Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. Ahrar-ul-Hind had already split from the TTP in February 2014 over similar disagreements related to peace talks. The new group initially operated as TTP Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, keeping the TTP name while rejecting Fazlullah’s authority.
Commanders from Bajaur, Orakzai, Mohmand, and other areas joined the faction. The involvement of Ehsanullah Ehsan, the former TTP spokesman, gave the group a major boost in public visibility. His media statements helped Jamaat-ul-Ahrar present itself as a serious and organized faction rather than just another splinter group.
The group was rumoured to have joined Islamic State Khorasan Province in 2014 and later left in 2016. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar officially renewed its bayah to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in 2020.
🚨 LeT Chief Hafiz Saeed reshuffles 15+ commanders across Pakistan's Punjab
Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed has reportedly ordered the transfer of more than 15 senior commanders across Pakistan's Punjab province in a major organisational reshuffle.
🚨 LeT Chief Hafiz Saeed reshuffles 15+ commanders across Pakistan's Punjab
Lashkar-e-Taiba ...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI...> chief Hafiz Saeed has reportedly ordered the transfer of more than 15 senior commanders across Pakistan's Punjab province in a major organisational reshuffle.
KEY CHANGES
• Rana Muhammad Ashfaque has been shifted from Kasur to Pakistan-occupied Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He was reportedly critical of the Pakistan Army.
• Haris Dar has been promoted as Head of Central Punjab, giving him oversight of LeT's key training centres at Muridke, Pattoki, Gujranwala and Lahore.
• Dar will also supervise LeT's traditional infiltration routes and the group's first-stage terrorist training infrastructure.
OPGRID ASSESSMENT
The reshuffle suggests LeT is reinforcing its command structure, consolidating control over recruitment and training hubs, and preserving its infiltration network despite sustained counter-terror pressure.
[IsraelTimes] The Committee to Protect Journalists, which tracks killings of media workers on the job, reaffirmed its definition of a journalist on Wednesday, amid backlash over the group’s move to review its Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... database following a Times of Israel investigation.
The investigation identified several avowed Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... and Paleostinian Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... operatives in the database, lending credence, in at least some cases, to Israeli assertions that they were legitimate military targets in the war sparked by the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023.
CPJ had previously removed eight names from its database after determining the individuals were Hamas and PIJ operatives, and another 12 for other reasons. The "full review" that the CPJ pledged last week for the remaining entries is expected to be completed this month.
In a statement Wednesday, the CPJ said its board voted to reaffirm its journalist criteria amid "unsubstantiated allegations" that the group sought to exclude Paleostinian and Lebanese journalists.
The statement came after Paleostinian writer Mohammed El-Kurd claimed, citing "anonymous sources within the organization," that to appease "Zionist" media, CPJ sought new journalist criteria that would "broadly exclude slain Paleostinian and Lebanese journalists who worked for government-funded media outlets." The claim was echoed by other anti-Israel sources, including the Hamas-linked Quds News Network.
In its statement, CPJ said its longstanding criteria are "anchored in international humanitarian law" and include "journalists working for state-backed media and those working with media organizations affiliated with bully boy groups provided they are not engaging in combat or inciting violence in a manner likely to have imminent effect."
"It is not true that CPJ planned to change our definition of who is a journalist to exclude slain Paleostinian and Lebanese press killed in the Israel-Gaza war," CPJ board chair Jacob Weisberg said.
"Such unsubstantiated allegations undermine the rigorous documentation of our Middle East and North Africa program over many years, while endangering Paleostinian and Lebanese journalists documenting events on the ground today," Weisberg added.
In a separate X thread, CPJ also defended the removal, to date, of 20 names from the Gaza casualty database.
CPJ "did not remove any of these names because of political pressure," it said. "The only time we remove or add names is if new information, verified by CPJ, establishes that an individual should have been included or excluded as per our existing and long-standing methodology."
[Rudaw] More than $2 trillion has been looted in Iraq since the 2003 overthrow of the Baathist regime, a prominent Iraqi judge and senior legal advisor to Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said late Wednesday, adding that suspects arrested in the nationwide anti-corruption crackdown - launched by the premier over the weekend - will be publicly tried.
"The amount of money looted from Iraq since 2003 has exceeded $2 trillion," said Judge Munir Haddad during an interview with the state-run Iraqiya News channel, describing the scale of the thefts and the real estate holdings of those accused as "beyond reason and comprehension."
The remarks come as Iraqi authorities continue to make headway with Operation Dawn, a large-scale anti-corruption campaign launched Sunday under the direction of Prime Minister Zaidi in coordination with Iraq's Federal Commission of Integrity.
The operation has so far netted dozens of Iraqi politicians and babus government employees, along with tens of millions of dollars in stolen assets and seized state properties illegally transferred into private ownership.
Haddad said Wednesday "there are no final figures on the number of those detained so far, as the figure continues to rise due to ongoing daily operations and raids," adding "the principal suspects in jug have provided detailed confessions that led security and judicial authorities to identify and apprehend additional suspects."
He noted that the efforts are currently being conducted under strict secrecy as "some wanted individuals had attempted to evade arrest by fleeing Iraq or seeking refuge in the Kurdistan Region," underscoring that Erbil instead "cooperated by handing over eight suspects so far."
Haddad further explained that "the list of suspects includes bigwigs accused of corruption, among them current and former government officials as well as members of parliament," and that the cases under investigation "are not limited to conventional embezzlement but also include allegations of unexplained wealth accumulation... legally classified as a money laundering offense in Iraq."
Amid the seizure of tens of millions of dollars stashed away by suspects, Zaidi on Monday ordered the establishment of a recovery fund to collect and hold public assets recovered from corrupt officials.
Haddad on Wednesday affirmed that "all recovered funds and seized properties will be returned in full to the Iraqi state treasury," pointing to "very strong international support for the anti-corruption campaign," which he said "will inevitably entail public trials and open court hearings broadcast for citizens to watch" - similar to the trials of toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and other Baathist officials, he said.
Of note, the remarks by the premier’s legal advisor came shortly after the United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... on Wednesday welcomed the ongoing crackdown on corruption in Iraq, describing images that surfaced online of cash hidden underground and in brick walls as impactful, while stressing the importance of governments addressing rampant corruption.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/03/2026 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[1926 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM.RU] Iraq has declared war on corruption. Security forces recently detained more than 50 people—politicians, businessmen, civilian and military officials—as part of the large-scale Operation Dawn. All are accused of fraud and theft of budget funds totaling tens of millions of dollars.
Although this isn't the central government's first attempt to "fight embezzlers," it can be considered one of the most effective and coordinated. But it's also one of the most controversial, as by fighting corruption within the country, Iraqi elites have stepped on the toes of all their key external partners.
THE FIRST THREAD
The starting point of Operation Dawn is considered to be the arrest of Adnan al-Jumaili, the former deputy oil minister, who oversaw the operation of the country's largest refineries and effectively single-handedly controlled the distribution of crude oil flows throughout Iraq.
The official was arrested by Iraqi security forces in May on suspicion of money laundering and creating fictitious contracts. According to investigators, al-Jumaili conspired with several subordinates and established a kickback system through which he and his accomplices profited from contracts, equipment purchases, and facility renovations.
However, Iraqi prosecutors rightly considered government contracts for the restoration of Iraq's oil refining capacity after decades of armed conflict to be the most lucrative avenue for the conspirators to seize funds.
Millions of dollars (including international aid) flowed through the Ministry of Oil under this expenditure line, a significant portion of which ended up in the pockets of al-Jumaili and his cronies. The lack of positive momentum in the oil sector and the increasing breakdowns at the refineries were attributed to the "complex operational situation"—after all, over the past year and a half, Iraq had constantly found itself caught between warring powers, suffering collateral damage.
Interestingly, al-Jumaili was so confident of his impunity that he didn’t even bother to hide the money he earned from his scams.
During a search of the suspect's residence, security forces seized a substantial amount of foreign currency—$10 million, 3 billion Iraqi dinars (US$2.5 million), documents for 40 properties (including in Baghdad's elite Green Zone), as well as several dozen kilograms of gold jewelry, 20 sports cars, and countless pieces of art. All of this was given as a "thank you" for his efforts.
However, al-Jumaili also accepted bribes in a very specific form: automatic weapons and ammunition. Several dozen automatic weapons, 15 machine guns, and eight sniper rifles—Chinese, American, Iranian, and Israeli—were discovered in his basements. The arsenal discovered would have been enough to arm his own unit.
THE BIG RAID
Al-Jumaili didn't deny it for long. The very next day after his arrest, he told investigators all the details of the complex corruption scheme. He also named key accomplices and informants, both within government agencies and in the business sector.
Here, the investigation encountered its first serious problem. It became clear that the scheme had, over time, spread beyond the Ministry of Oil to other structures, including the national parliament. This took the investigation beyond the scope of a simple anti-corruption campaign.
Moreover, many of the promising defendants in the case enjoyed political immunity, and an attempt to publicly arrest them could easily have been bogged down in bureaucratic formalities.
Seeking support, the investigation's overseers approached Prime Minister Ali al-Zeidi and unexpectedly received orders to act swiftly and with the utmost severity. Given the weight and power of the individuals named by al-Jumaili, secrecy was the order of the day. Apart from the prime minister, only a few officers and trusted confidants were privy to the details of the operation. On al-Zeidi's orders, arrest warrants sanctioned by the Prime Minister's Office were issued, bypassing the Interior Ministry.
The operation was codenamed "Dawn." The active preparation phase lasted several weeks. During this time, under the pretext of large-scale state exercises, special rapid response teams were formed from police, intelligence, and military personnel. For the duration of the "exercises" and combat coordination, they were housed in a closed area, after having their telephones and other communication devices confiscated.
The operation officially began on the night of June 28. The center of operations was the Green Zone, home to government offices, the parliament, foreign embassies, and the residences of many high-ranking officials. Simultaneous raids also took place in other areas of Baghdad and in several provinces.
At the very last moment, the government resorted to another ruse. The Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service was brought in for the raid.
Many suspects initially mistakenly assumed that special forces were arresting terrorists, and therefore didn't attach much significance to the masked men's appearance. That is, until they started breaking down their doors.
All exits from the Green Zone, as well as key intersections in major cities, were blocked by armored vehicles at this point, and military and police deployed reinforced checkpoints at the exits. As a result, local residents initially felt as if another coup had occurred in the country.
However, after the raids were completed, the Iraqi Prime Minister quickly set the record straight. At a specially convened press conference, he declared that Operation Dawn was only the first stage of a large-scale anti-corruption purge. Furthermore, he announced the opening of a special government account to receive funds seized from embezzlers. This will demonstrate the extent to which the perpetrators had plundered the state.
IT GOT EVERYONE HOOKED
Following the first wave of anti-corruption raids, Ali Maarij, the Deputy Minister of Oil responsible for the distribution of petroleum products, was among those put in the dock.
He was the first person al-Jumaili named during the preliminary investigation. Maarij is considered one of the scheme's masterminds, as he helped the perpetrators falsify reports sent to higher-ups. Before the corruption scandal, many predicted he would be appointed to the ministerial portfolio, replacing Basim Mohammed Khudair, who lacked the necessary competence.
However, Maarij is not the only big fish caught by law enforcement.
Joining him in court soon are Muthanna al-Samarrai (leader of the Sunni Azm parliamentary bloc, which won 15 seats in the last elections), influential businessman and "gas station king" Mohammed al-Karbouli, and gold trader Hassan al-Khafaji. Investigators believe the latter helped the criminal group launder stolen funds through the purchase of gold bars and jewelry.
In addition, the list of suspects includes several figures close to former Prime Minister Mohamed al-Sudani. Among them are MPs Alia Nussai and Baha al-Nuri (strong figures in the Shiite Reconstruction and Development coalition), as well as his advisor Ibrahim al-Sumaidai and nephew Mohammed al-Sayhood.
This led investigators to believe that the former Iraqi prime minister was likely aware of his subordinates' actions. And if he didn't condone them, he at least didn't interfere with their siphoning off public funds into private hands.
Part of the list of defendants remains sealed. According to Iraqi media, citing sources in investigative agencies, this list likely includes representatives of security and diplomatic agencies, as well as individuals who have made plea bargains with investigators. Official Baghdad will make their names public at best after the next stage of anti-corruption purges.
There's a deeper truth to this story. Operation Dawn, to varying degrees, damaged the interests of Baghdad's key external partners.
For example, the arrest of key figures from the Azm alliance has weakened the lobbying power of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, whose representatives have been actively entering Iraqi territory in recent years under the pretext of solidarity between Muslim communities.
The persecution of the entourage of former Minister al-Sudani, a "showcase" figure for Iraqi Shiites, is souring Baghdad's relations with Iran, which has recently believed that local authorities are playing a double game and providing an operational foothold for opponents of the Islamic Republic.
Even the United States is showing a certain degree of disappointment, despite the fact that it would seem to have benefited most from the purges (at least two figures in the anti-corruption campaign had previously been sanctioned by Washington for oil fraud). However, for the United States, such a sharp shakeup of the domestic political landscape in Iraq threatens to undermine control over the situation and the previously established elite balance, especially given that the White House currently has no time to constantly monitor local developments.
Therefore, Baghdad's partners will apparently try to temper the prime minister's ardor and tone down his public campaign against embezzlers. At least for a while.
[IsraelTimes] At signing ceremony, Huckabee says ‘God made decision 3,800 years ago’ to recognize Jerusalem, US now acknowledging it; Sa’ar: US is ‘indispensable and irreplaceable’ to Israel.
[IsraelTimes] Defense Minister Israel Katz says he was updated in an assessment today that the military has demolished 83% of the Hamas tunnels in the IDF-held portion of the Gaza Strip.
The assessment with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and other top officers was held to mark 1,000 days since the October 7 onslaught.
“We thwarted Iran’s nuclear program and removed an existential threat from the citizens of Israel, eliminated Khamenei and most of Iran’s ruling leadership, and severely damaged its strategic capabilities — and the IDF must prepare for an independent ‘blue and white’ strike on Iran whenever necessary,” Katz is cited as saying by his office.
[BBC] The extent of damage to some of Iran's military and nuclear sites has been revealed for the first time after more than a quarter of a million previously restricted high-resolution satellite images were released.
A leading satellite imagery provider, Planet Labs, restored access to images from nearly 800 locations in Iran which they had chosen to restrict following a request from the US government.
BBC Verify analysed satellite imagery from two key locations - Esfahan and Bushehr - captured since restrictions began on 9 March.
The images show a variety of targets hit from ammunition storage areas to ballistic missile infrastructure, nuclear and surface-to-air missile sites, and naval bases, according to military intelligence company Janes.
[IsraelTimes] Asaad al-Shaibani visits Lebanon, meets President Aoun and Hezbollah-allied parliament speaker Berri, after Israel, Syria and Lebanon rejected US suggestion
Syria’s foreign minister said during a visit to Beirut on Thursday that Syria was open to meeting the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group Hezbollah "if interests require it," Leb ...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?... ’s state news agency reported.
Asaad al-Shaibani met Lebanese government leaders, including President Joseph Aoun and parliament speaker Nabih Knobby Berri
...perennial Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, head of the Amal Shiite party aligned with Hezbollah, a not very subtle sock puppet of the Medes and Persians... , a Hezbollah ally. It was Shaibani’s first visit there since US President Donald Trump ...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US... last month raised the possibility of Syrian forces combating Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has previously denied what he called rumors about any Syrian presence entering Lebanon. Beirut and Jerusalem have also ruled out the possibility.
The former rebels and commanders who now run Syria fought against Hezbollah for years while it deployed to Syria to support former president Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Leveler of Latakia... Now that they are in power, they are having to calibrate alliances and military action carefully in efforts to maintain relative stability in Syria, which is still recovering from 14 years of civil war.
Shaibani, the Syrian foreign minister, said the "Hezbollah file" was not raised during his meetings in Lebanon on Thursday, but that Syria was open to meeting the group, the Lebanese state news agency cited him as saying.
In a later presser, Shaibani said Lebanon and Syria had signed an agreement establishing a high-level cooperation committee to strengthen bilateral ties.
"All we bring to Lebanon is love and a commitment to overcoming the painful legacy in relations between the two countries," he said.
A statement from Aoun said that neighbors Syria and Lebanon wanted each other’s stability, and that Sharaa had already assured him repeatedly that Syria would not take sides in Lebanon’s internal issues.
In the meeting with Aoun, according to the Lebanese presidency, Shaibani said he wanted "to clear up the confusion sparked by reports of a potential Syrian military intervention in Lebanon," and that "Syria had no intention of undertaking such a move."
The statement added that Shaibani also extended to Aoun an invitation from Sharaa to visit Syria, which would be a first.
Syria’s new government under former al-Qaeda commander Sharaa has emerged as a US ally since his forces toppled Assad in 2024, and has largely stayed out of the regional war between the US and Israel, and Iran.
Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the war in March by attacking Israel in support of Iran, resulting in the destruction of large parts of southern Lebanon and the disruption of the lives of those living in northern Israel. US-sponsored efforts to halt fighting between the two sides have reduced hostilities, but are yet to achieve peace or bring the war to a definite end. Last week Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreement aimed at paving the way for an eventual peace deal between them, but Hezbollah has rejected any such move.
Trump said last month he had spoken to Sharaa about combating Hezbollah, after criticizing Israel for killing too many civilians in Lebanon. "I suggested to Israel to let Syria take care of Hezbollah, because to be honest with you, I think they do a better job of doing it," Trump said.
DAMASCUS WARY OF BEING DRAWN INTO WAR
Sharaa has since said that "the rumors circulating about Syria entering Lebanon are completely unfounded," according to Syrian state media.
Rooters reported in March that the US had encouraged Syria to consider sending forces into eastern Lebanon to help disarm Hezbollah, but that Damascus was reluctant to embark on such a mission for fear of being sucked into the war in the Middle East and inflaming sectarian tensions in Syria and Lebanon.
Trump’s special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, dismissed the report of the US encouraging Syria to send forces into Lebanon as "false and inaccurate."
Syria long dominated Lebanon under the Assad family, sending in forces in 1976 during the 1975-90 civil war and controlling Lebanon’s postwar politics until its withdrawal in 2005.
Any Syrian intervention could fuel sectarian tensions in both Syria and Lebanon, home to a mosaic of sects including Sunni Moslems, Shi’ite Moslems, Christians and Druze.
[IsraelTimes] US reportedly feared that Israeli assassinations of Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, would derail negotiations.
“We’re holding them back as hard as we can, guys, but you need to make a deal with us fast — those Israelis are crazy mad at you!”
Qatar is an actual slave state with just a few hundred thousand citizens and a clear record of funding terrorism. The fact that we have somehow allowed them to buy their way into influencing so much of America's ME policy and dictating information flow is still crazy to me.
🚨 Ali Khamenei, the deceased Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, now lies in state at Khomeini Mourning Hall, where his worshippers wail and mourn.
Having been killed on February 28, his body remained in cold storage for 124 days before the funeral.
— The Iran Watcher 🇮🇷 (@TheIranWatcher) July 2, 2026
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Mojtaba Khamenei is not in attendance claiming security concerns.
Iran warns US, Israel against attacks ahead of long-delayed Khamenei funeral
[IsraelTimes] An Iranian military commander warned the United States and Israel on Thursday against any attack as the country prepares for the state funeral of supreme leader ayatollah Ali Khamenei ...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...> , who was killed in Israeli Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s on February 28, in the opening attack of the war.
"We warn the enemies of Iran, especially the US and the Zionist regime, to avoid any miscalculation and to think about the harsh retaliation our armed forces would make to any threat and aggression against our country," Ali Abdollahi, commander of Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said in a statement carried by state media.
Funeral processions for Khamenei will begin on Saturday in Tehran and conclude on July 9 with his burial in his hometown of Mashhad, with additional ceremonies planned in Qom and Iraq in between. The ceremonies are expected to draw 15 to 20 million mourners, according to officials, which would make it the biggest state funeral in the country’s history.
Ahead of the funeral, Iran’s chief negotiator and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf called on the people of Tehran to come out en masse to pay respects to the slain leader, who ruled the country for decades.
"I invite all the Iranian people... to write a glorious page in the history of Islamic 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... through your presence" at the funeral, he said. "The nation’s call for vengeance must ring in the ears of the whole world."
Khamenei, a spiritual figure for many Shiites, was killed at the age of 86 at his compound in the center of the Iranian capital on the first day of the war. His public funeral will begin on Saturday, with his body lying in state at the colossal Grand Mosalla complex in central Tehran that hosts major Friday prayers, official ceremonies and religious gatherings. The bodies of his slain relatives will also be presented.
"Iran... is preparing to experience one of the most significant moments in its history," Ghalibaf said. Iran has only ever buried one supreme leader, Khamenei’s predecessor Ruhollah Khomeini, who died in 1989 and was buried in a state funeral attended by millions.
Tehran, as well as the holy cities of Qom and Mashhad, will observe public holidays while the events are underway.
Authorities have ordered public and private offices in Tehran to close from Saturday through Monday, while traffic restrictions will make much of the city center inaccessible to private vehicles.
On Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi gave a similar warning that Tehran would deliver an immediate and powerful response to any threat against its people or leadership after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Iran’s current Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was "marked for death."
It was unclear if Mojtaba Khamenei, Ali’s son and successor, who was reportedly injured in the strike that killed his father and hasn’t been publicly seen since taking office, would attend the mass funeral.
Iranian media reported heightened security measures during the funeral period, while the head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization said on Wednesday that temporary airspace restrictions would be implemented over several cities including Tehran and Mashhad.
IRAN WARNS AGAINST USING HORMUZ ROUTES IT HASN’T APPROVED
Also on Thursday, Iran’s joint military command warned that all oil tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz must use its approved routes or face a "forceful response," again ratcheting up tensions over a waterway crucial for international energy supplies.
The strait, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, has emerged as one of the top issues in negotiations to reach a permanent end to the Iran war. The statement from the Khatam al-Anbiya, reported by Iranian state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
, comes after both US and Iranian diplomats met with mediators on Wednesday in 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...
It wasn’t immediately clear what sparked the threat from Iran. However,
Switzerland makes more than cheese... the US military’s Central Command had put out a statement about having a meeting with officials from Middle East nations in Bahrain that said that "leaders underscored their shared commitment to the free flow of commerce through the Strait of Hormuz."
That appeared to have been the phrase that angered Iran.
"Any failure to comply, deviation from the designated route, or disregard for the navigation protocols of the Islamic Theocratic Republic of Iran in the Strait of Hormuz will be met with an immediate and forceful response from the armed forces, endangering the security of the violating vessels," the Iranian statement said.
It also said the continued presence of US fighter jets over the strait "causes insecurity in this waterway and threatens regional security."
"Any attempt by the United States to interfere in security matters or any disruptive action in the Strait of Hormuz will be considered a threat to Iran’s national illusory sovereignty and will be met with a rapid and decisive reaction," the Iranian warning added.
Iran and the United States agreed as part of an interim deal that ships would be allowed to pass without paying charges for 60 days. But Tehran insisted it must control the routes of the vessels and later charge fees for passage, upending decades of practice in the waterway.
The US and many Gulf Arab states say they won’t agree to the charges. An effort by Oman and a United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... agency to launch a new route near Oman’s shore sparked attacks across the Middle East last weekend, highlighting the tensions.
Khamenei’s public funeral will begin on Friday, with his body lying in state at the colossal complex in central Tehran that hosts major Friday prayers, official ceremonies and religious gatherings.
The procession will end on July 9 in the northeastern holy city of Mashhad, Khamenei’s hometown, where he will be buried, Iranian state media has reported.
Khamenei became the Islamic Republic’s second supreme leader in 1989 and oversaw the expansion of its nuclear program and terrorist proxy network.
He and other Iranian supreme leaders were sworn to destroy Israel. While Khamenei purportedly banned nuclear arms by religious decree, Iran under his leadership amassed some 10 nuclear bombs’ worth of uranium enriched to levels with no peaceful application.
Khamenei was killed on February 28 in the opening strikes of the US-Israeli bombing campaign in Iran. He was succeeded days later by his son Mojtaba, who was injured in the strikes and has not been seen in public since.
The bombing campaign sought to destabilize Iran’s leadership and destroy its ballistic missile and nuclear programs. The fighting entered a truce on April 8, and the US and Iran are engaged in peace talks based on a memorandum of understanding reached last month.
Israel is not a party to the negotiations or the understanding, and Israeli officials have criticized the MOU for failing to secure concrete concessions from Iran on its nuclear program.
Photos published online by Iranian state media show Gen. Ahmad Vahidi attending a meeting about the funeral of Khamenei, 86, then sitting alongside his casket, as Iran’s theocracy held a smaller service for him Thursday night near the supreme leader’s former home in downtown Tehran.
Vahidi has become a major player in formulating Iran’s tough stance in negotiating a possible permanent end to the war with the United States, experts say. He is believed to be part of a small clique in direct contact with Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who remains in hiding after being reportedly wounded in the February 28 Israeli strikes that killed his father, the elder Khamenei, on the first day of the US-Israeli war with Iran.
Vahidi himself hasn’t been seen publicly since February 8, weeks before the Iran war began.
#3
@1 Probably low at the funeral itself, especially with diplomats and VIPs from other countries attending. The possibly of ambushing/drone zapping high value targets on their way from the funeral is a bit higher.
But I'm sure the US & Israel will accumulate some useful intelligence and targeting information from the funeral.
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.
...the 
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?...
...
