[ISSAFRICA] As Islamic State affiliates extend their reach, states must find ways to share intelligence and cooperate, despite political fractures.
Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has resolved to send 100 fighters to reinforce Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP) in Ménaka near Mali’s border with Niger, defectors communicating with current fighters told ISS Today. This comes months after ISSP retreated from the area when Malian forces regained control.
Such decisions by ISWAP’s Shura Council, made at a recent meeting, pose a major challenge to Lake Chad Basin and Sahel counter-terrorism operations – and show an organisation both under pressure and extending its reach.
Anti-insurgency structures in each region are not designed to match ISWAP and ISSP’s cross-regional mobility. ISSP operates mainly across the Mali-Burkina Faso-Niger border area, where the al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin is also active. Success will depend on cooperation between these governments.
One defector quoted a fighter who attended the Shura Council meeting as saying: ‘They [ISSP] are having problems [in Ménaka]’ – meaning the group needed support. Fifty more fighters were heading to Nasarawa in Nigeria’s North Central, hundreds of kilometres from ISWAP’s Lake Chad stronghold, he said – the second such deployment to Nasarawa since 25 fighters were sent there last year.
[IsraelTimes] Senior Israeli and UAE officials have held several meetings in recent weeks in a third country to coordinate positions on Iran, Channel 12 reports.
The UAE made clear its opposition to the maintenance of the MOU — which it believes enables Iran to advance financially and militarily while playing for time and conceding nothing substantive, the report says.
The officials also reportedly discussed possible diplomatic initiatives to advance against Iran in international forums, but agreed to pursue this course only in coordination with the United States.
Unlike other Gulf states, the UAE recognizes that Iran must be faced down, the report quotes an Arab diplomat saying.
[IsraelTimes] Vessels crossing Bab el-Mandeb strait reach four-day high following Saudi-Houthi tensions, easing pressure on oil shipments with Strait of Hormuz still largely closed off
The number of vessels that passed through Bab el-Mandeb, a crucial trade route connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, rose to 28 on Monday, while traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained low, according to Kpler shipping data, amid optimism about a potential resolution to the US-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... conflict.
The vital strait, which links to the Indian Ocean and the Suez Canal, has taken on increased strategic importance in recent months following Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz. However,
alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk... concerns had risen in recent days that Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... ’s Iran-backed Iran's Houthi sock puppets ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him... rebels could shut the waterway, blocking Gulf energy supplies from reaching world ports.
Traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb strait, which passes between Yemen and Djibouti, was still below the month’s daily peak of 46 vessels recorded on July 14, the data showed.
US President Donald Trump ...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party... said on Monday that Washington’s negotiations with Iran were progressing and could lead to a resolution after hostilities resumed earlier this month. But he also warned that military action, which paused over the weekend, could restart if the talks collapsed.
The threats followed disputes regarding Iran’s attacks on US ships. Iran issued similar comments about retaliation.
Of the 12 vessels that entered the Red Sea on Monday, four were oil tankers, according to data as of Tuesday morning.
The 16 vessels that exited the Red Sea on Monday included 10 oil tankers, indicating that energy shipments formed a large share of traffic through the waterway.
Hong Kong-flagged New Pearl, carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi crude oil, exited the Red Sea for eastern China’s Zhoushan port, the fourth Chinese supertanker to leave since the Iran-backed Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi shipping through the strait.
Tensions between 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... and the Houthis escalated last week as the rebel group attacked oil tankers and Aramco facilities along the Red Sea coast.
The Red Sea has become a main conduit for Gulf oil, with Hormuz closed.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained low on Monday, with six commodity-carrying vessels transiting the waterway. They included an Iranian-linked tanker and a large crude carrier that entered with its tracking transponder switched off, making it more difficult to monitor. Four of the vessels entered the strait, while two exited.
Seven vessels transited the strait on Sunday, including three Iranian-linked oil products tankers that exited the strait.
Gulf states have used the pause in Middle East fighting to strengthen their defenses against drones, drawing on combat experience that only Russia and Ukraine currently possess. Ukraine moved quickly to monetize its skills, deploying personnel and equipment to Qatar as part of an… pic.twitter.com/amZhCOHh0G
Gulf states have used the pause in Middle East fighting to strengthen their defenses against drones, drawing on combat experience that only Russia and Ukraine currently possess. Ukraine moved quickly to monetize its skills, deploying personnel and equipment to Qatar as part of an operational reinforcement against Iranian drones.
Ukrainian teams brought three types of interceptor drones and short-range RADA RPS-42 radars, taking positions near key sites including Doha and desalination plants. While the practical effectiveness has been limited, they have begun promoting a full “turnkey” air-defense package to the Qatari authorities, adding an extra last line of protection against low-flying threats
Posted by: badanov ||
07/29/2026 00:00 ||
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#1
So Ukraine has a side job. Well done
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/29/2026 0:07 Comments ||
Top||
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[TASS] Tajik President Emomali Rahmon signed 35 laws, including a new version of laws regulating celebrations and rituals and parental responsibility for the education and upbringing of children, officially banning wasteful spending, traditional children's festivities on Muslim holidays, and wearing clothing that is alien to national culture. This was reported by the head of state's press service.
According to her, the laws "On the regulation of celebrations and rituals in the Republic of Tajikistan" and "On responsibility for the education and upbringing of a child," adopted in the new edition, "are aimed at protecting the genuine values of national culture, preventing superstitions and prejudices, excesses and extravagance in the conduct of celebrations and rituals, raising the spirituality and socio-economic level of the people of Tajikistan, as well as protecting the rights and freedoms of the child, educating and raising children in the spirit of humanism, patriotic pride, and respect for national and universal values."
In March 2024, at a meeting with public and religious leaders, the president noted that national dress reflects the material and spiritual values of its people's past and makes the nation recognizable by its form and style of dress. "Imitating a foreign culture in dress, that is, wearing foreign clothing called 'satr' and 'hijab,' is another pressing problem for our society. The alienation of dress etiquette and rituals is cultural alienation that undermines independence of thought and the national and cultural identity of the nation," the head of state said. He emphasized that Tajik national dress has received international recognition, including from UNESCO. "No paisley or tie-dyed shirts! Weber Bar-B-Q covers...OK"
"In this regard, we must avoid the introduction of so-called religious clothing that does not meet our religious needs and is alien to our customs and culture, in order to protect our authenticity and national values," Rahmon urged. He instructed the Committee for Women and Family Affairs of the Republic, in collaboration with Tajik designers, to develop and present a design for national clothing that meets the religious and ethical needs of Tajik women.
In May, the lower house of Tajikistan's parliament, and on June 19, 2024, the upper house, adopted amendments to the law banning the import, sale, and wearing of clothing alien to Tajik culture. Furthermore, to ensure the safety and upbringing of children, amendments were approved banning children's parties—a tradition in which children visit homes and receive sweets from residents during the Muslim holidays of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Qurbon.
ABOUT THE LAW
The republic's authorities have previously repeatedly called on citizens to avoid wastefulness and excess during holidays. The Law on the Regulation of Ceremonies in the Republic was adopted in 2007 for the same purpose. It regulates the conduct of various festive events and limits particularly lavish celebrations. For example, it limits the number of guests at weddings and funerals, the number of cars in the newlyweds' motorcades, the timing and procedure of celebrations and ceremonies, and other aspects. Violators are subject to fines.
Posted by: chris ||
07/29/2026 0:30 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Great Patriotic Anti-Fashion Day
"Woo-hoo! Rahmon, dude, are you high?"
"Only high on Mohammed, my guy!"
Cue surudi, too shrieky.
He: "Eek! A dashiki!"
"Weak. Let your Tajik freak flag fly!"
[TheConversation] Artificial intelligence may not create a new kind of terrorism, but it makes existing tactics cheaper, faster and easier. That is the central argument of a July 2026 report from the U.S.-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.
It is a convincing argument, but it leaves one question unanswered: Are different terrorist groups thinking about the technology in the same way?
As a terrorism expert who studies how militant groups think and adapt, I have analyzed propaganda, guides and strategic writings from the two most influential jihadi movements of the 21st century – al-Qaida and the Islamic State group – to observe how they interpret and adopt new technologies, such as AI. I also examined documented uses of AI by their affiliates, media outlets and supporters.
I found that affiliates, media outlets and supporters across both movements use AI for propaganda, recruitment, security and planning. But al-Qaida and Islamic State-linked networks approach AI in ways that reflect how each movement fights. Al-Qaida is more deliberate and thinks in decades. The Islamic State moves quickly and seeks immediate effect.
In short, each group’s approach reflects its organizational culture and reveals a different view of time and war. The Islamic State built its project around a caliphate to hold and display now – and that urgency rewards whoever produces a visible effect today. Al-Qaida built its project around a generational war of attrition, betting that will and endurance could outlast a technologically superior enemy.
[IsraelTimes] The man blamed for the deadly attack near Berlin’s Pride parade over the weekend pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in a video, prosecutors tell AFP.
The video clip was found on the phone of Abdul Rahman Ballout,
Whoa — we just got a third name for the dead guy! Previously in our archives as Abdul Ballut, a German citizen with Lebanese immigrant parents, who desperately wanted to do jihad for ISIS...
21, and was recorded on Saturday, the day of the attack that killed a 65-year-old Polish woman and injured 31 people, they say, confirming media reports.
A Public Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson tells AFP that the clip shows a masked individual, presumed to be Ballout, pledging allegiance to ISIS.
The Bild daily reported that Ballout’s phone was found inside the rented minivan the attacker plowed into a crowd near the parade before he crashed it into a tree in the Tiergarten park.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt then said in televised comments that “we assume the person in the video is the suspect.”
Investigators were “in the process of accessing and analyzing the mobile phone found in the vehicle,” he said, adding that “links to ISIS can also be found” on data storage devices found in Ballout’s home.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Olesya Orlenko
[REGNUM] In July 2026, Christophe Rivenc, a member of the Republican party and mayor of the southern French city of Alès, received a letter containing two bullets and death threats.
Similar graffiti appeared on the walls of his home. Law enforcement took the situation very seriously. Meanwhile, it once again illustrates a problem that has been a sad part of everyday life in France for many years.
The authors of the message and graffiti identified themselves as members of the DZ mafia group, legendary in the French criminal world. It emerged from a showdown in Marseille.
More than a decade ago, the city's criminal underworld was controlled by the so-called "Yoda" gang, which specialized in drug trafficking. Their rivals, who eventually seized control, used the DZ symbol. The acronym refers to the Arabic name of the capital, Algiers, from which the new leaders or their families primarily hailed.
The mayor of Alès has been assigned a substantial security detail. And the leader of the Republican party, Bruno Retaillo, who recently served as Minister of the Interior, reiterated on social media his earlier warnings about the "Mexicanization" of the country. He believes this is reflected in the rise of organized crime and the increasing pace of drug trafficking in France.
Retailo believes that the best way to combat drug trafficking and gangs would be to isolate dangerous areas of cities where criminals operate—including with armored vehicles. He also believes that total monitoring of citizens' social media communications to detect suspicious content would be necessary. However, the effectiveness of these proposed measures is questionable.
French police have long been actively combating organized crime, the existence of which they have only reluctantly begun to acknowledge and comment on in the last two or three years.
From late 2023 to March 2024, police carried out a series of special operations called "Clean Square" aimed at combating drug trafficking in Marseille and surrounding cities.
Their goal was to eliminate members of the Yoda and DZ gangs, who had begun to destroy each other in bloody clashes. One such operation was personally launched in March 2023 by President Emmanuel Macron. According to Interior Ministry reports, these operations resulted in over 1,700 arrests and the confiscation of over 150 kg of cocaine. Security officials claim that both gangs were eliminated.
Indeed, some key figures from the Yoda gang are now in the hands of the French justice system. However, a significant number of "mid-level managers" managed to escape. And it's possible that this group's disappearance from the criminal map was due less to law enforcement than to the efforts of competitors. After all, the DZ brand resurfaced in 2025.
Shootouts involving members of this organized crime group have occurred in Marseille and Nice. According to police, they control the criminal underworld of Avignon and Nîmes.
In the city of Ales, law enforcement conducted an operation in several neighborhoods in the spring of 2025. Mayor Rivenk recalls that at that time, "a new network emerged, bringing with it new, more radical methods: reprisals, shootouts, masked men in neighborhoods—a veritable division of the streets." Could this gang be spreading across the country thanks to its power?
In fact, the security situation is problematic and even critical in many French cities. Crimes are committed against mayors, regardless of their political affiliation.
In 2026, criminals burned the cars of the mayor of Echirolles (near Grenoble) and the assistant mayor of Villiers-Saint-Paul (near Paris), both of whom were running as communist candidates. On June 29, the house of the mayor of Riversaltes, a member of the National Rally, was burned down on the Spanish border.
A similar incident occurred in the city of Saint-Brévin. The mayor resigned after a fire started in his home by unknown assailants, followed by a series of threats. Socialist Mayor Benoît Payant of Marseille also received hundreds of threats. And the brother of his deputy, Amine Kessachi, was killed by the mafia.
In 2021, 1,186 local government officials were targeted by criminals. In 2024, this number increased to 2,501. These statistics are frightening and, in some cases, have dampened the enthusiasm of politicians to run for local government.
In addition to threats to the authorities, street shootouts in which bystanders are injured and killed are becoming a daily occurrence in an increasing number of cities. The suburbs of Paris, Grenoble, Marseille, and Nice have long featured in French crime reports.
But the phenomenon is spreading further. From July 15 to 17, 2026, shootouts involving Kalashnikov assault rifles occurred in the tourist town of Carcassonne. DZ claimed responsibility for these incidents.
Current members of the group call themselves "New Generation," mimicking the Mexican cartel Jalisco New Generation. French impersonators actively use social media and make videos mimicking the Mexicans, confirming Retailo's claims.
After threatening the mayor of Alès, they also made a video to claim they weren't behind it. In the footage, "official representatives" of DZ, dressed in black and balaclavas, called the threats against Christophe Rivenk "a vile and disgusting act committed by people seeking to harm society, denigrate French morals, and, above all, target the DZ group." According to the video's creators, their organization's primary goal is profit. And to achieve this, they absolutely don't need to attract the attention of the authorities.
Experts believe that by doing so, the group's members are sending signals in two directions. First, they seek to intimidate their competitors with the inevitability of consequences. Second, they demonstrate to the state their intention to set their own rules.
Attempts by criminal groups to assume state functions have already been observed in recent criminal history—in particular, in Marseille. In disadvantaged areas of the city, gangsters sometimes spread information among residents, promising to repair property damage caused by showdowns. They even made isolated attempts to carry out so-called social campaigns, for example, purchasing school supplies for children from poor families at the start of the school year.
These rare actions are understandable: the loyalty of the population serves as a guarantee of confidentiality. And young people from areas where gangs operate swell their ranks.
Peculiar advertisements for "employees" with specified salaries have been flooding the streets of many French cities since 2025. Recruiters promise that standing guard at a "product" point of sale will earn 150 euros per day. A security guard will earn 200 euros, and a salesperson 300.
The entire situation points to one thing: organized crime is moving in where the state is leaving. Systematic cuts to government spending, streamlining of law enforcement, curtailing youth outreach, and government corruption are leading to other forces filling the vacuum.
Individual measures won't solve this systemic problem. But the current French government's budget and resources are currently focused on militarization and funding the war in Ukraine.
[IsraelTimes] Failure to find a single Jewish lawyer to sit on 18-member committee meant to ‘reflect’ New Yorkers is part of a ‘troubling pattern’ in far-left mayor’s administration, letter says.
Just noting in passing. It’s not troubling at all, it’s just the obvious next step for the Red/Green gentleman. In the meantime, his announcement pied-a-terre surtax, with a published list of the nearly a million properties that may be taxed if they don’t file as full time residents by the deadline is annoying an awful lot of people with money., so look for more evacuations in the coming months.
[IsraelTimes] Content published by Iran’s Tasnim news outlet lists stores where US first lady shops, names her stylists and suggests bribing them to poison her
Iran’s Tasnim news agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, published a video on Monday encouraging supporters to assassinate US first lady Melania Trump.
The Persian-language video, which used publicly available information, named several department stores in midtown Manhattan where the president’s wife is known to shop.
It mentioned security measures taken ahead of her visits, such as the removal of garbage cans from the street, that indicate she is likely to make a trip there.
The clip encouraged "freedom fighters" to use a nerve agent to poison Melania.
It named three of the first lady’s personal stylists and suggested they be bribed to poison her clothing.
At the end of the clip, a narrator threatened: "This is just the beginning; Barron Trump, wait for us!"
The threat was directed at the US president’s 20-year-old son, who studies at a Washington university.
Tasnim’s media license is held by an agency founded by an IRGC commander, and it is widely considered a mouthpiece of the Guards. It was sanctioned in the US in 2023 over its connection to the military force, which is loyal to the Shiite theocracy’s supreme leader.
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 previously threatened to assassinate Donald Trump ...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party... himself.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Israel had shared intelligence with Washington indicating an Iranian plan to kill the US president.
The American head of state also told news hounds several weeks ago that the Iranians "want to take out the US leader — me."
"I’m on every single one of their lists. And so far, I guess I’ve been a little bit lucky, but that maybe doesn’t last very long," he said.
In 2024, the US Department of Justice revealed an alleged plot by the IRGC to assassinate Trump ahead of that year’s presidential election.
The new video was published during a lull in fighting between the US and Iran and amid reports that a breakthrough in mediated talks may come soon, paving the way to a restored ceasefire and negotiating period.
[Kurdistan24] The Kurdistan Regional Government has begun distributing May and June financial assistance to more than 3,500 Ezidi survivors of ISIS captivity, while continuing long-term psychological, educational, and rehabilitation support.
The Kurdistan Regional Government has begun distributing its latest round of financial assistance to Ezidi survivors of ISIS captivity, extending a long-running support program aimed at helping survivors rebuild their lives through sustained humanitarian, psychological, and educational assistance.
The latest payments, covering the months of May and June, are being provided under the direction of Prime Minister Masrour Barzani as part of an ongoing initiative that has become a central element of the KRG's broader recovery strategy for survivors of the 2014 ISIS genocide.
Distribution began Tuesday morning in Shekhan and will continue in the coming days across Sharya, Khanke, and several camps for internally displaced persons, ensuring assistance reaches survivors in multiple communities across Duhok Province.
According to officials overseeing the program, every registered survivor is entitled to receive 150,000 Iraqi dinars for each payment period, with support provided on an individual basis regardless of age or gender.
More at the link
Posted by: badanov ||
07/29/2026 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] The vetting process has been completed for an initial group of some 5,000 Gazans slated to be trained for an emerging Palestinian police force under Washington’s 20-point plan for the Strip, an official from the US-backed Board of Peace tells The Times of Israel.
“There were over 200,000 applications” to the police force since the Board’s National Committee for the Administration of Gaza opened up registration earlier this year, the official says, adding that the NCAG, with the support of the International Stabilization Force that is meant to train and deploy with the police force, completed enough vetting “for a first class of 5,000 cadets.”
Standing up the police force has been a top priority for the Board, which is seeking to install new governing and security bodies in Gaza that can gradually reduce the presence of both Hamas and the IDF in the Strip.
The official stresses, however, that there is no timeline for the police force’s deployment and that its activity in the Strip is “conditions-based.” Many of the Gazans need to complete training outside of the Strip and then be brought back, the official adds, saying that the Board of Peace hopes to begin training the vetted group “in the next weeks.”
Asked about the criteria for joining the force, following Times of Israel reporting that Israel was adamantly opposed to any Hamas-affiliated Gazans being included, the official says the vetting was carried out by the NCAG with support from the ISF, which also “took information” from other bodies — indicating that Israeli security forces played a role and likely vetoed any candidates linked to the terror group.
An Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel in March that Palestinians who previously served as Hamas civil servants had been allowed to apply to the new police force, but would have to undergo Shin Bet vetting to be approved.
On Sunday, the Israeli security cabinet voted to approve the limited entry of the ISF under the US Gaza plan, with troops expected to first deploy along the borders of a pilot humanitarian zone in Gaza being planned by the Board in the area of the southern city of Rafah.
“We’re close to finalizing the plans with the NCAG on how they would administer the zone, legally [speaking],” the official adds.
Officials have told The Times of Israel in recent weeks that securing funding from the US and internationally has complicated the plan’s advancement, but the official says the Board has secured “firm commitments” on the funding for the pilot zone, and has “clear operational plans for which the money would be connected,” though they do not elaborate on the funding sources.
Before any deployment of the ISF or police force, first steps on advancing the zone would focus on “site preparation” in Rafah, the official says, adding this process hasn’t begun yet on a meaningful scale.
[IsraelTimes] Reporters kept out; PM’s aide claims Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain nuclear facility not discussed, president didn’t press Israel to advance reconstruction of Gaza, or to withdraw IDF from Syria, Lebanon
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the White House Tuesday for his first in-person talks with US President Donald Trump ...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party... since the Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... war began in February, and later described their meeting as "excellent" and "one of the best we’ve ever had." The White House succinctly called the talks productive and positive.
The meeting took place behind closed doors in the Oval Office, with news hounds not invited in and without a presser afterwards.
Netanyahu entered the White House through a side entrance that was only partially visible to news hounds, and left without fanfare some 90 minutes later. Held in the Oval Office with the leaders’ respective delegations, it was the eighth meeting between the leaders since Trump’s return to office in early 2025.
The sit-down came amid reported straining of ties between the two leaders, with Trump expressing his annoyance at Netanyahu just before the meeting, and with top US officials reportedly frustrated that none of Netanyahu’s predictions about how well the war would play out have come to fruition, as the conflict continues to fester without a clear end.
However,
Switzerland makes more than cheese... Netanyahu was quick to temper any suggestions that he and Trump were on bad terms, saying shortly after the meeting: "It was a meeting with full cooperation, with mutual support, with understanding on the joint goal that Iran won’t have nuclear weapons, and also other goals."
"It was one of the best conversations I’ve had with our friend, US President Trump," Netanyahu insisted, and "an opportunity to exchange ideas, and also to coordinate on things that are important for the security and for the future of Israel."
Photos released by Netanyahu’s office showed that 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... , Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, US Vice President JD Vance and Trump’s top Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff were all present in the Oval Office.
Trump did not speak to news hounds after the meeting, and the White House did not release a readout on the talks. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the talks, along with Trump’s earlier meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, were "positive and productive."
"Obviously, many important subjects were discussed," Trump later wrote in a brief Truth Social post that included photos from the meeting with Netanyahu, which he described as "very good meeting." Trump put out a nearly identical post about his sit-down with Zelensky, saying the "meeting went very well" and "many things were discussed."
After the meeting, both Netanyahu and Trump left the White House to attend the memorial service for the late, pro-Israel Republican 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... Pickaxe mountain, 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... and Leb ...The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... pullouts, West Bank violence didn’t come up, official says
A bigwig in the prime minister’s entourage told The Times of Israel shortly after the sit-down that they "talked about all arenas — primarily Iran."
However,
Switzerland makes more than cheese... Netanyahu’s National Public Diplomacy Directorate head Tzipi Hotovely told Israeli reports in a briefing later Tuesday that the issue of Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site did not come up.
Trump, in a Fox News interview shortly before the meeting, had criticized Netanyahu for ostensibly publicly discussing Iranian activity at the site, asserting that the prime minister was doing so "because he wants me to stay involved," and declaring that "I don’t need Bibi" to know what is unfolding there. Trump threatened, as he has done several times in recent days, to destroy the Pickaxe Mountain site if Iran does not agree to a deal that, among other elements, will ensure unfettered international traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
The president has several times described June’s Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Iran as over, and repeatedly threatened to launch heavier attacks on the Islamic Theocratic Republic, but suspended two weeks of daily attacks at the weekend, and has also said this week that there is a good chance of progress in negotiations.
In fact, the prime minister has not spoken about Pickaxe Mountain publicly, but some reports on purported Iranian activity at the nuclear site have been attributed to unnamed Israeli officials, presumed to be close to Netanyahu.
Hotovely, who was not in Tuesday’s meeting but was briefed by the premier, said that the idea that Netanyahu came to the White House to share specific intelligence about Iranian activity at the underground nuclear facility "is a sort of fake news that ran throughout the day."
"We know how to work in close cooperation with the US intelligence through our channels. We don’t need this meeting to bring intelligence," Hotovely said.
Hotovely insisted that Netanyahu’s "goal was to deepen coordination, but not to push the president to take one action or another. We do not tell the president of the United States what to do."
On the Iran threat, "there was a deep understanding in the meeting that we are striving for the same goal," she said.
Hotovely also claimed that there was no pressure from Trump in the meeting for Israel to move forward with the reconstruction of Gaza, nor was there pressure to withdraw IDF forces from Syria or Lebanon, despite days of reports that the US would push Israel to concede in all those areas.
According to one report, Trump had even refused to meet with Netanyahu until he conceded on at least one arena, with the premier choosing to clear the way for the cabinet to approve a pilot program for the entry of international troops into Gaza.
"There is more or less an understanding of where we are on the Gaza issue," Hotovely said. "And of course the most important thing to say on the Gaza issue is that reconstruction will not begin before full demilitarization."
The possibility 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... joining the Abraham Accords was discussed, Hotovely added. However,
Switzerland makes more than cheese... the topic of hard boy Jewish violence against Paleostinians in the West Bank, which has been taking place almost daily and has sparked ire in Washington, did not come up, she said.
Despite the Israelis trying to put a positive spin on the meeting and to downplay perceptions that Netanyahu was pushing Trump to resume the war and take a harsher line on Iran, Israeli officials said after the talks that there was concern in Israel over which direction the mercurial American president would take now in his dealings with Iran.
"We are in a critical period," a senior Israeli official told Channel 12 after the Oval Office meeting. "President Trump will make a decision soon where he is heading," said the official. "We are not pushing him, but also aren’t burying our heads in the sand. Netanyahu presented [Trump with] the Israeli perspective," including unspecified Israeli intelligence on Iran, said the bigwig.
"Netanyahu believes there is no choice" but to attack Iran again, the Channel 12 report continued, apparently still quoting the senior Israeli official. These need to be "significant attacks — on nuclear facilities, capabilities that have been rebuilt, and sites that weren’t previously hit." Such strikes, Israel believes, would have the potential to "shake the stability of the regime."
LEFT-WING JEWISH GROUPS PROTEST OUTSIDE
Of course they did. The left insists on being heard, though they have nothing interesting to say.
As was the case during previous Netanyahu visits, a small group of anti-Israel activists staged a demonstration several blocks away from the White House during the meeting, blaring a non-stop siren that, nonetheless, could barely be heard from inside the building.
Several Jewish organizations, including J Street, New Jewish Narrative and UnXeptable DC, also staged an anti-Netanyahu protest across the street from the White House.
I’ve seen suggestions that the two of them are playing a psy-op on all the h8ters, as they have done before.
[IsraelTimes] President keeps press out of meeting amid concern that a widely covered sit-down, as he mulls renewing Iran offensive, would bolster belief that PM wields outsized influence over US
[IsraelTimes] Stepped up effort by Tehran to score ‘strategic psychological achievement’ reportedly leads to beefed up Shin Bet security, explains why Netanyahu left for US under the radar, after convening cabinet in underground facility
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 stepped up attempts to physically harm current and former senior Israeli officials, including a group of top incumbent ministers, according to an assessment that the security establishment delivered to the threatened figures in recent days, unsourced Hebrew media reports said Tuesday.
While Iran has long tried to harm Israeli officials, Israel’s security establishment has recently identified increasing efforts to "quickly" score a "strategic psychological achievement" against Israel in the form of an attack on high-ranking individuals, Channel 12 reported.
The Shin Bet has beefed up security for several senior Israeli officials, and former bigwigs are also being targeted, a similar Ynet report said.
The threat was reportedly why Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on the advice of security officials, took off for the US on Monday from the Nevatim Air Force base in the south — rather than the Tel Aviv-area Ben Gurion Airport — and without making his time of departure public.
Netanyahu also convened the cabinet for its weekly meeting on Sunday in a secure underground facility, rather than the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem. A PMO official had attributed the move to unspecified security concerns.
On Thursday, Israel’s Mosssd ...sees all, knows all, gets 'em all in the end... intelligence agency said that together with foreign counterparts, it foiled an Iranian intelligence network that recruited operatives through criminal organizations to infiltrate Israel and harm bigwigs.
Netanyahu met with US President Donald Trump ...dictatorial for repealing some (but not all) of the diktats of his predecessor, misogynistic because he likes pretty girls, homophobic because he doesn't think gender bending should be mandatory, truly a man for all seasons... at the White House on Tuesday, after the US on Saturday concluded 13 straight nights of Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s against Iran, the largest reigniting of the regional war since an April ceasefire.
Trump was said to be waiting until after the meeting with Netanyahu to decide whether to revive an interim agreement with Iran last month.
Israel is not a party to the agreement or the ensuing peace talks, and Israeli officials have criticized the agreement for failing to secure concrete concessions from Iran on its nuclear program.
The US and Israel jointly launched a bombing campaign on Iran on February 28 in a bid to destabilize its regime and destroy its ballistic missile and nuclear programs.
#1
Why haven't we taken them out by now? Pearl Harbor wasn't this big of a provocation. Getting caught red-handed in a plot to kill the cabinet and leader of our closest ally? Shin Bet had to uncover it, where the hell was CIA and FBI?
#3
Israel is responsible for Israel’s security, which they’ve been handling better than the leftovers from the Biden-Harris Politburo, to be honest. We have enough worrying about our own — as Skidmark’s link shows.
Iran is expected to receive its first shipment of as many as 400 Chinese-made shoulder-fired air-defense missile launchers within weeks as Tehran rebuilds defenses damaged in the war with the U.S. and Israel, Reuters reported.
The $60 million to $70 million contract covers between 300 and 400 QW-12 and FN-16 man-portable air-defense systems, three sources familiar with the deal told Reuters.
The weapons are designed to target low-flying aircraft, helicopters and drones.
President Donald Trump has said China's Xi Jinping has denied providing support for Iran's war effort and he scoffed at the notion that Russia and China are provided defense equipment, mocking its use in Venezuela as "unimpactful" against American forces.
"I want to thank China because, to be honest, I asked President Xi not to get involved with Iran, and they get 50% of their oil from the strait," Trump said June 19.
The reported systems would give Iran a more mobile layer of protection around military sites and critical infrastructure after months of U.S. and Israeli strikes exposed gaps in its air defenses.
Sources said the initial deliveries were expected to move from western China through Pakistan, though Pakistan denied involvement.
China’s Foreign Ministry called the report “completely groundless.”
WHAT TO KNOW
For the first time, Saudi Arabia joined U.S. strikes in Iraq and Iran launched missiles at U.S. forces in Jordan, widening the regional war.
Iraq condemned the U.S.-Saudi attack on Iran-backed militias as a violation of sovereignty while rejecting the use of Iraqi territory for strikes against neighboring countries.
CENTCOM is considering cellphone confiscations for troops in Jordan after warnings that videos and location data could help Iran attacks on US bases and improve follow-up targeting.
Failed Iran talks over the Strait of Hormuz sent oil prices today sharply higher, with WTI crude oil prices climbing 4.3% to $82.69 and Brent nearing $88, fueling inflation fears.
#2
If I were in the Emperor's place I would send stuff you already knew was, well, crap.
That way he avoids trouble with a mercurial president and retains the eminently plausible excuse that' stone age goat mo-resters no unnerstan modern technorogy'.
Case closed and everybody's happy except for Ali and of course his goat.
[IsraelTimes] UN peacekeepers say they found around four tons of mainly ammonium nitrate explosives this month in a south Lebanon border village under Israeli occupation.
On July 2, during a “routine route check” near Hula, “peacekeepers found 385 containers abandoned inside a building, containing approximately 4,000 kilograms of explosive material, consisting mainly of ammonium nitrate compounds,” the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) says in a statement.
Why would the IDF carry around unassembled explosives when they could more efficiently make use of the finished product? Unless they’d picked up a Hezbollah cache along the way and hadn’t yet disposed of it…
UNIFIL specialists “later carried out on-site procedures to render the material inert, making it safe and removing the risk it posed.”
A source with knowledge of the matter tells AFP on condition of anonymity that the containers had Hebrew writing on them and were “likely used for demolitions.”
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency has reported Israeli detonations in Hula on four occasions this month.
On July 8, the Hula municipality condemned “in the strongest terms the crimes the Israeli enemy is carrying out of burning, blowing up and destroying homes, public buildings and private property.”
[IsraelTimes] Tehran says it executed men in front of crowd in Malekshahr city square for ‘waging war against God’; pair convicted of tying up police officers and setting them on fire
Iran’s judiciary on Tuesday announced the hanging of two men over charges relating to anti-government protests that peaked in January, with media reporting it took place in a public square.
“The death sentences of Abolfazl Sepahi and Amir-Hossein Safari were carried out this morning,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said.
Mehr news agency meanwhile reported that the hanging took place in “a square in the city of Malekshahr” in the central Isfahan province, with people present.
The two were found guilty of “attacking police officers with machetes and knives, tying them to road signs, pulling them on the ground, dousing them with gasoline, and setting them on fire” on January 8, Mizan said.
It added that they had faced charges of “moharebeh (waging war against God) by drawing weapons and creating fear and terror” and “corruption on earth for committing acts that severely disrupted public order and security in the country,” among others.
In late December, a protest movement initially sparked by the high cost of living rapidly evolved into widespread anti-government demonstrations that peaked on January 8 and 9.
Iranian authorities reported more than 3,000 deaths, attributing the violence to “terrorist acts” orchestrated by the United States and Israel.
Rights groups based abroad maintain that security forces fired on protesters, killing several times that number.
US President Donald Trump had threatened at the time to intervene militarily in Iran due to nuclear expansion in the country and the totalitarian regime. The US and Israel later launched a joint attack on the country on February 28 that sought to degrade Iran’s military and nuclear capabilities while creating the conditions for regime change.
Since the start of the war, arrests and executions have multiplied in the country, linked to both the conflict and the protests.
On July 19, two other men were hanged over similar charges in Isfahan province.
According to Amnesty International, Iran conducts the second most executions of any country, after China.
[IsraelTimes] Report says over 1,500 death row inmates at prison in Tehran area have been refusing food for 2 weeks, with video filmed inside the facility showing a group chanting: ‘Be our voice’
[IsraelTimes] Offer is based on Asia’s Strait of Malacca, where those who use it voluntarily contribute to management; Iran would not solely run the key waterway.
President Trump's economic assault on Iran has drawn a fraction of the attention devoted to his bombing campaign, even as senior U.S. officials believe it may ultimately do more damage to the regime in Tehran.
Why it matters: U.S. intelligence and open-source media reports point to a deepening economic crisis inside Iran, including gasoline shortages in one of the world's most oil-rich countries.
"The Iranians want to stop being bombed and they want money," a senior administration official said. "But that's almost in reverse order. They really want the money first."
Driving the news: Trump, who paused U.S. strikes against Iran over the weekend after 13 consecutive days of attacks, said Monday that Tehran had requested a meeting to discuss a deal.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei denied that claim.
Both sides are talking to mediators, led by Oman, Qatar and Pakistan, who are seeking to convert the pause in fighting into a durable new ceasefire.
More at the link
Posted by: badanov ||
07/29/2026 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[297 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Could sanction them by taking out Kharg Island.
Posted by: chris ||
07/29/2026 0:27 Comments ||
Top||
[NationalContext] Syria is increasingly benefiting from the land corridor carrying Iraqi oil to the Mediterranean as Baghdad comes under growing pressure from the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The worse Iraq’s export crisis becomes, the more traffic, hard currency and economic activity Damascus captures.
Since April, 2.123 million tonnes of Iraqi fuel oil have crossed Syria by road to Baniyas. At roughly 30 tonnes per road tanker, this equates to about 70,800 loaded journeys.
Two routes are operating. The first runs through the al-Waleed-al-Tanf crossing and opened with a convoy of 299 tankers carrying Iraqi fuel oil towards Baniyas. The second runs through Rabia-Yarubiyah, which Iraq reopened in April after more than a decade of closure, adding capacity for supplies from northern Iraq and easing congestion at al-Waleed.
The operation began with a handful of vehicles, but traffic has now reportedly reached around 1,000 tankers per day, with discussions under way to double current volumes. Baniyas is unloading around 900 tankers daily and loading roughly one seagoing vessel every seven to ten days.
The fuel is discharged into storage tanks and pumped onto ships for export rather than refined in Syria. Cargoes have already reached Spain, Egypt and the United States, making Syria an increasingly important Mediterranean outlet for Iraqi petroleum products.
More at the link
Posted by: badanov ||
07/29/2026 00:00 ||
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[128 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria/HTS
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 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...
...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 
...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...
...sees all, knows all, gets 'em all in the end...
[IsraelTimes] UN peacekeepers say they found around four tons of mainly ammonium nitrate explosives this month in a south Lebanon border village under Israeli occupation.
