[ToloNews] Barham Salih, the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... High Commissioner for Refugees, said at a meeting of the organization's Executive Committee that nearly seven million Afghans have returned to Afghanistan from neighboring countries since late 2023.
According to him, many of these returnees were sent back under difficult circumstances and against their will.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees added: "Returnee communities face poverty, limited access to basic services, and particularly restrictions imposed on women and girls. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and other partner organizations are supporting the reintegration of returnees. However,
ars longa, vita brevis... the scale of these challenges requires much greater investment and support from the international community."
Shahzad Aryan, a university professor, said: "Undoubtedly, the migrants colonists who have returned to their homeland are among Afghanistan’s most valuable assets. International aid organizations and the government must pay serious attention to their needs."
The Islamic Emirate has also emphasized the provision of necessary facilities and cooperation among relevant institutions to address the situation of returning migrants colonists.
However,
ars longa, vita brevis... the growing needs of returnee families and the limited resources available to support them remain major challenges in managing the return process.
Abdul Raziq Adel, a migrant rights activist, said: "The return of such a large number of migrants colonists is a major test of the conscience of the government and the international community. If the Islamic Emirate and the international community manage the situation effectively, they can prevent a major humanitarian disaster this coming winter."
The return of nearly seven million Afghans is not only a humanitarian concern but also presents significant challenges in housing, employment, healthcare, and education.
The key question now is how to move beyond emergency assistance and create opportunities for stable living conditions, education, and sustainable livelihoods for returning families.
[ACCLEDdata] OVERVIEW
Over August and September, Islamic State Mozambique (ISM) has increasingly targeted civilians in Mocimboa da Praia, Muidumbe, and Macomia districts. In September, the group returned to threaten communities in Nangade. The response in Mocímboa da Praia town has been to tighten security measures, which has constrained commercial and humanitarian activity. As a result, the town is likely to become more tense. That tension may be directed toward the state, either through protests or increased collaboration with ISM.
Evidence suggests that ISM’s return to Nangade is to draw on support from neighboring Tanzania, a development likely to lead to tightened security measures on both sides of the border.
Meanwhile, the early October release of hostages taken by ISM in Niassa province last month in return for ransom is likely to embolden the group to target foreigners for abduction in the future. This will concern humanitarian organizations across Cabo Delgado, mining companies active around the Montepuez district, and Niassa province’s tourism sector.
[IsraelTimes] The Houthis are trying to build advanced medium-range ballistic missiles using parts delivered from China, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing a report by Conflict Armament Research.
According to report, the Tehran-backed group is attempting to build a version of Iran’s Kheibar Shekan precision-guided missile using a selection of Chinese parts.
The planned projectile would have a range of some 900 miles, the report says, meaning that it could be used to target Israel and Saudi Arabia.
The Kheibar Shekan, or Kheibar-buster, is named after a Jewish castle overrun by Muslim warriors in the early days of Islam.
It has a range of 1,450 kilometers (900 miles), making it fully capable of reaching Gulf nations and Israel. Its ability to be quickly deployed and launched has helped the Iranians avoid air strikes during the war by the Israeli and US air forces as they hunted for and eliminated launch sites.
🔴 Houthi Expansion Toward the Western Coast.. An Adventure Bearing the Seeds of Their Defeat
⭕️ The Houthi expansion toward Hodeidah, Al-Makha, and Bab al-Mandab faces geographical and military challenges, amid local resistance and escalating regional and international pressures
⭕️ Multi-Front Drain
The expansion of confrontation areas imposes human and logistical burdens on the Houthis, threatening their supply lines and military capabilities
⭕️ International Strategic Importance
Threatening navigation in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab raises the cost of escalation, placing the Houthis before repercussions that extend beyond "Yemen's" borders
⭕️ Containment Is Not Enough
Changing the equation requires unifying Yemeni forces opposed to the "Houthis" under effective leadership, and exploiting military and logistical weaknesses
[KhaamaPress] Reform UK has threatened visa restrictions, trade tariffs and other sanctions against Afghanistan, Pakistain, Somalia, Eritrea ...is run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), with about the amounts of democracy and justice you'd expect from a party with that name. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled; none have ever been held in the country. The president, Isaias Afewerki, has been in office since independence in 1993 and will probably die there of old age... , Syria and Sudan ...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans... if the countries refuse to accept people deported from Britannia, as part of a proposed immigration crackdown if the party wins the next general election in 2029.
The party, led by Nigel Farage, outlined the measures as part of a broader plan announced on Monday to suspend the UK asylum system for five years, reject pending asylum applications and deport people whose claims are unsuccessful or no longer accepted under its proposed rules. Rooters reported that the plan would also involve restrictions on countries that refuse to cooperate with deportations.
Reform UK has also pledged to end legal refugee resettlement routes, including schemes for Afghans who did not directly assist British military forces. The party says it would retain arrangements for Ukrainians who fled Russia’s full-scale invasion. The proposals could affect Afghan refugees and others who rely on humanitarian protection or resettlement pathways.
The party has further proposed reviewing asylum and humanitarian protection decisions made in recent years, with some people potentially losing their status if their countries of origin are deemed safe. It has also promised to identify people living in Britannia unlawfully through a nationwide review using official records. Reform UK says around 10,000 foreign nationals convicted of crimes are currently held in British prisons.
The proposals have drawn criticism from refugee advocates and political opponents, who warn that suspending asylum procedures and accelerating deportations could put vulnerable people at risk, including those who may face persecution if returned to their home countries. The measures remain political proposals and would require implementation through government policy and potentially face legal challenges.
#1
Given many Open Border arrivals, never adopted their new country, its laws, its culture and its general way of living, after years of being allowed in.
Plus setup mini-old-country communities, that were 3rd world clones of their former country. Some even tried to set up their own court systems using their own countries laws and had their own community police.
SO YES !If they won't adopt and blend-in, then deport and return them.
Plus charge their former countries for the cost of their, crimes, stays and slow-boat home return.
[IsraelTimes] The UK’s MI5 spy chief Ken McCallum says in his annual speech that terror groups Al Qaeda and the Islamic State continue to inspire plots, and that MI5 is still having to respond to attempts to carry out mass-casualty attacks, after the country raised its national terrorism threat level to “severe,” meaning an attack within the next six months is highly likely.
He says the most marked trend of the last year has been the increase in cases where extreme right-wing anti-immigration and anti-Muslim grievances are tipping over into terrorist intent.
An investigation into one 13-year-old who had been radicalized by extreme right-wing ideology has led to an unnamed foreign partner thwarting a lethal attack on its soil, he says.
He adds that a 16-year-old was sentenced to 10 years in prison for planning to firebomb a Muslim center, according to The Guardian.
[IsraelTimes] An anti-Zionist group in Toronto announce an event to train attendees to edit Wikipedia, followed by an organized editing session.
The activist group, called Stop Art Washing, calls the event the “Free Palestine Wiki Edit-a-Thon,” and says its goal is to “populate Wikipedia entries honoring martyred Palestinian artists and exposing the Canadian Zionist backers of genocide.”
The event will include a “Wikipedia 101 session and hands-on editing,” organizers say.
“Against attempts to erase Palestinian martyrs and conceal the Imperialist perpetrators of Israel’s genocide, this Wiki Edit-a-Thon remedies the narrative, towards Palestinian liberation,” organizers say.
The event appears to violate Wikipedia regulations against “showcasing,” propaganda and promotional articles, and its rule that all content must be written from a neutral point of view.
Anti-Zionist activists have previously coordinated editing online, according to prior reports, and there was at least one anti-Israel Wikipedia “edit-a-thon” held in London in 2024.
Wikipedia has massive influence on the online information ecosystem because the platform is often a first stop for research, and because the site feeds into other platforms like search engines and artificial intelligence platforms. Pro-Israel activists have previously complained of an anti-Israel bias in the site’s content.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Ilya Maximov
[Regnum] School protests have spread to another European country: Austria. There, the spur was a ban on hijabs and traditional Muslim head coverings for girls under 14 in schools, which came into effect at the start of the school year.
It was approved by parliament in December 2025, came into force on 1 September 2026 and applies to public and private educational institutions.
The law was supported by the ruling coalition of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ), and the liberal NEOS, as well as the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ). Only the Greens opposed it.
The current ban is the second attempt to legally restrict the wearing of headscarves in Austrian schools. In 2019, the ÖVP-FPÖ coalition introduced a similar rule for girls under 10.
However, the Constitutional Court overturned it just over a year later, arguing that the decision, which targeted Muslims exclusively, contradicted the principle of religious neutrality of the state. The new law was drafted with this in mind, but it, too, has already been challenged; the Constitutional Court's verdict is expected in the first half of 2027.
Supporters of the law justify its necessity by protecting children from religious coercion. Minister for Europe, Integration, and Family Affairs Claudia Bauer called the headscarf "a symbol of oppression and a means of controlling girls from early childhood."
"Girls in Austria must grow up free, open, and independent," she emphasized.
Neos MP Yannick Shetty stated, "This isn't about restricting freedom, but rather protecting the freedom of girls under 14. A headscarf isn't just clothing. For minors, it serves to shield girls from the male gaze. It sexualizes girls."
Commenting on the law's passage, FPÖ spokesperson Richarda Berger remarked, "Political Islam has no place in Austria, much less in our schools." However, as subsequent events revealed, this statement was more of an attempt to pass off wishful thinking as reality.
Despite sanctions, many continue to wear prohibited headwear. The response to violations is as follows: if necessary, teachers remind the student of the ban; if the violation is repeated, a conversation with the parents follows; then a summons to the educational directorate (equivalent to the Department of Education); in extreme cases, a complaint is filed with the administrative authority, which can impose a fine of 150 to 800 euros, even multiple times.
The official Islamic Religious Community of Austria (IGGÖ) strongly condemned the new restriction. "We believe it unfairly restricts the fundamental right to freedom of religion and disproportionately affects Muslim girls," said IGGÖ spokesperson Carla Amina Baghajati.
One would think it only affects Moslem girls, but we’ve seen in the banlieues that unbeliever girls have taken to wearing the hijab in the hope that it will protect them from being harassed — and worse — by Eve-teasing Moslem males of all ages.
The community supports the lawsuits filed by schoolgirls and their families, who believe their rights have been violated. At the same time, the Islamic Religious Community of Upper Austria, in response to a query from the newspaper Mein Bezirk, emphasized that wearing head coverings for children is not obligatory in Islam.
However, the protesters are unconcerned about such clarifications. The ban has met with significant resistance.
Since the start of the school year, there have been over 250 summonses to education directorates across the country, with 87 cases resulting in the issuance of fines for repeat violations. The majority of these cases were in Vienna: 210 summonses and 53 complaints.
Very quickly, local rallies and online outrage escalated to street protests in major cities. "School strikes" took place in Vienna, Graz, Innsbruck, Linz, and Bregenz.
According to organizers, approximately three thousand people took to the streets in the capital. The rally began at Human Rights Square, from where the column moved through the central districts, causing traffic disruptions.
The massive turnout is unsurprising:
…three thousand is not at all massive. 300,000 is in the massive range…
four out of ten teenagers in the Austrian capital are Muslim, reports Salzburg 24. However, not all participants were schoolchildren—there were plenty of adult opponents of the initiative, including both relatives of the students and activists from various left-wing organizations.
Participants demanded the repeal of the new rule, while also speaking out against "racism and sexism." Chants included: " Hands off girls' heads," "Racist, sexist, disgusting: the ban must be lifted," and "Hair scarf or not—only we decide! "
Of course, such statements are loud, making them ideal for mobilizing an audience. In modern leftist rhetoric, the concept of "racism" is often associated with Islamophobia.
But this "expanded" understanding only blurs the meaning of the term. It's not an argument, but a deliberate attempt to deflect the discussion with a sweeping accusation. Sexism in this context is even more absurd, since the law doesn't require girls to wear anything, it merely prohibits one item of clothing.
The slogan "My body, my choice," which was heard at the demonstrations, is also a form of mass consciousness manipulation. It has nothing to do with the body at all; it's simply a matter of rules of conduct within the walls of an educational institution.
Even without the new law, schools regulate students' appearance. They prohibit wearing overly revealing or provocative clothing or displaying radical symbols, but no one objects to this.
Interestingly, the organizers of the protests included youth organizations of the Social Democrats (SPÖ), along with other left-wing groups whose names speak for themselves—the "Socialist Youth" and the "Red Falcons." Speakers called for further protests to repeal the law.
In other words, the usual Red-Green (Socialist/Communist-Moslem) alliance. No surprise there.
The irony is that SPÖ members themselves voted for this ban in parliament. It turns out that party members are voting for the initiative, while its youth wing is leading people out onto the streets against the same proposal.
Ignorant, unsophisticated young people like communism because they hope to get according to their wants without putting in work. Ugh. Once upon a time the attraction was idealistic, but with a century of history to look back on, those who want it now have no excuse.
However, everyone has long since become accustomed to the duplicity of European politicians, but what is truly curious is the participation of the indigenous population in the protests.
Among the participants, for example, were local girls who don't wear headscarves themselves but consider the new rule unfair. A 17-year-old schoolgirl shared a paradoxical thought in an interview with Der Standard: "You can't stop coercion with more coercion."
Showing her ignorance. That’s actually the only way.
This speaks volumes about the results of the policy of inclusiveness, as a result of which it was not the newcomers who became Europeanized, but the Europeans who became Islamized, even though they believe they are defending democracy rather than fundamentalism.
Well said.
Migrants were supposed to gradually adopt European norms, language, and secular rules, and the indigenous population was supposed to help them with this, while maintaining their own values.
But in reality, it turned out that some Europeans did not so much help migrants integrate as they themselves sided with a tradition that Muslim institutions do not even consider obligatory for children.
Considering that this is far from the only such case, and that Zoomers protesting in France are already singing songs glorifying Islamists, the trend is obvious, and it does not bode well for Europeans.
Minister Bauer criticized the demonstrations. "Freedom of expression is a great blessing, but it's extremely disturbing that some organizations are pressuring girls to protest against their own freedom," she said.
There are also ordinary Austrians who support parliament's decision, but many are afraid to speak out openly for fear of appearing "insufficiently tolerant." "My wife is also from abroad. But I say: if someone wants to close down, let them do it in countries where it's customary," a chestnut seller from Linz told Kronen Zeitung.
One thing is clear: the ban not only failed to solve the problem of the gradual Islamization of Austrian schools, but created a new one. Instead of dialogue on girls' rights, religious freedom, and the integration of migrants, the country has experienced protests that have divided society.
[Rudaw] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund... has spent $3 trillion trying to prevent Kurds from exercising their democratic rights, the co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) said Tuesday at the Middle East Research Institute (MERI) Forum in Erbil, calling for a democratic resolution to the Kurdish issue.
"If that mindset, which spent $3 trillion just to prevent Kurds from speaking their mother tongue, had instead spent that $3 trillion on Turkey's economy, prosperity, and infrastructure, we would be looking at a very different Turkey today," Tuncer Bakirhan said during a panel titled "From Conflict to a New Political Settlement: Turkey, the Kurds and the Future of the Region."
Bakirhan said Turkey had spent a century denying the Kurdish issue and pursuing assimilation, arguing that the failure to address Kurdish demands through democratic means had contributed to decades of conflict.
Bakirhan is a former chairman of the Democratic People's Party and the former mayor of the southeastern Kurdish-majority city of Siirt, before he was dismissed by the Ottoman Turkish ministry of the interior and arrested in December 2016 on charges regarding alleged membership and involvement with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and sentenced to a sweeping ten-year term a few years later. In September 2021, the European Court of Human Rights fined the Ottoman Turkish state 10,000 euros for his "unjustified" detention.
"Turkey - like Iraq, Syria, and Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... - has a Kurdish issue and a democracy issue," he said. "For a hundred years, Turkey denied the Kurdish issue and tried to assimilate the Kurds."
His remarks came as Turkey pursues a grinding of the peace processor to end a decades-long conflict with the PKK, with imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan playing a guiding role in the group’s disbandment. The process gained momentum after the PKK announced its withdrawal from Turkey in October, following parliament’s approval of a law in August to facilitate the reintegration of its members.
Bakirhan praised the process, saying Ocalan had taken significant political risks in seeking an end to the conflict, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives. He also thanked Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Masoud Barzani for their roles and contributions to the process.
"To end a 40-year war all at once is not a decision every leader can make," Bakirhan said, adding that the initiative would hopefully reach a successful conclusion.
The DEM Party, which received more than 6 million votes in Turkey, supports efforts to resolve the Kurdish issue through political dialogue, Bakirhan said.
"Wherever democracy is, the DEM Party is there; wherever peace is, the DEM Party is there," he stated.
A BID FOR EQUAL CITIZENSHIP RIGHTS
Bakirhan argued that Kurds did not necessarily need an independent state to achieve freedom, provided the country in which they live guarantees democratic rights, recognizes their identity and language, and treats all citizens equally.
"Sometimes to be free, you do not necessarily have to own a piece of territory," he said. "If the state is democratic, if it recognizes your language and identity, and if everyone living under that state's constitution is an equal citizen, then that state already belongs to everyone."
He said this principle offered an answer to why Kurds could seek equal citizenship and coexistence rather than a separate state.
Bakirhan also linked the resolution of Turkey’s Kurdish issue to stability in Iraq, saying progress toward peace could strengthen regional relations and benefit the Kurdistan Region.
"A Turkey that resolves its own Kurdish question will bring stability to Iraq and its governance, and create trust for the Federal Kurdistan Region," he said.
CRITICISM OF IRAN'S TREATMENT OF MINORITIES
Turning to Iran, Bakirhan said the country’s Kurdish, Baluch, Azeri, Turkmen and other communities continued to face poverty despite its substantial natural resources. He argued that internal repression and foreign military intervention both contributed to suffering.
"If US missiles and Israeli bombs cause bloodshed there, the execution gallows in Iran cause bloodshed as well," he said, criticizing both external military action and Iran’s treatment of its population.
He added that Iran could address its internal problems through a political process similar to the one underway in Turkey.
Bakirhan also called on Kurds to strengthen their unity, warning that regional alliances could shift according to the interests of foreign external powers.
"America is here today and gone tomorrow," he said. "Another country may be a friend today, but tomorrow it leaves because its interests dictate otherwise."
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[IsraelTimes] Security officials familiar with the details of the regional process said there was an enormous gap between Hamas's conduct and US aspirations to advance reconstruction in exchange for disarmament.
US officials and representatives of the Board of Peace are preparing to conduct a field survey and mapping operation in the 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... Strip to identify geographically suitable locations where Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... members would surrender their weapons under US President Donald Trump ...The Hero of Butler, Pennsylvania... 's 20-point plan, Walla learned on Tuesday.
Israeli defense officials have expressed their confusion at the American approach to the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip after the war, particularly Washington's desire to accelerate processes that appear to run counter to developments on the ground.
Security officials familiar with the details of the regional process said there was an enormous gap between Hamas's conduct and US aspirations to advance reconstruction in exchange for the surrender of weapons.
Under Hamas's original demands, the terrorist organization would be willing to hand over its weapons to a third party that would safeguard them inside the Gaza Strip, subject to commitments regarding reconstruction and an Israeli withdrawal.
"If two months ago Hamas was still trying to create a false impression that it was willing to disarm, now it is not even doing that, and it is investing its efforts in preparing for a return to fighting," one security official stressed.
Military officials told Walla that the Gaza Strip is currently closer to escalation than to reconstruction and a negotiated arrangement.
They pointed to attempts by Hamas's military wing to rebuild its capabilities and strengthen its forces, ongoing training exercises, attempts to provoke confrontations with IDF troops along the Yellow Line, and intelligence warnings of planned terrorist attacks.
These include concerns about attempts to carry out attacks in the period leading up to Israel's elections, with the aim of influencing the results.
ISRAEL STRIKING HAMAS 2-3 TIMES DAILY IN GAZA Meanwhile,
...back at the precinct house, Fat Tony demanded his rosco back. He didn't say please... the IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) are carrying out an average of two to three targeted operations daily against Hamas operatives and commanders in the Gaza Strip.
Some of those targeted were involved in the October 7 attacks, while others are currently organizing terrorist attacks or attempting to cross the Yellow Line.
Security officials maintain that, according to assessments in Jerusalem, Israel will oppose any reconstruction measures unless Hamas is disarmed in practice and the Gaza Strip is demilitarized, including the removal of terrorist infrastructure, weapons, and terrorists.
[IsraelTimes] On the one-year anniversary of the Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit, which marked the start of a ceasefire in the Gaza war, the US State Department says “real progress” is being made toward a Gaza that is demilitarized.
Since the onset of the truce crafted by the administration of US President Donald Trump, says the statement, “a series of remarkable achievements have built the foundations for a new Gaza: an enduring ceasefire, the return of every hostage both living and deceased, the establishment of the Board of Peace and a Palestinian technocratic administration to run Gaza, and a fully costed recovery plan.”
The State Department claims that Hamas theft of humanitarian aid has “dwindled.”
“Rebuilding Gaza will be an arduous, multi-year process, and implementation will be difficult,” it continues. “But we are making real progress toward a demilitarized Gaza, where Palestinians can live without Hamas rule and Israel can have genuine and lasting security.”
[FoxNews] Startups bring new technology to defense industrial base
As the U.S. works to refill its missile stockpile, it is also looking to develop new weapons for its arsenal.
"We're going to need all three tiers of missiles. The cheap ones, the ones that are now the high-end like Patriot and then maybe some hypersonics," said Mark Cancian, a retired U.S. Marines colonel and senior advisor with the CSIS Defense and Security Department.
The U.S. military is taking an increasing interest in hypersonic weapons, which are maneuverable and travel five times faster than the speed of sound.
"These hypersonic systems are now seen as the novel revolutionary system and the ballistic missile is seen as the archaic one," said UC Berkeley Senior Research Scholar Cameron Tracy.
But the weapons the military has traditionally invested in could come at a cost. Estimates from the Government Accountability Office show missiles for the Army’s long-range hypersonic weapon, the Dark Eagle, could cost more than $40 million each. As the Navy works to equip its Zumwalt Destroyers with hypersonics, the GAO puts estimates at $70 million per missile, which includes costs to develop and incorporate the necessary technologies. The GAO also notes the modernization project is two years behind schedule.
"In the long run, for example, the Army thinks that the long-ranged hypersonic weapon will become cheaper as production ramps up," said Xiaodon Liang, arms control association senior policy analyst for Nuclear Weapons Policy and Disarmament.
Tomahawk missiles cost around $2.6 million, according to the U.S. Navy. Army budget documents show Patriot missiles cost nearly $4 million. Precision Strike Missiles or PrSMs cost $1.6 million per unit. The U.S. Navy could buy almost 27 tomahawks for the price of one hypersonic missile aboard the Zumwalt Destroyers. The Army could buy around 25 PrSMs for the price of one Dark Eagle hypersonic weapon.
"The U.S. has invested in recent years in several of the programs that are starting to become into fruition," said Liang. "These are exquisite weapons. And I think that the military is acquiring them for exquisite purposes."
Hypersonic weapons travel up to 20 times faster than traditional missiles and an adversary’s reaction time is thought to be six times shorter. Hypersonic speeds are also vital for both evading enemy defense systems and executing strikes. The Atlantic Council estimates 75% fewer hypersonic weapons would be needed for a mission.
Sounds like an easy decision.
Startups are hoping to bring down some of the costs to produce hypersonic weapons with more affordable missiles and increased testing capabilities.
"The weapon itself is under $500,000, which, if you know about munitions, that's incredibly cheap," Castelion co-founder and CEO Bryon Hargis said.
The Army and Navy are investing in Castelion's Blackbeard hypersonic weapon, which the company says is designed for mass production.
"It is a story about hypersonics and what they can provide in terms of a weapon, but it's really a story of American manufacturing," Hargis said. "The company is focused on providing America options to have that middle deterrence layer, and we're doing that through production."
This year, Castelion began building what it says will be the largest dedicated hypersonic weapon production factory in the U.S. Project Ranger is expected to produce thousands of Blackbeard weapons annually. Those will eventually be used to fill Castelion’s various contracts, such as integrating the weapons into the U.S. Navy's F/A-18 Super Hornet Jets, incorporating the system into the U.S. Army’s HIMARS and deploying Blackbeard on unmanned surface vessels.
"The advantage of a hypersonic system is that it goes very far, it gets there quickly and it's highly survivable because of that maneuverability. And that's important for achieving deterrence because it's hard to shoot down," Hargis said.
Hypersonic weapons remain mostly in Earth’s atmosphere. The missiles are maneuverable during flight and can strike a target quickly, in 15-30 minutes from around 1,725 miles away.
"If you don't know what the target would be initially, unlike a ballistic missile where you can calculate where it'll land, you might misinterpret, for example, an incoming strike as a decapitation attempt. And that would be very concerning," Liang said.
Developers say the U.S. speaks with other countries about missile launches and what the intended targets are. But there are other concerns that hypersonic maneuverability could lead to inaccuracy.
"Technologies do tend to improve over time as testing and especially as experience with use builds up, but there are pretty important physical constraints on the performance of these systems," said Tracy.
Defense contractor Rocket Lab is working with the War Department to improve hypersonic missile capabilities through an increasing number of test launches.
"With our HASTE program, what we have enabled is low-cost, high-frequency hypersonic and missile defense testing. And when you can say that you can get that cheaper and faster, now you're looking at more of a shots on goal approach to demonstrating capability of the technology insertion cycle," Rocket Lab Vice President of Global Launch Services Brian Rogers said.
Rocket Lab’s HASTE is a suborbital test bed launch vehicle that provides flight test opportunities for the government to advance hypersonic and suborbital system technology development. The vehicle is derived from Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket, which has launched nearly 100 missions.
"Rather than saying we need to be stuck in an analysis environment, and then it's a very rigorous test campaign that costs a lot of money and involves a lot people, now you can say we're planning 12 tests this year. We don't have to bet the farm on any one of them, which allows us to take more risk and really move the needle in terms of technology development," Rogers said.
The U.S. military has never used a hypersonic weapon but has explored deploying its Dark Eagle to the Middle East.
"I would be very surprised if we used them and would be even more surprised if we used it extensively because of the small number of missiles that exist and the concerns already about the munitions stockpile," Liang said.
[IsraelTimes] Top Hezbollah official says Lebanese state failing in duties, insists it’s working to ‘serve our people’ after US claims money — if it exists — is stuck in Iran due to sanctions
Hezbollah will pay up to $14,000 in aid to families whose homes in 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?... were destroyed or made uninhabitable during the war with Israel, the head of the group’s Executive Council said Tuesday.
At a news conference, Ali Daamoush accused the Lebanese state of failing to carry out its duties to help the displaced.
He said families that lost their homes in Beirut and its southern suburbs would receive $14,000 each, while those elsewhere in Lebanon would get $12,000. Each payment includes $8,000 for furniture, with the rest intended to cover rent.
Daamoush did not say how many families would benefit or how much the payments would total. The money most likely came from Iran, which has supplied Hezbollah with billions of dollars and weapons over decades.
The initiative appears aimed at bolstering support among the Iran-backed terror group and political party’s base and signaling defiance to the Lebanese government and the United States, which has sought to cut off Hezbollah’s funding.
The presser was the terror group’s first on such payments since its latest two wars with Israel, which killed more than 8,000 people and destroyed tens of thousands of homes in Lebanon.
In recent years, the United States has increased its sanctions on individuals and institutions that Washington says Hezbollah uses to funnel money into Lebanon. Flights from 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... to Lebanon have been banned for nearly two years as part of efforts to pressure the Iran-backed terror group.
The latest war began when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in early March, two days after the US and Israel launched a war on Iran. Israel launched a ground invasion, capturing dozens of Lebanese villages and towns along the border, before a US-brokered ceasefire paused the conflict in late June.
About 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon at the height of the war. Most have returned home since the ceasefire, but more than 300,000 remain displaced, according to the International Organization for Migration.
The Israeli military has said that it has killed more than 2,500 Hezbollah operatives, including hundreds of members of the terror group’s elite Radwan Force, since early March.
Forty-one IDF soldiers and one Defense Ministry civilian contractor have been killed in southern Lebanon amid fighting against Hezbollah since hostilities escalated amid the Iran war, which began on February 28.
Two civilians were also killed by Hezbollah rockets, and an Israeli civilian was mistakenly killed in the north by Israeli artillery shelling.
A framework agreement signed by Lebanon, Israel and the United States in Washington on June 26 commits Lebanon and the US to preventing reconstruction funds from reaching entities or individuals affiliated with non-state gangs and taking available legal measures to prohibit their activities.
Under the agreement, Israeli forces were to gradually withdraw from southern Lebanon and hand over control to the Lebanese army, while Hezbollah was to be disarmed, but implementation has stalled.
Hezbollah has rejected the agreements reached earlier this year after rare direct talks in Washington and Rome between Lebanon and Israel, which officially still remain in a state of war.
US State Department front man Tommy Pigott told Lebanon’s This is Beirut news outlet last week that the money that Hezbollah is promising does not exist. If the money were in Iran, he added, "it wouldn’t be able to be delivered to Hezbollah because of our efforts to cut off the Iranian regime from their terrorist proxies."
Asked about those remarks, Daamoush said: "We are not concerned about what the American administration says." He added: "We are working to serve our people and will do all we can to give them shelter so that they go back to their normal life."
Hezbollah will set up centers so that people can visit to review their cases and receive compensation, he said.
[Breitbart] Iran is fortifying its nuclear facilities, preparing its population for renewed fighting, and threatening to expand the conflict across the Middle East if the United States launches another round of strikes, as Washington weighs fresh military action against the Islamic Republic.
Tehran has reinforced sensitive nuclear sites, worked to rebuild its depleted military capabilities, and warned regional governments that another confrontation could bring attacks on American warships, Saudi oil facilities, and even ground incursions into neighboring countries, according to a Tuesday report by the Wall Street Journal.
The preparations come as President Donald Trump weighs his next steps against Iran, having ruled out new strikes before the November midterm elections while leaving open the possibility of renewed military action afterward.
Iranian officials have privately warned intermediaries that renewed hostilities could prompt attacks intended to sink American warships and kill their crews, strikes against Saudi oil facilities, and possible ground incursions into neighboring countries, according to people familiar with the messages.
The warnings follow a separate threat Sunday from Maj. Gen. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s powerful Supreme National Security Council, who said Tehran could target American-linked undersea communications cables, data centers, and artificial intelligence facilities across the region if fighting resumes.
Rezaei valued the American-linked technology infrastructure at more than $2 trillion, warning that assets previously excluded from Iranian targeting calculations could become vulnerable in another war.
“The pulse of the American economy in this region runs through our part of the world,” he told Iranian state broadcaster Press TV.
Meanwhile, satellite imagery analyzed by the Institute for Science and International Security shows Iran has erected earthen barriers and other makeshift defenses around its Pickaxe Mountain and Natanz nuclear sites, apparently intended to complicate potential attacks or ground operations.
The fortifications follow months of activity at Pickaxe Mountain, a heavily protected underground complex that has drawn particular scrutiny over concerns Tehran could use it to restore uranium-enrichment capabilities.
International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi acknowledged signs of activity around Pickaxe Mountain in September but cautioned that inspectors lacked concrete information about what was taking place inside the underground complex.
“There are some indications that there is movement around this construction site,” Grossi told Bloomberg Television at the time. “We don’t have any concrete information as to activities that may be taking place there.”
Separate satellite imagery released last week also showed renewed construction and other activity at Minzadayi, a suspected nuclear-weapons development site northeast of Tehran that Israel struck in March.
The Institute for Science and International Security said the activity could indicate an attempt to restore capabilities lost in the attack, although the imagery alone does not establish that nuclear-weapons development has resumed.
Beyond its nuclear facilities, Iran is rebuilding missile and drone capabilities while mobilizing civilians for another confrontation. Authorities have organized rallies, promoted training in shoulder-fired anti-aircraft weapons, and dispatched members of the Basij paramilitary organization to kindergartens to deliver wartime messages.
Brig. Gen. Gholamreza Jalali, who oversees Iran’s civil-defense preparations, said the country’s airports, seaports, and power plants “have prepared for wartime conditions.”
The United States, meanwhile, is reinforcing its military presence in the region, with a third aircraft carrier strike group and another Marine expeditionary unit heading toward the Middle East.
The military buildup comes amid reported discussions between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about another major operation against Iran.
Axios reported Tuesday that the two leaders discussed the possibility of renewed strikes during several conversations over the previous two weeks, with Netanyahu raising concerns about Israeli intelligence suggesting Tehran was rebuilding parts of its nuclear program, including the possibility of using Pickaxe Mountain as a uranium-enrichment facility.
“Bibi seems to want to go in again,” one American official told the outlet, saying Trump had effectively told Netanyahu to “go ahead and get ready” without committing to another operation.
A White House official disputed the account, calling it “false” that Trump and Netanyahu had discussed resuming the war and reiterating the president’s position that the United States would not attack Iran before the midterms.
Within the administration, War Secretary Pete Hegseth and U.S. Central Command leaders have reportedly been among the strongest advocates of renewed strikes.
Other administration advisers, however, favor continuing the economic pressure campaign, arguing that the American blockade and financial restrictions are increasingly weakening Tehran without requiring another major military operation.
“They claim this economic choking is working better and better. Let’s keep it up,” an American official said, describing that position.
The competing approaches come amid an intensifying American effort to isolate Iran economically, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declaring Sunday that Washington’s campaign had moved beyond maximum pressure to “absolute isolation.”
The administration has targeted Iranian oil exports, shadow-fleet shipping, sanctions-evasion networks, and access to overseas assets while maintaining a naval blockade that has sharply restricted Tehran’s ability to generate revenue.
The possibility of renewed fighting has also figured in military discussions, with Israeli military chief Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine reportedly discussing a potential return to full-scale hostilities within three weeks.
Zamir reportedly warned that fighting on that timeline could force Israel to postpone its October 27 election because of an anticipated Iranian missile response.
At the same time, indirect negotiations remain unresolved, with Qatari mediators awaiting Tehran’s response to the latest American counterproposal aimed at ending the conflict and securing nuclear concessions.
“The negotiations are not really dead, but they’re not really alive,” a U.S. official said. “We’re just here, piling on the pressure and there’s a belief that smarter heads will prevail over there.”
Iran has continued resisting Washington’s demands, with Rezaei declaring Sunday that the American response to Tehran’s seven conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz was inadequate.
“We are not in the process of responding to the Americans. They have responded to us, and we consider their response inadequate,” he said.
Iranian nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami also rejected the prospect of abandoning uranium enrichment last week, responding “Under no circumstances” when asked whether Tehran would relinquish that capability.
[BB] Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), boasted on Tuesday that Iran has “reached the level of developed countries in nuclear science and technology.”
Eslami praised the “scientific talent, creativity, and managerial capacity” that made this putative leap forward in nuclear technology possible, and said attacks by Israel and the United States would not be able to halt Iran’s relentless nuclear progress.
In fact, Eslami claimed the war that began in February only made Iran’s nuclear program stronger because foreign suppliers were unwilling or unable to help repair the damage inflicted by Israeli and U.S. airstrikes, so the AEOI was forced to “develop and manufacture domestic alternatives.”
The AEOI chief repeated the Iranian regime’s standard line that it seeks nuclear power only for peaceful purposes, including “improving lives, strengthening national capabilities, and advancing development.”
At the same time Eslami was boasting of Iran’s amazing strides in ostensibly peaceful nuclear technology, former Iranian foreign minister and vice president Mohammad Javad Zarif was getting in trouble with regime “hardliners” by wondering if obtaining nuclear weapons — the goal Iran keeps insisting it does not have — was worth all of the trouble.
“If anyone thinks nuclear weapons can provide deterrence, just look at Israel,” Zarif said.
This seems like an odd point to make on many levels, not least of which is that no one thinks nuclear weapons are a deterrent against terrorists. The entire point of terrorism is to strike from behind civilian populations and launch attacks that would be unthinkable for a legitimate nation-state.
The Iranian hardliners were not so nuanced in their criticisms of Zarif, who also expressed some reservations about Iran’s policy of developing terrorist proxies across the Middle East, to give Tehran leverage against other nations. Regime loyalists all but accused Zarif of treason, and took the occasion to renew their criticism of current Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, whom they have blasted for being too eager to negotiate with the United States.
Thirty-five Iranian lawmakers have reportedly signed a motion to impeach Araghchi for his “recent mistake in New York,” in which he met with American officials “without authorization from the Supreme Leader.” Araghchi met with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in September to discuss reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
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 Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans...
...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 regional Iranian catspaw,...
...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?...
BREAKING: Israel says pilot tried to hijack flydubai flight to Tel Aviv that diverted, landed in Saudi Arabia
