[IsraelTimes] Israeli consulate claims evaluator shared antisemitic content, withdraws support from the event after organizers say the decision is irreversible as selections have been finalized
The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival apologized and announced it would review its internal processes after the Israeli consulate withdrew its support over an anti-Zionist juror.
The Israeli Consulate in the Southeastern United States withdrew its support for the annual festival Friday after learning one of the student jurors in the human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. category "shared antisemitic and anti-Israel content," the consulate said in a statement.
Fire and publicly shame whoever approved him. And never again accept recommendations from whoever put his name forward to the committee.
The film festival acknowledged the consulate’s decision on Friday and issued an apology on Sunday, saying that it "fell short" in assessing jurors.
Not just in assessing jurors. Read on, dear Reader.
"Recent conversations within the Jewish community have made clear that the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival fell short in our internal processes regarding the recent jury matter," the festival said in its Sunday night statement. "This situation has surfaced clear deficiencies, gaps, and adherence issues in our existing organizational processes and policies, including those related to antisemitism, [Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions,] and cultural boycotts."
But the festival said that because the juror selection process had already been finalized, the juror at issue could not be removed ahead of the festival, which runs through March 15.
Bull. Get in a proper juror, look at all the applications again, and if there are new winners, let the old winners be played in a side room. The differences between the two lists should prove educational for all involved.
Neither the festival nor the Israeli consulate named the juror, but local media reporting identified him as Anwar Karim, a film student at Morehouse College and a Spike Lee Fellow at the Gersh Agency.
Spike Lee is a standard issue African-American Jew-hater, which should have been a hint.
Karim’s social media presence and film portfolio include discussion of the war in 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... . In one video, a political poem titled "Devil’s Work," Karim raps over news clips and social media videos from Gaza, sometimes preceded by parallel images from the Holocaust. In the same video, he draws in other social justice issues like cobalt mining in Congo and the war on drugs. Images in the video include a photo of the Starbucks logo with bloody Israeli flag stickers, a shrinking Paleostine map, and archival clips of prominent Black and anti-Zionist intellectuals like Angela Davis and Stokely Carmichael.
"As a Jewish film festival, we have a responsibility, particularly at this fraught time, to stand firmly against antisemitism and to affirm the Jewish people’s right to self-determination," the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival said in its Sunday statement.
Yes. But you didn’t. Perhaps you all should fire yourselves.
Karim did not respond to a request for comment.
Consul General Eitan Weiss told Southern Jewish Life that when the consulate saw Karim wearing a green keffiyeh in his festival program photo, they were surprised, did some research on the juror, and gave the festival some time to address the issue before deciding whether to withdraw its support.
Then, in a statement issued on February 20, the festival said it had "concluded that the student could participate appropriately within the structure of our deliberations." The consulate announced its withdrawal the same day.
Rightfully so. “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?” as Hillel the Elder wrote.
Six documentaries are up for the human rights prize, including profiles of Raoul Wallenberg and Henrietta Szold, a chronicle of a sex abuse scandal in an Australian Orthodox community and the history of a Jew who successfully took on Henry Ford’s antisemitism. Two films deal directly with Israel: One tackles child sacrifice abortion there, while the other examines UNRWA, the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... agency supporting Paleostinian refugees that Israel says has undermined efforts at peace.
The other two jurors in the human rights category are the executive director of an organization that promotes LGBTQ stories in film and a senior director at the Carter Center, the human rights institute founded by former US president Jimmy Malaise Carter
...only the second worst president ever. Now the third worst, after Obama and Biden...
President Carter also was a Jew hater. And nowadays most alphabet sexuality activists are passionately (and stupidly) are pro-Hamas and anti-Israel. So altogether the Festival organizers are batting a thousand for Jew-haters to judge the submissions for the Jewish festival.
Since the bloody Hamas ..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,... invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023, festivals have become a battleground for activism in the Israel-Gaza war, becoming a point of contention among jurors, panelists, and contestants.
In 2024, an Albany book festival canceled a panel with a Jewish author after two of her co-moderators refused to share the stage with her because of her "Zionist" beliefs.
In January, Australia’s Adelaide Book Festival collapsed entirely after nearly 200 writers said they would boycott the program when a Paleostinian-Australian author who justified "armed struggle" was disinvited from the festival. And this month, the Berlinale film festival was embroiled in tensions after its jury president, the director Wim Wenders, responded to a question about Gaza by rebuffing calls to criticize Israel.
[PUBLISH.TWITTER] Very useful information. Thanks for letting us know, Mr. Khorasani — when the time comes we’ll be glad to help them achieve the dying part of their goals, though we’ll not let them have their location. So sorry.
Abdul Hamid Khorasani, a member of the Afghan Taliban said on Tolo News that they have suicide bombers who can fight the non Muslim world. He also claimed they have people inside Pakistan, linked to the BLA & TTP who can carry out attacks there. They are openly claiming that pic.twitter.com/DXOOshcNoN
Same stuff, different year. They’ll never get better if we keep fixing it for them. Unfortunately, they probably won’t get better even if we don’t fix it for them.
[AFRICANEWS] The number of people in Somalia experiencing crisis-levels of food insecurity has nearly doubled in the past year to 6.5 million people, UN-backed experts warned Tuesday.
The Horn of Africa country has been plagued by conflict and suffered two consecutive failed rainy seasons, as well as a drop in the amount of food aid available amid international funding cuts. But are they Learing?
The population classified as being in a "crisis or worse" situation "has nearly doubled between February—March 2026 to a staggering 6.5 million people since early 2025," according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC), a UN-backed group that monitors hunger and malnutrition.
That includes more than two million people now in Phase 4, the "emergency" category, one step away from the "catastrophic" level, equal to famine, an IPC report said.
An estimated 1.84 million children under five are at risk of acute malnutrition in 2026, including 483,000 severe cases that require urgent treatment, the IPC said.
"This alarming deterioration is driven by worsening drought, rising food prices, and insecurity across central, southern, and parts of northern Somalia," the report added.
"The situation is compounded by declining humanitarian assistance."
The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) warned Friday it would have to stop humanitarian assistance in Somalia by April if it did not receive new funding.
The Rome-based agency said it had already been forced to reduce the number of people receiving emergency food assistance from 2.2 million in early 2025 to just over 600,000 today.
In January, the United States suspended aid to Somalia following the destruction of a US-funded WFP warehouse in the capital Mogadishu's port.
The US announced a resumption of WFP food distribution on January 29.
However,
today is that tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday... all UN agencies have warned of serious funding shortfalls since Washington began slashing aid following President Donald Trump ...The cad! Twice caught beating wimmin!... 's re-election last year.
Levels of acute malnutrition in Somalia have risen for two consecutive years, the IPC report said.
Rainfall from April to June is likely to be near normal in most areas and above-normal in some, but "this will likely lead to only a modest improvement in overall food security.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2026 00:00 ||
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[1835 views]
Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)
They deserve all the rewards — I’m glad it’s happening so quickly for them.
[AFRICANEWS] In the rugged hills of Somaliland, officials say vast treasure lies beneath the earth. The breakaway territory in northern Somalia claims it holds abundant critical minerals and potentially billions of barrels of oil, resources that could transform its economic future.
''We have gemstone minerals and industrial minerals,'' said Mohammad Ali Adam, an expert at Somaliland's Ministry of Energy and Minerals. ''We also have highly sought-after minerals like lithium, cobalt, carbide, and titanium. We expect this will improve the lives of our people.''
Authorities say Israel's recognition of Somaliland in December could be a game changer, unlocking foreign investment and turning long-claimed resources into real economic opportunity. Ahmed Jama Barre, Somaliland's Minister of Energy and Minerals, added: ''We are requesting Israeli companies to help explore our lithium sites, to understand the quantity and quality. Then we will grant licenses to them.''
Israel became the first country to recognise Somaliland's independence since it broke from Somalia in 1991, sparking anger in Mogadishu despite 35 years of self-rule.
Local mine worker Ahmed Ibrahim said, ''We welcome Israel's recognition of Somaliland and see them as brothers. With their support, we hope to expand mineral production and bring in modern equipment to power development.''
President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi has openly considered granting Israel privileged access to Somaliland's mineral wealth, signaling the territory's willingness to leverage new alliances and investment opportunities.
Al Shabaab is losing one of the Strength signs of its survival, RECRUITMENT.
In recent months the group has faced a sharp decline in the number of militants willing to fight under its banner. It has failed to attract the kind of recruits it once relied on to… pic.twitter.com/mquWWxuk4f
Al Shabaab is losing one of the Strength signs of its survival, RECRUITMENT.
Somewhere else is more appealing to the jihad tourists? Good to know. Where are they going instead?
In recent months the group has faced a sharp decline in the number of militants willing to fight under its banner. It has failed to attract the kind of recruits it once relied on to sustain its insurgency.
Information obtained from recent defectors, especially from its combat units, shows that the flow of new members has dropped dramatically. At the same time, large numbers are being killed on the battlefield, while others are defecting or surrendering. This collapse is driven by several factors.
Clan leaders once tasked by the group to mobilize fighters from their communities are now refusing to cooperate and are openly resisting its demands.
Earlier security reports also indicated that the flow of foreign fighters arriving from East African countries has effectively stopped as a result of strengthened intelligence cooperation and tighter border security. However, recruitment from Oromo communities saw a noticeable rise during recent years.
Selon un nouveau reportage de @dw_arabic, publié le 24 février 2026, Oumou Ba, réfugiée malienne au camp d’#Mbera en Mauritanie, témoigne : « La raison de ma fuite vers la #Mauritanie est que l’armée malienne est entrée dans notre village, a… pic.twitter.com/TRvFkJSRDl
According to a new report, Oumou Ba, a Malian refugee at the Mbera camp in Mauritania, testifies:
“The reason I fled to #Mauritania is that the Malian army entered our village, killed nine people and arrested 24 others. I witnessed it myself. I fled as a refugee with a group of people, without any member of my family. The Malian army threatened us: if they came back and found us in the village, they would kill everyone, men and women.”
🛑 A damning testimony that revives accusations of serious violations committed against civilians in Mali by the Malian army.
[AFRICANEWS] The violence that followed the killing of a cartel leader in Mexico is fueling fears that the bloodshed could hurt tourism ahead of the FIFA World Cup later this year.
Oh dear. Somebody seems to have completely lost their sense of proportion.
Guadalajara is slated to be one of Mexico's host cities for the competition.
It was one of many places in Mexico that was marked by violence over the past few days.
Jalisco, in western Mexico, was already facing scrutiny. The state has been plagued by some of the starkest examples of cartel violence in recent years, including the discovery of a cartel killing site at a ranch last March and a crisis of disappearances.
The state, with Guadalajara as its capital, is the central hub for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, whose leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, or ''El Mencho,'' was killed Sunday in a capture attempt by the military.
The operation and waves of violence killed 70 people.
Cartel button men set fire to cars to block streets in states across the country, namely Jalisco, and fought with Mexican forces into Monday as the government said the conflict was under control.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has assured people that there's no risk for visitors coming to Mexico for the competition and that the violence will not affect World Cup festivities.
Guadalajara is set to host four World Cup matches, starting on June 11 with Korea facing the winner of the UEFA Play-offs path D.
ngel Eduardo De La Rosa was working at his store a few miles from a stadium slated to host FIFA World Cup games when police told him to shut up shop because cars and trucks were being burned by cartel members on Monday.
"Things could get ugly, so we closed up and went home to stay safe,'' he recalled.
De La Rosa is among a number of people wondering if Guadalajara's capacity to be a host city for the summer soccer competition even as the Mexican government vows that the summer event — hosted jointly by Mexico, the United States and Canada — won't be affected by recent violence.
'
[JustTheNews] Secretary of State Marco Rubio is flying to St. Kitts and Nevis and will attend a summit of the Caribbean Community
Secretary of State Marco Rubio flies to the Caribbean on Wednesday for talks with regional leaders over the Trump administration's policies regarding the area.
Rubio is flying to St. Kitts and Nevis and will attend a summit of the Caribbean Community, CARICOM, after President Trump ordered a military operation last month to remove and arrest Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, increased aggressive tactics to combat alleged drug smuggling and put more pressure on Cuba, The Associated Press reported.
The summit is for leaders from the 15-nation bloc to debate pressing issues in the region.
CARICOM leaders have complained about the administration's demands for them to accept third-country deportees from the U.S., reject Cuban medical missions and limit relations with China.
The newly elected prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Godwin Friday, said the Caribbean is “challenged from inside and out. International rules and practices that we have become used to over the years have changed in troubling ways.”
St. Kitts and Nevis prime minister and CARICOM chair, Terrance Drew, said during Tuesday’s opening ceremony that the region “stands at a decisive hour.”
“The global order is shifting,” Drew said. “Supply chains remain uncertain, energy markets fluctuate and climate shocks intensify.”
Bahamian Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell told the wire service Tuesday that he doesn’t know which topics will come up in talks with Rubio, but said he expects a discussion on the nature of the relationship with the U.S.
The State Department has not said which officials Rubio will meet Wednesday but that he intends to discuss ways to promote regional security and stability, trade and economic growth in meetings.
Caribbean leaders are also expected to talk about issues like security, reparations, climate change and financing, and a single market economy.
An exceedingly generous gesture by Israel, given that it isn’t safe for Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu and at least some of his government to go to Germany themselves, lest they be arrested and turned over to the ICC, of which Israel is not a member and therefore it legally has no authority over them. Legally, of course, doesn’t matter even a little in the international arena, where all that matters is how many guns are aimed in one’s direction and ready to shoot.
[IsraelTimes] The German navy says it has taken delivery of an Israeli-made Blue Whale underwater drone intended for reconnaissance and detecting “hybrid threats at sea.”
The autonomous underwater vehicle, developed by Israeli company IAI together with German submarine and warship-maker TKMS, was received in the northern port of Eckernfoerde, the navy says in a statement.
The army on its website says the Blue Whale is the navy’s “largest and most advanced unmanned underwater vehicle to date.”
The device was tested in the Baltic Sea, a flashpoint for tensions between Russia and NATO since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the army says.
Military experts and European leaders say Russia has ramped up its “hybrid war” in the strategic region — now bordered entirely by NATO members, with the exception of Russia — through airspace incursions and suspected sabotage of undersea cables.
TKMS says the Blue Whale is capable of “conducting reconnaissance operations, detecting targets above and below the sea surface, collecting acoustic information, and locating sea mines on the seabed.”
Israel and Germany have upped their defense cooperation in recent months and, in January, signed a security pact to expand joint work on counterterrorism and cyber defense.
[Daily Signal] In the wake of Mexico’s recent explosion of gang violence, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, is pushing his Republican colleagues in the House to codify an executive order declaring some drug cartels foreign terrorist organizations.
Roy’s renewed efforts come after a U.S.-led military operation resulted in the death of the cartel’s leader, "El Mencho," which resulted in violent unrest in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, over the weekend.
"The elimination of El Mencho makes clear why Congress must codify President [Donald] Trump’s strong border policies into law," Roy told The Daily Signal.
The Daily Signal depends on the support of readers like you. Donate now
Roy told The Daily Signal on Tuesday that Congress must pass the Drug Cartel Terrorist Designation Act.
"Congress must pass this legislation to ensure that, regardless of who occupies the White House, the United States has the full authority to relentlessly pursue and destroy the cartels," he claimed.
The bill looks to codify a Day-One executive order from Trump, titled "Designating Cartels And Other Organizations As Foreign Terrorist Organizations And Specially Designated Global Terrorists."
"The Cartels functionally control, through a campaign of assassination, terror, rape, and brute force nearly all illegal traffic across the southern border of the United States," Executive Order 14157 reads in part. "In certain portions of Mexico, they function as quasi-governmental entities, controlling nearly all aspects of society."
[IsraelTimes] Masoud & Ali Contracting Co set to build so-called ‘Emirates City’ near Rafah ruins; Palestinian sources say Gazans more likely to accept plan with local firm involved
A 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... -based construction firm has been contracted to build an Emirati-funded compound for tens of thousands of displaced Paleostinians in a part of the territory under Israeli military control, two Israeli officials and two Paleostinian businessmen told Rooters.
The plan for a Paleostinian contracting firm staffed by Gaza workers to build the compound has not been previously reported.
It appears to signal an aim to begin reconstruction without waiting for Israel to withdraw from Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly asserted that Israel will not allow rebuilding to begin before terror groups in the Strip disarm, in the next phase of the ceasefire under US President Donald Trump ...Oh, noze! Not him!... ’s plan.
Employing Paleostinians in construction could be a way to reduce local hostility to the project, but it remains to be seen whether large numbers of Paleostinians would agree to live or work in an Israeli-held area while the vast majority of civilians live in Hamas ..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,... -run areas of Gaza.
The United Arab Emirates has yet to formally announce the housing project, dubbed by some diplomats as "Emirates City."
According to a planning map seen by Rooters, the compound would be built near Rafah on Gaza’s southern edge, an area depopulated and demolished by Israeli forces during the war with Hamas.
GAZA-BASED FIRM TO DO BULK OF WORK
The four sources identified the firm as the Gaza-based Masoud & Ali Contracting Co (MACC), which has led large-scale projects in Gaza and the West Bank for decades. "We have a DEI Tunnel subcontractor, though. A woman-owned bizness"
One of the Paleostinian businessmen, who has direct knowledge of the plan, said MACC would partner with two Egyptian firms to build it. He described the project as spanning some 74 acres and capable of housing tens of thousands of people in pre-fabricated trailer-style units stacked multiple stories high.
The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss plans that have not been announced publicly.
MACC declined to comment. Israel’s military did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did spokespeople for Hamas.
A UAE official did not comment directly on the plans but said the country was "firmly committed to supporting all international relief and recovery efforts in Gaza, in close collaboration with partners, to ensure that life-saving assistance reaches those in need swiftly and effectively."
Since Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire in October, Israel has retained control of 53 percent of Gaza, where it has demolished many buildings and built military fortifications. Gaza’s more than 2 million residents are now largely confined to a remaining sliver of land along the coast under Hamas control, mostly in makeshift tents and damaged buildings.
Gaza’s reconstruction, beginning at Rafah, is a core element of Trump’s plan to end the war, but other major steps have yet to be taken, including the disarmament of Hamas and Israeli withdrawal.
Trump’s plan is being managed by his Board of Peace, a group of international leaders that oversees a Gaza-specific body made up of officials and businessmen and a Paleostinian technocratic committee meant to assume governance of Gaza from Hamas.
The UAE last week pledged $1.2 billion for Gaza at the Board of Peace’s inaugural conference. Its plans to build the housing compound were not included in conference presentations on reconstruction.
In all, Trump announced pledges of some $17 billion for emergency relief and reconstruction, including $10 billion from the US alone. Large sums have been pledged by countries to rebuild the Gaza Strip after previous wars, though, and much of it was never actually delivered.
A US official previously told Rooters that the UAE was coordinating with Washington, the Board of Peace and the Paleostinian technocratic committee on the housing project.
The UAE has been one of the largest donors to Gaza since the war began in October 2023, providing almost $3 billion in assistance, according to its foreign minister. It has established diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020 under a Trump-brokered accord, and sees Hamas and other Islamist terror groups as threats to Middle East stability.
"We continue to be impressed with the UAE’s efforts for bringing a better life for Gazooks in Gaza," a US official said earlier this month.
At last week’s Board of Peace conference, Executive Board member Marc Rowan detailed the first phase of the housing plan for Gaza, saying 100,000 homes will be built in Rafah for 500,000 residents there. Over time, 400,000 more homes will be built in other parts of Gaza, Rowan said. "This is not a problem of money or collateral. This is a problem of peace."
Yakir Gabay, a member of the similarly-named Gaza Executive Board, said last week that Gaza reconstruction will begin by clearing over 70 million tons of rubble and unwent kaboom! ordnance from the territory, along with hundreds of miles of tunnels. Some 70,000 tons of rubble have already been cleared, according to a recent report.
PLAN IS ’MORE ACCEPTABLE TO GAZANS’
The Paleostinian businessman with direct knowledge of the compound’s planning said MACC and the two Egyptian firms had been contracted by a large Egyptian company to carry out the project in Gaza. He declined to identify the Egyptian company, which he said would ultimately be paid by the UAE.
No work has yet begun on the ground, in part because Israel has yet to approve the compound’s plans, he said.
A Western diplomat briefed on the project said contractors involved in the project had been scheduled to visit the work site earlier this month, but that it was unclear if the visit had taken place.
According to its website, MACC has built desalination plants, water-pumping stations, solar energy fields, bridges and buildings across Gaza and the West Bank with funding from partners including the World Bank and USAID.
Reham Owda, a Paleostinian political analyst, said employing a Paleostinian firm, rather than bringing in outside workers, would be "more acceptable to Gazooks" because it would create jobs and take local culture into account.
"It will gain wide acceptance because it will help solve the housing crisis, accelerate reconstruction, and employ Gaza’s workforce," Owda said.
[IsraelTimes] Handala group, which has previously claimed to break into politicians’ phones, posts medical records reportedly from the Clalit network, which says it is investigating
Had an excellent meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu. Expressed gratitude to him for the warm welcome earlier in the day. It is a delight to be back in Israel after 9 years. We discussed a wide range of subjects aimed at boosting bilateral ties. Sectors such as technology,… pic.twitter.com/uh1cyL411c
[IsraelTimes] Israel’s health management organizations have inventories of equipment, medications, and laboratory supplies sufficient for about 60 days in case Iran strikes Israel, according to Ynet.
If conflict erupts, the funds will expand remote services, including online physicians, pregnancy support centers, and nurse call centers.
Emergency call centers will also be set up in case of evacuations, with hotlines staffed by social workers to provide support for anxiety victims.
Just updating. They did the same starting 10/8, including stockpiling thousands of body bags and planning wheee they’d dig the graves, just as they did in 1948, ‘56, ‘67, ‘73, and probably some other times But I read it took them years to use up the supplies that hadn’t been necessary in ‘67….
[IsraelTimes] The US Treasury Department imposes new Iran-related sanctions on individuals, several entities and tankers, hours after President Donald Trump laid out his case for a possible attack in his State of the Union speech to Congress.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions over 30 individuals, entities and vessels it says enable illicit Iranian petroleum sales and Iran’s ballistic missile and advanced conventional weapons production.
OFAC also targets multiple networks that enable Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics to secure the precursor materials and machinery required for ballistic missile and other weapons production, the Treasury says.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
02/26/2026 00:00 ||
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[1812 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
[AFRICANEWS] Iran pushed back Wednesday against U.S. President Donald Trump's pressure tactics ahead of critical nuclear talks in Geneva, with Tehran's parliament speaker warning that negotiations may yield an agreement through "honorable diplomacy"—but that an attack would draw a "firm blow" from Iranian forces.
The warnings come as America has assembled its biggest deployment of aircraft and warships to the Middle East in decades.
The world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, remained docked Wednesday at the U.S. naval base on Crete as part of the buildup, with protesters in nearby Chania holding a peaceful anti-war rally.
STRUGGLES AT HOME
The external pressure coincides with internal challenges for Tehran, following nationwide protests last month and recent campus demonstrations.
Trump's Tuesday State of the Union address accused Iran of pursuing missiles that could soon reach the United States, claims Tehran dismissed as "big lies".
DUAL-TRACK DIPLOMACY
"We have a historic opportunity to strike an unprecedented agreement," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said ahead of Thursday's Omani-mediated talks, while Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf warned the U.S. could either choose diplomacy—"where dignity and mutual interests are respected"—or face consequences.
HIGH STAKES
If negotiations fail, Trump has repeatedly threatened military action, something Mideast nations fear could spiral into regional war. Iran has warned all U.S. military bases in the region would be legitimate targets.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/26/2026 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[1803 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
"but that an attack would draw a "firm blow" from Iranian forces."
He meant they will blow it?
Posted by: European Conservative ||
02/26/2026 6:20 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Still can't figure out of statements like these are meant for domestic consumption or if he is just that delusional.
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.
..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,...
...The cad! Twice caught beating wimmin!...
..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,...
