[JustTheNews] Democrats on the committee, including Rep. Steve Elkins, expressed disbelief about the scale of the cash flowing out of the airport.
Minnesota lawmakers are raising concerns about reports that hundreds of millions of dollars are leaving Minnesota airports destined for foreign countries.
State Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, is chair of the House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee in the Minnesota legislature. During testimony this week, she addressed the issue, focusing especially on Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
Robbins said this issue has been ongoing for decades with no real action taken by either the state or federal government to address it.
“The story of child care fraud back from the 2015 . . . period is when we first learned about suitcases of cash leaving the airport,” Robbins said.
Following a report in 2019 from the state’s legislative auditor that said those claims could not be substantiated, Robbins said many people, including herself, believed that issue had stopped.
“I was shocked in January, 2026 to see a TSA bulletin saying it had tripled,” she said. “In 2024, $343 million left MSP in cash. In 2025, that number grew to $350 million . . . That was a shocking number, and that really galvanized the public on this issue.”
Robbins said Minnesota is “an outlier” as a state in terms of the amount of cash leaving its airports. She stated that, despite the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport being the 16th-largest airport, it has the most cash flowing out of it of any airport in the nation.
“That number, $350 million, leaving our airport in cash, is higher than the cash leaving any other airport in the country,” Robbins said, “Including much larger airports: JFK, LAX, Chicago O’Hare.”
She expressed concern this money flow is directly related to fraud cases in the state, especially within Minnesota’s Somali community.
“This is not a new issue,” she said. “This has been going on in our state for decades.”
Democrats on the committee, including Rep. Steve Elkins, expressed disbelief about the scale of the cash flowing out of the airport.
“It is completely implausible to me that hundreds of millions of dollars could have made it through that process undetected. That is impossible,” Elkins said. “That could not have happened without the TSA’s knowledge.”
Robbins said the transfers are technically legal if the sender files a form for amounts more than $10,000.
“It is absolutely legal, and that’s what we are trying to make sure the public understands,” she responded to Elkins.
A retired TSA agent, speaking anonymously during the hearing, said the official estimates are likely low.
“I really think the money that goes through the airport is on the low end, because we’ve never actually counted the money,” she explained. “They just fill out that form and get through the airport.”
She responded directly to Democrat claims that it was not possible.
“To the gentleman that's questioning this, I feel like you're questioning my integrity,” the agent said. “I saw it firsthand. There was millions and millions that added to billions and billions of dollars that went through that airport while I worked there.”
Robbins called for both state and federal law to be tightened.
“It’s incumbent on us to understand the issue, to learn from our federal partners what their jurisdiction is, what’s the jurisdiction of the state, and to think together how we can do better to address this issue,” she said.
This all comes amid increased scrutiny of Minnesota’s taxpayer-funded programs, particularly as Vice President J.D. Vance recently announced he will be leading a federal, nationwide “War on Fraud.”
This hearing is one of many as state Republicans push for stricter oversight and greater accountability to address alleged widespread fraud across the state’s programs. Robbins previously labeled the fraud as a “web.”
“I just feel like we are still missing the mark to dismantle these webs of fraud,” she said earlier this month.
Independent investigators and federal officials estimate the potential loss to fraud schemes in Minnesota could range from $9 billion to $20 billion.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] The Iran-backed Yemeni movement Ansar Allah (also known as the Houthis) has officially joined the conflict in the Middle East.
The rebels launched several combined missiles toward Israeli territory. Although all the missiles were intercepted by the Israeli air defenses, the Houthi intervention alone could significantly impact the situation in the region,
…not if none get through. Then it’s just a minor annoyance…
not to mention the state of the energy market.
YEMEN IS COMING BACK
During the first month of the Middle East conflict, Ansar Allah played a bystander role. Although Houthi leaders repeatedly declared their units "ready to deploy" and "take blood revenge on their enemies" for the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, they took no real action.
Even during the period when American-Israeli forces began using Saudi Arabian infrastructure for attacks in areas within the unofficial "zone of responsibility" of Yemeni proxies, this gave Western analysts reason to talk about an internal crisis that has hampered the pro-Iranian "axis of resistance" following Khamenei's death.
The situation changed on March 28, when two missiles and several UAVs were launched from Yemeni territory toward Israel. All were shot down in mid-air and caused no damage to local infrastructure.
This, however, did not stop the official representative of the rebel army, Yahya Sari, from declaring that Yemeni missilemen “successfully hit” some “secret targets” of the enemy.
The Arab idea that to try is to somehow magically succeed.
A day later, the Houthis launched another shell toward Israeli territory—judging by the trajectory, aiming for Haifa's port infrastructure. However, this attack was also unsuccessful.
SAUDI ARABIA'S MULTI-MOVE STRATEGY
The events in the Red Sea coincided with another significant development in the region. Specifically, Saudi Arabia's intention to covertly "establish a beachhead" for operations against Iran and its closest allies.
The Kingdom not only expanded the list of bases open to the US, but also, according to some reports, agreed to provide the coalition with intelligence on the situation in neighboring countries.
Meanwhile, the House of Saud clearly wasn't intimidated by Tehran's demonstrative gestures—including the tightening of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Since 2015, if I recall correctly, the Houthis have been shooting missiles at them.
The day before the Houthis entered the war, senior Saudi officials boasted to Bloomberg that Riyadh had quickly brought the East-West pipeline, connecting the largest oil fields with the loading terminals in the Red Sea port of Yanbu, back to full capacity. This was part of the reorientation of supply chains amid the conflict.
According to Saudi estimates, the volumes pumped were sufficient to allow the kingdom to maintain export volumes even during the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz (the main logistics route) and weather the crisis without significant losses. This cannot be said of other Arabian monarchies, with the exception of Oman, which have no alternative sea access.
Interestingly, Iran has attempted to destabilize Yanbu's infrastructure several times, but the damage it inflicted was insufficient to halt shipments for more than a day.
Partly because the attack on the port had to be carried out across Saudi Arabian territory, which is heavily protected by US and Saudi air and missile defenses. The Houthis, located on the same line as the Saudis' western ports, have the ability to conduct harassing fire from a shorter distance.
Moreover, to paralyze Saudi infrastructure, the Houthis don't need to attack the port directly. It's enough to close the "gateway to the world"—the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Considering that its “throat” is even narrower than that of Hormuz (26-29 km versus 39-45 km), it will not be difficult for the Houthis to effectively paralyze shipping there.
Moreover, a week before this, the Houthis tested the first batch of modernized unmanned boats (UBK), created in the likeness of Iranian ones, which significantly increased their capabilities.
"PASS" FOR A VESSEL
Although attempts by Iran and its allies to block the Red Sea were considered a matter of time, the anti-Iranian coalition appears to be unprepared for the actual entry of Yemeni rebels into military action.
The Pentagon described the recent escalation in the Red Sea as a "dangerous turn in the conflict," but defense officials did not promise retaliatory strikes against the Yemenis. Quite the contrary: the United States deemed it inappropriate to expend resources deterring yet another Iranian ally when its launches were largely symbolic.
Moreover, the American military's priority right now is discussing a scenario for a hypothetical ground operation in Iran—and no one wants to disperse cover forces during such a difficult period, when the order to land could come at any moment.
The European monitoring mission "Aspides" deployed in the Red Sea, designed, among other things, to deter Houthi military activity, also limited itself to routine warnings to ship owners.
The mission's official statement noted that civilian vessels "could soon be attacked in the Red Sea," and that captains "should exercise caution" when navigating through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. However, the Europeans made no plans to increase their military presence in the region.
The civilian shipping industry reacted nervously to the escalating crisis in the Red Sea, especially given that the powers that be have effectively removed themselves from addressing the problem.
Some captains didn't wait for the first attacks and preemptively changed their ships' markers on electronic maps, sometimes quite tellingly. Among the most popular markers were "Chinese Owner," "Non-Israeli/American Cargo," "Muslim Crew," "Russians," and so on.
All of them served as "safe conduct" during the period of tension around the Gaza Strip, and there is hope that they will work this time too.
The Houthis, however, are remaining silent for now, refusing to elaborate on their plans for a possible blockade of the Red Sea or on how loyal they will be to civilian vessels this time.
This uncertainty is causing further price volatility on the stock exchanges: Brent crude oil is already trading above $110 per barrel amid the tension, and analysts are convinced that this is far from the limit.
A real attempt by Ansar Allah to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait would push prices even higher.
[IsraelTimes] After repeated delays at conference, motion demanding abolishment of Israel in favor of ‘a single democratic Palestinian State’ will be held at a later date
The UK’s Green Party failed on Saturday to pass a motion to change party policy to equate Zionism with racism at its spring conference, after internal party disputes over the resolution and a series of technical setbacks led the session to be adjourned without a vote.
The virtual conference, held on Zoom, was attended by around 1,000 people, according to British media, and attendance was limited to party members only.
As part of the proceedings, the party, led by Jewish non-Zionist Zack Polanski, had been expected to vote on a "Zionism is Racism" motion that called for the abolishment of the Jewish state of Israel and the establishment of a "single democratic Paleostinian State in all of historic Paleostine with Jerusalem as its capital."
It also backed the right of the Paleostinian people to "resistance and liberation from Israeli occupation, domination and subjugation," asserting that "the struggle to achieve that liberation by all available means under international law is legitimate."
The motion would also have formally disavowed the definition of antisemitism as set by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), claiming that it has been "weaponized to silence legitimate criticism of the state of Israel."
Although a vote on the motion had been expected early in Saturday’s proceedings, following a successful push by its backers to fast-track the process, it was repeatedly delayed by several no-confidence motions against the party chair, each of which required a separate debate, The Telegraph reported.
A lengthy fight over the policy itself led to additional delays, after opponents of the measure tried unsuccessfully to rule it as out of order, the newspaper said, by arguing that it contradicted the Green Party’s existing policy, which calls for a two-state solution.
Delays were then further compounded by technical malfunctions, the newspaper said, as the Zoom platform hosting the conference was unable to cope with the volume of participants and crashed repeatedly, further pushing off the vote.
Ultimately, despite the conference being extended by an additional 15 minutes, the clock ran out before the "Zionism is Racism" motion could be put to a vote.
The motion will not be taken off the table altogether, though, and will be voted on at a later date.
The motion has been the subject of discourse within the party, with Polanski himself seemingly hesitant to endorse it.
Speaking to Times Radio last month, Polanski suggested he would endorse the motion only if it was linked to the actions of the current Israeli government and the actions taken by Israel 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... over the course of its two-year war with Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... , sparked by the terror group’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
"I can give you some different definitions of Zionism, and we can talk about whether they’re racist or not," he said at the time. "If we’re talking about the definition that this Israeli government is clearly perpetrating through a genocide in Gaza, then yes, absolutely. That’s racist."
He told the radio station that he had not yet made up his mind as to how he would vote on the motion, saying he would "wait to hear the debate" before deciding.
He stated, however, that if the party’s agreed-upon definition of Zionism was "what is happening right now by the Israeli government," he would vote in favor.
According to sources quoted by Jewish News, Polanski and other party officials had hoped the motion and the debate around Israel and Paleostine would not dominate the party’s agenda at the conference, worrying it could harm the Green Party’s chances at local elections later this year.
The Greens’ environmentalist and hard-left platform includes a number of anti-Israel policies, including supporting a complete arms embargo on Israel, an end to intelligence sharing with Jerusalem and a lifting of the government ban on the Paleostine Action group, which was proscribed after members stormed a military base. That ban was recently struck down in court, although an appeal has been filed.
At its annual conference last September, the Greens reaffirmed their support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, passed a motion branding Israel an "apartheid state" and accused it of perpetrating a "genocide" in Gaza — a charge Israel firmly denies.
Polanski has also accused Israel of genocide in Gaza, called for the arrest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces a warrant from the International Criminal Court, and condemned Israel’s "horrendous and illegal" Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s on Iran’s nuclear sites and ballistic missile program during the June 2025 war.
Polanski grew up in a home he described as "very Zionist," but has said that Israel has since "changed," and that he is now "certainly not a Zionist."
On Friday, The Telegraph reported that messages sent in a Green Party activists group on WhatsApp had described Jewish people as "an abomination to this planet," and suggested that a recent arson attack targeting ambulances owned by a Jewish organization had been a "false flag" operation.
According to the news outlet, the second day of the Green Party spring conference on Sunday will include a session on antisemitism.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Spain has closed its airspace to US planes involved in attacks on Iran, a step beyond its previous denial of use of jointly-operated military bases.
Defence minister Margarita Robles said today: 'We don't authorise either the use of military bases or the use of airspace for actions related to the war in Iran'.
The closure of the airspace forces military planes to bypass NATO member Spain en route to their targets in the Middle East, but it does not include emergency situations, El Pais reported.
The move risks further alienating US president Donald Trump, who has threatened to cut trade with Spain for denying the US' use of Spain's bases during the Middle East war.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
03/30/2026 10:00 ||
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#1
'Our firing continues.
Our missiles are in place.
Our determination and faith have increased.
We are aware of the weaknesses of the enemy, and
we can clearly see the effects of terror in the enemy’s army.'
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Kamran Gasanov
[REGNUM] Although US President Donald Trump has declared a moratorium on attacks on Iran's energy infrastructure and hinted at negotiations, the likelihood of escalation in the Middle East has not diminished.
Quite the contrary, if diplomatic attempts fail, the conversation could turn to a US ground operation on Kharg Island or even on the mainland of the Islamic Republic.
Against this backdrop, wariness is growing in Turkey. Although Ankara has been the victim of three missile strikes—the targeting and source of which remain unclear
… no it doesn’t but do go on…
—it is doing everything it can to prevent the US and Israel from being drawn into the anti-Iran campaign.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has two motives for ending the war.
First, strikes on Iran benefit Israel. Türkiye would not want Israel to become a superstate, with which it has disagreements over Gaza, Syria, and the Kurds.
Ha ha ha — too late. And Turkey’s enmity had a good deal to make it happen, so congratulations on that.
Recently, former Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, who was considered a possible successor to Erdogan before the pandemic, warned that Israel poses a direct threat that will require a response.
"You may not realize it, but we are Israel's neighbors. I say this very clearly. We are on the border. I swear by Allah, if he tries to inflict the same injustice on us as he did on Muslims—I say this as a son of this country—Israel is five hours from Hatay. We may lose 300,000 to 400,000 martyrs, but with the permission of Allah, Israel as a country will no longer exist. "he said at an event of the ruling AKP party.
You can try. Oddly enough, you haven’t yet, even though the most competent Turkish military men were purged about a decade ago.
These concerns are not unfounded. After all, Israeli experts and politicians like Naftali Bennett believe that Turkey should be the next target after Iran.
Turkey is sheltering Hamas leadership on site, and has sponsored years of Gaza flotillas in their semi-covert war against that uppity Jewish state. Israel believes you, and eventually will take action, but you have to wait your turn.
The second motive is the unwillingness to have instability on their borders.
Soylu also warned that Turkey is being forced into a "ring of fire." Syria, despite the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, has not become stable. Next door, Israel is waging war against Lebanon. In the north, the conflict between Ukraine and Russia is raging. To the east, all is not well in Iraq. And in the west, Turkey is confronting Greece and Cyprus.
Yes, yes — Turkey is the center of the universe, which is all colluding against it. Geez — paranoid much?
Add to this the Kurdish problem, which could explode if Iran destabilizes, and Turkey truly falls into the "zero neighbors, no problems" trap. And Israel is at play in almost all of these cases.
I’m so old I remember when Turkey was not ruled by crazy people.
This is why Turkish diplomacy is actively working with Arab countries and dissuading them from joining the American coalition to unblock Hormuz and support the ground operation.
And is that working for you? Because it sure doesn’t look like it’s working for you.
Bloomberg, citing sources in the Turkish Foreign Ministry, reported that Ankara fears the Arab League countries being drawn into a full-scale conflict. To prevent such a development, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan recently visited Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar and held telephone conversations with the leadership of other regional countries.
The leaders of the Gulf Arab states, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, are "losing patience." And there are objective reasons for this. Iran is striking major refineries, oil storage facilities, and facilities in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, as well as the largest liquefied natural gas complex in Qatar.
Against this backdrop, media reports are emerging that the Saudis have given the Americans permission to use the King Fahd Air Base in Taif in the west of the kingdom.
And the UAE Ambassador to the US, Yousef Al-Otaiba, in his column for the WSJ, demanded that Iran “completely dismantle its missile and nuclear capabilities” and announced its readiness to “lead international efforts to open the Strait of Hormuz.”
Relations between Arabs and Persians are tense, and US actions are introducing new dangerous variables.
Every action by one of them deemed hostile could raise the stakes for the other. Iran's state broadcaster, IRIB, is already threatening to seize the UAE and Bahrain if the US decides to launch a ground operation.
Oh my goodness — that’s so funny! And really, really pathetic, poor dears.
The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, with whom the Americans are allegedly negotiating or want to negotiate, threatened to destroy the banks and funds of countries in the region that invest in US government bonds soaked in the "blood of Iranians."
This means that missiles could target not only American bases, but also the offices of the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the Qatar Wealth Authority (QIA), and so on.
For Turkey, the outbreak of a direct war between Iran and the GCC countries is no less dangerous than millions of new refugees. A couple of years ago, Erdogan restored relations with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which had suffered due to the events in Libya. Ankara saw the Gulf monarchies as a "wallet" for rebuilding its crisis-stricken economy.
Possibly the rich Gulf countries should emulate President Trump and severely restrict who they throw their money at, because Turkey looks like bad investment.
Qatar and Saudi Arabia received Bayraktar missiles in exchange and discussed the creation of a collective security system. Before the war, Türkiye considered joining the Saudi-Pakistan defense alliance.
That’d be the one where Pakistan took Saudi money for decades, but now refuses to keep its promises. Perhaps it’s just as well Turkey didn’t get that far.
If the Arab monarchies suffer, investment in the Turkish economy will cease. Furthermore, Ankara might be forced to enter into conflict with Iran, at the very least to protect its formal ally, Qatar.
Both Moslem Brotherhooders together…
If the storm passes, Turkey hopes to create an alternative security system in the Middle East to prevent Arab countries from being drawn into war in the future.
Y’all aren’t actually neo-Ottomans, you know, reestablishing the old sultanate. Reality doesn’t work that way.
Following his tour of the Gulf states, Fidan noted the possibility of new defense and political configurations in the region.
Turkish journalists and experts note that the traditional security system based on American bases and guarantees is unreliable. The US military failed to protect Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain from attacks and, as Murat Aslan of the SETA think tank, which is close to Fidan, writes, effectively withdrew from the Iranian strikes.
Withdrew some people, replaced them with lots of missiles hitting Iranian targets.
With trust in the US exhausted, Arab countries will have to seek a new support base in the region.
What colour is the sky in your world?
And for the UAE and Saudi Arabia, according to Aslan, Turkey is becoming such a support base. Turkey could act as a replacement for the ineffective American protectorate.
Those military purges definitely removed everyone capable of logical analysis.
Fadime Özkan of the Star also shares the idea of a new security architecture for the Gulf states. American bases don't protect, but rather turn Saudis, Emiratis, and Qataris into targets. The Gulf states need to wake up and consider alternatives.
However, according to her, the GCC countries intend to create a military structure aimed against Iran. Ankara "disapproves" of such intentions and instead proposes creating a structure without targeting Iran or "entering into conflict" with it.
The formation of new alliances and security structures is still a long way off. Arab countries have been unable to create an "Arab NATO" for at least ten years. Moreover, they have enough of their own conflicts without Iran. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are competing for different interests in Yemen, the Emiratis have united with Israel in Somalia against Turkey, and Qatar still feels the sting of the blockade.
Therefore, Turkey is trying to solve a more pressing problem here and now: preventing the Arabs from going to war against Iran. To this end, according to Al Monitor, Ankara is attempting to act as a key mediator in potential US-Iranian negotiations.
And secondly, at the meeting with the Arab League countries in Riyadh, Türkiye, together with Pakistan, tried to ensure that the final statement did not appear as harsh as the Saudis insisted.
However, Iran's actions could force Turkey to change its position. Ultimately, after missiles began flying over Fidan and his colleagues during their meeting in Saudi Arabia, he was forced to add a condemnation of Iran to the declaration, although the Turkish minister, like the Pakistani one, had not initially intended to do so.
If Turkey and the Arab countries manage to avoid being drawn into a war with Iran, Ankara's proposals for a new security system under its leadership could gain weight. If Turkish rather than American fighter jets had been stationed at Al Udeid, Iran would hardly have launched an attack there.
Demand for a new defense system without the US is growing in the region. It's no wonder that after Israel's strike on Qatar, Saudi Arabia urgently signed an alliance pact with nuclear-armed Pakistan.
Posted by: badanov ||
03/30/2026 00:00 ||
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#1
The f*cking Ivans been promising to liberate Tzargrad for 500 years!
[IsraelTimes] Only fall of Islamic Republic can bring lasting stability, ousted shah’s son Reza Pahlavi tells CPAC: ‘Can you imagine Iran going from ‘Death to America’ to ‘God Bless America?’
The exiled son of Iran’s last shah, Reza Pahlavi, earned thunderous applause from a packed conference hall of US conservatives on Saturday as he urged Washington to press its military campaign against Tehran.
Speaking to a raucous audience in Texas, Pahlavi cast the war as a historic opportunity to topple Iran’s holy manal leadership, drawing cheers with a vision of his country transformed from an adversary of the United States into an ally.
"Can you imagine 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... going from ’Death to America’ to ’God Bless America?'" he asked the audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference in the Dallas suburbs, prompting one of several standing ovations.
The 65-year-old son of Iran’s last shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, has lived in exile since the 1979 Islamic Revolution toppled the US-backed monarchy and ushered in the current system of holy manal rule.
He has long positioned himself as a unifying figure for Iran’s fragmented opposition, and on Saturday told supporters he was ready to lead a democratic transition.
"President Trump is making America great again. I intend to make Iran great again," he said, drawing prolonged applause. Easy to say when you run away.
The warm reception for Pahlavi underscored the extent to which parts of the conservative movement have rallied behind US President Donald Trump ...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US... ’s military campaign against Iran — a shift that sits uneasily with the "America First" instinct to avoid foreign entanglements.
The United States and Israel launched a sweeping air campaign against Iran on February 28, killing supreme leader Ali Khamenei ...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...> and many bigwigs, and targeting the country’s military infrastructure.
Iran has responded with missile and drone attacks across the region, while the conflict has disrupted global energy markets and raised fears of a wider war.
Pahlavi urged the United States to "stay the course" and "pave the way for the Iranian people to finish the job," arguing that only the complete collapse of the Islamic Theocratic Republic could bring lasting stability.
"This regime in its entirety must go," he said.
His message aligned closely with the most hawkish voices in Trump’s coalition, who argue that sustained pressure could trigger an uprising inside Iran.
"Iran’s story is not yet finished," he said. "Great civilizations outlast even the most vicious occupiers." Name one.
Trump himself skipped CPAC — an annual conference that typically takes place in Washington — for the first time in a decade, with officials citing his busy schedule amid the Iran war.
The war started some six weeks after Iranian security forces bumped off thousands of people in a brutal crackdown on anti-regime protesters across the country in January. Pahlavi, at the time, positioned himself as a figurehead of the protests, where some people could be seen hoisting his likeness and chanting "long live the shah."
[IsraelTimes] Together, the groups are bidding to take advantage of the moment and elect pro-Palestinian candidates as Americans’ sympathy for Israel wanes – though for now their results are mixed
Some critics of AIPAC are calling for it to be excised from electoral politics. Others are working to beat the pro-Israel lobby at its own game.
At least three groups have entered the scene this year as hopeful counterweights to pro-Israel lobbying groups, with an eye on progressive candidates. And they’ve borrowed some of AIPAC’s playbook to do so.
The Peace, Accountability and Leadership PAC, or PAL PAC, was founded in February by Margaret DeReus, executive director of the Institute for Middle East Understanding. It has endorsed nine congressional candidates so far this year, and its website funnels visitors to donate to their campaigns.
A second group, American Priorities, is led by Hannah Fertig, a strategist who worked on Bernie Sanders
...The only first openly Socialist member of the U.S. Senate. Sanders was Representative-for-Life from Vermont until moving to the Senate for the rest of his life in 2006, assuming the seat vacated by Jim Jeffords. He ran for the 2016 nomination for president, to be cheated out of it by Hillary Clinton, then went back to being an Independent socialist, waiting for 2020 to roll around... ’s 2020 presidential campaign and is Jewish. Founded in January, the super PAC plans to spend "at least $10 million" on the midterms, according to Fertig, on candidates "who are very strong on our issues, both foreign policy and domestic policy." In picking which challengers to back, Fertig said they look for "strong, credible, progressive" candidates — and ones whose incumbent opponents have taken donations from AIPAC.
The third group makes its antipathy clear in name: Citizens Against AIPAC Corruption PAC was founded by the duo behind social media watchdog Track AIPAC, which posts candidates’ AIPAC donation numbers in order "to end AIPAC and the Israel lobby’s stranglehold on American Democracy," according to its website. CAAC was founded in 2024, though it only spent about $14,000 that cycle, all against the Jewish Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz ...Congresswoman from Florida, the abrasive chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. She has been a politician since 1992, and prior to that was in training as a political science major. Her primary accomplishment seems to be that she's Jewish....
This year, CAAC is "actively fundraising and willing to spend as much as we can raise seeking strategic victories," a spokesperson wrote to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Its candidates must meet a number of policy commitments that include recognizing "the genocide in Paleostine," supporting "recognition of the Paleostinian state by the United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... " and opposing policies that it says conflate "criticism of the government of Israel with antisemitism broadly." The group has spent in two races this year, and with $273,000 in cash on hand as of the end of February, says it intends "to do more in upcoming races."
Together, the PACs are trying to maximize the moment and elect pro-Paleostinian candidates as Americans’ sympathy toward Israel wanes.
"We have a massive opportunity to be on the offensive this cycle, and increase the number of members of Congress who will challenge the status quo on Paleostine," Amira Hassan, PAL PAC’s political director, said in a recent radio interview. PAL PAC and American Priorities did not respond to requests for comment.
Patrick Dorton, a spokesperson for United Democracy Project, AIPAC’s super PAC, said in an interview that it’s "not good for American democracy" that these groups are popping up and "trying to silence pro-Israel voices in the Democratic party" — a critique that mirrors what pro-Paleostinian activists say about AIPAC.
"This is the fringe left using dark money to advance an anti-Israel agenda," he said.
Results of the groups’ spending so far have been mixed.
Two of the progressive groups’ handpicked candidates won primaries in New Jersey and Texas earlier this year, and another challenger in North Carolina narrowly lost after a wider defeat in 2022.
Last week, one of three PAL PAC endorsees in Illinois prevailed — as an unopposed incumbent. The group’s other endorsees fell short: Kat Abughazaleh, 26, finished second in the 9th Congressional District, although she drew more votes than the AIPAC-backed candidate, and community organizer Junaid Ahmed, who lost to AIPAC’s preferred candidate, Melissa Bean, in the eighth district.
The post-election quarterbacking had some critics of Israel wondering whether the new PACs could have done more.
Ryan Grim, a news hound for Drop Site News, which has an anti-Israel bent, called it a "huge miss" by American Priorities to resist "pressure to support" Ahmed. Grim suggested that it could have channeled more of AIPAC’s willingness to spend. The group had about $1.4 million in cash on hand as of February 11, $1 million of which was spent in a North Carolina race.
"Results show they could’ve made a decisive difference," he wrote about the race, which Ahmed lost by five points. "AIPAC almost never holds back, and didn’t here, and so notched the [win]."
Meanwhile,
...back at the chili cook-off, Chuck and Manuel's rivalry was entering a new and more dangerous phase... among the progressive groups’ candidates who did win, it’s not clear that the pro-Paleostinian backing did anything to move the needle.
Analilia Mejia won a New Jersey special election and benefited from $35,000 in TV ad buys from CAAC PAC. But far more was spent in the campaign by the AIPAC’-affiliated United Democracy Project, which spent $2 million against the moderate Tom Malinowski because of his openness to conditioning military aid to Israel. That spending is widely seen to have inadvertently boosted Mejia, a former Bernie Sanders staffer.
CAAC PAC’s spending was modest compared to UDP’s in that race, but other groups are entering the midterms with deeper pockets.
American Priorities has pledged to spend at least $10 million boosting its preferred candidates this year.
"We want our foreign policy views to reflect where the Democratic base has moved, particularly on 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 on unconditional US military to Israel," Fertig told Semafor.
A new NBC poll found that 57% of Democrats ...every time you hear the phrase white people, white supremacy,white anything but paint, you're listening to a Democrat. Ask him/her/it to reimagine something for you; they do that a lot, though not well. They can hear a dog whistle a mile or two away. They invented the spoils system and Tammany Hall, and inspired the addition of the word (Thomas) Nasty to the English language. They want to stop continental drift and repeal the law of unintended side effects... have a negative view of Israel, and 13% have a positive view of the country. In 2023, those numbers were just about dead even, with 35% of Democrats saying negative and 34% viewing Israel positively.
"We’re seeing this as a generational inflection point, and we launched because there’s a huge gap in the progressive spending ecosystem," Fertig said. "We simply want to make sure that someone’s there to protect candidates who question these policies."
As a super PAC, American Priorities’ role matches UDP’s. It cannot donate directly to campaigns or coordinate with them, but instead can make independent expenditures on things like TV ads and mailing fliers. Like UDP, its name indicates nothing about Israel or the Paleostinians, and its ads focus on unrelated issues as opposed to the candidates’ views on Israel.
The first candidate to receive American Priorities’ support was Nida Allam, also a former Sanders staffer, who conceded after a tight race in North Carolina against incumbent Valerie Foushee. Allam’s campaign foregrounded her opponent’s past support from AIPAC and AI lobbies.
After getting about $1 million from American Priorities, Allam lost by less than 1% of the vote in a race that set records for outside spending in North Carolina. She had lost by 9 points to Foushee in 2022 and said "our movement sounded the alarm for future Democratic primaries throughout this cycle." CAAC PAC also spent $23,500 in attack ads against Foushee.
On the same day as Allam’s race, the PAL PAC-endorsed Rev. Frederick Haynes III won the Democratic nomination in a Texas congressional primary. Haynes has praised Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam leader who has a history of antisemitism, and criticized Israel for engaging in "apartheid" in a sermon the day after Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... ’s deadly October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel.
"We are sending someone to Congress who had the moral clarity to give this sermon on October 8th, 2023," PAL PAC’s Hassan wrote after Haynes’ victory. American Priorities also spent $100,000 boosting Haynes, who won the primary handily.
Track AIPAC has spent multiple years posting online against the pro-Israel lobby. But the advent of the PACs signals an escalation of strategy.
"The idea of PACs backing ’Squad’-type candidates, anti-Israel candidates, candidates that say cut off all aid to Israel and ’stop the genocide,’ I don’t think we’ve seen that before," said Eric Alterman, a historian and journalist who himself has been critical of AIPAC and the Israeli government. "And that’s an outgrowth of Gaza, where this position all of a sudden has become a mainstream position in the Democratic Party."
The groups will have additional chances to prove themselves in the coming months. Eleven states are holding primaries in May, and some candidates in those races are making their views on AIPAC known.
In Pennsylvania, progressive state Rep. Chris Rabb — who is racking up endorsements, though not from any of the anti-AIPAC groups — said "F— AIPAC," during a candidates’ forum.
PAL PAC is still making endorsements on a rolling basis and American Priorities has not disclosed which races it will spend in. PAL PAC’s latest endorsees are both running in June primaries: political adviser Saikat Chakrabarti in Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party,, and State Assemblymember Claire Valdez in New York.
PAL PAC, which describes itself as "an allied organization" of the Institute for Middle East Understanding Policy Project, has also endorsed incumbent Reps. Rashida Tlaib ...the very first ever Paleostinian-American ever sworn into Congress in 2019. She is a member of The Squad and consistently votes against the U.S. national interest. She's a Dem, naturally, from a safe district you wouldn't want to live in (Michigan's 12th congressional district). She wants the country to be kinda like Gaza only without any Jews for neighbors... , Ilhan Omar ...Somali-American Dem representative from Minnesota. She was apparently married to her brother and may be her own grandmaw on her mother's side. She is a member of The Squad, and would like to make the country look a lot more like Mogadishu... and Summer Lee, who are all vocal critics of Israel and its US support.
In New York City, it has endorsed Valdez as well as Darializa Avila Chevalier, who was a Columbia anti-Israel encampment organizer as well as an organizing lead for Zohran Mamdani during the mayoral election.
AIPAC is also likely to keep spending heavily in the coming months. Its super PAC had around $95 million in cash on hand at the end of January, and even the most expansive estimates of its spending since then leave it with tens of millions of dollars to spend.
Alterman said he doesn’t expect the new pro-Paleostinian PACs to receive "the kind of money that flows to AIPAC" — but he isn’t sure how much that matters.
"Whereas it could have some impact on a few local races, I don’t think money is the place where this position is going to make itself felt," he said, referring to the groundswell of Paleostinian support among Democrats. "I think it’s in volunteers and door-knocking and activists and social media."
[IsraelTimes] IRGC threatens American colleges in Middle East, hits aluminum plants in UAE, Bahrain, in response to US-Israeli strikes; Iran targets southern Israel in overnight missile attacks
The US Department of Defense is preparing options for ground operations in Iran, which would fall short of a full-scale invasion but could involve thousands of troops and take weeks or months, The Washington Post reported late Saturday. According to the report, which cited unnamed American officials, 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... has not greenlit any of the plans yet.
The White House, asked for comment for the report, said the Pentagon works to give the president "maximum optionality," but that this "does not mean the President has made a decision."
According to the Post, the potential operations could see a mixture of special forces and conventional infantry sent to conduct extended raids into coastal areas near the Strait of Hormuz, including seizing islands controlled by the Islamic Theocratic Republic and holding them for an extended period of time.
Experts have warned that holding territory would put American soldiers in significantly more danger than they’ve faced so far in the war, which has already seen 13 US servicemembers killed in action, and more than 300 maimed.
The timeline of the potential operations was not entirely clear, with one source telling The Post that the objectives under consideration would take "weeks, not months" to achieve, while another estimated the operations could last "a couple of months."
Possibly responding to the report, Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Sunday: "The enemy publicly sends messages of negotiation and dialogue while secretly planning a ground attack."
In a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency, he added: "Our men are waiting for the arrival of the American soldiers on the ground to set them on fire and punish their regional allies once and for all."
The Iranian regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps on Sunday threatened to target US universities in the Middle East, after claiming US-Israeli strikes had destroyed two Iranian universities.
"If the US government wants its universities in the region to be free from retaliation... it must condemn the bombing of the universities in an official statement by 12 noon on Monday, March 30, Tehran time," said the statement published by Iranian media.
The statement added: "We advise all employees, professors, and students of American universities in the region and residents of their surrounding areas" stay a kilometer (0.6 miles) away from campuses.
Several US universities have campuses scattered throughout the Gulf region, such as Texas A&M University in Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... and New York University in the United Arab Emirates.
Strikes overnight Friday and into Saturday hit Tehran, including the university of science and technology in the northeast of the capital, damaging buildings but not causing any casualties, according to media reports.
Meanwhile,
...back at the argument, Livia grabbed for Jane's hair to make her point. Jane elbowed her in the face in rebuttal... the regime continued its attacks on neighboring Arab states and Israel.
Two ballistic missile attacks targeting southern Israel after midnight set off warning sirens in the country, but no direct injuries were reported as a result of them. They came after the pro-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... 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... group in 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... on Saturday joined the war, firing missiles and a drone at Israel for the first time since October 2025.
The IRGC said Sunday it had launched missile and dronezaps on aluminum plants in Bahrain and the UAE over the weekend, targeting what it described as industries linked to the US military.
The Guards said the strikes were retaliation for a US-Israeli attack on Iranian industrial infrastructure launched from bases in Gulf states.
Aluminium Bahrain, one of the world’s largest aluminum producers, said two employees were maimed in an Iranian strike targeting its facility on Saturday. The company, also known as Alba, said the workers suffered minor injuries.
Alba added that it was assessing the impact on operations and would provide updates when available. It gave no details on damage to the site.
Emirates Global Aluminium said Saturday that an Iranian attack inflicted significant damage on one of its sites in Abu Dhabi and maimed six employees, but that none of the injuries were life-threatening.
Earlier in the day, the Emirati defense ministry said it had intercepted a drone-and-missile attack and that falling debris had sparked two fires in the Khalifa industrial zone on the emirate’s coast.
Five Indian nationals were maimed, with "moderate to minor wounds," authorities said, later reporting a third fire in which a Pak man was also injured. All three fires were brought under control, the ministry added.
Attacks by pro-Iran groups in Iraq and Syria were also reported.
Interceptions and drone activity were heard for hours over the weekend across Erbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq, including drones shot down while attempting to target the US consulate and nearby bases.
On Saturday, the residence of Nechirvan Barzani, president of the semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region of Iraq, was targeted, causing damage but no casualties.
The US condemned what it termed "despicable terrorist attacks," calling the attack on Barzani’s residence "a direct assault on Iraq’s illusory sovereignty, stability and unity."
Additionally, Syria foiled drone attacks launched from Iraqi territory that targeted its strategic al-Tanf military base, Syria’s state news agency reported on Saturday.
Israel launched its campaign against Iran, alongside the US, to degrade the Iranian regime’s military capabilities, distance threats posed by Iran — including its nuclear and ballistic missile programs — and "create the conditions" for the Iranian people to topple the regime, the military and other Israeli leaders have said.
Since the war began on February 28, 16 Israeli civilians and foreign nationals have been killed in Israel in Iranian ballistic missile attacks, along with four Paleostinians in the West Bank.
#1
"Experts have warned that holding territory would put American soldiers in significantly more danger than they’ve faced so far in the war". Said experts can also tie their own shoes and have mastered putting on their underwear correctly.
What they are really expert on is looking good on camera and can be guaranteed to come up with 'facts' that will match the viewpoint of the news organization paying them.
#3
ONLY a full in invasion will do the job. Half measures prolong the war and pile up US casualties. 2 MEUs and a couple of divisions won't do the job. We either are all in on this or nothing.
Iranian ICBMs are a clear and present danger and as soon as they tip them with nuclear weapons they will strike the US homeland.
#5
#1 Old lawyer definition: "An expert is a guy with a briefcase more than 100 miles from home." Today, the definition would be more like "A person whose opinion coincides with ours."
You would think that just as a matter of statistics the MSM would occasionally quote an expert who agreed with Trump.
Posted by: Matt ||
03/30/2026 11:06 Comments ||
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#6
strange that Omans, Jairong, and this squib all say we NEEEED to invade!
Almost as if....
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/30/2026 12:41 Comments ||
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[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] The Lebanese-born man accused of crashing a vehicle packed with explosives into a synagogue outside Detroit earlier this month shot chilling video from the parking lot moments earlier, the Daily Mail has learned.
In the footage, Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, a naturalized US citizen, declared his intention to carry out mass murder in what he described as the largest gathering spot for Israelis in Michigan on March 12.
The synagogue also had a preschool attached, but miraculously, no children were harmed. One security guard was injured at the scene, and the attacker eventually shot himself as his vehicle caught fire.
The Daily Mail can now exclusively share a screenshot from the video the stern-faced suspect shot of himself outside Temple Israel, sporting a keffiyeh around his neck and with his finger on the trigger of a high-powered weapon.
This was part of a trove of evidence leading federal authorities to now conclude this was, in fact, a terrorist attack.
Evidence includes photos, videos, and messages he sent to his sister in Lebanon while in the parking lot, including some he made while sitting in his car outside the temple in West Bloomfield the morning of the attack.
The source who provided the screen grab said it comes from footage of Ghazali playing ‘Hatha al-Sha’b ilayka nidaa,’ a revolutionary anthem in the Arab world which translates to: ’This people is a call to you.’
The chant, a declaration of loyalty and a plea for divine intervention, praises martyrs who die for their cause and includes a shoutout to southern Lebanon and Hezbollah, the terrorist group based there, the source said.
Ghazali displayed the weapon at the end of the video and declared, ‘We rely on God.’
He then shot a second video playing a chant that supports the bombing of enemies and attacks on their fortresses.
He also posted a meme that morning to his collection entitled ‘Vengeance,' with the message: ’There is no need to learn Hebrew anymore.’
The Daily Mail also obtained a photo of Ghazali at a gun range two days before the attack, showing him in a black jacket, wearing plugs in his ears as he stared down the barrel of a rifle.
Ghazali sent nearly two dozen images and messages to his sister that morning, sharing his Hezbollah-inspired ideology, references to martyrdom and his commitment to attack on what he described as Israelis, but in reality, was a reform synagogue of mostly Jewish Americans.
Another photo obtained by the Daily Mail shows the interior wreckage caused by the attack.
Fox News had released one photo of the shooter taken days before the attack, showing him posing with the rifle. That photo was also sent to the sister, the outlet reported.
Authorities said Ghazali drove almost 40 miles from his home in Dearborn Heights to the synagogue complex, which includes a preschool and childcare center.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] The success of the planned US ground operation in Iran is unlikely, retired Major General Randy Manner stated on March 29.
"It's absolutely absurd to think that a small number of paratroopers, who are very poorly armed, and Marines could do anything," Manner said on CNN.
According to him, a brigade landing among tens of thousands of armed troops would not be able to survive. Washington completely ignores the numerical superiority of the Iranian army, the former general added.
On February 28, Israel and the United States launched military operations against Iran. Tehran responded with missile and drone strikes against Israeli and American targets in the Middle East. US President Donald Trump suggested that the airstrikes could be followed by a ground operation.
On March 28, US Central Command announced that more than 3,000 American troops had arrived in the Middle East on the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli. The US also deployed transport and strike fighter aircraft, airborne assault aircraft, and tactical assets to the region.
#2
Thank you for your National Guard augmentation and attendance at monthly meetings service.
🇺🇸 Major General Randy Manner (U.S. Army, Ret.) — Major General Randy E. Manner is a retired two‑star U.S. Army general known for his senior leadership roles in the National Guard Bureau, U.S. Third Army, and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. His career spans more than three decades of service, including key positions in national security, WMD counterproliferation, disaster response, and cyber readiness.
Wiki
#3
Had a discussion with a Naval War College grad a couple weeks ago about the war. Left the conversation with the sense that that place needs to be shut down. It’s just indoctrination.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/30/2026 6:31 Comments ||
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#4
/\ Oftentimes referred to as the 'Basketball School.'
#6
if a brigade of troops landed and were surrounded by IRGC troops, that would actually be a nice surprise because the IRGC troops would be wiped out by air and land with few US causalties
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
03/30/2026 8:31 Comments ||
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#7
The expert seems to have an advanced case of TDS.
#9
This idiot has already sold his soul for the left and their money (funded by Russia and the CCP).
Try him for treason, strip his pension and jail his ass then after a few years let him out to wander the wasteland as a nobody. Generals hate being nobodies.
[IsraelTimes] Message is the third written statement attributed to Mojtaba Khamenei since his appointment as he remains out of public eye, fueling speculation about his health and whereabouts
Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei has, in a written message, thanked the people of Iraq for their support in the Islamic Theocratic Republic’s war against the United States and Israel, Iranian media said on Sunday.
Khamenei is the son of former supreme leader Ali Khamenei ...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...> , who was killed in an Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... at the start of the war on February 28. The younger Khamenei has yet to appear in public after being named Iran’s leader earlier this month, and even his voice has not been heard. Instead, written statements attributed to him have been carried by state media.
His failure to appear in person has led to intense speculation over his condition and whereabouts, as well as to what extent he is in control of the Iranian government and military. State television and some Iranian officials have indicated he is recovering from wounds sustained in an airstrike. The nature and severity of those wounds is unclear.
In the message attributed to him, Khamenei "expressed his appreciation to the supreme religious authority (in Iraq) and the people of Iraq for their clear stance against aggression against 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... and their support for our country," Iran’s ISNA news agency said, referring to the Iraq-based Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, one of the most revered figures in Shia Islam.
The message was delivered following a meeting between the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council Led by Sayyed Ammar al-Hakim, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI, formerly the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, or SCIRII, pronounced Scarey)) is not nearly as supreme as it makes out to be. The al-Hakim family business is merely another one of political parties, this one Shiite and with its power base in the south of the country. The Iranian government sponsored the party's creation in 1982 during the Iran-Iraq war after the leading Iraqi Islamist group was weakened by a government crackdown. Designed as an umbrella organization to unite Iraqi Shi'a groups, the party supports Islamic government controlled by holy men. In post-Saddam Iraq ISCI has worked closely with other Shi'a organizations to provide social services and humanitarian aid. Though accused of receiving money and weapons from Iran, ISCI leaders maintain that the party is committed to democracy and peaceful cooperation. The Badr Brigade initially acted as ISCI's armed wing but later to split to form the independent Badr Organization., a Shia party, and the Iranian ambassador to Baghdad, it said.
No further details were given on how the message was transmitted.
Since being named, Khamenei has released a first statement as supreme leader and another message for the Persian New Year, Nowruz.
Neither statement featured video or audio of the supreme leader. They were read out on television by another speaker, and defiantly predicted victory in the war.
State media regularly publish images of Mojtaba Khamenei but without giving any indication that they are new. He also has his own official Telegram and X accounts.
[IsraelTimes] Celebrations canceled and shops shuttered after missile fragments fell in Old City; Home Front Command limits religious gatherings to 50 people
Jerusalem’s major holy sites are shuttered and many families are dejected and exhausted ahead of Passover and Easter as 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 enters its fifth week.
The mood stands in stark contrast to a usual spring, when longer days herald a period of family gatherings and an influx of tourists for the major Jewish and Christian holidays.
Metal shutters are drawn on nearly all stores in the Old City, home to key holy sites, and only scattered footsteps echo on deserted stone alleyways. Vast plazas are missing the typical throngs of faithful and tourists.
Jerusalem has largely escaped past wars, with Israel’s enemies appearing to be hesitant to launch missiles near the city’s Moslem holy sites. But since Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran on February 28, Jerusalem has repeatedly come under fire.
Earlier this month, an intercepted Iranian missile sprayed shrapnel on the rooftop of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, just steps from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of the most important sites in Christianity.
The church, built on what is revered by many Christians as the site of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection, remains closed under IDF Home Front Command guidelines prohibiting gatherings of more than 50 people.
Missile debris also hit a road leading to the Western Wall.
From his office overlooking the plaza at the holy site, now also closed to worshipers, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, whose purview encompasses the Western Wall and other Jewish holy sites in Israel, lamented the empty plaza.
"The heart aches greatly, it bleeds, seeing the Western Wall as it looks now," he said.
The massive priestly blessing for Passover, which usually draws tens of thousands, will take place with just 50 worshipers, Rabinovitch said.
That’s the maximum allowed to pray together in the enclosed area by the Western Wall under wartime safety guidelines — reminiscent of the restrictions imposed during the coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague)
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men... pandemic.
EASTER CELEBRATIONS ARE CANCELED
The Latin Patriarchate has canceled a procession on Sunday commemorating Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, the Christian celebration known as Palm Sunday.
Any other year, tens of thousands of Christians from around the world would walk down the narrow, hilly streets toward the Old City, waving palm fronds and singing.
Rami Asakrieh, the parish priest for Jerusalem’s Catholics, said the community will sorely miss the procession, a deeply emotional and spiritual part of the holiday. But the cancellation is also a reminder that faith comes internally from the heart, not from external actions, he added.
"We are celebrating resurrection, resurrection is from death and winning the pain and the war," he said. "It will not come by having fear, but by having faith."
A local Catholic high school, empty of students as classes have been canceled, was recently hit by debris from an Iranian missile interception, Asakrieh said.
A Franciscan priest, Asakrieh is still celebrating Mass for up to 50 parishioners at the Saint Savoir monastery’s cavernous marble hall, near the centuries-old complex’s music school, the Magnificat Institute. The school was built in what was once the convent’s basement, which has been approved by the Israeli military as a suitable shelter.
Jerusalem’s smaller synagogues, mosques and churches are also open to groups of up to 50 people — if they are located close to a shelter or a safe space.
’IT’S LIKE THERE WAS NO RAMADAN FOR US’
Next to the Western Wall is the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam’s third-holiest site, which has also stood empty since the war started, canceling prayers during most of the Moslem holy month of Ramadan, which ended in mid-March.
Fayez Dakkak, a third-generation Moslem storeowner in the Old City whose shop has catered to Christian pilgrims since 1942, said he was heartbroken over al-Aqsa’s closure during the Islamic holy month.
"It’s like there was no Ramadan for us," Dakkak said. He added that he prayed several times at a local mosque but that it can’t compare to being able to pray at al-Aqsa.
[IsraelTimes] Netanyahu orders ‘full and immediate access’ for Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa after he and another Catholic leader are barred entry to Christian holy site due to wartime restrictions
Fragments of an Iranian missile strike meters away from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem pic.twitter.com/fxxYXG3vRC
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] President Donald Trump is weighing a highly complex and potentially explosive military operation to send US special operations forces deep inside Iran to seize its stockpile of enriched uranium. "Here's the Secret Power Point Deck, click to enlarge"
Posted by: Skidmark ||
03/30/2026 10:08 ||
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Link ||
[1823 views]
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#1
US officials say the stealth plan would target nearly 1,000 pounds of uranium at either one or two nuclear sites in Natanz and Isfahan.
The objective would be to remove the radioactive substance entirely from Iranian control, eliminating any pathway to a nuclear weapon.
The proposal remains under review, and Trump has not signed off on it. But officials told The Wall Street Journal he is seriously considering the option, even as advisers warn of the dangers to American forces and the possibility of a broader conflict.
Don't risk lives to recover it.
Bomb the shit out of it. Blow it to dust.
Very handy of them to leave it laying around.
#2
if we are reading about it it means the actual Special Ops plan is somewhere else
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
03/30/2026 11:11 Comments ||
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#3
Leak fictional, but plausible 'operations' and watch watch the media and the Iranians react and take notes on the reaction and any sudden jump in communications.Then blow things up and repeat.
Trump was always an Iran hawk. Here’s a video of him from 1987 describing what he’s trying to do in 2026. As you watch think about how his consistency going back decades before he became a politician crushes the claim that Netanyahu has coerced him today. pic.twitter.com/yZtp7hMMAB
🚨 REPORT: Israel to maintain operational freedom in Iran amid U.S.–Iran talks •Extensive IDF strikes continue against Iranian regime assets, military sites, nuclear facilities, and critical industries like steel •Energy infrastructure remains off-limits for now, amid Trump’s…
🚨 REPORT: Israel to maintain operational freedom in Iran amid U.S.–Iran talks
•Extensive IDF strikes continue against Iranian regime assets, military sites, nuclear facilities, and critical industries like steel
•Energy infrastructure remains off-limits for now, amid Trump’s ultimatum and Strait of Hormuz tensions
•Sources close to PM Netanyahu: “We are decimating their capabilities, fully coordinated with America,” using the current window to complete Israel’s target bank
•Timeline originally 4–6 weeks; Israel continues operations about a month in, unless instructed to scale back
Even as direct U.S.–Iran negotiations loom, Israel is not expected to halt its operations, maintaining pressure on Tehran while talks develop.
Posted by: badanov ||
03/30/2026 00:00 ||
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Link ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
Iran has reportedly initiated a campaign dubbed “Janfada” (“Sacrificing Life”) aimed at recruiting volunteers to confront U.S. forces amid fears of a potential American ground operation.
Iran has reportedly initiated a campaign dubbed “Janfada” (“Sacrificing Life”) aimed at recruiting volunteers to confront U.S. forces amid fears of a potential American ground operation.
•The campaign appears designed to mobilize large numbers of fighters beyond regular forces.
•It reflects concerns in Tehran about a possible escalation from airstrikes to ground conflict.
•Iran has previously relied on militias and proxy networks across the region to target U.S. assets
Posted by: badanov ||
03/30/2026 00:00 ||
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[1770 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
...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 
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the 
...
Led by Sayyed Ammar al-Hakim, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI, formerly the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, or SCIRII, pronounced 
