Article published in the Daily Mail at noon yesterday
President Donald Trump's emergency command aircraft is currently circling above a US base home to America's nuclear command center.
The Boeing E-4B 'Nightwatch,' also known as the 'Doomsday plane,' made several loops above the Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska on Monday.
The massive jet serves as a flying command post for top officials, including the president, vice president and Secretary of War, during crises.
It is a heavily modified Boeing 747 designed to survive nuclear blasts, electromagnetic pulses (EMP) and other worst-case scenarios.
Flight tracking data shows the E-4B leaving Offutt at 10.17am ET, making at least six circles above and soaring off over Strahan, which is about 40 miles east.
The military base is also home to the fleet of E-4B jets, suggesting the flight is a routine exercise to ensure the craft is prepared for a real-world emergency.
However, the mysterious journey comes as Iran has rejected a last-ditch ceasefire proposal, which was designed to pave the way for an end to the war in the Middle East.
Trump threatened to rain 'hell' on Tehran unless it agreed to a deal by Tuesday to reopen the vital route for global energy supplies.
The E-4B's flight is typically part of standard training operations designed to keep pilots and mission crews proficient in critical skills.
These include instrument approaches, touch-and-go landings, low-level maneuvers and holding patterns, all essential for maintaining readiness during emergencies.
The airspace south and southeast of Offutt is commonly used for these exercises because it has less civilian air traffic than the busier skies over Omaha and nearby commercial airports.
Operating in these rural corridors allows crews to safely conduct repeated practice circuits without disrupting civilian aviation.
Many of the loops taken on Monday involved repeated low approaches to Offutt’s runways followed by immediate takeoffs, a maneuver known as a touch-and-go. These exercises help ensure pilots remain prepared to launch quickly if the aircraft is needed during a crisis.
At least one E-4B aircraft, known as the National Airborne Operations Center, remains on alert around the clock.
The US Air Force has publicly described these missions as standard training sorties and has released official images showing E-4B aircraft conducting similar Midwest training flights from Offutt.
The last published E-4B flight was in January, when the aircraft was spotted in Los Angeles, California.
The aircraft touched down at Los Angeles International Airport for the first time in 51 years.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was on board, as well as a slew of conservative media correspondents.
But despite the rumors circulating online, the Pentagon clarified the Los Angeles stop was planned as part of Hegseth's nationwide 'Arsenal of Freedom' tour, a campaign focused on highlighting US defense production and strengthening military recruitment efforts.
The plane's takeoff sent social media into a frenzy, with users linking its presence to the recent capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and fearing it signaled an escalation toward war.
'The Presidential 'Doomsday Plane' is airborne, so either something very serious is happening, or Patel is on another date,' said one user.
Another account, @ConcernedCitizen, pointed out that the plane's deployment, which can withstand nuclear-level attacks, was 'probably not a good sign.'
But Monday's flight coincided with a development in the war in the Middle East, sparking theories that it could somehow be connected.
Iranian state media reported on Monday that Tehran wants a permanent end to the conflict as it dismissed a plan put forward overnight by Pakistan after frantic mediation talks.
Pakistan's proposal, dubbed the 'Islamabad Accord', exchanged the plan with Iran and the US, which includes an immediate ceasefire followed by an agreement to permanently end the war.
Meanwhile, Israel struck a third petrochemical site in Iran since Saturday, ahead of a warning by Trump to destroy the country's power plants unless the Strait of Hormuz is unblocked.
[Breitbart] A South Korean lawmaker, citing the country’s National Intelligence Service (NIS), revealed in comments on Monday that Seoul believes North Korea is failing to offer full-throated support to its longtime ally Iran to avoid hurting chances of future negotiations with the United States.
America and North Korea, as well as allies South Korea and China, have been technically at war since 1950, when communist dictator Kim Il-sung invaded the South shortly after establishing his cult tyranny. While an armistice agreement in 1953 ended active hostilities, no peace treaty has ever been signed between the warring parties and Pyongyang often makes a point of attacking America as a war enemy, even as it has pursued talks with Washington in the past.
As with most of the world’s communist nations, North Korea has long maintained friendly ties to the Iranian Islamist terror regime. Experts have compiled decades of evidence that North Korea has supplied weapons to Iran, as well as to its terrorist proxies, such as Hamas. Israeli authorities accused North Korea, for example, of supplying weapons found to be used in the October 7, 2023, massacres by Hamas throughout Israel. Despite these ties, however, dictator Kim Jong-un and his underlings have restrained their commentary on “Operation Epic Fury,” the ongoing American military operation in Iran – a stark contrast from North Korea’s usual support for its allies, such as its involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Open hostilities between America and Iran began on February 28, when President Donald Trump announced the launch of “Operation Epic Fury” and the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the dictator of Iran. President Trump announced on Sunday that he had imposed a deadline of Tuesday at 8 p.m. Washington time for the two sides to negotiate an end to hostilities, or else the American military would level the entire Iranian state.
“A whole civilization will die tonight,” Trump proclaimed on Tuesday morning following reports that Iranian officials had not accepted any deal with America.
South Korean National Assembly member Park Sun-won told reporters on Monday, following a briefing from NIS, that South Korean intelligence officials had no evidence that North Korea was aiding Iran’s efforts against “Operation Epic Fury” by sending weapons or other supplies. North Korea’s Foreign Minister had also only commented twice on the conflict, as opposed to its usual loquacious approach to any conflict involving the United States and its allies.
“The NIS assessed this restraint as preparation to secure new diplomatic space after an anticipated May summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mr Trump,” Reuters relayed.
The NIS also observed that North Korea’s state media outlets, particularly the flagship Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), had abstained from congratulating the alleged “supreme leader,” Mojtaba Khamenei, after Iranian state media announced that he had succeeded his father, killed in an American operation on February 28.
“Regarding the recent official announcement that the Iranian Assembly of Experts has elected a new leader of the Islamic Revolution, we respect the right and choice of the Iranian people to elect their Supreme Leader,” the Foreign Ministry declared, without congratulating him.
The Foreign Ministry has also come close to condemning the American operation, but tempered its language.
“We express grave concern and strongly condemn the aggression of the United States and Israel,” a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said shortly after the operation began, “which, by launching an unlawful military attack against Iran, are undermining the foundations of regional peace and security and increasing instability in the international landscape.”
Military experts have long warned about the close ties between Tehran and Pyongyang, giving Iran and its network of terrorist proxy groups access to advanced North Korean weaponry. In addition to the discovery of North Korean weapons used in the October 7 attacks, North Korea has for years reportedly sold weapons, including ballistic missiles, to Iran, a deal that enriches the impoverished communist state while allowing Iran to continue threatening its neighbors. Notably, Iran’s main military response to the Trump operation has been to launch missile and drone strikes not at American targets, but at its Gulf neighbors including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait, as well as striking seemingly unrelated countries such as Cyprus and Azerbaijan.
The North Korean silence on Iran markedly differs from its active support of Russia. Kim Jong-un confirmed last year that he deployed troops into the Ukrainian war theater, reportedly operating in Kursk, a region of Russia that Ukraine counter-invaded two years into the invasion. Kim has hosted multiple large-scale events in North Korea to celebrate the presence of its forces fighting in Europe and honor those killed in battle. In December, Kim honored a returning group of soldiers who allegedly worked helping clear mines in Kursk.
“Early in August you, engineers of the regiment, left for the Kursk region of the Russian Federation, which your comrades-in-arms had retaken at the cost of their lives, and you achieved brilliant results in the course of performing your combat tasks there,” Kim explained in remarks to those at the event.
North Korea has also built entire neighborhoods for the families of soldiers serving in the Ukraine war, suggesting mass deployment.
President Trump has not emphasized any foreign policy work on North Korea during his second term, though he met Kim three times during his first term and became the first American president to walk on North Korean soil. In remarks on Monday, Trump complained that South Korea was not sufficiently helpful in stopping Iran from blocking the Strait of Hormuz, adding that he “gets along” with Kim Jong-un and that Kim “said very nice things about me.”
Posted by: Skidmark ||
04/07/2026 12:05 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1784 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
I think a number of countries are taking note of what is happening in Iran and realizing that annoying the US under Trump is a bad idea, all that expensive air defense they bought from China & Russia doesn't work and that American equipment works MUCH better then they have been told by their intelligence agencies.
[Breitbart]
Italian daily Corriere Della Sera reported that four airports in the north of the country have imposed rationing measures on jet fuel supplies this week. The paper reported that Bologna, Milan Linate, Treviso, and Venice airports will have “limited” fuel supplies for flights until at least the evening of April 9th.
While the airports had ensured that all Easter travel was accommodated, the rationing measures this week were intended to ensure that there would be supplies for emergency services, so that “priority will be given to ambulance flights, state flights and flights with a duration of more than three hours.”
The restrictions limit all short-haul flights to a supply of only 2,000 litres of fuel, which, according to Euronews, would guarantee less than an hour of operation for planes such as the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
04/07/2026 12:20 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1752 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
Former TV host Billy Bush alleged ABC News had an entire "division" dedicated to "get" Donald Trump during the 2016 election.
"ABC News had a division. They had a division dedicated with 75 people in it — because I knew the guy who ran the division, which was dedicated to basically getting him," Bush said on Thursday's installment of the "Hang Out with Sean Hannity" podcast.
The Disney-owned network has had a long, contentious relationship with Trump. In 2017, ABC News was forced to retract a report alleging that fired National Security Adviser Michael Flynn would testify that Trump had ordered him to make contact with Russians about foreign policy while Trump was still a candidate. The report raised the specter of Trump’s impeachment and sent the stock market plummeting. Brian Ross, the chief investigative correspondent behind the false report, was later forced out of the network.
In December 2024, just weeks before Trump was sworn into office for his second term, ABC News paid a $16 million settlement to Trump after he filed a defamation lawsuit earlier in the year for comments made by "This Week" anchor George Stephanopoulos.
[FoxNews] USCIS said many applicants for naturalization and lawful permanent residence were not sufficiently vetted
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it had discovered "significant national security and public safety risks" in U.S. vetting processes, calling the system "wholly inadequate," just days before two relatives of slain terrorist leader Qasem Soleimani were taken into custody in Los Angeles.
The arrests of Soleimani’s niece, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, and grandniece, Sarinasadat Hosseiny, left many asking how close family associates of one of the most well-known terrorists in the world could gain lawful permanent status in the U.S. A USCIS internal review announced just days before the arrests may shed some light on that.
On March 30, USCIS issued an alert that, through an ongoing comprehensive review of pending workloads and benefit applications, it had "ascertained that prior screening and vetting measures were wholly inadequate."
"Children of regime apparatchiks from China, Cuba, Iran, Russia, and every other country with a communist, dictatorial, repressive regime come here to college, buy houses, get jobs, and stay," he said, adding, "Some are running away from their home regime and could have legitimate claims to asylum. Most are here spending their parents’ money.”
The agency said that "many applicants for naturalization and lawful permanent residence were not sufficiently vetted." As a result, USCIS said applications were approved and individuals were naturalized who "should not have been."
"These gaps," said USCIS, "expose the United States to significant national security and public safety risks and compromise the integrity of the immigration system."
In light of these risks, USCIS announced that the agency was issuing a hold and review of all pending asylum applications and benefit applications filed by aliens from high-risk countries. USCIS said the hold and review was in accordance with several executive orders and presidential proclamations by Trump mandating stricter screening and vetting.
In a policy memo announcing the hold and review, USCIS said it would conduct a comprehensive re-review, potential interview, and re-interview of all aliens from high-risk countries of concern who entered the United States on or after the day former President Joe Biden took office. The agency noted that "when appropriate," it would "extend this review and re-interview process to aliens who entered the United States outside of this timeframe."
Then, on Saturday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that he had revoked green cards belonging to Soleimani’s grandniece after their association with the notorious Iranian military leader was discovered. Rubio said that Soleimani Afshar "is also an outspoken supporter of the Iranian regime who celebrated attacks on Americans and referred to our country as the 'Great Satan.'" He said that both were in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pending removal.
Soleimani, the late head of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed by a drone strike ordered by Trump in 2020.
The White House declined to comment on Soleimani Afshar and Hosseiny’s arrests, referring Fox News Digital to the State Department. In turn, the Department of State referred Fox News Digital to the Department of Homeland Security.
Acting Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital that both entered the U.S. in 2015. Soleimani Afshar entered on a tourist visa in June, while her daughter, Hosseiny, entered in July on a student visa. Both were granted asylum status by a judge in 2019.
Bis said that Soleimani Afshar became a green card holder under the Biden administration in 2021, giving her permanent lawful status. Two years later, in 2023, Hosseiny also got her green card, gaining permanent lawful status.
According to Bis, Soleimani Afshar even filed a naturalization application last July. On her application, Soleimani Afshar disclosed that she had traveled to Iran at least four times since being issued a green card. Bis said these trips to Iran "illustrate her asylum claims were fraudulent."
Simon Hankinson, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation's Border Security and Immigration Center, explained that under current law, the bar for asylum claims in the U.S. is "pathetically low."
"Some immigration judges apply the standards properly; others are incredibly lax, for altruistic or ideological reasons," he told Fox News Digital.
He said the Soleimani relatives most likely "made a case that they were being persecuted by the Iranian regime."
"This wouldn’t be impossible — there are relatives of dictators and bad guys who do oppose their own families. But it appears these women didn’t — they supported the regime, its proxies, and policy. They reportedly returned for visits."
"Children of regime apparatchiks from China, Cuba, Iran, Russia, and every other country with a communist, dictatorial, repressive regime come here to college, buy houses, get jobs, and stay," he said, adding, "Some are running away from their home regime and could have legitimate claims to asylum. Most are here spending their parents’ money. Scumbags from all over the world rail against the West but they want the New York, Miami, and London lifestyle for their families to enjoy with the money they loot from their own people."
USCIS, which is a component of DHS, said that in light of its discoveries, it is developing a "layered vetting plan." The agency said this plan will incorporate classified and unclassified information, as well as expanded criminal history checks, identity verification, and ad hoc security checks with the purpose of closing security gaps.
The agency also said it has compiled information on each country listed in the travel ban proclamations and is working with the State Department to identify risk factors, including indicators of fraud, public safety, or national security risks.
Photos of him (looking totally Americanized) and of his mother, at the link.
[NYPost] The son of a notorious Iranian regime leader is enjoying an affluent lifestyle in Los Angeles, the California Post can reveal.
Campaigners are calling for Eissa Hashemi, 43, to be investigated and deported for defiantly refusing to denounce his mother’s sickening past.
On Monday, he appeared unfazed by the controversy and defiantly brushed off a reporter’s questions, declining to speak after a workout at his fancy gym.
The college psychology lecturer is the son of Masoumeh Ebtekar, known as “Screaming Mary,” who acted as spokesperson for violent militants who stormed the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.
She was infamous worldwide for firing off twisted propaganda during the crisis, even encouraging captives to describe the punishing ordeal in glowing terms.
Ebtekar was later promoted to Vice President for Women and Family Affairs by regime leaders – becoming the country’s first female VP and one of the highest-ranking women in the Muslim world today.
In January, protestors gathered at the $20,000 a year Chicago School in in Claremont, east LA, and other teaching institutions in the area with links to Hashemi, for rallies calling for him to be deported.
In January, protestors gathered at the $20,000 a year Chicago School in in Claremont, east LA, and other teaching institutions in the area with links to Hashemi, for rallies calling for him to be deported.
Organizers of Change.org petitions want Hashemi to be kicked out of the country.
One wrote: “While the mother has no regret of occupying the US embassy in Tehran, many Iranians have been affected by this action while her own son has taken advantage of living in the US.
“We want Issa Hashemi and his wife, Maryam Tahmasebi to be fired from the US as soon as possible.”
A poster on Instagram said: “Mr. Hashemi has never publicly distanced himself from his mother’s actions or legacy.
“I believe Eissa Hashemi’s affiliations could undermine the safety, trust, integrity, values, or commitment to human rights at an American college, warranting further examination.”
Another said: “47 years ago, Masoumeh Ebtekar took U.S. diplomats hostage for 444 days and threatened to kill them.
“Today, her son, Isa [sic] Hashemi works for Chicago School of Professional Psychology and lives freely in Los Angeles.”
And one more added: “His father was also one of the core group of leaders of the Muslim Students Followers of the Imam’s Line and several of the former hostages, including my father, positively identified him as being present during their torture and interrogation.
Vice President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Masoumeh Ebtekar delivers a speech during the opening session of the World Climate Change Conference 2015. REUTERS
“His mother was perhaps even crueler than some of the other captors. This guy has no business being in this country. I’ve been dogging him since 2015.”
Hashemi graduated from the University of Tehran in 2006 then reportedly moved to the US in 2010 and pursued his PhD in organizational leadership from The Chicago School.
He currently is an adjunct associate professor at his alma mater, enjoying the freedom his mother helped strip from American diplomats decades ago.
Sign up for the California Morning Report newsletter
California's top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.
Records show he resides in Agoura Hills in LA County with his fellow psychology professor wife Maryam Tahmasebi.
Traumatized former hostage Michael Metrinko once said of his mother: “If she were on fire on the street, I wouldn’t piss on her to put it out.”
[IsraelTimes] Free speech and Muslim advocacy groups oppose the law, say it raises free speech and due process concerns; DeSantis casts it as framework to combat extremism
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed into law a measure that gives him and other officials in the US state the power to designate groups as terrorist organizations and expel students who support them, with rights groups arguing the law will chill free speech.
The law empowers the state’s chief of domestic security, governor and cabinet to designate any organization they determine engages in krazed killer acts as a terrorist organization.
After such a designation, the group can be forcibly dissolved and face a freeze on state funding, according to the legislation. It also says that students shall be expelled from their institution if they "promoted a domestic terrorist organization or a foreign terrorist organization."
DeSantis, a Republican, signed the law on Monday.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations ... the Moslem Brüderbund's American arm ... (CAIR), one of the country’s most prominent Moslem rights groups, called the law "draconian" and unconstitutional in a Monday statement.
Late last year, DeSantis signed an executive order designating CAIR as a "foreign terrorist organization." CAIR sued over the designation and a judge eventually blocked the order.
Free speech group PEN America says the measure signed by DeSantis "could chill free speech by placing unprecedented pressure on individuals to avoid speaking, organizing, or engaging with certain viewpoints."
Good. We don’t want people pushing jihad any more than we want them pushing pedophilia. Some ideas should be unthinkable.
In November, Texas also designated CAIR as a terrorist organization, alleging the rights group had ties to krazed killers. CAIR sued over that designation as well and dismissed the claims.
Darryl Li, a legal scholar at the University of reliably Democrat Chicago, aka The Windy City or Mobtown ...home of Al Capone, the Chicago Black Sox, a succession of Daleys, Barak Obama, and Rahm Emmanuel... , and Shirin Sinnar, a professor of law at Stanford Law School, said in a joint piece in February that efforts by Texas and Florida towards such designations "could lay the groundwork for even more sweeping forms of authoritarianism."
Authoritarian is the new code word for racist.
Republican US President Donald Trump ...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried.... ’s administration and some Republican-governed states have cracked down against left-leaning organizations and pro-Paleostinian groups that they cast as krazed killer, antisemitic and anti-American.
Those groups deny the allegations and say the crackdown violates free speech and due process.
Trump’s attempts to deport some protesters and freeze funds for universities where protests were held have faced judicial roadblocks.
PEN America Florida Director William Johnson said the Florida legislation "opens the door for Florida students to face punishment for constitutionally protected speech."
DeSantis cast the legislation as a framework to combat extremism and have accountability in the education system.
#3
Same Super Hose. I can see this abused all to hell by mostly demoncrats if it stands. I think it will be ruled unconstitutional on free speech grounds.
With that kind of judgement on display, it’s probably best he is no longer running any part of the U.S. national intelligence apparatus. Such a waste of all that hair.
[NYP] Conspiracy theorist and ex-National Counterterrorism Center boss Joe Kent has been called out for promoting wild Iranian propaganda that suggested the United States was actually trying to kill a downed American airman — just hours before he was dramatically rescued.
Kent, who abruptly resigned from his Trump administration position last month in protest over Iran, got into a war of words with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Monday after the former counterterror honcho was called out for peddling the false claims. Ozempic - The downside.
He had shared an article from Iranian state media over the weekend that claimed the US was actively bombing the same area where the missing airman was believed to be.
The pro-regime outlet was reporting that the Trump administration had "lost hope" of finding the American soldier and was now trying to kill him before he could be captured by Iranian forces.
Kent shared the post before President Trump revealed hours later that the crewman had finally been rescued in a daring operation behind enemy lines.
Tapper, for his part, was quick to ridicule Kent "nonsense" post — arguing his theory hadn’t aged well.
"Former National Counterterrorism Center director Joe Kent sharing Iranian state-linked outlet nonsense claiming, falsely, that the US was trying to kill the then-lost US pilot," Tapper posted on X.
#3
[USA Today] WASHINGTON – Former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell fell twice on Wednesday and was escorted out of the Capitol in a wheelchair as a precautionary measure.
The longtime leader, 82, is a survivor of childhood polio and has had multiple health issues in recent years.
"Senator McConnell is fine," McConnell spokeswoman Stephanie Penn said in a statement. "The lingering effects of polio in his left leg will not disrupt his regular schedule of work.”
McConnell first fell on the stairs near the Senate chamber midday and a second time during the Republican conference lunch in the same wing of the Capitol. He was carrying a plate of food and landed on his side, Punchbowl News reported. Link
#7
If this dude was in charge of counterterrorism, I think somebody needs to go back and review any decisions he made.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
04/07/2026 13:51 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Nuttier than squirrel shit. That's our IC!
Posted by: Regular joe ||
04/07/2026 14:36 Comments ||
Top||
#9
While I would dismiss the idea that we 'tried to kill' the weapons officer, I would not dismiss the idea that we had contingency plans to do so. A Colonel, in that seat, likely had too much critical and confidential information in his head to risk his being captured and interrogated. (IMO if so he should not have been on the mission unless essential, and thus it was not a standard bombing run). To those who say we would never do such a thing, they are not analyzing risks and costs fairly - we let U-boats attack North Atlantic convoys during WW II rather than risking the Germans figuring out we had their codes, for one example I know about.
#10
(Another example would be 9/11 Flight 93, which might well have been shot down if the passengers.. hadn't crashed it first, rather than letting it hit its expected target in DC. Sometimes very painful choices have to be made at those top pay grades...)
Out to Lunch! Fall of Washington's Pride!
Big Conspiracy! Narrative Lied!
"'And he fell on his side,'
But my mac and cheese died,"
A bereft green bean casserole cried.
[IsraelTimes] Defense Ministry deal with Israel Aerospace Industries will allow ‘substantial increase’ in production; Katz denies country running low on interceptors in war with Iran
Israel has approved plans to dramatically accelerate the production of Arrow interceptor missiles, the Defense Ministry announced Monday.
According to the ministry, the agreement with Israel Aerospace Industries, "will enable a substantial increase in the production rate and quantity of Arrow interceptors."
Israel’s Arrow 3 missile defense is currently its most advanced long-range defense system, meant to intercept ballistic missiles — like the type fired from Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... — while they are still outside the Earth’s atmosphere.
A single Arrow 3 missile has an estimated price of $2-3 million and takes a few months to produce, although the exact time frame has not been made public by Israel due to security concerns.
Foreign reports throughout the war have indicated that Israel is rationing its interceptors.
Defense Minister Israel Katz was the latest official to deflect the reports, denying on Monday that Israel is running low.
"Israel has sufficient interceptors to protect its citizens, and the current move is intended to ensure continued operational freedom and the necessary endurance," he said in the Defense Ministry statement. "The Ayatollah regime should know: Israel is strong and resilient, prepared to continue the campaign as long as necessary, and continues to enhance its defensive and offensive capabilities during combat."
The agreement follows a December 2025 deal worth billions of shekels that the Defense Ministry signed with IAI for the defense firm to expand its production of Arrow 3 interceptor missiles.
The accelerated production program is being led by Moshe Patel, head of the Homa Missile Defense Administration in the Defense Ministry’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development (MAFAT).
The Defense Ministry stressed that the US Missile Defense Agency "is a key partner of the Homa Administration in the development and production of Israel’s multi-layered air defense array, which includes the Arrow, David’s Sling, and Iron Dome systems. The strategic cooperation between Israel and the United States helps ensure Israel’s technological advantage in air defense."
Israel has a multi-layered air defense array, with a variety of systems intercepting threats at different altitudes.
The top tier consists of the anti-ballistic missile Arrow systems, with Arrow 2 operating both within the Earth’s atmosphere and in space, and Arrow 3 intercepting above the Earth’s atmosphere.
Israel and the US launched a campaign against Iran on February 28 in a bid to destabilize the regime and destroy its nuclear and ballistic missile capacities.
Iran has responded with missile attacks and dronezaps across the region.
More than 500 ballistic missiles have been launched from Iran at Israel since the start of the war.
In all, at least 14 missiles carrying conventional warheads with hundreds of kilograms of explosives have struck populated areas in Israel, causing extensive damage. There have also been more than 30 incidents of missiles carrying cluster bomb warheads hitting populated areas, with over 200 separate impact sites.
[IsraelTimes] Board of Peace’s Gaza envoy Mladenov determined to advance Trump plan’s reconstruction phase, but Hamas and Israel unlikely to cooperate, diplomat from mediating country tells ToI
The Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Board of Peace has given Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... until the end of the week to accept a disarmament proposal, with the US-led international body overseeing the postwar management of the Strip determined to advance its reconstruction even as the Iran war persists, three sources familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel on Monday.
The Board of Peace’s High Representative for Gaza Nickolay Mladenov met with a delegation of senior Hamas officials in Cairo on Friday, and the terror group has been informed that the Gaza oversight board wants a disarmament agreement finalized by the end of the week, two Arab diplomats and a third source said, confirming reporting in The New York Times
...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... on condition of anonymity.
The sources clarified that minor amendments to the disarmament proposal would still be considered, while requests for fundamental changes by Hamas would not be accepted.
Mladenov is convinced that it is possible to move ahead with the second phase of US President Donald Trump ...Oh, noze! Not him!... ’s plan for ending the Gaza war, one of the Arab diplomats said, while acknowledging that Middle East mediating countries Egypt, 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 The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... member, but not the most reliable... are not as optimistic.
The mediators are leaning hard on Hamas to accept the US-backed disarmament proposal, but the terror group is "unlikely to say ’yes’ without significant caveats," said the Arab diplomat, who is from one of the mediating countries.
"And even if they do, it’s unlikely that Israel will comply," the diplomat added, arguing that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not authorize an additional pullback from Gaza during an election year, as his coalition partners continue backing maintaining a permanent Israeli presence in the Strip.
At the Friday meeting in Cairo, Hamas officials refrained from outright rejecting the disarmament proposal, which Mladenov first presented to them last month, the Arab diplomat said.
Instead, they highlighted what they said has been Israel’s failure to adhere to the first phase of Trump’s plan, pointing to the limited operation of the Rafah Crossing, the low number of aid trucks that have gone into Gaza, the repeated IDF strikes deep inside Gaza and Jerusalem’s pushing of the Yellow Line ceasefire demarcator deeper into the Strip, thereby expanding the eastern portion of the territory controlled by Israel.
Israel took several months to reopen the Rafah Crossing after the October ceasefire. Even then, it has limited passengers to 50 in each direction and shut it back down for nearly the first three weeks of the Iran war. That latter conflict also has seen the daily aid truck count dip far below the 600 that are required under the ceasefire’s terms.
Israel has not denied carrying out strikes deep inside Gaza but says they are justified in targeting Hamas operatives violating the ceasefire.
Mladenov has raised some of these issues with Israeli officials in recent days, the Arab diplomat said, noting that the aid truck numbers have begun climbing back up, while other alleged violations have remained unresolved.
The Board of Peace’s Gaza envoy is slated to hold a follow-up meeting with Hamas officials in Cairo on Tuesday, the Arab diplomat and a source familiar with the matter said.
The disarmament proposal presented to Hamas last month envisions the destruction of the group’s Gaza tunnel network along with the phased handover of its weapons.
The plan partially leaked to the media follows an eight-month timeline that begins with a Board of Peace-backed committee of Paleostinian technocrats taking security control of Gaza and concludes with Israeli forces withdrawing completely upon "verification that Gaza is free of weaponry."
Gaza’s entire reconstruction hinges on Hamas agreeing to disarm, with Mladenov indicating in a cryptic tweet last week that there would be consequences for the group if it didn’t get on board.
"He who will not cross the river will drown in the sea," he wrote on X.
The leaked plan includes two components: a 12-point document titled "Steps to Complete the Implementation of Trump’s Comprehensive Peace Plan for Gaza," and a five-stage timeline during which Hamas would surrender its arms over eight months.
The document says that all armed factions in Gaza, including terror groups like Paleostinian Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... , will participate in a disarmament process that will be overseen by the Paleostinian technocrats, known as the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG).
"Gaza will be governed under the principle of one authority, one law, one weapon, whereby only individuals authorized by [NCAG] may possess weapons, and all armed factions will cease military activities," the document says.
The disarmament process will be "verified by the Weapons Collection Verification Committee," a body that will be set up by Mladenov.
Reconstruction will only be allowed in areas that are designated as demilitarized, it says.
According to the plan’s timeline, the first stage, consisting of 15 days, would see NCAG take security and administrative control of Gaza and begin preparatory steps for weapons collection.
In the second stage, days 16-40, Israel would remove all heavy weapons from areas under its control, including heavy artillery and tanks, and an international security force would be deployed.
The third stage, days 30-90, would be the most intensive: Hamas would give all its heavy weapons and military equipment to NCAG, and "will allow the destruction of all tunnels, explosives and military infrastructure."
In the fourth stage, days 91-250, NCAG’s police forces would collect and register all remaining weapons, including guns and rifles. Israeli forces would begin to withdraw in stages.
The fifth stage is described as "final verification" of disarmament, and would see "Israeli forces withdraw completely from Gaza except for a presence in a security perimeter, and the start of comprehensive reconstruction efforts."
Is that their TONITE and our morning?
One assumes bombing runs after dark.
8 pm ET, so our evening, their 0-dark:30. About 2:00 am their time, or thereabout — I’m not sure what time zone they’re in..
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Donald Trump said Iran's entire 'civilization will die tonight' after the Islamic regime rejected his peace demands as the clock ticks down toward the President's deadline to unleash 'hell' on the country.
Trump told his followers on Truth Social: 'A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.'
The President's deadline is set to expire by 8pm ET on Tuesday.
'However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?' Trump added.
'We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption and death will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!'
The US hit approximately 50 military targets on Kharg Island overnight, a crucial Iranian oil export hub, as fears grow over a potential ground invasion to seize it.
Bunkers, a radar station and ammunition storage were hit by US airstrikes, according to senior administration officials. Footage emerged on social media showing the aftermath of the destruction on the island.
The escalating military action comes after senior Iranian officials rejected a proposal conveyed by intermediaries for a temporary ceasefire with the US, according to Reuters.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
04/07/2026 12:51 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1761 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
Iran Standard Time (IRST) or Iran Time (IT) is the time zone used in Iran. Iran uses a UTC offset UTC+03:30. IRST is defined by the 52.5 degrees east meridian, the same meridian which defines the Iranian calendar and is the official meridian of Iran.
[IsraelTimes] After earlier blaming the Kurds for taking the guns for themselves, US president says ‘certain group of people’ will ‘pay a big price for that’
US President Donald Trump ...The cad! Twice caught beating wimmin!... said Monday that the United States has previously attempted to arm Iranian anti-regime protesters, but the weapons were diverted and never passed to the right people, threatening that those who kept the guns for themselves would "pay a big price."
The comments appeared to be aimed at Kurdish separatists, as he had blamed them for doing so a day earlier, though he did not specify this in his Monday comments.
While speaking to news hounds at a White House Easter event, Trump said the armaments were intended to reach anti-government protesters to help them fight back against Iranian authorities.
In January, during the mass wave of anti-regime protests that swept across Iran, Trump had vowed that "help was on the way" and urged protesters to take to the streets and seize institutions. But after the regime began its crackdown, reportedly killing tens of thousands, Trump backed down, only beginning military operations 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... weeks later alongside Israel.
He has since said that Iranians should take to the streets only after protecting themselves from the bombing campaign.
"We sent guns, a lot of guns, they were supposed to go to the people so they could fight back against these thugs," Trump told news hounds.
"You know what happened? The people that they sent them to kept them," Trump went on.
"They said, ’What a beautiful gun. I think I’ll keep it,’" Trump claimed, adding: "So I’m very upset with a certain group of people, and they’re going to pay a big price for that."
In his press event Monday, Trump did not give details about who he was accusing of taking the US weapons. However,
it was a brave man who first ate an oyster... on Sunday, Trump was quoted as saying by a Fox News news hound that he blamed Kurdish intermediaries for having taken weapons destined for Iranian dissidents.
"We sent guns to the protesters, a lot of them... and I think the Kurds took the guns," Trump reportedly said.
He did not provide evidence for that claim.
Trump continued his verbal attacks against the Kurds Monday at a White House presser after the Easter event, after being asked if he’d like them to get involved in the war.
"I’d rather have them stay away because I think they bring with them some problems and some difficulty," he responded.
"They bring death... to themselves," he said.
According to a Channel 12 investigative report published last week, the US and Israel had planned for Kurdish militia forces to invade Iran early in the ongoing war, hoping to spur a rebellion that would bring down the Islamic Theocratic Republic — but leaks to the media, lobbying by allies, and wariness among the Kurds themselves led Washington to pull the plug on the idea.
After initially proclaiming a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Iranians to overthrow their government, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump have subdued their rhetoric about regime change since the start of the war, with Netanyahu saying several times last month that he cannot be certain that the Iranian public will rise up.
#4
Someone (US, Israel, Middle Eastern countries) told the Kurds not to invade, because it could have caused the rest of Iran to "rally to the flag".
Assorted bits and pieces of information suggests what is really happening in Iran isn't making it to the MSM. Between the need for Iran to call in Iraqi & Afghani militias and this Twitter post: https://tinyurl.com/4bhy3r5c something seems to be going on inside Iran where the IRGC is unable or unwilling to take action.
#5
Speaking as your Network Advisor, one of the goals of an internet is being able to route around damage and failure. Submarine cables are *not* the only transmission medium. Satellites, microwave, fiber, even good old copper wires.
Some network nodes may get disconnected, but most places have multiple routes by design. So, no.
🚨 One of Iraq’s most prolific and high-profile Shia terrorist has reportedly arrived in Tehran.
Abu Azrael, IRGC-linked militia commander and loyalist to Khamenei and the Islamic Republic, is now in Tehran coordinating with the regime against Iranian unrest and preparing for… pic.twitter.com/0XdV3MjAUL
— The Iran Watcher 🇮🇷 (@TheIranWatcher) April 6, 2026
Text:
🚨 One of Iraq’s most prolific and high-profile Shia terrorist has reportedly arrived in Tehran.
Abu Azrael, IRGC-linked militia commander and loyalist to Khamenei and the Islamic Republic, is now in Tehran coordinating with the regime against Iranian unrest and preparing for potential U.S. ground deployment.
A former fighter against U.S. forces in 2003, he later rose through Iran-backed militias operating in Iraq and Syria.
Famous for videos showing him using swords, axes, and fire on captives. He bragged about “spit-roasting” ISIS fighters, burning bodies, slicing charred corpses “like shawarma,” and his motto “Illa tahin” (“I’ll grind you to dust” / “nothing but flour”). Even his own militia (Kataib al-Imam Ali) disavowed him at one point over a video of him burning a dead fighter.
More at the link
Posted by: badanov ||
04/07/2026 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1765 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
If he only speaks Arabic, seems like he has little chance of Getty out alive.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
04/07/2026 6:10 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Back in 2014, ISIS captured a huge portion of Iraq, I think about 40%, killed at least tens of thousands and threatened to take the rest of the country.
The USA provided enough help to turn the tide against ISIS but groups like the Shia militia did a lot of the work also. Unlike the USA, they didn't work as cleanly and tortured people and unfortunately, the Shia militia are still in Iraq.
Having them come to help the mullahs is an opportunity to take out much of their equipment and mobile fighting units.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
04/07/2026 17:47 Comments ||
Top||
#4
#2 - Nicely played *golf clap*
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/07/2026 18:34 Comments ||
Top||
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.
...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried....
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
...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 
