[ShabelleMedia] Negotiations aimed at securing the release of eight Egyptian sailors held hostage by Somali pirates have collapsed after the kidnappers withdrew from a preliminary agreement and demanded additional ransom payments, officials said.
El-Sayed El-Shazly, head of Egyptâs Maritime Officers Association, told local media that talks had stalled after the pirates sought more money than had been agreed during earlier negotiations.
The sailors were aboard the oil tanker M/T Eureka, which was hijacked on May 2 while sailing from the UAE port of Fujairah to 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... . The vessel was reportedly seized by armed pirates and is currently being held near Somaliaâs Puntland ...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion... coast.
According to officials monitoring the case, negotiators had reached a preliminary agreement involving a $2 million ransom payment. However,
there's more than one way to skin a cat... the pirates later backed out of the deal and demanded additional funds, causing the negotiations to break down.
Relatives of the hostages expressed growing concern over the setback, saying hopes for the crewâs imminent release had been dashed. Ahmed Shaaban, the brother of the vesselâs captain, said the situation had effectively returned to where it began.
Despite the collapse of the talks, Egyptâs Maritime Officers Association said all eight sailors remain alive. Some members of the crew have reportedly managed to make brief contact with their families.
On May 18, the pirates released a video showing the sailors blindfolded and with their hands bound while warning shots were fired nearby, a recording that heightened fears among their relatives.
The 88-meter tanker, sailing under the Togolese flag and owned by a company based in the United Arab Emirates, was reportedly seized in waters off Yemen before being diverted toward the Somali coast.
The incident comes amid a resurgence of piracy off Somalia since late 2023. Security analysts have linked the increase in attacks to a reduced international naval presence in the region, as some maritime forces were redeployed to address security threats in the Red Sea.
In April, another tanker, Honor 25, was attacked in the same area, underscoring growing concerns over the safety of commercial shipping routes in waters surrounding the Horn of Africa.
THE SAME CORRIDOR that carries food to 33.7 million people in famine also carries weapons.
This is not an allegation. It is a documented supply chain with UN sourcing.
The UN Panel of Experts confirmed in 2025 that Sudan and Eritrea have become transit nodes in a weapons⌠pic.twitter.com/4FDzARaqqC
— The Red Sea Monitor (@redseamonitor) June 12, 2026
Text:
THE SAME CORRIDOR that carries food to 33.7 million people in famine also carries weapons.
This is not an allegation. It is a documented supply chain with UN sourcing.
The UN Panel of Experts confirmed in 2025 that Sudan and Eritrea have become transit nodes in a weapons smuggling network operating across the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden involving weapons, technical training and logistical support moving between multiple armed actors in the region.
The maritime infrastructure is the same on both flows. Oceangoing cargo ships. Medium-sized dhows crossing the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Small fishing skiffs transferring goods along poorly monitored coastlines.
[HumangleMedia] It is a tale of terror, misguided faith, and resignation to fate. The characters are soaked in blood; the streets are littered with mutilated bodies of souls lost to domestic jihadi warfare. There comes a semblance of repentance or sobriety, as the hands that once slit the throats of civilians in the name of religion now wield the power of the gun to protect and curiously re-terrorise them at the same time.
SUMMARY
Goni Abubakar, raised as an almajiri seeking Islamic education, was manipulated along with other children into the Boko Haram insurgency through brainwashing by leaders who embraced extremist ideologies. His journey reflects the complex process of deradicalization and reintegration facing many former insurgents, raising questions about the sincerity of their redemption and survival attempts.
The narrative explores how systemic failures and Boko Haramâs exploitation of grievances fueled recruitment, impacting millions and resulting in heavy violence across Nigeria. However, defectors face challenges reintegrating, with community distrust and insufficient state support undermining their transition.
The deradicalization schemes, while offering a pathway away from violence, often fail to address the socio-economic struggles of former fighters, and tensions persist due to former terrorists re-integrating into civilian life.
More at the link
Posted by: badanov ||
06/13/2026 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1764 views]
Top|| File under: Boko Haram (ISIS)
[IsraelTimes] Qatar forcefully denies a Washington Post report claiming that it had cut a âsecret dealâ with Iran under which the latter would refrain from targeting the Ras Laffan gas in exchange for Doha halting gas production in a move that raised global energy prices and urgency to end the Iran war.
âAny suggestion that operational decisions relating to energy production were â or have ever been â made in coordination with Iran, for Iranâs benefit, or to influence the course of the conflict is entirely unfounded,â Qatarâs International Media Office says in a statement.
âThese allegations are particularly implausible given that Qatar was actively defending its territory against Iranian missile attacks at the time,â it adds.
âThe allegations rely on false and unreliable material originating from actors whose objective is to sabotage ongoing efforts to mediate an end to the conflict, damage Qatarâs reputation, and undermine the strategic partnership between Qatar and the United States.â
âThe basis of the allegations advanced by The Washington Post shifted over time, yet the underlying narrative in its reporting remained unchanged despite the facts and information presented to it,â the statement continues.
[IsraelTimes] The United Arab Emirates has agreed to unlock billions of dollars for Iran, four sources says, in a tactical shift after weeks of Iranian attacks on the wealthy Gulf Arab state during the US-Israeli war with the Islamic Republic.
Word of the move, which has not been previously reported, coincides with the final stages of broader negotiations between Tehran and Washington on ending the war, talks that diplomats say could involve the release of tens of billions of dollars in Iranian oil revenues frozen in foreign banks under US sanctions.
Two regional sources tell Reuters the UAE has agreed to release a total of $10 billion, more than $3 billion of which had already been delivered.
Two other sources with knowledge of the arrangement put the total funds involved at $20 billion, adding that the move had been agreed in return for a halt to Iranian attacks on the UAE. One of the sources with knowledge of the arrangement also said a first tranche of $3 billion had already been made available.
Reuters cannot establish whether the funds earmarked for the transfers belong to the UAE or originate in long-blocked Iranian accounts in the UAE banking system, or elsewhere.
But a UAE official, asked to comment on the transfer, says the country is trying to ease tension and foster peace.
“The UAE’s foreign policy is guided by promoting de-escalation and reducing tensions across the region, while advancing lasting peace and stability,” the official says. “The UAE supports efforts, including those undertaken by the United States, to protect the peoples of the region from the repercussions of conflict.”
International stuff is outside police purview. Especially when it spills over onto how they treat the local citizenry. But they are deliberately yet another tentacle of Moslem colonization.
[IsraelTimes] National Association of Muslim Police distances itself from its ex-VP’s July 2025 report that likens Gaza war to Holocaust and disputes Oct. 7 atrocities, insists it does not ‘defend Hamas’
British Jewish groups say they are alarmed about revelations that a fraternal society for Moslemcoppers published a policy paper that described Zionism as a form of anti-Moslem hatred and called the Israeli army a "Zionist terrorist group."
The Board of Deputies of British Jews called the paper posted by the National Association of Moslem Police "disturbing" in its presentation of Jewish identity, history and the nature of antisemitism.
"If this is being circulated among officers, it poses a direct challenge to the integrity of policing and it should be withdrawn immediately," the group said.
NAMP has distanced itself from the report and, in a statement, rejected any allegation that the group "supports Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... The 39-page paper titled "From Past Prejudices to Present Policies: Confronting anti-Moslem hatred and Promoting Human Rights," was written by NAMP’s then-vice president, Khaldoun Kabbani, and published in July 2025. It says "Zionism represents one of the manifestations of anti-Moslem hatred"; likens the war in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... to the Holocaust; and disputes facts about the atrocities committed during the bloody Hamas-led massacres in Israel on October 7, 2023, including that the thousands of invading Lions of Islam slaughtered Israeli children.
The Spectator, a right-wing British newspaper, drew attention to the report in a piece published on Friday that said the report illuminated "the disturbing truth about the National Association of Moslem Police." The group has a formal affiliation with 16 of 43 police departments in the UK and says it represents more than 20,000 officers.
Kabbani, a forensics officer, was briefly the chair of the Scottish Moslem Police Association but planned to move abroad after retiring earlier this year, according to a post by the group on LinkedIn.
The revelation of the NAMP report comes at a time of heightened tension over policing in the UK, amid both a surge in anti-Jewish crimes and a renewed uproar over a December murder that has fueled allegations of "two-tier policing" that treats some victims differently from others. The Spectator referenced the victim, Henry Nowak, in the column about NAMP.
The NAMP report has spurred distress for many British Jews who are on edge amid a string of violent mostly peaceful incidents targeting Jewish communities. The Campaign Against Antisemitism, a watchdog group, said its polling shows that 83% of British Jews do not think the police are doing enough to protect them — and that the report suggested their concerns were well founded.
"The people responsible for publishing this krazed killer screed on the official police.uk web domain are unfit to be coppers and must be immediately investigated by their respective forces’ professional standards departments and dismissed," Steven Silverman, CAM’s director of investigations and enforcement, said in a statement.
"British Jews have long suffered two-tier policing that sees antisemitic crime go unpunished," he said, adding that CAM would press the British government to ensure a clear message is being sent. This cannot pass with the document being quietly deleted."
The report was removed from NAMP’s website over the weekend. The group distanced itself from the report in a statement published on Tuesday, saying that it had removed the report "immediately" after learning about its existence and emphasizing that the author was "no longer associated" with NAMP.
"We understand that the publication of this document has affected several communities, and we regret any concern, discomfort, or misunderstanding it may have caused," the group said.
It added, "NAMP categorically does not ’defend’ Hamas or any other proscribed organization. We condemn all forms of terrorism and extremism."
The document is "deeply troubling," a spokesperson for the Jewish Leadership Council, which coordinates British Jewish groups, said in a statement.
"This document appears to falsely associate an ideology held by the majority of Jewish people as a threat to Moslems. It also engages in deeply troubling Holocaust inversion and denial of some of the worst atrocities carried out by Hamas on October 7," the spokesperson said. "At a time of rising antisemitism, including violent mostly peaceful attacks on British Jews, this document further threatens community cohesion and police forces should be clear in distancing themselves from it."
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said it plans to speak with the "relevant" government and police departments to discover the paper’s provenance, how it’s being used, and "how to ensure that the valued relationships of trust between British Jews and the police are not being undermined."
The Metropolitan Police of London, the largest police department in the UK and a formal NAMP affiliate, declined to comment on the report. The department has recently stepped up policing in Jewish communities in an effort to stem antisemitic violence.
[IsraelTimes] Senior Palestinian Authority official Jibril Rajoub decries move as unfair, after attending soccer championshipâs opening match in Mexico
The head of the Paleostinian Football Association is waiting in Mexico City for permission to enter the United States with other federation heads attending the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Jibril Rajoub
âŚalso the name of the current secretary general of the Fatah Central Committee â are they two different people or not?
went to the opening match between Mexico and South Africa on Thursday in Mexico City. But he is among several people accredited to attend the soccer World Cup who have been denied visas or have yet to receive them from the United States.
"I donât believe that itâs fair to use or to abuse and deny the right of all footballers all over the world to attend," the veteran Paleostinian political figure said in an interview with The News Agency that Dare Not be Named.
The Paleostinian team did not qualify for the World Cup, but FIFA typically invites the heads of soccer associations from around the world to the event every four years, which it frames as a celebration of global unity.
"Everyone will be welcome in Canada, Mexico and the United States for the FIFA World Cup next year. We are working exactly for that," FIFA President Gianni Infantino said last year.
The United States, however, has refused entry to delegates from a raft of countries, including a referee from Somalia and a photographer traveling with Iraqâs team.
The United States, however, has refused entry to delegates from a raft of countries, including a referee from Somalia and a photographer traveling with Iraqâs team.
Infantino said this week that FIFA had been trying to resolve visa issues but could not overrule the US government.
"We need to respect that we are not the kings of the world who can rule over governments and police forces," he told news hounds on Wednesday.
The US State Department had no immediate comment on Rajoubâs visa, but last year it implemented new restrictions on Paleostinian passport holders, including on anyone who has been employed by the Paleostinian Authority.
The US State Department had no immediate comment on Rajoubâs visa, but last year it implemented new restrictions on Paleostinian passport holders, including on anyone who has been employed by the Paleostinian Authority.
It revoked a visa to allow Paleostinian Authority President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase....> to travel to the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... General Assembly last September.
Rajoub and other Paleostinian soccer officials have long argued that Israel violates statutes by allowing teams from West Bank settlements to play in the national league. They have pushed FIFA to sanction Israel, also decrying restrictions on the movement of Paleostinian players and how war in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip has allegedly damaged or destroyed 80 percent of sports facilities and killed at least 565 players there, according to the association.
Last month, Rajoub refused to shake hands with the head of Israelâs soccer federation at Infantinoâs behest because he said the gesture would not heal wounds but instead whitewash Israelâs actions.
Rajoub pointed out that when Russia hosted the 2018 World Cup, it did not implement comparable visa restrictions for people who were invited to the tournament.
[IsraelTimes] A US judge on Thursday allowed an Iranian-born engineer to be released on bail just days before his trial on charges that he conspired to illegally export technology to Iran that had potential application in military drones.
US District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston had previously declined to release Mahdi Sadeghi, a dual US-Iranian citizen, from custody, citing the risk he might flee to avoid trial.
But Talwani says the situation had changed since Sadeghi, a former Analog Devices employee, was arrested in December 2024, pointing to the war in Iran, which began in February when the US and Israel launched strikes.
She says the conflict made the prospect of Sadeghi and his family returning to Iran “less attractive” and that it would be difficult for him to do so.
“It is just a different political world,” she says.
She notes that Sadeghi’s wife had made clear that she wanted their family to remain in the US, where they reside in Natick, Massachusetts, something Sadeghi would risk losing if he fled rather than contest the charges.
She orders him released on Friday on a secured $500,000 bond subject to strict home detention with a GPS ankle monitor. His lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.
Sadeghi has pleaded not guilty to participating in a scheme to violate US export control and âsanctions laws by illegally procuring technology for Iranian businessman âMohammad Abedini.
Prosecutors say Abedini founded a company that counts Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a client and made a navigation system used in Iran’s Shahed drones.
Prosecutors say that navigation system was used in âa drone â that struck a US outpost in Jordan called Tower 22, near the Syrian border, in a January 2024 attack by Iran-backed militants that killed three Army Reserve soldiers and injured 47 others.
Sadeghi’s lawyers say no evidence exists that any of the technology he is accused of exporting was found in any drone, and the judge in February barred prosecutors from introducing evidence about the Jordan drone attack at his upcoming June 22 trial to avoid “unfair prejudice.”
Sadeghi is slated to face trial alone after Italian officials last year â released Abedini, who had been awaiting extradition to the United States, following the detention by Iran of âan Italian journalist it also released.
[IsraelTimes] Sushila Devi sat sobbing on the floor of her house in Deoria, northern India after authorities told her that her husband was one of three sailors killed in a US attack on a ship off Oman.
“If he had told us about the dangers, I would have called him back,” she cries out as women from the family gathered round to console her. “The government should not allow people to go there.”
India on Friday took the rare step of lodging a second protest with the US over the strike that took place more than three months into the Iran war. Sushila Devi’s words echoed calls also building up among Indians for their own government to do more to protect its sailors stuck in the Gulf.
Her husband Shivanand Chaurasia, the sole earner in the family with two young children, was among 24 Indian mariners aboard the Palau-flagged tanker Settebello when it was hit on Wednesday.
The US military’s Central Command said an aircraft fired precision munitions into the vessel’s engine room after the crew “repeatedly failed to comply with directions from American forces.”
It said the strike was part of an ongoing blockade targeting oil shipments from Iran launched after Tehran sharply curtailed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which carried a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas before the conflict.
India’s foreign ministry said it had summoned the US chargé d’affaires to convey “its deep concern over the use of lethal and deadly force against civilian shipping.”
“Such actions are unacceptable and undermine the safety, security and stability of international maritime commerce in a sensitive region at a difficult time.”
The deaths have prompted calls on India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to go beyond registering protests.
India – the world’s second-largest supplier of seafarers behind the Philippines according to government figures – has had to pay a huge cost for the conflict it played no part in starting, say opposition and other critics.
On Thursday, another ship with 20 Indian crew was attacked, with no deaths or injuries reported.
“India has responded … with a routine diplomatic protest and apparent efforts to downplay the significance of the attacks,” said Brahma Chellaney, a strategic affairs analyst in New Delhi.
[IsraelTimes] The Republic of Ireland’s Nations League exhibition with Israel on October 4 will be held behind closed doors at a neutral venue overseas, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) announces.
So the Irish won’t be able to cheer their team? Consequences are a bitch.
The FAI says that European soccer governing body UEFA had approved its request to hold the fixture abroad.
Several pro-Palestinian Irish politicians and soccer figures have urged the federation to withdraw from the ties — there is also an away game in September — over Israel’s conduct during the Hamas-sparked war in Gaza.
Last month, home fans disrupted Ireland’s friendly with World Cup participants Qatar in Dublin by throwing tennis balls onto the pitch in protest against the games with Israel.
Kind of an own goal there, guys — Qatar also philosophically objects to Israel’s presence, being allied to the Muslim Brotherhood and all. So they probably would have quietly been your ally in this thing, had you not been such total asses about it.
That demonstration led to renewed concerns about whether a game against Israel at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium could go ahead safely.
“Following consultation with various stakeholders, the Association is of the view that operational challenges could impact on the delivery of the game on home soil, so the fixture will be played away from the Aviva Stadium,” the FAI says.
Interesting. Aviva is a Jewish girl’s name, from the Hebrew word for Spring. Where did the stadium's name come from?
The FAI statement also says that it is “deeply conscious of the suffering and devastation being endured by civilians in Gaza.”
The FAI passed a motion in November requesting that UEFA immediately suspend Israel from international competition, but received no support from European soccer chiefs.
Irish soccer bosses have since maintained that they have little choice but to play the games or risk forfeiting them and incurring other disciplinary measures “including potential disqualification from the competition.”
The FAI says that forfeiting six points from their two matches against Israel could lead to relegation to League C in the Nations League and so weaken the national side’s ability to qualify for Euro 2028.
Turning to other potential impacts of a boycott, the FAI said: “Beyond the sporting implications, there would be broader consequences for Irish soccer, such as reduced capacity to support clubs and leagues through critical services such as safeguarding, educational programmes, and player development opportunities.”
Israel played their World Cup qualifiers in Hungary and are set to use a neutral venue for their Nations League match against Ireland on September 27.
[IsraelTimes] Handala publishes footage it claims came from the the UAVs, which it warns ‘might end up right in your team’s bus,’ though monitoring group says the video isn’t legitimate
An Iran-linked hacker group claims to have breached FBI drones and has threatened to target the World Cup that kicked off this week, a monitoring group said on Friday.
The SITE Intelligence Group, an organization that monitors jihadist groups, published a statement from Handala saying they had had access "for months" to "every image and every suspect" captured by first-person view (FPV) drones used by the FBI.
The hackers said the drones featured facial recognition and license plate screening deployed for counterterrorism.
"Better tighten your World Cup security, we don’t like some of those teams at all. Don’t forget: FPVs are everywhere; you never know when one might end up right in your team’s bus," Handala said in the statement quoted by SITE.
The FBI is deploying drones around World Cup stadiums to protect against unauthorized aircraft.
Drone flights will be banned over US stadiums hosting matches, as well as over fan events related to the soccer tournament co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada that kicked off its largest edition on Thursday.
Training for local and state police on countering unauthorized drone activity at the World Cup was part of a $500 million federal grant to combat this growing threat to sporting events.
The US Justice Department has warned of the potential for cyberattacks by Iranian actors following the US-Israeli strikes on Tehran in February that triggered the Middle East War.
Handala published photos and footage that it said were taken from the hacked drones, but SITE disputed that claim.
One video of the supposed hack was in fact produced by a software platform in December 2024 to promote a US police department’s use of its technology for surveying tornado damage, SITE said.
Handala claimed in March to have hacked the email account of FBI Director Kash Patel and published personal photos and other material online.
The US State Department has offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification of members of the group.
And whose fault is that? In addition to Hamas, I mean.
[IsraelTimes] Mideast diplomats say Netanyahuâs cooperation with Trump plan diminishing as campaigning ramps up, fear heâll renew war; US official insists Israel can be brought on board if Hamas first agrees to disarm
Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... participated in disarmament talks in Cairo this week, and while some progress was made, officials familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel that mediators of the tenuous 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... ceasefire do not think a breakthrough is likely before Israeli elections in the fall.
Operating under the auspices of the US-led Board of Peace, Middle East mediators 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. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... member, but not the most reliable... faced an uphill battle from the onset of negotiations late last year, with the stated goals of disarming Hamas and withdrawing Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip appearing to be nonstarters for both sides.
The Board of Peaceâs Gaza envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, has made clear in recent months that the bigger obstacle has been Hamasâs refusal to give up its weapons, as envisioned by US President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and whatever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th and 47th President of the United States... âs 20-point plan for ending the Gaza war, which the Board of Peace is tasked with implementing.
Hamas has dragged out disarmament talks, chiefly arguing that it shouldnât be expected to execute what is seen as the second phase of Trumpâs plan if Israel has failed to uphold many conditions of the first phase regarding humanitarian aid, pulling back troops, reopening Gazaâs main crossing and halting strikes.
Mladenov has argued that Hamas should only expect Israel to adhere to those commitments if the terror group gets on board with the phase two disarmament requirement, The Times of Israel revealed last month.
But a diplomat from each of the mediating countries told The Times of Israel this week that Israeli officials indicated that even if Hamas were to agree now to start the process of disarming, Jerusalem is unlikely to be willing to take the steps necessary to advance the deal.
The Board of Peaceâs 15-point disarmament plan envisions a gradual process based on the principle of reciprocity, with Israel expected to immediately withdraw from the areas where Hamas agrees to give up its weapons.
Such withdrawals of Israeli troops â who in recent weeks have pushed deeper into the Strip in violation of the October 2025 agreement that ended the Gaza war after over two years â are far less likely, given that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now just several months away from one of the most daunting reelection campaigns of his political career, the diplomats said.
The diplomats said their analyses were based on conversations with Israeli counterparts in recent months, during which the latter expressed significant skepticism about the chances of the Trump plan succeeding. And as the elections approach, questions to Israeli counterparts regarding the implementation of specific measures in the US plan have gone from receiving substantive pushback to getting no response whatsoever.
The date of the national vote has not yet been set, but it will take place in either September or October, and Netanyahuâs opponents are already calling him out for failing to defeat Hamas in Gaza after repeatedly promising "total victory."
Accordingly, pulling Israeli forces back from Gaza â even if that were preceded by beginning to hand over some of its weapons â is not something Netanyahu has shown readiness to authorize, with the election campaign in full swing, the diplomats from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey said, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered... The three senior Middle Eastern officials pointed to Netanyahuâs willingness earlier this year to at least verbally commit to implement phase one requirements, even if there was no follow-through. In recent weeks, though, the premier and his aides have refrained from even making such promises in conversations with mediators.
To demonstrate that point, one of the diplomats pointed to the planned training of a new police force that the Board of Peace plans to stand up in Gaza. The panel has been seeking a commitment from Israel that recruits who leave the Strip for training in Egypt be allowed to return, amid concerns that Jerusalem may try to exploit the large-scale exit of Paleostinians to thin out the Stripâs population â a stated goal of many members of the Netanyahu government.
While initially indicating it was prepared to cooperate with the training of police meant to replace Hamas in providing internal security for Gaza, Israel in recent weeks began conditioning progress on the matter on Hamas first agreeing to the Board of Peace disarmament plan, a second Middle Eastern diplomat said.
The diplomat also rejected the notion that Hamas acquiescence would be sufficient, as Israel has put up other roadblocks relating to the entry of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) â the panel of Paleostinian technocrats that is supposed to replace Hamas in running Gaza.
The Prime Ministerâs Office did not respond to a list of questions regarding the implementation of Trumpâs Gaza plan, but an Israeli official insisted that Jerusalem remains committed to the framework.
The third Middle Eastern diplomat said that was not the perception the mediators have taken away from talks with Israeli officials in recent weeks.
"The closer we get to elections, the harder it gets to convince Israel to even respond to requests, let alone accept them," the diplomat said.
The first diplomat said the regional mediators are concerned that Israel is seeking to resume the war against Hamas, convinced that the group will not willingly agree to give up its weapons.
But the mediators believe another round of the conflict will be no more definitive than the previous ones, while extracting a further humanitarian cost to an exhausted Gazook population.
Accordingly, the diplomat said that Middle East mediators are working to convince Trump to place a "veto" on Israel resuming the war.
While the US currently agrees on the need to prevent such a decision by Netanyahu, the mediators believe theyâll have to consistently engage Washington on the issue, as the latterâs position may change over time, particularly if 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 StĂźrmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or FĂźhrer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... war subsides, Gaza returns to the forefront of the US national conscious and Netanyahu seeks to wrestle back control of the issue from the Board of Peace in the months leading up to the election, the diplomat said.
The Mideast mediators are largely tasked with bringing Hamas on board, while the US is seen as responsible for delivering Israel.
The three diplomats insisted that they could coax Hamas to accept a disarmament plan.
Uh huh. Suuuuurrreee.
"But [Hamas] asks us if they agree to a deal, whether we can guarantee that Israel will stick to it. Given the way the ceasefire has gone to date, itâs harder for us to answer that in a satisfactory way," the first diplomat said, arguing that only the US could ensure full Israeli compliance with the deal.
VIEW FROM THE WEST
A US official, also speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered... , pushed back on the Middle East diplomatsâ painting of Israel as the main obstacle to a deal, asserting that there were three times during negotiations over the past several months where Netanyahu agreed to halt strikes in Gaza for an extended period of time to give Hamas time to respond to different proposals, only for the terror group to drag its feet.
Nonetheless, the US official argued that it was still possible to convince Hamas to accept the disarmament plan, insisting that Washington would then be able to get Israel to take its own reciprocal steps.
The US official acknowledged that the effort would be more challenging as the Israeli elections approach, but said the Trump administration and the Board of Peace did not intend to wait through the fall, pointing out that civilians in Gaza deserve for the reconstruction process, conditioned on Hamas disarmament, to begin.
"The status quo in Gaza wouldnât be maintained in the interim. It could well get worse," the US official said.
Accordingly, the US has pushed the Middle East mediators to continue holding talks with Hamas in Cairo, including during the Iran war, when regional focus was elsewhere.
While the Middle Eastern diplomats and US officials all agreed that Arabic media reports on this weekâs negotiations inaccurately described significant progress as being made, they also agreed that movement was made in the right direction.
A separate source familiar with the talks said the mediators are working to convince the various armed Paleostinian factions to back Hamasâs decision and agree not to use violence against its members if it accepts the disarmament proposal, recognizing that the terror group needs a "layer of protection" if it is going to make concessions pertaining to its weapons.
PLAN B âGREEN ZONEâ REBUILD
The US official and the source familiar with the matter said that if Hamas is unable to get on board with the disarmament proposal, the Board of Peace is preparing to implement point No. 17 of the 20-point plan, which envisions reconstruction moving ahead strictly in areas controlled by the IDF.
The source said the Board of Peace is finalizing plans to rebuild what is currently referred to as the "green zone," hoping that doing so will pressure Hamas.
The question will then become whether Paleostinians will move into those IDF-held areas, whether the Board of Peace will be able to secure funding for projects there, and whether Israel will allow the NCAG or other alternative bodies to enter and operate in those areas.
During cabinet meetings over the past year, Netanyahu has faced pushback from some ministers who expressed concern about allowing reconstruction to begin on the side of Gaza that is closer to Israeli border towns, the Israeli official said.
If the focus shifts to the green zone, the US-led Board of Peace is planning to begin rebuilding on the ruins of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, but one of the Middle East mediators noted that Egypt is likely to push back on this choice, amid continued fears in Cairo that Israel will try to push Paleostinians across the border into the Sinai.
[IsraelTimes] Former UK prime minister Tony Blair is taking on a larger role in the Board of Peace tasked with overseeing the postwar management of Gaza, three sources familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel this week.
Blair was passed up for the multinational panelâs top envoy post last year when the US decided to appoint former UN envoy Nickolay Mladenov to serve as the Board of Peaceâs High Representative for Gaza, following pushback from several Arab countries, a US official said, citing discomfort with Blairâs active support for the Iraq War beginning in 2003.
But Blair built good relationships with many regional stakeholders and engaged heavily on the issue throughout the Gaza war, even crafting a proposal to establish a postwar transitional body responsible for governing the enclave in place of Hamas. The idea was embraced by the Trump administration and served as a precursor to the Board of Peace that Washington would establish late last year.
The momentum created by the Board of Peaceâs September 2025 roll-out helped pave the way for a hostage release and ceasefire deal the next month, as both Israel and Hamas felt unprecedented global pressure to end their war after over two years.
But since that initial truce, efforts to advance subsequent parts of US President Donald Trumpâs 20-point plan for ending the war in the Gaza Strip â which the Board of Peace was established to promote â have largely stalled.
The Trump plan envisions Hamas handing over its weapons and control of Gaza to a new government of Palestinian technocrats, while internal and multinational security forces phase out the Israel Defense Forces, under the auspices of the Board of Peace.
[FoxNews] The funeral for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a strike on Feb. 28 at the beginning of Operation Epic Fury, will unfold in early July, according to Reuters. The news agency, citing Iranian state media reports Saturday, said the funeral will begin in Tehran on July 4 and finish with Khameneiâs burial in Mashhad on July 9.
Good to know.
Khamenei led Iran for more than three decades until his death earlier this year. Until then, his remains are stored in a Mason Jar
Ali Khamenei's son, Mojtaba Khamenei, then became Iran's new supreme leader, although he has not been seen in public since.
He went underground as soon as the strike killed his father, amid reports that he was gravely injured.
Mojtaba Khamenei was struck in Operation Epic Fury â "wounded and likely disfigured," according to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. His wife and son were killed in the same strike.
#2
Targeting the funeral might be a bridge too far diplomatically. Backward tracing to point of origin for all of the High Value Targets (HVTs) for subsequent targeting and exploitation, not so much!
I'm seeing a lot of fake information about a potential deal to reopen the Strait and end Iran's nuclear weapons program. First, the Iranians are not receiving any cash, and no funds are being released for simply signing a deal or attending a meeting. The deal is structured toâŚ
âŚThe deal is structured to ensure that the US and its allies concerns are prioritized, and that if the Islamic Republic of Iran meets its obligations, then economic benefits will flow to them and to the entire region. This deal has the potential to remake the region and lead to lasting peace.
I've noticed a couple of bizarre things in the reporting over the last few hours. First, people who (rightly) said Donald Trump was a historic president a month ago now criticizing a deal based on unconfirmed media reports. Second, people who say you can't trust a word said by the IRGC who apparently believe anonymously sourced social media posts.
The president is going to get us a good outcome, one way or the other.
US official: Iran control of Hormuz slipped, robbing it of leverage in negotiations
[IsraelTimes] During the question-and-answer portion of a briefing that a senior US official is conducting with reporters on the emerging Iran deal, the top Trump aide is asked what changed in recent weeks that allowed Washington to now feel good about the MOU on the table.
The senior US official says two things have moved substantially in recent weeks: Iranâs control of the Strait of Hormuz weakened, in that the US managed to quietly get a lot more oil out of the channel than it did earlier in the conflict. Accordingly, Iranâs leverage took a hit and the US negotiating position improved, the official says.
Accordingly, the US managed to secure stronger wording regarding the disposal of Iranâs highly enriched uranium, the official says, without getting specific. The MOU is not understood as requiring Iran to immediately hand over its material, rather to hold subsequent discussions on the matter.
âItâs something we were proposing a couple of weeks ago⌠[and] the Iranians have gotten consensus on their system over the last couple of days,â the senior US official says, regarding the MOUâs language on Iranâs nuclear material.
He claims that some hardliners in Iran oppose the deal but that internal dissent in Tehran to the MOU is âquite minimal.â
The senior US official clarifies that there is still a great deal of mistrust between the sides, but he says that the deal is structured in a way that doesnât rely on trust, rather performance.
The US official confirms that the subsequent nuclear talks that will kick off after the MOU is signed will last for 60 days.
Asked whether Iran Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei supports the emerging deal, the senior US official says those in touch with him have attested that he is âcomfortable with where we are in the negotiation.â
âIn their system, they canât do anything without the sign off of the supreme leader,â he adds.
The report, citing five sources familiar with US intelligence, says that it is now far more difficult and dangerous for anyone, including the Iranians, to retrieve the uranium than it was at the start of the war, when US President Donald Trump mulled a ground operation to size the nuclear stockpile.
A former senior nuclear official tells CNN that this also raises the risk that Iran could claim it was unable to retrieve some of the material.
The fate of the enriched stockpile is one of the key issues in an emerging deal between Iran and the US to end the war.
If negotiators ârequire that Iran bring the entire stockpile to a central location for verification and ultimately to remove or downblend the material,â that would place the onus on Tehran to access and âprovide the full inventoryâ of enriched uranium, Scott Roecker, who headed the National Nuclear Security Administrationâs Office of Nuclear Material Removal from 2017 to 2021, tells CNN.
But, âin this scenario, I would worry that Iran would claim that some portion of the HEU was irretrievable,â Roecker says. âWe wouldnât have full confidence that Iran couldnât retain access to it at some point in the future.â
Iran launched multiple one-way attack drones in an attempt to strike commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. forces have downed all of them in recent hours as traffic flow through the strait continues unimpeded. The international trade corridor remains open forâŚ
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[ColonelCassad] Iranian media publishes its version of the list of conditions for peace with the United States.
- An immediate and permanent ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon;
Israel wonât agree to Lebanon, and wonât be bound by it.
- A US commitment not to interfere in Iran's internal affairs;
- Lifting the naval blockade within 30 days;
- Withdrawal of US forces from areas around Iran;
- Opening the Strait of Hormuz within 30 days;
- Suspension of sanctions on the export of Iranian oil and petrochemical products;
- Full access for Tehran to its financial assets;
- Sixty days of negotiations to reach a final nuclear agreement;
- Unlocking $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets;
- Half of this amount must be paid before the start of negotiations;
- The missile program and support for resistance groups are excluded from the negotiations;
- The final agreement must be approved by the UN Security Council.
If Trump agreed to this, then this is, of course, a victory for Iran. However, let's wait for a real agreement, not just the parties' interpretations. So far, Trump has stated that the terms are different and not what the Iranians are writing. The Iranians, in turn, claim that Trump's fantasies about abandoning the missile program and pursuing a peaceful nuclear program are divorced from reality. Naturally, no one is showing paper versions of the 14 points. So we're waiting to see if anything is signed. Then we'll see who ultimately won, since both sides are currently claiming victory every day. And that's not counting the ongoing war between Israel and Iran, which won't end even in a proxy format.
Iran has emerged victorious from the conflict with the United States, and the best time to end it has arrived. This was stated by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on June 12 on the Iranian Broadcasting Corporation ( IRIB ).
"The best time to end the conflict is when we have the upper hand. We have truly won on the battlefield. The Iranian people have won. This is not a slogan or an exaggeration. I say this as Foreign Minister," he noted.
According to Araghchi, representatives of other countries acknowledge that Iran has emerged from the conflict stronger, and the perception of Iran as a weak state has been completely destroyed.
Earlier, the Mehr news agency reported that the memorandum on the settlement of the conflict between the US and Iran consists of 14 points. Specifically, Washington is obligated to completely lift the naval blockade of the Islamic Republic within 30 days. Furthermore, the American leadership must organize the withdrawal of its military contingents from regions directly bordering Iran. Furthermore, points concerning Iran's missile program and support for the "axis of resistance" have been completely removed from the negotiating agenda.
Earlier, American leader Donald Trump stated that the United States and Iran had reached an agreement to end the conflict and that the signing of the agreement could take place as early as this weekend, June 13 or 14, in Europe.
Trump canceled the strikes on Iran planned for the evening of June 11 and announced that the parties had agreed to a deal. He emphasized that Washington would soon officially announce the exact time and location of the agreement signing. At the same time, the White House chief clarified that the previously imposed naval blockade would remain in full force and effect without any relaxation.
Posted by: badanov ||
06/13/2026 00:00 ||
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#5
Looks like they dropped the demand for reparations covering the damage caused by US/Israel attacks. No mention of Iran being allowed to continue charging tolls to transit either.
The signing of the Islamabad memorandum with the United States will not be on Sunday, Iranâs Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei says, according to state media.
He adds that the possibility of signing the Islamabad memorandum in the coming days could not be ruled out, but caution was needed regarding any comment on the signing date due to the âhesitation of the other side,â referring to the US.
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.
IsraelTimes] 
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
[IsraelTimes] Senior Palestinian Authority official Jibril Rajoub decries move as unfair, after attending soccer championshipâs opening match in Mexico
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
lling. Time for - 
