Update on the Anéfis, northern Mali, situation as of July 7.
Russian and Malian troops are still holding out for their fourth day, there has been almost incessant shelling and FPV drone attacks against specific facilities in the camp by JNIM/FLA such as the water tanks,… https://t.co/1WIUcb7gIMpic.twitter.com/X7ZGKdqjIx
Update on the Anéfis, northern Mali, situation as of July 7.
Russian and Malian troops are still holding out for their fourth day, there has been almost incessant shelling and FPV drone attacks against specific facilities in the camp by JNIM/FLA such as the water tanks, communication antennas and armored vehicles.
According to the FLA, the Russians attempted to negotiate another peace deal for safe passage on the Kidal template, however this was allegedly rejected on the basis that the Russians didn't respect their earlier commitments of leaving the Malian north for good.
The Africa Corps and Malian Air Force have continued their targeted strikes using aircraft, FPV and Geran drones against JNIM/FLA in and around Anéfis, resulting in significant human and material losses especially of the precious captured armored vehicles.
More at the link
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#Mali / #Russia 🇲🇱🇷🇺: “Azawad Liberation Front” (#FLA) struck equipments at Malian Army and Africa Corps Base with in #Anéfis (Anefif), #Kidal.
Tuareg militants launched several FPV Kamikaze Drones which hit a Norinco VP11 MRAP, 122mm 2A18 D-30 howitzer and vehicles. pic.twitter.com/WUWB2FD4bK
[HodhodYemenNews] Clashes and confrontations renewed on Monday between 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... i forces and Saudi-backed factions on the Hays front along the Western Coast in Hodeidah governorate, according to Yemen Press Agency
This followed an attempt by the latter to reclaim positions lost during Sunday’s festivities, which ultimately forced them to withdraw toward the southern part of the Western Coast.
This escalation coincided with statements from factions loyal to the Saudi-led coalition regarding Saudi Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start... deploying new military reinforcements, after the "Al-Zaraniq" factions announced approximately 30 casualties (killed and maimed) among their ranks, alongside confirmations from Saudi media sources regarding the loss of positions there.
It is worth noting that the Western Coast represents the third front activated by Saudi Arabia in Yemen within weeks, following Dhalea and Jawf fronts. Meanwhile,
...back at the alley, Slats grabbed for his rosco... no official comment has been issued by Sanaa regarding these events.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] Footage of the arrest of members of a terrorist cell who were planning an attack on law enforcement officers in Kabardino-Balkaria was published by the Federal Security Service on July 7.
The cell members were detained in a private home. Ten rifled and smoothbore weapons, 500 rounds of ammunition, a large quantity of gunpowder, incendiary devices and components for making them, and bladed weapons were seized from their residence.
Security forces also uncovered a cache made by the criminals in a forest belt. It contained components for making explosive devices, medicine, and food supplies.
FSB and Rosgvardia officers detained eight members of an international terrorist cell in the Baksan district. The criminals had previously pledged allegiance to the terrorist organization's emissary and were preparing to attack law enforcement officers to seize their weapons.
A criminal case has been opened for plotting a terrorist attack. All defendants are currently under arrest.
[IsraelTimes] A teenager who stabbed a Jewish man in March 2024 in Zurich is sentenced to one year in prison – the maximum for someone of his age – but his punishment is commuted to compulsory mental care. Trepanning with a rusty spork?
Age 15 at the time of the incident, he had stabbed a 50-year-old man 17 times in the street near a synagogue. The man survived his injuries but was seriously wounded.
The district court near Zurich convicts him of “attempted murder,” emphasizing that it had deemed his act to be “particularly unscrupulous.”
The teenager, who had become radicalized online, was also found guilty of “supporting a criminal and terrorist organization,” “repeatedly disseminating depictions of violence” and “repeatedly” inciting hatred or discrimination based “on ethnic origin or religion,” the statement says.
The court also determines that he had intended to kill more people but after finding the door to a synagogue shut, he instead attacked a man in the street who was easily identifiable as Jewish.
The teenager, who is of Tunisian descent and became a naturalized citizen in 2011, announced his plans to kill Jews at a synagogue in a video posted on social media and claimed responsibility for the attack on behalf of the jihadist group Islamic State.
Inshallah maintenance or jihadis? Filed on page 1: WoT until further information determines. Hattip Snowy Thing.
[PakistanObserver] A K2 Airways cargo aircraft en route from Sharjah to Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... first disappeared from radar over the Gulf, and later crashed into the Arabian Sea, prompting search operation by Pakistain Air Force and Navy.
The K2 Airways Flight KTA-1732 lost contact approximately 300 kilometers from Karachi, about 155 nautical miles west of the city, while approaching Pakistain’s airspace. Sources said the crew reported a navigation-related problem during the flight and requested heading assistance from Air Traffic Control (ATC). The aircraft was reportedly instructed to maintain its existing course.
Flight data shows the aircraft suddenly turned to the right before entering a rapid descent. The descent rate was reportedly recorded at around 15,000 feet per minute, raising concerns over a possible in-flight emergency.
K2 Airways B 737 of Pakistan Cargo Flight enroute from Sharjah to Karachi at time 2118PST reported Navigational system issue and was promptly guided by KARACHI ACC.
— Pakistan Airports Authority (@Pk_PAA_Official) July 7, 2026
Following the occurrence RESCUE COORD CENTRE has been activated and coordinated Search & Rescue launched at sea through various agencies to locate the missing aircraft.
There were five crew members onboard the aircraft.
— Pakistan Airports Authority (@Pk_PAA_Official) July 7, 2026
Despite repeated attempts by ATC to establish communication, no further response was received from the cockpit. Moments later, the aircraft disappeared from radar.
The missing aircraft has been identified by sources as K2 Airways Flight KTA-1732, a cargo service operating from Sharjah to Karachi. It was reportedly a Boeing 734 registered as AP-BOI.
A cargo aircraft operated by K2 Airways, reportedly flying from Sharjah to Karachi, crashed into the Arabian Sea near Ormara in Gwadar district, Balochistan.
K2 Airways Boeing 737-400 registered: AP-BOI saw rapid ascent and descent in altitude and change of course before… pic.twitter.com/b4q5P6mHOw
Authorities are expected to launch an investigation to determine the cause of the incident. As of now, no official statement has confirmed that the aircraft crashed or provided details regarding the crew or any casualties. Officials are expected to release further information as the situation develops.
PAF, PAK NAVY IN ACTION
Pakistan Navy’s PNS Zulfiqar ship has been deployed alongside Pakistan Air Force’ SAAB as part of the Search and Rescue Operations to look for the missing K2 Airways Cargo plane that went missing near Karachi a while ago.
[IsraelTimes] Israeli strikes and gunfire reportedly killed at least seven people 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... on Tuesday, including a terror operative, an Egyptian aid worker and a child.
Medics said an Israeli Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... killed a man and maimed two children in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces told Rooters it had targeted a Hamas ..always the voice of sweet reason... terrorist.
A second Israeli airstrike hit near a tent encampment housing displaced families in western Gaza City, killing one person and wounding five others, medics said, while a third airstrike in Khan Younis killed one person and maimed three others.
The Israeli military said both of those strikes had also targeted terrorists.
The Popular Resistance® Committees, a terror group that has long carried out armed attacks against Israel, said one of the two IDF strikes in Khan Younis had killed a big shot of the terror group, Waheed Abu Salem.
Later on Tuesday, one Paleostinian was killed, and nine others were maimed by Israeli gunfire in an area of Rafah in the south of Gaza, medics and witnesses said.
Meanwhile,
...back at the alley, Bugs Moroni was holding Slats from behind while his brother Greasy Thumb was pounding his face into paste ... in Gaza City’s Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood, an Israeli airstrike hit a vehicle, killing three people, including a child, medics said, taking Tuesday’s corpse count across the Gaza Strip to at least seven.
Gaza media outlets affiliated with Hamas reported that Mohammed al-Wahidi, the public relations director of the Egyptian Committee for Aid to Gaza, an Egyptian organization that assists Gazooks, was killed in the strike. According to some reports, two other people were killed along with him.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the last two incidents.
The IDF and Shin Bet announced separately on Tuesday that they had killed a Hamas Nukhba Force commander and a commander in the terror group’s intelligence division in recent strikes in the Gaza Strip. One of those strikes was on Sunday in northern Gaza and killed Ahmad Yahya Ibrahim Batsh, a commander of a Nukhba Force cell, according to the military. The IDF said Batsh had recently been working to advance attacks on troops in Gaza.
A separate strike on Monday in southern Gaza killed Hamouda Abu Daqa, who served as an intelligence commander, according to the military. The IDF said Abu Daqa was involved in collecting intelligence on troops to advance attacks, and therefore, he posed a threat.
The announcement came after the military said Monday night that it had killed a commander in Hamas’s training division, Fadi Daghmash, who had been advancing attacks.
The IDF in recent months has been ramping up strikes on terror operatives in Gaza, saying they posed a threat to Israeli forces inside the more than half of the Strip held by the IDF.
Amid the strikes, the Hamas government in Gaza on Monday announced the resignation of the so-called "Emergency Committee" — the Hamas-led administration that governs the Strip — in preparation for the transfer of authority to the technocratic National Committee for the Administration of Gaza. A Paleostinian source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel that the move by Hamas is aimed at turning Hamas’s existing governing structure into a caretaker framework, while increasing pressure on the Board of Peace and Israel to allow the NCAG to enter Gaza.
SIX REPORTED HURT IN SETTLER ATTACK IN SOUTH HEBRON HILLS
In the West Bank, Paleostinian media reported on Tuesday that six Paleostinians were maimed by settlers in the village of Umm al-Khair in the South Hebron Hills. Footage published from the scene shows Paleostinians and settlers engaged in a physical confrontation, apparently in the area where Umm al-Khair and the nearby settlement of Carmel border each other.
No further details about the incident were available.
Paleostinian media also reported that settlers set fire on Monday night to a structure in the village of Surif, also near Hebron. Footage published online appears to show four people standing next to the structure before setting it ablaze. No injuries were reported.
NETANYAHU FAULTS ’LENIENT COURTS’ FOR UNCHECKED SETTLER VIOLENCE Meanwhile,
...back at the alley, Bugs Moroni was holding Slats from behind while his brother Greasy Thumb was pounding his face into paste ... Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to fault Israel’s courts for letting violent mostly peaceful settlers off the hook.
"It’s a tightly knit group that tries to skirt the law, and when we bring them to the courts, our courts are very lenient. I don’t know why. Maybe because they’re young, and I’ve said that we have to challenge that, and I don’t accept it," Netanyahu said when asked about the rampant, unchecked violence during a CNN ...formerly the Cable News Network, now who know what it might stand for... interview.
He insisted that those behind attacks on Paleostinians, which take place on a near-daily basis, are not from the settlements, but rather are some 100 to 150 "juvenile delinquents" from outside of the West Bank.
However,
it's easy to be generous with someone else's money... activists on the ground said those behind the attacks are Israelis who have established illegal outposts throughout the West Bank in record numbers over the past three years. Netanyahu’s government has provided significant funding and protection to these wildcat communities, which critics say are being used as a tool to dispossess Paleostinians of their lands.
While Netanyahu placed the number of violent mostly peaceful offenders at 100 to 150, Israel’s own security establishment reportedly believes the numbers are mu
ch higher. When Netanyahu was asked about the phenomenon last year, he downplayed it as one caused by "about 70 kids."
Israel has come under fire for rarely carrying out arrests in instances of settler violence, with indictments and convictions even more infrequent. Shin Bet figures from earlier this year found that three times more Paleostinians were victims of terror attacks in the West Bank than Jews.
Netanyahu, in the CNN interview, insisted that Israel is taking the issue seriously.
"We have real investigations. Israel is a transparent country. You can’t hide crimes in the military, you cannot hide crimes in the police... We’ll take care of it because that’s the kind of country we are," he said. "This is blown up beyond belief and causes a lot of damage. I think it’s wrong on its own account. I don’t accept vigilantism, and I don’t care if it comes from Arabs or Jews."
Netanyahu was then pressed on whether he’ll commit to seeking justice for 20-year-old Paleostinian-American Sayfollah Musallet, who was allegedly beaten to death by settlers last year. The premier said he wasn’t aware of the incident, but will look into it.
[IsraelTimes] Explosions rocked Damascus on Tuesday as La Belle France’s president met with his Syrian counterpart in a landmark visit, wounding at least 18 people, Syria’s Interior Ministry said.
Emmanuel Macron had entered the presidential palace to meet Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa when the earth-shattering kabooms happened near the Four Seasons Hotel, where Syrian media reported that the French president was staying.
An Elysee official said Macron was safe and that his meeting with Sharaa was continuing. He is the first major Western leader to visit Syria since Sharaa came to power, and his visit comes before he heads to a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants... summit in Ankara, The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... . The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Macron’s whereabouts and security.
In a post to his X feed, Macron wrote, "Nothing can smother the aspiration of Syrian women and men to live in a fully sovereign, safe, pluralistic, and united Syria.
"This morning I met Syria in all its diversity. I saw dignity, courage, and determination. My visit continues," he wrote.
But the earth-shattering kabooms are a blow for Sharaa, who came to power after leading an insurgency that ousted Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Terror of Aleppo ... in 2024.
He has since pushed to assert full control and bring stability in war-torn Syria, appeal to minorities skeptical of his Islamist-led rule, and win the support of Western governments who were skeptical of his past as leader of the formerly al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else ...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State... group. His government has promised political and economic reform after decades of autocratic rule.
Macron played a major role in pushing Europa ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... and the United States to drop most sanctions on Syria. He arrived in the country Monday night with an economic delegation and is scheduled to sign memorandums of understanding with his counterpart as the battered country tries to lure investors to help it rebuild after 14 years of war.
The Interior Ministry, in a statement reported by Syrian state media, said that the two blasts in the heart of the capital were caused by bombs, one placed in a garbage bin and the other in a parked car. It added that four of the maimed were coppers, and no deaths were immediately reported. An investigation is currently taking place at the scene of the attack.
A large plume of smoke could be seen from the site. The area is on a busy street in Damascus and is near the headquarters of the Tourism Ministry and the Damascus National Museum.
Footage widely circulated on social media showed a van and a cycle of violence on fire and blood stains on the street.
No group immediately grabbed credit.
Israel’s outspoken ambassador to Georgia, Walid Abu Haya, posted to X a video of a car on fire and commented, "The messages are clear: Western leaders are not welcome in a country ruled by terrorist gangs."
"Attempts to normalize relations with al-Jolani’s regime are doomed to fail," he wrote, using Sharaa’s nom de guerre from his al-Qaeda days.
The incident comes days after an explosive device was detonated in a cafe near the Justice Palace in Damascus, killing at least 10 people and wounding more than 20.
While Syria’s new rulers have wrestled with violence involving different groups in the country as they work to assert control, the capital has largely been peaceful during the turbulent period.
The conflict in Syria killed nearly half a million people and displaced millions. Syria’s infrastructure lies in ruins, and while other nations and businesses have made large investment pledges, the country still needs hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild and lift millions out of poverty.
Before arriving at the presidential palace, Macron met with members of Syrian civil society, though his office did not give details on who.
[IsraelTimes] Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa says he is counting on an “active French role” to halt what he calls Israeli escalations against his country.
During a joint press conference with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Damascus, Sharaa condemned “systematic Israeli attacks,” saying “we are counting on an active French role to stop this escalation and ensure respect for international agreements.”
The two countries say they have agreed to reappoint ambassadors after more than a decade, marking a major restoration of diplomatic ties for a country recovering from years of civil war.
“Our meeting marks a historical milestone,” Sharaa says.
France had closed its embassy in 2012 during the civil war but symbolically reopened it in early 2025.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] The United States has launched a series of powerful strikes against Iran. The country's Central Command announced this on July 8.
"The US strikes are a response to Iran's attacks on three commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz," X said in a social media post.
The US military said Iran's attacks threatened civilian crews, violated the security of international waterways, and disrupted the ceasefire.
On June 15, US President Donald Trump announced that the US and Iran had signed a memorandum to end the conflict. Negotiations on a basic agreement were expected to begin. The US lifted the blockade of Iranian ports, and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately 20% of global oil exports pass, was expected to be restored. Iran, however, has repeatedly stated that hostilities must cease throughout the region, including in Lebanon.
According to Axios, US and Iranian officials planned to meet in Doha on June 30 to discuss the situation in the Strait of Hormuz. However, on the night of June 28, Trump announced that US forces had launched strikes on Iran in response to the ceasefire violation.
Earlier, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced strikes on American military infrastructure in Kuwait and Bahrain. These strikes, the IRGC stated, followed additional US strikes on several targets in Iran.
Iranian media reported explosions early Wednesday local time in the southern port city of Sirik, on Qeshm Island, and in Bandar Abbas. No civilian deaths were reported, but several people were maimed by shrapnel from an "enemy projectile" that hit a commercial pier in Sirik, according to an Iranian state TV news hound. The reports said strikes also hit fishing piers in Sirik and in Bandar Abbas, where several fishing boats were set ablaze.
A US official told Rooters that strikes targeted Iranian air defense systems, coastal surveillance systems, surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship cruise missiles and drone launch sites.
The strikes came shortly after Washington revoked a temporary sanctions waiver for Iranian oil, raising pressure on Tehran as it negotiates with the US over a final settlement to the conflict.
"Iran’s actions in the Strait were wholly unacceptable to the United States and will be met with consequences," a US official told AFP.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered... , said the US-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... memorandum of understanding was "entirely performance-based," warning that Tehran would see benefits only if it showed "good behavior."
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Oil prices rose more than 3% after the US announced the move.
WORK CONTINUES TOWARD FINAL AGREEMENT
A US official said earlier negotiators continued to work in good faith toward a final agreement with Iran. But control of the strait has given Tehran immense leverage, effectively allowing it to force a stalemate with the world’s most powerful military. Analysts say Tehran uses attacks on ships to underscore that leverage as it negotiates a long-term peace deal with the US.
Under the interim US-Iran agreement, the US Treasury issued a June 22 general license to allow the sale of crude oil and petrochemical and petroleum products of Iranian origin through August 21. In revoking that license on Tuesday, it gave Iran until July 17 to wind down any transactions.
Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the move as a breach of the framework agreement to end the war and said Washington would bear responsibility for the consequences.
"Iran is issuing a serious warning about the consequences of America’s breach of the treaty, and will take decisive measures to protect its interests and national security," the ministry said in a statement carried by official media.
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... blamed Iran for Tuesday’s attacks on the vessels, including the huge Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker, the Al Rekayyat, which reported being struck overnight by a drone that caused a fire in its engine room. The crew were safe and being evacuated.
Qatar’s foreign ministry said it had summoned Iran’s deputy ambassador and handed him a protest note following the attack on the tanker, urging Tehran to "immediately cease any practices undermining regional security."
"We hold Iran fully legally responsible for this attack and for any resulting damages or repercussions," Qatar’s foreign ministry front man Majed Al Ansari wrote on X.
Iran voiced "dismay" over Qatar’s accusations in a statement carried by state news agency IRNA, calling the claims "unacceptable." The statement claimed was diligently fulfilling its commitments but asserted that commercial vessels faced risks for using routes not coordinated with Iran.
A Saudi-flagged crude oil tanker, the supertanker Wedyan, was also damaged off Oman, maritime security sources said. Riyadh blamed Tehran for the attack, with its foreign ministry condemning "Iran’s targeting of the Saudi tanker Wedyan while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the targeting of the Qatari tanker al-Rekayyat."
A second US official, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered... , said initial indications were that Iran had fired at three commercial vessels.
More from the Times of Israel:
US says over 80 targets hit in strikes on Iran, including dozens of IRGC small boats
The US military announces that it has completed a series of strikes in Iran that hit over 80 targets, describing the attacks as “an immediate response” to the latest Iranian strikes on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. According to US Central Command, the strikes targeted air defenses, command and control equipment, radar sites along the coast, anti-ship missiles and over 60 small boats belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, with the aim of “degrading Iran’s ability to continue attacking international commerce flowing through the international trade corridor.”
“In an initial response to this aggression, the IRGC Navy and Aerospace Force carried out a joint missile and drone operation, striking 85 key US military facilities” in the two countries, while also shooting down an MQ-9 drone, the statement says.
Posted by: badanov ||
07/08/2026 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2555 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
As predicted.
IRAN leaders will need constant reminding to honor its word and agreements.
#4
/\ Excellent! Continue the treatment until the symptoms disappear, then monitor closely. As a side note, the R&D and training value is generally understated.
#6
As long as the IRGC and the mullahs are in power, Iran will never play well with the rest of the world. Is it worth going in and digging out those roaches? Not in my opinion, but the Persian people will pay the price as long as they stay conquered.
I think the message should be, work with us and arise or die with them.
#8
I am a big Trump supporter, and still am. I have disagreed with his approach on Iran. Trump is now pissed of enough to end this one way truce. I hope he learned his lesson and will understand the Iranian government, all of it, will only respect total destruction. And we are the nation to end them.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/08/2026 11:20 Comments ||
Top||
There was hope the cease fire would hold until November but now it seems we have no such luck. Oh well.
Shut off Iran's oil money and they'll keep fighting until they run out of money and missiles. It may take a while but just don't feed it anymore and let the virus run its course.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
07/08/2026 11:42 Comments ||
Top||
#11
@8 I think the break was in part a chance to do some maintenance on equipment, accumulate more intelligence, figure another way to get rid of the IRGC and give the US the ability to say "we tried negotiating". Events are also showing that the IRGC can not be trusted. Bonus it also makes China unhappy.
#12
We need to scour the Open Source reporting for traces of ground actions by the Kurds and other groups to get a better picture of the progress of this renewed action.
If this is going to work, the air campaign now needs to be supported by ground ops by Iranian and other groups to further destabilize the IRGC stranglehold on population centers outside Tehran. Once their continued control is perceived as shaky, perhaps an Iranian Army coup could be encouraged against the IRGC and corrupt Mullahs in the central government.
In all of the war to date, it appears we and the Israeli's have avoided striking the Iranian Army formations. There is a strategic signature in that target selection void!
Ultimately, the only option available to Washington by February 2026 was the average scenario. A detachment of Green Berets, Navy SEALs, and Rangers, totaling up to 200 personnel, was deployed to Nigeria, and a UAV refueling station was established in the northeast of the country. An airbase near Maiduguri became the contingent's headquarters.
Despite the fact that American troops arrived in Nigeria under Trump's public promise to "personally destroy terrorists," they have hardly participated in combat operations.
The Nigerian army led the ground offensive, while the US presence in the region was more of a flag-raising and morale-boosting ally. Commandos were advised not to intervene in the fighting unless absolutely necessary.
The Pentagon used the resources deployed to Nigeria to conduct reconnaissance missions (primarily aerial) and coordinate ground operations, training local security forces in counterinsurgency warfare techniques.
A 6 month supply, targeting and integration training exercise?
Like Kuwait.
[IsraelTimes] All 3 vessels were traveling on Omani-proposed coastal route that Tehran has rejected as it seeks to control vessels traversing vital waterway
The British military’s maritime security agency said a tanker was hit Tuesday in the Strait of Hormuz, less than a day after two other ships, including a 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... i gas tanker, were allegedly attacked by Iran.
"UKMTO has received a report of a further incident involving a tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz," the Maritime Trade Operations center said on X. "The tanker was struck by an unknown Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and has sustained minor structural damage. No casualties or environmental impact reported."
The two ships targeted earlier also reportedly sustained damage, with nobody hurt.
Amid the strikes, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on a visit to a Haifa naval base that Israel would protect freedom of maritime navigation.
"I set a simple objective," he said. "The objective of the Navy, and of Israel, is to ensure shipping routes and freedom of maritime trade, which are so important to the State of Israel."
Netanyahu didn’t go as far as to say that Israel would take actions in the Strait of Hormuz, though, so it wasn’t immediately clear whether his declaration would have any implications on the broader regional conflict.
The string of Iranian attacks, after more than a week of respite, revived concerns about freedom of navigation after a memorandum of understanding that the US and Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... reached last month required Tehran to lift its blockade of the waterway.
All three vessels were struck close to Oman, which had proposed a temporary transit corridor hugging its coastline. Tehran, which wants to charge ships using the narrow waterway, is opposed to the Omani initiative.
Qatar, which helped broker the US-Iran talks, blamed Iran for the attack on its tanker overnight and urged Tehran to "cease all practices that undermine regional security or threaten the safety of international maritime navigation."
"The targeting of the Qatari vessel ’Al-Rekayyat’ while transiting near the Strait of Hormuz constitutes an unacceptable attack on the security and safety of international maritime navigation," Doha’s foreign ministry front man Majed Al Ansari wrote on X.
"We hold Iran fully legally responsible for this attack and for any resulting damages or repercussions," he added.
The al-Rekayyat was the first Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker to be targeted since the US and Israel launched the war on Iran on February 28 in a bid to destabilize its leadership and destroy its ballistic missile and nuclear programs.
Four sources with knowledge of the matter said the Qatari tanker’s engine room was on fire following the attack on the ship, and that the crew was unable to assess the damage. One of the sources said the crew was safe and that the vessel had sent out distress signals after it was hit on its port side.
Iran imposed its blockade on the Strait of Hormuz early in the war with the US and Israel. The closure choked off about a fifth of the world’s oil shipments and sent global energy prices soaring.
The fighting, which included Iranian missile and dronezaps on Israel and Gulf states, entered a truce on April 8. The US and Iran are engaged in 60-day negotiations kicked off by the MOU they reached last month.
Israel is not a party to the negotiations or the memorandum, and Israeli officials have assailed the document for failing to secure concrete concessions from Iran on its nuclear program.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/08/2026 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2324 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#4
Reminds me of the situation of Israel vs. Hamas. They'd attack periodically and IDF would slap them down. And everyone was happy. And then came October 7th.
#6
I recognize this may be an unpopular opinion around these parts. The MOU, as I understand it, stipulates that ships attempting to transit having failed to comply with explicitly stated transit procedures are subject to "denial of passage" or "forceful response." If that is correct the Iran is technically compliant with the MOU.
The transit fee of $1/barrel would seem to work out to about $0.03/gallon of refined gasoline at the pump. It's easy to get sticker shock at the transit rate of $1m/vessel until you realize the ship is carrying 1m barrels of oil. And it's amazing to me that such ships exist.
#7
Clem, there are ULCC's (ultra large crude carriers) that displace more than the entire USN 7th fleet combined. That's with 2 aircraft carriers.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
07/08/2026 8:41 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Great lead, Ed.
The supertanker era
Until 1956, tankers were designed to be able to navigate the Suez Canal. This size restriction became much less of a priority after the closing of the canal during the Suez Crisis of 1956. Forced to move oil around the Cape of Good Hope, shipowners realized that bigger tankers were the key to more efficient transport. While a typical T2 tanker of the World War II era was 162 metres (532 ft) long and had a capacity of 16,500 DWT, the ultra-large crude carriers (ULCC) built in the 1970s were over 400 metres (1,300 ft) long and had a capacity of 500,000 DWT. Several factors encouraged this growth. Hostilities in the Middle East which interrupted traffic through the Suez Canal contributed, as did nationalization of Middle East oil refineries. Fierce competition among shipowners also played a part. But apart from these considerations is a simple economic advantage: the larger an oil tanker is, the more cheaply it can move crude oil, and the better it can help meet growing demands for oil.
In 1955 the world's largest supertanker was 30,708 GRT[26] and 47,500 LT DWT: SS Spyros Niarchos launched that year by Vickers Armstrongs Shipbuilders Ltd in England for Greek shipping magnate Stavros Niarchos.
In 1958 United States shipping magnate Daniel K. Ludwig broke the record of 100,000 long tons of heavy displacement. His Universe Apollo displaced 104,500 long tons, a 23% increase from the previous record-holder, Universe Leader which also belonged to Ludwig. The first tanker over 100,000 dwt built in Europe was the British Admiral. The ship was launched at Barrow-in-Furness in 1965 by Elizabeth II.
Knock Nevis, ex Seawise Giant rivaled some of the world's largest buildings in size
The world's largest supertanker was built in 1979 at the Oppama shipyard by Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd., named Seawise Giant. This ship was built with a capacity of 564,763 DWT, a length overall of 458.45 metres (1,504.1 ft) and a draft of 24.611 metres (80.74 ft). She had 46 tanks, 31,541 square metres (339,500 sq ft) of deck, and at her full load draft, could not navigate the English Channel.
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/08/2026 9:13 Comments ||
Top||
#10
The MOU, as I understand it, stipulates that ships attempting to transit having failed to comply with explicitly stated transit procedures are subject to "denial of passage" or "forceful response." If that is correct the Iran is technically compliant with the MOU.
Not as far as I can tell. The Iranians have claimed that charging tolls and extorting the infidels is their Allah-given right but our position is that the Strait is international waters.
AL-JOLANI’S ISIS RETURNS: KURDS THREATENED IN SYRIA
While the West whitewashes al-Jolani and pretends a suit turned a jihadi into a statesman, ISIS leaflets are reportedly appearing in Al-Hasakah countryside under his forces’ control.
AL-JOLANI’S ISIS RETURNS: KURDS THREATENED IN SYRIA
While the West whitewashes al-Jolani and pretends a suit turned a jihadi into a statesman, ISIS leaflets are reportedly appearing in Al-Hasakah countryside under his forces’ control.
The pamphlet declares that members and supporters of Kurdish institutions are “apostates” and warns Muslims not to assist them.
It threatens anyone who joins them, works in their administrations, guards their checkpoints, provides information, or publicly supports them.
It also warns civilians to stay away from their offices, checkpoints, and gatherings.
That is ISIS language returning to Syrian streets while Macron shakes hands in Damascus.
So not ISIS itself, but just its language where the Hayat Tahrir al Sham government rules. It will be interesting to see if they feel a need to rein in their hotheads at this stage, when the sentiment must be familiar to the ruling elites.
HEZBOLLAH IS RETURNING TO CHRISTIAN TOWNS IN SOUTHERN LEBANON
The IDF issued a warning yesterday to residents of several Christian towns in southern Lebanon, including Marjayoun, Borj el-Mlouk, Qlayaa, Ibl al-Saqi and Deir Mimas.
HEZBOLLAH IS RETURNING TO CHRISTIAN TOWNS IN SOUTHERN LEBANON
The IDF issued a warning yesterday to residents of several Christian towns in southern Lebanon, including Marjayoun, Borj el-Mlouk, Qlayaa, Ibl al-Saqi and Deir Mimas.
The message: Do not allow Hezbollah members or other non-residents to return to the area.
According to the IDF, individuals linked to Hezbollah have already been identified trying to re-enter these towns.
[IsraelTimes] A Hezbollah weapons cache hidden inside a civilian home in the village of Tallousa, located within the security zone, was uncovered by troops operating in the area, the IDF says.
According to the military, troops of the 769th “Hiram” Regional Brigade discovered RPG launchers, ammunition and small arms in the village.
The IDF says further searches uncovered explosive devices, anti-tank missile launchers and missiles, RPG rockets, tactical vests, helmets and Hezbollah flags concealed inside a bedroom of a civilian home.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
..always the voice of sweet reason...
...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
...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 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 
