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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Katz Offers a Fight: Swinger Spies Tried to Kill Israeli Hawk

2025-05-24

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Leonid Tsukanov

[REGNUM] Spy scandals in Israel have reached a new level: Israel Katz, the head of the Israeli Defense Ministry and one of the close associates of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is in the crosshairs of Iranian intelligence.

The Israelis have uncovered an assassination attempt on Katz and are certain that its goal was to disrupt the operation to destroy the Iranian nuclear arsenal.

However, the desire to emphasize the “Iranian trace” in the spy story rather suggests the opposite: Tel Aviv is desperately looking for a reason to disrupt negotiations between Tehran and Washington, and at the same time justify its own operations against Iran.

CONSPIRATORIAL FRIENDS
The main defendant in the case is considered to be Roy Mizrahi, a 24-year-old computer science student at the Technion, one of the oldest and leading engineering schools in the country.

Mizrahi is known to have fallen into a honey trap and was recruited by Iranian operatives through the Haifa swingers' community he belonged to.

Moreover, by the time of the meeting with the Iranians, the suspect had accumulated a lot of debt due to his passion for card games, which gave Tehran's special services another lever of influence. The young programmer found himself firmly entangled in a spy network.

At first, he was entrusted with simple tasks: distributing propaganda materials and collecting information about the mood of Israeli youth. However, a little later they decided to use his computer engineer skills to his advantage.

On the orders of the Iranians, Mizrahi installed a live camera near the Haifa port and gave access to it to his handlers. According to some reports, he also participated in organizing small DDoS attacks on city institutions several times.

A few weeks later, when the new agent's loyalty was no longer in doubt, Mizrahi helped the Iranians expand their spy network by recruiting his friend Almog Atias.

He worked as a driver-forwarder and was known as a gambling addict, and therefore needed money. To "deepen the acquaintance" the Iranians gave him a "starting allowance" of $300.

At that time, Iranian intelligence apparently decided to entrust a promising agent with a truly big task.

OPERATION HAWK
The plotters were ordered to eliminate Israeli cabinet member Israel Katz. Since becoming defense minister in the fall of 2024, he has become one of the most ardent "hawks" in the coalition government and a lobbyist for a preemptive strike on Iran's nuclear infrastructure. His elimination was entirely in Tehran's national security interests.

A few days after learning about the plan, the newly formed team was transferred to the south of the country, to the community of Kfar Ahim, where Katz lived permanently. There they were supposed to install a surveillance camera, ensuring constant monitoring of the minister's home. However, the appearance of a police patrol ruined their plans.

Fearing surveillance, the conspirators destroyed the camera and switched to a backup plan: an attack on the ministerial motorcade. For this purpose, a rifle and a pistol with silencers were purchased on the black market, as well as several homemade bombs.

Also, according to testimony, the accused tried to bribe the driver and security guard of the Minister of Defense in order to take his car away from crowded streets and eliminate strong resistance during the assassination attempt.

The plan was to eliminate Katz on the eve of the country's Independence Day (from April 30 to May 1), turning the assassination attempt into a political manifesto and "revenge for the bloody operation" in the Gaza Strip.

However, as further investigation showed, neither Mizrahi nor Atias shared the idea of Palestinian independence and voiced this version during interrogations only in the hope of creating international publicity.

Be that as it may, they failed to carry out their plan: a few days before the alleged assassination attempt, both were arrested.

The Israeli intelligence services did not make a fuss and preferred to first look for other leads in the Iranian network. Especially since the agents who were arrested began to give each other up, telling about caches of money, ammunition and special equipment.

Subsequently, in the wake of the “Mizrahi-Atias affair,” several more investigations with a “Persian flair” were initiated, but Israeli operatives were never able to generalize them and discover a single spy network.

OCTOPUS HEAD
The Minister of Defense, by all appearances, took the news of the assassination attempt philosophically. His statements, made after the arrest of the conspirators (who were not yet officially known at the time), not only did not become more restrained, but, on the contrary, acquired a more militant tone.

Among other things, Katz declared a vendetta against the leaders of the Yemeni Houthis and promised to destroy the leadership of Hamas and Hezbollah. He used the news of the foiled plot, announced by counterintelligence, as a basis for attacks on Iran.

In particular, he called Tehran “the head of a terrorist octopus” and reaffirmed his commitment to “preventing at any cost” the Iranians from acquiring nuclear weapons.

It is noteworthy that the Israeli minister announced his readiness to fight on the eve of a new round of Iranian-American negotiations on peaceful nuclear energy.

Katz and his entourage have been pressing the White House for months to give the green light to an air operation against the opponent's nuclear facilities before the window of opportunity due to Iran's weakened air defenses closes completely.

Washington is slow and trying to keep interaction with Tehran on a diplomatic track. As a gesture of goodwill, the United States even withdrew some of the strategic bombers from the Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean that were transferred there in March 2025, and also agreed to a ceasefire with the Yemeni Houthis.

The easing of tensions between Washington and Tehran is weakening Tel Aviv's pressure. That is why Israeli military hawks led by Katz are desperately trying to use the "Mizrahi-Atias affair" as an argument to justify further confrontation.

EASTERN HINTS
The wave of criticism provoked by this spy story, at first glance, passed by the Iranians. Tehran had not reacted too violently to scandals with agents attributed to it before, and after the number of those arrested in spy cases exceeded fifteen, it began to essentially ignore the accusations of Tel Aviv.

At the same time, Katz’s speech with promises to respond to Tehran’s actions at any cost received a comprehensive response.

Official releases appeared (within a few hours of each other) on the websites of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, parliament and government; comments were given by high-ranking officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and intelligence officials.

True, none of the agencies focused on the “Mizrahi-Atias affair,” limiting criticism to the inadmissibility of threats to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

The Iranian position was summed up by the country's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. In one of his appeals to believers, he dressed up criticism of Israel in a religious story, emphasizing that "the one who constantly deceives will eventually become a victim of deception."

Thus, he pointed out that in the event of aggression against Iran, it would be too naive for Tel Aviv to count on unconditional military support from the United States. Especially in light of Donald Trump’s desire to “castle” in the Middle East and focus on supporting Arabian allies rather than Israel.

In general, the Iranian side made it clear to its opponents that Tel Aviv's speculations around spy stories do not frighten them and that Tehran is prepared to take a hit. In contrast, the Iranians put forward their own question: is Israel ready to face them one-on-one if something happens?

And, apparently, official Tel Aviv does not yet have a clear answer to it.

Link

Britain

Three Iranians charged with suspected espionage in UK UPDATE: All three demanded asylum for religious persecution

2025-05-18

[IsraelTimes] Counter-terror officials call probe ‘a very complex and fast-moving investigation,’ but have not detailed targets of plot

Three Iranian nationals have been charged with suspected espionage for Iran’s intelligence services from August 2024 to February 2025, UK police said on Saturday.

The three were all arrested on May 3 in what the capital’s Metropolitan police called "a very complex and fast-moving investigation" and were due to appear in a London court later on Saturday.

They were named as Mostafa Sepahvand, 39, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 44, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 55, all with addresses in London.

The arrests come amid heightened concerns about Iranian activities on UK soil.

"These are extremely serious charges under the National Security Act, which have come about following what has been a very complex and fast-moving investigation," said Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter-Terrorism command.

"Since the men were arrested two weeks ago, detectives have been working around the clock," he added.

All three were charged with "engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service between 14 August 2024 and 16 February 2025," the police said.

"The foreign state to which the charges relate is Iran," the police said in their statement.

Sepahvand was also charged with "surveillance, reconnaissance and open-source research... intending to commit acts, namely serious violence against a person in the United Kingdom."

While Manesh and Noori were also charged with "surveillance and reconnaissance with the intention that acts, namely serious violence against a person in the United Kingdom, would be committed by others.

A fourth man was arrested on May 9 as part of the investigation, but has now been released without charge, the police added in their statement.

The National Security Act gives law enforcement greater powers to disrupt "state threats" including foreign interference and espionage.

Interior Minister Yvette Cooper thanked the police in a statement on May 4.

"These are serious events that demonstrate the ongoing requirement to adapt our response to national security threats," she said.

Law enforcement has not detailed the targets of the Iranians.

British media reported earlier this month on mounting speculation that the arrested Iranians had been "hours away" from carrying out an attack on a synagogue, though there was no confirmation of the reports.

In March, Iran
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 ~~Jews~~ ~~Zionists~~ Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
became the first country to be placed on an enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS), which aims to boost the UK’s national security against covert foreign influences.

The measures, due to come into place later this year, will mean that all people working inside the UK for Iran, its intelligence services, or the Revolutionary Guard would have to register or face jail.

More from the Times of Israel:

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper vowed to boost national security powers following the charges, which come amid heightened concerns about Iranian activities on UK soil.

In October, the head of Britain’s MI5 domestic intelligence service revealed that since 2022, the UK had uncovered 20 Iran-backed plots posing “potentially lethal threats.”

“Iran must be held to account for its actions,” Cooper said, adding that the UK needed to “strengthen our powers to protect our national security as we will not tolerate growing state threats on our soil.”

The three men were all remanded in jug following a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in central London.

The BBC reported that the three were accused of targeting UK-based journalists working for the Farsi-language Iran International television news network, an independent media organization based in London. Iran has labeled the outlet a terror organization.

The Home Office said the suspects were all irregular ~~migrants~~ colonists, having arrived by small boat or other means, such as hidden in a vehicle, between 2016 and 2022.

’STATE THREATS’
Sepahvand was also charged with "surveillance, reconnaissance and open-source research... intending to commit acts, namely serious violence against a person in the United Kingdom."

Manesh and Noori were also charged with "surveillance and reconnaissance with the intention that acts, namely serious violence against a person in the United Kingdom, would be committed by others."

A fourth man was arrested on May 9 as part of the investigation, but has now been released without charge, the police added in their statement.

The National Security Act gives law enforcement greater powers to disrupt "state threats," including foreign interference and espionage.

Five Iranian nationals were also arrested on May 3 in a separate investigation, with four of them remaining in jug after warrants of further detention were secured.

The four were arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act. A fifth was bailed to an unspecified date in May.

Update from Breitbart at 5:20p.m. EDT:

According to a report from The Telegraph, which cited an unnamed prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the three individuals arrived in the UK illegally via migrant boats over the English Channel and on the back of lorries. Upon reaching Britain, the suspected spies applied for asylum.

The report claimed that the court heard that Mr Sepahvand clandestinely entered the UK on the back of a lorry in 2016 before seeking asylum over alleged religious persecution in his homeland of Iran.

Mr Manesh, who reportedly illegally landed on British shores after crossing the Channel illegally in a small boat in December of 2019, also claimed asylum on religious grounds.

Finally, Mr Noori is reported to have first come into contact with police in 2022 after entering the country illegally, after which he also applied for asylum. All three were reportedly granted leave to remain in the country while their asylum claims were being processed.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran’s IRGC chief tells Trump that country views him as ‘murderer’ of Soleimani

2025-05-16

[IsraelTimes] The top commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, tells US President Donald Trump that the Iranian nation considers him the “murderer” of Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani.

That’s like trying to insult an American by calling him a cowboy. Total insult FAIL.

Soleimani was the commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force. He was killed in Iraq in a drone strike on January 3, 2020, ordered by Trump during his first term in office.

Trump had said earlier that the United States was getting very close to securing a nuclear deal with Tehran.

Link

Britain

Report: Arrested Iranian nationals were planning attack on Israeli Embassy in London, Iran gov’t had demanded their people be respected

2025-05-08

[IsraelTimes] Eight Iranian men arrested in the United Kingdom over the weekend are suspected of plotting to attack the Israeli Embassy in London, according to an unsourced report in The Times newspaper.

“Police have refused to publicize details of the alleged plot, but it is understood the embassy was the main target,” says the report, without naming sources.

“Dan Jarvis, the security minister, refused to give details of the immigration status of the suspects citing the continuing police inquiry,” the newspaper adds.

There was no immediate comment from Israel’s Foreign Ministry or the embassy.

After two separate arrests of the men were conducted in counter-terrorism operations on Saturday, British Interior Minister Yvette Cooper called the operations “some of the biggest counter-state threats” the country had seen in recent years.

Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said earlier this week that “the investigation is still in its early stages and we are exploring various lines of enquiry to establish any potential motivation as well as to identify whether there may be any further risk to the public linked to this matter.”

British media on Tuesday reported mounting speculation that the seven Iranians and one other person arrested over the weekend had been “hours away” from carrying out an attack on a synagogue or a location linked to London’s Jewish community, though there was no confirmation of the reports.

Iran urges UK to uphold rights of 8 Iranians arrested in terrorism investigations

[Rudaw] Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday urged the United Kingdom to "ensure respect" for the rights of Iranian nationals, a day after British counter-terrorism police secured arrest warrants to extend the detention of seven out of eight Iranians arrested on Saturday. Five are being held "on suspicion of terrorism offences," while three others were detained in a separate investigation by London police's Counter Terrorism Command.

In a statement on X, Araghchi noted that he was "disturbed to learn that Iranian citizens have reportedly been arrested by UK security services," expressing his country’s readiness "to assist investigations" if "credible allegations of misconduct are established."

"We call on the UK to ensure respect for our citizens' rights and afford them due process," the Iranian foreign minister added.

Araghchi’s remarks came a day after British counter-terrorism police secured warrants to further detain seven out of eight Iranians arrested on Saturday, in two separate investigations.

"Detectives have secured warrants of further detention for four of the five men arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences this weekend. The men can now be held for questioning until next Saturday [May 10]," London's Metropolitan Police Service said in a post on X.

"All five men, who are all Iranian nationals, were arrested on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act," the British police elaborated in a statement, adding that the fifth man was "released on bail, with conditions, to a date in May."

The five men were arrested over a suspected plot to target a specific premises, however the British police have not named the targeted site.

The Metropolitan Police stated in another Monday post on X that "Warrants of further detention have also been secured in relation to three men arrested as part of a separate and unrelated national security investigation."

The three people were "arrested in London as part of a Counter Terrorism Policing investigation," the Metropolitan Police had previously explained in a Sunday statement, clarifying that "this investigation is not connected to the arrest of five people yesterday [Saturday] as part of a separate Met Counter Terrorism operation."

Dan Jarvis, the UK’s security minister on Tuesday described the two operations as "significant and complex," and that "they were some of the largest counter-state threats and counter-terrorism actions we have seen in recent times."

Jarvis emphasized the British government’s "response to the unacceptable threat we face from the Iranian state, and the steps we are taking to ensure that our intelligence and law enforcement agencies have the tools they need to disrupt and degrade Iran’s malign activity on UK soil."

In early March, the UK announced it would require the Iranian state to register all activities aimed at exerting political influence within the UK, subjecting Tehran to an increased level of scrutiny.

Jarvis then stated that he would include Iran's state institutions, its security services, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the highest tier of an upcoming registration scheme, designed to safeguard against covert foreign influence.

In an October speech, Ken McCallum, the director of the UK’s MI5 domestic security service, stated that at least 20 "potentially lethal" plots backed by Iran
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 ~~Jews~~ ~~Zionists~~ Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
have been thwarted in Britannia since 2022. These plots were primarily aimed at dissident Iranians who oppose the Islamic Theocratic Republic.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Blast epicenter at Iranian port tied to charity overseen by Khamenei

2025-05-03

[AnNahar] The explosion that rocked an Iranian port, killing at least 70 people and injuring more than 1,000 others, had its epicenter at a facility ultimately owned by a charitable foundation overseen by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...>
's office.

That foundation, known as Bonyad Mostazafan, faces American sanctions over it helping the 86-year-old Khamenei "to enrich his office, reward his political allies and persecute the regime's enemies," the U.S. Treasury has said. Its top personnel also have direct ties to Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which oversees Tehran's ballistic missile arsenal and operations abroad targeting the Islamic Theocratic Republic's enemies.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran hangs 'high-ranking spy' for Israel

2025-05-01

[GEO.TV] Iran on Wednesday executed a man convicted of espionage for Israel's Mossad spy agency and involvement in the 2022 assassination of a Revolutionary Guards colonel, the judiciary said.

Mohsen Langarneshin, described as "a high-ranking spy" who supported Mossad operations inside Iran, was hanged in the morning, the judiciary's Mizan Online news website reported.

The Times of Israel adds:

Mohsen Langarneshin convicted of link to death of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officer in 2022, providing support for attack on defense ministry site in Isfahan

An Iranian man convicted of espionage and intelligence cooperation with Israel was executed on Wednesday, Iranian state media reported, at a time of high-stakes nuclear negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

Entangled in a decades-long shadow war with Israel, 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 ~~Jews~~ ~~Zionists~~ Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
has put to death many individuals it accuses of having links with Israel’s Mosssd
Mosssd

...sees all, knows all, gets 'em all in the end...
intelligence service and facilitating the latter’s operations in the country, notably liquidations or acts of sabotage meant to undermine its nuclear program.

According to Iran’s judiciary media outlet Mizan, the defendant identified as Mohsen Langarneshin was accused of involvement in several cases, including the death of a Revolutionary Guards colonel in 2022.

"During his two years as a spy... he was responsible for important actions, including supporting terrorist operations and being present at the scene of the liquidation of Sayad Khodai," state media said. It said the defendant also provided operational support for an attack on an industrial center in Isfahan, affiliated with the Iranian Defense Ministry.

The state media reports said Langarneshin had confessed to the charges. Rooters was not able to reach a representative for comment.

Earlier this week, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Israel of seeking to derail Iran-US nuclear talks, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejecting the idea of a deal merely limiting Tehran’s uranium enrichment and pushing for the full dismantlement of its nuclear infrastructure.

Iran does not recognize Israel and is sworn to its destruction. Tehran supports anti-Israeli terror groups across the region, such as Hezbollah and Hamas
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
. It denies seeking a nuclear weapon, saying that its uranium enrichment program is for peaceful purposes.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Hamas chiefs’ correspondence shows how Israel misjudged results of May 2021 clash - and the anti-Bibi protesters still do

2025-04-29

[IsraelTimes] Report reveals Haniyeh’s praise of ‘glorious victory,’ while Sinwar wrote he was close to destroying Israel; senior Hamas officials said tunnel network ‘not damaged at all’

Newly released Hamas
Hamas

..always the voice of sweet reason...
documents found 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...
show that Israel seriously misunderstood the impact of its 2021 operation in Gaza, which the terror group viewed as a victory that encouraged it to launch the October 7 massacre over two years later, Hebrew media reported.

At the time, Operation Guardian of the Walls was painted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an "extraordinary success," and he vowed to implement a much tougher stance against the terror group’s rocket fire.

But Channel 12 news on Saturday revealed letters exchanged by Hamas’s then-Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar and the terror group’s leader at the time, Ismail Haniyeh
...became Prime Minister of Gaza after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas won. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah-Hamas festivities, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continued as the PM of Gazoo while Abbas maintained a separate PM in the West Bank. Zapped during the 2023-24 war, to eveyone's satisfaction...
, showing that the two men considered the 11-day conflict a defeat for Israel.

Sinwar advocated the strategy of proposing a long-term ceasefire, or hudna, with Israel, as a way of either isolating it from the international community or creating division within Israeli society.

Both leaders have since been killed — Haniyeh in a covert operation in 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 ~~Jews~~ ~~Zionists~~ Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
in July 2024, and Sinwar by IDF troops in Gaza later that year.

"It is likely that this move, which would be acceptable to most countries in the world, would not be acceptable to the occupation [Israel] and would therefore increase their isolation and disconnection from them. If the occupation decides to go in this direction [of a hudna], it would tear it apart from within and lead to internal division and civil war," the letter by Sinwar reportedly said.

Haniyeh, in response, congratulated Sinwar on his "clear victory" in the fighting.

"The flag of the Al Qassam movement is waved all over the world, and millions cheer to the dear chief of staff of the resistance, Muhammad Deif, who won a divine and glorious victory," Haniyeh wrote, referencing the Hamas military wing chief, who was also killed by Israel in July 2024.

Sinwar responded on May 30, 2021: "Praise be to God who granted us victory, humiliated the enemy’s leadership. We are close to destroying their country."

Throughout those 11 days in May 2021, Hamas and Paleostinian Islamic Jihad
...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah...
fired over 4,000 rockets and mortar shells at Israel. A dozen non-combatants were killed in Israel during the fighting, along with one soldier. Over 250 Paleostinians were killed, roughly half of whom the IDF claimed were combatants.

It has previously been reported that from that point until October 7, 2023, Hamas carried out a years-long campaign of deception to convince Israel it was not really interested in war.

Additionally, while Netanyahu claimed in the wake of the 11-day operation that the Israel Defense Forces had destroyed "a considerable portion" of Hamas’s internal tunnel routes — its "metro" — senior Hamas officials said otherwise in a meeting with then-Hezbollah leader His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
...The late, lamented satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...>
and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force Commander Esmail Qaani, Channel 12 reported.

"’The ’metro’ was not damaged at all, and only the offensive tunnel network was slightly damaged and will be repaired soon," the Hamas officials said during the meeting in Beirut on July 26, 2021, according to the report.

Months after the war began, senior defense officials told The New York Times

...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize...
that Hamas’s tunnel network was far more extensive than they had initially believed.

Israel believed Hamas had been deterred from starting a war until October 7, 2023, when Lions of Islam burst across the Gaza border, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages to the Strip.

Israel then launched a massive air and ground operation in Gaza, vowing to bring home all the hostages and dismantle Hamas’s rule over Gaza.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Day 3: Death toll from Iranian port blast rises to 40, MP blames Israel

2025-04-28

Day 1 can be seen here, Day 2 can be seen here.

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The death toll from the explosion in the Iranian port of Shahid Rajaee, located near the city of Bandar Abbas, has increased to 40. This was reported on April 27 by the governor of the Iranian province of Hormozgan, Mohammad Ashouri Taziani.

Previously, 36 deaths were reported.

“The number of people who have died from injuries sustained in the explosion has now reached 40,” Mehr news agency quotes Taziani as saying.

On the afternoon of April 27, members of the Iranian parliament reported that many of the dead had not yet been identified. Media sources also suggested that there were other bodies of the dead under the rubble.

As reported by Regnum news agency, the explosion at the Shahid Rajaee port occurred on April 26. According to eyewitnesses, the sound was so loud that it was heard within a radius of 20 km from the scene. Local media reported that the explosion occurred at a warehouse for hazardous goods, but the head of the terminal, Pazhman Behzadpur, denied this information. An investigation has been launched into the explosion.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent condolences to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the country's President Masoud Pezeshkian. The head of state expressed his readiness to provide the necessary assistance in eliminating the consequences of the disaster. Later, on Putin's orders, two amphibious aircraft Be-200ChS and Il-76 of the Ministry of Emergency Situations were sent to Iran.

There were 1,205 reported casualties from the explosion. Most of them have already been discharged from hospitals. As of 16:00 Moscow time on April 27, 190 people remain in hospitals, including 20 in intensive care units.

The Russian Embassy in Tehran reported that no information about injured Russian citizens had been received. Russian foreign missions in Iran are operating as usual.

More from regnum.ru
Iran's MoD confirms there were no military goods in Shahid Rajaee port

Not a lie that it was said, but the claim is definitely taqqiya. Do go on…

[Regnum] There were no military goods in the Iranian port of Shahid Rajaee near the city of Bandar Abbas, where an explosion occurred the day before. This was stated on April 27 by the official representative of the Iranian Defense Ministry, Reza Telai-Nik.

“During the investigation, it was found that there were no imported or exported military cargoes in the area of the fire,” Iranian state television channel IRIB quotes him as saying.

A powerful explosion rocked the Iranian port of Shahid Rajaee on April 26. According to eyewitnesses, the sound of the explosion was so loud that it was heard within a radius of 20 km from the scene. One of the buildings collapsed, and port operations were suspended.

According to the latest data, 1,139 people were injured in the explosion. The total number of deaths at the moment is 25 people. As the head of the judicial power of Hormozgan province Mojtaba Ghahremani noted, 21 bodies have already been handed over to the forensic medical examination. The bodies of ten victims have been identified, including two women and eight men.

Several media outlets reported that the explosion occurred at a hazardous cargo warehouse. Terminal head Pazhman Behzadpour later denied this information, stating that the explosion was not related to hazardous cargo. An investigation has been launched into the incident. The Russian embassy in Tehran reported that no information about Russian citizens being injured has been received.

As reported by the Regnum news agency, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent condolences to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei and the President of the IRI Masoud Pezeshkian in connection with the explosion at the Shahid Rajaee port. In his telegram, the Russian leader also expressed his readiness to provide the necessary assistance in eliminating the consequences of the disaster.

Courtesy of Fred, Hodhod Yemen News adds:

It is worth noting that the Iranian Crisis Management Organization blamed the incident on ''unsafe storage of chemicals in containers at the Shahid Rajaee Port,'' according to the organization's front man, Hossein Zafri, who told the Iranian ILNA news agency, ''The cause of the earth-shattering kaboom was the chemicals inside the containers.''

The Times of Israel adds:

Fires still burning a day later; person connected to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps tells NYT that sodium perchlorate ignited.

An individual tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reportedly confirmed the earth-shattering kaboom occurred in a shipment from China of a chemical used to produce missile fuel.

Fires continued to break out in different areas of Shahid Rajaei port as of Sunday night, according to state media, with helicopters and firefighters continuing efforts to extinguish them.

Iran’s health ministry urged residents of Hormozgan province, where the port is located, to avoid going outside "until further notice" and to use protective masks.

Authorities declared three days of public mourning across the province, and state TV reported all schools in offices in the bucolic provincial capital of Bandar Abbas, near the port, were ordered closed to allow authorities to focus on the emergency effort.

The port’s customs office said in a statement carried by state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
that the earth-shattering kaboom probably resulted from a fire that broke out at the hazardous and chemical materials storage depot. A regional emergency official said several containers had went kaboom!.

The New York Times

...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize...
quoted an individual with ties to Iran’s IRGC, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered...
to discuss security matters, who said that sodium perchlorate had went kaboom!. The compound is a major ingredient in solid fuel for missiles.

The port had taken in a shipment of the chemical in March, the private security firm Ambrey said a day earlier. The fuel was part of a shipment from China by two vessels to Iran, first reported in January by the Financial Times.

BLAST HEARD 50 KILOMETERS AWAY, FIRE ’STILL NOT OUT’
Live footage from the port on Sunday showed thick smoke still visible at the scene of the earth-shattering kaboom.

"The fire is under control but still not out," a state TV correspondent reported from the site around 20 hours after the blast.

The explosion was so powerful that it was felt and heard about 50 kilometers (30 miles) away, Fars news agency reported.

Speaking Sunday at the scene, Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni said that "the situation has stabilized in the main areas" of the port. He told state TV that workers had resumed loading containers and customs clearance.

Images from news agency IRNA on Saturday showed rescuers and survivors walking along a wide boulevard carpeted with debris after the blast at Shahid Rajaee, more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) south of Tehran.

Flames could be seen engulfing a truck trailer and blood stained the side of a crushed car, while a helicopter dropped water on massive black smoke clouds billowing from behind stacked shipping containers.

"The shockwave was so strong that most of the port buildings were severely damaged," Tasnim news agency reported.

Saturday is the start of the working week in Iran, meaning the port was busy with employees.

Three Chinese nationals were "lightly injured," China’s state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing its Bandar Abbas consulate.

Iranian MP accuses Israel of involvement in port blast, as fires continue to smolder
[IsraelTimes] Though authorities are still working to determine the cause of the blast, an Iranian parliament member claimed that Israel was responsible, saying that explosive devices were planted in the shipping containers that caused it.

“Israel was involved in the explosion,” MP Mohammad Siraj told the Rokna news agency on Sunday. “It was not accidental. Clear evidence points to Israeli involvement.”

“There were explosives planted in the container, either in their country of origin or along the transportation route,” Siraj claimed. “We do not rule out the involvement of internal factors in planting the explosives in the containers. The explosion occurred at four different locations.”

Siraj did nor provide evidence to back up his claim, and an Israeli official was quoted by Hebrew media Saturday as saying Israel had no part in the blast at the port.

Iran’s Defense Ministry denied the reports that the blast may have been caused by the mishandling of solid fuel used for missiles, with a spokesman telling state TV that the reports were “aligned with enemy psyops,” and that the blast-hit area did not contain any military cargo.

In a first reaction on Sunday, spokesman Gen. Reza Talaeinik denied that missile fuel had been imported through the port.

“No sort of imported and exporting consignment for fuel or military application was (or) is in the site of the port,” he told state television by telephone.

He called foreign reports on the missile fuel baseless — but offered no explanation for what material detonated with such incredible force at the site. Talaeinik promised authorities would offer more information later.

Social media footage of the explosion on Saturday at Shahid Rajaei saw reddish-hued smoke rising from the fire just before the detonation. That suggested a chemical compound being involved in the blast, as in the Beirut explosion.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Hezbollah missile warehouse in southern Beirut airstruck following Israeli warning

2025-04-28

[GEO.TV] A building in southern Beirut was struck on Sunday, Reuters live footage showed, almost an hour after the Israeli army issued an evacuation order to residents of the area.

Hodhod Yemen News adds:

Israeli drones initially launched three strikes on the structure, which had been used by local residents for Ashura processions.

IDF strikes Hezbollah missile warehouse in Beirut, kills operative in south Lebanon
[IsraelTimes] Military issues evacuation alert, fires warning shots before hitting storage site — no casualties reported; Lebanon condemns strike, appeals to the US and France for protection

The Israeli military struck what it said was a Hezbollah precision missiles warehouse in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday, after killing one of the Iran-backed terror group’s operatives in a dronezap in southern Leb
...home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade....
earlier in the day.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the Beirut-area strike, which came after after the military warned residents to evacuate.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement that missiles stored in the Lebanese capital "posed a significant threat to Israel."

"Israel will not allow Hezbollah to grow stronger and pose any threat to it — anywhere in Lebanon," the two men said.

They stressed that Israel will not allow Beirut’s southern suburbs — historically a Hezbollah stronghold — to serve as a sanctuary for the terror group.

"The Lebanese government bears direct responsibility for preventing these threats," they warned.

Shortly thereafter, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement: "The storage of missiles in this infrastructure site constitutes a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon, and poses a threat to the State of Israel and its civilians."

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the strike in Beirut, in a statement issued on his behalf.

He called on "the United States and La Belle France, as guarantors of the ceasefire agreement, to assume their responsibilities and compel Israel to halt its attacks immediately."

He also alleged that Israel was attempting to destabilize his country and warned that it would intensify tensions in the region.

It was only the third time that the IDF has carried out an attack in the Beirut area since a ceasefire in Lebanon went into effect in November 2024.

The previous attacks took place on March 28, when Israel also issued a warning after two rockets were fired from Lebanon at northern Israel, and on April 1, when an unannounced strike killed four people, including Hassan Bdair, a member of Hezbollah’s Unit 3900 and of the elite Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

In a post to X earlier Sunday, the IDF’s Arabic-language front man, Col. Avichay Adraee, published a map showing the location of the building, and called on civilians to evacuate at least 300 meters (984 feet) from it for their safety.

"To everyone present in the building marked in red as shown on the map and the buildings adjacent to it: You are present near facilities belonging to Hezbollah," he said.

According to Lebanese media, several small warning strikes were carried out in the area before fighter jets dropped heavier munitions to destroy the structure.

IDF DRONE KILLS HEZBOLLAH OPERATIVE IN SOUTHERN LEBANON
Earlier Sunday, the IDF killed a Hezbollah operative in a dronezap in southern Lebanon’s Halta, the military said.

The operative was involved in Hezbollah’s attempts to regroup and rearm, according to the IDF.

The military published footage of the strike.

Lebanon’s health ministry confirmed that an Israeli dronezap had killed one person. Local media said the man was killed while working on his chicken farm.

The November 2024 ceasefire largely ended more than a year of fighting, including some two months of open war, between Hezbollah and Israel.

The fighting started when the Iran-backed terror group opened fire on October 8, 2023, shooting rockets and drones at the Jewish state in support of Hamas
Hamas

..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
, which had attacked Israel from 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 in a shock invasion the previous day.

The ceasefire allows Israel to strike immediate threats, however, and near-daily strikes against Hezbollah operatives and their allies have continued.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Why has Hezbollah escalated its rhetoric on arms?

2025-04-27

[AnNahar] The issue of Hezbollah’s arms is "present on the table of indirect dialogue between President Joseph Aoun and Hezbollah’s leadership" and Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri

...perennial Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, head of the Amal Shiite party aligned with Hezbollah, a not very subtle sock puppet of the Medes and Persians...
is following up on the matter, the PSP’s al-Anbaa news portal quoted "credible sources" as saying.

The sources attributed the latest "conflicting stances" by Hezbollah’s leaders to "raising the ceiling of its demands regarding its role in the reconstruction of the South, its political future and the number of members who will be integrated into the army and security forces."

"What President Aoun mentioned prior to his travel to Doha about his rejection of repeating (Iraq’s) Popular Mobilization Forces in Leb
Leb

...home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade....
and his rejection of the creation of a special army unit for Hezbollah’s fighters are part of this dialogue, to which (Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim) Qassem responded in an escalatory tone," the sources added.

"Some escalatory stances of Hezbollah’s leaders reflect personal wishes based on a wrong analysis of the U.S.-Iranian negotiations and of the directions of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard," the sources went on to say.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

WATCH: Explosion rocks Iran's Bandar Abbas port near IRGC base, ~~195 516~~ 700+ injured, 5 dead — was it mis-stored missile fuel?

2025-04-26

[Jpost] The explosion reportedly occurred near an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval base, Army Radio reported.

A large explosion rocked Shahid Rajaee port in the southern Iranian city of Bandar Abbas, semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday.

At least 516 people were injured and rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment, and it is unclear whether there are fatalities, Reuters reported.

The explosion reportedly occurred near an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) naval base, Army Radio reported.

The IDF has denied any involvement in the explosion, Maariv reported, citing sources within the military.

“Wudn’t us. Musta been Allah. Again.”

Footage online shows large mushroom clouds emerging from the site of the explosion.

"The source of this incident was the explosion of several containers stored in the Shahid Rajaee Port wharf area. We are currently evacuating and transferring the injured to medical centers," a local crisis management official told state TV.

Reuters said that efforts were ongoing to extinguish a significant fire, with the port's customs saying that trucks were being evacuated from the area and that the container yard where the explosion occurred likely contained "dangerous goods and chemicals."

It is unclear why Iran would not have moved the [solid ballistic missile fuel] from the port, particularly after the Beirut port blast in 2020, in which more than 200 people were killed in a chemical explosion.

State TV said "negligence in handling flammable materials was a contributing factor" in the explosion.

Oil facilities were not affected by the blast as the National Iranian Petroleum Refining and Distribution Company issued a statement saying, "The explosion and fire in Shahid Rajaee Port have no connection to refineries, fuel tanks, distribution complexes, and oil pipelines related to this company."

The large blast shattered windows within a radius of several kilometers, Iranian media said, with footage shared online showing a mushroom cloud forming following the explosion.

Update at 1:10 p.m. ET:

At least five were killed and more than 700 people were wounded and rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment, and it is unclear whether there are fatalities, Reuters reported.

The Times of Israel adds something interesting — the same information as in Skidmark’s Daily Mail article in comments, below:

The blast was purportedly linked to a shipment of a chemical ingredient used to make missile propellant.

The customs office at the port said in a statement carried by state TV that the blast probably resulted from a fire that broke out at the hazmat and chemical materials storage depot.

“The cause of the explosion was the chemicals inside the containers,” Hossein Zafari, a spokesperson for Iran’s crisis management organization, told Iran’s ILNA news agency.

In March, the port took in a shipment of “sodium perchlorate rocket fuel,” the private security firm Ambrey said. The fuel is part of a shipment from China by two vessels to Iran, first reported in January by the Financial Times. The fuel was going to be used to replenish Iran’s missile stocks, which had been depleted by its direct attacks on Israel during the war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

“The fire was reportedly the result of improper handling of a shipment of solid fuel intended for use in Iranian ballistic missiles,” Ambrey said.

Ship-tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press put one of the vessels believed to be carrying the chemical in the vicinity in March, as Ambrey said. Iran hasn’t acknowledged taking the shipment. The Iranian mission to the United Nations didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

It is unclear why Iran would not have moved the chemicals from the port, particularly after the Beirut port blast in 2020, in which more than 200 people were killed in a chemical explosion. However, Israel has targeted Iranian missile sites where Tehran uses industrial mixers to create solid fuel, including during its response to a massive Iranian missile barrage launched at Israel last October.

There were no immediate allegations of blame issued by Iran against external actors.

Link

Caribbean-Latin America

FM Sa’ar praises Paraguay’s designation of IRGC, Hamas, Hezbollah as terror groups

2025-04-25

[IsraelTimes] Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar applauds a decision by Paraguay to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hamas, and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations.

Sa’ar commends the South American country and President Santiago Peña for the “landmark decision” in a post on X.

Peña reopened his country’s embassy in Jerusalem last December and condemned Hamas “criminals” in a speech at the Knesset during the same visit.

“We were with you, we are with you, we will stay with the people of Israel forever,” the Paraguayan president told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the ceremony for the embassy reopening.

Link

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