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Home Front: Politix

Chief Justice John Roberts grants Trump admin request to pause discovery in DOGE case

2025-05-24

[JustTheNews] Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts on Friday approved the Trump administration's request for an administrative stay in a lawsuit seeking documents about the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) operations.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer filed the request on Wednesday, one of the many emergency requests he's made since January, which asked the high court to stop DOGE from being forced to release records to the watchdog organization, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, through its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

Sauer argued that DOGE should be exempt from complying with FOIA requests because it is a presidential advisory group. The White House has also tried to argue that documents procured by DOGE are presidential records, and thereby exempt from FOIA.

Roberts made the decision alone because he handles all emergency appeals that arise from Washington, D.C., and the pause will remain in effect until the Supreme Court decides whether to make it permanent. Roberts can make that decision alone, or the full court can weigh in, per The Hill.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran-backed Palestinian terror groups said to leave Syria under pressure from Sharaa

2025-05-24

[IsraelTimes] Flight of pro-Assad factions comes amid Trump’s demand that the new regime crack down on Palestinian terrorism as a condition for sanctions relief

Leaders of Iran-backed Paleostinian terror groups in Syria close to former president Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Leveler of Latakia...
have left the country under pressure from the regime of Ahmed al-Sharaa, who led the ouster of the Iran-backed strongman in December, Paleostinian sources said Friday.

The armed factions’ flight comes amid a White House demand that Sharaa crack down on Paleostinian terror groups as a condition for the removal of Washington’s sanctions on Damascus. There have also been unconfirmed reports that Syria’s new regime has held indirect talks with Israel on potential normalization between the two countries, despite Israeli leaders’ deep suspicion of Sharaa due to his jihadi past.

The crackdown did not appear to affect the Syrian presence of 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...
-based Hamas
..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,...
, which is also backed by Iran, nor that of Fatah, the secularist faction that dominates the West Bank-based Paleostinian Authority.

The leader of one Iran-backed Paleostinian group, who left Syria after Assad’s overthrow, said on condition of anonymity that "most of the Paleostinian factional leadership that received support from Tehran has left Damascus" to countries including Leb
...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel...
. Another faction leader still in Damascus confirmed the development.

The first faction leader said "the factions have fully handed over weapons in their headquarters or with their cadres" to the authorities, who also received "lists of names of faction members possessing individual weapons" and demanded that those arms be handed over.

A third Paleostinian faction source in Damascus said that after Assad’s overthrow, "we gathered our members’ weapons ourselves and handed them over, but we have kept individual light weapons for protection... with the [authorities’] authorization."

In Yarmouk, a Paleostinian refugee camp in the Damascus suburbs that was devastated during Syria’s civil war, factional banners usually displayed at the entrance were gone and party buildings were closed and unguarded, AFP photographers said. Factional premises elsewhere in Damascus also appeared closed.

Many Paleostinians fled to Syria in 1948 following the creation of Israel, and from the mid-1960s Syria began hosting the leadership of armed Paleostinian factions. Iran-backed Paleostinian groups enjoyed considerable freedom of movement under Assad.

Washington, which designates some of the factions as terrorist organizations, last week announced it was lifting sanctions on Syria. The White House had earlier said the new Syrian regime would have to comply with demands, including suppressing terrorism and preventing "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...
and its proxies from exploiting Syrian territory."

According to the White House, during a meeting in 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...
last week, US President Donald Trump
...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party...
gave Sharaa a list of demands that included deporting "Paleostinian terrorists."

The Iran-backed Paleostinian factions in Syria, along with other terror groups from Lebanon, Iraq and 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...
, are part of Iran’s so-called Axis of Resistance®, which is openly committed to Israel’s destruction. Some Axis members fought alongside Assad’s forces when civil war erupted in Syria in 2011.

In neighboring Lebanon, a government official told AFP that the disarmament of Paleostinian camps, where factions usually handle security, would begin next month based on an accord with visiting Paleostinian Authority President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas
...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase....>
, who also met with Sharaa in Damascus last month.

’UNWELCOME’
The Iran-backed Paleostinian groups in Syria "did not receive any official request from the authorities to leave Syrian territory" but instead faced restrictions, the first faction leader told AFP.

Some factions "were de facto prohibited from operating," or their members were arrested, he said, adding that the new authorities have seized property from "private homes, offices, vehicles and military training camps in the Damascus countryside and other provinces."

Syrian authorities did not immediately provide a comment to AFP when asked about the matter.

Earlier this month, officials from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Paleostine-General Command (PFLP-GC) said Syrian authorities briefly detained factional chief Talal Naji.

In April, 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...
said Syrian official Khaled Khaled and organizing committee member Yasser al-Zafri were tossed into the calaboose "without explanation." A source from the group told AFP on Friday that they were still detained.

The second Paleostinian faction leader, from a group that has remained in Damascus with limited representation, said there was "no cooperation between most of the Paleostinian factions and the new Syrian administration."

"The response to our contact is mostly cold or delayed. We feel like unwelcome guests, though they don’t say that clearly," he added, also requesting anonymity.

A Hamas official in Gaza told AFP that it had "channels of communication with our brothers in Syria."

Hamas has minimal representation in Syria, having left the country after the civil war there began. Hamas’s ties with the Assad regime had deteriorated amid the terror group’s support for opposition demands.

Yarmouk camp resident Marwan Mnawar, a retiree, said that "nobody knows what happened to the factional leadership," adding that "people just want to live, they are exhausted" by the conflict and factional infighting.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Hezbollah seeks boost in Lebanon vote as disarmament calls grow

2025-05-24

[IsraelTimes] Though the terror group was badly weakened by the war with Israel, popular support among Lebanese Shi’ites remains strong

Amid the rubble left by Israeli bombardment of south Leb
...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects....
, campaign posters urge support for Hezbollah in elections on Saturday as the group aims to show it retains political clout despite the pounding it took in last year’s war.

For Hezbollah, the local vote is more important than ever, coinciding with mounting calls for its disarmament and continued Israeli ~~Arclight~~ airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s, and as many of its Shi’ite Moslem constituents still suffer the repercussions of the conflict.

Three rounds of voting already held this month have gone well for the Iran-backed terror group. In the south, many races won’t be contested, handing Hezbollah and its allies early wins.

"We will vote with blood," said Ali Tabaja, 21, indicating loyalty to Hezbollah. He’ll be voting in the city of Nabatieh rather than his village of Adaisseh because it has been destroyed.

"It’s a desert," he said.

The south’s rubble-strewn landscape reflects the devastating impact of the war, which began when Hezbollah began launching regular attacks on Israel in October 2023 in support of Hamas
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
following the latter terror group’s devastating attack on southern Israel.

After nearly a year of war, Israel launched a major offensive against the organization. Hezbollah emerged as a shadow of its former self, with its leaders and thousands of its fighters killed, its influence over the Lebanese state greatly diminished, and its Lebanese opponents gaining sway.

In a measure of how far the tables have turned, the new government has declared it aims to establish a state monopoly on arms, meaning Hezbollah should disarm.

Against this backdrop, the election results so far indicate "the war didn’t achieve the objective of downgrading Hezbollah’s popularity in the community," said Mohanad Hage Ali of the Carnegie Middle East Center, a think tank. "On the contrary, many Shia now feel their fate is tied to Hezbollah’s fate.

Hezbollah’s election performance "really matters," Hage Ali added. "It shows they still represent the great majority of Shi’ites and underlines the reality that any attempt by other Lebanese to disarm them by force would risk being seen as a move against the community and jeopardize civil peace."

Hezbollah’s arms have long been a source of division in Lebanon, sparking a brief civil conflict in 2008. Critics say Hezbollah has unilaterally involved Lebanon in wider Middle East conflicts.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has called for dialogue with Hezbollah over a national defense strategy, implying discussion of its weaponry, but talks have yet to begin.

Wednesday saw the Lebanese and Paleostinian Authority presidents agree that Paleostinian factions won’t use Lebanon as a launchpad for any attacks against Israel, and to remove weapons that aren’t under the authority of the Lebanese state.

Foreign Minister Youssef Raji, a Hezbollah opponent, has said that Lebanon has been told there will be no reconstruction aid from foreign donors until the state establishes a monopoly on arms.

Hezbollah, in turn, has put the onus on the government over reconstruction and accuses it of failing to take steps on that front, despite promises that the government is committed to it.

A US State Department spokesperson said that while Washington was engaged in supporting sustainable reconstruction in Lebanon, "this cannot happen without Hezbollah laying down their arms."

"We have also made clear that transparency and economic reform are the only path to greater investment and economic recovery for the country," the spokesperson said in response to a Rooters query.

Hezbollah claims its weapons are now gone from the south, but links any discussion of its remaining arsenal to Israel’s withdrawal from five positions it still holds, and an end to Israeli strikes.

Israel says Hezbollah still has combat infrastructure, including rocket launchers in the south, calling this "blatant violations of understandings between Israel and Lebanon." It says the five positions are necessary to defend northern Israel from the threat of Hezbollah, which had planned an October 7-style attack on northern communities.

A French diplomatic source said reconstruction would not materialize if Israel continues striking and the Lebanese government does not act fast enough on disarmament.

Donors also want Beirut to enact economic reforms.

Hashem Haidar, head of the government’s Council for the South, said the state lacks the funds to rebuild, but cited progress in rubble removal. Lebanon needs $11 billion for reconstruction and recovery, the World Bank estimates.

In Nabatieh, a pile of rubble marks the spot where 71-year-old Khalil Tarhini’s store once stood. It was one of dozens destroyed by Israeli bombardment in Nabatieh’s central market.

He has received no compensation and sees little point in voting. Expressing a sense of abandonment, he said: "The state did not stand by us."

The situation was very different in 2006, after a previous Hezbollah-Israel war. Aid flowed from Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate ~~Jews~~ ~~Zionists~~ Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
and Gulf Arab states.

Hezbollah says it has aided 400,000 people, paying for rent, furniture, and renovations. But the funds at its disposal appear well short of 2006, recipients say.

Hezbollah says state authorities have obstructed funds arriving from Iran, though Tehran is also more financially strapped than two decades ago due to tougher US sanctions and the reimposition of a "maximum pressure" policy by Washington.

As for Gulf states, their spending on Lebanon dried up as Hezbollah became embroiled in regional conflicts and, echoing the US, they declared it a terrorist group in 2016. Saudi Arabia

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

After 5th round of nuclear talks, Iran says discussions with US ‘complicated’

2025-05-24

[IsraelTimes] Oman’s FM says ‘some but not conclusive progress’ made in negotiations

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday that Tehran’s discussions with the United States over its nuclear program were "complicated," as the fifth round of talks concluded in Rome.

"The negotiations are too complicated to be resolved in two or three meetings," said Araghchi, who leads the Iranian negotiating team in the talks mediated by Oman.

Araghchi said there was potential for progress in nuclear negotiations after Oman made several proposals.

Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi said "some but not conclusive progress" was made. "We hope to clarify the remaining issues in the coming days to allow us to proceed toward the common goal of reaching a sustainable and honorable agreement."

The talks, which began in April, are the highest-level contact between the foes since the United States quit a landmark 2015 nuclear accord during President Donald Trump
...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party...
’s first term.

Since returning to office, Trump has revived his "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran, backing talks but warning of military action if diplomacy fails.

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...
wants a new deal that would ease the sanctions, which have battered its economy.

The fourth round of talks, in the Omani capital Muscat, ended with a public spat over enrichment. Witkoff said Washington "could not authorize even one percent" enrichment — a position Tehran called a red line, citing its rights under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Ahead of Friday’s talks, Araghchi said "fundamental differences" remained with the United States, while adding that Tehran was open to its nuclear sites undergoing more inspections.

"We will not have an agreement at all" if the United States wants to prevent Iran from enriching uranium, he said.

The talks came ahead of a June meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog, the Vienna-based ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the October expiry of the 2015 accord.

The deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, aimed to allay Western suspicions that Iran was seeking a nuclear weapons capability, an ambition that Tehran has denied, while enriching uranium to levels that have no civilian application.

In return for curbs on its nuclear program, Iran had received relief from international sanctions. But the accord was torpedoed in 2018 when Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States and reimposed sanctions. Iran responded by ramping up its nuclear activities.

It is now enriching uranium to 60 percent — far above the deal’s 3.67 percent cap but below, though close to, the 90 percent level needed for a nuclear warhead.

Analysts in Tehran said Iran was unlikely to back down.

"It’s quite simple; if the US expects Iran to halt nuclear enrichment, then there can’t be a deal," said Mohammad Marandi, a political scientist who was once an adviser on the nuclear issue.

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran says the country’s nuclear industry employs 17,000 people, similar to other countries where uranium is enriched for civilian use.

"The Netherlands, Belgium, South Korea, Brazil and Japan enrich without possessing nuclear weapons," its front man Behrouz Kamalvandi said.

Iran’s enmity with Israel, whose main backer is the United States, has been a constant backdrop to the talks.

In a letter to the United Nations
...the Oyster Bay money pit...
, Araghchi wrote: "We believe that in the event of any attack on the nuclear facilities of the Islamic Theocratic Republic of Iran by the Zionist regime, the US government will also be involved and bear legal responsibility."

The warning came after CNN
...formerly the Cable News Network, now who know what it might stand for...
, citing unnamed US officials, reported Israel was making preparations to carry out such a strike.

The White House said Trump had a "productive discussion" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday about Iran and the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staff in Washington.

Friday’s talks took place before an IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna in June, during which Iran’s nuclear activities will be reviewed.

The 2015 deal provides for the possibility of UN sanctions being reimposed through a mechanism called "snapback" if Iran fails to fulfil its commitments.

The agreement’s three European parties — Britannia, La Belle France and Germany — have warned they will trigger the mechanism if the continent’s security is threatened.

Araghchi said such a move would have "consequences — not only the end of Europe’s role in the agreement, but also an escalation of tensions that could become irreversible."

Mosssd
Mosssd

...sees all, knows all, gets 'em all in the end...
chief David Barnea and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer met US negotiator Steve Witkoff in Rome on Friday on the talks’ sidelines.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash ~~Arclight~~ airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s targeting Iran’s program if a deal isn’t reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn they could pursue a nuclear weapon if the nation is threatened.

"Iran almost certainly is not producing nuclear weapons, but Iran has undertaken activities in recent years that better position it to produce them, if it chooses to do so," a new report from the US Defense Intelligence Agency said.

"These actions reduce the time required to produce sufficient weapons-grade uranium for a first nuclear device to probably less than one week."

However,
corruption finds a dozen alibis for its evil deeds...
it likely still would take Iran months to make a working bomb, experts say.

Asked about the negotiations, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said "we believe that we are going to succeed" in the talks and in Washington’s push for no enrichment.

"The Iranians are at that table, so they also understand what our position is, and they continue to go," Bruce said Thursday.

One idea floated so far that might allow Iran to stop enrichment within the country but maintain a supply of uranium could be a consortium in the Mideast backed by regional countries and the US.

There are also multiple countries offering low-enriched uranium that can be used for peaceful purposes by countries.

However,
corruption finds a dozen alibis for its evil deeds...
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has maintained that enrichment must continue within the country’s borders, and a similar fuel-swap proposal failed to gain traction in negotiations in 2010.

Link

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

Home Front: Politix

Temporary setback: Amy Coney Barrett ensures religious school fight fails in Supreme Court

2025-05-24

[NBC via MSN] A recusal by conservative Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett has ensured that Oklahoma taxpayers will not have to pay for a religious public charter school.

No doubt this issue will come up in another case in the near-ish future.

Coney Barrett would have broken the 4-4 deadlock reached by the Court Thursday. Although she did not give a reason for her recusal, The New York Times speculated that the justice's "close friendship with Nicole Stelle Garnett, a professor at Notre Dame Law School who was an early adviser for St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, the school involved in the dispute," may have contributed.

"The decision by the evenly divided court means that a ruling by the Oklahoma Supreme Court that said the proposal to launch St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School violates both the federal Constitution and state law remains in place," NBC News reported.

Coney Barrett is an extremely conservative and religious justice who analysts expected would have supported the school's case.

The lack of a majority vote means the court did not issue a written decision.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Ahead of nuclear talks, Iran warns will hold US responsible for Israel attack

2025-05-23

[GEO.TV] 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...
warned it would hold the United States responsible for any Israeli attack on its atomic facilities, on the eve of a new round of nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran.

The warning came after CNN
...formerly the Cable News Network, now who know what it might stand for...
, citing unnamed US officials, reported on Tuesday that Israel was making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear sites despite the ongoing US-Iran talks.

"We believe that in the event of any attack on the nuclear facilities of the Islamic Theocratic Republic of Iran by the Zionist regime, the US government will also be involved and bear legal responsibility," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a letter to the United Nations
...a formerly good idea gone bad...
published on Thursday.

"Iran strongly warns against any adventurism by the Zionist regime and will respond decisively to any threat or unlawful act by this regime," Araghchi added.

The nuclear talks, which began on April 12, are the highest-level contact between the long-time foes since the United States in 2018 pulled out of a landmark deal between Iran and world powers, during President Donald Trump
...The man who was so stupid he beat fourteen professional politicians, a former tech CEO, and a brain surgeon for the Republican nomination in 2016, then beat The Smartest Woman in the World in the general election. Then he beat Kamala while dodging bullets...
's first term in office.

Link

Home Front: Politix

Sparks fly between Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Dem Rep. Watson Coleman: 'You should feel shameful'

2025-05-23

Balance.

[FoxNews] Linda McMahon faces fierce criticism from Democrats while outlining plan to return education control to states

Sparks flew on Capitol Hill Wednesday as Education Secretary Linda McMahon faced off with Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., in a fiery exchange during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing in the latest clash over the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the Department of Education.

The war of words began when Watson Coleman asked, "Do you believe that there is illegal discrimination against people who are Black or brown, and other types of discrimination in jobs and education in this country?"

"I think it still exists in some areas," McMahon replied.

Watson Coleman pressed further: "Then can you tell me why the Office of Civil Rights and the Department of Education is being decimated?"

"I am the secretary of Education who has been approved to run this agency by Congress. And I was appointed by the president. And I serve at his pleasure under his mandate. So, therefore, the direction of his administration is what I will follow."
— Education Secretary Linda McMahon

McMahon responded, "Well, it isn’t being decimated. We have reduced the size of it. However, we are taking on a backlog of cases that were left over from the Biden administration."

Watson Coleman grew visibly frustrated and accused the administration of racial bias in immigration and education policies, saying its actions amounted to "favoritism and prioritization of white over color."

In a blistering rebuke, Watson Coleman said, "Your rhetoric means nothing to me. What means something to me is the actions of this administration. I’m telling you, the Department of Education is one of the most important departments in this country. And you should feel shameful to be engaged with an administration that doesn’t give a damn."

McMahon, remaining composed, replied, "I am the secretary of Education who has been approved to run this agency by Congress. And I was appointed by the president. And I serve at his pleasure under his mandate. So, therefore, the direction of his administration is what I will follow."

The exchange came as part of a larger hearing in which McMahon laid out President Donald Trump’s 2026 education budget proposal, which calls for a $12 billion cut to the Education Department, a 15% reduction.

McMahon described her work as the department’s "final mission": to wind it down and restore education oversight to states, parents and local educators.

"Let’s focus on literacy. What we’re seeing in those scores is a failure of our students to learn to read," McMahon said. "We’ve lost the fundamentals."

Chairman Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Ala., praised McMahon’s approach, noting, "Despite $3 trillion in federal education spending since 1980, student achievement has not improved. The answer is not more money. It’s more accountability and local control."

The plan consolidates 18 federal programs into a single $2 billion block grant to states. Democrats labeled the proposal as a backdoor effort to gut federal support for public schools.

On student loans, McMahon said the department has begun recovering repayments after years of Biden-era pauses and confusion.

"Since we restarted collections in May, we have recovered nearly $100 million," she said.

She also defended staffing cuts and administrative restructuring, stating, "We’re delivering on all of our statutory requirements with fewer people and lower overhead."

Republicans on the subcommittee shared their support for charter schools and school choice. McMahon, in agreement, pointed to a proposed $60 million increase in charter school funding.

"We’ve got about a million students on charter school waiting lists," she said. "Parents should be deciding where their children can go to school and get the best education."

Democrats also criticized McMahon for not defending early childhood education, particularly Head Start, even though the program technically falls under the Department of Health and Human Services.

"Every Head Start program in the country has three days of funding. That’s not someone else’s problem. It’s America’s children," said Rep. Josh Harder, D-Calif.

McMahon responded, "The earlier we can start education, the better, but I don’t believe the federal government is responsible for everything. That’s where states can lead."

The Trump administration also defended its position forcefully outside the hearing room.

"On the topic of corruption, let’s not forget that the Department of Education was created by President Carter in an attempt to win voters," Savannah Newhouse, Education Department press secretary, said in a statement to Fox News Digital following the exchange.

"Since then, we have spent over $3 trillion pretending the department is necessary as student learning outcomes have not improved," she continued. "While the congresswoman from New Jersey basks in her five minutes of fame, the Trump administration is working to improve student outcomes and ensure American families have access to the quality education that they deserve."

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Fifth round of nuclear talks set for Friday in Rome as Iran insists on right to enrich

2025-05-22

[IsraelTimes] Tehran agrees to more talks though US has said it cannot enrich uranium; Netanyahu says he’d welcome deal that bars regime from enriching, ensures it can’t build bomb

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...
and the United States will hold the next round of talks on the Islamic Theocratic Republic’s nuclear program in Rome later this week, Tehran and mediator Oman said Wednesday.

The arch-foes have held four rounds of nuclear talks since April 12, the highest-level contact between them since US President Donald Trump
...dictatorial for repealing some (but not all) of the diktats of his predecessor, misogynistic because he likes pretty girls, homophobic because he doesn't think gender bending should be mandatory, truly a man for all seasons...
abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal during his first term.

"The 5th round of Iran-US talks will take place in Rome this Friday," Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said in a post on X.

Iran confirmed it would attend the meeting.

Iranian Foreign Ministry front man Esmaeil Baqaei said in a statement that Tehran had agreed "to a proposal put forward by (mediator) Oman... to organize another round of Iran-US talks" in the Italian capital on Friday.

The talks aim for a new agreement that would curb Iran’s nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief.

Western countries, including the United States, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire atomic weapons, while Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

However,
denial ain't just a river in Egypt...
the Islamic Theocratic Republic, which is sworn to the destruction of Israel, currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, which has no peaceful application, and has obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities.

The level of enrichment is far above the 3.67% limit set in the 2015 deal but below the 90% needed for a nuclear warhead.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...>
, expressed doubt this week over the talks.

"We don’t think it will lead to any outcome. We don’t know what will happen," he said.

Denying Iran’s right to enrich uranium was "a big mistake," Khamenei added.

His remarks came after the United States’ key negotiator in the talks, Steve Witkoff, voiced opposition to any Iranian uranium enrichment.

"An enrichment programme can never exist in the state of Iran ever again. That’s our red line. No enrichment," he told right-wing Breitbart News in an interview published on May 9.

Iran has repeatedly insisted its right to maintain uranium enrichment was "non-negotiable."

On Sunday, its Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran would keep enriching uranium "with or without a deal" on his country’s nuclear program.

Trump effectively torpedoed the deal in 2018 during his first term by unilaterally pulling out and reimposing sanctions on Iran’s oil exports and banking sector.

A year later, Iran began rolling back its commitments to the agreement, which had offered sanctions relief in return for UN-monitored restrictions on its nuclear activities.

The three European powers — party to the 2015 accord — are weighing whether to trigger the "snapback" mechanism, which would reinstate UN sanctions in response to Iranian non-compliance. That option expires in October.

Araghchi earlier this month warned of "irreversible" consequences if Britannia, La Belle France, and Germany moved to reimpose sanctions.

CNN
...formerly the Cable News Network, now who know what it might stand for...
reported Tuesday that new intelligence obtained by Washington suggests that Israel is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, though it was not clear if Jerusalem had made a final decision on the matter.

"Iran remains a serious threat against Israel," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a presser on Wednesday night, stressing that Israel is "in full coordination with the US. We talk to them all the time. We hope that it’s possible to reach an agreement that will prevent a nuclear weapon from Iran."

"That means it will prevent Iran from having the ability to enrich uranium. If it is reached, of course, we will welcome it," he said, before warning that "Israel reserves the right to defend itself against a regime that threatens to destroy us."

Link

The Grand Turk

Israel, Turkey said to agree to prevent clashes in Syria, establish hotline

2025-05-22

[IsraelTimes] Report says agreement in principle reached after over month of talks; discussions ongoing over Palmyra bases, Turkish deployment of air defenses and radars

Israel and ~~The Sick Man of Europe~~ Turkey
...a NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
member, but not the most reliable...
have reached an agreement in principle aimed at preventing any unwanted incidents between both countries’ militaries operating in Syria, and established a hotline to avert such conflicts, according to media reports on Wednesday.

An Israeli official told the Israel Hayom daily that the deal was reached Wednesday, after over a month of talks mediated by Azerbaijan, a mutual ally of the two countries, which were confirmed by the Prime Minister’s Office last month.

A hotline will be used to avert festivities between Israel, which has troops in the south of the country, and Turkey, whose military is operating in the north of the country, two sources familiar with the issue told the Middle East Eye news site.

Russia and Israel also established a hotline in 2015 to avoid festivities between their air forces, as Israel worked to prevent 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...
from gaining a military foothold in the country, and Russia provided military support for the Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Scourge of Qusayr...
regime amid the Syrian civil war.

A source familiar with the talks told the site that Jerusalem was generally at ease with Ankara’s deployment of its forces in Syria, with the main issue over where Turkey would deploy its air defenses and radars, which could scan for Israeli aerial activities. The negotiations are now "focusing on the so-called Palmyra line" — an area where Turkey sought to take over airbases.

Rooters reported last month that Ottoman Turkish military teams reviewed at least three air bases in Syria near Palmyra where they might deploy forces as part of a planned joint defense pact, before Israel hit the sites with ~~Arclight~~ airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s, rendering them unusable.

"Those bases represent a gray zone; the Israelis could be amenable to Ottoman Turkish deployments north of that area," the source said.

Ottoman Turkish military officials said they had nothing to announce on the matter.

Israel has accused Turkey of trying to turn Syria into a Ottoman Turkish protectorate, and Ankara has slammed Israeli military activity in the country following the fall of Assad.

Following the fall of Assad, Israel has also carried out a campaign to destroy Syrian military capabilities so that they cannot threaten Israel. It fears that if Turkey establishes a military presence in Syria, it could hamper the Israeli Air Force’s freedom of action in the region.

Israel also moved troops into the Syrian side of the two countries’ demilitarized buffer zone, citing fear that it would fall into the wrong hands.

Meanwhile,
...back at the pie fight, Bella went down under the weight of the custard...
Israel has been holding secret talks with Syrian officials, including on the possibility of the new regime joining the Abraham Accords, according to a report released last week, a day after US President Donald Trump
...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried....
invited new Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa to join the accords and normalize ties with Israel.

Turkey is a key backer of the Islamist-led coalition that toppled Assad late last year after almost 14 years of civil war. Israel is wary of the Islamist presence on its border and has lobbied the United States to curb Turkey’s growing influence in the country.

Turkey’s President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First
...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important...
is an avowed supporter of Hamas
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
and one of the leading critics of Israel on the world stage, and his country has frequently praised the Iran-backed Paleostinian terror group’s October 7, 2023, attack that started the ongoing war, when thousands of turbans invaded southern 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, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.

Less than a month after the October 7 attack, Erdogan, whose government had only recently restored full diplomatic ties with Israel, massively stepped up his criticism of the Jewish state. In late October 2023, he asserted that Hamas was not a terrorist organization but a liberation group of "mujahideen" fighting for its lands and people, and said in an address to a mass pro-Paleostinian rally in Istanbul that his country was making preparations to proclaim Israel a "war criminal" for its actions in Gaza.

Israel announced it would pull its diplomats out of Turkey in response to Erdogan’s inflammatory statements.

Turkey also hosts several Hamas officials and has repeatedly invited the group’s leaders the the country for meetings.

Israel was a long-time regional ally of Turkey before Erdogan came to power, but ties imploded after a 2010 Israeli commando raid on the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara ship, part of a blockade-busting flotilla, that left 10 Ottoman Turkish activists dead who attacked IDF soldiers aboard the ship. Netanyahu and Erdogan repeatedly aimed brickbats at each other in the ensuing years. Erdogan has repeatedly compared Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler
Hitler

...late Fuehrer of Germany, founder of the Third Reich, currently communing with his pals Himmler and Heydrich. He is reincarnated every few days, sometimes every few hour if it's an election year, as a politician somebody doesn't like...
and Israel to Nazi Germany.

Link

Government Corruption

Federal judge slaps hold on new Oklahoma immigration law

2025-05-21

Of course he did. Note should be taken of those judges blocking MAGA initiatives at all levels, with a view to replacing them or something.

[FoxNews] The law was passed over a year ago but was delayed due to a legal challenge by the Biden Justice Department

A federal judge in Oklahoma has put a two-week hold on a 2024 state law coming into force that criminalizes illegal immigrants living in the state, a decision that was welcomed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) but drew a strong rebuke from the state’s attorney general, who blasted the decision as "outrageous."

Federal District Judge Bernard Jones on Tuesday ruled that House Bill 4156 may not be enforced for at least 14 days while a court challenge proceeds.

The law creates the crime of "impermissible occupation" and empowers state and local law enforcement officers to arrest immigrants suspected of being in the U.S. illegally.

A first offense under the law is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of $500, and a second offense is a felony that could result in up to two years in prison. The law also requires a person to leave the state within 72 hours of conviction or release from custody.

The bill was signed into law in April 2024 but was held up from taking force due to a lawsuit filed by the Biden administration challenging its constitutionality in that it violates the federal government’s immigration authority, which led to a pause in enforcement.

However, the new Trump Justice Department decided to drop the federal government’s case in March.

That led to two unnamed undocumented immigrants and the ACLU representing a local advocacy group filing a new lawsuit, which prompted Jones to issue another temporary injunction on Tuesday.

Jones said that their case is likely to succeed in court, adding that he will consider a longer-term injunction of the law after a court hearing in early June.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond blasted the delayed enforcement, writing on X that "it is outrageous that Oklahoma is once again prohibited from enforcement of HB 4156."

He said it was critical to the state’s efforts to shut down illegal marijuana grows, fentanyl distribution and other illegal activities.

Drummond also blasted the judge for allowing the case to proceed despite two of the plaintiffs being anonymous because to reveal their identities would "expos(e) them to federal authorities" for federal lawbreaking, he said, quoting the judge.

"In the name of federal law, the court is protecting admitted lawbreakers from federal and state consequences," Drummond said in a statement. "This is perverse, contrary to the rule of law and we will be evaluating all options for challenging the ruling."

Tamya Cox-Touré, the executive director for the ACLU of Oklahoma, said the decision was a victory for immigrants' rights.

"But the damage of HB 4156 and the national rhetoric repeated by local politicians has already created an environment of fear in our state," Cox-Touré said. No matter what someone looks like, sounds like, or what their immigration status may be, they should feel safe in their own communities. We will continue to fight for the rights and dignity of immigrants and their families."

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

New US intel suggests Israel readying to strike Iranian nuclear facilities; crude oil prices up on rumour

2025-05-21

Brilliant insight that anyone paying the least bit of attention has known for at least a decade. But what can Iran do about it if they do? Israel destroyed their anti-aircraft system last year, and there’s no word Russia sold them a replacement — though if they did, Israel can just destroy it again in a single night’s work.

[IsraelTimes] CNN says it’s unclear whether Israeli leaders have made a final decision to attack, though one source says likelihood they will do so ‘has gone up significantly in recent months’

New intelligence obtained by the United States suggests that Israel is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, CNN
...formerly the Cable News Network, now who know what it might stand for...
reported on Tuesday, citing multiple US officials familiar with the intelligence.

It was not clear whether Israeli leaders have made a final decision and there was disagreement within the US government about whether they would ultimately decide to carry out strikes, CNN added, citing the officials.

The report could not immediately be confirmed. The National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Israeli Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond, nor did the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, which was contacted after hours.

One source familiar with the intelligence told CNN the likelihood of an Israeli strike on an Iranian nuclear facility "has gone up significantly in recent months."

The person added that the chance of a strike would be more likely if the US reached a deal with 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...
that did not remove all of the country’s uranium, CNN added.

US President Donald Trump
...The Hero of Butler, Pennsylvania...
’s administration has been conducting negotiations with Iran aimed at achieving a diplomatic deal over its nuclear program, and the CNN report quoted US officials as saying that an Israeli strike would mark a major break with Trump.

The new intelligence was based on the public and private communications from senior Israeli officials as well as intercepted Israeli communications and observations of Israeli military movements that could suggest an imminent strike, CNN reported.

CNN cited two sources saying that among the military preparations the US had observed were the movement of air munitions and the completion of an air exercise, though the report noted the moves could be part of an Israeli pressure campaign against Iran rather than an indicator of a possible strike.

Earlier on Tuesday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...>
said US demands that Tehran stop enriching uranium are "excessive and outrageous," state media reported, voicing doubts over whether talks on a new nuclear deal will succeed.

With the negotiations ongoing, a source that CNN described as familiar with the Trump administration’s thinking said the US is unlikely to assist Israel in striking Iran’s nuclear program right now, while an American official said intelligence efforts were ramping up to help if Israeli leaders decide to attack.

The report also cited a source familiar with the matter saying that Israel does not have the means to take out Iran’s nuclear program without US help, though an Israeli source said Israel was ready to act alone if Washington negotiates a "bad deal" with Tehran that is unacceptable to Jerusalem.

"I think it’s more likely they strike to try and get the deal to fall apart if they think Trump is going to settle for a ’bad deal,’" a person familiar with US intelligence told CNN. "The Israelis have not been shy about signaling that to us... both publicly and privately."

CNN’s reporting follows a report in The New York Times

...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize...
last month on how Trump "waved off" a planned Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear program that would require US military support.

While backing nuclear diplomacy, he has also warned of potential military action if it fails. Iran and the United States so far have held four rounds of Omani-mediated talks since April 12, the highest-level contact between the two foes since Trump abandoned the 2015 nuclear accord during his first term in office..

They had confirmed plans to hold another round of discussions during their last meeting on May 11, which Iran described as "difficult but useful," while a US official said Washington was "encouraged."

Trump has said he presented Iran’s leadership with an "olive branch," adding that it was an offer that would not last forever.

He further threatened to impose "massive maximum pressure," including driving Iranian oil exports to zero if talks failed.

Trump later doubled down on his warning, saying that "something bad is going to happen" unless the Iranians "move quickly" toward a deal. CNN reported that s senior Western diplomat who met with Trump said the US president indicated he would give the talks weeks before turning to a military option if no diplomatic breakthrough is reached.

Oil prices surge following report Israel prepping strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities

[IsraelTimes] Crude prices surge following a report that US intelligence suggested Israel is planning a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, which would send geopolitical tensions into overdrive and fuel regional conflict fears.

While safe haven gold pushes almost two percent higher, the news from CNN appears to be having little detrimental effect on Asian equities in early trade, with most extending the previous day’s rally.

Both main crude contracts jump almost two percent after CNN reported multiple US officials as saying the government had received intelligence indicating Israel was preparing to target Iranian atomic facilities.

There are fears that such a sharp escalation could tip the Middle East into a war.

Link

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