Recent Appearances...

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Hello !
Recent Appearances...

Ali Khamenei

Learned Elders of Islam

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

20020611

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Top Iranian Cleric Demands Trump's Execution, Trump unimpressed

2025-07-10

[Breitbart] Leading Iranian cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami called for the execution of President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a sermon in Tehran on Friday.

Khatami accused Trump and Netanyahu of “murdering” tens of thousands of people in Gaza, as well as Iran’s top terrorism coordinator Qasem Soleimani, who was liquidated in Baghdad by a 2020 airstrike ordered by President Trump.

The Iranian regime has commanded its subjects to regard Soleimani as a religious “martyr,” but many Iranians refuse to show the mandatory respect to the slain Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) general.

The crowd at Khatami’s sermon, however, seemed to be on the same page as the fire-breathing cleric, chanting “Death to America,” “Death to England,” and “Death to Israel” as he called for Trump and Netanyahu to be executed. “Death to England” is a hardy perennial in Iranian murder chants.

“You are murderers, you need to be punished,” Khatami railed, aiming his diatribe at the American and Israeli leaders and pronouncing them both guilty of capital offenses under Islamic law, including “sowing corruption in the land” and “fighting Allah and his messenger.”

“The ruling regarding Trump and Netanyahu, according to sharia, is that the pair of them should be executed,” he declared.

Last week, a group of senior Shiite clerics in Iran issued fatwas, or religious edicts, condemning both Trump and Netanyahu. The fatwas damned them as moharebs, or warlords who fight against Allah, the same charge Khatami leveled in his sermon calling for their execution. The earlier religious orders said it was a crime for Trump and Netanyahu to discuss targeting Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iranian dissidents denounced the fatwas as clear incitement for terrorist attacks against the United States and Israel. The regime in Tehran has long threatened revenge for the death of Soleimani, at a “time and place of its own choosing,” as governments that sponsor terrorism are prone to saying.

Iranian state television sought to put an $80 million bounty on Donald Trump’s head during Soleimani’s funeral in 2020, and then tried to crowdsource the blood money by encouraging 80 million Muslims to chip in one dollar apiece.

In December 2023, an Iranian court “ruled” that Trump, his former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, the CIA, the Pentagon, and various other U.S. government entities and defense contractors should pay Iran $50 billion to “compensate” for the death of Soleimani and “deter future violations.” The case was ostensibly brought to court as a class action by over 3,000 Iranian nationals.

Trump’s bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites, during the finale of Israel’s 12-day Operation Rising Lion to take out Iran’s illegal nuclear weapons program, will doubtless be added to Iran’s threats of revenge.

Ayatollah Khatami and the mullahs who issued the fatwas claimed to be more upset about Netanyahu declaring Supreme Leader Khamenei to be a legitimate target during Operation Rising Lion, and Trump chiding Khamenei to show a little gratitude for talking the Israelis out of killing him.

Courtesy of Skidmark:

Trump fires back after Iranian official's chilling Mar-a-Lago sunbathing assassination threat

[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] President Donald Trump fired back after an Iranian official offered a chilling warning, saying the president was not safe outside at his Mar-a-Lago home and could be assassinated.

'Trump has done something that he can no longer sunbathe in Mar-a-Lago. As he lies there with his stomach to the sun, a small drone might hit him in the navel. It's very simple,' said Javad Larijani, a senior advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader, said on Iranian TV.

The threat comes just weeks after a top Iranian cleric issued a fatwa against Trump, declaring him an 'enemy of God.'

Trump doesn't usually sunbathe, but he's a regular on the outdoor patio at his Palm Beach home where he talks to the crowd and sits down for a meal.

The president shrugged off the threat when asked about it and said he hasn't sunbathed in years, since he was seven years old.

'It's been a long time. Maybe I was around seven or so,' he said when asked the last time he lay in the sun. 'I'm not too big into it.'

He added he wasn't convinced Iran was targeting him. 'Yeah, I guess it's a threat. I'm not sure it's a threat, actually, but perhaps it is,' he told reporters at the White House on Wednesday.

The area around Mar-a-Lago, which sits on the barrier island in Palm Beach, is a no-fly zone. Security is both heavy and visible. Police helicopters patrol the skies and gunboats sit on the waterway next to the club grounds.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran's President Says Israel Attempted His Assassination

2025-07-08

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told American journalist Tucker Carlson that Israeli authorities had attempted to assassinate him. The interview appeared on the journalist's website on July 7.

“Yes, they tried, they acted accordingly, but they failed,” the Iranian leader said in response to Carlson’s question on the matter.

Pezeshkian noted that he was at a meeting where the future of the country was being discussed, while Israel attempted to strike the area where the meeting was taking place.

He added that this attempt was made about a year and a half ago, and the United States was not involved in it.
They're better now.
Earlier, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that Israel's goal in the conflict with Iran is not a change of power in the Islamic Republic. He named three declared goals of the Zionist regime: the elimination of the nuclear program, the elimination of the missile program, and the elimination of the Iranian command.

Later, US President Donald Trump did not rule out the possibility of a change of power in Iran if the current leadership fails to implement the slogan "Make Iran Great Again." Russian leader Vladimir Putin, in a conversation with the heads of international news agencies, refused to discuss the possibility of Israel killing Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the reaction to this.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Khamenei entered Imam Khomeini Hosseiniyeh for Ashura night mourning ceremony

2025-07-06

[X]

This is the moment Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei entered Imam Khomeini Hosseiniyeh for Ashura night mourning ceremony. https://t.co/PmkC43s3OZ pic.twitter.com/Z867RQp8GP
— Clash Report (@clashreport) July 5, 2025

Very impressive. Who was the choreographer?

Once they’ve been trained, they need no signal to throw their version of the Nazi salute and shout the traditional slogans.

Iran’s supreme leader makes first public appearance since start of war with Israel

[IsraelTimes] Footage showed 86-year-old leader waving to chanting crowd gathered at a mosque in Tehran, but he did not deliver any public address

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...>
on Saturday made his first public appearance since the 12-day war between Israel and 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...
began last month, attending a mourning ceremony on the eve of Ashoura.

Khamenei’s absence during the war suggested that there was heavy security for the Iranian leader, who has the final say on all state matters.

State TV in Iran showed the 86-year-old leader waving and nodding to the chanting crowd, which rose to its feet as he entered and sat at a mosque next to his office and residence in the capital, Tehran.

There was no immediate report on any public statement made. Iranian officials such as the Parliament speaker were present. Such events are always held under heavy security.

Khamenei had reportedly sheltered in a bunker for the duration of the war, and after, for fear of being assassinated. He had instead issued pre-taped messages, and state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
had aired his pre-recorded remarks.

His last public appearance before the outbreak of war on June 13 was two days before that, when he met with members of parliament.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Fatwa Calling for Muslims to Assassinate President Trump, PM Netanyahu Issued by Iranian Ayatollah

2025-06-30

[GatewayPundit] If I recall correctly, they both were already under threat from Muslim assassins, including inspired by Iran.

IRAN: Grand Ayatollah tells "Muslims of world" to kill POTUS Trump.

Makarem Shirazi: "Anyone threatening or acting against Supreme Leader is Mohareb (enemy of Allah, designated for killing)... If harm comes to you in this mission, you will be recognized as (warriors) of Allah." pic.twitter.com/nwofafw7Zp
— Khosro K Isfahani (@KhosroIsfahani) June 29, 2025

Iranian Shiite Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, 98, issued a fatwa calling on Muslims worldwide to assassinate President Donald Trump, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The semi-official Iranian news outlet Mehr News Agency reported on its English language site on Sunday (excerpt):

Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi has issued a fatwa in which he declares anyone who threatens Leader, and Shia Marja to be the Enemy of God, who has to be fought against according to Islamic teachings.

After threats were made by the criminal American president

…Trump….

and the leaders of the child-killing Zionist regime

…Netanyahu…

against the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and the senior Shiite clerics known as Marja, a group of believers submitted a request to His Eminence Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi regarding the duties of Muslims in response to such threats. Grand Ayatollah Makarem response to the question put forward by his followers is as follows:

"Any person or regime that threatens the Leader or Marja (May God forbid) is considered an enemy of God," Grand Ayatollah Makarem said in his Fatwa, which is a response to the question to him.

This is a popular one: Elmerert Hupens2660 and NoMoreBS also submitted this story.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Khamenei adviser rumored killed by Israel makes first public appearance at funeral

2025-06-29

If at first Israel doesn’t succeed…

[Rudaw] Ali Shamkhani, a senior advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...>
, was severely injured in Israel’s first wave of strikes. On Saturday he made his first public appearance at a funeral for dozens of people killed in the war with Israel, and he described the moment the room he was in was hit.

Shamkhani said he was asleep in his room when it collapsed under an Israeli strike, leaving him trapped beneath the rubble for three hours. "My whole room collapsed, a lot of debris fell on me," he told state TV. "At first, I thought it was an earthquake."

With limited oxygen, Shamkhani began digging with his foot in an attempt to free himself. "I was taking small, sharp breaths. It wasn’t even a breath," he recalled.

Rescue workers searching for survivors heard him shouting and called out, "He’s here!"

"I wasn’t afraid for a moment. I said I was going to die... I’ve lived my life. Let’s see how long I live," he said.
"We're taking bets"
Shamkhani, a key figure in Iran’s military and political establishment, has held senior roles across both the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the regular army.

He served as defense minister from 1997 to 2005 and later as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from 2013 to 2023, where he oversaw national security and nuclear diplomacy. Known for bridging reformist and conservative camps, Shamkhani has played a lasting role in shaping Iran’s regional and strategic policies.

He was wrongly reported killed in Israel’s first strikes on Iranian military leadership and nuclear sites on June 13.

"They knew why they targeted me, and I know why they targeted me," Shamkhani said.

On June 21 he posted on social media that he had been injured.

In its operation against Iran, Israel targeted the top echelon of Iran’s military, killing many senior commanders including IRGC commander General Hossein Salami, chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri, head of IRGC’s main operational command General Gholam Ali Rashid, and head of the IRGC’s aerospace division General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.

"These soldiers, my dear brothers, who were all martyred, were friends, comrades, and fellow soldiers," said Shamkhani. He described them as "the minds and pillars of Iran’s authority" with whom he used to plot strategy.

The commanders were all quickly replaced and 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...
began a retaliation campaign that had been pre-planned as a contingency.

"We predicted that we would be attacked, so what happened next was based on the decisions of the Supreme Leader during these meetings. We knew what to do if this happened and we knew what our capabilities were," Shamkhani said.

His interview was done on the sidelines of a large, state funeral ceremony for around 60 people, including military personnel, scientists, and civilians killed in the war with Israel. The event grew massive crowds.

President Masoud Pezeshkian joined brass hats at the funeral, as did Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba.

The conflict brought an end to indirect nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has ruled out the possibility of resuming the talks, though US President Donald Trump
...The Hero of Butler, Pennsylvania...
has said he expects they will meet.

Shamkhani said that the US was not negotiating with Iran with the goal of reaching a nuclear deal, but in order to "provoke the internal situation in the country and force them to protest."

Those behind the conflict believed "that with a single action, Iran’s internal situation will be ripe for an uprising," he said, but added that Iranians have repeatedly demonstrated their commitment to national illusory sovereignty.

"Now it is our duty to resolve even the smallest disagreement [with the people]," he added.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

VDH - In the End, Everyone Hated the Iranian Theocracy

2025-06-29

[Townhall] It is hard even to digest the incredible train of events of the last few days in the Middle East.

Iran had been reduced to an anemic, performance-art missile attack on our base in Qatar -- the last Parthian shot from a terrified regime, desperate for an out -- and a ceasefire.

Iran would have been better off not launching such a ceremonial but ultimately humiliating proof of impotence.

Even worse for the theocracy, Iran's temporary reprieve came from the now magnanimous but still hated U.S. President Donald Trump.

So ends the creepy mystique of the supposedly indomitable terror state of Iran, the bane of the last seven American presidents over half a century.

For Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, it was hard to swallow that U.S. bombers got their permission to fly into Iranian airspace from the Israeli air force.

A good simile is that Trump put a pot of water on the stove, told Iran to jump in, put the lid over them, then smiled, turned up the heat -- and will now let them stew.

As postbellum realities now simmer in Iran, the theocracy is left explaining the inexplicable to its humiliated military and shocked but soon-to-be-furious populace. All the regime's blood-curdling rhetoric, apocalyptic threats against Israel, goose-stepping thugs, and shiny new missiles ended in less than nothing.

A trillion dollars and five decades' worth of missiles and centrifuges are now up in smoke. That money might have otherwise saved Iranians from the impoverishment of the last 50 years.

How about the little Satan Israel, to which Iran for nearly 50 years promised extinction?

Israel had destroyed Iran's expeditionary terrorists, Iran's defenses, its nuclear viability, and the absurd mythology of Iranian military competence. And worse, Israel showed it could repeat all that destruction when and if necessary.

So, the most hated regime in the world crawled into the boiling pot because it looked around in vain for someone to void Trump's ultimatum for a cease and desist.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Dozens of Iranian Jews said summoned for questioning on suspicion of having ties to Israel

2025-06-29

[IsraelTimes] Iranian woman tells Israeli news outlet that she witnessed the arrest of 10 Jewish neighbors, says women were released but men still in custody

Iranian authorities have summoned at least 35 Jews for questioning about their ties to Israel in the aftermath of the 12-day conflict between the two countries, a human rights
...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions...
organization reported on Saturday, amid unconfirmed reports that several Jewish community leaders had been arrested on suspicion of having ties to Israel.

Iranian authorities have cracked down on anyone they suspect of having ties to Israel in the wake of the war it launched against the Islamic Theocratic Republic’s nuclear program on June 13. Since then, more than 700 people have been arrested, Iran’s Fars news agency reported on Thursday.

According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), at least 35 Jews from Tehran and Shiraz have been called in for questioning since June 23 — the day before the US announced that a ceasefire deal had been reached.

It said that those called in for questioning were primarily interrogated about relatives who live in Israel and were warned not to contact them, or anyone else abroad, for the time being.

An unnamed member of the Iranian Jewish community told HRANA that the number of people from the community who had been summoned for questioning was "unprecedented" and that there were concerns about "the psychological and social well-being" of the community as a result.

Also on Saturday, an Iranian woman told Israel’s Channel 12 news outlet that she had witnessed the arrest of 10 Iranian Jews in recent days.

The woman, identified only as Miriam, told the news outlet that she saw six Jewish women and four Jewish men being arrested at 1:30 am on a recent morning.

Miriam, whom Channel 12 says it has spoken with in the past for reports on life in Iran, said that gunnies "jumped over the wall" into the courtyard of the area where she lives, threatened residents and told them to hand over their phones.

"I had hidden mine under the carpet as soon as I heard their voices," she said.

"They took away 10 people simply because they are Jewish... loading them like sheep into the car," she said.

The six women have since been released on bail, she said.

Miriam’s account appeared to correspond with unconfirmed reports from Friday which claimed that several Jewish community leaders had been arrested on suspicion of having ties to Israel.

The French-Iranian women’s rights group Femme Azadi reported that rabbis and other religious leaders in both Tehran and Shiraz were accused of having a connection to Israel without any evidence.

Meanwhile,
...back at the wrecked scow, Agent 49 felt gingerly for his head. It was still there. He had been hoping differently...
Israel’s Ynet news outlet had reported that Iranian authorities arrested multiple members of one family and confiscated their electronic devices.

It said that the women were later released from custody, but the men, one of whom it said is a rabbi, remained in detention.

Rani Amrani, from an Israeli radio station called Ran Radio, said on Saturday that the Iranian Jewish community had recently organized a gathering, attended by its rabbis and by many Iranian Jews who serve in the Iranian army, designed to "avert any suspicion of spying or, heaven forbid, betrayal."

It was unclear if the event she was talking about was the same event publicized by Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency, which on Thursday published photos of the Jewish community in Tehran gathering at the Abrishami Synagogue for an event in support of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei
...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...>
and the Iranian military after the war with Israel.

Between 8,000 to 10,000 Jews are believed to live in Iran
Iran

Link

Caribbean-Latin America

Argentina: Judge OKs Putting Former Iranian Officials on Trial for Terrorism

2025-06-29

[Breitbart] A judge in Argentina ruled on Thursday that the country could place ten Iranian and Lebanese citizens — including the recently appointed head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) — on trial in absentia for their suspected roles in the 1994 bombing of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA).

Known locally as the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina, a very fancy name for the Buenos Aires Jewish community center, the Jewish version of the YMCA.

The AMIA bombing killed 85 people and left hundreds injured; it was the deadliest terrorist attack in the history of the Western Hemisphere at the time and retained the title until September 11, 2001. The individuals approved for an in-absentia trial on Thursday are Iranian current and former officials and suspected members of the Iranian proxy terrorist organization Hezbollah — all Iranian and Lebanese citizens.

Argentine authorities identified these individuals decades ago — and some others who have since died — as the masterminds and executers of the attack as well as the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, which killed another 29 people. Iran has adamantly rejected any evidence linking it to the attack, condemned Argentine officials for seeking justice in the case, and have been otherwise uncooperative with the investigation. The significant evidence against the individuals in question led Interpol to issue red notices, requests for arrest, in 2006 for several senior Iranian officials.

Argentina has traditionally not permitted in-absentia trials. Under current President Javier Milei — who recently declared Iran an “enemy of Argentina” following a visit to Israel — the Argentine Senate passed a law in February that legalized in-absentia trials. The AMIA case is the first and most high-profile attempt to implement the law since it passed.

Judge Daniel Rafecas approved such trials for ten fugitives. The most prominent name on the list is the commander of the IRGC, General Ahmad Vahidi, who received the title this month after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) eliminated his predecessor, Major General Hossein Salami, in an airstrike on June 13. Israeli launched a military operation that day to contain Iran’s threats of attack after the United Nations declared Iran in breach of international legal obligations regarding nuclear non-proliferation. The IRGC is a win of the Iranian armed forces and a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.

Others approved for in-absentia trials include two current members of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council, a top government body, Ali Akbar Velayati and Mohsen Rezai. Rezai is also a senior IRGC officer. Rafecas approved trials for cleric Mohsen Rabbani, Iranian official Ali Fallahijan, and several Lebanese accused Hezbollah members.

The individuals in question have never presented themselves before the Argentine legal system despite being wanted for decades. The attorneys tasked with their defense at the court argued that in-absentia trials were unconstitutional in the country, but failed. Judge Rafecas did assert, however, that in-absentia trials should be limited to special cases in which no other viable option exists and the absence of such a legal process would actively deprive the victims of a grievous crime of justice.

“Especially in grave international crimes (genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity), the accused are military or political leaders with resources to hide or flee countries without extradition,” the judge wrote in his ruling, according to the Argentine newspaper Clarín. Without such a trial, the individuals “may remain indefinitely fugitives and the cases could remain paralyzed… and depriving victims of justice.”

Rafecas also warned that, “in situations of war crimes or terrorism, not judging the accused could weaken the [public] trust in the justice system.”

Argentina’s road to justice for the AMIA victims has been a long and dangerous one, impeded for years by leftist governments seeking to improve diplomatic ties with the Iranian regime. While years of research led to the Interpol red notices in 2006, no significant action to enforce those notices was taken for nearly a decade. In a breakthrough for the case, the prosecutor tasked with it, Alberto Nisman, had prepared an extensive case to present before Congress in 2015 accusing then-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of conspiring with Tehran to protect the accused perpetrators of the bombing in exchange for favorable trade deals.

The day before Nisman was to present his case before Congress — on January 15, 2015 — he was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head in his apartment. A draft arrest warrant for Fernández was found in his trash bin. His death was ruled a suicide.

Former President Mauricio Macri, who succeeded Fernández de Kirchner, rescinded her memorandum of understanding with Iran, but the case did not move forward in any other major way during his term. Fernández de Kirchner returned to power as vice president under former President Alberto Fernández (no relation) in 2019; only following the election of current President Javier Milei, who took office in 2023, did legal processes in the AMIA case accelerate.

In addition to the in-absentia trial law, the Milei administration expedited a case in the country’s Federal Criminal Cassation Court against the Iranian government and Hezbollah as organizations, finding them both responsible in April 2024 for the AMIA attack 30 years prior.

In April, prosecutor Sebastián Basso, who succeeded Alberto Nisman, requested an arrest warrant for Iranian “supreme leader” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Wikipedia on the attack:

On 18 July 1994, a suicide bomber drove a Renault Trafic van bomb loaded with about 275 kilograms (600 lb) of ammonium nitrate fertilizer and fuel oil explosive mixture,[21][22] into the Jewish Community Center building located in a densely constructed commercial area of Buenos Aires. The explosive is thought to have been arranged to focus the blast on the building 3 to 5 metres (10 to 16 ft) away, exhibiting a shaped charge or explosively formed penetrator effect.[citation needed] The exterior walls of this five-story building were of brick masonry construction, which supported the floor slabs. The air blast from the bomb totally destroyed the exposed load-bearing walls which, in turn, led to progressive failure of the floor slabs and virtually total collapse of the building

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Doubts linger over Iran's nuclear programme post US strikes

2025-06-28

[GEO.TV] Israel would have killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...>
were it possible during the countries' 12-day war, Defence Minister Israel Katz claimed on Thursday.

"I estimate that if Khamenei had been in our sights, we would have taken him out," Katz said in the interview with Israel's Kan public television.

"But Khamenei understood this, went underground to very great depths, and broke off contacts with the commanders who replaced those commanders who were eliminated, so it wasn't realistic in the end," he said.

Israel killed several top Iranian commanders and nuclear scientists on June 13 at the start of the war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump

...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party...
had both suggested at various times during the air war that Khamenei's life could be in danger as regime change could be a result of the war that ended with a US-brokered ceasefire on Tuesday.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Trump Says He Saved Khamenei From ‘Very Ugly' And ‘Ignominious' Death During War

2025-06-28

[IsraelTimes] US president says he reversed plans to remove sanctions on Iran because of supreme leader’s ‘blatant and foolish’ statement after

US President Donald Trump said Friday that he knew exactly where Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was hiding during the war and prevented Israel and US forces from killing him, saving him from an “ugly and ignominious death.”

“I saved him from a very ugly and ignominious death,” Trump said.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that Israel did not kill Khamenei because it did not know where underground he was hiding.

Trump also said Friday he would “absolutely” consider bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities if Tehran were enriching uranium to a level that concerned the US.

Trump also said he ordered Israel to turn planes around that were planning to strike Iran significantly in response to missile fire launched by Tehran after the ceasefire went into place.

“It was going to be the biggest attack of the war by far,” Trump said.

“Iran has to get back into the world order flow, or things will only get worse for them,” he warned.

“They are always so angry, hostile and unhappy, and look at what it has gotten them: A burned out, blown up country, with no future, a decimated military, a horrible economy and death all around them,” Trump continued.

“They have no hope, and it will only get worse! I wish the leadership of Iran would realize that you often get more with honey than you do with vinegar,” he said.

Trump also claimed on Friday that he reversed plans to remove sanctions against Iran after Khamenei gave a speech a day earlier declaring that Trump had “exaggerated” the impact of strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, while threatening to repeat the “slap” Tehran had dealt American forces in the region.

“During the last few days, I was working on the possible removal of sanctions, and other things, which would have given a much better chance to Iran at a full, fast, and complete recovery,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“But instead I get hit with a statement of anger, hatred, and disgust, and immediately dropped all work on sanction relief and more,” he continued, blasting Khamenei for his “blatant and foolish” statement.

“As a man of great faith, he is not supposed to lie,” Trump said, reiterating his insistence that Iran’s nuclear sites were “obliterated” in the US strikes on Sunday.

“You have to tell the truth,” Trump also said of Khamenei. “You got beat to hell.”

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran rejects nuclear talks after strikes, accuses US of overhyping damage

2025-06-27

[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...
has clearly said that it has no plans to restart nuclear talks with the United States following recent American ~~Arclight~~ airstrike
<del>Arclight</del> airstrike

...KABOOM!...
s on its nuclear sites and accused Washington of exaggerating the impact of the US strikes.

The country's foreign minister dismissed any rumours of upcoming negotiations and said no discussions or agreements had been made.

The most serious conflict yet between Israel and Iran disrupted nuclear talks between the two countries. However,
facts are stubborn; statistics are more pliable...
President Donald Trump
...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried....
said Washington would hold discussions with Tehran next week, with his special envoy Steve Witkoff expressing hope "for a comprehensive peace agreement".

But Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed what he described as "speculation" that Tehran was ready to return to the table, saying it "should not be taken seriously".

"I would like to state clearly that no agreement, arrangement or conversation has been made to start new negotiations," he said on state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
. "No plan has been set yet to start negotiations."

Araghchi's denial came as Iranian politicians passed a "binding" bill suspending cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, and after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...>
accused Trump of exaggerating the impact of US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

In a televised speech — his first appearance since a ceasefire in the war with Israel — Khamenei hailed what he called Iran's "victory" over Israel, vowed never to bow to US pressure, and insisted Washington had been dealt a humiliating "slap".

After the parliament voted, the rulers made it official

Iran vetting body approves bill suspending cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog

[IsraelTimes] Guardian Council spokesman says Iran’s ‘national sovereignty’ requires cutting ties; IAEA says it has yet to receive official communication from Tehran regarding decision

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

The 'Resurrection' of Iranian general Qaani: What Damage Israel Has Really Inflicted on Iran

2025-06-27

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Leonid Tsukanov

[REGNUM] Two weeks after the start of Israel's Operation Lion Force against Iran, the parties have put their guns away and are focusing on summing up the results. And everyone is coming up with different results.

The main controversy revolves around the first day of the clashes. The more time passes, the more the results of the operation declared by Tel Aviv diverge from reality.

And, paradoxically, the Israeli authorities have driven themselves into an image trap.

WITH AN EYE ON COLLAPSE
On June 13, almost simultaneously with the first air raids, Israeli intelligence services began a large-scale information game. The press and networks were filled with reports of the liquidation of key military and civilian officials of the Islamic Republic, the destruction of airfields and "missile cities", the death of leading nuclear physicists and fires at nuclear facilities.

Tel Aviv trumpeted: every second representative of the Iranian high command was killed.

The activity of Israeli agents sent into the country contributed to the escalation of panic. Mossad and military intelligence commandos approached headquarters and army facilities, adding to the statistics of targets hit.

The destabilization of Iranian society was carried out, among other things, from within. Mossad agents who spoke Persian called generals and representatives of the special services, threatening them and their family members with immediate liquidation if they refused to address the nation with calls to overthrow the regime.

The interesting thing being that they had the private phone numbers of such eminent persons, and apparently knew who answered the phone. Is Santa Claus a member of Mossad?

The operation was approached with intelligence: the agents managed to obtain not only the basic identification data of high-ranking officials, but also information about their dietary and daily habits, travel routes, and immediate circle of friends and acquaintances. It seemed that the highest ranks of Iran were visible to Tel Aviv as if in the palm of their hand.

They used to call people in Hezbollah, but it was easy enough to get the White Pages for that country before unlisted and cell phone numbers were a thing. In my ignorance, the current iteration suggests a thorough hacking of Iran’s phone system plus voice recognition.

The Israelis planned to release these videos to cause a government collapse in Iran.

ERROR IN CALCULATIONS
The operation to mislead the Iranian elite had every chance of success, especially in the first few hours of Lion Force, when the country's top leadership was in disarray and contact with some commanders was lost.

And the ongoing attacks on areas that were previously considered unreachable only increased the negative effect.

However, the Israelis were let down by their overconfidence.

They were convinced that videos of repentance from surviving Iranian commanders would follow one after another, and so they did not prepare alternative propaganda materials - for example, deepfakes designed for a mass audience.

By the time Tel Aviv realized that there would be no “repentance” from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the Iranian authorities had managed to recover from the initial shock and take measures to minimize information impacts. A special Internet governance regime was introduced in the country, and public statements by military personnel and officials were placed under strict control.

Moreover, in an effort to create a beautiful picture for the Western observer, the Israelis went for a substitution of concepts, putting an equal sign between the army structures and the IRGC.

As a result, it seemed that the Iranian army had indeed been left without command and control. This version was eagerly picked up by Western politicians, who vied with each other in predicting the end of the Islamic Republic.

At some point, Tel Aviv also began to believe in this state of affairs.

COLLISION WITH REALITY
As events unfolded, the Israelis, who had believed in the imminent collapse of Iranian statehood, began to encounter unpleasant surprises. The first clash with reality occurred on June 13, when Iran announced the launch of Operation True Promise 3.

Iran not only launched missiles (most of which, according to Tel Aviv, were destroyed in their silos) toward the Jewish state, but also created a constant burden on the enemy's air defense system. The strikes repeatedly hit their target.

The occasional strike did, not anywhere close to the number of missiles that took off.

This was in stark contrast to the Israelis' bravura announcement that their airspace was now "completely safe."

The second challenge was the sudden rise of patriotism in Iran for Tel Aviv. The hope of breaking the regime from within did not come true: ordinary citizens not only did not renounce the ayatollahs, but also joined in catching Israeli saboteurs operating on Iranian territory.

And the “depressed and detached” Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei acted too decisively, without being distracted by the search for compromises with either the United States or Israel.

The final blow to the image came after the active fighting had ceased, when one after another the commanders whom Israel had included on the list of those to be liquidated began to appear in public.

Among the first to appear was the commander of the elite IRGC special forces unit Al-Quds, Ismail Qaani, who suddenly appeared in a Tehran square during the celebration of the victory over Israel.

And then came the news that the political adviser to Iran's supreme leader, Ali Shamkhani, whose murder the Israelis called "an open message from Khamenei," was also almost unharmed by the raids. Moreover, during the days of the fighting, he was constantly with the leadership, helping to coordinate the response operation.

IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE TO SPLIT IT
Against the backdrop of the sudden "resurrection" of Iranian military leaders, protest voices have already been heard in Tel Aviv. Israeli "hawks" and oppositionists who previously supported the strike on Tehran are now asking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu whether the game was worth the candle.

Monday morning quarterbacking is easy. Enduring the survival of the Jewish nation requires hard choices be made quickly with imperfect information. That they are nowsafeenough to carp should suggest to them that Bibi was not wrong, andthey need to get over themselves.

Moreover, he continues to talk about the Israeli army achieving all of its goals, although from the point of view of his opponents, the operation was “largely a failure” and the strikes were symbolic.

As they would say if God himself came down from the mountain in his burning bush to tell them that Bibi was following order from on high, because they define everything Bibi does or does not do, says or does not say, as wrong, such is their loathing of the man. Much like the NeverTrumpers on this side of the pond.

Of course, it is also inappropriate to say that Israel defeated Iran solely "on paper". Tel Aviv managed to eliminate at least half of the figures it had declared. Mainly nuclear physicists, who were a priority target for the Israelis.

On the other hand, the main goal – the division of Iran into warring camps according to the Libyan scenario – was never achieved.

The main goal was to end the nuclear threat, with a secondary goal of stripping Iran of Hezbollah and Hamas (with a stretch goal of the Houthis) as useable tools with which to surround Israel and annihilate her Thus far it appears that both goals have been adequately met, pushing Iran & Co between some years and a generation into the future as threat. Possibly longer — that remains to be seen.

It is not worth excluding the possibility that the Israeli authorities will soon appoint someone to blame for creating a false information picture that has created inflated expectations among the country's population.

And given the ongoing friction between Netanyahu's cabinet and the security forces, it won't take long to find a candidate.

Yeah, yeah. Bibi is a wily old operator, forever about to fall off the cliff he dances on so beautifully.

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