Recent Appearances...

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Hello !
Recent Appearances...

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Leader receives Palestine Islamic Jihad chief

2025-02-20

[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] Fearless Leader of the Islamic Revolution
...Iran's doddering head theocrat...
Ayatollah Sayyed
Sayyed

...Arabic term meaning your/his lordship. Groveling in His Exalted Presence is encouraged...
Ali Khamenei
...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...>
said the United States' ''foolish American plan'' for 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...
would lead nowhere, Islamic Theocratic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.

Ayatollah Khamenei received the secretary-general of the Paleostinian Islamic Jihad
...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah...
movement, Ziyad al-Nakhaleh, and his accompanying delegation in Tehran on Tuesday.

The Leader congratulated the Paleostinian resistance on their victory against Israel in Gaza, where the occupying regime has been forced to enter into a ceasefire agreement with Hamas
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
after failing to dismantle the resistance groups, a chief objective of its genocidal war in the enclave.

''The great work of the leaders and fighters of the Paleostinian resistance in creating unity and cohesion and steadfastness against the enemy, and moving the complex negotiations forward, along with the patience and perseverance of the (Paleostinian) people, has brought honor to the resistance in the region,'' Ayatollah Khamenei said.

Ayatollah Khamenei noted that this victory has set ''a new benchmark'' in resistance against the occupying regime.

The Leader pointed out that the Israeli regime is now negotiating the release of its prisoners held in Gaza in exchange for a substantially larger number of Paleostinian prisoners and with the same resistance groups that it had vowed to destroy going into the war.

''Currently, global public opinion is in favor of Paleostine, and under these circumstances, no plan will succeed without the consent of the resistance and the people of Gaza,'' he said.

Ayatollah Khamenei was referring to a proposed plan by U.S. President Donald Trump
...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried....
to ''take over'' Gaza after the enclave has been forcibly cleared of its more than two million residents. The plan has been widely rejected by both the Paleostinians and the broader Arab world.

During the meeting, Nakhalah congratulated Ayatollah Khamenei on the Paleostinian victory and expressed gratitude for the Islamic Theocratic Republic's continuous support of the resistance.

''The Paleostinian resistance has, in fact, been at war with the United States and the West for the past year and a half,'' he said. ''Despite the unequal balance of (military) power, the Paleostinian resistance has been able to achieve great victories.''

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iranian Lawmaker Registers as Democrat

2025-02-08

[Breitbart] Iranian Lawmaker Publicly Threatens He ‘Will Not Hesitate’ to Assassinate President Trump

A senior Iranian lawmaker and member of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee has openly declared his intent to assassinate President Donald Trump, stating he would “not hesitate” to kill the U.S. Commander in Chief after Trump warned he would “obliterate” the Islamic theocracy if it did so.

Iranian MP Mojtaba Zarei’s remarks, which he posted on the Iranian social media messaging platform Eitaa on Wednesday in response to President Trump’s warning the Islamic republic of drastic repercussions in the event of any attempt on his life, have fueled concerns over Iran’s escalating rhetoric against the U.S.

As a mere MP of a rubber stamp parliament he can’t actually do anything about it, so paragraphs of his threats snipped.

Zarei’s statement follows a recent declaration by Kayhan newspaper — widely regarded as a mouthpiece of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei — that the Islamic Republic remains committed to avenging the death of Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian commander and terrorist mastermind responsible for the murder of hundreds of Americans, in a U.S. airstrike in 2020.

The publication suggested that carrying out an assassination against Trump is a duty of Iran’s leadership.

On Tuesday, while signing an executive order restoring his policy of “maximum pressure” on Tehran, President Trump was asked about the possible consequences for Iran if it attempted to take his life.

“If they did that, they would be obliterated,” Trump said. “That would be the end. I’ve left instructions. If they do it, they get obliterated; there won’t be anything left.”

The President acknowledged feeling “torn” over the sanctions directive, indicating a preference to “work out a deal” and suggesting he is open to negotiating with the Islamic Republic’s president.

Trump also said that Iran was “too close” to developing a nuclear weapon, and that it would not have been so close if he had continued in the presidency after 2020.

Tensions between Iran and the U.S. have remained high since the death of the former IRGC Quds Force commander, with Iranian officials repeatedly vowing retaliation.

The latest threat comes as Iranian assassination plots have been uncovered in various parts of the world, including attempted hits on U.S. officials and dissidents on American soil.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Tehran sought to lure Iranian-Israeli journalist to Turkey, kidnap him – report

2024-12-30

[IsraelTimes] Iran International’s Israel correspondent Babak Itzhaki: ‘I tip my hat to the security services, they’re watching over me’; IRGC tried, failed to recruit prisoner in Armenia for plot

Iran’s paramilitary forces reportedly plotted to kidnap an Iranian-Israeli journalist by luring him to ~~The Sick Man of Europe~~ Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
and then smuggling him into Iran, but abandoned the plan when an intermediary they recruited to participate in the plot refused to participate.

According to the IranWire dissident news site, Babak Itzhaki, the Israeli correspondent for London-based 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...
International — another opposition outlet reporting about Iran — was the target of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) plot.

The IRGC reportedly tried to recruit Mohammad Hashemzadeh, a former Iranian political prisoner who once studied with Itzhaki, to lure him and another unnamed journalist, also from Iran International, to a border city in Turkey.

Hashemzadeh, currently detained in Armenia, refused to participate in the plot. He then discussed the attempt with another Iranian journalist, who in turn told Channel 12 that the prisoner had said: "They expect me to take Babak to Turkey, and from there they’ll bring him to Iran."

Speaking to Channel 12 on Sunday, Itzhaki said he wasn’t surprised by the plot, telling the Israeli outlet, "This isn’t the first time and it won’t be the last time they plan to kidnap me. They threaten all Iran International employees around the world."

The correspondent was targeted by Iranian intelligence in an operation uncovered by the Shin Bet security agency in early 2022, which involved four Jewish Israelis who were recruited by Iranian intelligence to carry out espionage missions across the country for small payments.

So Iran was actively seeking information and attempting to acquire key hostages via this new model almost two years before Hamas exploded over the border on 10/7/2033.

Among their revealed targets were the Iran International news outlet and Itzhaki himself.

In his work for Iran International, Itzhaki has interviewed leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former president and convicted sex offender Moshe Katsav.

Speaking to the Ynet news site on Sunday, Itzhaki said, "I tip my hat to the security services, they’re watching over me, and they’re always in touch with me."

"Unfortunately, I don’t see the same from the government ministries," he said, complaining that no public officials had contacted him about the plot.

Park your ego, buddy — those closest to the issue made sure you were informed. It’s quite possible the politicians were allowed to remain ignorant.

The journalist noted previous attempts by the Islamic Theocratic Republic to harm Iran International employees and said the outlet poses a unique threat to the regime.

"We broadcast using about 15 satellites to Iran, no one can block us. Even the most remote villages, if they have a little dish they can watch us. They know that for real news they need to open Iran International. The [regime] sees this and they want to silence us," he said.

Still, he said, " "Neither threats nor acts of terror will stop our exposure of the truth. I will continue to work and to bring the truth to Iran."

Last year, Channel 12 reported that Israeli security officials gave intelligence to the United Kingdom suggesting that Iran intended to harm journalists at Iran International, leading them to move their studios from London to Washington, DC.

At the time, the dissident outlet said it was experiencing an escalation of "state-backed threats from Iran," which has declared it a terrorist organization. The station resumed operations at a new location in London last September.

Link

Caribbean-Latin America

Argentina''s Javier Milei Announces 90% Tax Reduction in 2025

2024-12-13

[BREITBART] President of Argentina
...a country located on the other side of the Deep South. It is covered with Pampers and inhabited by Grouchos, who dance the Tangle. They used to have some islands called the Malvinas located where the Falklands are now. They're not supposed to cry for Evita...
Javier Milei announced Wednesday that his administration is preparing a structural tax reform that will eliminate 90 percent of existing taxes in 2025.

Milei announced the plan, alongside other policies he seeks to implement in his second year in office, while marking the end of his first. Among them was a plan to negotiate a trade deal with President-elect Donald Trump

...The cad! Twice caught beating wimmin!...
's administration once he takes office in January.

Tuesday marked one year since Milei took office on December 10, 2023, and became Argentina's first libertarian president, succeeding socialist former President Alberto Fernandez. At the time he took office, Argentina faced a severe economic crisis that dramatically worsened as a result of Fernandez's disastrous socialist policies. Milei implemented a series of drastic ''shock therapy'' measures to avert the collapse of the country's economy and avoid a hyperinflation spiral.

Milei's policies successfully reduced the inflation rate in Argentina, dropping it from 25.5 percent in December 2023 to 2.7 percent in October 2024 while also allowing the nation to experience ten months of continued trade surplus as of November.

Additionally, Milei spearheaded a dramatic overhaul of the Argentine government during his first year, reducing the number of ministries from 18 to nine on his first day and outright replacing other institutions — such as Argentina's bloated AFIP revenue service, which was dissolved and substituted with a much smaller agency in November. The Argentine president also introduced a series of sweeping reforms that Congress passed in late June.

Milei marked his first year in office by delivering a speech in the evening hours of Tuesday in the company of his ministers and members of his administration. He reviewed the results of his policies and announced a series of upcoming measures.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Inside story: Hezbollah, Iran and the downfall of Assad

2024-12-10

[AMWAJ] The sudden downfall of Bashar Al-Assad has raised a number of questions about the thinking and roles of his supporters. First and foremost, Russia—the most powerful foreign ally of the Syrian government—played a pivotal role as events unfolded.

According to one high-ranking regional diplomatic source, Assad’s recent visit to Moscow was a turning point. While the Syrian leader was in Russia, forces led by the Sunni Islamist Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) unexpectedly seized Aleppo without a fight. Upon his return to Syria, Assad is said to have expressed anger toward his army. In private meetings, Amwaj.media has learned, he lambasted his commanders as corrupt and untrustworthy—describing his army as a collection of “thieves” who cannot be relied upon. While Assad’s Russian host and counterpart, Vladimir Putin, had promised assistance, the senior regional source suggested that this support was limited to ensuring a safe exit. Given that Assad and his wife are now apparently in Russia, this promise has been kept—at least for now.

The source also provided insights into earlier negotiations on Syria. Proposals for dialogue between the opposition and the government were discussed, with Turkey playing a significant role. Ankara reportedly instructed the opposition to act with restraint, and there was even coordination with the former Syrian prime minister to lead a transitional phase aimed at forming a new state. But none of these efforts really took off, partly due to the reticence of Assad to usher change. In parallel, informed sources in Tehran told Amwaj.media, the Turks allegedly blindsided both Iran and Russia by insisting that movement spotted among rebels in Idlib in recent months was nothing to worry about.

Then there is the role of Iran, the Assad family’s longstanding regional ally. Seeing an armed rebellion take shape amid the Arab Spring protests, the Islamic Republic dispatched its expeditionary Quds Force to save its Syrian partner with blood and great treasure.

Although the tide was turned against Sunni rebels and fighting frozen for the past four years, western sanctions gradually hollowed out the Syrian state. As the government in Damascus turned to large-scale drug trafficking to generate revenue, it became sorely apparent that only petrodollars and political pressure on western capitals from Gulf Arab states would enable a semblance of reconstruction. On this basis, Iran welcomed the pioneering decision by the Emiratis to reopen their embassy in Damascus in late 2018, ending seven years of estrangement. Facilitated by Abu Dhabi, Assad also gradually re-engaged with others who had backed the rebellion against his rule—including Saudi Arabia.

But things took a turn following the Oct. 7, 2023 Palestinian surprise attack on Israeli border communities. As Hezbollah immediately opened a “support front” against Israel following the eruption of the Gaza war, the Emiratis reportedly sought to prod Assad into standing on the sidelines. Barely a week later, the diplomatic mission of Yemen’s Ansarullah movement in Damascus was shuttered, ostensibly as a precondition for Assad’s rapprochement with Saudi Arabia. The distancing from Ansarullah, better known as the Houthis, was particularly pronounced as the group over the past year rose to become a key member of the Axis through its drone and missile attacks on Israel as well as disruption of shipping in the Red Sea.

Meanwhile, as Israel frontally assaulted the Iranian presence—taking out the Quds Force command that helped Assad cling to power, and even razing an Iranian diplomatic compound in Damascus—the Syrian government largely kept mum. The same lukewarm approach was apparent in the statement Assad issued following Israel’s killing of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut’s southern suburb earlier this year.

In other words, while Syria’s geography and official state ideology made it central to the Iran-led ‘Axis of Resistance’, Assad was apparently leveraging “non-resistance” to rehabilitate his standing among Arab allies of the US.

So when HTS rolled into Aleppo and Hama without a fight, Iran was in no rush to come to Assad’s aid. The senior regional diplomatic source explained that despite the Syrian government’s urgent request for Iranian support, logistical constraints and operational risks—including potential Israeli airstrikes—made such assistance impractical. This, according to the source, further highlighted Iran’s growing burden in the Syrian crisis, which was no longer tenable. If direct access was to be physically constrained by Israeli air power, mindful of repeated bombings of runways in both Aleppo and Damascus as well as threats against Iranian flights in recent weeks, it ultimately diminished the value of Syria as an ally.

In this context, the Quds Force is said to have established contact with HTS, securing assurances amid the collapse of the Syrian army that Shiite Muslims and Shiite shrines as well as the Iranian embassy would be left untouched. The extent of the involvement of Iran’s diplomatic apparatus in this initiative is unclear. Nonetheless, as Iran’s evacuated embassy was ransacked on Dec. 8, the state broadcaster in Tehran highlighted that the assailants were “not affiliated with the group in charge [of Syria],” alluding to HTS having kept its word.

Snip.

The arc of Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria is long, but became particularly pronounced over the past decade. As the Syrian military was on the verge of defeat in 2013, the Lebanese movement and Iran were equally alarmed. Both saw the threat of Sunni militancy taking root across the region. Nasrallah and then-Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani also passionately charged that Damascus was crucial to the wider “resistance” against Israel, convincing Iran’s leadership that full-scale intervention was a must.

So in the spring of 2013, Hezbollah fighters moved into Al-Qusayr. Situated southwest of Homs, a key node connecting Damascus with the Alawite coastal heartlands, the region was vital to rebel factions which had emerged amid the Arab Spring. Its location near the border with Lebanon allowed them to smuggle in fighters and weapons, putting up stiff resistance against forces loyal to Assad. The battle was bloody, claiming the lives of over 100 members of Iran’s foremost Arab ally. But in the end, Qusayr was returned to Assad’s control, and the battle was later—together with Russia’s military intervention in 2015—chronicled as the turning point in the war against Sunni militants.

A decade later, Qusayr once again held special symbolism as the Syrian army faltered in the face of the blitz led by HTS. With the fall of Aleppo and Hama within the span of days—and apparently without any real fight—Homs was in the spotlight. Without it, Assad would be left with only Damascus, cut off from the coast. Accounts of what happened next are conflicting. Initially, insiders charged that up to 2,000 members of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force were to be deployed for one last stand.

But Hezbollah’s deployment turned out to be far smaller, with commanders quickly concluding that a withdrawal was in order after an operational assessment, Amwaj.media has learned. Shortly afterwards, informed sources explained, a decision was made to evacuate the country through the same route that had been used to enter the Syrian conflict back in 2013. According to a source in the area, soon after the Hezbollah convoy—said to have been made up of dozens of vehicles—crossed the border towards the Hermel district in Lebanon, Israel struck. Hezbollah keeps casualty figures a secret, but the losses from the bombing are said to have been “big.”

America supposedly went after the Iraqi Shiite paramilitaries coming over the border to aid Assad’s forces, and Israel got Hezbollah? Fascinating.

Following the deadly debacle, a well-informed source in Lebanon told Amwaj.media that the decision to enter Homs and then withdraw was taken by a “Lebanese individual” and not upon an Iranian request or leadership decision. If accurate, this account of events raises concern that Hezbollah is no longer as disciplined as before. It also indicates troubling and potentially chaotic times ahead, as Iran and its allies struggle to adapt to a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape.

Assad fell because “he wanted to prove to the west that he is not a warmonger,” an Iranian hardline lawmaker thundered as images emerged of HTS in control of Damascus. What this message may hold, and whether it will emerge as the dominant and coordinated approach of Tehran and allied capitals, remains to be seen.

Link

Good Morning

2024-11-26

Blinken questioned for State Department
hosting in-house therapy sessions after Trump win

Tuesday 11/26/2024

NYT: A cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah has been finalized—almost

Faith Domergue

Syria-Lebanon-Iran Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei: Netanyahu Must Be Executed		Europe In Italy, 45% of sexuaI vioIence in 2023 was committed by immigrants who make up 8% of the population
Israel-Palestine-Jordan Hezbollah rocket impacts have been reported in the city of Nahariya, located in northwestern Israel		Afghanistan Shoigu announces Russia's readiness to exclude the Taliban from the blacklist
-Lurid Crime Tales- ICE confirms that the suspect arrested in Colorado for allegedly raping his employer's 14 y/o daughter while living in his employer's basement is a Venezuelan illegal		Olde Tyme Religion MusIim scholar: 'A MusIim man has the right to have 4 wives and unlimited number of sex slaves''

Feral hog attacked Texan in
his wheelchair: ''Fixing to mow me down''

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran fears Trump win would bring Israeli strikes on nuclear sites, Western sanctions

2024-11-04

Here’s hoping their fears are fully realized, and then some.

[IsraelTimes] Tehran said to believe that if reelected, the former US president would exert the utmost pressure on Khamenei to cave to nuclear containment deal on Washington and Israel’s terms

On the other hand, possibly whatever is sickening the Ayatollah Khamenei will become sepsis, and he’ll end up missing all the fun.

Iran’s leadership and allies are bracing for what they would regard as a dreadful outcome of the imminent US presidential election: a return to power of Donald Trump
...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party...
Opinion polls suggest that Republican Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris
once a marijuana-busting Caliphornia DA
remain locked in a close contest. But Iranian leaders and their regional allies in Leb
...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
, 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 concerned that Trump could well triumph on November 5 and this could spell more trouble for them.

Iran’s main concern is the potential for Trump to empower Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to strike Iran’s nuclear sites, conduct targeted liquidations, and reimpose his "maximum pressure policy" through heightened sanctions on its oil industry, according to Iranian, Arab and Western officials.

They anticipate that Trump, who was president in 2017-21, will exert the utmost pressure on Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...>
to cave in by accepting a nuclear containment deal on terms set by himself and Israel.

This potential change in US leadership could have far-reaching implications for the Middle East balance of power and might reshape Iran’s foreign policy and economic prospects.

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 have long threatened Israel with destruction and called to wipe out the Jewish state.

Analysts argue that whether Harris or Trump leads the next US administration, Iran will lack the leverage it once held — largely due to Israel’s year-old military campaign aimed at degrading the Islamic Theocratic Republic’s armed proxies, including the terror groups Hamas
Hamas

..always the voice of sweet reason...
in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

However,
by candlelight every wench is handsome...
Trump’s stance is perceived as more detrimental to Iran due to his more automatic support for Israel, they added.

"Trump will either put very tough conditions on Iran or let Israel carry out targeted strikes on its nuclear facilities. He is fully endorsing a military action against Iran," Abdelaziz al-Sagher, head of the Gulf Research Center think tank, said.

"It’s Netanyahu’s dream day to have Trump back in the White House," he told Rooters.

POISON CHALICE?
A senior Iranian official who declined to be named told Rooters Tehran was "prepared for all scenarios. We have [for decades] consistently found ways to export oil, bypassing harsh US sanctions... and have strengthened our ties with the rest of the world no matter who was in the White House."

But another Iranian official said a Trump victory would be "a nightmare. He will raise pressure on Iran to please Israel... [and] make sure oil sanctions are fully enforced. If so, [our] establishment will be economically paralyzed."

In an election speech in October, Trump stated his unwillingness to go to war with Iran but said Israel should "hit the Iranian nuclear first and worry about the rest later," in response to Iran’s massive ballistic missile attack on Israel on October 1. Iran launched some 200 ballistic missiles at Israel, sending most of the population rushing to bomb shelters and safe rooms. The attack caused relatively minor damage to military bases and some residential areas, and killed a Paleostinian man in the West Bank.

Israel retaliated with ~~Arclight~~ airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s on Iranian military targets, especially missile production sites and long-range air defense systems, on October 26.

Khamenei on Saturday threatened Israel and the US with "a crushing response" to attacks on Iran and its allies. "The enemies, whether the Zionist regime or the United States of America, will definitely receive a crushing response to what they are doing to Iran and the land of the Medes and the Persians and to the resistance front," Khamenei said in video released by Iranian state media.

Iran’s choices are limited going forward, analysts say.

"The reality is: Trump is going to support Netanyahu and give him the green light to do whatever he wants," said Hassan Hassan, an author and researcher on Islamic groups. "Trump is much worse [than Harris] for Iran."

Hassan noted that Washington has delegated a substantial share of responsibility to Israel in the conflict with Iran and its proxies, with Israel leading the way. "The US is involved enough in that it’s backing Israel, maybe more so than before.

"This time it’s just things are really bad for Iran. Iran is seen as a problem by both Republicans and Democrats
...every time you hear the phrase white people, white supremacy, white anything but paint, you're listening to a Democrat. Ask him/her/it to reimagine something for you; they do that a lot, though not well. They can hear a dog whistle a mile or two away. They invented the spoils system and Tammany Hall, and inspired the addition of the word (Thomas) Nasty to the English language. They want to stop continental drift and repeal the law of unintended side effects...
During her campaign, Harris called Iran a "dangerous" and "destabilizing" force in the Middle East and said the US was committed to Israel’s security. She said the US would work with allies to disrupt Iran’s "aggressive behavior."

But Trump’s reelection would be a "poisoned chalice" for Khamenei, according to two regional officials.

If he were to reinstate stringent sanctions, Khamenei may be forced to negotiate and accept a nuclear pact more favorable to US and Israeli terms to preserve theocratic rule in Iran, which is facing growing foreign pressure and has been buffeted by bouts of mass protest at home in recent years.

A US-Saudi defense pact tied to Riyadh’s establishing diplomatic relations with Israel, now in its final negotiating stages, poses a significant challenge to Khamenei too.

This alliance threatens to shift the regional balance of power by creating a more unified front against Iran, impacting its geopolitical standing and strategy in the Middle East.

NEW ARCHITECTURE
Hassan said Israel’s recent retaliatory attacks on Iran and strikes on the leadership of terror proxies Hamas and Hezbollah allies have been widely perceived as a significant success. They offered insights into what a limited strike on Iran might look like, setting a precedent and altering assumptions that military action on Iran would inevitably spark a wider Middle East war.

A senior Arab security official said that Tehran could "no longer brandish its influence through its armed proxies" in the wake of Israel’s deadly strikes on Hezbollah and Hamas leaders.

For its own part, Iran has every reason to fear another Trump term.

It was Trump who in 2018 unilaterally pulled the US out of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and ordered the killing of Qassem Soleimani

, Khamenei’s right-hand man and criminal mastermind of overseas attacks on US and allied interests.

Trump also imposed punitive sanctions targeting Iran’s oil export revenues and international banking transactions, which led to extreme economic hardship and exacerbated public discontent in the Islamic Theocratic Republic.

He frequently said during his presidential campaign that US President Joe The Big Guy Biden
...46th president of the U.S. The man who made Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter look competent, if only by comparison....
’s policy of not rigorously enforcing oil export sanctions has weakened Washington and emboldened Tehran, allowing it to sell oil, accumulate cash, and expand its nuclear pursuits and influence through armed militias.

In March, Trump told the Israel Hayom newspaper in an interview that Iran could have a nuclear weapon in 35 days and that Israel — which deems Iran’s nuclear activity an existential threat — was in a "very treacherous and dangerous neighborhood."

An Arab government adviser noted that Tehran recognizes there is a "new architecture in the making," but also that Trump, despite his tough rhetoric, realizes there is no alternative to a deal with Iran given its accelerated uranium enrichment program.

"Trump might aim for a new nuclear agreement, he could say I tore up the 2015 agreement because it was incomplete and replace it with a long-lasting agreement, touting it to ’make America great again’ and preserve US interests," the adviser said.

As the 2015 deal has eroded over the years, Iran has escalated the level of fissile purity in enriched uranium, cutting the time it would need to build an atom bomb if it chose to, though it denies wanting to.

Iran Online, a state-run news website, stated that when Trump left office, Iran was capping enrichment at 3.67 percent under the deal, far below the 90% of weapons-grade uranium.

Now, Iran has "enriched uranium to 60% with IR-6 advanced centrifuges" and could achieve nuclear weapons capability "within a few weeks... Completing the nuclear deterrence cycle is Iran’s greatest trump card against Trump," it said.

Arab and Western officials warn that the more Iran hints it is nearing the development of an atomic bomb, the more it incites the need for Israel to strike.

"If Trump reassumes power, he will support Israeli plans to strike Iranian nuclear facilities," a Western official said.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran's Khamenei decorates commander for Israel attack even though it accomplished nothing

2024-10-07

[GEO.TV] Iran's supreme leader has decorated the Revolutionary Guards aerospace commander for the Islamic republic's missile attacks on arch-foe Israel, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...>
's website said on Sunday.

"Ayatollah Khamenei presented the Order of Fath ("Conquest" in Farsi) to General Amirali Hajizadeh, commander of the Guards Aerospace Force," it said.

The decoration was bestowed because of "the brilliant 'Honest Promise' operation", the website said.

The Times of Israel adds:

Iran’s rocket barrage, the second such attack this year, came during the war against terror groups Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Despite its limited success, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei decorated the Revolutionary Guard’s aerospace commander, the ayatollah’s website said on Sunday.

“Ayatollah Khamenei presented the Order of Fath to General Amirali Hajizadeh, commander of the Guards Aerospace Force,” it said. “Fath” is Farsi for “courage.”

Hajizadeh, 62, has headed the Guard’s aerospace unit since its creation in 2009.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Sunday that last week’s Iranian ballistic missile attack “didn’t even scratch” the Israeli Air Force’s capabilities, and vowed that Israel would not be deterred from responding to such attacks by its enemies.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Israeli Genies to Target Iran's Nukes?

2024-10-02

[PJ Media via Insty] How chaotic is the situation for the Islamists, really? Iranian cleric, Mostafa Karami, who regularly serves as a mouthpiece for the mullahs' regime, said on Iranian state television this weekend, "Considering the Zionists' history of subjugating genies, they carry out many of their missions through this means, and demons are their secret army."

Nasrallah was killed by Jewish genies? OK, boss.

Tehran is torn over how to respond. The New York Times reported on Sunday that "fissures have opened within the Iranian government over how to respond to [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah’s killing, with conservatives arguing for a forceful response and the moderates, led by Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, calling for restraint... state television, run by [his opponent in the election] Jalili’s affiliates, called for Iran to strike Israel, in open defiance of Ayatollah Khamenei’s caution. "

Jared Kushner — one of the two peacemakers behind the Trump administration's historic Abraham Accords — posted a thoughtful essay to X on Saturday urging Israel to "finish the job." He explained that "The reason why [Iran's] nuclear facilities have not been destroyed, despite weak air defense systems, is because Hezbollah has been a loaded gun pointed at Israel."
I dream of Jeannie

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

DEAD: Hezbollah terror leader Hassan Nasrallah KILLED in massive missile blitz on chief's Beirut HQ

2024-09-28

[TheSun] The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced that Friday's fighter jet blitz successfully eliminated the terror group's Secretary-General.

They said: "Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorize the world."

And military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani added: "Hassan Nasrallah is dead."

Hezbollah also confirmed Nasrallah had been killed - and vowed to continue its fight against Israel.

Ali Karki, the Commander of Hezbollah's Southern Front, is also believed to have been killed alongside Nasrallah in the strikes on Friday.

Israel also claims to have wiped out several other Hezbollah officials including Muhammad Ali Ismail, the commander of Hezbollah's missile unit in southern Lebanon, in the blasts.

His deputy and "other senior officials" were also taken out.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is believed to have personally signed off the attack after spies discovered Nasrallah was set to convene a meeting of his surviving leaders at his underground HQ.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halev said "a lot of preparation" was behind the attack.

He said: "It was the right time, [we] did it in a very precise way."

Before warning Israel was set to continue with their targeted assaults across the border.

"This is not the end of our toolbox, we have to be very clear. We have more capacity going forward," Halev added.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei - one of Nasrallah's closest allies - issued a chilling message to Israel after Israel's assassination claims.

He did not mention Nasrallah - but slammed Israel for the massive blitz on Lebanon.

Khamenei said Lebanon will make Israel "regret their actions" and blasted the "shortsighted and foolish" policies of Israeli leaders.

He claimed Israel was "too small" to cause any damage to Hezbollah.

It's feared Iran could respond by targeting Israel directly, sending weapons through Iraq and Syria to Lebanon or by sending fighters to Lebanon to shore up Hezbollah, Professor Fawaz Gerges from LSE said.

The chair of contemporary Middle Eastern Studies said Israel has effectively "declared all-out war".

He told Sky News: "Benjamin Netanyahu has declared all-out war against the entire axis of resistance – including Iran.

"This is a decade-long war... Hezbollah will bide its time.

"Israel has been trying to systematically destroy the leadership structure of Hezbollah – and there are hundreds of leaders who could replace him [Hassan Nasrallah]."

Mr Gerges suggested Israel is "trying to soften that structure in preparation for a ground invasion".

IDF military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on Friday that a "precise strike" hit Hezbollah's "central headquarters" located underneath residential buildings in Dahiyeh.

Huge 4,000lb laser and GPS-guided GBU-28 and 2,000lb Blu-109 bunker buster bombs are believed to have been deployed - burrowing up to 200ft below ground before exploding.

Images of the Lebanese suburb shows a series of huge blasts with large mushroom clouds erupting into the sky last night.

A source close to Hezbollah said the wave of strikes took out six buildings - including apartment blocks.

Thousands were forced to flee their homes as the rockets closed in.

Six people were killed along with another 91 wounded, according to preliminary data from Lebanon's health ministry.

A second round of Israeli strikes hit the same area of Beirut later in the night.

Pictures show smoking buildings early this morning following the successive blitzes.

Hezbollah has already retaliated after they fired rockets on the Israeli city of Safed - but there are no reports of casualties.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, is set to hold an emergency meeting of the Supreme National Security Council to respond to the Israeli attacks.

Narallah's backers in Iran's embassy in Beirut said the latest massive strike on the Lebanese capital was a "dangerous, game-changing escalation".

The embassy added the strike was a “war crime" which merits "appropriate punishment"

. It comes as Israel continues to gear up for a huge ground offensive across the border and into Lebanon.

The IDF have been making plans to activate two brigades consisting of up to 10,000 soldiers for "operational missions".

This morning they announced three more battalions of reserve soldiers are also being readied up.

Tanks and military trucks were also seen being transported towards the border as an escalation drew closer.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi already announced how his troops were planning to step up their attacks on Wednesday.

He said the barrage of airstrikes in recent days had been a tactical ploy to help the soldiers once they crossed into Lebanon.

Halevi said: "You can hear the planes above, we are attacking all day.

"This is both to prepare the ground for your possible entry and to continue degrading Hezbollah."

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Tens of thousands in attendance as Raisi is buried in Iran’s Imam Reza shrine

2024-05-25

Expanding on an item mentioned in passing in this story from yesterday.

[IsraelTimes] Services fail to draw same crowds as those seen at funeral for Soleimani in 2020, in possible sign of country’s feelings; Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthis meet on sidelines

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...
on Thursday interred its late president Ebrahim Raisi at the holiest site for Shiite Moslems in the Islamic Theocratic Republic, a final sign of respect after he was killed in a helicopter crash earlier this week along with foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and six others.

Raisi’s coffin was flown to Mashhad in northeast Iran after a funeral procession was held for him on Thursday morning in the city of Birjand, in Iran’s South Khorasan province along the Afghan border, where thousands in black gathered along a main boulevard in the city.

A semi truck bore his casket down the street, with mourners reaching out to touch it and tossing scarves and other items to be placed against it for a blessing. A sign on the truck read: "This is the shrine."

Hours later, the plane carrying Raisi’s coffin arrived in Mashhad, his hometown, where he was laid to rest at the gold-domed Imam Reza shrine, the holiest Islamic site in Iran, revered by Shiite Moslems as the resting place of the 9th-century imam Ali al-Reza.

In 2016, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei appointed Raisi to run the Imam Reza charity foundation, which manages a vast conglomerate of businesses and endowments in Iran, as well as oversees the shrine. It is one of many bonyads, or charitable foundations, fueled by donations or assets seized after Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

These foundations offer no public accounting of their spending and answer only to Iran’s supreme leader. The Imam Reza charity, known as "Astan-e Quds-e Razavi" in Farsi, is believed to be one of the biggest in the country. Analysts estimate its worth at tens of billions of dollars as it owns almost half the land in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city.

Raisi is the first top politician in the country to be buried at the shrine, which represents a major honor for the holy man.

However,
it's easy to be generous with someone else's money...
the services across the country did not draw the same crowds as those who gathered for services for Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani

in 2020, slain by a US dronezap in Baghdad.

It was a potential sign of the public’s feelings about Raisi’s presidency during which the government harshly cracked down on all dissent during protests over the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman who died in police custody after she was arrested for allegedly not wearing her mandatory headscarf to authorities’ liking.

That crackdown, as well as Iran’s struggling economy, went unmentioned in the hours of coverage provided by state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
and in newspapers. Also never discussed was Raisi’s involvement in the mass execution of an estimated 5,000 dissidents at the end of the Iran-Iraq war, which had earned him the moniker "the Butcher of Tehran."

Prosecutors warned people against showing any public signs of celebrating Raisi’s death and a heavy security force presence has been seen in Tehran since the crash.

Raisi, 63, was widely seen as a candidate to succeed 85-year-old Khamenei, who wields ultimate power in Iran. Mohammad Mokhber, who had been first vice president, is serving as interim president until a June election. For now, though, there’s no clear favorite for the position among Iran’s political elite — particularly no one who is a Shiite holy man, like Raisi.

Acting president Mokhber, a relatively unknown first vice president until Sunday’s crash, stepped into Raisi’s role following his death and even attended a meeting between Khamenei and Hamas
Hamas

..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
leader Ismail Haniyeh
...became Prime Minister of Gaza after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas won. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah-Hamas festivities, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continues as the PM of Gazoo while Abbas maintains a separate PM in the West Bank...
on Wednesday.

In Tehran, meanwhile, former Iranian foreign ministers Mohammed Javad Zarif
...Persian foreign minister, Mouthpiece of Mullahs, good friend of John Kerry and similar exemplars of Merkin values...
and Ali Akbar Salehi and other officials and foreign dignitaries paid respects to Amir-Abdollahian at the Foreign Ministry, where his casket was put on display.

His body was later interred in Shahr-e Rey just outside of Tehran at the Abdol Azim shrine, another final resting place for those famed in Persian history.

"Give Soleimani our greetings," a religious singer said as Amir-Abdollahian’s body was placed inside its final resting place, referring to the slain general.

Ahead of Raisi’s funeral, the representatives of some 60 countries took part in a ceremony paying their final respects on Wednesday afternoon. Among those in attendance were Tunisian President Kais Saied and Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
i Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, as well as representatives from Belarus and Serbia, while countries of the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
declined to attend.

Khamenei declared five days of national mourning in the wake of the helicopter crash.

Iran says no signs of foul play in wreckage of helicopter crash that killed Raisi

[IsraelTimes] Report by Iranian military says ‘no bullet holes or similar impacts’ found at crash site to indicate Iranian helicopter was attacked, flight did not sway from pre-designated route?

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Iranian Leader Khamenei Posts Tweet in Hebrew Threatening Israel After Missile Attack – Israeli President Responds

2024-04-15

[Gateway] Late Saturday Iran fired off missiles and 50-100 drones in an unprecedented attack from Iranian soil on the state of Israel.

Israel later announced that 99% of Iran’s missiles were taken down and did not reach their target. US ships assisted in shooting down the incoming missiles that crossed over Iraqi and Jordanian airspace before they were shot down by Israel.

This was the first time the Iranian regime fired on Israel directly — typically Iran uses its affiliates of Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthi rebels in Yemen to do their dirty work.

On Sunday, Iranian leader Ayatollah Khamenei posted a threatening tweet on X in Hebrew.

After Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel on Saturday-early Sunday morning, Khamenei threatened Israel, "Al-Quds will be in the hands of the Muslims, and the Muslim world will celebrate the liberation of Palestine."

Obviously, Khamenei taunting the Israelis after his unprecedented strike against Israel just hours earlier.

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