Rantburg

Today's Front Page   View All of Thu 05/22/2025 View Wed 05/21/2025 View Tue 05/20/2025 View Mon 05/19/2025 View Sun 05/18/2025 View Sat 05/17/2025 View Fri 05/16/2025
2025-05-18 Syria-Lebanon-Iran
US ‘must and will leave’ region: Khamenei
[Rudaw] Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...>
 said on Saturday that the United States "must and will leave" the Middle East and described President Donald Trump
...His ancestors didn't own any slaves...
’s remarks during his recent trip to the region as shameful.

In a televised address, Khamenei lamented that Washington is trying to convince Arab countries that they cannot survive without American support. "This model has definitely failed," he said. "With the struggles of regional nations, the US must and will leave this region."

"Some of the remarks made during the US president’s trip to the region aren’t even worth a response at all. The level of those remarks is so low that they are a source of shame for the American nation," Khamenei said on X.

Trump on Friday concluded a major Gulf tour - his first since returning to office - where he secured long-term partnerships and investments worth trillions of dollars.

Speaking at the US-Saudi Investment Forum 2025 on Tuesday, Trump labeled 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...
the "most destructive force" behind instability in the region.

He said that while "Iran will never have a nuclear weapon," it could still have "a much brighter future" if it chooses a path of peace, referencing the ongoing Oman-mediated nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran.

"I want to make a deal with Iran," Trump added, but warned that "if Iran's leadership rejects this olive branch and continues to attack their neighbors, then we will have no choice but to inflict massive maximum pressure, drive Iranian oil exports to zero like I did before."

"Iran has a choice... between continuing its chaos and terror or embracing peace," the US president said, adding, "We don't have much time to wait."

In his response, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday criticized Trump for making "remarks that reveal his profound misunderstanding of the Iranian people" and rejected "the claim that Iran is a source of insecurity."

Indirect talks between Iran and the US over Tehran’s nuclear program began on April 12 in Oman.

The revived talks represent the most substantive engagement between the two countries since the unraveling of the 2015 nuclear deal under which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

In 2018, during his first term in office, Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the deal and reimposed sweeping sanctions on Tehran. In response, Iran began gradually scaling back its commitments under the deal.

Tehran has consistently maintained that its nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes and that the pursuit of nuclear weapons contradicts the principles of the Islamic Theocratic Republic.
Posted by trailing wife 2025-05-18 2025-05-18 01:02|| || Front Page|| [213 views ]  Top
 File under: Govt of Iran 

#1 In the same speech Khamenei called Israel a "cancerous tumor."

The Scorpion is not leaving any doubt concerning its nature. Should the Frog make a deal?

In 1984 then West German FM Genscher was the first high ranking Western government official to visit Iran after 1979 restarting diplomatic engagement.

Iran apparently saw this as an act of provocative weakness and responded with a policy of unprecedented aggression against Germany.
Posted by Elmerert Hupens2660 2025-05-18 03:19||   2025-05-18 03:19|| Front Page Top

#2 It's being floated that Trump will cut a deal with Iran, pull the rug out from under Israel and declare AIPAC a foreign agent.
This is a color revolution against Netanyahu. What's next, forged polls showing no support for Netanyahu?
Stop Trump from meddling in Isreali politics. Those are for Isrealis to decide, not Americans! Stay out!
Posted by Jairong+Scourge+of+the+Gepids2435 2025-05-18 04:38||   2025-05-18 04:38|| Front Page Top

#3 "Floated"? By who? You. Try a reality check sometime
Posted by Frank G 2025-05-18 05:57||   2025-05-18 05:57|| Front Page Top

#4 You haven't seen it? They're pushing this Trump/Netanyahu rift thing to try to cause the government crushing Hamas to fall. if Trump tries any bullshit he's going to feel the full fury of AIPAC. Don't mess with Israel.
Posted by Jairong+Scourge+of+the+Gepids2435 2025-05-18 09:20||   2025-05-18 09:20|| Front Page Top

#5 My thoughts, with no understanding of military matters whatsoever:

“They” are indeed pushing the idea hard. But I think we just saw with the Houthis how PM Netanyahu is handling it: Israel held off while President Trump made his deal, a deal that only applied to America. And as soon as America disengaged, Israel dropped the hammer, sending a fleet of airplanes to pound the Hodeidah ports used for receiving shipments from Iran. And for all the talk about how America is incapable of really damaging the Houthis, and how the Houthis so easily shoot down American planes and drones, they haven’t managed to do touch or stop Israel’s.

As soon as President Trump was sworn in, America started shipping the really heavy bombs that Israel needs to destroy Iran’s underground nuclear sites. They have not yet been used, assuredly not because Bibi has forgotten he has them, or that the IAF wiped out Iran’s entire anti-system.
Posted by trailing wiife 2025-05-18 09:54||   2025-05-18 09:54|| Front Page Top

#6 Resetting cookie
Posted by trailing wife 2025-05-18 09:55||   2025-05-18 09:55|| Front Page Top

#7 #3
If you go to the CNN or MSNBC, Drudge, major network websites you will read about "friction" between Trump and Netanyahu. It's out there daily. So Gepids has a point.
Posted by The Walking Unvaxed 2025-05-18 10:05||   2025-05-18 10:05|| Front Page Top

#8 Many of the Israeli news sites, too. And all the noisy Israeli opposition have been fussing about it, as well as some of Bibi’s more nervous allies.

But President Trump has openly been threatening Iran with the Israeli attack dog, if Iran does not quickly negotiate a surrender on the nuclear thing. There’s also this post today, about what he’s thinking about Hamas.
Posted by trailing wife 2025-05-18 10:39||   2025-05-18 10:39|| Front Page Top

#9 All those 2,000 pound bombs were used up on targets in Gaza.
Iran needs to be taken out by the USA. Iran is just too big for the IDF to handle by itself.
And what is Trump doing? Deals with the genocidal enemy! Hamas' biggest sponsor! Hezbollah! Terrorist groups all over the region. Regime change in Iran and all of these problems are over. Trump is resisting this obvious solution, which is a huge problem. Americans need to come together and make it unambiguously clear that we stand with Israel and that Iran is America's enemy as much as it is Israel's.
Posted by Jairong+Scourge+of+the+Gepids2435 2025-05-18 10:56||   2025-05-18 10:56|| Front Page Top

#10 America was trying to exit the Persian Gulf in 90 when I was there. Iran is not a good place for ground troops and the being beyond the Straights of Hormuz becomes a fist fight in a phone booth for the USN. The Abraham Accord structure is a good way to isolate Iran. Dropping the price of oil is an excellent way to hamstring their shenanigans. If they go nuclear, it won’t do them any more good than it has done NK.
Posted by Super Hose 2025-05-18 11:21||   2025-05-18 11:21|| Front Page Top

#11 All those 2,000 pound bombs were used up on targets in Gaza.

Do you mean Lebanon? I thought they were using precision stuff in Gaza, with much of the destruction coming from the secondaries, ie. Hamas weapons cooking off.

But the big Hezbollah bombings happened before President Trump was sworn in, and Trump opened the spigot immediately afterward.
Posted by trailing wife 2025-05-18 12:05||   2025-05-18 12:05|| Front Page Top

#12 the IDF reportedly used several dozen 2k# bombs in Lebanon

they have lots more but I'm not sure the IDF could deliver them on targets in Iran

I agree with others that the best way to hurt the klepto-mullahocracy is by keeping the price of oil to $55-60/bar plus tighter sanctions. It will be difficult to get the IGRC to abandon the regime but this is crucial to success.
Posted by Lord Garth 2025-05-18 12:24||   2025-05-18 12:24|| Front Page Top

15:50 swksvolFF
15:48 Skidmark
15:46 Skidmark
15:41 Skidmark
15:35 Skidmark
15:25 Skidmark
15:21 illeagle
14:41 Besoeker
14:16 trailing wife
14:12 swksvolFF
14:03 trailing wife
13:55 Skidmark
13:45 Silentbrick
13:40 DarthVader
13:35 swksvolFF
13:20 Skidmark
13:16 Skidmark
13:11 Skidmark
13:02 Skidmark
13:01 Skidmark
12:59 Skidmark
12:52 mossomo
12:51 Skidmark
12:50 mossomo









Paypal:
Google
Search WWW Search rantburg.com