I Want to Pay Tribute to Hamas, It Has Been Completely Demonized; We Need to Work Towards Ridding the World of Israel – It Cannot Be Reformed and Made to Join the Human Family @MEMRIReportspic.twitter.com/y84MWjH4JK
The elderly Ghada Karmi, daughter of BBC Arabic Service broadcaster Hasan Karmi, so she is naturally a darling of the British establishment, is a Palestinian-born academic, physician and author. She has written on Palestinian issues in newspapers and magazines, including The Guardian, The Nation and Journal of Palestine Studies. She claims the “Palestinian State” as her nationality and the PLO as her government, though the family left for Damascus in 1948 to clear the field for the triumphant five Arab armies, then subsequently moved to England, which has treated her much, much better than she and her deliberately Nazi vocabulary deserve. She has been Johnny One-Note about Israel for a very long time — propagandizing for the cause.
#2
Except that Nimitz class and on, the carriers are too big to fit in the locks. And if the carriers have to go around the Cape, so do the escorts. Because they're escorts.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
02/06/2025 20:14 Comments ||
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Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin is in italics.
[ColonelCassad] Colombian President Gustavo Petro has made a statement that cocaine is no worse than whiskey, but he says the drug is banned because it is produced in Latin America. As Petro said at a government meeting, if drugs were legalized, cocaine would be sold in the same way as alcohol.
"Cocaine is no worse than whiskey. This has been studied by scientists. <...> What has befallen the United States, namely fentanyl, is killing them. And in Colombia they don't do this," El Universal quotes Petro as saying.
The money earned from cocaine shipments could be used for anti-alcohol propaganda among children, the Colombian leader claims.
It is noted that Petro's statement has caused resonance and criticism in the country, which is the world's largest cocaine producer.
According to this wonderful logic, heroin is banned because it is produced in Afghanistan. And so it would be legalized and the money earned from selling heroin could be spent on helping orphans in Afghanistan.It is not yet known whether the President of Colombia is currently receiving a share of sales in Cali and Medellin.
A significant number of previous presidents and other leaders of Colombia were in one way or another connected with various drug cartels. The previous President Uribe did not hesitate to interact with the drug cartel "Los Rastrojos", which was involved in attempts to overthrow President Maduro in Venezuela and fight the guerrillas FARC and ELN.
P.S. The author condemns the statement of the President of Colombia. Do not use cocaine and heroin. Whiskey is better. Better than a poke in the eye...
[IsraelTimes] Australia passes tough anti-hate crime laws, including mandatory minimum sentences for terror offenses and displaying hate symbols, in a bid to tackle a recent surge in antisemitism.
The laws will impose minimum jail sentences between 12 months for less serious hate crimes, such as giving a Nazi salute in public, and six years for those found guilty of terrorism offenses.
“I want people who are engaged in antisemitism to be held to account, to be charged, to be incarcerated,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who had initially opposed mandatory minimum sentences for hate crimes, tells Sky News.
The government’s hate crimes bill was first introduced to parliament last year, creating new offenses for threatening force or violence against people based on their race, religion, nationality, national or ethnic origin, political opinion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status.
Recent months have seen an escalation of attacks on synagogues, buildings and cars of Jewish community members across the country, including the discovery of a caravan laden with explosives with a list of Jewish targets in Sydney.
Albanese has been criticized by the center-right opposition party for being weak on crime and failing to address the rise in antisemitism.
The Liberal-National coalition began calling for mandatory minimum sentences to be added to the hate crimes bill last month.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, who introduced the amendments enabling the provisions late on Wednesday, says the changes are the “toughest laws Australia has ever had against hate crimes.”
The state of New South Wales, where most of the antisemitic attacks have taken place, said on Wednesday it would also strengthen its hate speech laws to reflect those already in place in Western Australia and Victoria.
Not everyone is ready when the Overton Window moves.
[IsraelTimes] Skeptical US lawmakers say they still favor the two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians that has long been a foundation of US diplomacy. Some also reject the idea of spending US taxpayer dollars or sending in US troops to a region that has been devastated by more than a year of war.
“I thought we voted for America first,” Republican Senator Rand Paul says on X. “We have no business contemplating yet another occupation to doom our treasure and spill our soldiers blood.”
Republicans hold narrow majorities in Congress over Democrats, who reject the idea outright. “That is ethnic cleansing by another name,” Senator Chris Van Hollen says on MSNBC.
Republican Senator Jerry Moran says the idea of a two-state solution cannot just be thrown out. “It’s not something that can be unilaterally decided,” he tells reporters.
Senator Lisa Murkowski says she will not speculate about any possible proposal to send US forces into a region “that has seen enough turmoil.”
“I don’t even want to speculate on that question, because I think that is quite frightening,” she says.
#1
Wait for it.
Trump 1st proposes something that drives the offending, or surrounding nations crazy. That places the USA at the head of the table and in control.
Then the offender(s) must beg and/or negotiate for the USA to give ground. The results being the offender(s) properly addressing the issue they have failed or avoided in doing.
#3
They have divided America all my life.
They have dominated American headlines all my life.
They have dominated the UN all my life.
They have dominated foreign aid all my life.
Solving this problem is solving a problem that has recurred all my life and is a problem America has to deal with time and time again.
Palestine has been an insolvable problem for decades.
Gaza is about what to do with the Gazans while the ruble is bulldozed and we negotiate on what to rebuild for the future.
In a nutshell, saying Gaza instead of Palestine reframes the problem and allows for discussions that otherwise could not take place.
It also opens the topic of why neighboring countries will not take in the Gazan refugees. Seems unneighborly, eh? Is there something fundamentally wrong with the Gazans?
#7
It also opens the topic of why neighboring countries will not take in the Gazan refugees. Seems unneighborly, eh? Is there something fundamentally wrong with the Gazans?
See: Black September, Hama Rules, Lebanon devastated by the PLO. The cockroaches bring success and prosperity wherever they go
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/06/2025 14:10 Comments ||
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#8
Got it, thank you. I was stuck at the literal level, not thinking in terms of getting past no in the negotiation.
[IsraelTimes] Organization formerly known as Arab Americans for Trump, which helped lead voter outreach to Arab and Muslim voters in 2024 election, will now be called Arab Americans for Peace
A group that played a key role in Donald Trump ...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US... ’s voter outreach to the Arab American community alongside his allies is rebranding itself after the president said that the US would "take over" the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip.
Bishara Bahbah, chairman of the group formerly known as Arab Americans for Trump,
…some members are Moslem Arabs, some are Christian Arabs, and probably some are quietly something else…
said during a phone interview with The News Agency that Dare Not be Named on Wednesday that the group would now be called Arab Americans for Peace.
The name change came after Trump held a Tuesday presser alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House and proposed the US take "ownership" in redeveloping the area into "the Riviera of the Middle East."
"The talk about what the president wants to do with Gaza, obviously we’re completely opposed to the idea of the transfer of Paleostinians from anywhere in Historic Paleostine," Bahbah said. "And so we did not want to be behind the curve in terms of pushing for peace, because that has been our objective from the very beginning."
Arab Americans for Trump helped lead voter outreach efforts for Trump ahead of the 2024 presidential election in swing states such as Michigan and Arizona.
The group, independent from the Trump campaign, frequently facilitated meetings between Arab American community leaders and Trump’s allies, including Richard Grenell, now serving as Trump’s envoy for special missions, and Massad Boulos, the father-in-law of Trump’s daughter Tiffany and now a senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs.
In the 2024 election, Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate to win Dearborn, Michigan — home to the nation’s largest concentration of Arab Americans — since 2000 on his way to winning the state. Trump visited Dearborn on November 1.
Bahbah said the group had been thinking about changing its name for "a while" and ultimately made the decision Tuesday. But Bahbah had said during a phone interview just prior to Trump’s Tuesday night presser with Netanyahu that the group’s name was Arab Americans for Trump.
In a blurb issued Wednesday by Arab Americans for Peace, the group said its members "appreciate the president’s offer to clean and rebuild Gaza" but "take issue with the president’s suggestion of taking over Gaza and removing its Paleostinian inhabitants."
Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin is in italics.
[ColonelCassad] The CIA has joined Trump's program to reduce the government apparatus, as part of which the agency's employees were offered to resign and receive salaries for eight months in advance. The agency called it part of a strategy to "reenergize"
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has distributed among its employees an offer to resign with the condition of receiving salaries for eight months and benefits, CNN and The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report with reference to sources.
An assistant to the CIA Director appointed by the new President Donald Trump, John Ratcliffe, said that the agency is also freezing the hiring of new employees who have already received offers.
The agency representative said that this step is part of an effort to "ensure that the CIA's employees are aligned with the administration's national security priorities" and called it part of a "comprehensive strategy to reenergize the agency."
During the election campaign, Trump promised to reform the US bureaucracy and after taking office, he began to implement the plan. The TV channel and the newspaper note that the CIA was the first national security agency to be affected by these measures.
According to CNN, Ratcliffe personally decided that the agency should be involved in this program of action. The channel's sources noted that it is not yet clear whether all employees will be able to take advantage of the said conditions, or whether they only apply to certain positions.
WSJ, citing an assistant to the new director, indicates that the CIA now intends to pay more attention to the Western Hemisphere and those countries that are not considered US adversaries. The agency is going to take on tasks to combat Mexican drug cartels and will probably monitor the Mexican government in view of the trade war.
CNN points out that, according to some members of Trump's team, in recent years the CIA has begun to focus too much on analysis at the expense of covert intelligence collection and covert operations.
On the first day of his presidency, Trump signed dozens of executive orders, including those related to the work of the federal government, and, for example, banned the hiring of civil servants and the adoption of new regulations until his administration establishes "full control" over the federal government. In addition, government employees were ordered to immediately leave remote work and return to their workplaces.
The US administration also created the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which will be headed by entrepreneur Elon Musk, the goal of the new structure is to carry out massive layoffs and purges in the government apparatus.
In fact, this is a continuation of the purge of people associated with the Democrats, as has already happened with the leadership of USAID. In this case, this public is offered to receive severance pay and leave the CIA on their own. It can be expected that after this stage, there will be targeted dismissals/transfers to secondary positions of those who persist in their delusions. Trump has not forgotten the role of the CIA in interfering in American domestic political processes in the interests of Clinton and Biden, so revenge is inevitable, especially since there is his own man at the head of the CIA + there is a motivation of "cost reduction", within the framework of which a lot can be done with Musk's visa, including bypassing the US Congress, which especially outrages the Democrats. The usual restraining mechanism for balancing processes does not work.
The next round will be in the courts, where the Democrats will try to put up a fight, because at this rate Trump will still break a lot of firewood in the process of fighting the "Biden legacy", and the midterm elections are still far away.
In general, the partial restructuring of the CIA is beneficial to us, since it will certainly hit the agency as a whole, despite public statements that it will not affect the CIA's day-to-day work. However, I would not count on Ratcliffe turning out to be someone like Bakatin and doing to the CIA what Bakatin did to the KGB.
Vadim Viktorovich Bakatin, briefly the last chairman of the KGB before the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. He died in 2022, having done his best to be one of the good guys under difficult circumstances, as far as I can tell.
After all, we are talking about a soft purge of Trump's opponents within the intelligence services.
Trump’s executive orders on Tuesday also called for a review of American involvement in the Paris-based UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, known as UNESCO, and a review of US funding for the United Nations in light of “the wild disparities in levels of funding among different countries.”
[IsraelTimes] Adam Boehler says Iraqi PM will be ‘complicit’ in captivity of Russian-Israeli researcher, who is believed to be held by an Iran-backed militia, if she ‘doesn’t come home NOW’
The Trump administration’s hostage envoy on Wednesday weighed in for the first time on the captivity of Princeton University researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, an Israeli-Russian national
…one of those fools who believe that their good intentions will protect them when they walk neck-deep in evil…
believed to be held by an Iran-backed Iraqi militia, warning the prime minister of Iraq that he will be deemed complicit if she is not immediately released.
"Elizabeth Tsurkov is a Princeton student held hostage in Iraq!" Adam Boehler tweeted, adding that Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudan ...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans... i "consistently made false promises to the prior administration about releasing her."
"BUT NOW [US President Donald Trump ...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US... ] IS ON TO YOU!" he added, warning that if Tsurkov "does not come home NOW then [Sudani] is either incapable and should be FIRED or worse COMPLICIT."
He shared a tweet by Tsurkov’s sister that slammed Sudani’s "incompetence and inaction," while railing at the Biden administration for "showering the corrupt Iraqi officials with hundreds of millions of our taxpayer dollars with no accountability."
"Thank God a tough leader with a backbone of steel is in the White House and is done playing games," Emma Tsurkov added, referring to Trump.
Tsurkov, a 38-year-old student at Princeton University, disappeared in Baghdad in March 2023 while doing research for her doctorate. She had entered the country on her Russian passport.
The only sign she was alive was a video broadcast in November 2023 on an Iraqi television station and circulated on pro-Iranian social media.
No group has grabbed credit for the kidnapping, but Israel believes she is being held by Kataeb Hezbollah,
...despite protestations from both sides that they are not connected in any way, the two groups have been known to train together, presumably on orders from the IRGC……
Last month, a senior Israeli official said Israel is working with allies in a renewed push to secure Tsurkov’s release, while Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told journalist Barak Ravid that she is alive, and that Sudani is working for her release.
"Iraqi foreign minister Fuad Hussein told me in Davos that Princeton researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov who has been held hostage by an Iraqi militia is alive and stressed Prime Minister Sudani is working for her release," Ravid, who writes for the US Axios site and Israel’s Walla, posted on X.
Those statements came after special envoys for hostage affairs from several countries met the family of Tsurkov, and Israel asked the representatives to have their embassies in Baghdad lobby the Iraqi government and search for a way to start negotiations.
The Israeli official said that after months of covert efforts, Israel believes "changes in the region" have created an opportunity to work publicly for her release.
[IsraelTimes] US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz suggests that President Donald Trump’s plan to take over Gaza need not be the final word on the matter and that allies are encouraged to provide their own alternatives to rebuilding Gaza.
“Everybody’s heart breaks for the Palestinian people across the region, and rightly so, but [Trump is] not seeing any realistic solutions on how those miles and miles and miles of debris are going to be cleared, how those unexploded bombs are going to be removed, how these people are physically going to live [there] for at least a decade, if not longer that it’s going to take to do this [reconstruction],” Waltz says during an interview with CBS News.
“The fact that nobody has a realistic solution, and he puts some very bold, fresh, new ideas out on the table, I don’t think should be criticized in any way. It’s going to bring the entire region to come up with their own solutions if they don’t like Mr. Trump’s solution,” he adds.
Asked whether it matters if the Palestinians might oppose Trump’s plan to remove them from Gaza, Waltz responds, “Of course it does.”
“But one of the key points President Trump made last night was, ‘Tell me what real better alternatives they’ve ever been offered?'”
He argues that what Trump is offering is far more enticing for Palestinians than their current situation in Gaza.
#1
Trump's proposal does substantially weaken the 'option' of returning to the status quo ante 2023/10/7 (including grift), which I suppose was the intent.
It is the nature of Islam to dominate, not to be dominated, to impose its law on all nations and to extend its power to the entire planet.
Hassan al-Banna
It is also interesting that the intention of Hamas Palestine to transform the entire world, including the US, into a Muslim slave empire has never generated similar outrage.
[israelTimes] A 54-year-old Israeli from Taybeh is accused of a ramming attack at a West Bank checkpoint two weeks ago that injured a guard there, police and the Shin Bet say.
Jawad Azzam is to be indicted in the coming days.
Officials say on January 16 Azzam veered from his lane at the checkpoint near Qalqilya and hit the guard as he crossed another lane, before crashing into a pole. The guard was moderately hurt.
Investigators ruled out the possibility that a technical malfunction led to the crash, the statement says.
[IsraelTimes] Former White House senior adviser Jared Kushner was reportedly behind his father-in-law US President Donald Trump’s plan, announced yesterday, for the US to take over Gaza and clear it of Palestinians.
Kushner was involved in crafting Trump’s prepared remarks that he made alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, Puck news reports, citing an anonymous source familiar with the matter.
Netanyahu had not requested that Trump pursue such a plan ahead of time, Puck adds.
Kushner appeared to hint at the entire idea in a speech he gave last year.
“Gaza’s waterfront property — it could be very valuable, if people would focus on building up livelihoods,” Kushner said during an event at Harvard.
“It’s a little bit of an unfortunate situation there, but I think from Israel’s perspective, I would do my best to move the people out and then clean it up,” Kushner added. “But I don’t think that Israel has stated that they don’t want the people to move back there afterward.”
[IsraelTimes] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly gifted US President Donald Trump with a golden pager and a regular one, a reference to the clandestine operation that decimated the Hezbollah terror group.
“That was a great operation,” Trump responded, according to Channel 12 news.
In return, Trump gave Netanyahu a photo of the two of them from the visit, with the dedication “To Bibi, a great leader.”
In September, thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah operatives across Lebanon suddenly exploded, killing and injuring dozens. A day later, hundreds of walkie-talkies also blew up, killing and injuring scores more.
The attacks, swiftly attributed to Israel, came as Israel stepped up a counteroffensive against the Iran-backed Hezbollah, which began striking Israel almost immediately after the allied Palestinian terror group Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack.
Trump and Netanyahu have a lot in common. Bibi is responsible for the Lamest Genocide Ever, and Donald is implementing a fascist takeover by reducing the power and scope of the feral government. They should both get the Nobel Prize for something. But not the Peace one, that has been tainted by previous recipients.
[IsraelTimes] Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have taken delivery of the country’s first ship capable of launching drones and helicopters at sea, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reports.
Amid military exercises lasting from early January to early March, Iran’s armed forces have unveiled new weaponry as Tehran braces for more friction with Israel and the United States under US President Donald Trump.
“The Revolutionary Guards took action to transform a commercial ship… into a mobile naval platform capable of carrying out drone and helicopter missions in the oceans,” says Navy Commander of the Revolutionary Guards Alireza Tangsiri. "Or as a reef"
The Shahid Beheshti, a former container ship, is equipped with a 180-meter (590-ft) runway and can operate without refueling for up to one year, Tasnim said.
The ship is different from previous Revolutionary Guards warships because it can launch and retrieve larger drones such as the Qaher and Mohajer-6.
“The addition of this ship into our fleet is an important step in increasing the defense and deterrence capability of Iran in distant waters and in maintaining our national security interests,” Tangsiri adds.
Last month, Iran’s navy received its first signals intelligence ship.
[IsraelTimes] Supreme leader’s announcement comes 5 months after Nasrallah assassinated in Israeli airstrike, replaced by current head Naim Qassem
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...> has named Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem ... the Grand Vizier of the Hezbullies... as his "representative" in Leb ...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?... , Iranian media reported Wednesday.
"The leader of the revolution in a decree introduced Sheikh Naim Qassem, secretary general of Hezbollah, as his representative in Lebanon," Tasnim news agency said.
Tasnim carried a copy of the official decree, which said Qassem will represent Khamenei in handling "non-litigious matters" and "managing religious affairs" in Lebanon.
The news agency recalled that Qassem’s predecessor His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah ...The late, lamented satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...> — who was killed in an Israeli Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... on south Beirut in September 27 — had held the same title.
Hezbollah is part of the "axis of resistance," an alliance of Iran-backed gangs opposed to Israel and its US ally.
Khamenei, who has the final say in all matters of state in Iran, has representatives in all of Iran’s provinces with a mandate to collect religious funds and perform other duties.
Qassem was named Hezbollah leader in October after heir apparent Hashem Safieddine was killed in an Israeli strike shortly after Nasrallah’s death.
Hezbollah is to hold a public funeral for both Nasrallah and Safieddine on February 23. It had put off public commemorations for safety reasons until after a fragile ceasefire with Israel took hold on November 27.
[IsraelTimes] US president urges that work on new nuclear pact start ‘immediately’; Iranian FM insists administration’s restoration of ‘maximum pressure’ policy ‘will turn into another failure’
US President Donald Trump ...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party... on Wednesday denied the United States and Israel plan to carry out a military strike on Iran, instead saying he wants to make a new nuclear deal with Tehran and that work on the pact should start immediately.
"I want 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 JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... to be a great and successful Country, but one that cannot have a Nuclear Weapon. Reports that the United States, working in conjunction with Israel, is going to blow Iran into smithereens, ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED," Trump wrote, apparently in the middle of the night, on his Truth Social platform. It was unclear which reports he was referring to.
"I would much prefer a Verified Nuclear Peace Agreement, which will let Iran peacefully grow and prosper," he wrote. "We should start working on it immediately, and have a big Middle East Celebration when it is signed and completed. God Bless the Middle East!"
The post echoed comments he made during a joint presser the day before with visiting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said the two of them are committed to ensuring Tehran never has a nuclear weapon.
On Tuesday, Trump restored his "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran, including efforts to drive its oil exports down to zero, in an effort to stop the Islamic Theocratic Republic from developing an atomic bomb.
The move brought back the tough US policy on Iran that Trump implemented throughout his first term.
Trump took exception to the idea that Iran is currently weak when it was suggested during his presser with Netanyahu.
"They’re not weak. They’re very strong right now, and we’re not going to allow them to have a nuclear weapon," Trump said. "It’s very simple."
"I signed a very strong proclamation," he said. "Doesn’t mean they won’t be weak [in the future]."
’A FAILED EXPERIMENT’
Responding, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated Wednesday that the reimposition of a policy of heavy pressure against Iran will end in "failure" as it did when Trump was previously in office.
"I believe that maximum pressure is a failed experiment and trying it again will turn into another failure," Araghchi told news hounds following a cabinet meeting, while again claiming that Tehran was not pursuing nuclear weapons.
As part of the "maximum pressure" policy during his first term that ended in 2021, Trump withdrew the United States from a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and major powers and reimposed biting sanctions.
The deal — known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — imposed curbs on Iran’s nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.
Tehran adhered to the deal until a year after Washington pulled out but then began rolling back its commitments. Efforts to revive the 2015 deal have since faltered.
"If the main issue is that Iran does not pursue nuclear weapons, it is achievable and is not much of a problem," Araghchi said, repeating the claim — derided by Western powers — that Tehran’s program is solely civilian.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also downplayed the impact of sanctions on Iran.
"America threatens new sanctions, but Iran is a powerful and resource-rich country that can navigate challenges by managing its resources," Pezeshkian said in a televised ceremony.
However,
there is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened... a senior Iranian official told Rooters that "the holy manal establishment’s will is to give diplomacy with Trump another chance, but Tehran is deeply concerned about Israel’s sabotage."
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Tehran wanted the United States to "rein in Israel if Washington is seeking a deal" with the Islamic Theocratic RepublicOn Wednesday, Iran’s nuclear agency chief Mohammad Eslami insisted that his country remains committed to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, saying "Iran does not have, and will not have a nuclear weapons program."
But with its regional allies either dismantled or gravely weakened since the start of the Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... -Israel war 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... in October 2023, and mounting discontent among many Iranians at the state of the economy, analysts say the holy manal establishment has few options other than to strike a deal with Trump.
The fall of Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Lord of the Baath... in Syria in December, a crucial ally of Tehran, has severely disrupted Tehran’s "Axis of Resistance®," a network of regional gangs, terror proxies and allied states, with which Iran counters Israel and the United States while asserting its influence throughout the Middle East.
The Iranian official also said Tehran disagreed with "any displacement of Gazooks, but Iran-US talks are a separate matter," referring to Trump’s remarks that the US would take over war-ravaged Gaza and create a "Riviera of the Middle East" after resettling Paleostinians elsewhere.
"Iran does not agree with any displacement of Paleostinians and has communicated this through various channels. However,
there is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened... this issue and the path of Iran’s nuclear agreement are two separate matters and should be pursued separately," the official said.
War in Gaza erupted on October 7, 2023, when the Paleostinian terror group Hamas led thousands of hard boyz in a devastating attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Terrorists also kidnapped 251 people who were taken as hostages to the Gaza Strip. The following day, Iran-backed Lebanese terror group began attacking across Israel’s northern border and the fighting escalated into open war by September the following year. Israel decimated Hezbollah’s leadership and depleted its fighting abilities before the two sides reached a mediated ceasefire at the end of November.
A ceasefire in the Gaza war, which began in January and includes the release of hostages, is in the midst of the first of its three phases, though the remaining two stages have yet to be negotiated and agreed on. I'd really like a few things cleared up to solidify my knowledge base.
Could anybody hum the first few bars of the Paleostinian national anthem?
Who was the first king/potentate/president/prime minister of Paleostine?
Approximately when did he reign?
By which feats (or feets) of engineering did the indigenous Arabs who have been peacefully practicing Islam there since at least the time of the Natufians, manage to move the intrusive Hebrew temple under their second or whatever most holy mosque?
[IsraelTimes] Tehran claims drills, which come amid renewed US pressure, show Israel didn’t actually fell its air defenses in ‘malicious’ October strikes
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 JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... used Russian-made long-range air defense systems in a military exercise on Wednesday, following Israeli strikes in October which Israel said had seriously weakened Tehran’s defensive capabilities.
Iranian state TV reported on Wednesday that in a simultaneous operation, Iran’s long-range air defense systemBavar-373 and Russian-made S-300
…I seem to recall that the Israeli Air Force can spoof the latter, but maybe the issue was that they weren’t turned on at the time…
shot down a hypothetical hostile target by firing missiles.
"Some enemy officials and media outlets, after the malicious attack in October, had claimed that they had rendered Iran’s long-range air defense systems non-operational," it said, referring to Israeli strikes.
Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin ...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances... and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian deepened military ties between their countries, signing a 20-year strategic partnership. Though the agreement made no specific mention of arms transfers, the two sides said they would develop "military-technical cooperation."
The exercises Wednesday took place one day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met US President Donald Trump ...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party... to discuss regional topics including Iran’s nuclear program.
Both leaders said Iran could not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons, with Trump announcing earlier the resumption of his "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran to drive its oil exports down to zero in order to stop it from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
"With me, it’s very simple: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon," Trump said. Asked how close Tehran is to a weapon, Trump said: "They’re too close."
Last October, Israel carried out a series of Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s against Iran, almost four weeks after the Islamic Theocratic Republic’s massive ballistic missile barrage on the country — its second missile attack on Israel since its proxy terror group Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... invaded the Jewish state on October 7, 2023, launching the war 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... The Israeli military said the October strikes targeted strategic military sites in Iran — specifically drone and ballistic missile manufacturing and launch sites, as well as air defense batteries.
Then-defense minister Yoav Gallant said the Israeli strikes had weakened Iran’s attack and defensive capabilities, leaving it at a huge disadvantage in the event of future action.
In the wake of Israel’s retaliatory sorties, military officials in Israel saw an opportunity for a direct attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The Islamic Theocratic Republic, which is sworn to Israel’s destruction, says its nuclear program is strictly for civilian purposes, but it has enriched its uranium far beyond civilian levels and obstructed international inspectors, and it is understood to have had a military nuclear program in the past, which Israel maintains it never fully abandoned.
Political, military and religious entities in #Suwayda Governorate, southern #Syria, establish a political council to represent the region’s perspective in the new Syria. https://t.co/sCdaX3cFKN
Political, military and religious entities in Suwayda Governorate, southern Syria, announced on Monday the establishment of a political council, presenting a political, security, and economic vision reflecting the region’s perspective in the new Syria.
The council aims to represent local factions, notable religious figures, intellectuals, and politicians.
Ziyad Abu Hamdan, a member of the council, stated that its formation seeks to “fill the political void, unify perspectives, and mobilize efforts in line with the evolving needs of Syrians in the upcoming phase.”
The council asserts that it is not a political party and does not adhere to any specific ideology. Instead, it is founded on key principles, primarily “linking political discourse to a comprehensive national project, engaging with all political and democratic forces, and working toward shared interests that embrace Syria’s diversity.”
The council’s formation follows consultative meetings and dialogue sessions held late in 2024, where committees were prepared for participation in the Syrian national conference in Damascus—steps that ultimately led to the council’s establishment.
Abu Hamdan welcomed the appointment of Ahmad al-Sharaa as the head of Syria’s transitional phase, describing it as “a crucial step in organizing the Syrian state.”
The council’s program also emphasizes “preserving Syria’s unity—both its people and territory—building a decentralized democratic state based on regional governance rather than sectarian divisions, and ensuring that power remains with the people through a parliament elected under a new constitution rooted in the principle of separation of powers.”
[Regnum] The Pentagon is developing a plan for the complete withdrawal of all American troops from Syria in 30, 60 or 90 days. This was reported on February 5 by the NBC television channel, citing two American officials. This time the generals are taking President Trump seriously, instead of trying to baffle him with flimflammery like they did in Afghanistan. Because we all saw how that turned out.
They specified that US President Donald Trump and administration officials close to him recently spoke in favor of a complete withdrawal of troops from the country's territory. Following this, the US Department of Defense began preparing plans to implement this step.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had failed to cope with social problems in the country, in particular due to the destructive actions of the United States, which occupied the resource-rich northeast of Syria. The minister emphasized that it was the strangulation of the Syrian economy that contributed to social tension in the country, and Damascus had to resort to unpopular measures, including reducing subsidies for socially significant goods and services.
In December, Trump said Syrians would have to cope with the crisis in their country on their own, without help from the United States or France. He said he refused to participate in supporting the country.
Russia has helped the Syrian government fight terrorist groups, pledging to provide support while the republic's army is conducting the fighting. Russian President Vladimir Putin noted in 2015 that Russians would not be "greater Syrians than the Syrians themselves."
On December 8, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that Bashar al-Assad had resigned as President of Syria and left the country, ordering a peaceful transfer of power. He and his family arrived in Russia, where they were granted asylum. The head of the "salvation government" formed in Idlib, Mohammed al-Bashir, became the acting Prime Minister of Syria.
Later, on January 29, the new Syrian authorities announced the termination of the previous constitution and the dissolution of the country's parliament. Ahmed al-Sharaa was declared the head of the new administration of the interim government of Syria for the transitional period.
The withdrawal of American troops from Syria in the foreseeable future is impossible, despite the statements in the press, said Stanislav Tarasov, an expert on the problems of the Middle East and the Caucasus, in a conversation with IA Regnum.
NBC reported earlier on February 5 that the Pentagon was developing plans to withdraw US troops from Syria. It was claimed that the information was received from US officials, and the plan itself would involve withdrawal of troops in 30, 50 and 90 days.
"The thing is that this is a regular fake. The day before, US President Donald Trump personally made a statement that he was reviewing the issue of withdrawing troops from Syria. He specified that the situation is really difficult, but this withdrawal of troops is suspended," Tarasov said.
The orientalist said that Trump motivates this position by the escalating fighting in northern Syria between the Syrian army, which is supported by Turkey, and the Kurds, who are supported by the United States. The expert also pointed out that there is a danger of Turkey invading Syria, which also influenced Trump's decision to suspend the withdrawal of American troops.
"The withdrawal of these troops will mean that the Kurds are losing the power to support their actions. A civil war will begin there, a real meat grinder. And therefore, such rumors that are going on in parallel, about 60-90 days and so on, are fakes that are designed to test the situation. By all indications, the Americans will remain in Syria in the foreseeable future," Tarasov said.
The expert believes that the NBC report cannot be any kind of backup option for the Americans, since this topic has long been in Trump's field of vision. As the orientalist recalled, the Republican raised this issue during his first presidential term. The agency's interlocutor believes that, despite the American administration's statements about weakening its presence in the Middle East, the situation remains tense and there is no talk of withdrawing US troops from there.
"In fact, this is what is called a pyramid, from which they are trying to pull out one brick. But even from this, the pyramid can collapse. There must be clearly thought-out actions here. And there is no need to rush even to pressure the Americans regarding the withdrawal of their troops from Syria, because if they only start doing this now, a civil war will break out there," the expert explained.
At the same time, Tarasov noted that any agreements between the US and Turkey are possible only if the States surrender the Kurds. And Washington is not doing this at the moment, on the contrary, it is protecting the Kurds from Ankara's pressure, the orientalist added in conclusion.
Earlier, Regnum news agency reported the words of the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry Sergey Lavrov that the former President of Syria Bashar al-Assad was unable to cope with social problems in the country, in particular, due to the destructive actions of the United States, which occupied the resource-rich northeast of Syria. The minister emphasized that it was the strangulation of the Syrian economy that contributed to social tension in the country, and Damascus was forced to resort to unpopular measures, including reducing subsidies for socially significant goods and services.
In December, Trump said Syrians would have to cope with the crisis in their country on their own, without help from the United States or France. He said he refused to participate in supporting the country.
Russia has helped the Syrian government fight terrorist groups, pledging to provide support while the republic's army is conducting the fighting. Russian President Vladimir Putin noted in 2015 that Russians would not be "greater Syrians than the Syrians themselves."
On December 8, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that Bashar al-Assad had resigned as President of Syria and left the country, ordering a peaceful transfer of power. He and his family arrived in Russia, where they were granted asylum. The head of the "salvation government" formed in Idlib, Mohammed al-Bashir, became the acting Prime Minister of Syria.
Later, on January 29, the new Syrian authorities announced the termination of the previous constitution and the dissolution of the country's parliament. Ahmed al-Sharaa was declared the head of the new administration of the interim government of Syria for the transitional period.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans...
...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?...
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
