Netanyahu says U.S. and Israel must topple Iranian regime

Netanyahu says U.S. and Israel must topple Iranian regime

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday night that the Iranian regime must be overthrown once and for all.

Speaking to an Israel Defense Forces officer graduation ceremony, Netanyahu said that Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei “decided to follow in his father’s footsteps” and attempt “once again to develop the bombs of death.”

“And therefore, there is only one way to remove this threat once and for all: overthrow the regime in Iran,” Netanyahu said. “And that is my directive to the IDF, the Mossad, and the security branches.”

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China is helping the Houthis in order to spite the US

China is helping the Houthis in order to spite the US

China is supporting the Iran-backed Houthis as a way to pressure the US.

The militant group is seeking to build a medium-range ballistic missile that, according to a research report, would be made with Chinese components.

The Houthis are seeking to manufacture domestically at least part of the Iranian Khaibar Shekan series of ballistic missiles, which have a range of more than 1,000 km (620 miles), according to Conflict Armament Research, a UK-based investigative organisation that tracks the use of weapons in conflict zones.

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What you need to know about the ‘mother of all bombs’ as Trump looks to end Iran war

What you need to know about the ‘mother of all bombs’ as Trump looks to end Iran war

President Donald Trump is weighing new military options against Iran that could include the largest non-nuclear bomb in the U.S. arsenal, as his administration faces mounting pressure to end the war as the November midterm elections approach.

The U.S. military has developed plans for potential strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear facilities using the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, dubbed “mother of all bombs,” CNN reported. The plans would only be carried out if Trump orders a resumption of major combat operations.

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How to Prepare for Regime Change in Iran

How to Prepare for Regime Change in Iran

At this point in the Iran conflict, it seems nothing dramatic will transpire before the November midterm elections. While President Trump is well known for unpredictability, a major bombardment would shock the world’s energy system and further raise the price of gasoline and diesel, hurting consumers, farmers, and various sectors. It would also further deplete U.S. stocks of munitions such as offensive cruise missiles and the Patriot and THAAD systems needed to defend U.S. assets and Gulf allies against Iran’s retaliation. Iran’s hopeful calculation is a Democratic sweep of Congress eventually resulting in a better deal for itself, recognition by the U.S. that it must withdraw its vulnerable bases from the Gulf, and a ruined Trump presidency.

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Iran’s Top Security Official Warns of Dire Economic Crisis

Iran’s Top Security Official Warns of Dire Economic Crisis

Iran’s national security adviser has warned that the rapidly deteriorating economy has plunged the country into one of the most difficult periods in its history.

Mohsen Rezaei, Iran’s top security official, made the rare admission on Saturday at a high-level government meeting about how to stabilize the economy after more than seven months of war.

Iran’s currency, the rial, has plummeted since the United States and Israel launched the war on Iran in February. The decline has accelerated sharply in recent weeks, since the United States ratcheted up sanctions and enforced a naval blockade. That has made imports more expensive and deepened a longstanding cost of living crisis that sparked nationwide protests last December that the security forces crushed with deadly force.

h/t Clink

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Three U.S. carriers, a chokepoint standoff, and Iran

Three U.S. carriers, a chokepoint standoff, and Iran

The massive surge of three American aircraft carrier strike groups and ten thousand additional troops into the Persian Gulf is being framed as an unyielding display of military resolve. Yet the reality in Washington is governed as much by electoral calendars as by naval doctrine. The White House’s explicit rejection of Tehran’s latest proposal to open the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for immediate sanctions relief highlights a deliberate strategy: hold the line through the upcoming U.S. midterm elections, maintain maximum economic pressure, and defer high-risk kinetic operations.

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Trump was just the beginning: Iran’s American hit list is real — is DHS ready?

Trump was just the beginning: Iran’s American hit list is real — is DHS ready?

As a researcher who has spent more than two decades studying counterterrorism and radical Islamist organizations in the Middle East, I want to address the Department of Homeland Security directly — and its new secretary, who understands the nature of the regime ruling Iran. The threat posed by the Islamic Republic on American soil is not hypothetical. Its record reveals an operational pattern of proxy terrorism, criminal recruitment, target surveillance, and assassination plots.

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Iran ready for ‘doomsday war’ after Trump rejects ceasefire, foreign minister says

Iran ready for ‘doomsday war’ after Trump rejects ceasefire, foreign minister says

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that Iran was prepared for a “doomsday war” after President Donald Trump rejected its ceasefire offer.

Trump publicly confirmed that he rejected an Iranian ceasefire offer on Saturday, one that offered a halt on attacks on Strait of Hormuz shipping and a resumption of nuclear talks in return for the lifting of the U.S. naval blockade. In an appearance on NBC News’s Meet the Press, Araghchi was asked about a report from the Wall Street Journal claiming that Trump may seek a return to intensive bombing after the midterm elections. In response to the two developments, Araghchi said Iran was confident in its position in the case of a resumption of the war.

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Trump Rejects Iran Ceasefire, Expects Renewed Bombing After Midterms

Trump Rejects Iran Ceasefire, Expects Renewed Bombing After Midterms

President Trump has rejected Iran’s proposal for a seven-day ceasefire and has told aides he expects to resume bombing Iran after the November midterms, U.S. officials said.

Tehran’s proposal would have reopened the Strait of Hormuz and resumed nuclear talks in return for the U.S. lifting its blockade of Iranian ports, which is causing deep damage to the country’s economy. Trump says openly that Tehran is begging for a deal after the midterms that dismantles its nuclear program.

But privately Trump is skeptical Iran would meet his demands and has told his staff that he sees a renewed bombing campaign as likely, the officials said.

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Iran offers US deal to reopen Strait of Hormuz in seven days

Iran offers US deal to reopen Strait of Hormuz in seven days

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says his country has proposed a deal to the US that would see the Strait of Hormuz reopened within a week.

Araghchi told reporters at the UN in New York that this could be done “if the necessary conditions are met” and said these were contained within the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in June.

“The choice now rests with the United States,” he said, adding the plan was delivered to the US via Qatar.

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Trump considering ‘blowing up entire nation’ of Iran

Trump considering ‘blowing up entire nation’ of Iran

Donald Trump said he was considering “blowing up the entire nation” of Iran amid claims the US was preparing to resume military action against the regime.

The US president also suggested he could “let them rot economically”, as Tehran is squeezed by a naval blockade, or strike a peace deal.

Iran on Sunday said it was preparing for possible air strikes and threatened to retaliate. US embassies and the US state department issued security alerts this weekend amid fighting between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis.

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Tehran rallies hundreds of thousands of civilians to ‘sacrifice their lives for Iran’: ‘We have no fear’

Tehran rallies hundreds of thousands of civilians to ‘sacrifice their lives for Iran’: ‘We have no fear’

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians flooded the streets of Tehran on Friday for a government-organized rally calling on civilians to join the military and prepare to “sacrifice their lives.”

It was the largest demonstration in the country since the United States and Israel attacked Iran in February.

Dubbed “Janfaday-e Iran,” or “ones who sacrifice their lives for Iran,” the rally was designed to project national unity as Tehran faces a worsening economy amid US sanctions and a naval blockade of Iranian ports.

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White House issues explosive response to UN-backed report claiming US committed war crimes against world’s No.1 sponsor of terror, Iran

White House issues explosive response to UN-backed report claiming US committed war crimes against world’s No.1 sponsor of terror, Iran

WASHINGTON — The White House came out swinging Thursday against a United Nations-sponsored investigation that found “reasonable grounds” to conclude the US committed war crimes in Iran.

The fact-finding mission stood up by the global body’s notorious Human Rights Council said that the US should pay “full reparations to victims” of two attacks that occurred on Feb. 28, the first day of Operation Epic Fury, at a school and a sports complex in southern Iran.

“The UN Human Rights Council has accomplished nothing for human rights while spouting unserious nonsense for decades,” said White House principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly.

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