Free Republic

On February 26, the ayatollahs have scheduled two "elections" in Iran: one for the parliament and one for the Assembly of Experts, a body that is supposed to monitor the supreme leader and choose a replacement when the time comes. Some in the West tout this as the potential start of a new era of moderation. After all it is the first election since the conclusion of nuclear negotiations between Iran and six world powers. But the nuclear deal cannot be the only criteria by which the West determines the prospects for moderation in Iran. Equally or more important is...

Saudi Arabia has commenced a massive military drill in which 20 nations are participating. The move comes amid ongoing deadly conflicts in the Middle East. More than 2,500 warplanes, 20,000 tanks and 450 helicopters will be part of the exercise. Riyadh has billed the manoeuvre as "the largest and most important" drill ever staged in the region. Up to 350,000 troops from various Gulf nations, and other allies such as Pakistan, Jordan, Chad and Sudan will take part in the drill, the Saudi Press Agency said. The exercises would involve ground, naval and air forces personnel.

John Brennan, the CIA director, told a Senate committee Tuesday that the violence and instability in the Middle East was the worst it had been in 50 years, painting a dire picture of a region he said was facing "unprecedented" bloodshed. Brennan spoke at the Senate Intelligence Committee's annual worldwide-threats hearing, emphasizing the threats the US faces as the Middle East devolves further into chaos. "The Middle East right now I think is racked by more instability and violence and inter-state conflict than we've seen certainly in the past 50 years," Brennan said. "And the amount of bloodshed and humanitarian...

In open defiance of recent US sanctions on Iran's ballistic missile program, Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan on late Tuesday told local media that Tehran will soon be rolling out an upgrade of its nuclear-capable medium-range Emad missiles. The "next generation of Emad with improved precision" will be unveiled in the next Iranian year which starts on March 20, Dehghan said as cited by the semi-official Fars News Agency. Emad is said to have a 1,700 kilometer range, putting Israel and much of eastern Europe squarely in its sights. [...] In light of an Iranian Emad test on October 10,...

Saad al-Hadithi spoke to The Associated Press after an earlier statement from the prime minister's office seemed to dismiss the idea entirely. "Baghdad is the capital for all Iraqis and it's not possible for a wall or a fence to isolate the city," the earlier statement said. The plan for the wall was originally drafted by the Interior Ministry as an effort to curb near-daily attacks carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and cut down on checkpoints inside the city that snarl traffic. The Interior Ministry's spokesman, police Brig. Gen. Saad Maan, told The Associated...

What a difference a year makes in Syria. And the introduction of massive Russian airpower. Last February, President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and its Shiite auxiliaries mounted a large-scale attempt to encircle Aleppo, the northern city divided between regime and rebels since 2012 and battered by the dictator’s barrel bombs. Islamist and non-Islamist mainstream rebels — to the surprise of those who have derided their performance, let alone their existence — repelled the offensive at the time. What followed was a string of rebel advances across the country, which weakened Assad so much that they triggered Moscow’s direct intervention in September,...

Saudi Arabia is not ruling out developing a nuclear bomb if its regional rival Iran obtains one, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday. Asked if Saudi Arabia had discussed seeking a nuclear bomb in the event Iran managed to obtain one, al-Jubeir replied the country would do "whatever we need to do in order to protect our people". "I don't think it would be logical to expect us to discuss any such issue in public and I don't think it would be reasonable to expect me to answer this question one way or another,"...

Obama Admin: Congressional Crackdown on Terror Will Violate Iran Deal ‘Iran Czar’ tells Congress nuke deal prohibits congress from restricting terrorist visas BY: Adam Kredo December 21, 2015 Senior Obama administration officials are expressing concern that congressional attempts to tighten laws preventing terrorists from entering the United States could violate the Iran nuclear agreement and prompt Tehran to walk away from the agreement.Congress is considering measures that would tighten the Visa Waiver Program to make it harder for potential terrorists to legally enter the United States by increasing restrictions on individuals who have travelled to countries with prominent terrorist organizations...

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told reporters following his meeting Monday with President Barack Obama that the meeting had been one of the better ones the two have had. "The conversation took place in a pleasant atmosphere, I would say constructive and businesslike," he said in a briefing following the meeting in Washington. "What was seen on the outside, was evident inside as well. [It was ] one of the best meetings I have had with Obama and I think the other side felt the same way." The prime minister said that "the conversation was very relaxed, and honest. No one...

Don't know if this has been seen before. These Egyrtian commentators don't think to highly of Obama. They laugh at him, his body, his wife and how no one can trust him.

Over the years, Israelis have had to defend themselves from foreign armies, suicide bombers and missiles. Over recent weeks, they’ve been confronting a new threat: young Palestinians wielding butcher knives. Unlike the cutthroats of the Islamic State and al Qaeda, these fanatics aren’t able to bind their victims and behead them. But videos on social media teach would-be assassins how to use sharp instruments to inflict maximum damage on unsuspecting Israelis. An imam in Gaza has been recorded on the pulpit brandishing a six-inch knife, urging his “brothers” to go out in the streets, find a Jew and “Stab!” Attacks...

As seen through multiple recent events, the nations of the world are increasing their efforts to weaken or remove Jewish sovereignty in Jerusalem. Is this a fulfillment of Zechariah 12:3’s prophecy that, at the End of Days, the nations of the earth will gather against Jerusalem? In the 1920s, the Muslims began calling the Kotel (Western Wall) the Al-Buraq Wall and the Kotel Plaza the Buraq Plaza. According to Muslim tradition, Al-Buraq was a horse with wings that carried Muhammad back and forth between Mecca and Jerusalem. Historically, the Kotel is a part of the outer, western retaining wall of...

Obama Plans Takedown of Another U.S. Ally Cliff Kincaid President Obama failed to take out Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but now he’s going after Canada’s Conservative Party Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a big supporter of Israel and opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin. It’s a story the U.S. media won’t cover. But Judi McLeod of the Canada Free Press has been documenting how Obama is planning the “fundamental transformation” of Canada by taking down Harper’s government and bringing to power a progressive majority assembled from Canada’s Liberal Party and New Democratic Party (NDP), an affiliate of the Socialist International....

The Syrian Civil War is entering a third and potentially very dangerous phase in its continuing evolution. It began as a purely domestic crisis, became steadily internationalized as other countries intervened, and it now risks becoming a full blown Russian-American cold war proxy conflict. This is a conflict that could turn hot very quickly given the proximity of American and Russian military forces in the same theater of operations. The civil war started as an Arab Spring sparked revolt by elements in the Syrian military, under the banner of the Free Syrian Army, against the Assad government. There has been...

Washington (CNN)A number of cruise missiles launched from a Russian ship and aimed at targets in Syria have crashed in Iran, two U.S. officials told CNN Thursday. Monitoring by U.S. military and intelligence assets has concluded that at least four missiles crashed as they flew over Iran. One official said there may be casualties, but another official said this is not yet known.

Western naval sources reported Friday that a Chinese landing craft, the Jinggangshan, with a 1,000-strong marine battalion had reached the Red Sea en route for the Mediterranean off Syria. According to DEBKAfile, Beijing has already deployed a number of warships opposite Syria in secret. If the latest report is confirmed, this will be the largest Chinese deployment in the Middle East in its naval history.

Senator Tom Cotton is blasting Senate Democrats from failing to block the Iran nuclear deal. “I am deeply disappointed by Senate Democrats' decision to block a vote on the Iran nuclear deal. I proposed an amendment to Corker-Cardin that would have guaranteed a vote, but it was rejected by Democrats because their goal all along was to deny Congress any vote or say on this deal. That's one reason why I ultimately voted against Corker-Cardin," reads Cotton's statement to the press. “Political fealty to President Obama’s hoped-for legacy in foreign affairs means this dangerous deal will likely move forward, despite...

Senate votes 58-42, failing to overcome Dem filibuster on Iran nuke deal. The deal will stand

Deal ‘will never be forgotten in the Middle East’ Dick Cheney called the Obama administration’s nuclear deal with Iran a “train wreck” that will never be forgotten and characterized it as a betrayal of U.S. allies in the Middle East during an interview with the Washington Free Beacon on Tuesday. “I cannot explain [President Obama’s] motives other than he thinks this is going to be a great legacy for his presidency,” said Cheney. “I think it’s going to be a train wreck, and he’s not going to want to claim it down the road. He’ll have to find a way...

RUSH: Is anybody surprised? You should not be surprised that Obama got the votes that he wanted. And I'm gonna maintain to you right now that that was always in the cards once Chuck Schumer decided to vote against it. Sorry if this sounds like an attack on Senator Schumer. I don't doubt that his opposition to this is principled, in part. But when I saw that Schumer was gonna vote against it and the story came, gonna be three or four to follow him along, it told me everything I needed to know. It meant that his vote "no"...