Free Republic

Military aid vote shows the double standard and the real agenda. Last year, a bipartisan group of members of Congress introduced H.Res.776: a resolution expressing concern about the persecution of Coptic Christians under Egypt’s Islamic regime. The resolution has only picked up 8 cosponsors and has yet to make it out of committee. By contrast, 103 House Democrats voted in favor of the Massie amendment to cut aid to Israel out of H. R. 8595 which also apportions $1.4 billion to Egypt and $1.6 billion to Jordan. Meanwhile an amendment to zero out the $1.4 billion in military aid to...

Iran’s government is unlikely to feel significant impact or soften its negotiating position as a result of new rounds of U.S. military strikes like those now underway, according to a new intelligence assessment described by current and former U.S. officials.

U.S. gas prices jumped to an average of $4 a gallon again Monday as the U.S. and Iran launched more attacks. According to motor club federation AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline is now back to $4. The average price a year ago was $3.14 a gallon. The price is a national average, meaning drivers in some states have been paying well over $4 a gallon for a while now, while others pay less. Prices vary between states due to factors ranging from nearby supply to differing tax rates. People around the world are also dealing...

The war with Iran has been marked by collapsed ceasefires, expanding airstrikes and mounting American and Iranian casualties. In recent days the U.S. military announced the deaths of three more servicemembers, two of whom died in an Iranian missile strike. The U.S. is pressing on with a fight that has no end in sight — or even a clear definition of what an acceptable end would be. BEIRUT — President Trump long railed against forever wars. For years, whether as president or candidate, he flayed electoral opponents and previous presidents with his signature barbs, calling their entanglements a “complete waste...

The world is far safer after President Donald J. Trump’s highly successful, decisive precision strikes against the Iranian regime’s key nuclear facilities. Take it from those who actually know: President Trump: “Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term! The white structure shown is deeply imbedded into the rock, with even its roof well below ground level, and completely shielded from flame. The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!” Israel Atomic Energy Commission: “The devastating US strike on Fordo destroyed the site’s critical infrastructure and...

The State Department has issued a rare warning to all Americans traveling or living abroad, saying they could be targeted due to “heightened tensions” over the war with Iran. The warning, issued Saturday, urges Americans overseas to exercise increased caution and follow local security guidance, adding that U.S. diplomatic posts have been targeted both within and outside the Mideast. “Due to heightened tensions in the Middle East, the security environment remains complex with the potential for unforeseen escalation,” the State Department said. “Groups supportive of Iran may target other U.S. interests overseas or locations associated with the United States and/or...

President Trump long railed against forever wars. For years, whether as president or candidate, he flayed electoral opponents and previous presidents with his signature barbs, calling their entanglements a "complete waste of time" (Afghanistan), "the worst single mistake ever made in the history of our country" (Iraq) and "stupid" (Ukraine). Yet he now appears to be stumbling into a forever war of his own.

According to an Israeli security official, Iran's new supreme leader is no longer in the country, while Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Ahmad Vahidi and other senior officials are drafting statements in his name. The official also claimed the US does not want Israel to participate in offensive operations, even if the Iranian regime attacks it. Saudi broadcaster Al Hadath reported Sunday, citing an Israeli security official, that Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is not in Iran. According to the report, the new leader's complete disconnection from events on the ground means that all statements and written messages recently issued...

President Donald Trump issued a stark warning to the government of Iran via Truth Social Monday. “Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!” the president wrote on his social media platform. “This directive has been passed on to Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Daniel Caine, and every Leader in the Military,” he added before signing off, “President DONALD J. TRUMP.” The president’s message was posted after the Pentagon released the names of two U.S. servicemembers who were killed in Jordan after Iran fired missiles...

A decades-old television interview featuring a young Donald Trump has resurfaced after the US President launched strikes on Iran. The 1980 interview reveals Trump was calling for US military intervention during the height of the Iranian hostage crisis. In the exchange with TV host Rona Barrett, Trump sharply criticised the US government’s handling of the crisis. The crisis saw 52 American diplomats and citizens being held captive following the 1979 Iranian Revolution. “That they hold our hostages is just absolutely and totally ridiculous,” Trump said at the time. “That this country sits back and allows a country such as Iran...

• Trump's willingness to even consider lifting the F-35 ban is being seen in the context of his charm offensive to forge closer ties with Erdogan, an initiative the American leader has undertaken despite the Turkish leader's well-documented support for radical Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. • Erdogan also seems to have initiated a charm offensive, most likely with at least a partial view to prying loose those F-35s. • According to the report published by Israel's i24News, Kurdish militias were preparing to launch an attack on Iran with the aim of instigating a nationwide rebellion...

Two earthquakes measuring 5.2 and 5.7 in magnitude struck the Kuzaran area of Kermanshah province in western Iran on Monday morning. The first earthquake, with a magnitude of 5.2 at Richter scale, occurred at a depth of 13 kilometers. A second, stronger 5.7-magnitude quake struck the same area at 7:18 a.m. local time. No official reports of casualties or damage have been released so far. Assessment teams and emergency response units have been dispatched to evaluate conditions in the affected areas.

It was Iran that broke the 60-day “comprehensive cease-fire” established by the Memorandum of Understanding by attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz, period. Before the ink was dry on the MOU, which guaranteed open passage through the Strait of Hormuz, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard asserted Tehran’s control and ownership of the waterway and warned that merchant ships must obtain its OK to transit; then it started firing on vessels that didn’t comply. Blocking sea lanes reopened the war, and Israel had nothing to do with it. It’s also preposterous to charge that Jerusalem wants the war to drag on...

Feckless and clueless, Donald Trump is lost in Iran, unable to find a way out of the disastrous war he started. Once again, the US military is pummelling the country and, increasingly, its civilian infrastructure. As before, this unlawful bludgeoning strengthens the resistance of a hardline regime that cares little for its people’s suffering. How often have Trump and Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon’s wildling lord of bones, hailed a bogus victory? The president claimed this week to be “winning big”. No one believes him. Even as it counts the vast human and economic cost of his Persian folly, a watching...

Former Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., is campaigning to return to Congress alongside a self-described Maoist activist and political organizer whose online videos and social media rhetoric has included urging leftists not to disavow Hamas or Hezbollah, has included calls to "unmake" America, applauded burning the American flag and endorsed political violence. The activist, Christopher Winston, has built an online presence across numerous platforms under the pseudonym "BlackRedGuard," posting and appearing in videos about "Maoist organizing in DSA," attacking leftists who say they do not support "Hezbollah/Hamas" and using rhetoric that appeared to condone political violence. In one video reviewed by...

"Persian kings did not build empires by being naive about deception; they practically invented the genre.” —Jesus Enrique Rosas. Where do the enemies of our country — including the ones inside our country — get the idea that Iran is winning this war? They wish it into existence. The wishing is necessary to put across the talking points that President Trump and his advisors don’t have a plan, don’t know what they are doing, that the USA is persecuting and oppressing Iran for no good reason. We pounded Iran over the weekend for a very good reason: Iran needs to...

On one hand, we are winning the war with Iran. This week, bombings greatly accelerated and are not likely to end without real capitulation and surrender. On the other hand, the Vice President seems to be at odds with the administration, unhappy that we are in a (winning) war and casting blame for the failure of his peace effort, which is really only Iran’s fault. On one hand, the President has declassified documents credibly showing foreign influence and interference with our elections. On the other hand, major news outlets seem determined to keep their viewers from knowing this. If viewers...

Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan M. Dershowitz was told by his attorneys that he could not legally testify before the House Government Oversight Committee on Monday, he said. Dershowitz was scheduled to sit for an in-person, transcribed interview on his ties to the convicted sex criminal Jeffrey E. Epstein as part of the monthslong investigation into Epstein and his associates. Dershowitz, high-profile defense attorney, helped negotiate Epstein's controversial 2008 plea deal. But his attorney has now reversed course, a spokesperson for the House Oversight Committee confirmed Friday, indicating to the committee that Dershowitz would not be present for the interview....

(Map the link)

Just before dawn, the bridges began to fall.One by one, American missiles reduced them to crumpled concrete, strewn across river beds and gorges.For a week, the US had bombed southern cities, cranking up the pressure on Iran to relinquish control of the Strait of Hormuz.But now the US military was going for the transport arteries connecting key southern ports to the rest of the country.The bombings leave Bandar Abbas, a city of 500,000 people where roughly half the country's trade comes ashore, almost completely isolated.