Free Republic

As media hype falters and globalists posture, Trump’s campaign to secure the world’s chokepoints reshapes power—and leaves Iran and its allies with little leverage left. Possibly the most amusing fake news item Saturday morning came from The New York Times. Under the rubric “Iran War Live Updates,” a headline screamed, “Iran’s Military Says It Has Reimposed ‘Strict Control’ of Strait of Hormuz.” To which an inquiring mind wants to know, “What Iran military?” It’s gone, Kemo Sabe. The floating bits are at the bottom of the sea. The terrestrial bits have been crushed, blasted, pulverized, or incinerated. Ditto most of...

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Sunday urged the EU to end its association agreement with Israel. In an escalation of his criticism against Israel, he said during a rally in Andalusia that “a government that violates international law or the principles of the EU cannot be its partner.” Spain will formally propose the termination of the agreement at a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Tuesday in Luxembourg. Sánchez has emerged as one of Israel’s most vocal critics in the EU. He accused Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of committing genocide in Gaza and denounced the joint U.S.-Israel strikes...

Lebanon this week remembered the outbreak of its civil war 51 years ago. If anything, April 13, 2026, ironically looked no different to the days of civil tension in the prelude to the breakdown of law and order among the Lebanese in 1975, between those who wanted to peel Lebanon away from regional discord and foreign agendas and those who wanted to see the country and its people used as cannon fodder. Half a century has passed but the similarities are striking. Lebanon is again facing its demons and the curse of division, as the majority of its people want...

In UN Watch's press release, the NGO cited the UN's Economic and Social Council's (ECOSOC) recent nomination of Iran to the UN’s Committee for Program and Coordination. UN Watch demanded an explanation on Saturday from democratic countries for why they'd allowed "serial abusers of human rights" to be elected to key positions in the United Nations. In UN Watch's press release, the NGO cited the UN's Economic and Social Council's (ECOSOC) recent nomination of Iran to the UN’s Committee for Program and Coordination, which would include an active role in shaping policy on women's rights, disarmament, and terrorism prevention, as...

A vile nurse who was fired after she went on an unhinged antisemitic rant in Times Square once traveled to Iran and bashed the US as the “most criminal, evil entity on the planet.” Clad in a headscarf, Jennifer Koonings rambled about New York City’s potholes while praising the “beauty” of Iran in the July 17, 2025 clip posted to the X account of the Sobh Festival, which is organized by the Iranian state media. Koonings, 35, made the trip nearly a month after the United States bombed Iranian nuclear sites in Isfahan and Fordow. The nurse went on to...

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed revenge in a fiery message in which he urged Arab neighbors to turn their backs on the Western nations. “Everyone must know that, God willing, we will certainly not let go of the criminal aggressors who attacked our country. We will definitely seek compensation for every damage inflicted, as well as blood money for the martyrs and compensation for the wounded of this war," read the message marking the 40th day since Ali Khamenei’s death, Iran International reported. Addressing his supporters, Khamenei said: “It should not be assumed that announcing an intention to negotiate...

Liberal filmmaker Michael Moore torched the US as the “bad guys” in the war with Iran – while hailing the Middle Eastern nation as one of the world’s “greatest civilizations” in a deranged online tirade. The documentarian unleashed the frenzied rant on Tuesday, calling President Trump a “terrorist” for threatening a “holocaust” after the commander in chief warned Iran that its “whole civilization” would be wiped out if the nation failed to cut a ceasefire deal to open the Strait of Hormuz and end the six-week conflict. He also accused the US of “meddling” in Iran’s internal affairs for the...

Iran’s nuclear chief said on Thursday that demands by adversaries to limit the country’s uranium enrichment program would fail. Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said such calls were “wishful thinking” and could not stop Iran’s nuclear activities. “No law or individual can stop us,” Mohammad Eslami said, adding that past actions by adversaries, including the current war, had failed.

NEW YORK, March 2025 – A United Nations envoy is currently en route to Tehran for critical negotiations, according to Iran’s ambassador to the UN. This diplomatic movement signals potential progress in ongoing international discussions. The envoy’s mission represents a significant development in multilateral diplomacy. Furthermore, it underscores the UN’s continued engagement with regional stakeholders. This article examines the context, implications, and potential outcomes of this diplomatic initiative.Iran’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations confirmed the envoy’s travel plans. The UN Secretary-General’s personal representative is undertaking this mission. Consequently, this development follows months of preparatory discussions. The envoy carries specific...

United Nations agencies have refused to provide key personnel records to U.S. investigators in an ongoing probe into potential Hamas ties inside U.S.-funded aid programs.A report sent to Congress this week by the USAID inspector general’s office says multiple UN agencies failed to fully respond to requests for employee data tied to the programs. The requests sought names, basic identifying information, and employment history for people working on U.S.-funded awards, records investigators say are necessary to determine whether individuals with known affiliations were able to move between organizations without detection.Some agencies offered only partial responses, while others did not respond...

Iran has achieved a singular statistic in its current front against Israel. After firing more than 400 missiles over nearly a month, Tehran apparently hasn’t hit a single Israeli military target. That leaves the Islamic Republic with a 100% civilian casualty ratio—a benchmark of the number of civilian casualties relative to combatant ones. Not long ago, civilian casualty ratios were at the heart of discussions of the Israel-Gaza war, with Israel’s critics claiming that “disproportionate” levels of civilian casualties were evidence of war crimes. In reality, Israel’s infliction of 30% to 40% military casualties on an adversary hiding behind civilians...

On Monday, in an unusual step, the Spanish government closed its airspace and the use of its military bases to aircraft involved in the ongoing operations in Iran. The decision includes a sweeping ban on the landing, takeoff, or refueling of fighter jets at the strategic "Rota" and "Morón" bases. Following the move, and in coordination with the government in Madrid, Washington canceled its plan to deploy heavy bombers of the B-52 and B-1 types at Morón Air Base, which is considered a critical logistical hub for the US Air Force. Amid tensions with the United States, Spanish Prime Minister...

The UN General Assembly on Wednesday designated the transatlantic African slave trade as "the gravest crime against humanity" despite opposition by the United States and some European countries. In a move advocates hailed as a step towards healing and possible reparations, the resolution was adopted to applause by a vote of 123 in favour, three against and 52 abstentions. The United States, Israel and Argentina opposed the measure while Britain and EU member states abstained. Ghana's President John Mahama, one of the African Union's most vocal supporters of slavery reparations, was at the United Nations headquarters in New York to...

Serbia has sharply condemned Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, for what it described as “unacceptable interference in internal affairs,” after she criticized the Balkan country’s military cooperation with Israel. The diplomatic dispute follows Albanese’s visit to Belgrade this week, during which she accused Serbian authorities of collaborating “without shame” with Israel, claiming Serbia is among its strongest allies and that Serbian weapons are being used in Gaza. “We consider the statements made by the United Nations Special Rapporteur, Mrs. Albanese, to be unbalanced and activist in nature, and as such inappropriate to the mandate she...

Is it any real surprise that the crown prince of the most notorious left-wing empires in American politics is getting all bent out of shape because President Donald Trump decided to finally dismantle the murderous Islamist regime of Iran? Alex Soros got his panties in a bunch after the United States launched coordinated strikes on Iran with Israel, and praised the leftist-run Spain for grandstanding against the attacks in a March 2 X post that got ratioed into oblivion. “Why aren’t more Europeans standing up to an illegal war! Same with Canada! They make nice speeches at conferences, but do...

Massive crowds in Tehran burned US and Israeli flags during Al-Quds Day demonstrations supporting the Palestinian cause.

Most students at Columbia do not have first hand knowledge of war. Military violence has been a vicarious experience, channeled into our minds through television, film, and print. The more sensitive among us struggle to extrapolate experiences of war from our everyday experience, discussing the latest mortality statistics from Guatemala, sensitizing ourselves to our parents' wartime memories, or incorporating into our framework of reality as depicted by a Maller[?] or a Coppola. But the taste of war -- the sounds and chill, the dead bodies -- are remote and far removed. We know that wars have occurred, will occur, are...

President Obama advocated that nations will have to give up some of their autonomous freedoms for international cooperation to achieve security on Tuesday during his speech to the United Nations General Assembly. Obama told the audience how he believes global security can be achieved with the help of international institutions like the U.N. In his remarks, Obama said “powerful nations” like the United States will have to accept constraints and give up some of their freedoms. The president acknowledged that he has been criticized by his own citizens for this belief but he remains convinced he is right. Obama also...

An Israeli source added to the Post that UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka will arrive in Israel on Monday amid the ongoing escalation. Hezbollah has instructed its members to confront the Lebanese army should it attempt to intervene with the group's activities, a source familiar with the details told The Jerusalem Post. “The instruction is very clear: if the Lebanese army attempts to dismantle a position or prevent rocket fire, confront them,” the source said.

Following our bombing of Iran, we are hearing the usual caterwauling from the Left about international law. Of course, no one invokes international law when Iran kills our servicemen, or when Hamas massacres Israelis, or when Iran launches missiles against the United Arab Emirates, and so on. There is a certain asymmetry in the invocation of international law.I took a course in international law when I was in law school. It was taught by a distinguished scholar in that field. As I recall, the first section of the course was devoted to the question, is there such a thing as...