Free Republic

There are several ways that wars end. –One side conquers and annexes the other. –One side surrenders and gives up some of their land, treasure, and authority in a peace treaty. –One side has a domestic change of government and the new one befriends the other side. –Things reach a stalemate and the shooting stops in an ongoing, uncomfortable sort of permanent ceasefire. The USA-Iran War has never fit comfortably into such normal classifications. During the first 47 years of the war, the Twelver regime of Iran didn’t just attack the United States, but attacked countless countries and interests all...

Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged continued support for Iran on Tuesday as the United States launched a new round of strikes against Iranian targets, highlighting the increasingly close relationship between Moscow and Tehran as President Donald Trump intensifies military and economic pressure on the Islamic Republic. *** The Post reported that Pezeshkian thanked Putin for Russia's support and urged the two countries to work together to counter U.S. sanctions. Putin said Russia was providing Iran with assistance and essential goods, according to the Post's account of the meeting. The Kremlin's support for Tehran came as U.S. forces launched a new...

Conservatives slammed Gov. Kathy Hochul for wearing a headscarf during a visit to an Islamic center in New York City over the weekend. The Democratic governor wore a charcoal gray suit and a black scarf mirroring those many Muslim women don to symbolize modesty and their religious faith, according to a clip of the appearance at the Islamic Cultural Center of New York in Queens. Hochul addressed the congregants during the weekly Friday Jummah prayer service, giving a shout out to “his excellency” Tareq Albanai — the United Nation’s permanent representative for Kuwait — thanking him for welcoming her to...

The leaders of China, Russia and India gathered with other heads of state in Kyrgyzstan on Monday for the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a group billed as a counterweight to U.S. global influence. Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are attending the events in Bishkek, the capital of the Central Asian nation. Putin met separately with Xi and Modi in two of the many bilateral sessions on the sidelines of the summit, Russian state media reported. Putin affirmed to Xi Moscow’s readiness to make the visa-free regime with China permanent,...

Iranian state media broadcast a chilling three-minute video fantasizing about killing Barron Trump in a disturbing escalation against President Trump and his family — as Tehran braces for an onslaught of additional crushing economic penalties. The clip titled “Where to kill Barron Trump” claimed to show the movements of President Trump’s 20-year-old son, claiming he is “fully monitored” and showing depictions of the dorms at New York University’s Constance Milstein & Family Global Academic Center, according to a translation of the video by Euronews. It further stated that it uncovered Barron’s accounts for Xbox, FIFA video games, and Discord, as...

Today, the Justice Department unsealed charges in a significant national security cyber matter.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington (EDWA) and the National Security Division (NSD) have charged two Chinese hackers working with the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS), including the Guangdong State Security Department (GSSD) of the MSS, with a sweeping global computer intrusion campaign.  In making this announcement, I’m joined here by Dave Bowdich, Deputy Director of the FBI, Bill Hyslop, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, and Raymond Duda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Seattle Field...

New details emerged Wednesday about how a mole for the government of communist China managed to stay by Senator Dianne Feinstein’s side for nearly 20 years. It happened five years ago, but additional information is just surfacing about how the Bay Area senator’s office was infiltrated by a Chinese spy. The Bay Area is a hotbed for Russian and Chinese espionage. Late last year, the feds shut down the Russian consulate in San Francisco. You may remember the thick black smoke that billowing from building before Russian diplomats turned it over to authorities, presumably produced by burning

China and Russia here Friday issued a joint statement on a new world order in the 21st century, setting forth their common stand on major international issues, such as UN reforms, globalization, North-South cooperation, and world economy and trade. The statement was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao after their talks. During their talks, the two leaders discussed ways to further enhance the strategic and cooperative partnership between China and Russia, and exchanged views on major regional and international issues. The joint statement said the two countries are determined to strengthen their strategic coordination in...

German paper says Iranians paid cash to build mid-range missile launch pads on Paraguana Peninsula; Iranian engineers visited site in Feb. BERLIN – The Iranian government is moving forward with the construction of rocket launch bases in Venezuela, the German daily Die Welt wrote in its Friday edition. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is Teheran’s most important South American ally. Iran is building intermediate- range missile launch pads on the Paraguaná Peninsula, and engineers from a construction firm – Khatam al-Anbia – owned by the Revolutionary Guards visited Paraguaná in February. Amir al-Hadschisadeh, the head of the Guard’s Air Force, participated...

For over two decades, Venezuela has served as a critical outpost for Hezbollah in the Western Hemisphere, with reports detailing the group's entrenchment on Margarita Island and ties to the former regimes of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro. U.S. intelligence assessments and media investigations describe this presence as evolving from fundraising networks among the Lebanese diaspora in the 1980s to sophisticated operations involving training, smuggling, and financial schemes by the 2000s. Margarita Island, once a bustling tourist spot, has been highlighted as a primary hub, surpassing even the Tri-Border Area in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay for Hezbollah's regional activities. Training...

Grok Summary of Video Transcript:Summary of MaxAfterBurner's Breaking News Video on B-52 Bombers and Venezuela TensionsIn this YouTube video dated around November 20, 2025, former fighter pilot Ryan (MaxAfterBurner) provides a real-time briefing on U.S. B-52 Stratofortress bombers reportedly heading south toward the Caribbean, potentially as a show of force amid escalating tensions with Venezuela's Maduro regime. He speculates on their mission, flight path, and role in a possible conflict, while analyzing target packages briefed to President Trump on November 18. The tone is informal, speculative, and pro-U.S. intervention, emphasizing regime change over endless war.Key Developments and ContextB-52 Deployment: Two...

Russian soldiers are operating drones over Venezuela as part of a search operation for members of a paramilitary force that led a botched invasion this week, local media reported on Friday, citing deleted tweets from a state military command centre. At least eight Russian special forces members will be “operating drones to run search and patrol operations” near La Guaira, the coastal state just north of Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, according to a report from local news outlet El Nacional. It posted a screenshot of a tweet it said was later deleted on Thursday from the profile of the military command,...

Iran summoned a Ukrainian diplomat in Tehran on Sunday to protest an attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea, as the war in the Middle East threatened to overlap with the Ukraine conflict. Iran said the attack left one sailor dead and injured several others. The country’s foreign ministry complained to Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires in Tehran early on Sunday and “conveyed Iran’s strong protest over the ‘hostile and criminal act.’” Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency reported. In a post on X highlighting Ukraine’s attacks on distant Russian targets, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that his country’s...

A London hairdresser, who used a photo of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un to attract customers having a “bad hair day”, was visited by embassy officials who demanded its removal because it was "disrespectful" to their supreme leader. Mo Nabbach, the manager of M&M Hair Academy in South Ealing, had to call in police after the two North Korean agents took photographs of his shop window and made notes. Beneath a picture of Kim Jong-un, the advert said: “Bad hair day? 15 percent off all gent cuts through the month of April. Tuesday–Thursday.” The diplomats, who are based at the...

Move comes amid concerns that Trump delegation could help Bolsonaro family cast doubt on electronic voting ahead of October’s presidential election SÃO PAULO—Brazil has denied visas to two senior Trump administration officials who were planning to travel to the country, amid concerns that they sought to undermine confidence in the electronic-voting system before October’s presidential election. The move comes as fears deepen in Brazil that the Bolsonaro family is working with President Trump and his allies to unseat leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and help return the Brazilian right to power. Former president Jair Bolsonaro is serving a...

The nomination of Mikhail Fradkov as Russia's next prime minister will do little to soften the Kremlin's increasingly assertive foreign policy, especially in the countries of the former Soviet Union. Mr Fradkov, a long-serving diplomat whose name was put forward on Monday by President Vladimir Putin, will bring to the post considerable experience of international relations. But he will also arrive with a history of close ties with the security services. While his personal views are not known, he is a member of the siloviki, the current and former members of the security services, headed by Mr Putin, who now...

Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega said the Central American country would no longer hold elections, further closing off any potential path for the opposition to challenge the government he leads with his wife, Rosario Murillo. Ortega, Nicaragua’s longest-serving leader, has remained in power since 2007 after previously governing during the 1980s. His current presidential term is scheduled to run through 2027. “There won’t be any more elections here for them to try to seize the government and seize power,” Ortega said. He delivered the remarks Sunday during a speech commemorating the 1979 Sandinista revolution, in which Ortega participated in the overthrow...

A new complaint requests that the federal government investigate the tax-exempt status of a left-wing nonprofit that has allegedly fomented violent riots. The Center to Advance Security in America (CASA) filed the complaint Tuesday morning with the IRS seeking an investigation into People’s Forum, Inc., a New York-based Nongovernmental Organization (NGO) linked to socialist megadonor Neville Roy Singham. CASA’s complaint alleges that People’s Forum routinely organizes and funds protests that engage in illegal activity. "People's Forum Inc. is the tax-exempt fiscal sponsor of many progressive and radical organizations, including the Venceremos Brigade, which engage in demonstrations often crossing the threshold...

Although Russia has not directly intervened in the US-Israeli war with Iran, the conflict has underscored the nature and extent of its strategic partnership with the Islamic Republic. Moscow has provided Tehran with satellite targeting data for strikes on US forces as well as delivered advanced fiber-optic drone technology. It has amplified Iran’s propaganda campaign against the West, while benefiting from the war’s spillover effects. The Russia-Iran axis poses a real threat to the US and its allies; it demands a coherent and resolute response. Why It Matters for the US Russia is arming Iran. Russia has a long history...

Russia is now "so deeply invested in the Maduro regime that the only realistic option is to double down." Financial Times' Alexander Gabuev says that Rosneft owns two offshore gas fields in Venezuela and holds stakes in assets boasting more than 20 million tonnes of crude. Caracas owes Rosneft USD 3 billion. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido last month declared himself interim president, winning the backing of the United States. Russia, meanwhile, supported Venezuela’s socialist leader Nicolás Maduro, who has led the oil-rich nation since 2013. The Kremlin is extending help to Maduro while the United States is imposing sanctions...