Free Republic

The maximalists wanted regime change, the minimalists wanted nothing, and the doubters see only waffling. Carafano’s answer: the victor gets to define victory — and everywhere you look, the region is moving Trump’s way. Iran War Turns into Trump Middle East Triumph: We are about to see the biggest reshaping of the Middle East since Moses led the Jews out of Egypt. Like the pharaoh, who missed every warning sign up to the parting of the Red Sea, the critics and questioners of Trump’s tug-of-war with what’s left of the Iran regime seem obtuse to the prophetic truth that the...

According to various reports, Iran is pushing for a transit fee of between 5% and 7% of the cargo's value, while Oman has reportedly proposed a lower 3% toll. The Strait of Hormuz has long been one of the world's most strategically sensitive maritime chokepoints. Now, reports suggest Iran wants to transform it into one of the planet's most lucrative revenue streams by charging commercial vessels a transit fee worth up to 7% of the value of their cargo — a move that could reshape global shipping economics and intensify geopolitical tensions in West Asia. According to a Reuters report,...

Hours after Trump canceled a planned strike and said the outlines of a deal had been reached, a regime-linked Iranian outlet said the strategic waterway would remain closed as long as US ‘hostile actions’ continue. Iran on Sunday denied that it had reached any agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, directly contradicting U.S. President Donald Trump hours after he canceled a planned strike and announced that the outlines of a deal had been reached. “There is no agreement on reopening the Strait of Hormuz,” Iran’s regime-linked Fars news agency reported. “As long as the United States continues its hostile...

At first glance, Iran's surprise missile strike on a US base in Jordan earlier this week appeared difficult to explain. The attack effectively ended the fragile pause in direct US-Iran fighting and prompted Washington to resume strikes inside Iran. It was also unusual. If Tehran's priority had been a ceasefire, the strike is difficult to explain. But if Iranian leaders judge that a controlled confrontation could offer greater strategic leverage, the decision becomes more understandable. One possible explanation is that Tehran believes that, despite its risks, a limited war serves its interests better. Today, neither side appears ready for an...

Iran’s rulers are not playing to win the war today—they are playing to survive long enough to fight another one tomorrow. We are now in Stage III of the Iran War: the familiar monotony of bomb, talk, bomb. It is now the liberal consensus that the war has failed, if not been won by Iran. We could be entering the war’s final stage, marked by an effort to escalate decisively before disengaging. We know the tired Iranian strategy by now. We might call it “theocratic rope-a-dope.” For the theocrats and their terrorist proxies, survival means outlasting Trump, waiting for the...

Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Iraq reported drone attacks in their territory Monday amid a lull in US air strikes against Iran, after nearly two weeks of fighting between both sides. The Israel Defense Forces said Monday morning that it shot down two drones over the Jordan border, near the Dead Sea, adding that the drones did not cross into Israeli territory. Their origin was under investigation, the army said. Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry, meanwhile, said it shot down drones aimed at petroleum targets, some in its eastern province and others in the capital Riyadh. It said the drones had...

The U.S. military on Saturday announced the first U.S. troop deaths due to direct Iranian fire since the opening days of the war, saying two were killed and another was missing in an attack on a base in Jordan.They were killed Friday as the U.S. and partner forces defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks, a statement said. Four other service members who were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals were later discharged. The dead were not identified. Since the war began, 16 U.S. service members have now been killed and over 430 wounded.Minutes earlier, Iran’s supreme leader had warned...

Iran's supreme leader vowed to teach the United States "unforgettable lessons" on Saturday, as Washington reported its first military deaths since renewing its hostilities with the Islamic republic.A month after the foes signed a now-abandoned preliminary deal aimed at ending their war, Tehran struck infrastructure around the Gulf in retaliation for a week of intensifying US attacks, which Iran said had hit an airport, a railway station and bridges.Iran hit an oil facility in Kuwait as well as a power and water plant, authorities in the Gulf state said, while in Bahrain the army said air defences repelled a wave...

en. Mark Kelly, a retired Navy Captain and former astronaut, earned the ire of the Pentagon last week for raising concerns over U.S. weapons stockpiles that have been depleted by the Iran War. Citing a Department of Defense (DOD) briefing he had received, Kelly told CBS’s “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan it could take “years” to replenish stockpiles of Tomahawks, Patriots, and other long-range munitions that have been deployed in the U.S. and Israel’s attack on Iran—a reality that could leave the U.S. vulnerable around the world. Those comments prompted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to launch an investigation into...

In a bold and necessary exercise of American strength, President Donald J. Trump authorized Operation Epic Fury — a precise, overwhelming military campaign to eliminate the imminent nuclear threat posed by the Iranian regime, destroy its ballistic missile arsenal, degrade its proxy terror networks, and cripple its naval forces. This operation, executed in partnership with regional allies, follows exhaustive diplomatic efforts and comes after 47 years of Iranian aggression — including attacks on U.S. citizens, sponsorship of global terrorism, and brutal oppression of its own people.

President Donald Trump declared an end to his campaign against Iran’s leaders with an exhortation on Sunday: “Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” With the Iranian regime still in place, he was celebrating a resumption of the way the world was on Feb. 27, the day before the United States and Israel attacked Iran. A return to a version of the status quo was a far cry from the original aims of a war effort that kicked off with a vow to come to the aid of the Iranian protesters who had taken to their...

Reports emerging from the region suggest that Iran’s leadership may be divided over a proposed deal with the United States, raising new doubts about whether an agreement can be finalized. According to the reports, Iranian negotiators had signaled that the deal was ready to move forward. However, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has reportedly refused to approve the proposal. The reported rejection comes after claims that senior Iranian officials, including Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, had presented the agreement as essentially ready without securing final approval from Khamenei. If accurate, the development could point to a...

US airstrikes on Iran reported, explosions heard in multiple cities US airstrikes on Iran have begun, a US official told Fox News on Wednesday while explosions were reported in Sirik, Minab, Isfahan and on Qeshm Island, according to multiple reports. Iran’s state broadcaster said air defense systems in Asaluyeh have been activated. An explosion heard in the port city of Sirik in Iran's southern Hormozgan province, Iran's Mehr News Agency reported on Wednesday. The sound of air defense systems was heard in western Tehran, according to Iran's Mehr News.

Live aviation tracking data has revealed an unprecedented concentration of United States Air Force refueling tankers operating across multiple Middle Eastern nations, signaling that large scale aerial operations are currently underway. The skies across the entire theater of operations have transformed into a massive logistical staging ground as the United States Air Force deploys an exceptional number of strategic refueling assets. Real time tracking logs sourced from public flight monitoring networks like Flightradar24 show a dense network of heavy tankers maintaining active orbits over critical sectors. The sudden, coordinated appearance of these long range support aircraft indicates that Western air...

President Trump confirmed Tuesday that Iran shot down the American Apache attack helicopter that crashed near the Strait of Hormuz, vowing to respond to Tehran’s latest act of aggression. “I have just been informed by our Great Military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured. Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack,” he added.

ALBAWABA- Unconfirmed reports circulating on social media and in several regional media outlets claim that Ahmad Vahidi, commander-in-chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was killed in recent Israeli airstrikes targeting sites in or around Tehran. On Sunday afternoon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out an airstrike allegedly on a Hezbollah command centre in the Dahiyeh district of Beirut, following earlier rocket fire launched into northern Israel by Hezbollah. In response, Iran declared that Israel had “crossed all red lines” in Lebanon and launched multiple waves of ballistic missile strikes targeting Israeli territory late on Sunday, June 7...

One hundred days after they went to war together to thwart Iran’s rogue nuclear weapons program, radically degrade its ballistic missile industry, end its support for the Hezbollah and Hamas terror armies, and create the conditions for the fall of the regime, the US-Israel alliance against the Islamic Republic on Sunday reached its nadir. With its north battered relentlessly by Hezbollah in recent weeks, Israel resorted to a largely symbolic strike on the terror group’s Dahiyeh stronghold in Beirut, reportedly without telling the disapproving Trump administration ahead of time that it was doing so. And, as it had warned it...

Fox News is reporting that the coalition of anti-Trump nonprofits that have been leading the Anti-ICE protests notified its network to mobilize against Operation Epic Fury.They knew about the strikes even before they were announced, likely because they were notified by their Chinese Communist Party allies overseas.

As parades make their way down city streets and burgers are flipped on thousands of grills across the nation, let’s take a moment to remember the lives of the nation’s most recently fallen heroes — the soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty during Operation Epic Fury. Since the beginning of the strikes launched against Iran on Feb. 28, 2026, 13 service members have died in combat. Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Waukee, Iowa Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Spotsylvania, Virginia, Master Sgt. Nicole Amor,...

President Trump vowed Sunday Iran will never have a nuclear weapon — after top GOP Senators openly voiced skepticism over the reported details of the delicate peace deal. Trump, who previously said on Saturday that his negotiators were “finalizing” the agreement, suggested in a post on Truth Social Sunday morning that he would wait until the right agreement could be struck. “I have informed my representatives not to rush into a deal in that time is on our side. The Blockade will remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed,” he said. “Both sides...