Free Republic

The FBI is claiming to have foiled a sophisticated Iran-sponsored terror plot, in which a Pakistani was attempting to hire hitmen to carry out political assassinations on U.S. soil. But the court records show that the “hitmen” were, in fact, undercover FBI agents. The case looks similar to the supposed 2022 Iran plot to kill former national security adviser John Bolton. In that case, the FBI claimed that a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps–Qods Force tried assassinating Bolton—but the Iranian was never confirmed to be an IRGC-QF member, and the “assassin” he was trying to hire was an...

Several Arab sources reported Tuesday that if the conflict between Iran and Israel escalates, Pakistan plans to supply Iran with Shaheen-III medium-range ballistic missiles. An emergency meeting of the foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), requested by Iran and Pakistan, took place yesterday in Saudi Arabia, with Iran examining its response to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

In Venezuela, the streets pulse with the dissent following a hotly contested election that saw President Nicolás Maduro claim victory amidst accusations of fraud. Across the nation, protesters have taken to the streets, with their voices becoming a chorus of defiance against a backdrop of electoral uncertainty. The opposition cries foul, alleging manipulation and daring to claim their own triumph in the face of adversity. President Maduro, feeling the pressure mounting from the swelling tide of discontent, has bowed to demands for a Supreme Court audit of the election process. Internationally, patience wears thin as the United States and other...

Hamas on Tuesday named Yahya Sinwar, its top official in Gaza who masterminded the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, as its new leader in a dramatic sign of the power of the Palestinian militant group’s hardline wing after his predecessor was killed in a presumed Israeli strike in Iran. The selection of Sinwar, a secretive figure close to Iran who worked for years to build up Hamas’ military strength, was a defiant signal that the group is prepared to keep fighting after 10 months of destruction from Israel’s campaign in Gaza and after the assassination of Sinwar’s predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh....

As a congressman, Walz cited Guantanamo Bay facility as 'serious obstacle to peace in the Middle East' ... Minnesota governor Tim Walz, who was named Kamala Harris’s vice presidential pick on Tuesday, pushed to close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp and move its terrorist captives into holding facilities in the United States. His position put him to the left of other prominent Minnesota Democrats like Amy Klobuchar, but Gitmo, Walz said, is a "serious obstacle to peace in the Middle East." As a House member representing Minnesota's First Congressional District, Walz voted against a 2009 measure that would have barred...

Hamas announced Tuesday that it had named Gaza-based leader Yayha Sinwar as its new leader to replace political chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Tehran, Iran, last week while attending the presidential inauguration there. Sinwar, who is regarded as the architect of the October 7 terror attack in which Hamas murdered 1,200 Israelis, is thought to be hiding underground in a tunnel in Gaza, possibly surrounded by Israeli hostages as human shields. The Times of Israel reported: Sinwar was selected by Hamas’s 50-strong Shura Council, a consultative body composed of officials elected by Hamas members in four chapters: Gaza,...

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Democrat presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate, is apparently fine with helping illegal aliens climb over the United States-Mexico border wall. During an interview on CNN, Walz appeared to refer to former President Donald Trump’s border wall. “He talks about this wall. I always say, ‘Let me know how high it is. If it’s 25 feet, then I’ll invest in a 30-foot ladder factory,'” Walz stated. The radical leftist governor continued: That’s not how you stop this. You stop this using electronics. You stop it using more border control agents. You stop it by...

Russia has captured 162 square miles of the Ukrainian territory since June 14, the Interfax news agency said Tuesday, citing Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia's security council. Russian forces have captured the village of Tymofiivka in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, Interfax news agency quoted the defense ministry as saying Tuesday. Also, Russian forces have thwarted a Ukrainian attempt to penetrate the border in Russia's Kursk region, the interim governor of the region said Tuesday.

The month-old leftist Labour government in Britain is reportedly set to “scatter” migrants throughout communities across the UK, despite the ongoing nationwide revolt against the mass migration policies of Westminster elites. Sir Keir Starmer, just a month in office as prime minister, potentially risks further inflaming tensions as riots and protests broke out over the past week in response to the slaying of three young girls by a reported second-generation Rwandan migrant teenager. According to a report from the Times of London, Starmer’s government is looking to “massively increase” the government’s acquisition of “dispersed accommodation” for migrants, such as empty...

Salemi) Officials in the US-led multinational coalition that is reportedly preparing to assist in repelling an expected Iranian attack have preemptively warned Israel not to respond too strongly to such an assault, according to a Tuesday report. “Don’t push it,” the unnamed officials told Jerusalem, according to Kan news. “Think carefully before you attack in return. The goal at the end of the day is not to lead to an all-out war.” In April, a massive drone and missile attack from Iran was foiled by a coalition that reportedly comprised Israel, the United States, Britain, France, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi...

Multiple reports on Tuesday indicated the governments of Jordan and Saudi Arabia communicated to rogue terror sponsor Iran it could not use their airspace to attack Israel in response to the elimination of Hamas “political” chief Ismail Haniyeh. The Middle East is anticipating a major attack on Israel by Iran in response to Haniyeh’s killing. Iran itself is repeatedly threatening to execute its “holy wrath” in an imminent attack on Israel, though it has yet to make a move at press time outside of various attacks by its affiliated terror proxies. Iran’s neighbors would not help Iran conduct missile attacks...

Lebanon’s Hezbollah terrorist group launched a series of drone and rocket attacks into northern Israel on Tuesday morning before warning that was just the start. Hezbollah said it launched a swarm of attack drones at two military sites near Acre in northern Israel, and also attacked an Israeli military vehicle in another location, Reuters reports. The attack was confirmed by the Israeli military, the Reuters report detailed, adding: […] a number of hostile drones were identified crossing from Lebanon and one was intercepted. It said several civilians were injured to the south of the coastal city of Nahariya. Reuters TV...

Vice presidential hopeful Josh Shapiro spent last week tempering his Jewishness, walking back support for Israel to pacify the pro-Hamas wing of the Democratic Party. At this pace, the Pennsylvania governor is mere days from warning us that the future doesn’t belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam.Hey, Michigan isn’t going to win itself.You can really learn a lot about a politician by watching who they choose to appease. The problem is that Shapiro, who is reportedly on the top of Kamala Harris’s veep list, has a record of supporting a liberal democratic ally in the Middle East...

Russia's space agency on Monday said the break with the West following Russia's offensive in Ukraine had cost it nearly 180 billion rubles ($2.1 billion). As part of sanctions against Moscow following the start of Russia's campaign, Western countries broke off partnerships with Roscosmos in the space sector. "The termination of contracts by unfriendly countries cost Roscosmos 180 billion rubles," Andrei Yelchaninov, deputy head of the Roscosmos agency, was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying. One of the collaborations what was halted was the cooperation on a planned joint mission to explore Mars with the European Space Agency. Roscosmos...

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif gave an interview Sunday night urging folks to not bully Olympic athletes online, but her compassion was completely misplaced - it focused solely on her, not the women she and fellow alleged XY-chromosome holder Lin Yu-Ting have physically bullied over the past week, women whose lifelong dreams were shattered. In an AP article headlined, "Olympic boxer Imane Khelif calls for end to bullying after backlash over gender misconceptions," Khelif is quoted as saying: “I send a message to all the people of the world to uphold the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter, to refrain from...

Finally, the UK public explodes. Should anyone be surprised that what has been called a “wave of violence” swept the cities of Britain this past weekend? For years, while the mass immigration of Muslims has utterly transformed their country, the overwhelming majority of Brits have stuck to form – keeping a stiff upper lip, queuing politely for buses, and biting their tongues as they watched entire neighborhoods, such as the traditionally cockney East End of London, converted to Muslim enclaves. In the months since October 7, they sat home and sipped their tea while armies of Muslims filled their streets...

~It is just a week since the famously Welsh boyo Axel Rudakubana used what English law calls a "bladed article" to kill three little girls - aged nine, seven and six - and attempt to kill another ten. My old Telegraph colleague Allison Pearson writes: The failure to discuss the terror suffered by Elsie, Alice and Bebe, three little girls knifed to death by a devil, and the pain of five other critically ill children and their dance teacher is deafening. Families must be shocked, raging and grief stricken, but they are not... — Allison Pearson (@AllisonPearson) August 4, 2024...

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday big-footed the brigadier general overseeing the war court at Guantanamo Bay and revoked the plea deals she had struck with 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh-Mohammed and two co-conspirators, which took the death penalty off the table. We support Austin’s move, but what does tough-as-nails former prosecutor Kamala Harris, the anointed Democratic presidential nominee, think about this issue? It would be nice to know, should the press ever dare to ask her a question. There are a couple of reasons to wonder. The first is her brother-in-law Tony West’s role as a "key campaign adviser" to...

Iran expert Jaber Rajabi said that Iran has not managed to achieve major goals despite its extreme declarations. Experts on Iran told Saudi Arabia's Al Hadath news channel on Monday that they believed Tehran's strategy of unifying different fronts against Israel has failed since October 7. Iran expert Jaber Rajabi said that Iran has not managed to achieve major goals despite its extreme declarations. Rajabi pointed out that Israel possesses advanced military equipment, including fifth-generation fighter jets and advanced defense systems, that can efficiently address any Iranian threat. While Iran and its allies have formulated military plans in recent years...

The Pentagon announced Monday that it had finished withdrawing U.S. forces from a $110 million military base in Niger, Africa, as the nation’s ruling regime takes over. Niger’s Air Base 201 previously hosted hundreds of U.S. troops who have now evacuated at the request of the country’s military junta.... Some equipment from Air Base 201 was shipped out, such as weaponry, but other equipment was left behind.... “What the [Biden administration] was not understanding, is that these guys are cold-blooded. This new government in Niger? They don’t care. They do not want the United States involved in their country,” Michael...