Free Republic

Ali Motahari, who served as Parliament deputy speaker from 2016 to 2019, made the statements in 2022 while speaking on Iranian news media outlet ISCA News, saying: 'When we began our nuclear activity, our goal was indeed to build a bomb. There is no need to beat around the bush.' Motahari noted that Iran had no plans for detonating the bomb, only using it as a deterrent, meaning a weapon intended to discourage enemies rather than immediately use it, citing the Quranic verse: 'Strike fear in the hearts of the enemy of Allah.'

The first direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon in move 40 years began today (Tuesday) at the American State Department. The meeting is taking place at the US State Department in Washington, with Israel making it clear before it began that the talks will have no impact on the fighting in Lebanon. At the same time as the talks opened, the IDF announced preparations for increased fire from Hezbollah. As they began, incessant alarms sounded in Kiryat Shmona and other settlements in the Galilee region, after a drone strike at the entrance to Nahariya. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio...

Police from the Ariel station in the West Bank stopped a garbage truck on Route 5 and were surprised to find more than 60 Palestinian illegal entrants inside it. The driver, a man in his 30s from Kafr Qassem, was arrested. Footage from the scene shows the Palestinians packed tightly inside the truck, piled one on top of another in severe crowding. Within minutes of their discovery, officers removed them one by one as trash fell from the vehicle. According to police, “A garbage truck driver transported dozens of Palestinian illegal entrants, who were placed inside the refuse compactor. The...

Mossad head David Barnea addressed the campaign against Iran, intelligence operations in the heart of Tehran, and the continuation of activities in Iran. Barnea delivered his remarks at a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony, warning that threats to the existence of the Jewish people are not a thing of the past. He opened with a stark warning against international complacency: “The naïve are mistaken in thinking the Holocaust is a thing of the past-that in today’s reality genocide cannot occur, that calls for destruction cannot exist, and that hatred threatening a people’s existence cannot arise. The Iranian threat has steadily intensified...

America’s leverage in the Strait exposes Iran’s weakness—turning its greatest asset into a liability and reshaping the balance of power without a ground war. The prognosis of the Iran War is now so couched in politics and so warped by the American Left that the public has grown tired and wants it all to go away. But in truth, the situation is so fluid that any accurate prediction is impossible. Yet there is good reason to believe in an eventual outcome quite favorable to the U.S. and one far better than the status quo ante bellum. The Strait of HormuzPrior...

The Republic of Somaliland in the Horn of Africa is once again offering the United States a military base in a strategic area with access to critical minerals, this time reminding the USA that this could be the perfect foothold from which to counter terrorist operations from the Iranian regime and the Houthis. On Monday, the Republic of Somaliland's X account shared a Fox News headline about how a potential U.S. base in the African nation could be crucial in combatting the jihadis who terrorize the area: The Republic of Somaliland is seeking international recognition and is offering the United...

Donald Trump claims that the "right people" in Iran have reached out to cut a deal for real after imposing a naval blockade and cutting off Iran's income stream. Who are we talking with in Tehran? Mahdi al-Hall? That's what Trump claimed in an ad-hoc press conference on the veranda of the Oval Office this afternoon. Trump didn't specify the identities of the "right people," but hinted that the blockade may have changed some minds over the last few hours: Trump: The right people called from Iran, they want to make a deal. pic.twitter.com/nbcXnyn19P— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) April 13,...

At least two oil and chemical tankers were forced to turn away from the Strait of Hormuz on Monday after the United States moved to enforce a naval blockade, according to maritime tracking data. One of the vessels, Rich Starry, which had listed its destination as China, reportedly reversed course within minutes of the blockade taking effect, data from MarineTraffic showed. Responding to the developments, China issued a strong message signalling it would continue its maritime activity in the region. Defence Minister Dong Jun said Chinese vessels would keep operating in the area and warned against external interference. “Our ships...

Judge Khomeini’s state of mind for yourself: Since June 1981, according to estimates published by the Iranian resistance group known as the People’s Mojahedin, the Khomeini regime has put to death some 90,000 Iranians who don’t subscribe to its views. Another 140,000 have been incarcerated. Thousands of adolescent Iranian boys died in the recent war with Iraq when Khomeini asked them to clear mine fields by running across them. The children were promised they would be martyred and go directly to heaven. Iranian women who dare appear in public unveiled or who otherwise defy Khomeini’s standards of modesty are routinely...

Ahead of direct talks with Israel in Washington, a Lebanese official emphasized that "Iran will not be allowed to intervene and regain control of the situation in the country" • Amid fears of a flare-up: Security forces in Beirut on high alert, security around diplomatic missions increased • Hezbollah Secretary-General: "Cancel the negotiation meeting – this is humiliation" In the shadow of preparations for the direct talks that will open tomorrow (Tuesday) between Israel and Lebanon in Washington, and in parallel with the escalation on the ground, Hezbollah fears that "we are on our way to hell." Amid concerns about...

The Lebanese government has reportedly initiated contact with Israel through American mediators, seeking a peace agreement as Hezbollah’s grip on the country significantly weakens. In a potential seismic shift for regional politics, the Israeli government has revealed that the Lebanese administration has reached out for mediated talks. Shosh Badrosian, the Prime Minister's spokesperson for foreign media, announced on Monday that the Lebanese government initiated contact following a significant weakening of Hezbollah's military and political standing. The goal of this dialogue, according to Israeli officials, is the total disarmament of Hezbollah and the demilitarization of southern Lebanon. However, this diplomatic opening...

President Donald Trump has announced that the Iranian regime contacted his administration to resume negotiations, even as the United States maintains its strict naval blockade. In a significant diplomatic development, President Donald Trump revealed from the White House that his administration has received a formal outreach from the "proper authorities" in Tehran. According to the President, the Iranian leadership has expressed a clear desire to return to the negotiating table following the collapse of high level talks in Islamabad earlier this month. While the President appeared open to the prospect of renewed dialogue, he maintained a rigid stance on the...

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Iran’s Navy is laying at the bottom of the sea, completely obliterated - 158 ships. What we have not hit are their small number of, what they call, “fast attack ships,” because we did not consider them much of a threat. Warning: If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED, using the same system of kill that we use against the drug dealers on boats at Sea. It is quick and brutal. P.S. 98.2% of Drugs coming into the U.S. by Ocean or Sea have STOPPED! Thank you...

Roman Gofman is the hero no one saw coming, with first hand experience of fighting Hamas terrorists on October 7th. Dramatic security-camera footage from the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre has resurfaced, showing Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman, Israel’s next Mossad director, fighting terrorists at the Sha’ar Hanegev junction near Sderot with no body armor, no helmet, and no backup unit. At the time a Brigadier General and commander of the IDF Ground Forces Training Center at Tze’elim, Gofman rushed south from his home in Ashdod as soon as reports of the attack reached him. Arriving alone at the junction, he...

U.S. Central Command announced the blockade would involve all Iranian ports, beginning on Monday at 10 a.m. EDT, or 5:30 p.m. in Iran, to be “enforced impartially against vessels of all nations.” Inside Iran, there was new exhaustion and anger after months of unrest that began with nationwide protests against economic issues and then political ones, followed by weeks of sheltering from U.S. and Israeli bombardment.“We have never sought war. But if they try to win what they failed to win on the battlefield through talks, that’s absolutely unacceptable,” Mohammad Bagher Karami said in Tehran.els of all nations.”

TAMPA, Fla. — U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces will begin implementing a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports on April 13 at 10 a.m. ET, in accordance with the President’s proclamation. The blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. CENTCOM forces will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports. Additional information will be provided to commercial mariners through a formal notice prior to...

As peace talks between America and Iran fell apart over the weekend, President Trump has called for the US military to take control of the Strait of Hormuz and clear the water of Tehran’s mines. The strait, which oversees 20% of the world’s oil transports, has remained closed since the war began on Feb. 28, with Iran filling the passage with deadly, underwater mines. To clear the waters, the US will tap its own navy and that of allied nations to deploy minesweepers and clear the Strait of Hormuz to resume global trade, Trump said Sunday. “We have minesweepers there...

“The Iranian regime is begging for a ceasefire; there are internal conflicts among the leadership there," he said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday evening that there was “still more to do” in Iran as US and Iranian negotiators met in Islamabad to discuss a potential ceasefire. “The campaign is not over yet. Iran wanted to eliminate us. Now it is fighting to survive. We still have more to do. We were the first to break the barrier of fear to act in Iran. I remember the excitement, the pride.” Iran wanted to eliminate us. Now it is fighting...

President Donald Trump announced a U.S. blockade on the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday. Trump made the announcement in a post on his Truth Social account, blaming the failure to reach a deal with Iran during talks in Pakistan this weekend. "So, there you have it, the meeting went well, most points were agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not. Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz," Trump wrote. "At some point,...

Hezbollah missile hits ancient Byzantine church in Nahariya, 1,400-year-old site damaged. A missile fired from Lebanon struck the remains of a 1,400-year-old Byzantine church in Nahariya, damaging the protective structure; the ancient mosaic survived intact, the Israel Antiquities Authority said.