Free Republic

President Trump said that China has agreed not to send weapons to Iran amid reports it plans to give Tehran new air defense systems — and predicted Chinese leader Xi Jinping “will give me a big, fat, hug” when they meet next month. Trump further claimed Wednesday that Xi is “very happy” about his efforts to open the Strait of Hormuz, a day after officials in China slammed his blockade as “dangerous and irresponsible.” “China is very happy that I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz. I am doing it for them, also — And the World,” Trump crowed...

A generally good summary into some of the financial issues happening in the background of the dire Straits of Hormuz. Susan Kokinda highlights UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer declining to join an American blockade and claims Britain has lost control of the choke point. She details financial actions targeting Iranian money flows, including UAE arrests of IRGC-linked money changers, Treasury Secretary Bessent using Patriot Act Section 311 against a Zurich bank, and scrutiny of London-based crypto exchanges and Santander UK. She cites a UK military chief admitting Britain’s war planning has lapsed since the Cold War and links fuel disruptions...

Tuesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said the evidence that Iran was an imminent threat to the United States was not there.Co-host Joe Kernen said, “You have such a tough job. I asked Senator Scott, and he said, I love Senator Paul because you never waver, but everybody wavers. I was going to ask you about war powers, and the Constitution is messy, and to stick with it as you do in the real world, it’s hard. I don’t know why you even have this job. It must be so difficult at this point for you, right?...

A US destroyer interdicted two oil tankers attempting to leave Iran on Tuesday, a day after US President Donald Trump's blockade went into effect, and instructed them to turn around, a US official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The ships had left Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman and were contacted by the warship via radio communication, the official said. It was unclear whether any further warnings were given. The disclosure adds further detail to the start of Trump's blockade, which aims to pressure Iran to end its effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a choke point...

Iran’s central bank has warned President Masoud Pezeshkian that rebuilding the country’s war-damaged economy could take more than a decade, sources familiar with internal deliberations told Iran International. In a stark assessment delivered to the president in recent days, senior economic officials said the damage inflicted during the 40-day war with the United States and Israel—combined with Iran’s already fragile economic situation—could take up to 12 years to repair. Several major airports were damaged during the conflict, while strikes also targeted oil facilities, refineries and petrochemical installations that are central to Iran’s export revenues and industrial supply chains. Officials involved...

Retired Pakistani Lt. Gen. Muhammad Saeed tells the New York Post that Iran lacks the "compatible military means" to sustain a conflict against the U.S. and Israel. As Operation Epic Fury chokes the Iranian economy, Saeed predicts Tehran will be forced to accept a "take it or leave it" deal. A retired Pakistani lieutenant general with deep regional insight has told the New York Post that Iran simply “does not have the military means” to keep up its confrontation with the United States and Israel. Lt. Gen. (ret.) Muhammad Saeed, who spoke exclusively to the Post in Islamabad on Monday,...

"The move to besiege the Strait of Hormuz and the Iranian coasts is expected to paralyze China energetically and economically within a short time, and it is possible that this is the central logic behind the move." (From the study by Adam Kraft and international researchers). The American blockade of Iranian coasts and the Strait of Hormuz has placed the Chinese economy in a precarious position. A new study by a former U.S. national security official warns that without regular supplies, China's oil reserves could run dry as early as June. The Depth of Chinese Dependency China is currently the...

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...