Free Republic

Only last year, Mr Ahmadinejad confirmed the Mossad had infiltrated his intelligence ministry. He said: "Is it normal that the most senior officer responsible for the control of Israeli spies, responsible for confronting Israeli plots in Iran, himself turned out to be an Israeli agent?"... Ali Yunesi, a former Iranian intelligence minister and top adviser to President Rouhani, issued this warning in an interview: "The Mossad's influence in many parts of the country is so vast that every member of the Iranian leadership should be worried for their lives, for their safety."

And one candidate in particular is leading: Ebrahim Raisi, the current judiciary chief, appointed by Mr. Khamenei, who has a long history of involvement in human rights abuses, and who lost in 2017 in a surprise victory by the outgoing president, Hassan Rouhani. With no credible challenger, Mr. Raisi is expected to win this time. Any serious competition has been winnowed from the race. Even some members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, known for their strong hostility to any political dissent, described the election as anti-democratic.

While there is not much time left until June 18, the day of the presidential elections in Iran, the war between the two factions within the regime for winning this seat has escalated. On April 25, a letter signed by 220 members of the Iranian parliament was published in the media. The MPs asked Ebrahim Ra'isi, the head of the regime's judiciary, to run for the presidency. The letter was published contrary to the usual custom of non-interference of the legislature in the affairs of the executive branch. Ra'isi's endorsement is also interpreted as an attack against the current president,...

Iran is in its worst economic situation in 42 years, and the threat of a widespread uprising that may lead to the regime’s overthrow has become more serious than ever. When Khomeini was alive, no authority dared to dispute his orders and decisions, and everyone had to obey him. In today’s Iran, Khamenei still has the final say on all internal and international matters. But unlike Khomeini, he has not been able to keep all political factions in Iran at bay. Although Khamenei has not wasted a moment in suppressing its opponents, even those very close to him and his...

Persian-language thriller running on Iran’s state television accused of blurring lines between fiction, realityA popular television series, purportedly based on real-life stories, has stirred controversy in Iran after the country’s top diplomat slammed it as a “complete lie.” The rebuke came after an episode aired last week was reportedly censored following the intervention of a senior government official, according to local media reports. Gando, named after a rare species of crocodiles found in the country’s southeast, features Iranian intelligence sleuths and foreign spies as main protagonists in different episodes – stories that the makers claim are based on true incidents....

Power struggle at the head of the ruling regime in Iran Since the Iranian revolution in 1979, understanding the structure of the ruling system in Iran and the decision-making mechanism, at times, has sometimes been challenging and difficult to understand and analyze. Although the "Vali-Faghih or the Supreme Leader" is at the top of the system's pyramid of power, the president holds the executive power. Still, the order of decision-making institutions in Iran is not clear, and this has long led to a dispute over authority between leaders of the regime who are at the center of its influence and...

Coronavirus restrictions in the USA regarding business occupancy are not being made more strict in the days ahead of the election but there are some exceptions in three localities...... The Facebook censorship picking up steam with the banning of Peoples Rights and activists like Ammon Bundy reported to number in the hundreds... Peoples Rights supporting students at the middle and high schools in Sandpoint, Idaho who are walking out or planning to walk out over mandates to wear masks-muzzles... A protest against Twitter censorship by President Trump's supporters in San Francisco came under attack from left-wing groups with injuries reported.......

More than 26-hundred fines handed out over a 24 hour period by Israeli police for violations of the country's coronavirus lockdown orders including 629 to people who did not mask-muzzle themselves..... Israel's coronavirus cabinet meeting Monday morning with voting on plans to strictly limit any business activity and issuance of work permits in the country.... Fines of up to $12,498.50 could be imposed on people who refuse an order to self-isolate in the UK because of the coronavirus.... There's concern in the UK that Prime Minister Boris Johnson may impose a nationwide lockdown..... Thousands of protesters in opposition to coronavirus...

Newsdump Alert: French Premier Edouard Philippe invokes French constitution to speed passage of President Emmanuel Macron's "pension reform".... Newsdump Alert: Democrat Presidential candidate Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard warns against US involvement in Turkish-Al Qaeda war against Russia in Syria.... At a UN Security Council emergency meeting Friday night the US Representative Kelly Craft called for the grounding Russian aircraft being used to bomb the forces of the Turkish-Terrorist alliance in Syria saying... "we call on the Russian Federation to immediately ground its warplanes"....... (Warning: This Content May Offend Some Readers) Well another wild weekend here of "happening" after "happening" and "The...

Key Points: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani lashed out at the U.S. and Europe in a televised speech on state TV on Wednesday. Rouhani slammed the EU’s “failure to keep it promises” under the 2015 nuclear deal and blamed the U.S. for making the Middle East insecure. ==================================================================== DUBAI, United Arab Emirates ⁠— In an angry speech on state television, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani lashed out at the U.S. and Europe for its presence in the Middle East and for what he described as the latter’s failures in upholding the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal. U.S. troops are “insecure” in the region...

Tehran, Iran — Iran's president warned Wednesday that European soldiers in the Mideast "could be in danger" after three nations challenged Tehran over breaking the limits of its nuclear deal. Tehran's top diplomat meanwhile acknowledged that Iranians "were lied to" for days following the Islamic Republic's accidental shootdown of a Ukrainian jetliner that killed 176 people. President Hassan Rouhani's remarks in a televised Cabinet meeting represent the first direct threat he's made to Europe as tensions remain high between Tehran and Washington. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's admission that the Islamic Republic lied to its own people, meanwhile, came...

Pentagon officials believe the Iranian regime shot down Ukrainian Airlines Flight PS 752 with a Russian anti-aircraft missile Tuesday night. All 176 innocent civilians and the crew were killed. The victims were from Canada, the UK, Sweden, Germany, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Iran. There were no Americans onboard.  "Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, a Boeing 737–800 en route from Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airpot to Kyiv's Boryspil International Airport, stopped transmitting data Tuesday just minutes after takeoff and not long after Iran launched missiles at military bases housing U.S. and allied forces in neighboring Iraq. The aircraft is believed to have...

The Swiss firm Allseas has suspended its pipeline laying operations for the Nord Stream 2 project that would export Russian natural gas under the Baltic Sea directly to Germany. Allseas studying the ramificiations of the sanctions signed into law Friday night by President Trump..... The top Russian general in Syria says some 200 members of the jihadist opposition forces were killed or wounded..... On Friday evening the British government announced approval of the takeover of defense and aerospace firm Cobham by the US private equity firm Advent International..... Hating Russia Is Good For American Business Well here we are the...

Israel's President Reuven Rivlin says there's still a chance for a unity government. The disagreements between Blue and White leader Benny Gantz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Likud..... President Trump tweeting a message to North Korea's ruler Kim Jong-un today starting with an allusion to recent propaganda but ending with a call for a deal on North Korea's nuclear program.... Earlier Sunday the United States and South Korea announced that they were postponing a joint military exercise criticized by North Korea as provocative.... Protest continuing in Hong Kong over the weekend and into Monday..... In Iran the internet reported...

TEHRAN, IRAN — Iran's government abruptly raised gasoline prices and imposed strict rations early Friday prompting large protests in major cities across the country with angry crowds calling for the ouster of President Hassan Rouhan. The price of fuel has been increased by up to 300 percent in some locations exacerbating the fears of protesters already struggling under extreme economic pressure as its economy worsens under U.S. sanctions.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani traveled to the city of Yazd on Sunday to deliver a speech about Iran’s economy, the oil sector and to express sympathy with earthquake victims. He also revealed massive allegations of corruption. In a rare rebuke, the president attacked the oil minister and demanded to know where $700 million in funds have gone, and slammed the judiciary and the Central Bank over a separate $2 billion corruption case. Rouhani began his speech with good news, arguing that since April, the economy of Iran has stabilized, despite difficult pressures from abroad – a reference to the US...

We start with the story of the political drama in Washington. Three House committees controlled by Democrats issuing a subpoena aimed by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo..... Also word coming out Friday night of the resignation of Kurt Volker, US Special Envoy for Ukraine. Volker a longtime inside the beltway figure and Executive Director of the McCain Institute..... Brexit deal talks resuming again as we go into the weekend..... The Greater London Authority referring Prime Minister Boris Johnson to police...... Police in Nigeria say they have freed more than 300 students from an Islamic school where they were being abused........

Fox News reports the beginning of federal immigration raids Sunday in major cities targeting some 2-thousand in the country illegally among the millions..... In what seems like an emotional distraction from the facts on the ground, a Presidential tweet was thrown out to draw media attention on Sunday morning. It was directed at "Progressive" Democrat women in the House..... A man armed with a rifle opened fire and threw incendiary devices at a privately run prison for illegal immigrants in Tacoma, Washington early Saturday morning.... Some 180 arrests reported in Paris as protesters from the Yellow Vests appeared in conjunction...

More protests in Hong Kong Wednesday as the bill to allow extradition from Hong Kong to the Chinese mainland was scheduled to be debated later in the day..... US Attorney General William Barr announcing Tuesday the arrest of nearly 1700 suspects in cases involving child pornography and the sexual abuse of 357 child victims.... Facing prison again in the UK on July 4th for live streaming outside a child sex abuse trial in Leeds, England is activist Tommy Robinson..... Syria reporting an Israeli attack overnight.... Russia's mission in Syria reporting eight jihadist-nationalist shelling attacks..... The political manuevering is on in...

Just ahead of U.S. sanctions on Iran set to snap back on Monday targeting primarily the energy, shipbuilding, shipping, and banking sectors, Iran’s most prominent conservative cleric has announced that if oil exports are halted, Saudi tankers will be confiscated and Gulf countries attacked. Powerful Shia cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda is the Friday Prayer leader in Mashhad, considered Iran’s spiritual capital and among the holiest places in Shia Islam, and sits on the government’s “Assembly of Experts” but has no formal government role or decision-making ability. However, he’s a powerful leader and chief spiritual force behind Iran’s conservative faction who...