Free Republic

The very system he once enforced with an iron fist has turned on one of its own. A former high-ranking official in Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has been sentenced to 100 lashes and internal exile after being found "guilty" of homosexual acts. The case has sent shockwaves through the country, highlighting the stark hypocrisy of a regime that imposes draconian laws while its enforcers operate outside of them. Reza Seghati, the former head of the ministry in Gilan province, was a key figure in enforcing Iran's strict dress codes. He was known for his ruthless adherence to...

Senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad, who was one of the targets of the assassination attempt last week in Doha, Qatar, was interviewed by Al Jazeera on Wednesday evening. Hamad is the second Hamas official to be interviewed since the strike, following a similar interview earlier this week with Taher al-Nunu, who was not among the targets. Hamad described the situation in the meeting that Israel struck, recounting, "We were sitting to discuss the American proposal to end the war. Less than an hour later, we heard explosions and immediately realized it was an assassination attempt. As residents of Gaza, we...

Israel announced Wednesday the operational deployment of the Iron Beam, the world’s first high-energy laser defense system ready for combat, a breakthrough officials hailed as a strategic game-changer in modern warfare. Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, in partnership with Israel’s Ministry of Defense, confirmed completion of final development trials for the Iron Beam 450, demonstrating the ability to intercept rockets, mortars, and drones “with unmatched speed, precision, and near-zero cost per engagement.” Defense sources emphasized that the system’s speed-of-light engagement means Israelis may no longer need to run to shelters in most attacks, as projectiles can be destroyed almost immediately after...

“I was shocked and sickened by the reaction of– the ghoulish and really repulsive reaction of the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, to Charlie’s death,” said Carlson on The Tucker Carlson Show. “Basically made it all about him and all about his country, immediately trying to take the energy, the sadness, the grief that people felt over Charlie’s murder and redirect it towards support for whatever project he’s involved in.”He continued, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything lower than his attempt to hijack Charlie’s memory and use it for his own political ends, particularly because what he said...

The founder of Armed Queers SLC, a pro-gun LGBTQ group being investigated by the FBI for possible ties to accused Charlie Kirk sniper Tyler Robinson, has been identified as a radical transgender political organizer with ties to communist politics. Armed Queers SLC quietly scrubbed its online presence after Kirk was assassinated, but a law enforcement source told The Post that all open-source information on the group was downloaded and handed over to the FBI. The cache of information includes posts from Ermiya Fanaeian, the child of Iranian immigrants, according to the source familiar with the federal investigation, whose Instagram bio...

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel launched its offensive in Gaza City on Tuesday, vowing to overwhelm a city already in ruins from nearly two years of war as thousands of Palestinians fled in vehicles strapped with mattresses and other belongings that clogged a coastal road. The operation into the largest Palestinian city escalated a conflict that has roiled the Middle East and likely pushed any ceasefire with Hamas farther out of reach. The military would not offer a timeline for the offensive that aims to crush the militant group’s ability to fight, but Israeli media suggested it could take months. “Gaza...

The U.S. relationship with Qatar was a function of Washington’s post-9/11 delirium. Yesterday’s strike was about finally undoing it. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says that Tuesday’s attack on Hamas leadership in Qatar “was a wholly independent Israeli operation.” That’s only partly true, though—because there’s no way Israeli Air Force jets fired missiles at Qatar, home of the largest U.S. air base in the Middle East, without a green light from the White House. President Donald Trump says he feels “very badly” about the location of the attack. But if he didn’t want to give the impression that Israel...

The Senate and House are on a collision course over whether to repeal comprehensive sanctions on Syria, a rare area where there are bipartisan coalitions on both sides of the debate. Discussion centers on whether to completely repeal the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019, a severe sanctions mechanism that blocked nearly all U.S. and international cooperation or engagement with the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. Legislation to repeal Caesar is included in the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2026. But an amendment to the House version of the NDAA to repeal Caesar...

Here’s what you need to know: 🔻 Armed Queers SLC is under investigation for possible foreknowledge of Charlie Kirk’s assassination. 🔻 Their leader, Ermiya Fanaeian, was recognized by a State Dept–affiliated NGO, Utah Global Diplomacy, as a recipient of the "7 for 17" Award for advancing the UN's 17 Goals 🔻 Utah Global Diplomacy has since scrubbed Fanaeian's presence from their website. Unknown when this purge happened. The receipts remain. Per the 990 form with Utah Global Diplomacy (EIN 876128308), the nonprofit is a partner with the US State Department to cultivate emerging leaders and diplomacy initiatives. In other words,...

The British Government has determined that Israel is not committing genocide in Gaza, Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy told the chair of the international development committee in a letter on September 1. This differs significantly from the government’s previous position, which was that only courts can decide whether Israel is or is not committing genocide. It also marks the first time the UK government has stated explicitly that Israel’s actions in Gaza do not count as genocide. In the letter to Sarah Champion, Lammy, who was foreign secretary at the time of writing, acknowledged that the UK government has the...

On the Emmys red carpet, the 'Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story' actor addressed the active warfare between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.Javier Bardem took a moment on the 2025 Emmys red carpet to call on “Israel to stop this genocide” in Palestine. While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the 77th Emmy Awards ceremony, the actor didn’t want to talk about Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story but rather the ongoing active warfare between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. “At the end of August, the IAGS, the International Association of Genocide Scholars...

“Hacks” star Hannah Einbinder is under fire for turning her Emmy acceptance speech into a crude, political soapbox in which she said, “F—k ICE and free Palestine.”The actress’ controversial remarks went viral after she won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the hit HBO show during Sunday night’s live ceremony. ”Go Birds, f—k ICE and free Palestine,” the 30-year-old actress, who is Jewish and a lifelong Philadelphia Eagles fan, said at the conclusion of her emotional speech to cheers as she exited the stage. *** “I feel like it is my obligation as a Jewish person to distinguish...

“What does it mean,” the Manhattan Institute’s Tal Fortgang wrote in City Journal on Monday, “when a sitting member of Congress speaks at a conference attended by hundreds of terrorism sympathizers?” This was not simply a hypothetical question. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Ramallah) recently spoke at the People’s Conference for Palestine in Detroit, and her words were so hateful, so incendiary, and so firmly aligned with the cause of enemies of the United States, that they give Fortgang’s a particular urgency, and lead to another question: if a sitting member of Congress hates America, should she be serving in Congress at...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused his Spanish counterpart of making a “blatant genocidal threat” after the latter lamented Spain’s lack of “nuclear weapons” to defend against Israel during his announcement of sanctions against the Jewish State. In his speech on Monday, Pedro Sanchez said “Spain, as you know, doesn’t have nuclear bombs, nor aircraft carriers, nor large oil reserves. We alone can’t stop the Israeli offensive, but that doesn’t mean we won’t stop trying, because there are causes worth fighting for even if it’s not in our sole power to win them.” Sanchez then introduced nine new measures, including...

Summary. While Israel has historically been regarded as a close ally of the United States—sharing democratic values, intelligence cooperation, and defense partnerships—certain individuals of Arab "Palestinian" origin or ideological affiliation have been involved in acts of violence against Americans. This article provides a factual overview of documented incidents that have shaped this complex relationship. 1. Sirhan Sirhan and the Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy (1968)Background: Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, a Palestinian IslamoChristian born in Jerusalem in 1944, moved with his family to the United States in 1956.[1]Defense : The ex Grand Mufti of Jerusalem dispatched two Arab lawyers to defend Sirhan....

The International Committee of the Red Cross chose a wing in Al-Shifa hospital "adjacent to the [Hamas] movement offices,” according to documents found by the IDF in Gaza and recently declassified. Two Hamas documents found by Israeli forces in Gaza indicate that international organizations such as the Red Cross and Doctors without Borders are well aware of the presence of Hamas in the Gaza Strip’s medical facilities despite obfuscating or outright denying it publicly, NGO Monitor revealed on Wednesday. The internal Hamas memos were among a cache of documents declassified by the Israel Defense Forces. NGO Monitor translated the Arabic-language...

HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has taken the decision to remove a new Banksy mural due to the building being listed and therefore legally protected. However, some feel that they are “silencing a work of art about silencing protest”... A new Banksy artwork that sprung up this week at the Royal Courts of Justice in London has been scrubbed off. As we reported this week, the mural by the ever-elusive street artist depicted a helpless protester lying on the ground holding a blood-spattered placard, while a judge loomed over him wielding a gavel. British police moved quickly to cover-up...

Russia on Wednesday strongly condemned the Israeli attack on Qatar's capital Doha, calling it "a gross violation of international law and the UN Charter," and "an assault on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of an independent state." In a statement, the Foreign Ministry emphasized that Israel targeted Qatar's residential district, purportedly aimed at high-ranking members of the Palestinian Hamas movement who were reportedly located there, killing at least six people, including a Qatari police officer and injuring several people. "Russia views this incident as a gross violation of international law and the UN Charter, representing an assault on the sovereignty...

The very fighters Beijing cites as justification for its hardline policies in Xinjiang – the Uyghurs of the Turkestan Islamic Party – have now been folded into Syria’s military establishment.Syrian Free Army soldiers and Coalition Forces assigned to the 10th Mountain Division, Task Force Armadillo provide security after departing a CH-47 Chinook during cold and hot load air assault training at Al-Tanf Garrison, Syria, on Feb. 23, 2025. When Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorial regime collapsed in late 2024, Beijing lost a familiar ally in Damascus. For more than a decade, China had backed Assad under the banner of sovereignty and...

Trump Stares Down Protesters in D.C. Safety Showdown: President Donald Trump faced a fiery protest while dining at a Washington, D.C. restaurant near the White House. Demonstrators stormed the venue waving Palestinian flags and chanting, “Free D.C., free Palestine, Trump is the Hitler of our time.” Despite the uproar, Trump remained composed, continuing conversations with nearby guests. Vice President J.D. Vance reassured diners to enjoy their meals, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth watched as security tried to contain the scene. Watch