Free Republic

Last December Belarus approached Russia with a request for a loan aimed at facilitating the switch to the Russian ruble as the main currency for bilateral trade. The global financial crisis depleted the country’s international reserves and put the economy in a rather dire condition, creating a desperate need for more funding, even after the country secured a $2 billion loan earlier in the year. But the Russians made it clear that they were not interested in giving out more money. However, after last week’s meeting of the Higher State Council of the Union of Russia and Belarus, the Assistant...

US intelligence assessments have suggested that Iran likely still has access to around 70 percent of its pre-war ballistic missile stockpiles, and around 60 percent of its missile launchers, The New York Times reports. It also still retains around 40% of its drone arsenal, the report says, citing US intelligence and military officials. According to the Times, when a two-week ceasefire came into effect between Iran and the US on April 8, Tehran had access to around half of its ballistic missile launchers. Since then, the report says it has managed to dig out another 100 launchers from under the...

Accounts on social media have managed to find audio from the Indian oil tanker that was targeted by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps while crossing the Strait of Hormuz.Audio of the Indian oil tanker Sanmar Herald pleading with Iranian forces to stop shooting at it in the Strait of Hormuz this morning. pic.twitter.com/7Y5n7Jb7o0— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) April 18, 2026The captain of the Indian vessel pleaded with the Iranians to stop firing upon their ship, and attempted to remind them that they were the ones who granted clearance to the vessel in the first place. The attack on the Indian vessel led...

President Trump convened an extraordinary Saturday morning meeting in the White House situation room to discuss next steps as the situation in Iran teeters between a peace deal and a resumption of war. The specific subjects under discussion were the status of the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian responses to some U.S. proposals. Quite honestly, I imagine one key subject of discussion was "who the hell is calling the shots in Iran?" Because from an outsider's point of view, it looks like the 95 IQ types in the government think they are in charge, but actions on the ground indicate...

An international fugitive was arrested in Dubai this week following a years-long manhunt. Daniel Kinahan, the alleged leader of one of Ireland’s biggest criminal gangs, the Kinahan cartel, was arrested on organized crime charges on Wednesday in a covert operation involving Irish and United Arab Emirates authorities. The 48-year-old alleged crime boss is expected to face charges in Ireland related to a gangland feud between the Kinahan cartel and the Hutch gang that has left 18 people dead since 2015. Dubai police didn’t name Kinahan, saying they had “arrested an Irish fugitive for his alleged role in an organized criminal...

T.V. Mini-Series "Odyssey" queued at the link-click to 1 minute 41 seconds. The climactic Throne Room scene of Odysseus stringing the bow which only he could, shooting an arrow through numerous axe-rings, and slaughtering Penelope's unwanted suitors, is the central dramatic motif of all of Western Civilization. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0_A9XWxV0Q&t=101sStudents of ancient Greek culture, not necessarily at English universities, but more commonly centered on Greek Orthodox Church parishes, study the Homeric epic poems as the foundation of Western Civilization. It was set up in the 8th century before Christ.

s the Trump administration weighs a second round of U.S.-Iran talks, the failure of negotiations in Pakistan is fueling concern about whether its envoys can deliver a deal. Former diplomats tell TIME that Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, who led the Iran negotiations with Vice President JD Vance, lack the expertise and diplomatic experience needed to secure an agreement. That, they warn, risks prolonging the war and further destabilizing the global economy. “Iran and the U.S. under Kushner and Witkoff? Failure. They get an F in diplomacy,” said Aaron David Miller, a former US State Department Middle East negotiator who...

•Iran's security council says it is "determined" to control the Strait of Hormuz until the end of the war, and calls the continuing US blockade on Iranian ports a "breach of the ceasefire"•The key shipping channel was reopened by Iran on Friday but has now been closed again - here's how the situation has evolved•Donald Trump says "very good conversations" are under way with Iran but the US won't be "blackmailed" over the strait•A tanker and a container ship have both reported attacks off the coast of Oman, the UK Maritime Trade Operations says

Donald Trump convened an emergency situation room meeting with his inner circle on Saturday to discuss the precarious Strait of Hormuz situation, according to a report. The president met with Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, among others, Axios reported, citing two US officials. White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Envoy Steve Witkoff, CIA Director John Ratliffe, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine also reportedly attended. The meeting comes amid reports that US soldiers are preparing to storm Iran-backed ships 'in a matter...

CAIRO (AP) — The standoff over the Strait of Hormuz escalated again Saturday as Iran reversed its reopening of the crucial waterway and fired on ships attempting to pass, in retaliation after the United States pressed ahead with its blockade of Iranian ports.The strait is closed until the U.S. blockade is lifted, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard navy said Saturday night, warning that “no vessel should make any movement from its anchorage in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, and approaching the Strait of Hormuz will be considered as cooperation with the enemy” and be targeted.New attacks on the strait,...

The US is reportedly weighing plans to board and seize Tehran-linked oil tankers worldwide — eyeing a dramatic escalation against Iran at sea. Those discussions come as tensions spike in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iranian forces fired on multiple commercial vessels Saturday and declared the vital shipping lane under their “strict control,” The Wall Street Journal reported. That saber-rattling sent shipping firms scrambling — just a day after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted the strait was open for business, a claim President Trump had welcomed. Behind the scenes, US officials say the Pentagon is preparing to intercept and...

Reports claim that within 48 hours, four Chinese cargo aircraft switched off their transponders and landed in Iran, allegedly carrying arms and ammunition.The flights reportedly went dark mid-route before entering Iranian airspace.This comes shortly after China’s leader reportedly assured President Trump that Beijing would not transfer weapons to Iran.No official confirmation yet on what these aircraft were carrying.Developing story.

The U.S. military is preparing in coming days to board Iran-linked oil tankers and seize commercial ships in international waters, according to U.S. officials, expanding its naval crackdown beyond the Middle East.

Long time columnist for the New York Times Thomas Friedman publicly discussed his moral dilemma this week, saying "I really want to see Iran defeated militarily because this regime is a terrible regime for its people and the region. And nothing would improve the region more than the replacement of this regime with a regime that is focused on enabling its people to realize their full potential, and integrating peacefully with other countries, and stop occupying Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. So I'm all for that." "On the other hand, I really don't want to see Bibi Netanyahu or Donald...

President Donald Trump on Friday posted about making Lebanon great again amid the country’s ceasefire deal with Israel. “Again! This deal is not tied, in any way, to Lebanon, but we will, MAKE LEBANON GREAT AGAIN!” Trump’s TRUTH Social post said. "I have directed Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Rubio, together with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Razin' Caine, to work with Israel and Lebanon to achieve a Lasting PEACE," the president wrote in a TRUTH Social post. Both nations met earlier this week in D.C. for peace talks, which were mediated by...

A regional intelligence official told Fox News that the Strait of Hormuz is "under full IRGC control and effectively closed at this moment." "Multiple vessels have been forced to turn around since this morning as they attempted to pass through the Strait," the official said. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) "opened fire on at least one vessel as part of the closure policy they declared last night," the official added. This comes after Iran’s joint military command said on Saturday that “control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state" and is "under strict management and...

Iran rowed back on its decision to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and fired on a tanker attempting to pass the waterway on Saturday. It warned that it would continue to block transit through the strait as long as the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect.Confusion over the critical chokepoint threatened to deepen the energy crisis roiling the global economy and push the two countries toward renewed conflict, even as mediators expressed confidence a new deal was within reach.Iran’s joint military command said on Saturday that “control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state...

The person allegedly responsible for seriously injuring former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani in a reported car accident over the weekend has been revealed. As The Gateway Pundit reported, the 81-year-old Giuliani was severely injured in a car accident last weekend in New Hampshire after assisting a domestic violence victim. Rudy suffered a broken thoracic vertebra, lacerations, and contusions. Thomas Goodman of Michigan was driving a Ford Bronco with Giuliani as the passenger. He was also injured in the accident. Now, New Hampshire State Police have identified 19-year-old Lauren Kemp of Concord as the person responsible for hitting Giuliani...

Two vessels, including an Indian-flagged supertanker, were forced back out of the Strait of Hormuz after being approached by Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) naval units, shipping monitor TankerTrackers said on Saturday. It said audio recordings indicated IRGC gunboats fired during the encounter as the ships were redirected westward. One of the vessels was a very large crude carrier transporting about two million barrels of Iraqi oil, it added. “Meanwhile, India is still importing Iranian oil. With friends like these,” TankerTrackers said. According to two Channel 16 audio recordings captured today, two Indian vessels were forced back west out of...

Iran's joint military command said on Saturday that "control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state ... under strict management and control of the armed forces." It warned that it would continue to block transit through the strait as long as the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect. President Trump said in a phone interview with CBS News on Friday that Iran has "agreed to everything," and will work with the U.S. to remove its enriched uranium. He said the two sides are meeting this weekend and the U.S. would continue its military blockade...