Free Republic

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei pushed a conspiracy theory on Sunday, rejecting the possibility of any U.S. aid amid the coronavirus outbreak and suggesting the novel virus was a "poison" designed specifically to kill Iranians. Already suffering under the weight of stringent sanctions imposed by the order of President Donald Trump, Iran has become one of the worst-hit countries in the world in the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. On Wednesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompoe announced that more sanctions would be added for Iran, despite reports that the Persian Gulf nation was already struggling to obtain much needed medical supplies...

Israel's Supreme Court ruling today that a vote must be held on a new speaker for Israel's parliament.... Tonight the parliament (Knesset) met boycotted by members supporting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a majority approving a new Arrangements Committee.... The anti-Netanyahu majority approved six new temporary committees..... Politics here in the USA and the winner of the Democrats Abroad Caucus for Democrats living outside the United States is Bernie Sanders.... US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Afghanistan on an unannounced visit today.... The late word is that the US has decided to cut one billion dollars in aid...

The coronavirus news later but first.... In Colombia tonight at least 23 reported dead, others injured in a prison riot. 83 were also injured in what is being called an attempted breakout from the La Modelo prison in the capital city of Bogota.... "If it doesn't take steps to hold accountable those responsible for the attacks on coalition forces, which are there at the invitation of the Iraqi government, the US will be forced to continue to protect our forces proactively" US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker held a conference call with the media on...

The coronavirus death rate in the US is just over 1.25 percent of cases but first.... North Korea firing two short range missiles Saturday morning local time.... Saying the fight against Islamic State has made progress and out of concern for the coronavirus pandemic the US-led coalition in Iraq is reducing its military presence... At least two dozen Afghan police and military killed with others missing following an attack by Taliban connected forces.... The troubled US aircraft maker Boeing is getting a bailout from the federal government.... Moving to distance herself from the situation is the former UN Ambassador and...

Terrorist organizations are "on the march" in West Africa and the Sahel with international efforts failing to curb the increase in violence, a four-star American general in charge of U.S. troops in Africa warned on Tuesday.

Mullahs' solution for the #coronavirus -Take a bottle of water to a mullah -Ask him to spit inside it for "blessings" -Drink (Apologies in advance for the disturbing footage.)

WASHINGTON — When President Trump sent greetings to the Iranian people on Wednesday for the Persian New Year, or Nowruz, it offered a glimpse into an administration that is still debating how to deal with a country that Mr. Trump has painted as an implacable foe. The five-paragraph statement went through multiple drafts, according to two people involved in the process. Hard-liners in the White House first tried to kill the message, and when that failed, stripped it of references to engaging with the Iranian government or a future in which Iran and the United States might peacefully coexist. Instead,...

I send my best wishes to those here in America and around the globe celebrating Nowruz. Marking the first day of spring, Nowruz commences the Persian New Year and is celebrated by Iranians and many others across the Middle East, Central Asia, the United States, and around the world. The past year has been historic for the people of Iran. We saw brave and courageous Iranians stand up in massive numbers across the entire country to protest their government’s corruption and demand accountability. The people of Iran have made it clear that they want leadership that represents them, not the...

Iran and Italy's economies are worsening, and their people are suffering most in this Wuhan virus outbreak — all because of their leaders’ short-sighted and foolish decisions. The coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China, has now swept through 126 countries, infected close to 170,000 people worldwide, and is responsible for more than 6,400 deaths as of March 15. China is leading the world in the number of confirmed cases and deaths. What many people find shocking is that Italy and Iran are the second- and third-hardest hit nations in this outbreak. By any common-sense measure, both countries should have much...

ran has backed China's calls to investigate yet unfounded claims of the United States being the origin of the new coronavirus as an international blame game worsened over a pandemic that has infected more than 200,000 people across the globe. Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani lashed out on Twitter Wednesday against what he called the "typical way" in which some U.S. officials have emphasized China and its central Hubei province city of Wuhan as the likely place where the COVID-19 disease began and have blamed both Beijing and Tehran's governments for failing to stop its spread. Shamkhani...

In announcing the new warning, Iranian state TV journalist Dr. Afruz Eslami warned that if people fail to follow any guidance, it could collapse Iran's already-strained medical system. If the "medical facilities are not sufficient, there will be 4 million cases, and 3.5 million people will die," she said. . . Late Monday night, angry crowds stormed the courtyards of the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad and the Fatima Masumeh shrine in Qom. Many people visit the shrine in Qom 24 hours a day, seven days a week, touching and kissing the shrine.

Three rockets struck the "Green Zone" in Baghdad today. Its the fourth such attack in a week. The rockets fell at least two kilometers from the US Embassy..... Iraq has complained to the UN Security Council about recent US airstrikes..... The Russian Navy conducting drills at its base in Tartus Syria.... The US Treasury Department imposing sanctions on the Syrian Defense Minister..... The Chinese government revoking the credentials of American newspaper reporters in China.... Ohio Governor Mike DeWine ordered polling places in the state for today's Democrat primary closed after a judge denied a request to postpone the primary until...

An Iranian national was extradited to Texas after allegedly exporting “military sensitive items” to Iran between 2007 and 2011, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced. Merdad Ansari, an Iranian citizen and a resident of the United Arab Emirates, was arrived in San Antonio Saturday evening, the DOJ said in a statement. Ansari, 38, faces federal charges in connection with an alleged scheme to give “military sensitive items” to Iran in violation of the Iranian trade embargo. Ansari and his co-defendant, Mehrdad Foomanie, who remains a fugitive, were charged in June 2012 with conspiracy to violate the Iranian Transactions Regulations (ITR),...

The top deputy to then-Attorney General John Ashcroft refused two years ago to approve important parts of the secret program that allows domestic eavesdropping without warrants, prompting two leading White House aides to try to win the needed approval from Mr. Ashcroft himself while he was hospitalized after a gall bladder operation, according to officials knowledgeable about the episode. With Mr. Ashcroft recuperating from gall bladder surgery in March 2004, his deputy, James B. Comey, who was then acting as attorney general, was unwilling to give his certification to crucial aspects of the classified program, as required under the procedures...

Earlier this week Iranian backed militia killed two US soldiers and a female UK soldier at Taji military base in Iraq. Last night the US responded killing at least 18 militia members in Iraq including Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander General Siamand Mashhadani.

TORKHAM, Pakistan — Above the trucks and travelers lining up at the main eastern gateway between Afghanistan and Pakistan, a glinting new landmark scales the dun-colored mountains: Parallel mesh fences, a couple of feet apart and topped with coils of razor wire, climb from the border crossing up over the dizzying crags. The section of fence overlooking Torkham is just a glimpse of a 1,600-mile barrier begun four years ago by Pakistan’s military and set to be completed this year. Nearly 9,000 miles from President Trump’s border wall with Mexico, Pakistan has quietly been building its own version to try...

In Iran, official estimates of the infection rate and death toll from coronavirus keep accelerating. But even after recording 54 deaths on Tuesday alone, the regime's narrative of the local epidemic is still nowhere near reality. According to the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) – a coalition leading the push for a democratic alternative to the clerical regime – more than 3,000 deaths can already be attributed to an outbreak that has encompassed 139 cities across every Iranian province.This information comes from intelligence-gathering by the NCRI’s main constituent group, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK). The MEK maintains an elaborate network...

After years of urging its terrorists to attack major European cities, ISIS is now telling them to steer clear due to the coronavirus. Any sick jihadists already in Europe, however, should stay there — presumably to sicken infidels, according to a ‘sharia’ directive printed in the group’s al-Naba newsletter, the Sunday Times of London reported. The “healthy should not enter the land of the epidemic and the afflicted should not exit from it,” the newsletter advised. The newsletter instructs jihadists that the “plague” is a “torment sent by God on whomsoever He wills.” Iraq, where most of the surviving fragments of...

Breaking News Iraq Rockets hit a base housing US troops at Camp Taji north of Baghdad at 11 am local time today. It is reported that at least 25 107mm rockets were used in the attack. Five wounded in the attack, three "coalition members" and two Iraqis.... Well last week we gave you the Ned Beatty monologue from the movie "Network" where he described the "system" as not being Democracy or Communism but of being about a "college of corporations". Big Business shook to its core this week and the markets tumbled. President Trump came out to buck things up...

Two American service members were among three who were reportedly killed when rockets struck a base near Baghdad housing U.S. forces. Camp Taji, a base that houses U.S. troops, was targeted by about 18 Katyusha rockets on Wednesday. Three people were killed and 12 were injured in the attack. According to a statement from U.S. Central Command, the attack is being investigated by Iraqi Security Forces and the U.S.-led coalition. "Camp Taji is an Iraqi base that hosts Coalition personnel for training and advising missions," the statement read. "The Iraqi Security Forces found a rocket-rigged truck, a few miles from...