Free Republic

European Union envoys are on the verge of agreeing an 18th package of sanctions against Russia for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine that would include a lower price cap on Russian oil, four EU sources said after a Sunday meeting. -snip- The sources said they had also agreed to a dynamic price mechanism for the price cap. On Friday, the European Commission proposed a floating price cap on Russian oil of 15% below the average market price of crude in the previous three months. One of the sources said the initial price would be around $47 a barrel based on...

Donald Trump told a private gathering of donors last year that he once sought to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from attacking Ukraine by threatening to “bomb the sh*t out of Moscow” in retaliation, according to audio provided to CNN. “With Putin I said, ‘If you go into Ukraine, I’m going to bomb the sh*t out of Moscow. I’m telling you I have no choice,’” Trump said during one 2024 fundraiser, according to the audio. “And then [Putin] goes, like, ‘I don’t believe you.’ But he believed me 10%.” The remarks, which came as Trump made his case for a...

Only 11 days after President Trump was inaugurated for a second term, his administration began a purge of the F.B.I. that now threatens some of the bureau’s most important missions. His appointees ousted eight of its most experienced managers, including the division heads overseeing national security, cybersecurity and criminal investigations. Several had worked on prosecutions of Jan. 6 rioters or had assisted in the various investigations of Mr. Trump, and Emil Bove, then the acting deputy attorney general, said they could not be trusted to carry out the president’s agenda.That was just the beginning. Over the past five months, many...

The Defense Intelligence Agency has produced a 5-page preliminary report on the strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities which concludes the strikes were partially successful but failed to destroy the underground sites. That report seems to have leaked instantly to ever major news agency, starting with CNN.The assessment, which has not been previously reported, was produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon’s intelligence arm. It is based on a battle damage assessment conducted by US Central Command in the aftermath of the US strikes, one of the sources said...Two of the people familiar with the assessment said Iran’s stockpile of...

Trump administration officials on Tuesday slammed a leaked preliminary intelligence assessment of the damage done to Iran’s nuclear facilities by weekend US airstrikes that the president has touted as a massive success. The classified Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) bomb damage assessment — deemed a “low confidence” estimation of the effectiveness of Saturday’s strikes on the Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz sites — reportedly determined that Iran could bring its nuclear program back online as quickly as within one to two months, according to Fox News. On the high end, estimates indicate that Iran could restart uranium enrichment within a year, according...

A ‘Top Secret’ Intelligence assessment about the US’s strikes on Iranian nuclear sites was leaked to CNN, and CNN disclosed it on live TV on Tuesday. .... Snip.... On Tuesday, a ‘top secret’ intel assessment of the Fordow plant was leaked to CNN, AP, and the New York Times. CNN reported that, according to a leak, an early assessment from the Pentagon’s intelligence arm revealed Iran’s nuclear sites are ‘largely intact’ and the US strikes only set them back a few months. A leak to the AP also claimed that Iran’s nuclear program was not ‘completely and fully obliterated.’ White...

A preliminary classified U.S. report says the American bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites sealed off the entrances to two of the facilities but did not collapse their underground buildings, according to officials familiar with the findings. The early findings conclude that the strikes over the weekend set back Iran’s nuclear program by only a few months, the officials said.

The US military strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities last weekend did not destroy the core components of the country’s nuclear program and likely only set it back by months, according to an early US intelligence assessment that was described by four people briefed on it. The assessment, which has not been previously reported, was produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon’s intelligence arm. It is based on a battle damage assessment conducted by US Central Command in the aftermath of the US strikes, one of the sources said. The analysis of the damage to the sites and...

Experts say it will take years for Tehran to replenish its missile supplies, but it can still terrorize Israel and others with cluster warheads and short-range rockets =============================================================== With the Iran-Israel conflict possibly brought to a halt by a US-brokered ceasefire on Tuesday, questions remain over the true condition of Iran’s missile arsenal after nearly two weeks of punishing exchanges. Iran’s missile salvos proved the destructive power of its long-range missiles, turning buildings into rubble and killing dozens, even as Israel has claimed to take out much of its stockpile and the means to launch. The ceasefire, confirmed by both...

Russian TV presenters have urged Vladimir Putin to consider dropping nuclear bombs on a NATO country to "solve" the world's problems "at once". In a chilling diatribe hawkish presenter Vladimir Solovyov raged that Russia should move nuclear weapons into Iran, under Kremlin control, and even attack NATO member Poland with an atomic weapon. Speaking on Russian state TV, Solovyov said Russian should use tactical weapons against Ukraine and "just in case, also drop one into Poland", adding: "No one will say a word. They will impose sanctions, so what?". Under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) it...

As the specter of another World War looms large, people worldwide are pondering potential safe havens should Russia escalate from nuclear warfare threats to actual missile launches. This comes in the wake of Iran and trading missile strikes as the tensions in the Middle East threaten to boil over into all-out war. Russia and China backing Iran diplomatically or militarily—and the U.S. aligning with Israel—raise the specter of a proxy world war. The rapid escalation—from Iran-Israel missile exchanges to U.S. strikes and Iranian counterstrikes—fuels real anxiety about a broader war. Experts warn that any step into nuclear territory or deeper...

Recently, I spoke to you about worry and fear — the “fear mongering” that’s propagated by the media, which Christians seem to crave so much. It seems Christians, especially, seek out and eat up the bad news of war, pestilence, and imminent threats to our homeland and all of mankind. Yes, God’s Word does speak of a time of great tribulation, which the world has never seen before, coming in the last days. And Christians love to see the prophecies of the Bible fulfilled in our time, because they desperately long for Christ’s second coming, when true justice will be...

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky will tell this week’s NATO summit that Russia is “preparing new military operations on the territory of Europe”, a warning that comes as the gaze of the world again shifts from Eastern Europe to the Middle East. The head of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence (GUR) has briefed President Volodymyr Zelensky that Russia is preparing a military strike on Europe, the President revealed on the eve of his trip to Western Europe. Zelensky arrived in London on Monday morning by Presidential plane where he is to meet with senior British figures...

On Saturday night the United States military under the direction of President Donald J. Trump bombed three nuclear facilities in Iran in Operation Midnight Hammer.The US dropped 14 bunker busting bombs on Iran’s largest nuclear site in Fordow. It was the largest ever attack by B-2 stealth bombers by the United States. It was also the longest flight the bombers have made since 2001.The US strike involved more than 125 US aircraft.Following the historic attack on Iranian nuclear sites former Russian President wrote a long thread on X condemning the US military strike.Medvedev says there are “a number of foreign...

Iran’s parliament voted to approve the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in response to last night’s attacks on the country’s nuclear facilities by U.S. forces.The Strait is used as a route for roughly 20% of the world’s oil shipping, which is expected to impact oil prices if the move is approved by Iran’s Supreme Council.India, which reportedly imports about 80% of its oil through the Stair of Hormuz, is expected to be hit hard.President Trump addressed the nation last night, hours after the attack, which he called a “spectacular military success.” He further threatened Iran that “there are many...

Following U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities on Saturday, the Iranian Parliament has voted in support of closing the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical oil transit chokepoints, according to media reports. Any final decision on retaliation, however, will rest with the country's Supreme National Security Council and leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The parliament vote merely advises him of the option to pursue. Newsweek has reached out to the White House by email on Sunday morning for comment. Why It Matters The U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites—dubbed "Operation Midnight Hammer"—in Isfahan, Fordow and Natanz marks...

A senior Iranian source claimed to Reuters that before the U.S. attack on the Fordow nuclear facility last night (Sunday), all of the stock of enriched uranium at the site was transferred to another location. At the same time, satellite images captured a large convoy moving near the underground nuclear facility two days before the attack. It is believed that this may be documentation of the transfer of the enriched material. Last night, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on his social media platform, Truth Social, that the U.S. military had completed strikes on Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. .....

Iranian parliament has approved the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in a move which could see the world thrown into disaster. The decision to close the Strait, through which around 20 per cent of global oil and gas demand flows, is not yet final. Iran's Supreme National Security Council must still make the final call on the matter, Iran's Press TV said today. But lawmaker and Revolutionary Guards Commander Esmail Kosari told the Young Journalist Club that doing so is on the agenda and 'will be done whenever necessary'. Last weekend, Kowsari told local media that closing the Strait...

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday appeared to warn President Trump about the possibility of World War III amid escalating tensions between the nuclear powers. “Regarding Trump’s words about Putin ‘playing with fire’ and ‘really bad things’ happening to Russia. I only know of one REALLY BAD thing — WWIII,” Medvedev wrote Tuesday on the social platform X.

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev warned on Tuesday United States President Donald Trump to the possibility of World War III. "Regarding Trump's words about Putin 'playing with fire' and 'really bad things' happening to Russia. I only know of one REALLY BAD thing - WWIII," Medvedev posted on his X account, regarding Trump's earlier remarks, and added "I hope Trump understands this!"