Free Republic

Intrusions come as tensions between Iran and its Gulf neighbors ratchet up over sanctions, nuclear program and shipping Suspected Iranian hackers infiltrated critical infrastructure and government computers in the Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain within the last month, raising fears among leaders in the region that Tehran is stepping up its cyberattacks amid growing tensions. “Bahrain au­thor­i­ties iden­ti­fied in­tru­sions into its Elec­tric­ity and Wa­ter Au­thor­ity. The hack­ers shut down sev­eral sys­tems in what the au­thor­i­ties be­lieved was a test run of Iran’s ca­pa­bil­ity to dis­rupt the coun­try.”

Ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf have reported unusual GPS interference, among other problems, and the US believes Iran is to blame. The Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration issued a warning on Wednesday highlighting threats to commercial vessels posed by Iran. The warning revealed that ships have had a variety of issues when operating in the region, including "spoofed bridge-to-bridge communications from unknown entities falsely claiming to be US or coalition warships." (excerpt) US defense official told CNN that Iran has GPS jammers operating on Abu Musa Island, an island in the Persian Gulf located...

Report Slams US Troop Pullout from Syria By Jeff Seldin August 6, 2019 U.S. plans to keep just a residual force in Syria to ensure the enduring defeat of the Islamic State may be on the verge of backfiring, with some military officials warning the strategy is giving the terror group new life. The doubts, raised in a Defense Department Inspector General report released Tuesday, come as Washington has struggled to secure additional on-the-ground help in Syria from allies and amid renewed warnings that while IS may have lost control of its self-declared caliphate, the group's fighters are far from...

This spring and summer Iran has attacked six foreign oil tankers in the Persian Gulf; tried to block a British ship in the Strait of Hormuz; flown a drone next to an American ship, forcing the U.S. to shoot it down; and captured another British oil tanker. All of this, writes Steven Cook, is proof that the United States is abandoning the Persian Gulf, despite decades of promises that it would never do so, and letting Iran effectively take over: The United States has invested great sums in the Middle East over many decades to undertake a few important tasks—notably...

On July 29, President Trump tweeted: “Just remember, Iranians never won a war, but never lost a negotiation.” In just 12 words, Trump leveled a multi-layered, ahistorical insult against both his predecessor, Barack Obama, and Iran. More importantly, the remarks betray a dangerously ignorant understanding of Iran that could result in another careless Middle East war of choice. The tweet invokes a clichéd, colonial-era stereotype that Iranians, like other Middle Eastern peoples, are wily swindlers—rapacious, greedy bazaar merchants who aim to take advantage of honest and unsuspecting Westerners. Trump is hardly the first American leader to dabble in such denigrating...

They have been convicted of charges stemming from a video taken on International Women's Day that was widely shared on social media in March showing them without headscarves.. Monireh Arabshahi, Yasamin Aryani, and Mojgan Keshavarz, three women who have been held in Iranian custody since April of this year for "disrespecting compulsory hijab," have been sentenced by the Iranian Revolutionary Court to prison terms of at least 16 years each for disobeying the country's Islamic dress code. The women were each given five years on charges of "assembly and collusion to act against national security," one year for circulating "propaganda...

In case of war with the U.S., Tehran can draw on 200,000 Mideast proxy militants to attack Israel. But less well-known are Hezbollah’s overseas Black Ops units - and both Israeli and American targets are in their sights

The Start-Up nation that has become a technological powerhouse has once again displayed its inventive capacity to provide protection for the people of Israel. Earlier last month, in Alaska’s air space, Israel successfully tested the Arrow 3 interceptor, its latest anti-ballistic missile-missile. The testing of the Arrow 3 system in Alaska proved that it is able to intercept and destroy an incoming ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead in the outer atmosphere before it dangerously splits and flies toward its target. The test, conducted at the Spaceport Complex Alaska in Kodiak, was a joint effort between the Israel Missile...

"The Sacred City presents compelling evidence that suggests the holy city of Mecca is in the wrong location and that the worlds 1.6 billion Muslims are praying in the direction of the wrong city. Compiling evidence from both historic sources and new technologies point to the correct location in this seismic, revelatory new film.

The Islamic State terror group continues to pose a real and present danger, according to the latest United Nations six-month report on jihadist activities. Islamic State (ISIS) leadership “aims to adapt, survive and consolidate in the core area and to establish sleeper cells at the local level in preparation for eventual resurgence, while using propaganda to maintain the group’s reputation as the leading global terrorist brand – the ‘virtual caliphate,’” the report declares. “When it has the time and space to reinvest in an external operations capability, ISIL will direct and facilitate international attacks in addition to the ISIL-inspired attacks...

Shortened title. Full title: Ted Cruz Sounds the Alarm: Deep State Staffers at Treasury and State Working Behind Trump’s Back to Preserve Obama’s Iran Nuke Deal Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) sounded the alarm on Wednesday and said that staffers at the Treasury and State Departments are tirelessly working behind President Trump’s back to preserve Obama’s Iran nuke deal. Ted Cruz accused many senior Trump administration officials of continuing to give Tehran waivers allowing the terrorist-supporting regime to conduct nuclear tests at a military bunker that holds Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Cruz said “Deep State” in the Treasury and State who...

Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) is accusing multiple senior Trump administration officials in both the Treasury and State Departments of actively working behind President Donald Trump's back to save the Iran nuclear deal and continue providing Tehran with waivers permitting the regime to conduct sensitive nuclear work at a military site that houses Iran's nuclear weapons program. In reaction to reports that the State Department will renew a series of controversial sanctions waivers that have permitted Iran to continue conducting nuclear work, including at a military bunker dug into the side of mountain, Cruz accused "deep state" officials operating at...

With each passing week, the tally of Iranian provocations that feed fears that the Middle East is on the brink of war continues to grow. Iran’s firing of a middle-range missile in violation of a United Nations Security Council resolution and its seizure of a British-flagged oil tanker came after a series of other incidents, including the shooting down of an American drone and sabotage of other shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump’s critics have depicted these actions as the inevitable result of his policies. Trump’s withdrawal of the United States from the Iran nuclear deal and...

Yemen: 10 shot to death in Ramadan prayer dispute JUN 7, 2019 2:15 PM BY CHRISTINE DOUGLASS-WILLIAMS 32 COMMENTS An imam and nine worshippers were killed following Houthi militia attacks on a number of mosques for celebrating Eid al-Fitr on Tuesday, after Saudi Arabia announced the sighting of the Shawwal crescent, Yemen’s information minister Moammar al-Eryani and local media reported…. the militias stormed mosques during Eid prayer in Houthi-controlled areas. Western culture of appeasement and negotiations will not stop jihadists from their 1,400 year bloodshed–infighting between sects and against infidels. The Houthis are a Zaydi Shia minority sect, referred to...

At Least 32 Killed in Missile Attack on Military Parade in South of Yemen - Fawaz Salman 10:41 01.08.2019(updated 13:57 01.08.2019) The Houthi movement has claimed responsibility for the incident, stating they had launched a medium-range ballistic missile and an armed drone at the event. A blast struck a military parade in the Buraiqa District of Aden, killing up to 32 people and injuring dozens, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing a defence source. According to the Saudi broadcaster, a senior commander of the support forces, Brig. Munir Al Yafi was killed in the attack. Before that a suicide attacker drove...

Iran’s focus on building a powerful ballistic missile arsenal, which the Americans, Saudis and Israelis, among others, see as a major threat, has its origins in the 1980-88 war with Iraq in which major cities were subjected to merciless missile and air strikes in which thousands of civilians were killed or wounded. The so-called War of the Cities involved five periods of systematic and intense bombardments with missiles, aircraft and even long-range artillery from February 1984, when Saddam Hussein ordered indiscriminate attacks on 11 Iranian cities, through February 1987. The objective was to inflict large civilian casualties to demoralise the...

Five years on, Mikael Skillt still doesn't know exactly what made him leave his construction job and his girlfriend to fight in the war in Ukraine. “I’ve done tons of soul-searching, and the more I think about it, the less I know why I came,” the 43-year-old told VICE News. But an undeniable part of the draw was that Ukrainian ultranationalists, many with barely disguised neo-Nazi or white supremacist views, had been a driving force in the revolution. Skillt, at the time a notorious Swedish neo-Nazi with a 20-year history in the extreme-right scene, felt compelled to join their fight....

Iran Tanker Seizures Pushing U.K. Royal Navy to its Limits as New PM Takes Charge By: Jon Rosamond August 1, 2019 12:23 PM LONDON — Britain’s new prime minister, Boris Johnson, is facing a maritime security standoff with Iran that could, if handled indelicately, spark conflict in the Persian Gulf region. At the center of the drama is the tit-for-tat seizure by Tehran of a British-flagged oil tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz. As a result of decades of cuts, the Royal Navy has had a limited presence in the Middle East. Since the Falklands conflict in 1982 the number...

16:13 01.08.2019(updated 16:52 01.08.2019) Get short URL31698 The strike comes after Damascus stated last Wednesday that Israel had struck a Syrian army base in Tel Al-Hara in the Golan Heights and in Quneitra. An Israeli missile has hit the western province of Quneitra in Syria, near the Golan Heights, Syrian state media reported Thursday. The village of Tal Braiqa was the target in the strikes, according to SANA. There is no official information about casualties at the moment. The Israel Defence Forces have previously admitted to carrying out "hundreds" of airstrikes against Syria in recent years, stressing, however, that the...

A local news bureau reported “shock” in the German city of Stuttgart after a 36-year-old man was hacked to death with what appeared to be a katana-type sword in the middle of the street on Wednesday afternoon. The attack took place in front of dozens of witnesses and was filmed by passers-by on mobile phones from multiple angles, and saw a man, a 36-year old German resident of Kazakhstan origin, lying on the floor and being repeatedly hacked at and stabbed with a sword, reports German newspaper Bild.