Free Republic

U.S. security and law-enforcement officials say they have fresh evidence of recent efforts by Iran to evade sanctions and acquire metals from China used in high-tech weaponry, including long-range nuclear missiles. Iran's efforts are detailed in a series of recent emails and letters between Iranian companies and foreign suppliers seen by The Wall Street Journal. Business records show one Iranian company, ABAN Commercial & Industrial Ltd., has contracted through an intermediary for more than 30,000 kilograms (about 66,000 pounds) of tungsten copper -- which can be used in missile guidance systems -- from Advanced Technology & Materials Co. Ltd. of...

An explosion in southern Lebanon last week destroyed what is believed to have been a Hezbollah weapons depot. This latest in a series of mysterious “accidents” in Hezbollah-controlled precincts proved, as one Israeli official wryly remarked, that those who “sleep with rockets and amass large stockpiles of weapons are in a very unsafe place.” With the Party of God’s overland supply route through Syria choked off by the 22-month-long uprising against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, and Israel virtually in total control of the maritime route, Hezbollah’s stockpile is being systematically degraded.Yet the arsenal of Iran’s other regional proxy force, Hamas,...

Russia’s Skolkovo Foundation, with Clinton’s copious help, was the source of Russia’s incredible hypersonic weapons technology. During his first TV interview as the new President of the United States, Donald Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that the Russian Federation had been “stealing” hypersonic weapons research and development from the United States during the Obama administration. This point went viral. But the story is murkier than that. Certainly, Russia did acquire key components from the United States during the Obama administration. But they did not steal it. They purchased it. And the person who authorized the sale was none other...

SEOUL, March 10 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired multiple unidentified ballistic missiles toward the Yellow Sea on Monday, South Korea's military said.

Agreement between the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and German company Diehl Defence paves the way for large industrial projects Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the German company Diehl Defence, which produces IRIS-T systems and is "an important part of Ukraine's air defense shield." According to the minister, the signed agreement paves the way for large industrial projects that will strengthen the capabilities of Ukrainian air defense. In addition, the memorandum provides for a threefold increase in the supply of missiles and air defense systems, Umerov noted. IRIS-T is a medium-range...

While the Peace Process between the US and Russia advances at a rapid pace heading to a détente, and the specific thorny issue of a resolution to the Ukraine conflict is surrounded by levels of geopolitical confusion, the war proceeds. Every bit as bloody and ruthless as before. Deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia Dmitry Medvedev, known for his maximalist takes on issues, has said: “Inflicting maximum damage to the Kiev regime on the ground remains the main task of the Russian Federation.” And that’s what’s happening: the Russian Ministry of Defense has announced that no less than...

Former President Joe Biden rescinded the designation in 2021.. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Tuesday that the State Department re-designated Ansarallah, commonly referred to as the Houthis, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). “Today’s action taken by the State Department demonstrates the Trump Administration’s commitment to protecting our national security interests, the safety of the American people, and the security of the United States,” Rubio said in a statement. The Iranian-backed terror group has fired several ballistic missiles at civilian populations in Israel, launched more than one hundred attacks on international cargo ships and other vessels in the...

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced billions in support for Ukraine on Sunday following a summit with European leaders, just days after President Donald Trump berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. Starmer announced a loan of 2.2 billion British pounds ($2.8 billion) to support Ukraine, funded through the freezing of Russian assets passed on Saturday. He also highlighted a new deal that would allow Ukraine to use 1.6 billion pounds ($2 billion) in export finance to buy missiles made in Northern Ireland. Starmer vowed to bolster Ukraine to allow the nation to negotiate a peace agreement from...

BUCHAREST, Romania — Government ministers in the former Soviet and communist countries along the Black Sea basin are bracing for President Joe Biden’s meeting with Vladimir Putin of Russia next Wednesday in Geneva. But, analysts are warning them to keep their expectations low. They hope the American president will stand for democratic ideals and support their security, but regional analysts say they may be pawns in a broader geopolitical chess match between great power rivals. From Kyiv to Bucharest, government leaders are attempting to influence Biden ahead of the meeting, underscoring that their democracy depends on the United States and...

Gore's, Talbott's Red Russian roots How they 'Hammer'-ed out Washington-Moscow policy Posted: October 3, 2000 Loutchansky's name surfaced again last year, when the Washington Post revealed that first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's two brothers, Tony Rodham and Hugh Rodham, were involved in a $118 million scheme to grow and export hazelnuts in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. Their partner in the venture was Aslan Abashidze, who said his financial adviser was Loutchansky. Abashidze is a reputed member of a Russian organized crime family.The Rodham brothers at first balked and then agreed to national security adviser Sandy Berger's request that...

The U.S. military transferred around 90 Patriot air defense interceptors from storage in Israel to Poland this week in order to deliver them to Ukraine, three sources with knowledge of the operation tell Axios. Why it matters: Getting more Patriot missiles to Ukraine has been a top priority for the Pentagon to help Kyiv defend against Russia's attacks on its critical infrastructure. This is also the most significant delivery of weapons from Israel to Ukraine since the Russian invasion almost three years ago.

The next time Hillary Clinton or her media allies wag a finger about “Russian interference,” remember this: Hillary Clinton’s State Department helped arm Russia with hypersonic missile technology. Yes, the same Hillary Clinton who branded Tulsi Gabbard a “Russian asset”. The same Hillary Clinton who pushed the Trump-Russia collusion hoax for years. The same Hillary Clinton who expects America to believe that Moscow is an existential threat. Her tenure at the State Department actively facilitated, promoted, and encouraged the transfer of dual-use technology that helped build Russia’s next-generation hypersonic missile systems. U.S. officials later sounded the alarm about Skolkovo’s military...

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy on Saturday revealed a new underground missile facility along the country’s southern coast, AFP reported, citing footage aired by state television. The unveiling comes just two weeks after the force showcased an underground naval base. "Hundreds of cruise missiles capable of countering enemy destroyers' electronic warfare are stationed in these underground cities," the Iranian report stated. The facility, whose exact location was not disclosed, houses missile systems stored "hundreds of meters underground" and capable of being deployed swiftly. "These systems and missiles can be armed and fired from hundreds of kilometers away and can hit targets...

“We know what your first strike will be and we promise you a big surprise,” said Hassan Nasrallah Wednesday night in Beirut. “The most important weapons we fought with in the July war (of 2006) were from Syria, not only in Lebanon but also in the Gaza Strip. They forced more than a million settlers to stay in bunkers and frighten Tel Aviv. Nasrallah added that the Americans are now trying to break of Syria as they did Iraq.

President Trump re-upped his claim that Russia stole the plan for hypersonic missiles during the Obama administration. “Russia stole the design, they got it from us,” Mr. Trump said in an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity. Part two of the interview, his first since taking the reins at the White House, was aired Thursday night. “Some bad person gave them the design,” he said, adding that the United States will have super hypersonic missiles “which is even a step better.”

Nato’s newest members are moving to close the Baltic Sea to Russian ships in wartime. Sweden has just deployed a new anti-ship missile that ranges far enough to keep Russian ships from leaving Saint Petersburg or Kaliningrad and, by extension, leaving the Baltic to reach the North Sea and the wider Atlantic Ocean. The ripples from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the subsequent enlargement of Nato, continue to spread. In late December, the Swedish defense ministry tapped Swedish defense firm Saab to supply the Swedish armed forces with the new Mark 3 version of the RBS 15 anti-ship missile. “Sweden...

"Russia's Chief Air Traffic Control Center has informed the Latvian Civil Aviation Agency that the Russian Navy plans to conduct missile launches from 06:00 to 18:00 April 4 to 6 in the airspace above Latvia's exclusive economic zone in the Baltic Sea," the ministry said. The Latvian Ministry of Defense has summoned the Russian Federation's military attache and expressed dissatisfaction with the situation, "noting that, despite the fact that international agreements do not prevent Russia from conducting such training in this territory, its actions are challenging and more likely to be considered as a demonstration of power." Responding to the...

22 days separate us from January 20, 2025, the day when Donald J. Trump will be inaugurated—and a milestone starting point after which much is expected to change in global geopolitics, especially in the war in Ukraine. As for now, Russian Federation forces continue to advance relentlessly, and, while the Joe Biden administration from hell gave Ukraine as much as 30% of the complete stockpile of ATCMS long-range missiles, the ‘wonder weapon’ failed to move the needle in the conflict—and now Kiev have very few missiles left. Those much-touted long-range missiles provided by the US and the UK were used...

The Israeli intelligence agency Shin Bet foils a major Iranian attack against the Jewish State, which planned on heavily equipping Palestinian terrorists within Judea and Samaria, also known as the West Bank. How will Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu respond to this aggression from the regime in Tehran. Meanwhile, the IDF destroys a Hezbollah precision guided missile factory in Beirut. Watch now.

Moscow has warned that retaliatory actions are being prepared after accusing Ukraine of launching another round of ATACMS strikes into Russian territory. Russian military on Tuesday pledged a response to the fresh air attacks using the US-supplied missiles, which Russia's defence ministry said were carried out on November 23 and 25. 'Retaliatory actions are being prepared,' it said in a post on Telegram, without providing any further details.