Free Republic

On Monday, in an unusual step, the Spanish government closed its airspace and the use of its military bases to aircraft involved in the ongoing operations in Iran. The decision includes a sweeping ban on the landing, takeoff, or refueling of fighter jets at the strategic "Rota" and "Morón" bases. Following the move, and in coordination with the government in Madrid, Washington canceled its plan to deploy heavy bombers of the B-52 and B-1 types at Morón Air Base, which is considered a critical logistical hub for the US Air Force. Amid tensions with the United States, Spanish Prime Minister...

The war started with Iran by the United States and Israel has left the European far right divided and doubtful... In the first days of the war, the loudest silence came from Hungary's ruling party... Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has praised Trump as a “peacemaker” for his role in the war in Gaza, neither condemned nor endorsed the attacks on Iran. Orbán, who is campaigning for re-election on a “pro-peace narrative” and accuses the EU of fuelling the war in Ukraine by supporting Kyiv with money and weapons, has since resolved the dissonance by saying in an interview with...

On April 4, Nato will be 77 years old. The chance that America will be counted among the celebrants when the birthday celebrations roll around is somewhere between nil and zero. President Trump had long predicted that if America needed help, Nato would not come to its aid, even though, as he sees it, the United States has spent billions of dollars over decades defending Europe from Russian aggression. And when America did need help in the war against Iran – a few mine sweepers, please, sirs – the answer “no” came back in several languages. Britain’s Prime Minister Keir...

A Christian politician in Finland has been convicted of a crime for publishing her views on marriage and sexual ethics 22 years ago. The country's Supreme Court found parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen guilty of "hate speech" for publishing her biblical beliefs. In a 3–2 decision, the court upheld a criminal conviction against Räsänen and a Lutheran bishop for "making and keeping available to the public a text that insults a group." The high court did acquit her on a separate charge of tweeting a Bible verse, but it found her guilty of "insult" for the two-decade-old pamphlet. In a statement, Räsänen...

he war in Iran has emphatically demonstrated American military might on the world stage. There is only one superpower in the world today, and it isn’t headquartered in Moscow, Beijing or London. Alongside Israel, the United States has decimated much of Iran’s defenses, air force, navy, ballistic missile sites, nuclear infrastructure, and its political leadership. All in the space of just three weeks. The Iran war has also sharply exposed simmering deep-seated tensions in the transatlantic alliance, as well as the open cowardice, petulance and weakness of European leaders, including among its increasingly diminished major powers—principally the UK, France and...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran threatened to target recreational and tourist sites worldwide and insisted it was still building missiles. Its supreme leader issued another defiant statement on Friday, nearly three weeks into U.S.-Israeli strikes that have killed a slew of Tehran’s top leaders and hammered its weapons and energy industries.The United States was meanwhile deploying three more warships and roughly 2,500 additional Marines to the Middle East, a U.S. official told The Associated Press.Iran fired on Israel and energy sites in neighboring Gulf Arab states as many in the region marked one of the holiest days on...

"The British Isles are declared to be in a state of blockade,” announced Napoleon Bonaparte, and elaborated: “All commerce and all correspondence with the British Isles are forbidden.” It was 1806, and what would be known as the Berlin Decree aimed to strangle the British economy. The bold scheme seemed economically logical and militarily practical, but it ended up a grand flop. Britain’s economy, coastline, and navy all proved too big for the plan, which also underestimated the kingdom’s link to America and access to the high seas. In fact, Napoleon’s blockade backfired. Europe, it turned out, needed British exports...

Signs of discontent, low morale, financial strain and desertion are spreading among parts of Iran’s security and military forces, Iran International has learned. Members of the Special Units Command received a notice on Friday saying salary payments for some units had run into problems, according to people familiar with the matter. The delay marked the third time this year that wages for those forces had been paid late. Following the delays, some personnel refused to attend pro-government gatherings, the sources said, causing disruptions in deployment in some major cities. Retirees and some army personnel have also not been paid for...

Europe’s own regulatory architecture turned off Europe’s own energy supply. And America. . . on the other side of the Atlantic with a full tank of gas, watched it happen.” —Jeff ChildersLet’s pause for a moment amid all the excitement to address an abiding mystery of these times: why does the news media seem to be rooting for American failure in the Iran operation? Or more generally, how did the media become handmaiden to the Lefty-left and all its ancillaries? How were they lured into their Cloward-Piven bunker of crypto-Marxian “resistance?” It’s unlikely that the network executives, news producers, and...

Nearly half a century after the Islamic revolution that overthrew Iran’s monarchy, a quiet shift has taken place among some of its former supporters. They were once the young revolutionaries of 1979 – leftists, activists, and political prisoners – shaped by the ideological certainties of their time. They spoke in the language of social justice and anti-imperial struggle, convinced they were dismantling a system that could not be reformed. For many, the Shah’s Iran was deeply flawed, and even the idea of monarchy went against their fundamental beliefs. Some paid for those beliefs with years in prison. Others would later...

Around 300 Basij commanders and field officials were killed in a wave of overnight strikes on key command and operational centers of Iran’s Basij forces, Iran International has learned. Around 300 Basij commanders and field officials were killed in a wave of overnight strikes on key command and operational centers of Iran’s Basij forces, Iran International has learned. The strikes appeared to hit the logistics and command structure of a force long used to suppress dissent and confront anti-government protests. In one of the most critical attacks, a Basij support unit’s repair and maintenance center was hit. The site housed...

The Western Alliance was already fraying long before the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran began earlier this month. But the collective refusal of European leaders to even entertain the idea of assisting the U.S. in keeping the Strait of Hormuz open – and their personal insults against President Donald Trump – may have fractured the relationship beyond repair. As Iranian forces continue to attack shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint through which 20-30 percent of all global crude oil flows, President Trump has called on European nations to form an international coalition to help reopen the strait....

Congress has expressed interest in the status of the U.S. military’s inventories of munitions (e.g.,ammunition, bombs, missiles, torpedoes, anti-aircraft weapons, missile interceptors). Since the UnitedStates and Israel launched military operations against Iran on February 28, 2026, some Members ofCongress have sought information on the stockpiles and availability of U.S. weapons from theDepartment of Defense (DOD, which is “using a secondary Department of War designation,” underExecutive Order 14347 dated September 5, 2025). Some Members have raised concerns about potentialshortfalls in munitions, while other Members have said munitions are not an immediate concern.President Donald J. Trump has said U.S. munitions are “virtually...

The IDF confirms it eliminated Esmail Ahmadi, Head of the Intelligence Division of the Basij Force, in an Israeli Air Force strike in Tehran earlier this week that also killed senior commanders, including the unit’s commander Gholamreza Soleimani. According to the IDF, Ahmadi played a central role in advancing terror activity and enforcing the regime’s control, including leading violent crackdowns during recent protests, as part of a broader series of strikes targeting senior Iranian regime figures.

Republican Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado has responded furiously to reports that the Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war. Boebert told CNN's Manu Raju on Thursday that she would not support any supplemental funding for the war. "I will not vote for a war supplemental," she said. "No. I am a no. I've already told leadership. I am a no on any war supplementals. I am so tired of spending money elsewhere." She continued: "I am tired of the industrial-war complex getting all of our hard-earned tax dollars. I have folks in Colorado who...

Iranian state television announced Friday that Ali Mohammad Naini, spokesman for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was killed in a joint U.S.-Israeli strike, along with his deputy. An Israeli security official later confirmed Naini’s death. The strike followed a string of increasingly aggressive public statements from Naini, who had positioned himself as a central figure in Iran’s messaging throughout the conflict. On February 28—the day the war erupted—Naini struck a tone of defiance, declaring, “We are prepared for all scenarios,” while insisting that previous clashes had proven “the military option against Iran is a failure.” He doubled down days...

The United States has intensified operations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, launching low-altitude airstrikes against Iranian vessels and deploying Apache helicopters to intercept incoming drones. At the center of the campaign is a new addition: the A-10 Thunderbolt II. America’s top general, Dan Caine, confirmed that the heavily armed A-10s—better known as the “Warthog”—have officially entered the conflict and are now flying combat missions along Iran’s southern flank. Built for close combat and designed to destroy ground targets with brutal efficiency, the aircraft are now being used to hunt Iranian fast-attack boats in the narrow, strategically vital waterway. “The...

U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran since February 2026 and subsequent Iranian military action throughout the Persian Gulf have raised concern about oil and natural gas markets in relation to the Strait of Hormuz (the Strait). Starting on March 4, 2026, Iranian forces have declared the Strait “closed,” threatening and carrying out attacks on ships attempting to transit the Strait. In light of a considerable decrease in shipping traffic, President Donald Trump has raised the prospect of U.S. actions intended to reestablish free transit of the Strait.The Strait, which borders Iran and Oman, is a key waterway, particularly for...

President Trump on Friday slammed NATO allies as "cowards" for not sending troops to help open the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for the global oil trade that remains effectively closed amid Iran's continued retaliation for Israel's attack on the South Pars natural gas field.

Serbia has sharply condemned Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, for what it described as “unacceptable interference in internal affairs,” after she criticized the Balkan country’s military cooperation with Israel. The diplomatic dispute follows Albanese’s visit to Belgrade this week, during which she accused Serbian authorities of collaborating “without shame” with Israel, claiming Serbia is among its strongest allies and that Serbian weapons are being used in Gaza. “We consider the statements made by the United Nations Special Rapporteur, Mrs. Albanese, to be unbalanced and activist in nature, and as such inappropriate to the mandate she...