Free Republic

Those of us who came of age during the Cold War remember such movies as 'Testament' and 'On The Beach', which depicted the aftermath of a full-scale nuclear exchange between the US and USSR. We also remember real-world events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis and the downing of Flight 007 over Korea in 1983.Are we naive enough to believe that just because the USSR no longer exists, today's Russia no longer possesses a stockpile of 6500+ nuclear warheads and the means to deliver them anywhere on the planet?

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday that decisions by the Trump administration to cancel a summit in Budapest and impose sanctions on Russian oil companies showed that Washington was “on the warpath” with Moscow. “The US is our enemy, and their talkative ‘peacemaker’ has now fully embarked on the warpath with Russia,” Medvedev wrote on Telegram, referring to US President Donald Trump. “The decisions taken are an act of war against Russia. And now Trump has fully aligned himself with loony Europe.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin – […] They’ve made a lot of noise many times, threatening us with a complete blockade. They’ve even said openly, without hesitation, that they want to make the Russian people suffer. That’s the word they chose. They’ve drawn up plans, each more fantastical than the last one. I think the time has come to calm down, to take a look around, to get their bearings, and to start building relations in a completely different way.We also understand that the polycentric world is highly dynamic. It appears fragile and unstable because it is impossible to permanently fix...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russian forces are prevailing in what he said was a "righteous battle" in Ukraine. "Our fighters and commanders go on the attack, and the entire country, all of Russia, is waging this righteous battle and working hard," Putin said in a video published on the Kremlin's website. "Together we are defending our love for the Motherland and the unity of our historical destiny, we are fighting and we are prevailing."

"Quite a few planes violate Russia's airspace, accidentally and not accidentally. No one shoots them down," Alexey Meshkov emphasizedPARIS, September 25. /TASS/. Russia’s ambassador to France Alexey Meshkov has warned that if NATO were shooting down Russian planes allegedly violating the airspace of the alliance's member countries, that would mean war. "There would be war. What else could there be?" Meshkov said on RTL radio, responding to a question about Russia's possible response. "Quite a few planes violate our airspace, accidentally and not accidentally. No one shoots them down," the ambassador added. Meshkov also stated that Europe has not provided...

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong-un will attend a military parade in Beijing, marking the first public appearance of the two leaders alongside President Xi Jinping in a show of collective defiance amidst Western pressure. No Western leaders will be amongst the 26 foreign heads of state and government attending the parade next week except for Robert Fico, prime minister of Slovakia, a European Union member state, according to the Chinese foreign ministry on Thursday. Against the backdrop of China's growing military might during the "Victory Day" parade on September 3, the three leaders will project a...

Russian state propaganda has sharply intensified its bellicose rhetoric toward Azerbaijan amid reports of a possible lifting of Baku’s arms supply moratorium to Ukraine. A new “special military operation” could begin in the South Caucasus, propagandist Vladimir Solovyov stated on the program “Evening with Vladimir Solovyov” on the Russia-1 channel. According to him, NATO bases could appear in the Caspian Sea region, which he called “a very big problem.” With this, he was unmistakably alluding to Azerbaijan, which is close to Türkiye, a member of the North Atlantic Alliance. “And this is so dangerous that, from a geopolitical perspective, the...

Following the US bombing of its nuclear sites, Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil chokepoint. Rather than direct retaliation on the Iranian mainland, the US should counter this threat by seizing Kharg Island, the terminal through which 90% of Iran’s oil is exported. Additionally, the US should issue an ultimatum to Iran’s two navies—the IRGC’s coastal patrol and the regular blue-water navy to either dock and surrender or be sunk, thus ensuring freedom of navigation without a broader, destructive war on Iranian soil.

Key Points Should Iran follow through on its threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, it could alienate its neighbors and trade partners. But the possibility of a closure of the strait is low, experts said, despite Tehran’s rhetoric around closing the strait. A closure would provoke Iran’s markets in Asia, particularly China, which accounts for a majority of Iranian oil exports. =============================================================== Iran may be threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz but experts told CNBC that it’s also the one with the most to lose. In major move after U.S. struck Iranian nuclear sites, the country’s parliament on...

ran launched a missile attack Monday on a U.S. military base in Qatar, retaliating for the American bombing of its nuclear sites. The announcement was made on state television as martial music played. A caption on screen called it “a mighty and successful response by the armed forces of Iran to America’s aggression.” The attack came shortly after Qatar closed its airspace as a precaution amid threats from Iran.

Did I hear Former President Medvedev, from Russia, casually throwing around the “N word” (Nuclear!), and saying that he and other Countries would supply Nuclear Warheads to Iran? Did he really say that or, is it just a figment of my imagination? If he did say that, and, if confirmed, please let me know, IMMEDIATELY. The “N word” should not be treated so casually. I guess that’s why Putin’s “THE BOSS.” By the way, if anyone thinks our “hardware” was great over the weekend, far and away the strongest and best equipment we have, 20 years advanced over the pack,...

The laser, developed by China’s National University of Defence Technology, beams enough power to disable drones and cut through several materials from over 0.62 miles (1 km) away. ===================================================================== Chinese scientists have developed a portable 2-kilowatt (kW) fiber laser weapon that can operate in extreme temperatures. Reportedly capable of functioning in conditions between -58°F (-50°C) and 122°F (50°C), the new laser does not require cooling or heating systems. This breakthrough means the laser can be used anywhere on Earth, from the Arctic to the Sahara, without the need for bulky infrastructure. If true, the innovation is an impressive feat as...

Iran's supreme leader sent his foreign minister to Moscow on Monday to ask President Vladimir Putin for more help from Russia after the biggest U.S. military action against the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution over the weekend. U.S. President Donald Trump and Israel have publicly speculated about killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and about regime change, a step Russia fears could sink the Middle East into the abyss. While Putin has condemned the Israeli strikes, he has yet to comment on the U.S. attacks on Iranian nuclear sites though he last week called for calm and offered Moscow's...

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...

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...

President Trump has launched the United States into the spiraling Israel-Iran war, ordering strikes on the latter Middle Eastern country in the middle of the night Saturday in an attempt to crush its nuclear program. “We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,” Trump announced on Truth Social just before 8 p.m. ET, 3:30 a.m. Iran time. The president’s move to get the US involved in Israel’s military operations — now in their second week after large-scale airstrikes on June 13 took out 20 of Iran’s senior military leaders...

Neocons like Mark Levin always start screeching ‘appeasement’ to try to shame opponents of forever wars.Bad World War II analogies appear to have become a dime a dozen in today’s political discourse. In just the past few months, I’ve excoriated Russell Moore for his ridiculous reference to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in response to President Donald Trump’s push toward a peaceful resolution of the war in Ukraine and pilloried Max Boot’s baffling comparison of Ukraine’s recent attack on Russia’s bomber fleet to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.Now, Mark Levin, in his zealous crusade to push the United States into directly...

BARCELONA (AP) — Iran is boasting that it has hypersonic missiles and says it already has begun firing the cutting-edge weapons at Israel.There is no evidence that Iran has unleashed the missiles, and experts are skeptical of the claim.But the use of these fast-moving projectiles could test Israel’s vaunted missile-defense system and alter the course of the fighting between the two bitter enemies.Here’s a closer look at these advanced weapons:What is a hypersonic missile and what makes them so feared?Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed Wednesday that it had fired what it said were hypersonic “Fattah 1” missiles toward Israel. But...

Iran is suffering blow after blow, and Russia, its most powerful supporter, is apparently not prepared to do much of anything about it. Not long ago, backing the West’s least-favorite power in the Middle East had its uses. In prosecuting his war of attrition in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has made confrontation with the West the organizing principle of his foreign policy. In that context, edging closer to Iran and its partners in the “Axis of Resistance” made sense. ........... A defenseless Iran will not respond well to Russian sticks, and in any case, Moscow is unlikely to take a punitive...