Free Republic

President Donald Trump has finally lost patience with Vladimir Putin. Having promised a “major” announcement on Russia, Trump has now confirmed that the US will dramatically increase weapons supplies to Europe for use in Ukraine and threatened 100 per cent secondary tariffs on Russia’s trade partners. Trump would only provide Russia with an off-ramp if Putin agreed to a ceasefire in Ukraine within 50 days.

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...

A few years ago, the sudden, near-simultaneous killing of Bagheri, Salami, and a host of other senior leaders would have been unthinkable. Over three decades, the hard-liners who control Iran’s regime had built up what seemed like a formidable system of deterrence. They stockpiled ballistic missiles. They developed and advanced a nuclear enrichment program. Most important, they established a network of foreign proxies that could routinely harass Israeli and U.S. forces. But Iran’s hard-liners overplayed their hand. After Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, the regime’s leaders opted for a campaign of maximum aggression. Rather than letting Hamas and...

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei defiantly declared Wednesday that Tehran isn’t frightened by President Trump’s “absurd rhetoric” — as he rejected the United States’ demand to surrender in its war with Israel. “The US President threatens us. With his absurd rhetoric, he demands that the Iranian people surrender to him. They should make threats against those who are afraid of being threatened. The Iranian nation isn’t frightened by such threats,” Khamenei said in a statement on X. He vowed Iran would never back down and that any US strike would have “serious irreparable consequences.” “The US entering in this...

'Fighting 1,500 km from home isn’t a walk in the park,' says IAF pilot Maj. N’ of the first strike in Iran; 'We saw Iranian jets take off—then flee and vanish, and we stayed two hours and could’ve gone back—again and again'“This is my correction for October 7—this time we were the initiators,” says Maj N. (31), an F-15 pilot from Squadron 133, one of the first to take part in the unprecedented Israeli airstrikes over Iran at the start of Operation Rising Lion Now, he shares what it was like to wait for the green light, the challenges of...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday called the April 1 Israeli strike on the Iranian diplomatic mission in Damascus that left at least 13 people dead, including a high-ranking general, a “political killing,” Anadolu Agency reports. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Lavrov condemned the Israeli attack in a phone talk with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. “Any attacks on diplomatic and consular facilities, the inviolability of which is guaranteed by the relevant Vienna Conventions, are categorically unacceptable, as well as political killings,” he said. Seven Iranian military advisers are said to have been killed in the...

Russia has strongly defended Iran’s right to maintain peaceful nuclear installations. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Iran had the right to such facilities in the past, holds it now, and will continue to do so in the future. She made these remarks while speaking to Sputnik Radio, stressing that peaceful nuclear sites are now under direct attack. Zakharova warned that the threat of nuclear conflict in the Middle East is no longer a theory but a real and growing danger. She said these attacks are not only increasing tensions but also posing a serious threat to both the...

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned on Wednesday that direct U.S. military assistance to Israel could radically destabilise the situation in the Middle East, where an air war between Iran and Israel has raged for six days. In separate comments, the head of Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service, Sergei Naryshkin, was quoted as saying that the situation between Iran and Israel was now critical. Ryabkov warned the U.S. against direct military assistance to Israel or even considering such "speculative options," according to Russia's Interfax news agency.