Free Republic

For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, the war he had hoped would secure his legacy — Israel and the United States together attacking Iran — may be ending in a way that could sully it. The framework agreement to end the war in Iran, which was announced on Sunday, omits some of the most important things Israel wanted. The full text of the deal has not yet been released and Israel was not directly involved in the negotiations. Initial details suggest that the agreement does nothing to curb Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal, or its funding of regional proxies like...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. President Donald Trump that Israel does not consider itself bound by the Lebanon clause in the emerging agreement with Iran, Israeli officials said, making clear that Jerusalem will not accept any arrangement that limits its freedom to act against Hezbollah. The understanding among ministers in the Security Cabinet is that Israel is standing firm on its interests in Lebanon, and that Netanyahu received full backing in the cabinet meeting for his position. The dispute comes after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Trump and Iran all announced that a U.S.-Iran agreement had been reached. According...

An adviser to Iran’s supreme leader said Tehran would teach the attackers a “regrettable lesson” in defense of Lebanon after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday. “Neither the American diplomatic smile is trustworthy, nor is Israel’s savagery tolerable!" Mohammad Mokhber said on X. "We will teach the aggressors a lesson they will regret,” he added.

On Sunday, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) took to X to announce that a senior Hezbollah commander, one Ali Mussa Daqduq, has had his birth certificate permanently revoked. The planet is now a safer, cleaner place without this guy walking around. The post reads: ELIMINATED: Ali Musa Daqduq, a senior Hezbollah commander who held a series of 5 senior positions within Hezbollah. Daqduq played a central role in advancing terrorist attacks and combat operations against Israel and IDF soldiers. In 2007, he orchestrated the kidnapping and murder of 5 American soldiers.

The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete. Congratulations to all! I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade. Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow! President DONALD J. TRUMP

President Trump publicly dinged Israel for striking near Beirut as the US and Iran prepared to sign a peace deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz. “This morning’s attack on Beirut should not have happened, particularly on a special day when we are so close to a Peace Deal with Iran,” Trump posted on Truth Social. ” Israel has the right to defend itself against threats, but the attack it was responding to was very small and meaningless.” “We are very close to a Deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon, and all sides should...

After Israel strikes Hezbollah targets in Beirut’s Dahiyeh neighborhood, Iran seeks to paint the attacks as a threat to an emerging deal between Tehran and Washington. “The Zionists’ incursion into Dahiyeh has once again shown that America either lacks the will to fulfill its commitments or the ability to do so,” writes Iran’s top negotiator and parliament speaker, Mohammad Ghalibaf, on X. “By giving the green light to the regime, you cannot gain concessions. The game of bad cop and good cop is outdated,” he says. "If you lack the will and ability to fulfill your commitments, speaking of continuing...

The Israeli military announced Sunday it launched strikes on Beirut targeting Hezbollah infrastructure. Smoke could be seen rising over the Lebanese capital. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes were in response to Hezbollah attacks in northern Israel. When Israel last struck the Beirut suburbs a week ago, Iran responded with strikes on Israel. Tehran, which is Hezbollah’s main backer, has insisted that any U.S.-Iran ceasefire deal must also include an end to Israeli strikes in Lebanon.

Trump, who is trying to make progress on finalizing an Iran war deal in the coming days, is expected to have a busy schedule of one-on-one meetings with foreign leaders on the sidelines of the summit in the French lakeside town of Evian-les-Bains, according to senior administration officials who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House. The Republican president is expected to discuss with U.S. allies plans to remove mines from the Strait of Hormuz as confidence grows for a deal, one official said. Britain and France, both G7 members, have expressed...

U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with Middle ‌Eastern leaders and attend a working ‌session with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during the ​G7 summit in France next week, senior U.S. administration officials said on Saturday. Officials said Trump would meet separately with the ‌leaders of Egypt, ⁠Qatar, United Arab Emirate, France and India. No bilateral meeting ⁠was planned with Zelenskiy but the two leaders could meet on the sidelines ​of the ​summit, they added. Trump ​planned to raise ‌issues of shared importance with leaders at the summit, including economic growth and development, supply chain resilience, illegal migration and AI, one...

Donald Trump announced the killing of Tren De Aragua cartel leader Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, aka 'Nino,' in a swift and lethal kinetic strike' by US Southern Command. The President has made protecting the border and taking down criminal gangs and cartels a priority in his second term and celebrated the killing of the leader of what he called 'one of the most bloodthirsty Terrorist Organizations on Planet Earth.' 'Early in my Administration, I delivered on my promise to designate Tren de Aragua as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, deport thousands of evil criminals, and wage war against the Cartels, who...

The dramatic killing of Tren de Aragua gang leader Niño Guerrero follows a stepped up operation by the Venezuelan military in a mob-linked region – in a joint operation with US forces, marking a new level of cooperation for the two former rival nations. Venezuela’s Bolivarian National Armed Forces launched major operations targeting illegal gold mining in Bolivar state Tuesday, local media reported, following a meeting by acting President Delcy Rodriguez with top military leaders. US military officials stressed the joint action with the former US rival in statements after President Trump shared video of the “swift and lethal” strike...

There is only one nation on Earth that must continually argue for its right to exist, even when the very survival of its people is threatened by avowedly genocidal enemies. Many readers and podcast listeners have been dismayed by my enduring support for Israel and now urge me to debate someone—really, anyone—drawn from a growing cast of scholars, grifters, and moral lunatics who have made that beleaguered country their professional or psychiatric obsession. I’ve explained my position on Israel across several podcasts and in my public talks, but it might help to summarize it here. First, my general attitude: I’m...

Alpha polemicist Sam Harris is an enthusiastic and persuasive debater, but in his June 5 substack post, reproduced in the Free Press, titled, "Why it's futile to debate Israel's enemies," he informed his readers that he would no longer debate antizionists. Harris has concluded that it is pointless to debate with people who take a dimmer view of those who shoot rabid dogs than they do of the rabid dogs themselves. As he explained, "if my intransigence on these matters mystifies you, it might help to understand that, for whatever reason, I think militant Islam is ten times worse than...

Iran’s semi-official IRNA news agency says that Tehran will not give up its right to enrich uranium under any deal it makes with the United States. Negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program are expected to begin after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, which US President Donald Trump has claimed could be signed as early as this weekend. IRNA reports that Iran will “negotiate only the nuclear program solely within the framework of the Islamic Republic’s fundamental principles.” “Issues such as Iran’s right to enrich uranium and the retention of enriched material by the Islamic Republic of Iran will be...

A letter of intent or memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran is likely to be signed early next week, opening the way to further negotiations about an enduring U.S.-Iran agreement, two sources familiar with the diplomatic efforts said. The signing of the memorandum would kick off 60 days of talks to negotiate details of a U.S.-Iran agreement. That time period could be extended as needed, according to multiple sources. Shortly after Mr. Trump's post on the potential deal, the Fars News Agency, associated with the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps, quoted a "knowledgeable source close to the Iranian negotiating...

The U.S. military will attack Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT,” and will soon take over the country’s “oil infrastructure points,” President Donald Trump said Thursday. An operation to “assume total control” of Iran’s oil and gas markets and infrastructure, including taking Kharg Island, will occur “at some point in the not too distant future,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

US airstrikes on Iran reported, explosions heard in multiple cities US airstrikes on Iran have begun, a US official told Fox News on Wednesday while explosions were reported in Sirik, Minab, Isfahan and on Qeshm Island, according to multiple reports. Iran’s state broadcaster said air defense systems in Asaluyeh have been activated. An explosion heard in the port city of Sirik in Iran's southern Hormozgan province, Iran's Mehr News Agency reported on Wednesday. The sound of air defense systems was heard in western Tehran, according to Iran's Mehr News.

As new law looms, allies defend Gov. DeSantis’ CAIR ban before appeals court. The case could test how far states can go in labeling and defunding groups they deem security risks. A conservative legal coalition is urging an appeals court to let Gov. Ron DeSantis bar the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) from receiving Florida contracts, funding and benefits. Their argument: Florida has the power to refuse public support for organizations it says have ties to terrorism. In an amicus brief, Holtzman Vogel lawyers Mark Pinkert and Jason Torchinsky advised the court to rule in favor of DeSantis’ appeal of...

Last month, I directed our Great U.S. Military to execute a secret mission to support Oil Tankers and other Commercial Ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Today, I am pleased to announce that this effort has resulted in more than 100 MILLION Barrels of Oil making its way through the Strait, and into the Open Market. More than 200 Commercial Ships have safely traveled through the Strait. This wildly successful effort is because the UNITED STATES of AMERICA CONTROLS the Strait of Hormuz — NOT Iran. Their military is defeated, and their economy is lost. It’s over for Iran! Thank...