Free Republic

Iran’s newly appointed Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was a no-show at his own succession rally in Tehran — and observers speculate that he’s either wounded or hiding out in fear. As thousands gathered on Monday to celebrate Khamenei’s appointment as the country’s new supreme leader, the nepo-baby mullah was represented by a mere portrait — one that was half the size of dad Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s. The portrait of the dead leader took up the center of the stage, according to state media footage of the event. “It’s either he’s out cold in a hospital, or he’s scared and hiding...

If you've been following coverage of the Trump administration's military action against Iran, you've probably noticed something: A lot of people are determined to convince you that the United States is losing. They're wrong. Even worse, many of them know they're wrong. Critics across the political spectrum — from Democrats to elements of the so-called horseshoe Right — are pushing narratives that paint the conflict as a disaster in the making. The goal is simple: Undermine public confidence and turn what is shaping up as a strategic success into a perceived failure. Three particular claims are circulating widely. All three...

Assassinating Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and nearly all of Iran’s top military and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officers on the first day of the war was an incredible turning point in which all of the IDF’s air and intelligence power combined to change the course of history, an IDF senior officer told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday. “Assassinating the supreme leader and all of the top echelon of the Iranian military and the IRGC in around half a minute was made possible by a giant and incredibly coordinated airstrike, which took months of planning,” the senior officer said. In 40 seconds...

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the war with Iran had already been decided in America's favor. He told supporters in Hebron, Kentucky, that the conflict was effectively over almost as soon as it began. Trump said U.S. forces knocked out 58 Iranian naval vessels and eliminated the country’s air force. “Let me say we’ve won. You know, you never like to say too early you won. We won. We won, in the first hour it was over, but we won,” the president said. He added, “We don’t want to leave early, do we? We’ve got to finish the job."