Aletho News

ΑΛΗΘΩΣ

Col. Jacques Baud: America Bombs Iran’s Nuclear Facilities

Glenn Diesen | June 22, 2025

Colonel Jacques Baud is a former military intelligence analyst in the Swiss Army and the author of many books. Colonel Baud discusses America’s attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities and the deception surrounding this war of aggression. International law, treaties and institutions are all undermined in the effort to destroy Iran and restore American hegemony.

June 22, 2025 Posted by | Militarism, Video, War Crimes | , , , , , | Leave a comment

After Years of Silence, New CDC Vaccine Panel to Vote on Mercury in Flu Shots

By Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D. | The Defender | June 18, 2025

The CDC’s vaccine advisory committee will vote next week on the mercury-based flu vaccine, according to an Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting agenda draft posted today on the ACIP website

The committee will also vote on RSV vaccines for pregnant mothers, babies and young children.

This will be the first meeting since U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tapped eight new ACIP members — just days after removing all 17 former members in what he called a “clean sweep … needed to re-establish public confidence in vaccine science.”

Before they vote, ACIP members will hear presentations on respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV vaccines, including Merck’s new RSV shot for newborns. Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the new shot, even though clinical trials showed an 11.71% rate of serious adverse events, including death.

Discussions, but no votes, are slated for other vaccines, including COVID-19, Chikungunya, Anthrax and MMRV (Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Varicella).

ACIP decides which vaccines should be recommended to the public, who should take them and how often — recommendations the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) typically rubber stamps and publishes on its immunization schedules.

The committee will meet June 25-26 in Atlanta, Georgia.

ACIP to discuss thimerosal after years of silence

Thimerosal is a mercury-based preservative used in multi-dose vials of the flu vaccine, according to the CDC. Most single-dose vials and pre-filled syringes of the flu shot don’t contain the preservative, as they’re intended for single use.

Over 25 years ago, vaccine industry leaders and public health officials concealed evidence from the CDC’s own database that linked thimerosal to neurodevelopmental disorders in children, including autism, according to transcripts from a meeting in Norcross, Georgia.

The U.S. government has long said thimerosal poses no harm to children. However, in 2001, out of what the agency said was an abundance of caution, the CDC said the ingredient would no longer be used in childhood vaccines.

A recent investigation by journalist Sharyl Attkisson proved both statements untrue.

Thimerosal’s potential to harm kids has been on Kennedy’s radar for over a decade. In 2014, he edited a book on the topic: “Thimerosal: Let the Science Speak: The Evidence Supporting the Immediate Removal of Mercury — a Known Neurotoxin — from Vaccines.”

The CDC webpage for flu shot safety considerations during pregnancy makes no mention of thimerosal, nor does it encourage pregnant women to be sure they get a flu shot from a single-dose vial or prefilled syringe to avoid mercury exposure.

Next week, ACIP members will hear a presentation on thimerosal in vaccines and a presentation on proposed recommendations for flu vaccines that contain thimerosal. The names of the presenters were not listed on the agenda at press time.

The committee will also vote on flu vaccines that don’t contain thimerosal.

Dr. Meryl Nass, who has attended many past ACIP meetings, said, “There is no need for thimerosal, a known neurotoxin, as it is not used in single-dose vials. Its use should be ended.”

Critics weigh in on ACIP agenda

Reactions to the ACIP meeting agenda were mixed. Some said it signaled that the CDC is veering off course, while others called for even more change.

Brian Hooker, Ph.D., Children’s Health Defense’s (CHD) chief scientific officer, said that although he was encouraged by Kennedy’s selections for the new ACIP members, he was disappointed in the slate of meeting presenters and moderators.

“It is the same old cast of CDC characters (from the National Center for Infectious and Respiratory Diseases) who present a very biased viewpoint,” Hooker said. “CDC’s culture is vaccinology as a religion, straight up. ACIP committee members desperately need an alternative view that is based on the very stark reality of vaccine ineffectiveness and the extremely high prevalence of vaccine adverse events.”

Dr. Jeremy Faust, editor of Medpage, said in a Substack post critiquing the ACIP meeting agenda that the planned vote on thimerosal “revives and elevates a longstanding anti-vaccine conspiracy theory.”

“Removing the compound will do nothing to improve vaccine safety,” Faust wrote, “but it certainly will undermine confidence in other existing vaccines.”

Faust also criticized the CDC for failing to put a COVID-19 vaccine vote on the meeting agenda, writing that the move will leave “fall policies unclear.”

HHS officials last month removed the COVID-19 shot from the CDC’s recommended list of immunizations for healthy children and pregnant women after the FDA limited its COVID-19 vaccine approvals to high-risk groups and the elderly.

‘This could mark a turning point’

James Lyons-Weiler, Ph.D. is president and CEO of the Institute for Pure and Applied Knowledge, an advocacy group that pushes for accuracy and integrity in science and for biomedical researchers to put people’s health before profits. He said the ACIP meeting agenda suggested that the CDC was making progress in “structure, balance, and transparency.”

“If public comment is taken seriously and if safety data are rigorously and honestly evaluated — then this could mark a turning point,” Lyons-Weiler said.

Lyons-Weiler said it’s also important that the CDC be “fully open” about its Evidence to Recommendations framework.

When ACIP makes a vaccine recommendation, it’s accompanied by what’s called an Evidence to Recommendations framework that describes the information the committee used in making its decision.

In the past, the CDC took shortcuts in showing this evidence, Lyons-Weiler said. He said he hopes the next ACIP meeting shows that the CDC is moving forward “with the full light of science, skepticism, and civic trust.”

ACIP guidelines don’t address full scope of possible vaccine injuries

Historically, states use ACIP recommendations to help shape vaccine policy and doctors use them in making decisions.

Some states consider the ACIP’s “General Best Practice Guidelines for Immunization,” which lists examples of contraindications and precautions for each vaccine, as the only acceptable authority when deciding whether to grant a child’s medical exemption request to a school-required vaccine.

However, ACIP’s list of contraindications isn’t exhaustive, according to attorney Sujata Gibson, who said:

“Right now, states like New York and California are overruling treating physicians and rejecting medical exemptions when they don’t see the condition listed in the ACIP best practices guideline as a contraindication or a precaution.

“But the guideline doesn’t provide an exhaustive list of all the reasons a child may be at risk of serious harm… The way that New York, California and other states are treating these guidelines is reckless and dangerous, and children are being severely harmed as a result.”

In other words, it doesn’t matter how many doctors confirm that a particular child will likely be harmed by a certain vaccine, states like New York and California give medical exemptions only for conditions specified in ACIP’s guidelines.

The Defender reached out to the CDC to ask if the new ACIP committee will clarify that its guidance is not a substitute for clinical decision-making and should not be used as a standard for clinicians or schools in deciding whether to grant medical exemptions. The CDC did not respond by the deadline.

This article was originally published by The Defender — Children’s Health Defense’s News & Views Website under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Please consider subscribing to The Defender or donating to Children’s Health Defense.

June 22, 2025 Posted by | Civil Liberties | , , | Leave a comment

True Promise III: Iran launches multi-warhead Kheibar Shekan missile for first time

Press TV – June 22, 2025

Iran announced the first-ever launch of its multi-warhead Kheibar Shekan ballistic missile during the twentieth wave of Operation True Promise III in the early hours of Sunday.

In a statement, the public relations department of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said that this phase of the retaliatory operation marked the debut of the third-generation Kheibar Shekan ballistic missile, successfully striking its intended targets.

The twentieth wave came just hours after the United States claimed to have struck three Iranian nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.

According to the IRGC, a total of 40 solid- and liquid-fueled missiles were launched at strategic targets across the occupied Palestinian territories on Sunday.

“In this operation, for the first time, the IRGC Aerospace Force deployed the third-generation Kheibar Shekan multi-warhead ballistic missile, employing new and surprising tactics to achieve greater precision, destructive power, and effectiveness,” the statement said.

Main targets included Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, the regime’s biological research center, and alternative command-and-control sites.

The missiles employed maneuverable warheads capable of adjusting their trajectory during descent, maintaining guidance until impact, and delivering multiple high-explosive, highly destructive payloads.

Sirens reportedly went off only after the missiles scored direct hits, plunging the occupied territories into chaos, as witnessed in several previous waves of Operation True Promise III.

“We declare that the core capabilities of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran have yet to be activated in this sacred defense,” the IRGC statement concluded.

Iranian armed forces have carried out 20 phases of True Promise III so far, targeting strategic and sensitive military and intelligence sites in the occupied territories.

These operations are in response to the continued Israeli aggression that has claimed the lives of more than 400 Iranians since June 13, including military commanders, scientists, university professors, athletes, school students etc.

June 22, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Militarism | , , | Leave a comment

Trump aides pushed war on Iran with Mossad-fed intel, ignoring dissent

Al Mayadeen | June 22, 2025

The CIA and US Central Command are being used as tools by “Israel’s” Mossad to push the United States toward a full-scale war with Iran, a senior official in US President Donald Trump’s administration told The Grayzone.

According to the official, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Kurilla regurgitated Israeli briefings, without disclosing their origin, to influence Trump directly.

The official described Ratcliffe as “Mossad’s stenographer”, arguing that Israeli intelligence shaped White House perceptions through intermediaries who bypass standard US intelligence vetting.

This manipulation completely sidelined dissenting voices, including Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and her deputy, Joe Kent, who have raised concerns about the consequences of escalation.

This April, The Grayzone published audio of AIPAC CEO Elliott Brandt boasting about his long-standing influence over Ratcliffe, calling him a “lifeline” inside the Trump administration. The recording detailed how AIPAC cultivated not only Ratcliffe but also Marco Rubio and Mike Waltz, both later appointed to key national security posts.

Waltz, according to The Grayzone, was forced out of his NSC role in May after being exposed for secretly coordinating an Iran strike plan with Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Grayzone also revealed that Rubio, now serving as acting National Security Director, holds more influence over cabinet-level operations than any official since Henry Kissinger.

Push for regime change, assassination

The Trump official also emphasized that Mossad and Israeli military briefers are singularly focused on regime change, not nuclear diplomacy. During meetings, they reportedly lobbied for the assassination of Iran’s leader, Sayyed Ali Khamenei.

The official added that Israeli briefings often emphasized apocalyptic scenarios, including unverified claims that Iran could hand off a nuclear weapon to Ansar Allah in under a week.

While Trump’s Iran envoy, Steve Witkoff, reportedly urged the president to maintain diplomatic channels, Israeli escalation strategies appeared calculated to collapse the negotiation process entirely, said The Grayzone.

Gabbard and Kent, both critical of unilateral military action, have reportedly been frozen out of meetings by Chief of Staff Suzie Wiles. Ratcliffe and Kurilla now dominate the president’s briefings. The CIA director has been accused of parroting Israeli memos, while Kurilla, dubbed “Israel’s” “favorite general”, has relentlessly made the case for direct US engagement in Iran.

As of June 13, Tel Aviv launched unilateral strikes on Iran, reportedly rushing to act before Kurilla’s retirement in July. Some former Pentagon officials suggested Kurilla’s presence was a deciding factor for Israeli timing.

Hiroshima-like horrors if US joins war

As reported by The Grayzone, at a June 8 Camp David meeting, Ratcliffe reportedly used a clumsy football metaphor to argue Iran was just “one yard away” from developing a nuclear bomb. Two days later, Gabbard released a video warning of Hiroshima-like horrors if warmongers pushed the US into conflict with an allegedly nuclear-capable state. Trump was said to be enraged.

By June 20, Gabbard publicly reaffirmed loyalty to Trump, though her assessment of Iran’s nuclear capability remained unchanged, claiming that while Iran could assemble a bomb in weeks or months, it had not yet done so.

Vice President JD Vance has reportedly held parallel Iran briefings, but Trump’s exposure remains largely confined to Fox News and advisors aligned with Israeli policy, according to The Grayzone.

According to former Trump advisor Steve Bannon, Fox has effectively become “a 24/7 commercial for war on Iran,” prompting him to call for a Foreign Agent Registration Act investigation.

As Trump returns to Washington, the former official told The Grayzone, “The party is on,” suggesting the president had already decided to act on Tel Aviv’s behalf, which, in fact, materialized early June 22, with the US conducting airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

June 22, 2025 Posted by | Mainstream Media, Warmongering, Wars for Israel | , , , , , | 1 Comment

Iran warns of NPT withdrawal, Strait of Hormuz closure after US attack

Al Mayadeen | June 22, 2025

Following the United States’ airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, senior Iranian lawmakers have raised the possibility of withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and closing the strategic Strait of Hormuz in retaliation.

The warnings come after US President Donald Trump announced, in a post in Truth Social, on Sunday at dawn, that the United States carried out what he described as a “very successful attack” on three Iranian nuclear facilities: Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.

Esmail Kowsari, a prominent member of Iran’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee in Parliament, affirmed that the country had already implemented protective measures to safeguard its nuclear infrastructure. He dismissed allegations of severe damage to Iran’s nuclear program, calling them “baseless claims,” and insisted that “Tehran has accurate intelligence disproving such assertions.”

Kowsari revealed that authorities are actively weighing a possible exit from the NPT. “We are reviewing the option of withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,” he said, noting that the parliamentary committee would soon hold an emergency session to assess the American attack and formulate Iran’s official response.

Reiterating Iran’s commitment to Resistance, Kowsari warned that “our armed forces will certainly continue striking the Zionist entity,” adding, “US military bases across the region will not remain secure. Hitting them will be far easier than targeting the Israeli regime.”

He further cautioned that Iran is prepared to escalate militarily if necessary, stating, “The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is on the table. We will definitely implement it if the situation requires.”

‘Iran will respond decisively’

In a related comment, Sara Fallahi, another member of the parliamentary committee, told Tasnim News that a forceful response is inevitable. “Iran will respond decisively,” she said, adding that retaliation could involve “a full withdrawal from the NPT and closure of the Strait of Hormuz.”

Parliament’s Foreign Policy Committee head, Abbas Golroo, reinforced that position in a statement posted on X, asserting that “Iran has the legal right to withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) based on its Article 10, following US strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities.”

Article 10 of the NPT provides that any member state has “the right to withdraw from the Treaty if it decides that extraordinary events have jeopardized the supreme interests of its country.”

IAEA announces emergency meeting following US strikes

In response to the escalating crisis, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi announced an emergency session of the agency’s Board of Governors scheduled for Monday in Vienna.

“In light of the urgent situation in Iran, I am convening an emergency meeting of the @IAEAorg Board of Governors for tomorrow,” Grossi posted on X on Sunday.

Separately, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization sent a formal letter to the IAEA, demanding an independent investigation into the US aggression. Iranian officials have insisted that the targeted facilities were operating under full IAEA supervision and posed no nuclear threat.

June 22, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes, Wars for Israel | , , , | Leave a comment

US Strikes on Iran Reckless Breach of Sovereignty – Russian Foreign Ministry

Sputnik – 22.06.2025

MOSCOW – The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites as a reckless move that violates the Islamic Republic’s sovereignty, international law and the UN Charter.

“The reckless decision to bomb the territory of a sovereign state, whatever the arguments, runs counter to international law, the UN Charter, the UN Security Council Resolution,” the ministry said.

It is of particular concern that the attack was carried out by a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the ministry said, adding that the UN’s core body had to interfere.

“The UN Security Council should naturally take action. Confrontational behavior of the US and Israel has to be rejected collectively,” the statement read.

“We call for an end of aggression and urge efforts that will create conditions for a return to a political and diplomatic path,” the statement said.

The ministry also called on Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to report impartially on the Iran attacks at the UN atomic agency’s board of governors’ meeting on Monday.

June 22, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Militarism, War Crimes, Wars for Israel | , , , , , | Leave a comment

‘The US Betrayed Diplomacy’ – Iran’s FM Araghchi

Sputnik – 22.06.2025

Iran will have to respond to US attacks against Iranian nuclear sites, and is going to do so for as long as needed, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.

The United States have “betrayed diplomacy”, Araghchi said at a press conference held in Istanbul on June 22, adding that Iran now has the right to defend itself in accordance with the UN Charter.

“The US government bears full responsibility for the serious consequences of this aggression,” Araghchi said.

In the wake of the US strikes, Iran has fewer reasons to trust the West, Tehran no longer understands who it should negotiate with, he pointed out.

According Araghchi, Iran is receiving messages from the US through various channels, and if necessary, it will respond through intermediaries.

Iran now calls upon the International Atomic Energy Agency to fulfill its legal duties in response to the dangerous attack on our peaceful nuclear facilities, Araghchi stated.

The UN and the IAEA must respond to the clear violation of international law by the United States, he said, further insisting that the UN Security Council should hold an emergency meeting and condemn the US attack.

Araghchi also said that he is going to Moscow to have “serious consultations” with President Putin on Monday, June 23.

June 22, 2025 Posted by | Militarism, Video, Wars for Israel | , , , | Leave a comment

Clash of Two World Orders: Fordow Is the Excuse, Sovereignty the Target

By Peiman Salehi | Aletho News | June 22, 2025

Hours after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a direct military strike on Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility, the world stands on the edge of a dangerous precipice. This unprecedented attack, occurring in the early hours of last night, marks a significant escalation in the confrontation between Washington and Tehran, and has once again ignited fears of a broader regional—if not global—conflict.

According to Iranian state media, the American attack targeted the entrance of the Fordow nuclear enrichment site, located tens of meters underground. Despite the dramatic nature of the strike, the damage appears to be minimal. Iranian officials have called the assault a “symbolic operation” with limited strategic impact. The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran is expected to issue a full technical statement, but preliminary reports indicate that key centrifuges had already been removed from the Fordow and Natanz sites prior to the attack. The Iranian government further emphasized that the deep-underground design of these facilities, the result of years of indigenous scientific expertise, had neutralized any attempt to deliver a crippling blow.

This act of aggression is not only a military miscalculation but a profound political one. The U.S. administration, under Trump’s leadership, appears to have lost its strategic bearings. By resorting to force, Washington has exposed its frustration and strategic deadlock. What this attack truly represents is a failure of diplomacy, a betrayal of international norms, and a dangerous gamble rooted in outdated imperial thinking. Trump, increasingly beholden to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has allowed the Zionist regime’s narrow interests to dictate a course that risks global war. The world is now witnessing how the ambitions of a declining empire can drag the international system into chaos.

The media landscape surrounding the strike further reveals a coordinated attempt to shape the narrative. Western outlets, including CNN and Reuters, have underreported or dismissed Iran’s defensive capabilities and the limited damage incurred. In contrast, resistance-aligned media such as Al Mayadeen, Press TV, and Tasnim News have provided footage, satellite analysis, and expert interviews, revealing the superficial nature of the attack. Israeli media, which initially broadcast images from Tel Aviv and Haifa, has since restricted coverage, a move analysts interpret as an attempt to hide the psychological and infrastructural damage inflicted by previous Iranian missile strikes.

More crucially, this moment exposes the deeper ideological battle at play. Washington and Tel Aviv are not merely targeting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure—they are targeting the very notion of Iranian sovereignty, independence, and civilizational identity. For decades, the U.S. has tolerated or ignored nuclear weapons held by regimes like Israel, India, and others. Yet Iran, which has consistently emphasized the peaceful nature of its nuclear program and whose Supreme Leader has issued religious rulings against weapons of mass destruction, remains the subject of relentless pressure and threats.

This double standard reveals the real motive: not nonproliferation, but domination. Iran stands as a civilizational alternative to the liberal hegemony of the West, especially in the post-Cold War era. Its resistance model has inspired popular movements across West Asia and beyond. And today, despite the brutality of sanctions, sabotage, and assassination campaigns, Iran remains defiant—stronger, more resilient, and more unified.

Indeed, one of the unintended consequences of the American-Israeli aggression is the strengthening of Iran’s internal unity. Where once some questioned Iran’s regional alliances, now many recognize their strategic depth. It is clear why Iran built partnerships with Hezbollah, the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq, and other resistance groups: to keep the battle outside its borders and to prepare for precisely this moment. Iran has yet to request support from these allies, has not activated its naval forces in the Strait of Hormuz, and has not called on China, Russia, or Pakistan for direct intervention. Yet all these options remain on the table. This calculated restraint underscores Iran’s confidence and its desire to prove that it can confront Israel independently.

However, should the U.S. persist in its aggression, it is likely that Iran’s allies will respond. A wider conflict could pull in China and Russia, both of whom have signaled support for Iran’s right to defend itself. Pakistan has openly declared that it will not stand idly by if Iran is attacked. What we are witnessing may very well be the beginning of a war that accelerates the decline of American unipolarity and ushers in a truly multipolar world.

This is not merely a battle between two states; it is a confrontation between two visions of world order. One rooted in hegemony and coercion. The other, in resistance, dignity, and sovereignty. And tonight, from the heart of Tehran, the voice of that resistance is being heard loud and clear.

June 22, 2025 Posted by | Militarism, Wars for Israel | , , | 1 Comment