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Arab Powers Mull Regional Security Alliance – Jordan’s Ex-Minister

Sputnik – 11.06.2026

Some countries in the Middle East are advancing proposals to forge a regional alliance involving Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, aimed at preventing further regional turmoil, Jordan’s former Minister of Social Development and political science professor Amin Al-Mashaqba tells Sputnik.

The goal of such an alliance would be to strengthen collective security and increase the level of self-reliance among Arab states after “the failure of US security guarantees for the Gulf countries.”

Jordan maintains constant contacts with the US, continuing its effort to safeguard regional peace, he says.

“Relations between Jordan and the Gulf states have deep historical roots, but current challenges require a higher level of Arab coordination and security cooperation,” Al-Mashaqba notes, adding that the country, along with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkiye, “attempted to prevent” the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

The “key problem,” lies in Israel’s policy, which seeks to keep the region in a state of ongoing conflict and achieve its “expansionist and religious-ideological goals,” Al-Mashaqba says.

The continuation of current Israeli policies could jeopardize the future of peace agreements between Israel and Arab states, he concludes.

June 11, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Militarism | , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Arab Powers Mull Regional Security Alliance – Jordan’s Ex-Minister

Iran launches concerted retaliatory strikes against American military targets after fresh US aggression

Press TV – June 10, 2026

Iran’s Armed Forces have launched retaliatory operations against American military targets in the region after fresh American aggression struck several locations in the country’s southern Hormozgan Province.

On Wednesday, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) noted how the “warmongering American regime” had attacked several locations in Jask, Sirik, and Qeshm in the province earlier in the day under the “false pretext” of an American helicopter’s crash.

According to the IRGC, the American strikes had damaged a telecommunications tower in Sirik and destroyed two water reservoirs in the Bemani district of the county.

US Fifth Fleet, al-Azraq base hit in reprisal

The Corps said its Navy responded to the attacks by carrying out a retaliatory drone strike against the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.

The force later announced that it had also launched a missile strike against Washington’s al-Azraq base in Jordan.

According to another IRGC statement, four major targets, including F-35 warplane shelters and the command-and-control center of the “child-killing American army” at al-Azraq, were struck and destroyed.

An informed military source, meanwhile, said Iran used long-range solid-fuel Kheibar Shekan missiles to target the shelters housing the warplanes.

The IRGC added that, in total, 21 targets at American air and naval bases across the region were hit throughout the reprisal.

Army reports drone strikes

Additionally, the Iranian Army’s Public Relations Office said that, as part of operations aimed at countering the “hostile acts and harassment of the terrorist American army” against residents of southern Iran, the Army launched waves of drone operations against American bases and the radar systems of the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.

IRGC says operations continue

The IRGC also described the Islamic Republic’s response to enemy aggression as ongoing amid reports that the American attacks were followed by additional blasts in Jask.

It added that, should the United States continue its actions, “heavier responses are on the way.”

Shortly after the latter comments, local sources reported more strikes against American outposts in Bahrain and Kuwait.

Joint command issues warning

Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, which coordinates the IRGC’s and the Army’s operations, described the overall counterstrikes as a “powerful [retaliatory] assault.”

The headquarters likewise warned that if the United States repeated any aggression against the Islamic Republic, “heavier and more extensive strikes” would be carried out against a predetermined list of targets across the region.

Iranian officials and military forces have denied any role in the helicopter crash, which was used by Washington to try to justify the attacks on Hormozgan.

They have sternly warned that any act of aggression against the country would not go without an answer.

June 9, 2026 Posted by | Militarism, Wars for Israel | , | Comments Off on Iran launches concerted retaliatory strikes against American military targets after fresh US aggression

Ukraine must compensate Germany for blowing up Nord Stream – AfD co-leader

RT | June 9, 2026

Ukraine should compensate Germany for the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, the co-leader of the right-wing party Alternative for Germany (AfD), Alice Weidel, has said.

German investigators have attributed the explosions, which crippled the pipelines built to transport Russian gas to Germany, to a small group of Ukrainian operatives. The alleged ringleader was extradited to Germany from Italy last autumn.

Moscow has repeatedly questioned Berlin’s account of the attack, arguing that such a sophisticated operation could not have been carried out by a handful of divers in NATO-monitored waters without state backing.

Speaking at a party event on Tuesday, Weidel rejected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s proposal to grant Ukraine associate membership in the European Union, describing the country as a “bottomless pit” that is already heavily reliant on foreign financial assistance.

“Germany has already transferred more than €100 billion to Ukraine over the past four years alone,” she said.

Weidel argued that Kiev should first explain its role in the Nord Stream sabotage.

“We need to know how this state-terrorist act against the most important infrastructure we had, namely the Nord Stream pipelines, came about and what role Ukraine played in it,” she said.

“The flow of payments should actually be moving in the opposite direction. Ukraine must pay reparations to the Federal Republic of Germany, because we have suffered enormous damage – and so has Europe as a whole – from the loss of cheap Russian fossil fuels,” Weidel added.

The AfD co-leader also called for an immediate halt to German military and financial assistance to Ukraine, urging Berlin to focus instead on facilitating negotiations between Kiev and Moscow and restoring dialogue with Russia.

According to several recent opinion polls, the AfD is currently Germany’s most popular political party. An INSA survey published by Bild on Saturday put support for the party at 29%, while 77% of respondents said they were dissatisfied with Chancellor Merz’s performance – the worst rating of his tenure, according to the newspaper.

June 9, 2026 Posted by | Economics, Militarism | , , , | Comments Off on Ukraine must compensate Germany for blowing up Nord Stream – AfD co-leader

Bulgaria to stop supplying arms to Ukraine

RT | June 9, 2026

Bulgaria’s new government has announced it will halt weapons deliveries to Ukraine, signaling a major policy shift for the NATO and EU member, which has been supplying arms to Kiev since the escalation of the conflict in 2022.

The conflict cannot be resolved on the battlefield, Bulgarian Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov told reporters on Tuesday, arguing that Ukraine’s primary challenge is a shortage of personnel rather than weapons.

”What we are witnessing is a war of attrition, and no matter how much weaponry is amassed, its only result is the loss of human lives,” he said, as quoted by AP.

According to Stoyanov, it is time to sit down at the negotiating table “to seek a just peace that is defined by both sides.”

Ukraine has faced persistent manpower shortages throughout the conflict despite repeated mobilization drives. Kiev has increasingly relied on compulsory conscription to replenish its ranks amid troop shortages, desertions, and draft evasion. The campaign has been marred by reports of forced recruitment, while thousands of military-age men have left the country to avoid being drafted.

Under the previous government, Bulgaria emerged as one of Ukraine’s most important suppliers of Soviet-standard weapons and ammunition. Its shells accounted for roughly one-third of the munitions used by Ukraine during the first year of the conflict, according to Bulgarian former Prime Minister Kirill Petkov and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

New Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev, whose Progressive Bulgaria party won the April election, has long been a vocal critic of Brussels’ policy on Ukraine. During his tenure as president between 2022 and 2025, Radev opposed Bulgaria’s embargo on Russian energy, blocked a proposal to send armored vehicles to Ukraine, and consistently advocated for a negotiated settlement to the conflict.

The debate over direct engagement with Moscow has gained momentum within the EU in recent weeks. Several European leaders have floated the idea of appointing a senior envoy to engage with Russia amid concerns that the bloc has been sidelined in previous US-led diplomatic initiatives.

Russia has maintained that continued weapons shipments only prolong the fighting and increase the human cost of the conflict, while undermining prospects for a negotiated settlement.

June 9, 2026 Posted by | Militarism | | Comments Off on Bulgaria to stop supplying arms to Ukraine

France-Germany fighter jet project collapses amid disputes

Al Mayadeen | June 9, 2026

Germany and France have reportedly decided to halt plans for a joint next-generation fighter aircraft program after failing to resolve long-standing disagreements between the companies leading the effort, marking a major setback for one of Europe’s most ambitious defense initiatives.

According to officials cited in media reports on Monday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the future of the project during the EU-Western Balkans summit in Montenegro last week and concluded that there was little chance of overcoming the impasse that has stalled development for months.

German officials said Merz advised Macron to discontinue pursuit of the joint fighter aircraft program.

Macron’s office confirmed that the two leaders had reviewed the issue extensively and expressed disappointment that the project’s principal industrial partners, Airbus, representing Germany and Spain, and Dassault Aviation, had been unable to reach a compromise.

The initiative, valued at roughly €100 billion, was launched in 2017 as the centerpiece of a broader Future Combat Air System intended to provide Europe with a sixth-generation fighter aircraft supported by drones and a secure battlefield networking system.

The reported decision comes as European governments face mounting pressure to strengthen military capabilities amid growing tensions with Russia and increasing calls from Washington for greater European defense spending.

Although Macron has repeatedly defended the program, the French presidency stressed that defense cooperation between Paris and Berlin remains essential despite the setback.

Industry disagreements at the center of collapse

The project has faced repeated delays due to disputes over leadership, technology sharing, and intellectual property rights, as well as disagreements over the aircraft’s operational requirements.

“I would like to thank Friedrich Merz for this difficult but necessary decision, which is in the interests of Germany as an aviation hub and of the workforce,” Jürgen Kerner, Deputy Chairman of IG Metall, said in a statement.

Analysts noted that the program had struggled for years as Airbus and Dassault clashed over control of key aspects of development.

“SCAF has been on life support for three years,” said UK-based defense analyst Francis Tusa, referring to the project’s French acronym.

Different strategic priorities

The collapse also reflects differing strategic priorities between France and Germany. France sought an aircraft capable of operating from aircraft carriers and carrying nuclear weapons, while German officials questioned the necessity of such capabilities for their own armed forces.

Merz has publicly expressed doubts about whether investing in a manned sixth-generation fighter remains the best use of resources, particularly as modern warfare increasingly relies on drones, autonomous systems and networked technologies.

The reported abandonment of the fighter jet component echoes previous divisions within European defense cooperation, including France’s withdrawal from the Eurofighter program in the 1980s, and raises fresh questions about Europe’s ability to deliver large-scale joint military projects.

June 9, 2026 Posted by | Militarism | , | Comments Off on France-Germany fighter jet project collapses amid disputes

US Leads Nuclear Spending Surge as Global Arsenal Costs Hit Record $119 Billion

Sputnik – 09.06.2026

The US heads a record rise in nuclear arsenal spending, accounting alone for $69.2 billion of the $119 billion spent on nuclear arsenals in 2025 by the world’s nine nuclear-armed states, according to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).

The total represents a 19% increase from 2024, the highest level since ICAN began tracking spending of Russia, China, the US, France, the UK, India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel in 2020.

Other major increases included:

  • China: 7% increase to $13.5 billion
  • United Kingdom: 17% increase to $12.6 billion
  • Russia: 6% increase to $9.5 billion

June 9, 2026 Posted by | Economics, Militarism | , , , | Comments Off on US Leads Nuclear Spending Surge as Global Arsenal Costs Hit Record $119 Billion

Iran says defensive strikes on Israeli targets were legitimate self-defense under UN Charter

Press TV – June 7, 2026

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has declared that the Islamic Republic’s defensive strikes against military targets in the northern occupied territories were carried out within the framework of inherent self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter, following repeated ceasefire violations by the Zionist regime.

In a statement released on Monday, the ministry said the strikes came in response to Israel’s persistent breaches of the April 8 ceasefire, including its collaboration with the US military in attacks on Iranian ships and targets in southern Iran over the past two weeks, as well as US‑backed maritime piracy against the Iranian nation.

Iran emphasized that the ceasefire in Lebanon is an inseparable part of the April 8 truce agreement, and that the United States bears direct responsibility for Israeli violations and any resulting escalation in the region.

The ministry warned that any malicious adventure by the Zionist regime against Lebanon or Iran will be met with a crushing and comprehensive response from Iran’s brave armed forces.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran reiterates its nation’s serious determination to decisively defend its security and national interests wherever it deems necessary,” the statement read.

The April 8 ceasefire was brokered by Pakistan after 40 days of intense US‑Israeli war on Iran.

Despite the truce, Israel has continued its aggression against Lebanon and Gaza, while the US has maintained a naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Iran has consistently insisted that any final agreement must include a comprehensive halt to hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon.

The latest Iranian strikes came after the Israeli regime committed a gross violation of the ceasefire by launching deadly attacks on the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday.

Iran had warned last week that it will target the occupied territories in case of an attack on Beirut and its sorroundings.

June 7, 2026 Posted by | Militarism | , , , | Comments Off on Iran says defensive strikes on Israeli targets were legitimate self-defense under UN Charter

‘Biden’s war’ has become Trump’s – Lavrov

RT | June 5, 2026

America’s position on the Ukraine conflict has become almost indistinguishable from that of the EU, making US President Donald Trump’s stated ambition to mediate an end to the fighting hollow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has told RT.

Trump repeatedly blamed the conflict between Russia and Ukraine on his predecessor, Joe Biden, and claimed that he could bring it to a swift conclusion while campaigning in 2024.

However, recent statements by members of his administration suggest a different course, Lavrov said on Thursday in an interview on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

“Biden’s war has become Trump’s war,” the Russian foreign minister said.

Speaking to Congress this week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said efforts to facilitate Russia-Ukraine talks were complicated “because, frankly, we’re not an impartial mediator.” He cited the continuation of the sanctions on Russia and sales of US weapons to Ukraine.

“After we agreed to the United States proposal in Anchorage [in August 2025], Washington began to shift its position. Instead of advancing those same proposals in its dealings with Ukrainians, it is now pretending that the parties should sort things out themselves. This is not a very consistent position,” Lavrov said.

“It is the West that cannot be trusted to keep its agreements. Its approach is: ‘I’ll promise something now, then stall for time.’ If the US had truly advanced its own initiative, I think… the fighting would already have stopped.”

According to Lavrov, the only major difference between Trump’s policy and that of Biden and the EU is that his administration resumed direct talks with Russia. Dialogue is important, he said, but it must be matched by action on commitments already made. … Full video interview

June 5, 2026 Posted by | Deception, Militarism | , , , | Comments Off on ‘Biden’s war’ has become Trump’s – Lavrov

Suspected Ukrainian drone explodes in Romanian port

RT | June 5, 2026

A suspected Ukrainian maritime drone exploded in the Romanian port of Constanta on Friday morning, prompting a major emergency response and the evacuation of the area, local media and officials said.

The unmanned boat was discovered in the port several hundred meters from the oil terminal, local media said. It was reportedly carrying explosives and became stuck in an anti-pollution barrier before detonating. The location is also close to the headquarters of the Romanian Agency for Saving Human Life at Sea.

Romania’s Defense Ministry said the object self-detonated at around 10:30 AM without causing casualties. The area had already been secured and isolated by the Romanian authorities while the drone was being assessed.

The ministry has also stated that the drone did not belong to the Romanian military and had not been involved in recent exercises in the Black Sea, describing it as being “of the type used in the war in Ukraine.”

Local media later reported that three more drones had exploded. Another one near the Port of Constanta, and two more in Ukrainian waters. Constanta County Prefect Adrian Picoiu told the News.ro outlet that the drones were of Ukrainian origin.

Commander Sandu Mateiu also told local news outlet Digi24 that the vessel resembled a Ukrainian MAGURA V5 maritime drone used by Kiev’s military intelligence, which can carry hundreds of kilograms of explosives, travel long distances, and often operate in swarms.

The authorities in Constanta have issued a Code Red warning due to the danger of further explosions along the coast, ordering people to keep at least 1 km away from the shoreline until the threat is eliminated.

The Russian Embassy in Romania responded to the incident by stressing that the drones in question are “Ukrainian unmanned maritime vehicles, used by the Kiev regime to commit terrorist acts against civilian ships and to create threats to the safety of navigation in the Black Sea.”

The diplomatic mission emphasized that “any attempts to directly or indirectly associate these drones with Russia and to attribute responsibility for the incident are without any basis.”

In recent months, Ukrainian drones have repeatedly veered into the airspace of nearby countries, including the Baltic states and Finland, triggering warnings and airport shutdowns, crashing into buildings, and damaging infrastructure.

Moscow has accused Western states of consistently ignoring or downplaying the incidents, particularly after it is confirmed that a Ukrainian aircraft was responsible, or trying to pin the blame on Russia.

Russian officials have also repeatedly raised concerns that Kiev could intentionally be staging drone provocations outside its borders in an effort to trigger a direct confrontation between NATO and Moscow.

June 5, 2026 Posted by | Militarism | , | Comments Off on Suspected Ukrainian drone explodes in Romanian port

Pro-Israel voices win out, kill bill to stop US-Israel military integration

By Kelley Beaucar Vlahos | Responsible Statecraft | June 4, 2026

A House committee summarily struck down an amendment to strip a measure from the massive annual defense policy bill that would provide Israel “a higher level of military-industrial integration” with the U.S. than Washington has “with any other country in the world.”

Pro-Israel voices on the House Armed Services Committee argued that reports about Section 224 — that Congress was trying to integrate U.S. and Israeli military systems as a way to entrench aid without proper oversight — were disingenuous and wrong.

In fact, members claimed that these were “existing initiatives” and that Section 224 “actually improves oversight and accountability of these programs by designating a single official responsible for them,” according to Chairman Mike Rogers, (R-Ala.)

Not quite true, said the Quincy Institute’s Ben Freeman, who broke the initial story of Section 224 for RS last week. “Members of Congress supporting the proposal laid out caricatures of critiques against Section 224. And when they did actually talk about the provision itself they spread half-truths and outright inaccuracies about how far this provision will go to integrate the U.S. and Israeli defense sectors.”

According to Freeman, as reported in these pages, Section 224 would lay the groundwork for:

… bilateral research and development, co-production of weapons, joint ventures, licensing agreements, and seemingly every manner of U.S.-Israeli military-industrial complex cooperation. The U.S. and Israel already work together heavily on missile defense, but this provision would greatly expand coordination to seemingly every area of defense tech, including AI, quantum, autonomous systems, directed energy, cyber, biotech, and many more. It also proposes “network integration” and “data fusion.” In other words, the U.S. military’s data could soon be the Israeli military’s data.

Critically, it would shift the annual $3.8 billion the U.S. now gives Israel (a 10-year memorandum of understanding soon up for renewal) to these programs and partnerships, i.e. “co-production” and other “fusion” deep inside Pentagon procurement and acquisitions process, where sunlight is rare and often fleeting. A perfect solution — which is, by the way, endorsed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — to the dwindling American support for Israel’s wars and U.S. military assistance for them.

In his remarks on Section 224, Khanna spoke vociferously against what he saw as a blank check at a time when a majority of Americans say they do not want to send more military aid to Israel.

“The American people are tired of the arrogance and insolence of Prime Minister Netanyahu telling America what we should do. The entire country of Israel has a GDP that is less than a single town in my district, yet somehow Netanyahu thinks he could tell the American people what we should do,” he charged.

“I am for Team America. I am for the interests of this country, and I believe that’s what Donald Trump ran on. That includes American interests against any foreign country,” Khanna said. “We should have American sovereignty and make it clear that we strike 224. If we want to give aid to Israel, if we want to sell them weapons, that should be a vote for the entire Congress.”

Unfortunately for Khanna, the majority on the committee did not agree. According to several members, not only is Israel the only friend we have in the region, it helped us create new technologies and capabilities, and we would only benefit from a deeper relationship.

“This is a win-win relationship. We have Silicon Valley, Israel has Tel Aviv, and it’s like Silicon Valley number two. We have gained so much technology advantages from our partnership with Israel, and vice versa,” declared Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb). “They gain as well, and this is what we’re trying to do, is create that synergy. They support our foreign policy, they’ve been the most supportive of us in the U.N. They’re the only democracy in Middle East, and so I’ll oppose the amendment.”

Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) warned that American national security would be at risk if such synergy didn’t occur. After “the bad actors” of the world go after Israel they will then “exercise their free will against us,” he charged.

Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) took the line that the reports about Section 224 were overblown. “It’s not a new framework at all. We have three existing programs right now where we do military cooperation with Israel to develop technologies. Those programs already exist,” he said.

“This amendment … suggests some other areas where maybe we should look at opportunities, and as the chairman noted, we had somebody now appointed to coordinate those programs.”

He said he, too, was “frustrated with Netanyahu’s leadership” and Israel’s support for a “war with Iran that has strengthened Iran and weakened our position,” but he disagrees that Section 224 “is Congress just bowing to what Netanyahu wants — this is to our benefit.” In fact, such sharing should occur with Ukraine, too, he added.

Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) was the only other member who spoke out in favor of Khanna’s amendment, pointing out that current laws prohibit transfers of weapons to countries committing war crimes and violating international law, but Section 224 makes no such provisions, and takes oversight away, despite what some of her colleagues were arguing on Thursday.

She raised the issue of Israeli-owned Pegasus spyware, which was blacklisted for its use against Americans. “Two administrations from both parties left it on that list, and that same company is right now trying to buy its way into the American market, fusing our defense and technology sectors together permanently,” she said.

A proposal “with no conditions in the exact area where we have already been burned (Section 224) is reckless on its own terms, and it would do it through a must-pass bill with almost no oversight and with none of the human rights conditions that govern the rest of security assistance.”

Next steps: Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) says he will work with Khanna to strip the language from the final House NDAA. If the parade of voices that insist Israel must have this relationship with the U.S. military is any indication, it will be a hard road ahead.


Kelley Beaucar Vlahos is the Editor-in-Chief of Responsible Statecraft.

June 4, 2026 Posted by | Corruption, Deception, Militarism | , , | Comments Off on Pro-Israel voices win out, kill bill to stop US-Israel military integration

House Votes to Terminate Iran War, While Preparing to Vote to Ramp Up the Ukraine War

By Adam Dick | Ron Paul Institute | June 4, 2026

On May 25, I wrote about how the Republican leadership of the United States House of Representatives had put off until the House would return from recess in June a vote on ending the Iran War. It had appeared that the war termination resolution would win a majority vote on the House floor

Here is an update. On Wednesday, with the House having come back into session this first week of June, the vote on the Iran War resolution took place. The resolution passed by a vote of 215 to 208. Breaking down the vote in a Reuters article, Patricia Zengerle wrote:

The four House Republicans who voted for the war powers resolution were Representatives Tom Barrett of Michigan, Warren Davidson of Ohio, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Thomas Massie of Kentucky.

No Democrats voted against it. Seven House members did not vote.

House members were able to use the War Powers Resolution to force consideration of the Iran War termination resolution contrary to the wishes of House leadership.

But, before supporters of a noninterventionist US foreign policy celebrate too much, they should read on in Zengerle’s article to where she reports that also on Wednesday House members moved toward escalating US involvement in the Ukraine War, using another procedural mechanism to bypass leadership. She wrote:

Separately on Wednesday, the House approved a procedural motion that clears the way for a vote on the Ukraine Support Act, ​which would provide security aid to Ukraine as it fights a Russian invasion. The act reached the floor only after a petition reached a 218-signature threshold last month to move ahead.

Six Republicans and one independent ‌who normally ⁠votes with Republicans voted in favor of the Ukraine measure.

With House Democrats appearing uniformly against one war and for another, it is hard not to see their views on the respective wars as political — vote against the Iran War because it is “President Trump’s war” and for the Ukraine War because it is “President Biden’s war.” (In truth, well over a year into Trump’s presidency, the Ukraine War that he had promised to end quickly has become clearly Trump’s war as well.) The same reasoning would seem to apply in reverse to the Republican leadership’s efforts to prevent votes on both matters. The “People’s House” is a disgrace.

June 4, 2026 Posted by | Militarism, Progressive Hypocrite, Russophobia | , | Comments Off on House Votes to Terminate Iran War, While Preparing to Vote to Ramp Up the Ukraine War

Iran moved to change the US-Iran equation yesterday

By Trita Parsi | June 3, 2026

Over the past eight or so days, the US has targeted Iranian vessels as well as targets on the Iranian mainland. This included non-Iranian oil vessels. In essence, this was the US seeking to escalate the blockade of the blockade.

At first, Iran’s response was proportional. The US could tolerate that response.

In fact, it was beneficial to the US to continue the exchange of blows but keep them relatively limited, as it would slowly but surely erode Iran’s deterrence without imposing intolerable costs on the US.

But yesterday, Iran moved to change that equation.

After the US struck a Botswana-flagged tanker as part of Trump’s blockade, the Iranians counter-escalated disproportionally.

Tehran struck Kuwait International Airport as well as a US base in Kuwait, Ali Al-Salem.

It struck the 5th Fleet facilities in Bahrain. (Full extent of damage unknown.)

It struck Jordan. (Full extent of damage unknown.)

It struck northern Iraq. (Full extent of damage unknown.)

It struck the UAE. (Full extent of damage unknown.)

It struck the Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar. (Full extent of damage unknown.)

It was a demonstration – and reminder – that Tehran retains escalation dominance.

Whereas the US is comfortable with either a possible deal or a low-level exchange of fire, but not a return to full-scale war, Tehran is comfortable with a possible deal or a full-scale war, but not with a low-level exchange of fire that erodes Iran’s deterrence and allows for Trump’s “blockade of the blockade” to become effective.

The area where both can actually be comfortable is some sort of a deal. Reaching it, however, is a different story.

June 3, 2026 Posted by | Militarism, Wars for Israel | , | Comments Off on Iran moved to change the US-Iran equation yesterday