Aletho News

ΑΛΗΘΩΣ

US nuclear official accused of leaking data on Iran, nerve agents

Al Mayadeen | April 22, 2026

A senior US Army official responsible for nuclear and chemical safety has been placed on administrative leave following the release of an undercover video exposing sensitive national security discussions.

Andrew Hugg, identified in reports as a “Chief of Chemical Nuclear Surety,” is accused of discussing details related to US military operations and nuclear policy during a recorded conversation in a public setting.

The footage, released by O’Keefe Media Group, reportedly shows Hugg speaking with an undercover journalist inside a restaurant.

Allegations of revealing sensitive military information

According to the video, Hugg made several controversial statements regarding US military capabilities and actions.

He claimed that the United States still possesses nerve agents, describing them as “Pandora’s box,” and referred to the reported death of a US Army chemist due to exposure.

“So, nerve agent is a chemical weapon that, if you spray it on people, it’ll make a certain enzyme, which is called cholinesterase.. So, with this chemical [Sarin], this nerve agent kills that enzyme. Your lungs won’t work, your heart won’t work, nothing will work”, he said, revealing that it is stored in Maryland.

This revelation comes despite the US joining the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1993, which prohibits the development, production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons, which means the state’s possession of such weapons is illegal.

In addition, Hugg was recorded discussing how nuclear launch decisions are made, while asserting that Washington does not currently intend to use nuclear weapons on Iran.

Remarks on targeting Iranian leadership, civilian deaths

The footage also includes statements suggesting potential US targeting of Iranian leadership. Hugg reportedly said that Sayyed Mojtaba Khamenei could be targeted if he “doesn’t change his ways,” raising further concerns about the nature of the discussion and its implications.

Such remarks point to the normalization of rhetoric surrounding targeted assassinations within US military discourse.

He also acknowledged that US bombings on Iran had resulted in the killing of children, describing them as “collateral damage”, adding that “they [children] always die in war”.

Pentagon response and ongoing investigation

Following the release of the footage, Hugg was reportedly escorted out of a government facility.

Army spokesperson Cynthia O. Smith said in a statement, “We have placed Mr. Hugg on administrative leave while we conduct a thorough investigation into this matter.”

Reports also indicate that Hugg removed his LinkedIn profile shortly after the video surfaced.

The incident has raised broader questions about how sensitive information is handled within the US military, particularly in informal settings.

April 22, 2026 Posted by | Militarism, Video, War Crimes | | Comments Off on US nuclear official accused of leaking data on Iran, nerve agents

China blames US for diplomatic impasse with Iran, urges it to show ‘sincerity’ in talks

Press TV – April 21, 2026

China has called on the United States to demonstrate “sincerity” in resolving its prolonged standoff with Iran over its nuclear program, while censuring the joint US-Israeli military aggression against the country.

In its latest Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) report, Beijing said that Washington is responsible for the current diplomatic impasse with Tehran.

The national report on the implementation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons was made public online by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday.

According to the report, the US and Israel’s military aggression against Iran, both in June 2025 and on February 28, “seriously violated international law and the purposes of the UN Charter.”

In the report, Beijing described Washington’s unilateral withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as the “root cause” of the current diplomatic standoff between the US and Iran.

During his first term in 2018, US President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal, branding it “the worst deal ever.” Trump claimed that he was seeking stronger terms.

The US and Israel attacked Iranian nuclear and military sites in June 2025, even as indirect negotiations were underway between Tehran and Washington regarding Iran’s peaceful nuclear program.

Seven months later, the two enemies launched a new wave of aggression against the country on February 28, again as Iran and the US were on the verge of finalizing a new nuclear agreement.

Tehran asserts its legal right under the NPT to develop nuclear technology for energy production, medical research, and scientific advancement.

The US and its allies, however, accuse Iran of seeking the technical capability to produce a nuclear weapon.

Tehran has consistently maintained that it regards weapons of mass destruction as a threat to humanity and has never included them in its defense doctrine, even in the face of direct military aggression.

On April 11–12, Pakistan hosted talks between the US and Iran after brokering a two-week ceasefire on April 8, which is set to expire on April 22.

The high-level talks, however, ended without an agreement. Now reports say a US delegation is headed to Islamabad for the second round of talks with Tehran. Iran has said it has not plans to take part in new negotiations.

Iranian Parliament Speaker and lead negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said on Monday that Tehran will not accept negotiations “under the shadow of threats.”

He said, “by imposing a blockade and violating the ceasefire,” Trump intends “to turn the negotiating table into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering.”

The uncertainty shrouding the next round of talks escalated after the US Navy targeted an Iranian merchant vessel in the Sea of Oman on Sunday.

Iran’s military condemned the incident as a “criminal operation” and “maritime piracy.”

In a Monday statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry voiced “concern over the forced interception of relevant vessel by the US,” warning that the situation in the Strait of Hormuz is sensitive and complex.

The Iranian-flagged cargo ship Touska had been travelling from China.

April 21, 2026 Posted by | Economics, War Crimes, Wars for Israel | , | Comments Off on China blames US for diplomatic impasse with Iran, urges it to show ‘sincerity’ in talks

Palantir CEO Calls for Draft to Fight the Empire’s Wars

Involuntary servitude is good for business

By Kurt Nimmo | Another Day in the Empire | April 20, 2026

In 2025, Alex Karp, the CEO of government and military tech contractor Palantir, published The New York Times best-seller, The Technological Republic: Hard Power, Soft Belief, and the Future of the West. The Wall Street Journal praised the book as a cri de coeur, a passionate appeal “that takes aim at the tech industry for abandoning its history of helping America and its allies,” while Wired praised the book as a “readable polemic that skewers Silicon Valley for insufficient patriotism.”

On April 18, 2026, Palantir posted twenty-two points to social media summarizing the book. In addition to taking Silicon Valley to task for insufficient patriotism, advocating a role for AI in forever war, and denouncing the “psychologization of modern politics,” the Palantir post on X declares: “National service should be a universal duty. We should, as a society, seriously consider moving away from an all-volunteer force and only fight the next war if everyone shares in the risk and the cost.”

National conscription, a form of involuntary servitude, and the wars it portends, is good for business, especially for corporations within the orbit of the Pentagon, the CIA, and the national security state. Palantir fits comfortably within this amalgamation.

Mass Murder by Artificial Intelligence

Project Maven is an AI-driven battlefield intelligence system designed by the corporation. The Defense Department, now known as the War Department, employed Maven in 2024 for “targeting support” in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. Maven incorporates the AI model Claude, built by Anthropic.

More recently, in US airstrikes against Iran, “AI systems born from Project Maven have helped identify and prioritize thousands of targets, accelerating intelligence analysis and operational planning,” explains the Center for a New American Security, a military think tank founded by Michèle Flournoy, a former under secretary of defense with links to Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems. She was the principal adviser to the Secretary of Defense in the formulation of national security and defense policy.

Maven was reportedly used to shorten the “kill chain” during Israel’s invasion of Gaza. “I am proud that we are supporting Israel in every way we can,” CEO Karp exclaimed. Following the Gaza al-Aqsa Flood in October, 2023, Palantir “provided Israel with multiple AI-powered data analytics tools for military and intelligence purposes,” notes the American Friends Service Committee. The corporation has a “strategic partnership” with Israel’s Ministry of Defense to assist the Zionist state and its “war effort” against Palestinian resistance to Israeli military occupation, an armed struggle recognized under international law.

“As the genocide in Gaza advances, attention is turning to the companies whose technologies may be facilitating Israel’s daily atrocities, with US-based Palantir Technologies among them,” reports the Business and Human Rights Center. “While the International Criminal Court (ICC) is stepping in to address genocide accusations, the tech barons who design and supply the tools of warfare remain largely unchallenged.”

Another Israeli AI-based targeting system, Lavender, ostensibly developed by the IDF’s Unit 8200, is said to be a Palantir project. Palantir rejected this assertion in a letter sent to Francesca Albanese, the sanctioned United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories. In the letter, Palantir stressed it “stands in solidarity with Israel in response to the horrific attacks on 7 October, 2023. Our work in Israel long predates the 7 October attacks and is in line with our global commitment to U.S. allies and liberal democracies. We proudly support our partners in Israel across a multitude of mission sets, programs, and contexts.”

Israel utilized Palantir in its September 2024 attacks in Lebanon, employing exploding electronic pagers that resulted in numerous fatalities and injuries, writes AFSC’s Investigate. In addition to its collaboration with the Israeli military, Palantir also provides the Gaza Civil-Military Coordination Center with its services. This center is located at the US military compound in Kiryat Gat, which was established in October 2025 to implement the Trump administration’s plan for Gaza. Iran targeted Kiryat Gat in March, 2026.

Maven, incorporating Anthropic’s Claude, was used to target the Shajareh Tayyebeh primary school in Minab, in southern Iran, killing 180 people, mostly young girls. President Trump praised Palantir Technologies, saying the company “has proven to have great war-fighting capabilities and equipment. Just ask our enemies,” apparently including children.

“Creepy CEO” Advocates Involuntary Servitude in “Service to the West”

“Alex Karp, the creepy CEO of creepy defense contractor Palantir, just can’t stop talking about killing people,” Lucas Ropek writes for Gizmodo. “During a recent call with investors, the billionaire let it slip that he doesn’t mind a little bloodshed, just so long as the money keeps pouring in.”

“Palantir is here to disrupt and make the institutions we partner with the very best in the world and, when it’s necessary, to scare enemies and on occasion kill them,” Karp said, with a smile on his face. The CEO added that he was very proud of the work his firm is doing and that he felt it was good for America. “I’m very happy to have you along for the journey,” he said. “We are crushing it. We are dedicating our company to the service of the West, and the United States of America, and we’re super-proud of the role we play, especially in places we can’t talk about.”

For Karp, “service to the West” includes conscription, that is to say involuntary servitude and the possibility of a violent and horrific death for an untold number of men and women drafted to fight the forever wars envisioned by the billionaire elite, including those within the “libertarian” tech sector.

However, forcing an individual against his or her will to kill and possibly be killed for the sake of the state (or foreign states, such as Israel), and in accordance with a “social contract” that demands submission and obedience, is not libertarian. In the case of Palantir, it is more accurately described as “techno-fascism,” an alliance between Silicon Valley and the state. Contrary to libertarian principles advocating against government intervention, leading tech companies frequently advocate for regulations that favor established AI companies benefiting from government funding and contracts.

Palantir, named after the “seeing stones” from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, may be characterized as a “merchant of death,” a term prominent in the 1930s regarding WWI profiteering. Alex Karp may be compared to Basil Zaharoff, a Greek arms dealer and industrialist, one of the wealthiest men of his time. Unlike Zaharoff, Karp is not selling rifles or munitions, he is selling something far worse—the ability, through artificial intelligence, to murder thousands, if not millions of people with the speed and efficiency of computer technology.

April 21, 2026 Posted by | Book Review, Civil Liberties, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Full Spectrum Dominance, War Crimes, Wars for Israel | , , , , | Comments Off on Palantir CEO Calls for Draft to Fight the Empire’s Wars

US strikes vessel in Caribbean killing three, death toll reaches 180

Al Mayadeen | April 20, 2026

The United States military announced the killing of three individuals in a strike targeting an alleged drug-trafficking vessel in the Caribbean, marking the latest escalation in Washington’s expanding operations across the region.

According to the United States Southern Command, the strike was carried out on Sunday against what it described as a vessel “operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations.”

SOUTHCOM alleged that “intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” adding that “three male narco-terrorists were killed during this action.”

Washington frames operations as war

US President Donald Trump’s administration has framed these operations within the context of a broader confrontation, asserting that the United States is effectively “at war” with what it labels as “narco-terrorists” in Latin America.

Despite repeated claims by US officials, the administration has not presented definitive public evidence demonstrating that the targeted vessels were actively engaged in drug trafficking.

This lack of transparency has fueled skepticism and intensified scrutiny over the criteria used to authorize strikes, particularly in cases where those targeted are not independently verified as combatants.

Three major US rights groups filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in December of last year, stating that there is a total lack of legal justification for the US strikes in the Caribbean.

Lawmakers also raised questions about the validity of strikes, stating that the decision to use lethal force may run contrary to international law, as well as US statutes prohibiting murder or assassination.

The latest strike brings the number of reported fatalities from these operations to at least 180, based on available data. US military officials have acknowledged conducting at least six such strikes in April alone, indicating a sharp increase in operational tempo.

The growing frequency of these attacks reflects a sustained escalation, with Washington relying on military force as a primary tool in its anti-drug campaign across Caribbean waters.

International legal experts and human rights organizations have also raised serious concerns regarding the legality of the strikes. Critics argue that the operations likely constitute extrajudicial killings, as they appear to target individuals who do not pose an immediate threat to the United States.

The absence of due process, combined with the classification of suspects as “narco-terrorists,” has further complicated legal assessments, raising broader questions about the use of military force in law enforcement contexts.

April 20, 2026 Posted by | Full Spectrum Dominance, War Crimes | , , | Comments Off on US strikes vessel in Caribbean killing three, death toll reaches 180

IRNA denies 2nd round of negotiations: reports

Al Mayadeen | April 19, 2026

Iran has not yet made a decision on whether it will engage in a new round of negotiations with the United States, local media reported on Sunday. IRNA news agency said that “there is no clear prospect of fruitful negotiations.”

IRNA denied reports that a second round of negotiations had been held in Islamabad, stating that they were “incorrect.” The state news agency reported that Washington’s “maximalism and excessive and unrealistic demands,” along with “frequent changes of positions, constant contradictions, and the continuation of the so-called naval blockade.”

The agency added that under these conditions, “there is no clear prospect of fruitful negotiations.”

It also indicated that the reports being circulated by the United States are nothing more than “media games, part of a pattern of exchanging accusations and exerting pressure on Iran.”

On another note, citing unnamed sources, the Fars and Tasnim news agencies reported that Tehran has not finalized its position on participating in the proposed talks. They also described the current climate as “not very positive,” with Fars quoting a source as saying that lifting a US blockade on Iranian ports would be a prerequisite for any negotiations.

Iran withholds second-round US talks until blockade lifted

Iran has not yet decided whether to send a delegation for negotiations with the United States, Tasnim News Agency reported on Sunday, as tensions remain high following Washington’s continued breach of the ceasefire.

According to the report, Tehran has made clear that talks with the United States will not take place as long as the maritime blockade remains in force, effectively linking any diplomatic engagement to the removal of coercive measures.

Communication between the two sides is ongoing through a Pakistani intermediary, suggesting that backchannel contacts remain active despite the absence of formal negotiations.

Talks collapse

The current deadlock follows an earlier round of talks held in Islamabad in mid-April, which lasted several hours but ended without agreement.

The US delegation was led by Vice President JD Vance, while Iran was represented by a senior delegation headed by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Tehran rejected “maximalist” US demands, arguing that Washington sought sweeping concessions, particularly on nuclear and regional issues, without offering credible guarantees or meaningful sanctions relief in return.

Ceasefire contradiction

The breakdown was further compounded by Washington’s decision to impose a naval blockade on April 12, even as negotiations were ongoing.

Iran had initially moved to reopen the waterway under a ceasefire understanding before reversing course in response to continued US interference with maritime traffic.

Washington maintained its blockade, announced on April 12, even as it publicly framed the Strait as “reopened,” a contradiction that has fueled tensions.

Iran has argued that engaging in talks under such conditions would amount to negotiating under pressure, insisting that meaningful dialogue requires the lifting of restrictions on its shipping and ports.

April 19, 2026 Posted by | War Crimes, Wars for Israel | , , | Comments Off on IRNA denies 2nd round of negotiations: reports

The prospect of an expanded and far more violent war

By Kurt Nimmo | Another Day in the Empire | April 18, 2026

… Earlier this month, Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich declared an official start to the Greater Israel project. He included Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine in the project. Since the establishment of Israel in 1948, Zionists have strived to weaken neighboring states, dismantle their military capacity, and worked to reshape the balance of power in West Asia. The original plan called for occupying and ethnically cleansing the entirety of Palestine, all of Jordan, south Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq, the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, and northern Saudi Arabia.

The Nazis had a similar plan during their occupation of Europe in the Second World War. It was called the “Greater Germanic Reich” (Großgermanisches Reich). In the autumn of 1933, Adolf Hitler made plans to annex territories including Bohemia, parts of western Poland, and Austria to Germany. He also aimed to create satellite or puppet states that would lack independent economies or policies. Nazi racial theories classified the Germanic peoples of Europe as part of a racially superior Nordic subset within the broader Aryan race, which they considered to be the sole true bearers of civilized culture.

In Deuteronomy, the Jewish God chooses Israel to be his holy (kadosh) and treasured (segulah) people. Deuteronomy 14:2 states God has chosen the Jews “to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” According to the Torah, “Eretz Israel” (“Land of Israel” in Hebrew), now defined as “Greater Israel,” was “given” to the “children of Abraham” and serves as the basis for “a merger of religious fundamentalism and modern political ethno-nationalism, whereby ancient texts are used to justify a modern military expansionist state.” In regard to Lebanon, the Zionists believe Greater Israel extends up to the Sidon and Litani rivers.

According to Amichai Friedman, a rabbi in the Israeli Army, “This land is ours, the whole land, including Gaza, including Lebanon,” while Daniella Weiss, a Jewish ethnonationalist and former mayor of Kedumim, called for the “invasion of Lebanon” immediately after the war in Gaza. Lebanon-born Israeli journalist Edy Cohen posted to social media that areas of Lebanon, including Faraya and Kesrouan, will also suffer the fate of Gaza, that is to say ethnic cleansing, massacres, and wholesale theft of land, homes (those not demolished), and infrastructure. … Full article

April 18, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The prospect of an expanded and far more violent war

Israeli soldiers kill UNICEF truck drivers delivering water to Gaza families

The Cradle | April 18, 2026

Israeli soldiers killed two Palestinian truck drivers hired by UNICEF and injured two others during routine water delivery operations at a filling point in northern Gaza on 17 April.

“UNICEF is outraged by the killing of two drivers of trucks contracted by UNICEF to provide clean water to families in the Gaza Strip,” a statement from the UN agency reads.

UNICEF added the victims were “killed by Israeli fire in an incident that took place early this morning at the Mansoura water filling point in northern Gaza.”

The attack occurred during normal operations, with no changes in the convoy’s movements or procedures that morning.

UNICEF has since told its contractors to stand down at the site until conditions are safe enough to return.

“The Mansoura water filling point is currently the only operational truck filling point for the Mekorot water supply line serving Gaza City,” UNICEF said, highlighting the significance of the disruption.

“UNICEF and humanitarian partners use it multiple times a day to sustain critical water trucking operations for hundreds of thousands of people, including children.”

UNICEF called on Israeli authorities to “investigate this incident, and ensure full accountability,” adding that “Humanitarian workers, essential service providers, and civilian infrastructure, including critical water facilities, must never be targeted.”

In March, Israel slashed already restricted aid flows into Gaza, allowing just 640 trucks to enter out of 6,000 expected under existing arrangements – around 10 percent of the required amount.

Palestinian officials warn that the cuts have intensified shortages and pushed the strip closer to famine, with fuel, food, and basic goods increasingly scarce.

UNICEF said prices for essential items had surged by 200 to 300 percent, placing more than 1.5 million people at risk of severe food insecurity.

At the same time, Israeli attacks on the besieged Strip have continued despite the so-called ceasefire.

Earlier this month, Israeli forces shot and killed nine-year-old Palestinian schoolgirl Ritaj Reihan inside a tent classroom in northern Gaza, around two kilometers from the so-called ‘Yellow Line,’ in front of dozens of her classmates.

April 18, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , | Comments Off on Israeli soldiers kill UNICEF truck drivers delivering water to Gaza families

Israeli General: War with Iran does not serve Israel as global standing erodes over Gaza

MEMO | April 17, 2026

A former Israeli General close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned of the strategic and political consequences of the ongoing conflict, saying a military confrontation with Iran is not in Israel’s interest.

Major General (res.) Giora Eiland, former head of Israel’s National Security Council, said in remarks reported by Israeli media platform Walla that Israel’s international standing has sharply declined over the past three years, adding that the war in Gaza is the main driver of this deterioration.

He said the prevailing view among political circles in Europe and the United States is that Netanyahu has drawn Washington into an unnecessary confrontation.

Eiland added that these tensions have caused tangible harm to the global economy and threatened its stability, fuelling international public opinion against Israeli policies.

He stressed that the erosion of Israel’s standing is no longer limited to international institutions, but has become “clear and evident” within the United States, Israel’s closest ally.

April 17, 2026 Posted by | Economics, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes, Wars for Israel | , , , , , | Comments Off on Israeli General: War with Iran does not serve Israel as global standing erodes over Gaza

Students, professors martyred in US-Israeli war of terror targeting universities and research institutes

Press TV – April 15, 2026

Iran’s Minister of Science, Research, and Technology Hossein Simaei has confirmed that over 60 university students and 10 professors have been martyred in the recent US-Israeli aggression.

During a visit to the Aerospace Research Institute of Iran (IARI) on Wednesday, Simaei expressed hope that the academic community would continue the work of those lost in the attacks.

“The students and professors martyred during the illegal aggression have been identified,” Simaei said. “We hope that other members of Iran’s academia continue the work of the martyred students and professors.”

Simaei described the strikes as part of a broader campaign of “scientific crimes” by the US and the Israeli regime. He said the IARI, a facility focused on non-military research in fields such as biology, agriculture, and surveying, was specifically targeted twice despite its peaceful academic objectives.

“This is another of the scientific crimes committed by the sinister US-Israeli alliance. This is a place where researchers in civilian fields like biology, agriculture, and surveying worked, and unfortunately, it has fallen victim to the barbaric attacks of the enemy,” Simaei stated.

Simaei reflected on the loss of Dr. Saeed Shamghadri, an associate professor at Iran University of Science and Technology, who was martyred in the attack alongside his two children.

He described this loss as particularly tragic, underlining the personal cost of the aggression beyond the destruction of academic institutions.

In his remarks, Simaei provided details about the broader damage to Iran’s educational and scientific infrastructure.

More than 20 state universities, as well as several research institutes, have been directly targeted by the attacks, resulting in both significant physical destruction and the loss of critical human resources.

Meanwhile, Dr. Bijan Ranjbar, the president of the Islamic Azad University, confirmed that 110 students from his institution have been martyred, and 21 university branches of his institution have sustained damage.

In addition, four faculty members and two employees, as well as two students from the SAMA schools, were martyred.

On April 6, Sharif University of Technology, one of Iran’s most prestigious engineering universities known as the MIT of Iran, was struck. The High-Performance Computing (HPC) Center, which supports over 3,000 researchers in fields such as artificial intelligence (AI) and computer science, was severely damaged.

The attack, which Simaei described as part of a broader strategy to cripple Iran’s scientific and technological progress, was not limited to the HPC center. Several laboratories and educational buildings were also hit, alongside a nearby mosque and other academic facilities.

The Sharif University attack followed a pattern of similar assaults on prominent Iranian institutions, including the Laser and Plasma Research Institute at Shahid Beheshti University, the Pasteur Institute, and a satellite development laboratory at Science and Technology University.

The attacks, according to Iranian officials, were deliberate efforts to target strategic research and technological infrastructure.

“The world is governed by international, legal, and ethical order, but we are facing an enemy that adheres to none of these principles,” Simaei said.

The minister highlighted that Iran is meticulously documenting all damage inflicted on its academic and research institutions, preparing to take legal action in international courts.

“We are documenting all the damages based on internationally accepted standards,” Simaei noted.

“Because claiming damages and filing legal suits have their own specific standards, we are conducting precise evaluations according to these criteria. The extent of the damages will be announced in the future.”

Simaei also commented on the plight of Iranian students who have been expelled from universities in the US amid the war.

“Given that the United States, contrary to legal and ethical principles, has expelled some Iranian students who were legally studying there, we announce that all these expelled students and professors can continue their studies at equivalent universities in Iran,” he said.

“We welcome them with open arms, and there is no need for them to be concerned.”

April 15, 2026 Posted by | War Crimes, Wars for Israel | , , , | Comments Off on Students, professors martyred in US-Israeli war of terror targeting universities and research institutes

We Are the Barbarians

The president’s threat to annihilate Iranian civilization took America to a dark place

By Harrison Berger | The American Conservative | April 10, 2026

On Tuesday morning, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to declare that “a civilization will die tonight.” By 8 p.m., the U.S. announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran had begun. Whether the ceasefire holds (or even takes hold) is already in question—Iran and the U.S. appear to be offering contradictory accounts of what the 10-point plan they allegedly agreed to actually says. The best hope that it might stick comes from Israel, where TV presenters who spent Monday salivating over a clock counting down the minutes and hours until Trump’s planned genocide of Iranians were left confused and outraged when the president backed down shortly before the deadline.

But whether or not Trump ultimately goes as far as the Israelis would like him to, Americans must now reckon with the destruction already carried out in our name, the civilization-destroying actions Trump has threatened, and the barbarians we have become in the process.

As Tucker Carlson, the most prominent critic of the war with Iran, pointed out in his viral monologue Monday, there was very little that was American or Western about Trump’s threat to destroy an entire civilization. That is not to say the U.S. government hasn’t committed serious crimes before, including wars of aggression. As a study published in The Lancet, a scientific journal, found, U.S. and European sanctions have killed 38 million people since 1971. But those shameful actions were at least concealed behind a pretext, not declared outright as the objective itself. Though it may seem like a distinction without a difference, Carlson convincingly argues it matters significantly. By abandoning even the aspiration of higher laws, we have embraced the “law of the jungle,” which is “a brutal and unforgiving law” that will not stop at Iran’s borders. “We know from history that the things you do will be done unto you,” Carlson said. “Once you set a standard, you will have to live by that standard.”

Indeed, Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian civilization was not an expression of American values but the purest expression, and logical endpoint, of an ideology the United States has attached itself to under both Joe Biden and now Trump: Zionism and the Greater Israel project, first through U.S. support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing of the West Bank, and most recently through the joint war of aggression against Iran.

And while the American taxpayers forced to fund those wars are told they are fought on our behalf to save “civilization,” it is now impossible to think of any force in recent history more destructive and threatening to civilization than the Greater Israel project—which wages an ISIS-style campaign to destroy every artifact, center of knowledge, and source of beauty in the region, and does so with American weapons, American servicemembers, and American money.

The record of what has already been destroyed provides evidence that the U.S. and Israel wish to do exactly to Iran what ISIS and its various backers did to Syria. According to Iran’s minister of cultural heritage, U.S. and Israeli strikes have damaged more than 131 historical sites across the country including museums, palaces, and UNESCO-listed landmarks, with the heaviest losses in Tehran. Among the centuries-old structures destroyed by U.S.–Israeli bombs is Iran’s Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage site; the Chehel Sotoun pavilion in Isfahan, a 17th-century monument from the Safavid period; the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, one of the architectural jewels of the Islamic world; and the Fin Garden in Kashan, one of Iran’s oldest surviving gardens which dates to the late 16th century. Dozens of universities and research centers have been struck, including the Iran University of Science and Technology, Isfahan University of Technology, and Sharif University of Technology, “Iran’s MIT,” whose computer science center was reduced to rubble. A Tehran synagogue was also struck on Passover.

Our descent into barbarism has long been in the making, and the fingerprints all over that transformation are recognizably Israeli. One of the earliest signs of our transition came when the “War Department” began posting drone strike footage, often as memes, on social media. Where the government once prosecuted WikiLeaks and scrambled to conceal its war footage out of embarrassment, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon now shamelessly publishes such imagery on its own initiative, a direct import from Israel, which pioneered the model of broadcasting its own war crimes during the assault on Gaza. More recently, Israel-firsters like Laura Loomer and Mark Levin were the loudest voices pushing Trump toward escalation and cheering him on as he threatened civilizational annihilation. Loomer, whom Trump reportedly solicits for advice, called on him to channel Curtis LeMay, the general whose fanatical bloodlust inspired Dr. Strangelove and who came within a hair of igniting nuclear war. Levin, for his part, arguably insinuated on his Fox News television show that dropping a nuclear bomb on Iran would be justified.

Whether or not the ceasefire holds, Americans will have to reckon with what has already been done in our name, and with the fact that the Israel-firsters who cheered every escalation have not been removed from their positions of influence. They remain right in the president’s ear, defining not just his second term but the international symbol of destruction and barbarism we are in the process of becoming.

April 15, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes, Wars for Israel | , , , , | Comments Off on We Are the Barbarians

Italy suspends defense deal with ‘Israel’ over war on Iran, Lebanon

Al Mayadeen | April 14, 2026

Italy has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of its defence cooperation agreement with “Israel”, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Tuesday, citing the ongoing wars in the Middle East.

Meloni’s right-wing government, which has been among “Israel’s” closest allies in Europe, has in recent weeks grown increasingly critical of Israeli military actions during the wars, particularly strikes affecting Lebanon. Italian troops deployed there under a United Nations mandate have also been impacted.

Speaking in Verona, northern Italy, Meloni said the government had opted to suspend the agreement’s renewal “in light of the current situation,” according to Italian news agencies. A Defense Ministry source added that the move would end military training cooperation between Italy and “Israel”.

The decision was taken on Monday during a meeting involving Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, the source said.

The agreement at hand

The defense cooperation framework between Italy and “Israel” is based on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on June 16, 2003, establishing formal collaboration in the military and defense sectors.

The agreement entered into force after ratification by the Italian parliament on April 13 2016, providing a legal basis for structured bilateral defence cooperation between the two.

The June 16, 2003, defense cooperation agreement between Italy and “Israel” outlines collaboration across military training, joint exercises, and defense industry partnerships, including research and development projects.

It allows exchanges of military personnel, sharing of technical expertise, and coordinated programs between the two sides’ armed forces and the Italian Defense Ministry and the Israeli War Ministry. The framework also supports procurement cooperation, enabling each side to acquire military systems and services from the other.

Examples of its implementation include Italy’s purchase of Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles such as the IAI Heron and IAI Eitan, while “Israel” acquired Italian training aircraft like the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master.

The agreement further enabled joint pilot training programs, reciprocal use of military facilities, and industrial offsets involving Italian defense firms participating in Israeli-linked projects under agreed confidentiality and regulatory provisions.

The agreement includes a clause for automatic renewal every five years unless one party formally notifies termination before the end of a cycle. One such renewal was scheduled for June 8, 2025, under this mechanism.

Additional provisions have been reported to include confidentiality requirements, limiting public disclosure of joint military activities conducted under the framework of the agreement.

April 14, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Militarism, War Crimes | , , , , | Comments Off on Italy suspends defense deal with ‘Israel’ over war on Iran, Lebanon

Iran demands reparations from Arab states

RT | April 14, 2026

Iran has demanded that five Arab states hosting US bases pay reparations for American and Israeli airstrikes on its territory.

In a letter to the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday, Iranian envoy Amir Saeid Iravani argued that Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and Jordan had allowed the US to use their territory to attack Iran and, in some cases, were directly involved in “unlawful armed attacks targeting civilian objects.”

Iravani added that the Arab states “should make full reparation to the Islamic Republic of Iran, including compensation for all material and moral damage sustained as a result of their internationally wrongful acts.”

The Gulf states had previously demanded that Iran be held liable for war damage, a claim Iravani rejected as “legally untenable and fundamentally divorced from the factual and legal realities.”

The US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, stating that the goal was to dismantle Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The attacks killed dozens of senior officials, including Iran’s longtime supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, as well as more than 1,300 civilians. In addition to military sites, the US and Israel targeted energy infrastructure, bridges, universities, and schools.

Iran responded by striking US bases in the region and civilian infrastructure in Gulf states, including oil and gas facilities, airports, and seaports. Tehran said the strikes were an exercise of its right to self-defense.

April 14, 2026 Posted by | War Crimes, Wars for Israel | , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Iran demands reparations from Arab states

« Previous Entries     Next Entries »