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Iran flights continue despite US aviation sanctions

Al Mayadeen | September 26, 2026

International flights from Iran to several destinations remain operational despite the expansion of US sanctions targeting the country’s aviation sector, according to Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport.

The airport said Saturday that flights to Turkey, Malaysia, China, Pakistan, Vietnam, and Afghanistan were continuing according to their previously announced schedules.

The announcement comes as Washington escalates economic pressure on Iran and seeks to restrict the ability of Iranian airlines to maintain international operations.

Iranian flights continue despite sanctions

Imam Khomeini International Airport said that, aside from flights already canceled, no additional cancellations had been announced.

The canceled services include flights involving the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Oman, and Georgia.

The airport also said it was working to restore suspended air connections as soon as possible.

The continued operation of several international routes comes despite growing restrictions on Iranian aviation following a new round of US sanctions announced on September 8.

The measures have affected Iranian airlines as well as companies and intermediaries involved in providing services to the country’s aviation sector.

Recent reporting indicates that Iranian carriers have continued operating some international services despite the sanctions, including flights to China, Turkey, Thailand, and Afghanistan.

US measures target Iran’s aviation sector

The US Treasury Department announced sanctions on September 8 against 36 targets linked to Iran’s aviation sector, including 27 Iranian airlines. Washington described the measures as an effort to target what it considers Iran’s remaining unsanctioned carriers and the networks supporting them.

The sanctions form part of a broader US campaign to restrict Iran’s access to international financial and commercial networks.

The measures have also placed pressure on foreign companies providing Iranian carriers with fuel, ground handling, aircraft-related services, and other forms of support.

The consequences, however, have varied by country. While some governments and companies have restricted Iranian aviation connections, other countries have continued to facilitate flights.

Iraq restrictions trigger backlash

In Iraq, the suspension of Iranian flights, particularly through Najaf International Airport, has triggered criticism from official, political, factional, and religious quarters.

Several Iraqi parties and figures have called for the decision to be reversed and rejected what they described as US pressure on Baghdad.

The Iraqi government is also moving toward dialogue with Washington in an effort to secure an exemption that would allow air links with Iran to resume.

Ali Akbar Velayati, international affairs advisor to Iran’s Leader, said the restrictions on Iranian flights were part of an effort by Iran’s enemies to compensate for their battlefield defeat by attempting to dismantle the “unity of the fronts” from within.

The Iranian Ambassador to Iraq, Mohammad Kazem Al-Sadegh, further told Iran’s ISNA news agency that a new decision surrounding Iranian flights to Iraq is likely to be announced soon.

He added that Iran is in contact with Iraqi officials and proposals on the matter have been submitted.

Al-e Sadegh noted that roughly 12,000 to 13,000 people travel between Iraq and Iran via Iranian airlines.

China maintains air links with Iran

China has maintained its opposition to unilateral US sanctions and continued to receive Iranian flights.

Flight-tracking data cited in recent reports showed Iranian services continuing to operate to Chinese destinations after the latest US measures took effect.

The continued connections with China also reflect the broader geopolitical divide over Washington’s unilateral sanctions policy, with Beijing maintaining economic and diplomatic ties with Tehran despite US pressure.

September 26, 2026 Posted by | Wars for Israel | , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Iran flights continue despite US aviation sanctions

Global Tipping Points Lead the World Into a State of Entropy

We are experiencing not just one, but many tipping points in world history all at once. 

By Peter Hanseler | Forum Geopolitica | September 26, 2026

There have been many tipping points in history; to name just a few examples:

  • The Peace of Westphalia in 1648
  • The French Revolution of 1789
  • The Congress of Vienna in 1815
  • World War I in 1918
  • World War II in 1945

Many of these turning points led to shifts in power in Europe. These were merely transfers of power within the world we now call the “Collective” West. Examples include the collapse of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Russian Tsarist Empire at the end of World War I.

These shifts in power were significant, yet what is happening now cannot be compared to past turning points, as they encompass the entire globe. The reins of power are not being handed over within the West; rather, there will be a shift in power toward the East and the “Global South.”

From Tipping Point to Entropy

The scale, the number of nations involved, the geographic scope, and the speed at which the current geopolitical crises are unfolding are truly astonishing.

Ukraine as a War Platform for the U.S., NATO, the EU, and Russia

Russia Will Prevail Militarily

Looking at the military reports from the front lines, it becomes clear to any observer that Russia will achieve its military objectives. While Russia might have relinquished the Donbas, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia had a peace agreement been successfully concluded in the spring of 2022, such an agreement is unrealistic under the current circumstances, as Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson have been part of the Russian Federation since September 2022. It is currently unclear how far the Russian military advance will go. I have commented on this in my article “The Summer Peace Died,” to which I refer. For the situation on the front lines, I once again refer to Military Summary; I have been following this channel for nearly five years, and it provides objective reporting.

Catastrophic Mobilization Situation in Ukraine

There are thousands of videos showing young men being hunted down like animals on the streets throughout Ukraine in order to forcibly recruit them. Recently, however, videos have also been circulating that show some of those forcibly recruited being transported to the front lines without uniforms and even in handcuffs, like criminals—to prevent them from escaping. I’ll leave it to the readers to ponder the combat effectiveness of these men against battle-hardened and motivated Russian soldiers.

The latest move by the Ukrainian military leadership is to forcibly conscript women. Given this situation, it’s no surprise that Scott Ritter stated that the Ukrainians are losing 30 times more soldiers than Russia. We hear nothing in the West about this inhumane treatment of their own soldiers in Ukraine.

Ukrainian volunteers, who later disappeared without a trace, are said to have used drones and artificial intelligence to count the number of soldiers’ graves throughout Ukraine. They counted 2,000,054 graves. Added to this are the dead buried by their own people in mass graves and the wounded—the Ukrainians’ losses do indeed appear to be astronomical. Nevertheless, Zelenskyy claims that only 50,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed. A few weeks ago, I attended a funeral in Russia. The soldiers’ graves are easily identifiable by the Russian flag and the flag of the fallen soldier’s unit. There were soldiers’ graves, but no sea of flags like in Ukraine.

Military Victory Does Not Solve Russia’s Geopolitical Problem

Whatever needs to be achieved militarily, Russia will achieve it; however, this does not resolve Russia’s geopolitical problem on its western border, because the goal is not new territories, but peace in the West—a goal that Russia has literally been striving for centuries and has never been able to achieve. Time and again, Russia has been attacked from the West and has regularly paid a high price in blood, money, and industrial capacity—resources diverted to military spending rather than civilian purposes. As a result, Russia’s social development has been repeatedly set back.

If Russia wants to keep pace with the major powers in terms of its civilian economy in a sustainable manner, reliably securing its western border is an absolute prerequisite. Although Russia is the only industrialized nation in the world that is self-sufficient and thus capable of waging a war lasting decades, such a confrontation would massively hinder the country from achieving its actual development goals.

The U.S.’s Lack of Credibility in Negotiations with Russia

The U.S.’s lack of credibility in the eyes of Russia is multifaceted. On September 15, Foreign Minister Lavrov said, verbatim:

“If the Americans hadn’t backed away from the Anchorage agreements, if Europe hadn’t pulled them away from those agreements, we would have been living without war for a year now.” – Sergey Lavrov, September 15, 2026

Under this agreement, Russia would have made major concessions. Russia would have retained the Donbas, frozen the conflict in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, and relinquished further territories. Objectively speaking, this was a bad deal for Russia, but it demonstrated the Russians’ considerable willingness to compromise. The Russians assumed that this verbal agreement was binding as a gentlemen’s agreement. However, gentlemen’s agreements should only be made with gentlemen. The Americans taught the Russians otherwise. The Russians are dismayed about this incident and have had to admit that no agreements are possible with the U.S. government. Personally, I’m surprised by the fact that this realization came so late. Even written agreements with the U.S. government are not to be trusted. This was evident in the breach of the Memorandum of Understanding that the Americans signed with Iran in June. Thus, one must conclude that this conflict—or any conflict in which the U.S. is directly or indirectly involved—must be fought to the bitter end. A bitter lesson for every contractual partner of the U.S.

The Risk of Escalation is Significant

Ukraine is desperately trying to officially draw NATO into this military conflict. It is astonishing that European countries—above all Germany and the United Kingdom—are not only signaling their willingness to do so, but are actually doing everything they can to prepare their people for a war with Russia.

Instead of naming many people, we’ll use Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg—former cabinet minister and Member of Parliament for North East Somerset—as an example. In this excerpt from an interview, he compares the situation with Russia—without naming it—to the situations during World War I and World War II:

Young people are thus being called to arms to prepare for war against Russia. In Germany, such efforts have failed miserably. Of the more than 300,000 young Germans surveyed, only 0.17% volunteered to serve in the Bundeswehr. Furthermore, it came to light a few days ago that the Bundeswehr itself could not even find 5,000 volunteers for a battalion in Latvia.

It is incomprehensible what these European countries are up to besides spreading propaganda. Even combined, the European countries do not possess military forces that would give them even the slightest chance of standing up to the Russian armed forces. The Russians are by no means impressed by this farce in Europe—they are disgusted by it. I assume that this war propaganda in Europe serves only to perpetuate the anti-Russian narrative.

Both President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov have repeatedly emphasized that they have no interest in attacking NATO targets outside Ukraine. However, if European countries are foolish enough to send even small European military contingents to Ukraine, the situation could change abruptly.

The greatest risk of escalation at the moment is that the Europeans, presumably in collaboration with the Americans, are planning a false flag attack in Europe in order to somehow trigger Article 5 of the NATO Charter. According to geopolitical analyst Warren Thornton, preparations for false flag attacks are in full swing. He writes on X:

I can’t say whether this theory is correct, but it’s by no means far-fetched that the Europeans would attempt something so outrageous.

U.S. Military Campaigns in the Middle East Beginning in 2001

Looking back over the past 25 years, the U.S. has sought to reshape the Middle East according to the Wolfowitz Doctrine since 2001. None of the wars the U.S. launched during this period (Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, etc.) were successful. In fact, it was already evident back then that the hegemon lacked the resources, military strategy, strength, and credibility needed to act successfully. However, if one’s view is that the actual intent was destabilization and chaos, then they were extremely successful. Nevertheless, they returned to the plan in collaboration with Israel, apparently after Israel had succeeded in completely undermining American policy.

Israel: Genocide and Greater Israel

The immediate starting signal for the “Genocide” and “Greater Israel” projects was given on October 7, 2023, when a military operation by Hamas was turned into a false flag attack to justify the genocide against women, children, and other civilians in Gaza and, later, in the West Bank and Lebanon. This, in turn, served as the starting signal for the continuation of the Greater Israel project; initially, Syria and Lebanon were attacked. Although the Western press not only downplays Israel’s genocidal and imperialist actions but also fully supports and fuels them—including through the media of “neutral” Switzerland—Israel is viewed with increasing criticism by the general public in the Western world. According to Pew Research, 60% of Americans view Israel negatively. The Western media thus conveys an image that finds no resonance among the general public.

When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the podium to address the plenary session on Thursday, delegates to the UN General Assembly left the hall in droves.

Netanyahu called these delegations “moral cowards”—in other words, genocide requires courage—I am at a loss for words.

One interesting photo shows the plenary hall during the speeches by Netanyahu and Perseshkian.

It is important to me to continually remind my Western readers of what is actually happening in Gaza right before our eyes—eyes that many choose to close.

Major Escalation in the Middle East—Loss of Control

Starting in February 2026, events began to accelerate even further. Since then, everything has gone wrong for the West and Israel in the Middle East. The Global South has already wrested the initiative from the West. While Iran initially limited itself to responding to American-Israeli aggression, it is now the Iranians and the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement who are setting the pace.

Ansar Allah managed to bring the entire western coast of Yemen under its control in a very short time and thus controls not only the Bab al-Mandab Strait but also the island of Perim Mayyun off the coast. With virtually no Western media coverage, the advance continues, and it is quite possible that Aden will soon be captured.

Furthermore, the Saudis’ East-West pipeline was paralyzed and targets near Riyadh were attacked. So far, the Saudis have been unable to mount a serious military response to this large-scale attack, as they do not seem capable of doing so on their own, and repeated calls for help to Trump and others have been in vain. The Mecca Alliance, which unites Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey in a military alliance, also appears to be a thing of the past, as even these “friends” refused to provide assistance.

President Macron’s grand announcement that he will send troops to Saudi Arabia won’t change any of that. “Arabia” is called Saudi Arabia because this country is ruled by a family—a tribe—the Sauds. A tribe that is protected by the Americans. However, there are approximately 100 other tribes within Saudi Arabia. It’s very possible that they could join forces with Ansar Allah and overthrow the House of Saud. The House of Saud no longer has any income and seems unable to continue buying off—as it has done until now—all those who could pose a threat to them. There’s a chance that the Saud house of cards will collapse, and if that happens, I wouldn’t give a penny for the remaining Gulf states.

Alastair Crooke also pointed out on several occasions that this dynamic could spill over into Iraq, another millennia-old civilization alongside Iran. If that happens, Kuwait will likely fall as well. Another smoldering conflict can also be detected in Jordan. It is therefore quite possible that the entire structure in the Middle East established by the British a good 100 years ago could collapse within a few months, without the Americans being able to stop this tsunami in any way. Arabia to the Arabs, Persia to the Persians, and the Americans out for good. If this happens, Israel will go from perpetrator to target; one certainly cannot speak of it as a victim in this context. How the emerging great powers of the Middle East will deal with the genocidal Zionists should be left to those who have suffered the greatest losses, for Palestinians are Arabs.

Europe

Chaos is once again rearing its head in Europe. Germany is the first country—once the world’s leading exporter and the major power in the EU—that is in danger of becoming politically ungovernable. The Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has been labeled as far-right and Hitler-like by the previously dominant parties and excluded from government participation by a so-called firewall , not only won landslide victories in two state elections in eastern Germany but also leads the CDU by a clear margin in national polls (30% to 20%). Chancellor Merz’s approval rating stands at 10 percent—a barometer that reveals the people’s dissatisfaction and would have driven any truly democratic chancellor to resign. Whether the Germans, in light of this political situation, will clench their fists and do nothing, as they have in the past, remains uncertain. The chancellor’s downfall would be good for Germany. The AfD is the only major party seeking dialogue and peace with Russia, which is not only desperately needed by this once-thriving industrial nation but is also a prerequisite without which it cannot survive economically. The alternative to real and fundamental political change in Germany is the war against Russia sought by Chancellor Merz and the ruling political elites. The last time Germany went to war against Russia in 1941, Adolf Hitler sent 3.7 million soldiers eastward and failed, despite the Germans’ genocidal behavior, which cost the lives of approximately 17 million civilians. As already explained above, the Federal Republic of Germany today finds itself unable to assemble a brigade of 5,000 volunteer soldiers for the Baltic states. This does not seem to concern the chancellor, which is a clear sign of the madness that has taken hold of him. This is strong evidence that he is acting in the interests of a power located outside Germany. One would be a naughty person to believe that this has anything to do with his BlackRock past. Those who managed to install him as chancellor can pat themselves on the back, as they’ve snagged a puppet at the bargain price of a few million.

The following clip shows how the new leadership in Berlin is presenting itself—the Left has taken over. No words needed:

The situation in the rest of Europe is no more encouraging. The presidential election in France will take place in April 2027. Macron is no longer eligible to run, and Marine Le Pen has a significant lead over the other candidates. The situation is thus similar to that in Germany: a party that is denounced as far-right by the parties currently in power, yet is the most popular among the people. Le Pen’s position on peace with Russia is unclear—she seems to be speaking with a forked tongue: on the one hand, she wants a negotiated peace, but at the same time supports the training of Ukrainian troops. A seasoned politician who positions herself to capture as many votes as possible. France’s financial situation is grim, with no silver lining. The rise in the interest rate on 10-year French bonds over the past twelve months has been even steeper than in any other European country.

Trump

President Trump’s policies only seem difficult to understand at first glance. His constant flip-flopping on Ukraine, Iran, and Israel is counterproductive and damaging to the U.S.’s reputation on the world stage. The reason behind Trump’s current actions is the midterm elections in November. Trump is struggling with the high oil prices he himself has caused, which he can prevent from spiraling out of control by manipulating the futures markets. However, actual market prices are 30% to 50% higher than the manipulated, fantasy futures prices. The fact that futures prices are indeed manipulated is evident, for example, in diesel prices at gas stations, which are moving in only one direction and have reached unprecedented levels worldwide. Diesel is the lifeblood of the American economy, and high prices are one of the biggest drivers of inflation, since virtually all goods are transported by trucks, agriculture depends on it, and large parts of industry rely on diesel. Trump’s latest farce: He’s blaming Zelenskyy for the high diesel prices because Ukraine is attacking Russian refineries; he’s doing this solely to divert attention from the biggest price drivers—the blockades of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab.

Somehow, Trump wants to turn things around, but it seems that he will lose the midterm elections coming up in about six weeks. According to Polymarket, an American online prediction market where users bet on the outcomes of future events—with market prices reflecting collective probability estimates—the probability that the Republicans will lose their majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate stands at 66%. Should this come to pass, Trump will likely face impeachment proceedings. He then runs the risk of going from a lame duck to a dead duck and being replaced by his turncoat vice president, Vance—not a promising outlook for the United States.

Trump’s latest appearance this week before the UN General Assembly was a testament to his psychopathic nature: He announced—nota bene after the election—that he would either make Iran a rich country or obliterate it completely.

Trump is every bit as bad as Adolf Hitler. In his speech at the Berlin Sportpalast on September 4, 1940, Hitler said, “We will wipe out their cities.” Trump wants to wipe out a 5,000-year-old civilization—without any legal basis, of course—acting like a god. In doing so, Trump is publicly calling for the genocide of an entire civilization. One might wonder whether he belongs in prison or in a psychiatric hospital, but the fact that he can make such statements before a global audience with impunity shows the depths to which Western civilization has sunk. I refer to a speech I gave in Switzerland on September 3.

The Financial Markets

I have made numerous comments on the instability of the financial markets. Now my dire predictions seem to be coming true. In addition to the overvaluations in the stock markets, I have repeatedly pointed out the unsustainable situation in the bond markets. Among the more astute market participants, fear is beginning to set in. Mr. Bessent has lost control of interest rates. On August 28, 2026, I looked at the average interest rate the U.S. had to pay on its debt; at that time, it stood at 3.35% (May), resulting in an annual interest burden of 1,340 billion. Today, this average interest rate stands at 3.49% (August); the debt mountain currently stands at 40,070 billion, meaning it has already increased by another 70 billion. Annual interest payments have thus risen by 56 billion to 1,396 billion per year in this short period of time.

Over the past 28 days, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond has risen from 4.722% to 5.185%, an increase of 0.46%. It does not appear that this trend will change. If this pace continues, not only will the government bond market collapse, but so will the towering mountains of debt in the AI sector. The same picture is emerging in Europe and Japan as well. The question isn’t whether the collapse will happen, but when—and who the U.S. will let go first: the Japanese or the Europeans. That is my personal opinion. When it comes to timing, I’m regularly wrong, which has taught me not to be active in these markets. I have the great privilege of meeting regularly with one of the world’s most successful investors. At our last meeting, he agreed with me in principle but remarked that I couldn’t possibly imagine what tricks and means the Americans still have at their disposal to delay the inevitable.

The scale of this crisis will dwarf anything humanity has ever seen. Compared to today, the 2008 crisis was a stroll through a sunny park with a delicious picnic. Such a collapse in the West will also affect the countries concerned’s geopolitical freedom of action; suddenly, everyone will be very preoccupied with their own problems. No one knows whether this will lead to an escalation in the geopolitical arena. What is certain, however, is that the “experts”—who are still driving the markets forward with their jubilant cheers—will solemnly declare that this simply could not have been foreseen—as always.

Entropy

All of these individual tectonic shifts lead to what can be described as entropy, a term from thermodynamics. Applied to geopolitics, I describe the situation as a massive, irreversible state of disorder and uncertainty within the various international systems. Existing power structures, rules, institutions, and hierarchies are losing their cohesive power, and a new order that would promise stability is not in sight.

For the collective West, which until recently held the reins firmly in its hands, is unwilling to make compromises so as not to jeopardize its position as a hegemon.

The Global South, taken by surprise by the rapid pace of events, has not yet devised a coherent, unified, and effective policy to wrest power from the West.

It appears that the Global South, under the military dominance of Russia, China, and—most recently, Iran as the fourth major military power—is in the process of adapting to the new circumstances and coordinating its efforts, which will ultimately lead to its victory.

How long this will take, however, and whether the West will use nuclear weapons to maintain its hegemony remains to be seen—though I would like to express my doubts on this point. So far, only Adolf Hitler believed that Germany should go down with him. Let’s hope that cooler heads are in control of the apocalyptic buttons.

Let’s not lose all faith in humanity.

September 26, 2026 Posted by | Economics, Militarism, Timeless or most popular, War Crimes, Wars for Israel | , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Global Tipping Points Lead the World Into a State of Entropy

Iraqi resistance group vows to stage airport sit-ins over Iran aerial blockade

Press TV – September 26, 2026

An Iraqi anti-terror resistance group has denounced the Baghdad government’s decision to halt Iranian airline operations following US sanctions on Iran’s aviation sector, vowing to stage sit-ins at Iraqi airports nationwide unless normal air traffic between the two Muslim neighboring countries resumes.

“We will not wait long,” Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba Secretary-General Akram al-Kaabi said in a statement on Friday.

He urged Iraqi political forces to “break free from American dominance.”

The restrictions, Kaabi said, were preventing millions of people from visiting religious sites and harming Iraq’s economy.

On Thursday, the Kata’ib Hezbollah resistance group called upon all walks of Iraqi society to break “the US siege on Iran.”

The faction urged Iraqi citizens to “circumvent the embargo through all available means” in demonstration of solidarity with Iran, including the purchase of Iranian commodities, the facilitation of commercial relations with Iran, and the abstention from any undertakings that would exacerbate Iranians’ hardship.

The group also asked Shia religious authorities to issue a decree (fatwa) on whether it is religiously permissible “to help the enemy, in any form, besiege and starve the Iranian people.”

Commercial aviation services between Iraq and Iran were suspended after ground-handling companies stopped providing services on these routes over concerns about potential US sanctions.

The move prompted airlines to suspend their flights.

Najaf International Airport, the last Iraqi airport still operating flights to Iran, suspended the services at 2 a.m. local time on Friday until further notice, according to an official directive.

Erbil International Airport and Sulaymaniyah’s International Airport took similar measures. Kirkuk International Airport also said it had no flights to Iran.

The disruption followed US measures targeting Iran’s aviation sector. On September 8, the US Treasury sanctioned 27 Iranian airlines and claimed that airports, fuel suppliers, ground-handling firms and other service providers dealing with sanctioned carriers could face secondary sanctions.

Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Mojtaba Khamenei, on Friday warned against recent regional measures that had disrupted Iranian passenger flights, saying: “Flights in the region are either free for everyone, or for no one.”

He added that cooperation with the US in implementing hostile policies would remain in the memory of the Iranian people, stressing that if Iran cannot fly or receive airport services, “no country in the region will have this possibility either.”

September 26, 2026 Posted by | Wars for Israel | , , | Comments Off on Iraqi resistance group vows to stage airport sit-ins over Iran aerial blockade

Iraqi Resistance faction links arms to sovereignty, questions US exit

By Al Mayadeen | September 24, 2026

Weapons are tied to Iraqi sovereignty, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada spokesperson Sheikh Kazem al-Fartousi said Thursday, arguing that they exist to defend the country and establish deterrence.

Speaking to Al Mayadeen Plus, al-Fartousi said, “If you provide sovereignty to Iraq, then there is no need for weapons.”

He said the group had put forward 10 points that would guarantee Iraqi sovereignty, stressing that the proposals serve Iraq’s interests rather than those of the factions.

Al-Fartousi questions US withdrawal from Iraq

Addressing the US presence in Iraq, al-Fartousi said its continuation, alongside US control over political decision-making, the economy, and oil sales, constitutes a clear violation of Iraqi sovereignty.

He also stressed that the presence of Turkish forces and armed members of Turkish Kurdish opposition groups in Iraq was a violation of the country’s sovereignty.

Al-Fartousi expressed doubts about the US withdrawal from Iraq, saying that the US side was speaking about needing additional time.

In this context, he revealed information indicating that large numbers of US forces have returned to the Ain al-Assad base in Iraq 10 days ago.

Warning over possible political mobilization

Recent reporting has likewise placed the future of foreign forces and armed factions’ weapons at the center of discussions in Iraq, with some factions linking any weapons arrangements to the restoration of full Iraqi sovereignty.

Al-Fartousi also warned Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi about “a street movement being prepared with US support to overthrow the government.”

The remarks come as Baghdad approaches the September 30 deadline for the end of the remaining US-led Coalition mission, while discussions over bringing weapons under state authority remain unresolved.

Iraq forms new committee amid transformation in relations with coalition

Spokesperson for the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, Sabah al-Numan, announced earlier this month that Commander-in-Chief and Prime Minister Ali Falih al-Zaidi has directed the formation of a committee to determine the form of the relationship with the international coalition based on the principle of reciprocity.

Al-Numan said, “The relationship with coalition countries will transition to integration and cooperation after September 30 of this year,” reaffirming that September 30 is the final date for the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq.

He said the timing is “a culmination of Iraqi sovereignty and a beacon for the capabilities of the security forces in the national security file and the protection of sovereignty.”

Al-Numan revealed that the country is witnessing an acceleration in the withdrawal of foreign forces within the international coalition, noting that “the office of the Commander-in-Chief has provided facilities.”

The spokesperson stressed the authority’s determination to restrict weapons to the state, saying, “We will not allow the existence of any weapon outside the framework of the state.” He explained that “the process of organizing weapons is proceeding according to the vision of the Iraqi government and has a political and legal framework” and noted that “after September 30, dialogues will accelerate in order to resolve the weapons file.”

September 24, 2026 Posted by | Wars for Israel | , , , | Comments Off on Iraqi Resistance faction links arms to sovereignty, questions US exit

Iran’s Plan to Shut Down AI in the Persian Gulf

GCC internet will go dark if Trump renews hostilities

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

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries—Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait—are heavily invested in AI as part of a strategy to diversify away from petroleum. National AI strategies across GCC countries emphasize investment in research and development, encourage public-private partnerships, and create regulatory frameworks that support innovation. The GCC AI market size increased from USD $6.22 billion in 2025 to USD $7.60 billion in 2026. It is projected to reach USD $23.03 billion by 2034.

In April, Iran’s Tasnim news agency mentioned the submarine cables, landing stations, and data hubs in the Gulf as strategic pressure points in the conflict initiated by the United States and Israel. According to the market research company IMARC Group, subsea internet data cables in the Gulf sit at the intersection of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and damage to these networks risks connectivity losses in one of the world’s most important internet traffic zones.

The economic importance of these cable systems extends far outside internet browsing or streaming services, notes Techstory, “because financial markets, payment systems and cloud computing firms depend on uninterrupted connections between continents every second of the day. Data centers in the Gulf and Asia also depend on those same cables to connect cloud systems serving businesses around the world.” Analysts estimate that networks linked to the GCC support roughly $10 trillion worth of financial transactions daily.

Iran claims the cables are within its territorial waters and fall under its jurisdiction. Tasnim and Fars suggest Iran may charge tech companies to use the internet cables, while Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a Brigadier General and the spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said that “companies like Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon” will be required to “comply with Iranian law” and pay licensing fees for cable passage, with repair and maintenance rights given exclusively to Iranian firms.

The Islamic Republic cited the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which includes provisions governing submarine cables. Article 79 of UNCLOS says coastal states have the right to establish conditions for cables or pipelines entering their territory or territorial sea.

On September 2, Iran’s Kayhan newspaper urged Iran’s IGRC to disrupt or sever international fiber-optic cables to pressure the United States and its allies. “Is it not our indisputable right, in order to bring these sources of evil to their knees and cut off their lifeline, to prevent internet cables from passing through the depths of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz?” asked Kayhan editor-in-chief Hossein Shariatmadari. “This necessary measure could be carried out by seriously disrupting the cables’ operation or even cutting them.”

Iran has the ability to take out key cable networks, including the Fibre in Gulf submarine cable system, which connects Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE. The Falcon Network connects Bahrain, Egypt, India, Iraq, Kuwait, Maldives, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, and Yemen, while the the Gulf Bridge International links Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and has onward connectivity to India, and Europe.

The Islamic Republic may decide to retaliate for the imposition of crippling sanctions which have negatively affected its economy, causing an increase in inflation and unemployment. Iran’s minimum wage stands at approximately 104 million rials, equivalent to roughly $110 US monthly. Essential commodity prices have risen sharply, with the International Monetary Fund documenting an annual inflation rate of 42.4%, according to October 2025 figures. Most estimates suggest sanctions have cost Iran approximately $60 billion each year by limiting investments in the energy sector. The sanctions have also significantly reduced Iran’s petroleum exports.

In 2023, the Iranian navy unveiled the domestically developed and manufactured Chamrosh-4 VTOL, a remotely operated drone designed for detecting, locating, and destroying both anchored and sleeping naval mines. Furthermore, Iran operates an undersea fleet of roughly 4 to 6 diesel-electric attack submarines well-suited to operate in the shallow waters of the Strait of Hormuz. In short, Iran has the ability to sabotage subsea internet data cables.

On September 17, President Trump, frustrated by the current stalemate in his war, said he faces a major decision over whether to escalate military action against Iran. “I have a big decision to make,” Trump said. “Do I want to go in and eliminate them or not? That’s a big decision. Anything can happen with me.”

Iran has given the United States an ultimatum for a period of three to four weeks, during which the United States must satisfy all Iranian demands. Failure to comply will result in severe escalation within the Strait of Hormuz and the execution of Iran’s planned preemptive military action targeting United States-backed Gulf infrastructure as well as American and Israeli assets, according to a senior Iranian official based in Tehran with direct knowledge of the situation.

The demands include $300 billion in reconstruction funds, a full release of Iran’s frozen assets of up to $120 billion, lifting of the US naval blockade, an end to war on all fronts (including Gaza and Lebanon), lifting of all sanctions on Iranian oil and gas, and acceptance of Iran’s permanent control of the Strait of Hormuz, including up to 7% transit fees.

President Trump is unlikely to accept these conditions, and as previously mentioned, may intensify military operations before the midterm elections. Should Trump choose to escalate, Iran has indicated it will heighten the intensity of its assaults against remaining American military and commercial infrastructure throughout the GCC region and West Asia.

On September 15, Amazon Web Services disclosed that Iranian drone strikes caused substantial damage to the corporation’s data facilities located in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The preceding week, officials from the UAE declared that they were modifying their AI data center initiatives in response to the strikes, thereby underscoring a critical weakness that Iran continues to leverage with considerable facility.

September 18, 2026 Posted by | Economics, Wars for Israel | , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Iran’s Plan to Shut Down AI in the Persian Gulf

Iraqi Resistance denies role in Saudi East-West pipeline attack

Al Mayadeen | September 12, 2026

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has denied accusations that it was behind the drone attack targeting Saudi Arabia’s strategic East-West oil pipeline, rejecting claims linking Iraqi factions to the operation and criticizing Baghdad for acting on unsubstantiated allegations.

In a statement on Saturday, the Resistance said accusations that it had targeted vital Saudi infrastructure amounted to “an honor we do not claim,” while stressing that no credible evidence had been presented proving the involvement of any Iraqi party.

The group expressed strong surprise at the Iraqi government’s haste in adopting the accusations and taking measures without relying on verified evidence or concrete investigations.

Resistance calls for official investigation

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq said it was fully prepared to participate in any government investigation committee established to determine the facts surrounding the attack.

It called on Iraqi authorities to pursue an evidence-based investigation rather than, in its words, follow “suspicious narratives.”

The Resistance also warned against US-Israeli schemes aimed at dragging Iraq into secondary crises that serve the interests of the region’s adversaries and divert attention from broader regional developments.

Support for Yemen reaffirmed

Despite denying involvement in the Saudi pipeline attack, the Islamic Resistance reiterated its firm and longstanding support for the Yemeni people.

The group said Yemen has been subjected to a Saudi-led siege for more than a decade, reaffirming its position in support of the country amid the latest regional escalation.

The statement comes in response to recent accusations and security measures following the shutdown of Saudi Arabia’s vital East-West crude oil pipeline after it was reportedly struck by a drone originating from Iraqi territory.

The roughly 1,200-kilometer pipeline stretches across the Arabian Peninsula and serves as a key route for transporting Saudi crude from the kingdom’s eastern oil-producing regions toward the Red Sea.

Following investigations into the incident, Iraqi authorities announced the dismissal of the commander of Maysan Operations over the attack.

September 12, 2026 Posted by | Wars for Israel | , , | Comments Off on Iraqi Resistance denies role in Saudi East-West pipeline attack

Why Benjamin Netanyahu Said 9/11 Was ‘Very Good’ For Israel

By Justin K.P. | The Dissident | September 11, 2026

25 years ago, when Benjamin Netanyahu was interviewed by The New York Times on 9/11, he told the paper it was “very good” for Israel.

He claimed the terrorist attack would “generate immediate sympathy” and “strengthen the bond between our two peoples, because we’ve experienced terror over so many decades, but the United States has now experienced a massive hemorrhaging of terror.”

What he meant was that the U.S. fighting a “war on terror” would be the perfect excuse to get America to fight Israel’s enemies for it in the Middle East and make way for Israeli dominance.

This was particularly well timed for Israel, given how close many top officials in the Bush administration were with Israel.

Top officials, including Douglas Feith, David Wurmser, and Richard Perle, were advisors to Benjamin Netanyahu prior to entering the Bush administration.

In a letter sent to Benjamin Netanyahu written in 1996, these advisors called on him to reject the possibility of a two-state solution and instead overthrow surrounding governments seen as too sympathetic to Palestine, first and foremost “removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq — an important Israeli strategic objective in its own right”.

In coordination with the neoconservatives from the Project for a New American Century, who wanted to preserve American unipolar hegemony through waging “multiple simultaneous large-scale wars”, these Zionists and neoconservatives used 9/11 to launch the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

To cook up the WMD deception used to launch the war, the Neo-cons created an “Office of Special Plans” within the Pentagon to push the deception.

At the time, journalist Bob Dreyfuss reported that, “also feeding information to the Office of Special Plans was a secret, rump unit established last year in the office of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel. This unit … prepared intelligence reports on Iraq in English (not Hebrew) and forwarded them to the Office of Special Plans. It was created in Sharon’s office … This secretive unit … may well have been the source of the forged documents purporting to show that Iraq tried to purchase yellowcake uranium for weapons from Niger in West Africa, according to the former official.”

The Guardian reported at the time that the Office of Special Plans “forged close ties to a parallel, ad hoc intelligence operation inside Ariel Sharon’s office in Israel specifically to bypass Mossad and provide the Bush administration with more alarmist reports on Saddam’s Iraq than Mossad was prepared to authorise,” adding that “The Israeli influence was revealed most clearly by a story floated by unnamed senior US officials in the American press, suggesting the reason that no banned weapons had been found in Iraq was that they had been smuggled into Syria. Intelligence sources say that the story came from the office of the Israeli prime minister.”

It also added that Israeli officials were welcomed to the Pentagon under “Mr Feith’s authority without having to fill in the usual forms”, in reference to Douglas Feith, the lead Neo-conservative author of the clean break document.

The LA Times noted in 2005 that “A former senior Israeli military intelligence official asserted Thursday that the nation’s spy agencies were a ‘full partner’ to the United States and Britain in producing flawed prewar assessments of Iraq’s ability to mount attacks with weapons of mass destruction”.

The Israel lobby was also able to use 9/11 to make its clean break plan an official hit list of countries for the U.S. in its war on terror.

As the U.S. general Wesley Clark famously said, after 9/11 the Neo-cons planned to “take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, Iran”, a list he later said came from a study “paid for by the Israelis” in reference to the clean break.

It was this list that functioned as the driving force for U.S. foreign policy for the ensuing years.

As Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs documented :

The Clean Break strategy was effectively carried out by the US and Israel after 9/11.

The first of the wars, in early 2003, was to topple the Iraqi government. Plans for further wars were delayed as the US became mired in Iraq. Still, the US supported Sudan’s split in 2005, Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 2006, and Ethiopia’s incursion into Somalia that same year. In 2011, the Obama administration launched CIA operation Timber Sycamore against Syria and, with the UK and France, overthrew Libya’s government through a 2011 bombing campaign. Today, these countries lie in ruins, and many are now embroiled in civil wars.

Netanyahu was a cheerleader of these wars of choice–either in public or behind the scenes–together with his neocon allies in the U.S. Government including Paul Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith, Victoria Nuland, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Richard Perle, Elliott Abrams, and others.

Similarly, Israel lobby groups used 9/11 to rebrand as “counter-terrorism” expert groups, most notably the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD).

As authors Eli Clifton and Ian Lustick documented in their recent book “Israel’s Lobby: America in the Grip of a Foreign Power,” the FDD was “formed originally in 2001 as Emet (‘Truth’ in Hebrew) with a mission that included ‘provid[ing] education to enhance Israel’s image in North America.’ That name and mission, while submitted to the IRS in its founding documents, was nowhere to be found on its website”, before rebranding as a “counter-terrorism” organization after 9/11.

They added, “Al Jazeera hidden cameras captured Sima Vaknin-Gil, the director general of Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs, speaking in blunt terms about Israel’s relationship with the FDD. ‘We have FDD. We have others working on’ projects including ‘data gathering, working on activist organizations, money trail,’ said Vaknin-Gil to an audience of American pro-Israel advocates in 2016. ‘This is something that only a country, with its resources, can do the best’”.

This Israel Lobby cutout was one of the most influential organizations in paving the way to war with Iran.

The authors wrote that during the negotiations of the JCPOA in 2015, the FDD “wasn’t just a producer of research papers and op-eds advocating against the JCPOA and for more sanctions and military threats against Iran. It also served as an important element of an echo chamber informing the public and Congress about Middle East policy,” adding that “In an eighteen-month period preceding and immediately following the signing of the JCPOA in 2015, FDD staff and fellows provided congressional testimony opposing the deal seventeen times”.

They also added that “a misfiled document revealed that Bernie Marcus contributed $10.7 million, Paul Singer contributed $3.6 million, and Sheldon Adelson contributed $1.5 million in a five-year period ending in 2011. The three men were the three largest donors to the FDD in that time frame, the only period in which the group’s top donors have been disclosed”.

9/11, and the “Global war on terror” that followed, was indeed “very good” for Israel, and it allowed it and its American lobby and neo-conservative allies to advance the regime change wars needed for Israeli dominance and continued subjugation of Palestine.

September 11, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Timeless or most popular, Wars for Israel | , , , , , , | Comments Off on Why Benjamin Netanyahu Said 9/11 Was ‘Very Good’ For Israel

US troops will be targeted if they stay past September 30 deadline: Iraqi resistance group

Press TV – September 3, 2026

An Iraqi resistance group has vowed to launch strikes on the positions and military facilities of American troops in Iraq should the forces fail to honor the September 30 deadline, when the US-led coalition is scheduled to end its military mission in the country and complete the withdrawal of its soldiers.

“We are closely monitoring circumstances in the lead-up to September 30, and are prepared to wage a decisive battle against the occupation forces if they renege on their commitment to withdraw completely from the Iraqi soil and airspace,” Secretary General of the Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, Sheikh Akram al-Ka’abi, said in a statement on Wednesday.

He added, “If any US soldier stays on past the September 30 deadline, they would go back in a coffin.”

Sheikh Ka’abi then addressed President Donald Trump, stressing that he cannot claim a victory in Iraq as the United States has miserably failed to achieve any of its declared objectives in the war of aggression against Iran.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has stated that the September 30 deadline for termination of the US-led coalition’s military mission in Iraq and the full withdrawal of its forces is “fixed and final.”

He has said Iraq will declare complete restoration of sovereignty over all its territory on September 30.

Speaking at a ceremony hosted by the Sunni Endowment Office in the capital Baghdad on August 24 to commemorate the birthday anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Zaidi said the date will mark a major step in Iraq’s efforts to consolidate state authority and national sovereignty.

“On September 30, the Iraqi nation will announce the completion of its sovereignty over all sacred Iraqi land.”

In 2024, Washington and Baghdad came to a consensus to conclude the US-led operations against the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group.

US forces withdrew from most bases across Iraq last year; however, they continued to have a presence in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

September 3, 2026 Posted by | Illegal Occupation | , | Comments Off on US troops will be targeted if they stay past September 30 deadline: Iraqi resistance group

Iraq committed to full US withdrawal deadline – media

RT | August 30, 2026

Iraq is committed to a full withdrawal of US-led coalition forces by the end of September, UK-based Saudi daily Asharq Al-Awsat reported on Saturday, citing an Iraqi official.

US forces have been in the country for 23 years since the 2003 invasion and subsequent smaller-scale operations against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS).

Reports that US and other foreign troops could remain after September “contradict what was agreed upon between the previous Iraqi government and the US administration,” Asharq Al-Awsat cited the official as saying.

The comments followed media reports suggesting that Washington was only planning a drawdown, rather than a full withdraw by the end of the September deadline.

“This is a transition of the Coalition’s military mission to a more traditional bilateral security partnership,” Iraqi news outlet Shafaq News reported, citing an anonymous US official.

Earlier this month, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s office stated that the September 30 deadline would be “the fixed and final date” for the pullout of international coalition forces.

US President Donald Trump has previously backed reducing the US military presence in Iraq, reaffirming a withdrawal plan originally agreed in 2024 under the Biden administration. During a meeting with al-Zaidi this summer, Trump said the two countries were developing a relationship “where we don’t need the military” in Iraq.

Washington’s presence in the region has taken a significant hit during the Iran war, as Tehran has damaged or outright destroyed key US radar, communications, and other military infrastructure at bases in Gulf nations.

During the conflict, US military infrastructure in the region also faced attacks by pro-Iranian armed groups in Iraq operating outside Baghdad’s direct control.

The Pentagon is now considering whether to reduce the US military footprint in the Gulf after the Iran war ends, The Washington Post reported earlier in August, citing anonymous officials.

US allies in the Gulf have also reportedly expressed frustration over what they see as a lack of proper consultation before the US-Israeli attack on Iran, which led to bases on their territories being targeted. Regional powers have since moved to diversify their security partnerships, with Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Pakistan signing the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, already dubbed by commentators an ‘Islamic NATO,’ early this month.

August 30, 2026 Posted by | Illegal Occupation, Wars for Israel | , | Comments Off on Iraq committed to full US withdrawal deadline – media

Why the Iran War is about to Escalate over The Coming Months

By Robert Inlakesh | Palestine Chronicle | August 28, 2026

Nothing is in place to ensure an Israeli-US victory against the Iranians, but Tel Aviv is not backing down and seeks to complete its mission aimed at dealing an enormous blow to Iran’s economy.

This week, the US Trump administration decided to impose another batch of sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran, in what it has labeled ‘Operation Economic Outcast’. Yet, this measure’s viability is about to expire and could end up backfiring tremendously, as all the chips are now in place for Tehran to drag Washington deeper into a fiery regional inferno.

Since April 8, when the US and Iran both agreed to a two-week-long ceasefire, American President Donald Trump has been playing a game designed to manipulate oil markets and has attempted just about every tactic known to man in order to simply off-put the economic iceberg that the global economy is heading straight towards.

See, the problem that the Trump administration faces is that its initial attack on Iran failed tremendously. But now, he cannot simply admit defeat and walk away. If he signs a deal with Tehran, then it will be a de facto surrender agreement that ensures a collapse in US regional hegemony and that Israel is left to face the consequences of its actions, with an empowered and emboldened Iran ready to support Tel Aviv’s downfall.

After around 40 days of war with Iran, the Israeli and American leaderships had come to the realization that the only viable next step was to begin targeting Iranian civilian infrastructure – if they were to have any hope of achieving regime change. This, after all, was the Israeli plot to begin with, as they understood well that the Islamic Republic was not going to fall as a result of the air campaign alone.

Targeting Iran’s civilian infrastructure comes with an evident price; this means that the retaliation is going to destroy the key infrastructure of the surrounding States also, from which the US will be launching its attacks. Included on this target list will be Israeli infrastructure also, which is what gives such an air campaign a specific time limit. Israel will view the price of the campaign against Iran as something they are willing to pay, as long as the Islamic Republic will be weakened significantly in the process.

Therefore, Tel Aviv’s leadership will take the necessary hits until that price becomes too high, at which point they will have to get the US to back off. For Israel, the destruction of the Persian Gulf Arab States is a plus, not a minus, as it eliminates economic competitors, but for the United States and most nations around the world, this is catastrophic.

For these reasons, Trump has gone back and forth between strategies designed to get the Iranians to buckle under pressure. He has implemented a counter-blockade on Iran, attempted to use negotiations and a Memorandum of Understanding to divide the Islamic Republic’s leadership, while also working to carve out an alternate route in the Strait of Hormuz.

When the Iranians saw through the MoU deception and responded forcefully, some may even say proactively, the US military began engaging in a tit-for-tat low-intensity battle with the Iranians that sought to try and degrade Iran’s military capabilities in the south.

Now, the latest move has been to introduce the most extreme sanctions program ever as a last-ditch attempt to pressure Tehran. These sanctions are different because they don’t just target Iran’s economy; they are designed to target its allies and trade partners, since the previous maximum-pressure sanctions already targeted everything imaginable.

There is also a reason why this has never been tried before in this way, because it can potentially backfire. You aren’t only targeting Iran; you are going after a large number of countries in the process, including China. Beijing itself has already threatened to retaliate.

Since early March, for all intents and purposes, the Strait of Hormuz has been closed, with only brief periods during which any meaningful number of tankers have been able to make it out. With the deterioration of the MoU, another card was played by the Iranian-led Axis of Resistance, as Yemen’s Ansarallah-led government announced a counter-blockade on Saudi Arabia.

By reopening the frozen conflict in Yemen, which had remained under a shaky ceasefire since 2022, it meant that the Yemeni Armed Forces would proceed with the project to not only liberate their nation, but to punish Saudi Arabia where it hurts the most. The Red Sea was a Saudi lifeline, allowing them to continue to export 6 million barrels of oil per day; suddenly, that option was cut, and the limited amount it is now capable of getting out of its Western Ports is exported via the Suez Canal, with insurance rates skyrocketing because of the risk.

Iran has demonstrated time and time again that it is capable of surviving under the weight of US sanctions for long periods. The United States, on the other hand, has not started to properly feel the effects of its actions. One way they have managed to offset the economic fallout of the Strait’s closure is to tap into their Strategic Petroleum Reserves, which have just sunk to their lowest levels since 1982, with experts claiming that they only have 41 days of these supplies left. It barely helps that Trump has also picked this time to engage in a declared trade war with its northern neighbor, Canada, nor that he has made outlandish decisions across the board.

Donald Trump has so far doubled down on his decisions and told the American public that they simply have to put up with the rising oil prices, as their contribution to “preventing Iran from having a nuclear weapon”. But the people are not buying it and clearly see that this war is being fought for Israel’s interests, not their own.

Desperate to reshape the region in Israel’s favor, the US has quickly attempted to have both the Iraqi and Lebanese governments disarm resistance factions aligned with Iran. Short of triggering catastrophic civil wars, this strategy cannot be implemented quickly and will have little real-world impact. Similarly, in the Gaza Strip, the Trump administration has put pressure on Hamas to suddenly disarm, providing the Israelis with a green light to amp up their strikes on the civilian population.

Nothing is in place to ensure an Israeli-US victory against the Iranians, but Tel Aviv is not backing down and seeks to complete its mission aimed at dealing an enormous blow to Iran’s economy. Their long-term game is to see a deterioration of the Islamic Republic after its infrastructure takes enormous hits, but this is by no means a guarantee.

Even if Israel gets precisely what it wants, the US will not win. The moment of truth is approaching as the walls close in; the US can either decide that it will act in America’s vital interests and end the war, or throw all its weight behind Israel’s desires.

– Robert Inlakesh is a journalist, writer, and documentary filmmaker. He focuses on the Middle East, specializing in Palestine. He contributed this article to The Palestine Chronicle.

August 29, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Wars for Israel | , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Why the Iran War is about to Escalate over The Coming Months

Iraqi Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada sets conditions to put weapons under state control

Press TV – August 29, 2026

The Iraqi Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada resistance group says it will begin handing over its weapons as part of a government plan to place all arms under state control, but only on the condition that its demands, including the withdrawal of US forces, are met.

In a statement on Saturday, the group said its response to efforts aimed at regulating weapons and ensuring they fall under state authority was conditional on the complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraqi soil, territorial waters, and airspace; an outright ban on the use of Iraqi airspace to attack neighboring countries; and legislation to protect the rights of Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) fighters.

Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada also called for full federal control over Iraqi territory, stronger air defense through the deployment of sophisticated missile systems operated solely by Iraqi personnel, and the withdrawal of Peshmerga forces—the official armed forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)—as well as Turkish troops from areas in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq, “to divest Ankara of any excuses to launch further attacks.”

Other conditions included placing the border regions of the Kurdistan region under Iraqi army control and forcing separatist anti-Iran Kurdish groups out of the area.

The group further demanded an end to US control over Iraq’s financial and economic institutions, and called on Tom Barrack, the US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Presidential Envoy for Syria and Iraq, to cease interference in Iraqi domestic affairs.

On August 11, the Iraqi prime minister directed officials to draft a bill to place weapons under exclusive state control.

Ali Al-Zaidi gave the instructions during his meeting in Baghdad with Khalid al-Obeidi, head of the Iraqi Parliament’s Security and Defense Committee.

Their meeting covered “the situation in the country and the efforts exerted by the various branches and formations of the security services to impose security and stability and protect the country’s borders and airspace against various threats,” the premier’s office said.

On June 3, Sabah al-Numan, spokesperson for the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, announced the formation of a committee tasked with restricting weapons to state control, affirming that the committee had already begun its work.

While several Iraqi resistance groups, such as Saraya al-Salam, Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq and Kata’ib al-Imam Ali, have agreed to integrate into the state’s armed forces, Kata’ib Hezbollah has pledged to retain “resistance weapons” and further develop its arsenal.

August 29, 2026 Posted by | Militarism, Wars for Israel | , | Comments Off on Iraqi Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada sets conditions to put weapons under state control

Iraqi Kata’ib Hezbollah sets conditions to place weapons under state control

Press TV – August 18, 2026

The Iraqi Kata’ib Hezbollah resistance group has set conditions for any understanding with the Baghdad government to place all its weapons under state control, including a full withdrawal of US military forces from the country.

The group’s security chief, Abu Mujahid al-Assaf, announced in a statement on Monday that the first condition to integrate into the state’s armed forces is for US forces to completely withdraw from Iraqi soil and airspace, offer cast-iron guarantees that they would not come back, and ensure that Iraqi political and economic apparatuses will make decisions free from American sway.

The second condition, he added, is the withdrawal of Turkish forces from areas in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq, while the third one is the dissolution of the Peshmerga, which serves as the official armed forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

Assaf went on to criticize Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, saying that Iraqi anti-terror resistance groups had waited “more than a hundred days” for him to address the internal, regional, and international pressures over the issue of restricting weapons to the state, as a September 30 deadline approaches.

He asserted that Zaidi is disregarding advice from allied political factions, and is instead taking heed of demands being made by certain parties and the US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Presidential Envoy for Syria and Iraq, Tom Barrack.

The remarks came on the same day that Iraq’s four top state authorities renewed calls for the implementation of the Iraqi government’s plan to disarm the armed groups and bring weapons under state control.

In a statement following a Monday meeting in Baghdad between President Nizar Amedi, the prime minister, Parliament Speaker Haibat al-Halbousi and President of the Supreme Judicial Council Faiq Zaidan, the officials stressed the importance of strengthening and developing the capabilities of Iraq’s armed forces “across all spectra” and protecting the country and its citizens.

Successive administrations in Iraq have vowed to bolster state power and to bring all weaponry under the jurisdiction of recognized institutions.

On June 3, Sabah al-Numan, the spokesperson for the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, declared the establishment of a committee aimed at restricting weapons to state control, affirming that the committee had commenced its operations.

While several Iraqi resistance groups, such as Saraya al-Salam, Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq and Kata’ib al-Imam Ali, have agreed to integrate into the state’s armed forces, Kata’ib Hezbollah has pledged to retain “resistance weapons” and further develop its arsenal.

August 18, 2026 Posted by | Illegal Occupation, Wars for Israel | , , , | Comments Off on Iraqi Kata’ib Hezbollah sets conditions to place weapons under state control

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