Aletho News

ΑΛΗΘΩΣ

US postpones talks with Russia – foreign ministry

RT | June 16, 2025

The US has postponed bilateral consultations with Moscow aimed at easing tensions and restoring diplomatic missions, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced on Monday.

Earlier this year, Russia and the US held two rounds of high-level talks, the first on February 18 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the second on February 27 in Istanbul, Türkiye. These discussions marked the first major direct talks since the deterioration of relations following the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine. The agenda included mutual restoration of embassy operations, easing visa issuance, addressing the Ukraine conflict, and exploring potential post-conflict economic cooperation.

The next round of talks was to take place in Moscow. However, according to Zakharova, this meeting was canceled at the initiative of the American negotiators. In a statement published on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Telegram channel, she stated, “As of today, the next meeting within the framework of bilateral consultations on eliminating ‘irritants’ to normalize the operation of diplomatic missions of both countries has been canceled at the initiative of the American negotiators.”

She did not disclose the reason Washington’s gave for postponing the meetings, adding only that Moscow hopes that “the pause they have taken will not last too long.”

Since taking office earlier this year, US President Donald Trump has made efforts to reestablish contact with Moscow, which had been largely severed under his predecessor, Joe Biden. Russian officials have welcomed the shift, also expressing readiness to normalize bilateral relations.

June 16, 2025 Posted by | Russophobia | , | Leave a comment

‘Israel’, US face risks in targeting Iran’s underground nuclear sites

Al Mayadeen  | June 16, 2025

Recent Israeli strikes on Iranian military and nuclear-related facilities have revived questions about whether it is even possible to destroy Iran’s deeply buried nuclear infrastructure.

A March report by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) suggests that any attempt to do so would be highly difficult, dangerous, and ultimately uncertain in its outcome.

According to the report, taking out Iran’s underground enrichment sites, including Natanz and Fordow, would require extensive firepower, specialized weaponry, and direct US military support. Even then, success would not be guaranteed.

The study warns that such a mission should be seen as an “option of last resort,” given the risks of full-scale regional escalation and the technical challenges involved.

The Natanz site, one of Iran’s main uranium enrichment facilities, was among the targets hit in the latest Israeli strikes. However, the degree of damage remains unknown, particularly since its most sensitive infrastructure lies underground.

Estimates cited in the RUSI report suggest that parts of the Natanz facility are buried around 8 meters (26 feet) below ground. While “Israel” is believed to possess munitions that can penetrate up to 6 meters, the margin may be insufficient, especially if the underground structure is reinforced with layers of hardened concrete or rock.

Fordow facility likely out of reach for both US and ‘Israel’

Iran’s second major enrichment facility, the Fordow plant, is believed to be buried at a much greater depth, possibly between 80 and 90 meters (262 to 295 feet) below the surface. According to the RUSI report, this would place it beyond the reach of even the US military’s most powerful bunker-buster bomb, the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, which can penetrate around 60 meters.

Adding to the challenge, the GBU-57 can only be deployed by the US Air Force’s B-2 stealth bombers, an asset the Israeli regime does not possess, even if the US were to supply the weapon itself.

Beyond depth, Iran has employed architectural and engineering methods to make its nuclear facilities even more resilient to aerial bombardment. The RUSI report notes that facilities with narrow access shafts, multiple blast doors, and separate entry/exit tunnels are far more difficult to destroy than those with a single, large chamber or shaft.

This layered design could significantly reduce the likelihood of success, even if multiple precision-guided munitions were deployed in succession.

As tensions escalate, the report offers a clear warning: even a coordinated US-“Israel” effort to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities may fall short of its objective, while simultaneously risking a wider war.

Given the limitations of current munitions, the depth and complexity of Iran’s enrichment sites, and the potential for catastrophic fallout, the RUSI study concludes that targeting these facilities is a last-resort option, not a tactical shortcut.

June 16, 2025 Posted by | Militarism, Wars for Israel | , , , | Leave a comment

US aerial tankers headed to Middle East – media

RT | June 16, 2025

The US has reportedly deployed more than 30 aerial refueling tankers across the Atlantic toward the Middle East, Military Watch Magazine reported on Monday. The outlet has described the buildup as “unprecedented,” claiming it could suggest broader US involvement in the ongoing Israeli-Iranian war.

West Jerusalem and Tehran have entered the fourth day of open hostilities. Last Thursday, Israeli forces launched airstrikes on Iranian nuclear and military targets, killing senior military officials and scientists and prompting retaliatory missile barrages on Israeli cities such as Tel Aviv and Haifa.

The US has expressed support for the Israeli strikes, with President Donald Trump calling them “excellent.” He has also warned that Washington could become directly involved in the conflict if American interests are threatened but has yet to announce any plans to involve US forces.

However, according to flight tracking data, the US has already started deploying KC-135 and KC-46 aerial refueling tankers to the Middle East. Military Watch Magazine has suggested that the aircraft may be intended to support Israeli Air Force operations or refuel US fighters and bombers if Washington expands its role in the conflict.

The report also claims that tankers from other Western countries have participated in Israeli aerial refueling efforts, while the US is believed to have provided intelligence, satellite targeting data, and missile defense support.

On Sunday, Axios reported that Israeli officials had asked the US to directly take part in the military operation, specifically requesting assistance in striking Iran’s Fordow enrichment facility. However, US officials cited by the outlet said the request was declined, with one stating that the Trump administration is not considering any such involvement.

Nevertheless, Tehran has claimed that Washington’s support for West Jerusalem has made the US complicit in Israel’s aggression against Iran. Sources within the Iranian military have also reportedly indicated that Tehran’s response to Israeli strikes would “spread to all areas occupied by this [Israeli] regime and related US bases in the region in the coming days.”

In response, Trump has warned that any Iranian attack on US forces would trigger a military response, writing on his Truth Social platform that “if we are attacked in any way, shape, or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the US Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before.” He also insisted that the US “had nothing to do with the attack on Iran” and called on Tehran to return to negotiations.

June 16, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Wars for Israel | , , , , | Leave a comment

Middle East in Crisis – 2

Netanyahu’s war on Iran has no future

By M. K. BHADRAKUMAR | Indian Punchline | June 16, 2025 

An unnoticed undercurrent of the Israel-Iran war is that three Christian nations in Europe — UK, France and Germany — have joined the fray with alacrity on the side of Israel.  

Strange, isn’t it, that these European countries comprising the so-called E-3 have a well-established exclusive path of dialogue with Iran but are joining Israel’s warpath? It’s a Crusade, stupid! 

The three ‘Crusader nations’ share Israel’s obsession to check the rise of a Muslim nation as an emerging power in the Middle East that could radically transform its geopolitical alignments. Simply put, destroying the Islamic regime in Iran is the real objective of Israel’s war — and of the three Christian nations from Europe. 

Reportedly, Israeli fighter jets which attacked Iran used the British air base in Cyprus; British refuelling planes are on deployment in Syrian-Iraqi airspace for use of Israeli fighter jets; French president Emmanuel Macron, as defender of Roman Catholicism openly vows that he will act to prevent Israel’s defeat; Germany, the fountainhead of Protestantism, has also similarly positioned itself behind Israel. 

However, on the other hand, what emerges from the hour-long phone conversation between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday is that they will work together to advance the path of dialogue with Iran, the current conflict situation notwithstanding. The Kremlin readout stresses that Putin forcefully denounced the Israeli aggression. 

Such a line-up of the principal actors signals that Israel’s best bet lies in killing the war itself as a strategic error and create a ‘new normal’? But will Tehran allow Netanyahu to get away with murder? That’s the million dollar question. Putin will have to use all his persuasive power during the planned visit to Iran — ie., if it still goes ahead. 

The Israeli thinking behind its assassination of the IRGC leadership and military commanders stemmed out of the foolish miscalculation that Tehran lacks a political will to resist aggression. The Israeli objective is on the one hand to create conditions for a regime change in Iran and on the other hand to derail any form of US-Iran constructive engagement.

All through, terror has been the chosen weapon for Israel and the western powers to undermine and weaken Iran. But a point has been reached where a containment of Iran is no longer feasible. Logically, Iran’s neighbours in the Muslim world should have rallied in support of Iran but that’s too much to expect, given their limited sovereignty to act independently. 

Nonetheless, Iran will not capitulate. Iran’s sense of national pride and honour as a civilisation state will prompt it to circle the wagons and wage a protracted war until victory. From the early days of the revolution, the Islamic republic which was founded on the principles of justice and resistance on the bedrock of nationalism and independence, got attracted to Mao’s concept of ‘protracted people’s war’ to keep predator nations at bay. That strategy paid off during the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988). 

Saddam Hussein too, like Netanyahu, miscalculated that Iran was a hopelessly weakened nation in the civil war conditions with its economy in virtual collapse, army in disarray, state formation yet to crystallise, and with no allies in the region to lend a helping hand. But as it turned out, Iran fought an 8-year war defiantly to a stalemate, undeterred by the lavish support extended to Saddam by the Western powers and their regional allies. 

The US even equipped Saddam’s army with chemical weapons to stop the human-wave–attack tactics of Iranian fighters, but of no avail — although, an estimated quarter million Iranians sacrificed their lives.  

At some point, in a very near future, Israel will also meet the fate of Saddam, having miscalculated Iran’s grit to resist. Netanyahu also estimated that Iran is a much weakened country compared to last year due to the setbacks taken by the Axis of Resistance. Such naïveté underestimates the potency of resistance at the very core of Shi’ism. 

Last week, the resistance forces that were supposedly vanquished from the face of the earth regrouped and began firing missiles at Israel — from Syria, of all places! On May 4, Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Tel Aviv hitting the perimeter of the main terminal of Ben Gurion Airport! Reports suggest that Hezbollah has restored its supply routes from Iran.  

What Israel fails to grasp is that resistance movements do not die if their raison d’être remains. Israel is, in reality, in very deep crisis fighting on multiple fronts amidst a cascading domestic political crisis and an economy that requires drip feeding by Washington. 

As the US’s capacity to influence events in the Middle East keeps diminishing, Israel’s unviability as a nation propped by the Jewish Lobby in the Beltway appears sharper in focus. Already, there is resentment within the US about bankrolling Israel and fighting its wars.

On the contrary, the rise of Iran is inevitable — with a population base 10 times bigger than Israel’s, vast mineral resources, a self-sufficient agricultural sector and broad-based industry, innovative progress in technology, big domestic market, highly strategic location and trained manpower. 

Iran’s stamina is of a long distance runner, as Iran-Iraq war showed, whereas, Israel’s forte is as sprinter on a 100 metre track. Make no mistake, Israel, a small country with a population of 8 million people will get hollowed out in a protracted war. 

In the current scenario, what goes against Israel critically is that while President Donald Trump tried and failed to stop Netanyahu on the warpath, he is not going to deploy American forces to fight Israel’s war. 

Trump has an evangelical base in US politics and is on friendly terms with wealthy Jewish donors, but has nothing in common with the Crusader nations of the Old World — be it on Ukraine or Iran. In both cases, actually, he tends to view the paradigm through the America First prism where he sees immense potential to generate wealth through business links with Russia or Iran. 

Besides, Trump is far too smart a politician to risk the future of his MAGA movement whose core tenet is the total rejection of all interventionist ‘forever wars’. Trump knows only too well that American public opinion is staunchly opposed to Middle Eastern wars.

The replacement of Mike Waltz as NSA on May 1 (a known Israeli proxy who found himself in the top echelons of Trump administration) and the subsequent purge of the entire pack of ‘Iran hawks’ in the National Security staff under him, signalled that Trump is wary of Netanyahu’s diabolical plots to derail his negotiations with Iran through back channels. (here and here)   

During their phone conversation on Saturday, according to the Kremlin readout, Trump and Putin agreed to prioritise the “negotiating track in Iran’s nuclear programme… Trump noted, the team of US negotiators is ready for resuming work with Iranian representatives.” Clearly, a military confrontation with Iran does not figure in Trump’s calculus. 

That being the case, Netanyahu’s bombastic rhetoric apart, Israel’s best interests lie in ending this futile war in the quickest way possible. Conceivably, that is also the preference of the IDF. A protracted war on its own steam with a clutch of crusader nations in tow as cheer leaders is not something that can save Israel from destruction.

Curiously, Trump in his latest Truth Social post on Sunday after the conversation with Putin advised Israel “to make a deal” with Iran! Does that fit into Netanyahu’s war mongering? And Trump went on to burnish his own credentials as a peacemaker president! 

Trump concluded predicting that “we will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran!” Succinctly put, Trump has no intentions whatsoever to risk American lives by fighting Netanyahu’s wars.  

Obviously, “PEACE, soon” will be Russia and Iran’s preference too, as serious negotiations can be resumed and agreement reached that would herald a US-Iran normalisation and the lifting of American  sanctions. But does that suit Netanyahu? 

The paradox is, Israel has no future in a protracted war with Iran, but an inconclusive end to this war will pose the high risk for Netanyahu of a cascading demand for a regime change in Israel. Loss of power means loss of parliamentary immunity from prosecution that Netanyahu hitherto enjoyed from corruption charges against him and his family members, and a possible imprisonment.

Read more: Iran Attack: Netanyahu Gambles Big, Rediff.com, June 14, 2025

June 16, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Militarism, Wars for Israel | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

‘War crime’: Iran’s foreign ministry building hit during Israeli aggression; many injured

File photo of the building hosting Iran’s Foreign Ministry in the capital Tehran
Press TV – June 15, 2025

Iran’s foreign ministry has strongly condemned the Israeli military aggression on one of its buildings in the capital, Tehran, which left many people injured, including ministry staff.

Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh, in a statement on Sunday, denounced the assault as a “deliberate and ruthless” act perpetrated by the “criminal Israeli regime.”

“The casualties include a number of my colleagues, who were transferred to a hospital for treatment,” said Khatibzadeh, who also heads the ministry’s foreign policy think tank, Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS).

Khatibzadeh described the incident as “yet another blatant war crime” and part of the Israeli regime’s “ongoing and systematic aggression” against the Islamic Republic.

His remarks come amid continued Israeli aggression on the Islamic Republic that began on Friday morning, targeting multiple locations across the country, including Tehran.

The brutal terrorist acts have resulted in the assassination of many senior military commanders, nuclear scientists, and civilians, including children and women.

In response, Iran launched Operation True Promise III, a continuation of its previous retaliatory campaigns against the Zionist entity.

The latest operation has involved large-scale missile and drone strikes by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) targeting sites across the occupied Palestinian territories.

So far, Operation True Promise III has seen the IRGC carry out a series of coordinated missile and drone strikes against high-value strategic targets across the occupied territories, including deep strikes into Tel Aviv and the occupied port city of Haifa.

These precision strikes have targeted critical infrastructure, including airbases used by the regime to launch attacks against the Islamic Republic, command and intelligence centers, industrial complexes, and fighter jet production facilities.

A flood of videos circulating on social media shows Iranian ballistic missiles piercing through multiple layers of the regime’s air defense systems with remarkable effectiveness.

On Sunday, the IRGC vowed to sustain the strikes until the entity’s “complete destruction,” issuing a strongly worded statement directed at Tel Aviv’s steadfast Western allies.

Earlier on Sunday, foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said the US must accept its responsibility for Israel’s deadly aggression against the country, as evidence shows American forces helped the regime wage its terrorist assault on Iran.

“We have solid evidence indicating that American forces and bases in the region have supported the attacks by the Israeli regime’s military forces,” Araghchi told foreign envoys in Tehran on Sunday.

He emphasized that Iran’s response to Israeli aggression was based on the principle of self-defense in international relations and that every country has the legitimate right to defend itself against aggression.

June 15, 2025 Posted by | War Crimes | , , , | Leave a comment

Australian writer deported by US over pro-Palestine blog posts

Al Mayadeen | June 15, 2025

The Guardian reported on Sunday that an Australian writer was detained and deported by US authorities upon arrival at Los Angeles International Airport, allegedly due to his public commentary on pro-Palestine campus protests.

Alistair Kitchen, a 33-year-old from Melbourne, had traveled to the US last Thursday intending to visit friends in New York. However, during a layover in Los Angeles, he was held by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for 12 hours, questioned extensively, and eventually placed on a flight back to Australia. He landed in Melbourne on Saturday.

Kitchen believes his treatment was politically motivated. “The CBP explicitly said to me, the reason you have been detained is because of your writing on the Columbia student protests,” he told The Guardian. He added that the interrogation included detailed inquiries into his opinions on the Palestinian conflict, including his “thoughts on Hamas”.

“It was quite an in-depth probing of my views on the war,” he said. “They asked me what I thought about the conflict in a very broad sense, about student protesters, what Israel should have done differently, and how I would resolve the conflict.”

Deported Dissent

Kitchen previously lived in New York for six years and was a master’s student at Columbia University. During that time, he wrote about the Gaza solidarity encampment and published articles on his blog, Kitchen Counter. One piece focused on Mahmoud Khalil, a lead negotiator of the Columbia encampment who had been detained by US authorities. In that article, Kitchen described Khalil’s arrest as one made “on utterly specious grounds by a neo-fascist state” aimed at “the deportation of dissent”.

He pointed to a Trump-era executive order issued on January 30 that promised to cancel the student visas of pro-Palestine activists and enforce “law and order” against campus protesters.

Kitchen said he had attempted to reduce the risk of being flagged by deleting some “sensitive political posts” and content from his blog and social media prior to his trip. But he believes US authorities had already connected his ESTA application to his writings using digital surveillance tools.

“Clearly, they had technology in their system which linked those posts to my Esta … a long time before I took them down,” he said. “Because they knew all about the posts, and then interrogated me about the posts once I was there.”

Border Reprisal

According to Kitchen, he was called by name shortly after deplaning and taken for secondary processing. During questioning, he said he gave officers access to his phone, something he now regrets. “I had at that time, the wrong and false hope that once they realised I was, you know, just an Australian writer and not a threat to the US, that they would let me in,” he said. “But then they took my phone away and began downloading it and searching it.”

Kitchen said he felt “terrified of retribution and reprisal from the US government” for sharing his experience publicly, but believed it important to raise awareness. He encouraged other Australians facing similar treatment to avoid giving border agents access to their devices and to accept deportation immediately instead.

He has since restored the previously removed blog posts.

During his deportation, Kitchen said his phone and passport were handed over to a Qantas flight attendant, and he was unable to access them until arriving back in Melbourne. Qantas confirmed to The Guardian that its crew received a sealed envelope from US customs containing the passenger’s belongings, which were returned upon arrival. The airline declined further comment.

June 15, 2025 Posted by | Full Spectrum Dominance | , , | Leave a comment

Iran preparing to ‘shut down Israel’s war machine’

RT | June 15, 2025

Tehran is gearing up to decisively counter Israel’s military operations, and intends to “shut down the regime’s war machine,” a senior Iranian security official told RT exclusively on Sunday.

Israel and Iran have been engaged in a fierce exchange of fire for three consecutive days. According to Israel’s emergency service Magen David Adom, Iranian strikes have killed at least ten people, bringing the total death toll to 13. In Iran, Israeli strikes have caused at least 406 deaths and 654 injuries, according to the group Human Rights Activists. The Iranian government has not released official casualty figures yet.

”Iran has been preparing for a long war,” the official told RT, emphasizing the country’s resolve to confront Israel. According to the source, millions of Iranians rallied in the streets on Saturday, defying West Jerusalem’s attacks, and demanding retribution. “This is an important support for Iran to continue its actions with force,” the official added.

The official outlined Iran’s extensive list of potential targets within “occupied territories,” which include covert residences of Israeli government leaders, energy facilities, factories supplying military aircraft, and critical command-and-control infrastructure.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said that the country’s missiles had targeted fuel production facilities for Israeli fighter jets, a claim not acknowledged by Israel.

World leaders urgently called for de-escalation in order to prevent an all-out war. Russian President Vladimir Putin had condemned Israel’s strikes on Iran and expressed concern over further escalation. In a phone call with US President Donald Trump on Saturday, Putin reiterated Moscow’s willingness to facilitate negotiations.

Oman-mediated nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington were scheduled for Sunday; however, they were canceled following Israel’s strikes. Trump did not rule out the possibility of continuing the negotiations, saying, “They’d like to make a deal. They’re talking.”

June 15, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , , | Leave a comment

Trump ‘open’ to Putin as Iran-Israel mediator

RT | June 15, 2025

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he is open to Russian President Vladimir Putin serving as a mediator in the Israel-Iran conflict. In an hour-long phone call the previous day, the two leaders focused on the Middle East crisis.

“Yeah, I would be open to it. He is ready. He called me about it,” Trump responded to ABC News’ Rachel Scott, when asked about Putin’s potential role in brokering peace.

“We had a long talk about it. We talked about this more than his situation. This is something I believe is going to get resolved,” Trump added.

After the phone call the Kremlin later said that Putin had condemned Israel’s strikes on Iran and expressed concern over further escalation, while reiterating Russia’s willingness to facilitate negotiations.

Putin recalled that Moscow had previously proposed concrete measures to facilitate “mutually acceptable agreements” in US-Iran nuclear negotiations before the current escalation, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov revealed.

“Russia’s principled position and commitment to resolving this issue remain unchanged,” Ushakov stated. “As President Putin emphasized, we will continue to act accordingly.”

Despite the cancellation of Oman-mediated nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington following Israel’s strikes, Trump maintained that discussions continued. “They’d like to make a deal. They’re talking,” he said, suggesting the escalation might actually accelerate diplomacy.

When asked about possible American engagement in the conflict, Trump stated: “We’re not involved in it. It’s possible we could get involved. But we are not at this moment involved.”

The conflict in the Middle East escalated on June 12 when Israel struck Iranian nuclear sites, killing senior military officials and prompting retaliatory missile barrages from Tehran. Both sides have exchanged fire for a third straight day.

June 15, 2025 Posted by | Militarism, War Crimes | , , , | Leave a comment

Israeli strike on Natanz nuclear facility ‘crime against international law, NPT’: Iran FM

Press TV – June 15, 2025

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the Israeli strikes on the Islamic Republic’s Natanz nuclear facility were a major crime under international law and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

In a phone conversation with Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares Bueno on Sunday, Araghchi once again asserted the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program.

“The attack on the peaceful nuclear facilities of a country is absolutely prohibited, especially considering that Iran’s nuclear program is subject to the most stringent supervision (of the UN nuclear agency) and has been verified as per Resolution 2231 of the Security Council,” he said.

Iran expects that all countries and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would condemn the Israeli aggression in the strongest terms, he added.

The Israeli regime, backed by the United States, carried out a large-scale military aggression on multiple locations inside Iran early on Friday, targeting nuclear facilities, military infrastructure, and residential buildings in Tehran and other cities.

The Natanz nuclear facility near Isfahan city was also hit, although only surface damage was caused because the centrifuges are buried deep underground. There were no radiation or casualties.

The Iranian foreign minister said the Israeli regime flagrantly violated the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law by conducting its acts of aggression in the midst of indirect nuclear talks between Iran and the United States.

Araghchi added that the Tel Aviv regime violated Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity by attacking nuclear facilities and residential areas inside the country just two days before the sixth round of Tehran-Washington talks in the Omani capital of Muscat.

“It is clear that the main objective of this act of aggression was to have a destructive impact on the diplomatic processes and to drag others into an unjust war,” the top Iranian diplomat emphasized.

Pointing to Israel’s record of attacks on residential areas and its killing of a large number of innocent women and children, he said, “Defense is the response to the aggression.”

Araghchi emphasized that the Iranian Armed Forces would strongly proceed with their “completely calculated defensive operation” to protect national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and civilians.

The Spanish foreign minister, for his part, expressed concern over the escalation of tensions in the region and voiced his country’s readiness to help ease the tensions.

June 15, 2025 Posted by | Progressive Hypocrite, War Crimes | , , , , | Leave a comment

Seven Lies about Israel’s Attack on Iran

What you think you know about Iran is not true. I was a US intelligence analyst. Trump and Netanyahu are lying to you.

By Harrison Mann – Zeteo – June 14, 2025

“The first casualty of war is truth” is such a tired cliché – and one so self-evident to anyone who served in the US intelligence community – that I only dare to put it in writing because this week the lies literally did start flying before the bombs Israel dropped on Iran, in what we can now safely call the start of a full-scale war. If we want any hope of interrupting a disastrous cycle of escalation, we need to intercept the volley of lies that have already been launched out of Tel Aviv and Washington.

1. Iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon

Before, during, and after the first wave of Israeli airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and military and nuclear leadership, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Iran was about to produce nuclear bombs – which he’s been warning since the 90s. Setting aside the Iranian government’s own denial that it was pursuing nuclear weapons – Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei suspended Iran’s nuclear program in 2003 – both the International Atomic Energy Association and Trump’s Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard have affirmed earlier this year that Iran was not trying to build a nuclear weapon.

2. Israel’s attack on Iran was a preemptive strike required for self-defense

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz called the strikes “preemptive.” To preempt what? Preparations for a large-scale military operation are very hard to hide, whether it’s Russia invading Ukraine, Israel bombing Iran, or a supposed Iranian offensive against the state of Israel. Had the Iranian military – which is monitored obsessively by multiple US intelligence agencies – actually been staging for an attack on Israel, the Trump administration would be well aware and offering much more muscular support than it has so far. If Thursday’s strikes were to preempt anything, it was progress on the US-Iran nuclear talks that the Iranian government (if not our own) appeared to be pursuing in good faith.

3. Israeli military operations will prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon

This is really two fallacies in one. First, a bombing campaign simply cannot reliably destroy a nuclear program composed of dispersed personnel (even though Israel has been able to assassinate some of them) and deep subterranean facilities whose conditions are difficult to verify from afar. As Israel’s National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi acknowledged Friday, destroying the program “cannot be done via kinetic means,” a conclusion consistent with my experience in the US intelligence community. The only way to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program with certainty is to have the Iranian government do it voluntarily, or through a ground invasion that would be needed to enter facilities by force.

This leads us to the second fallacy: That the purpose of Israel’s offensive is to dismantle the nuclear program. Knowing that airstrikes and covert operations can’t actually destroy Iran’s nuclear research and uranium enrichment capabilities, what does Netanyahu hope to achieve with his newest war? “Striking Iran’s nuclear program, striking its ballistic missile capabilities; attacking its capacity to destroy Israel via a ground attack,” Israeli media wrote, citing Tzachi Hanegbi. In other words, total pacification or de facto regime change, which is what the Israeli government has already demanded – and more or less helped achieve – in Lebanon and Syria over the past year. Given the strength and scale of the Iranian state, the only way Israel could realistically achieve this is through the US military.

4. The United States is not responsible for Israel’s attack

Shortly after Israel’s first strikes, Secretary of State Marco Rubio released a statement declaring, “We are not involved in strikes against Iran,” in an apparent attempt to distance the United States from the bombing and discourage reprisals from Iran against US troops in the region. He was quickly overruled by Trump, who cheered on the attacks and claimed he had full advance knowledge. No matter who knew what, and whether Trump explicitly gave Netanyahu a “green light” for the strikes, the United States literally fuels the Israeli war machine – the planes bombing Tehran this week use American jet fuel – and provides the munitions, repair parts, and other supplies needed to keep the Israeli military running day-to-day. Without that support – or without the hundreds of US troops manning air defense batteries in Israel right now – Israel would be unable to launch attacks in the region with impunity.

5. The attack will bring Iran to the table for a nuclear deal

Whether or not Trump actually believes in his post-strike appeal that “Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left,” reaching an agreement gets exponentially harder to do when Israel assassinates a top adviser on Iran’s nuclear negotiations. And the fact that Trump let Israel launch a massive attack while Washington and Tehran were in the middle of nuclear negotiations will prove to Tehran that it has nothing to gain from further talks. Plus, Netanyahu’s pledge for a long war against Iran means Tehran increasingly has little to lose by sprinting for a nuclear weapon.

6. Attacking the Iranian government will lead to a coup

Washington proponents of regime change in Iran have long hoped that weakening Iran’s rulers – whether through sanctions or now, a military blitz – would inspire Iranian people to rise up against their government. After this week’s attacks, this expectation has even less basis in reality than usual. However unpopular Khamenei may be in some sectors of Iranian society, he is not the one striking apartment buildings in Tehran.

7. Israel can “drag” the United States into a war against Iran*

Both opponents and supporters of war with Iran understand that Netanyahu needs the United States military to do most of the fighting and worry – or hope – that he will “drag” the US into a new conflict. But no matter what Israel does – and even no matter what Iran does – an American war on Iran remains a war of choice. If the Trump administration bombs or invades Iran, it’s because they wanted to, not because Netanyahu somehow forced them.

Given the disastrous regional consequences, which would likely dwarf the fallout from the 2003 invasion of Iraq, we should be clear that agency lies in Washington and nowhere else.

* ISRAEL – PALESTINE NEWS NOTES: Israel may not be able to drag the US into a war with Iran – but the Israel lobby can use its almost unlimited power to do almost anything.]

Harrison Mann is a former US Army major and executive officer of the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Middle East/Africa Regional Center who resigned in protest of his office’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza under the Biden administration. He is currently with Win Without War.

June 15, 2025 Posted by | Deception, Militarism, Wars for Israel | , , , | Leave a comment

US complicit in Israeli attacks, must be held accountable: Araghchi

Press TV – June 15, 2025

The Iranian foreign minister says the United States must accept its responsibility for Israel’s deadly aggression against the country as multiple evidence shows American forces helped the regime wage its terrorist assault.

“We have solid evidence indicating that American forces and bases in the region have supported the attacks by the Israeli regime’s military forces,” Abbas Araghchi told foreign envoys in Tehran on Sunday.

He also referred to remarks by US President Donald Trump, who said the Israeli strikes were not possible without American equipment and that more raids were on the agenda.

“Therefore, in our view, the US is a partner in these attacks and it must accept its responsibility. Of course, we have focused on targets inside the Zionist regime in response to the attacks,” Araghchi added.

The Israeli aggression against Iran could not have occurred without the agreement and support of the United States, he said.

Meanwhile, the top Iranian diplomat said that Israel had “crossed a new red line” in international law by targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Unfortunately, he noted, the serious Israeli violation was met with “indifference” at the United Nations Security Council.

Araghchi further emphasized that Iran’s response to Israeli attacks was based on the principle of self-defense in international relations and that every country has the legitimate right to defend itself against aggression.

He also said that the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors will on Monday hold an emergency meeting on the Israeli attack on the Natanz nuclear site, expressing hope that it will condemn the raid as a flagrant violation of international law.

Additionally, the foreign minister stressed that Iran does not want the war with Israel to expand to other countries or the region “unless it’s imposed on us.”

“Basically, we did not initiate this war and we were pursuing diplomacy regarding our nuclear program, but this aggression was imposed on us. We are defending ourselves and this defense is completely legitimate,” he said. “Therefore, if the aggression stops, our reactions will naturally stop as well,” he said.

Also in his remarks, Araghchi highlighted Iran-US indirect nuclear talks and Israel’s disruption of the diplomatic process.

“It is absolutely clear that the Israeli regime does not want any agreement on the nuclear issue… The aggression against Iran amid nuclear talks demonstrates that the Israeli regime is opposed to any form of negotiation,” he pointed out.

The US government should condemn Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites if Washington wants to prove its goodwill and distance itself from the conflict, he concluded.

June 15, 2025 Posted by | Wars for Israel | , , , | Leave a comment

UK moving jets to Middle East for ‘contingency support in the region’

Al Mayadeen | June 14, 2025

The United Kingdom is sending additional fighter jets and support aircraft to the Middle East as part of what Prime Minister Keir Starmer described as “contingency support” for the region, following Israel’s deadly strikes on Iran.

Speaking en route to the G7 summit in Canada, Starmer reiterated calls for de-escalation but stopped short of ruling out military support for “Israel”. Asked whether British forces could be involved in defending “Israel” against Iranian retaliation, he said, “I will always make the right decisions for the UK,” adding, “We are moving assets to the region, including jets, and that is for contingency support in the region.”

Downing Street confirmed the move includes additional fast jets and refueling aircraft joining existing UK deployments. Preparations reportedly began Friday, just hours after Israeli forces launched a wave of airstrikes targeting senior Iranian military leaders and nuclear facilities.

Pressed further on the UK’s potential involvement in countering Iranian missiles or drones, Starmer declined to offer specifics, “These are obviously operational decisions and the situation is ongoing and developing, and therefore I’m not going to get into the precise details. But we are moving assets… and that is for contingency support across the region.”

No word on prior knowledge of Israeli strikes

The UK government has not confirmed whether it had prior knowledge of the Israeli operation, although Starmer indicated coordination was taking place: “I’m not going to go into what information we had at the time or since… there’s a constant flow of information between our allies, and between us and the US.”

The prime minister also revealed that he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump, and other world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

“I suspect that when we get to the G7 there will be many other exchanges of views on an intense basis,” Starmer said. “We do have longstanding concerns about the nuclear programme that Iran has, and we do recognise Israel’s right to self-defence. But I am absolutely clear that this needs to de-escalate. There’s a huge risk to escalation for the region and more widely in terms of conflict. We have seen the impact already on the economy and oil prices.”

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary David Lammy also spoke with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, echoing Starmer’s message for restraint, “We’re having ongoing discussions with our allies all of the time,” Starmer said, “Our constant message is de-escalate.”

Diplomatic Collapse

The Iranian Foreign Ministry declared further nuclear negotiations with the US “pointless” under these conditions, asserting that “Israel’s hostile measures against Iran were the result of Washington’s direct support for the regime.”

Oman has since confirmed the cancellation of the Muscat talks, reflecting the collapse of diplomacy under Western duplicity.

As Iran reaffirms its legitimate right to self-defense under international law, the UK’s actions suggest not neutrality but strategic complicity.

The Islamic Republic continues to urge the international community to abandon double standards and take a principled stance against “Israel’s” lawless aggression.

June 15, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Wars for Israel | , , , , | Leave a comment

« Previous Entries     Next Entries »