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‘This war is Israel’s war’: World facing ‘security breakdown’, says Qalibaf

Press TV – April 4, 2026

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf says the ongoing aggression is “Israel’s war,” adding that its security repercussions and resulting losses have extended beyond the region and affected the wider world.

“This war is Israel’s war, and the resulting security breakdown and losses have affected the world,” Qalibaf said in an interview with Al Jazeera Arabic.

He added that Iran has prepared for this confrontation and proven its ability to defend itself.

“Iran was forced to target US bases and interests in the region to preserve its presence,” he said, warning that any further escalation against Iran “will be met with a decisive and broad response” directed at US interests.

According to Qalibaf, maintaining stability in the region serves the interests of all regional states, and Iran considers sustainable security a priority.

He added that countries in the region are capable of safeguarding their interests through bilateral and multilateral security arrangements “without foreign interference.”

Qalibaf further said that the key sources of regional instability must be addressed, emphasizing that security should be established “without the involvement of the United States and Israel.”

The US and Israeli regimes launched their military aggression against Iran in late February by attacking 30 targets across Tehran, assassinating Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and several senior Iranian officials.

Since then, Iranian armed forces have retaliated strongly by launching barrages of missiles and drones at Israeli occupied territories as well as US bases across the region.

April 4, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Wars for Israel | , , , , | Comments Off on ‘This war is Israel’s war’: World facing ‘security breakdown’, says Qalibaf

IRGC decries attack on US embassy in Riyadh, says executed by ‘Israel’

The US Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (File photo by AFP)
Al Mayadeen | April 4, 2026

The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps’ (IRGC) has rejected accusations that it was responsible for an attack on the US Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, emphasizing instead that it was a false flag operation carried out by the Israeli entity.

In Statement No. 54 of Operation True Promise 4, the IRGC’s Public Relations Department condemned the attack on the embassy, which was reported by The Wall Street Journal, stressing that, recalling the Israeli occupation’s regional strategies, “this action was certainly carried out by Zionists.”

The IRGC confirmed that the Iranian Armed Forces’ target list has been clearly identified, adding that Iran had already informed neighboring countries of the necessary warnings to “prevent further escalation.”

The IRGC also warned that West Asia “must remain vigilant against provocations from the American–Zionist current,” which aims to destabilize and destroy the region.

A series of false flags

Iran has repeatedly stressed that its operations target US-Israeli military assets and affiliated infrastructure in the region and across the occupied territories in Palestine, quickly pointing out false flags and highlighting ongoing enemy attacks that seek to disturb regional harmony.

It has also delineated target lists for its tit-for-tat retaliations for attacks on its civilian infrastructure, including US assets in the region. The US embassy in Riyadh was not among them.

Only yesterday, the IRGC condemned the targeting of water desalination plants in Kuwait, asserting that the Israeli entity “is behind this cowardly act of aggression aimed at sowing discord.” On Monday, a Kuwaiti power and desalination plant was also struck, killing an Indian worker and causing significant material damage.

Kuwaiti authorities were quick to attribute the attack to Iran, but Tehran squarely denied involvement and blamed “Israel,” with the spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters describing the incident as “evidence of the enemy’s depravity and malice,” saying it forms part of broader efforts to inflame tensions and undermine regional stability.

Similarly, following a fire at Saudi Aramco’s Ras Tanura refinery in early March, an Iranian military source told Tasnim News Agency that the attack was “an Israeli false flag operation” aimed at distracting regional countries from “Israel’s” strikes on civilian sites inside Iran, stressing that “Aramco facilities have not been among the targets of Iranian attacks so far.”

April 4, 2026 Posted by | Deception, False Flag Terrorism | , , , , | Comments Off on IRGC decries attack on US embassy in Riyadh, says executed by ‘Israel’

Iran blasts EU hypocrisy as EU invokes international law over Hormuz

Al Mayadeen | April 4, 2026

The Iranian Embassy to the United Kingdom has vehemently censured the latest remarks by the Chief of European diplomacy Kaja Kallas, sharply criticizing the double standards of Western countries regarding the unprovoked US-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic.

The diplomatic mission in a post on X wrote: “‘International law’? That’s rich. What does it say about US & Israeli regimes military aggression against sovereign states and assassinating their leaders? About the Minab school attack that killed 170 students?”

“Or attacks on civilian infrastructure, pharma factories, desalination plants?” the post added.

Taking a swipe at the EU’s top diplomat, the embassy said it is ridiculous that “international law” only seems to matter when it fits “your narrative.”

“You never hold aggressors accountable, only the victims,” the Iranian embassy added.

Kallas invokes law over Hormuz

On Thursday, Kallas thanked British Secretary of Foreign Affairs Yvette Cooper for convening a call of more than 40 countries on the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

“This waterway is a global public good. Iran cannot be allowed to charge countries a bounty to let ships pass. International law doesn’t recognize pay-to-pass schemes,” she asserted in a post on X.

She further claimed that the EU’s Aspides naval mission has already assisted 1,700 ships in the Red Sea and must be scaled up. “We cannot afford to lose another critical trade route,” Kallas commented.

UK double standards

Weeks ago, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi had warned the United Kingdom that permitting the United States to use British military bases amounts to “participation in aggression.”

In a phone call with Yvette Cooper, Araghchi criticized Britain’s “negative and biased approach” toward ongoing US-Israeli military actions against Iran. He also condemned London’s decision to grant the US access to key military installations for operations targeting Iranian missile sites.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had authorized the use of RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and the Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean for what British officials framed as “defensive” strikes against Iranian positions.

In a statement posted in Farsi on Telegram, Araghchi said he had conveyed to Cooper that such actions “will definitely be considered as participation in aggression and will be recorded in the history of relations between the two countries,” adding that Iran “reserves its inherent right to defend the country’s sovereignty and independence.”

April 4, 2026 Posted by | Progressive Hypocrite, War Crimes, Wars for Israel | , , , | Comments Off on Iran blasts EU hypocrisy as EU invokes international law over Hormuz

Poll finds world views China better than US

Xinhua | April 4, 2026

A poll conducted by Gallup found that China surpassed the United States in global approval ratings in 2025, with a median of 36 percent approving of China’s leadership, compared with 31 percent for the United States.

Gallup’s report published Friday said China’s five-percentage-point advantage over the United States is the widest it has recorded in China’s favor in nearly 20 years.

The recent shift reflects a decline in US ratings alongside an increase for China. Median approval of US leadership fell from 39 percent in 2024 to 31 percent in 2025, returning to earlier lows, while China’s approval rose from 32 percent to 36 percent, according to the report.

The latest results are based on Gallup surveys conducted in 2025 in more than 130 countries, with around 1,000 respondents in each country. They do not account for recent U.S. foreign policy moves since the beginning of 2026, including its attack on Iran and its withdrawal from 66 international organizations.

Approval of US leadership has declined across many US allied nations, including many NATO partners, and sunk the most in Germany by 39 percentage points.

April 4, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Militarism, War Crimes | , , | Comments Off on Poll finds world views China better than US

One Of America’s Leading Neo-Cons Has Turned Against The Iran War And Israel

The Dissident | April 3, 2026

There are few American Neo-conservatives more influential than Robert Kagan.

In 1997, Kagan co-founded the Project for a New American Century (PNAC), the Neo-con think tank responsible for staffing the Bush administration with hawks such as Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and Paul Wolfowitz, and played a large role in the Iraq War in 2003.

In 2010, Kagan founded a new think tank, the Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI) which was instrumental in pushing for a new Cold War with Russia.

Kagan’s wife, Victoria Nuland was instrumental in the proxy war in Ukraine, playing a leading role in the maidan coup of 2014 ,as Assistant Secretary of State for the Obama administration, and again played a leading role in the proxy war in Ukraine as the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs for the Biden administration, including in blocking the peace deal in Istanbul in April of 2022 and in the bombing of the Nord Stream pipeline.

However, Kagan has begun to change his tune since Trump launched a war on Iran for Israel, sounding more like a John Mearsheimer realist than the leading champion of American regime change that he has always been.

Kagan is still an American imperialist, but the Iran war has forced him to admit that the war is actually doing more to destroy the American empire and its ability to wage a new Cold War on Russia and China, and that Israel is a strategic liability- even for the U.S. empire.

In a recent podcast with his fellow neo-con, Bill Kristol, Kagan lamented that because of the war on Iran:

-the skyrocketing oil prices … are even before Trump took the action of lifting sanctions against Russia was going to increase Russian income

-American forces are … burning through major stocks of weaponry and particularly Patriot and other forms of interceptors on which Ukraine depends heavily because those are the interceptors that defend their major cities from constant Russian attacks

-very few countries in the world are more dependent on Middle East oil, including the oil that comes directly through the Strait of Hormuz, than Japan. Japan I think, depends on something like 95% of its oil supplies come from the Middle East and 70% of that runs through the Strait of Hormuz. So once again the Japanese were not consulted

-the Japanese will notice that the United States has sent significant forces that are dedicated both to the defense of Japan and are sort of critical to any response to a Chinese attack on Taiwan. Those forces are now being sent or some of them are already there, and some are being sent to the Middle Eas

-the bottom line for the Gulf States is that the United States undertook this war and then was not able actually to protect them

-I don’t think it’s hard to persuade certain Gulf states like the UAE and others that maybe China is also a pretty good partner or at least as much of a reliable partner as the United States has turned out to be

In other words, Kagan is lamenting that because of the Iran war, the U.S. is losing allies and losing its ability to wage a new Cold War on Russia and China, as well as its ability to use the Gulf States and proxies.

This is why Kagan was forced to admit that Israel is now a strategic liability-even for the U.S. empire- saying, “I find it a little bit it’s kind of a syllogism when people talk about what a great ally Israel is. It it is a great ally in defense of Israel, at the end of the day, Iran is a much greater threat to Israel than it is to the United States.”

Kagan doubled down on this in a recent article for the Atlantic, essentially saying that the war in Iran will be the death of the American empire, writing that it is “driving deeper wedges between the United States and former friends and allies; strengthening the hands of the expansionist great powers, Russia and China; accelerating global political and economic chaos; and leaving the United States weaker and more isolated than at any time since the 1930s.”

Kagan again reiterated that:

-Even before Donald Trump lifted oil sanctions on Russia, oil prices were skyrocketing—and filling Vladimir Putin’s war chest with billions of dollars, just as Russia’s wartime deficits were starting to cause significant pain

-the Persian Gulf states are burning through U.S.-provided stocks of air-defense interceptors, drawing on the same limited supply that Ukraine depends on to defend its largest cities from Russian missile strikes.

-Japan gets 95 percent of its oil from the Middle East, and 70 percent of that passes through the now-blocked Strait of Hormuz. Yet Japanese and other Asian diplomats in the first weeks of the war complained that they were ‘not receiving any communication from the Trump administration.’

-the United States has dispatched an aircraft-carrier battle group and other warships from the Western Pacific to the Persian Gulf, including elements of the Tripoli amphibious ready group, that would be needed for an American response to Chinese aggression, including an attack on Taiwan.

-Gulf state leaders are ‘privately furious’ with the U.S. for ‘triggering a war that put them in the crosshairs.’

Because of this, Kagan is forced to make some shocking admissions, including that supporting Israel is not in America’s interests, that no Middle East state poses a threat to America, and that “terrorism” is often just a backlash to U.S. foreign policy.

Kagan wrote that supporting Israel, “never had anything to do with American national-security interests” adding:

American officials from the beginning regarded support for Israel as contrary to U.S. interests. George C. Marshall opposed recognition in 1948, and Dean Acheson said that by recognizing Israel, the United States had succeeded Britain as ‘the most disliked power in the Middle East.’ During the Cold War, even supporters of Israel acknowledged that as a simple matter of ‘power politics,’ the United States had ‘every reason for wishing that Israel had never come into existence.’ But as Harry Truman put it, the decision to support the state of Israel was made ‘not in the light of oil, but in the light of justice.’

“One would be hard-pressed to find any nation in the world that has been reassured by the Israeli and American war against Iran, other than Israel itself,” Kagan added.

As if this wasn’t shocking enough, Kagan even admitted that Iranian anger at America stems from the U.S. backing the 1953 coup against Mohammad Mosaddegh and supporting the brutal Shah dictatorship until 1979, writing:

Even the threat of terrorism from the region was a consequence of American involvement, not the reason for it. Had the United States not been deeply and consistently involved in the Muslim world since the 1940s, Islamic militants would have little interest in attacking an indifferent nation 5,000 miles and two oceans away. Contrary to much mythology, they have hated us not so much because of ‘who we are’ but because of where we are. In Iran’s case, the United States was deeply involved in its politics from the 1950s until the 1979 revolution, including as the main supporter of the brutal regime of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The surest way of avoiding Islamist terrorist attacks would have been to get out.

Kagan added, “No state in the Middle East (including Iraq in 2003 and Iran today) ever posed a direct threat to the security of the American homeland. Iran has no missiles that can reach the United States and, according to American intelligence, would not until 2035. Access to Middle Eastern oil and gas has never been essential to the security of the American homeland. Today, the United States is less dependent on Middle Eastern energy than in the past, which Trump has pointed out numerous times since the Strait of Hormuz was closed.”

Kagan has no doubt done major damage to U.S. foreign policy, and his role in the Iraq war and proxy war in Ukraine should not be discounted, but nonetheless, it is notable that even he acknowledges that the Iran war is crippling the U.S. empire, and being forced to admit that his critics were more or less correct about U.S. policy in the Middle East.

April 4, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Timeless or most popular, Wars for Israel | , , , , | Comments Off on One Of America’s Leading Neo-Cons Has Turned Against The Iran War And Israel

BREAKING: US JET SHOT DOWN OVER IRAN /Lt Col Daniel Davis & Nima Alkhorshid

Daniel Davis / Deep Dive – April 3, 2026

Prof. Ted Postol: Iran Already Achieved NUCLEAR DETERRENCE Against Israel

Dialogue Works | April 3, 2026

April 4, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Militarism, Video, Wars for Israel | , , , , | Comments Off on BREAKING: US JET SHOT DOWN OVER IRAN /Lt Col Daniel Davis & Nima Alkhorshid

Brazilian Congressman seeks to bar Israeli military personnel from entering Brazil

By Eman Abusidu | MEMO | April 3, 2026

A Bahia state lawmaker has formally urged President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to bar Israeli military personnel from entering Brazil, following a series of controversial incidents involving Israeli tourists in Bahia. The measure argues that individuals who took part in military operations in Gaza and Lebanon could be held accountable for acts described in the document as genocide.

The proposal, submitted by state representative Hilton Coelho of the Socialism and Liberty Party (Psol), calls on the federal government to adopt measures preventing individuals linked to alleged human rights violations from using Brazil as a tourist destination or refuge. The document characterises such acts as potential genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

Coelho grounds the request in Brazil’s Federal Constitution, which prioritises human rights, peace, and the rejection of violence in international relations, as well as the Migration Law (No. 13.445/2017), which permits authorities to deny entry to foreigners suspected of serious violations.

The proposal outlines operational measures, including monitoring arrivals through the Federal Police to identify individuals who participated in military operations, immediate denial of entry where applicable, and international coordination to restrict cross-border movement of those under suspicion.

The initiative comes amid increasing controversy in Bahia, particularly in coastal destinations such as Itacaré and Morro de São Paulo, which have become popular among Israeli tourists, many of whom travel after completing mandatory military service. Local businesses have adapted to this demand, offering Hebrew-language services and tailored hospitality, making the segment economically relevant.

However, tensions have escalated. On 14th March, three Israelis were arrested during a protest in Itacaré against the presence of Israeli tourists. Footage from the scene showed clashes between demonstrators and police intervention. Authorities reported simultaneous opposing demonstrations, reflecting a divide within the local population.

Residents have also reported incidents involving alleged racism, aggression, and public disturbances attributed to some visitors. In parallel, there have been legal complaints filed in Brazil against Israeli individuals over alleged actions during the war in Gaza, with reports indicating that some left the country before investigations could advance.

Congressman Coelho argues that allowing entry to individuals linked to such allegations risks normalising human rights violations and contradicts Brazil’s foreign policy principles.

He is calling for coordinated action by the Ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs to enforce stricter entry controls.

The proposal will undergo review within Bahia’s Legislative Assembly before being forwarded to the federal government. The administration of President Lula has not yet issued an official response.

Critics of the proposal contend that the measure could be viewed as discriminatory and may create legal and diplomatic challenges for Brazil.

Simultaneously, several lawmakers and members of the Brazilian parliament, particularly from left-wing parties, have withdrawn their signatures from a bill seeking to define “antisemitism” in Brazil, in a significant political reversal that came only days after the proposal was introduced.

The withdrawals followed Palestinian criticism and warnings that the bill could be used to curb criticism of Israeli occupation policies.

According to documents, Bill No. 1424/2026 was submitted to the Brazilian Congress on 26th March 2026, by lawmaker Tabata Amaral and others under the title: “Definition of Antisemitism for the Purpose of Guiding National Public Policies.”

The bill defines antisemitism as “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward them.” It also states that manifestations of antisemitism “may target the State of Israel as a collectivity representative of the Jewish people,” while adding that “criticism of Israel similar to that directed against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.”

The proposal further links antisemitism to the crime of racism under Brazilian law and recommends using a list of examples issued by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, or IHRA, as guidance in interpreting the concept.

But the bill, which initially appeared to enjoy support from lawmakers across different party lines, quickly faced pushback inside Congress.

According to procedural texts, the withdrawal requests used direct language, including: “Requests the withdrawal of the signature from Bill No. 1424/2026, which defines antisemitism for the purpose of guiding national public policies.” One request stated: “I request the removal of my signature from Bill 1424/2026.”

The deputy Heloiza Helena said her name had been included among the signatories without her authorisation, describing the move as unacceptable. She also pointed to the sensitivity of the issue for Palestinians amid what she described as daily attacks, including the killing of children and the destruction of hospitals and schools.

While the deputy Ana Paula Lima said she removed her signature after a deeper assessment of the proposal, in order to avoid any possible restrictions on what she called “legitimate political debate.”

April 3, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Full Spectrum Dominance, War Crimes | , , , , | Comments Off on Brazilian Congressman seeks to bar Israeli military personnel from entering Brazil

Official reveals evidence of Arab states’ involvement in US-Israeli war on Iran

Press TV – April 3, 2026

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has revealed hard evidence on the involvement of some Persian Gulf Arab states in the unprovoked US-Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic.

In a post on social media platform X on Friday, Baghaei published photos of a drone, which was shot down in southern Iran on Thursday, noting that only two regional states possess this drone, without naming them.

“This drone was downed by our brave armed forces over the beloved city of Hafiz and Saadi, Shiraz,” he said, referring to the two prominent Persian poets.

“It could be another (hard) evidence of direct participation and active complicity of some states of the region in US-Israel crime of aggression and war crimes against Iran,” Baghaei said.

The spokesman demanded “clarification” by “either of the TWO STATES of the region that are the users of this drone!”

The downed drone initially appeared to be an American MQ-9. However, military experts say it is actually a Wing Loong-2 drone, which is operated by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Last month, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran’s neighboring countries should “promptly” clarify their position regarding their role in the “slaughter” of Iranian civilians by the Israeli regime and the United States.

In a post on his X account in mid-March, Araghchi said hundreds of Iranian civilians, including children, have been killed in Israel-US bombings.

“Reports claim that some neighboring states that host US forces and permit attacks on Iran are also actively encouraging this slaughter,” the top Iranian diplomat stated.

He said positions should be promptly clarified on the mass killing of Iranian civilians.

The US and Israel started the latest round of unlawful military aggression on Iran on February 28, some eight months after they carried out unprovoked attacks on the country.

The attacks led to the martyrdom of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and hundreds of Iranian civilians, including women and children, as well as several senior military commanders.

Iran has carried out extensive retaliatory attacks on US assets in the region and on locations in the Israeli-occupied territories since the very first day of the US–Israeli aggression.

The Islamic Republic says it respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbors and that its reprisal attacks are directed at US assets and bases on their soil.

It has also warned regional countries not to allow their territory to be used for attacks against Iran.

April 3, 2026 Posted by | Militarism, War Crimes, Wars for Israel | , , , , | Comments Off on Official reveals evidence of Arab states’ involvement in US-Israeli war on Iran

His Majesty’s head-chopper: Syria’s MI6-backed president bows to King Charles

By Kit Klarenberg | The Grayzone | April 3, 2026

When Syria’s “interim” leader Ahmed al-Sharaa touched down in London on March 31, he was given a much warmer welcome than many once thought possible. As the longtime leader of Syria’s Al-Qaeda branch, the US had been offering a $10 million bounty for information on his location just 15 months prior. Yet here was Al-Sharaa, proudly posing for photo ops with King Charles and Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

British intelligence had been working towards this day for almost two decades. The path for al-Sharaa’s rule was cleared by MI6 after years of mentoring under Jonathan Powell, who now serves as National Security Advisor to Starmer. The time had come for Britain to formally anoint its Syrian puppet.

The ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran, and the Strait of Hormuz’s closure, were reportedly at the top of Starmer and al-Sharaa’s agenda. The British premier praised his counterpart’s supposed success in battling ISIS, while al-Sharaa thanked London for its assistance in pushing for sanctions on Syria’s ruined economy to be lifted. The pair have enjoyed warm relations since al-Sharaa’s seizure of power in December 2024, which Starmer publicly celebrated as a golden opportunity for London to “play a more present and consistent role throughout the region.”

Ever since, the British have systematically steered Damascus’ self-appointed government towards recognition and welcome by Western states. In May 2025, as al-Sharaa’s death squads massacred Alawites and other ethnic and religious minorities, US President Donald Trump received his Syrian counterpart in the oval office, where he gifted him a bottle of Trump-branded cologne. The BBC acknowledged this development would have been “unthinkable just months ago.”

Al-Sharaa took the next steps in January 2026, when he signed an unpopular US-brokered accord with Israel, which former Syrian President Bashar Assad had steadfastly refused to endorse for decades.

The impacts of the deal were immediately visible. As Al-Sharaa’s forces swept through Kurdish territory in north east Syria, the Kurds’ erstwhile Israeli backers refused to intervene, and US envoy Tom Barrack publicly declared that the American partnership with the Kurds had “expired.”

Within weeks, al-Sharaa’s forces wrested control of the country’s wheat and oil-producing areas, which had been under US-led occupation for years. Though Syria and Israel have yet to formally normalize relations, al-Sharaa describes relations between the countries as “good.” Today, Syria’s airspace and ground territory is routinely used by Israel and its Western sponsors to wage war on Iran.

Though the rapid transition took many by surprise, the campaign to re-establish Western control over Syria was actually set in motion years ago.

Starmer’s top advisor also groomed al-Sharaa for power

Among the most important vehicles for grooming the former Syrian Al Qaeda warlord known as Mohammed Jolani into the politician, Ahmad Al-Sharaa, was a supposed conflict resolution NGO known as Inter-Mediate. Founded by Jonathan Powell, a former advisor to PM Tony Blair who helped negotiate the Good Friday accords in Northern Ireland, works closely with the British Foreign Office and MI6.

Powell’s Inter Mediate cultivated al-Sharaa’s militant Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) faction for power for years before the December 2025 palace coup, and now boasts a dedicated office within the presidential palace in Damascus.

Coincidentally, Powell took up the post as Starmer’s advisor mere days before HTS declared themselves Syria’s government. As a confidant of Tony Blair, Powell was a key figure in the push for the criminal 2003 Anglo-American Iraq invasion, helping shape bogus intelligence claiming that Baghdad posed a biological and chemical weapons threat to justify the illegal intervention.

Despite his role in the destruction of Iraq, British media has reported that Powell “may have more influence over foreign policy than anyone in government after the Prime Minister himself.” Today, Powell is charged with “coordinating all UK foreign policy, security, defence, Europe, and international economic issues.”

Al-Sharaa was also personally welcomed by Hamish Falconer, an intelligence-aligned Member of Parliament who spent years collaborating with MI6 as the British foreign office’s Terrorism Response Team leader and once served as a hostage negotiator in talks with the Taliban.

Falconer is a close associate of Amil Khan, a British intelligence contractor who worked obsessively to generate sympathetic coverage of HTS while plotting to undermine this outlet due to our critical reporting on Syrian jihadists and their friends in the British government.

Hamish’s father, Charlie Falconer, was a longtime friend and former roommate of former Tony Blair. Following Blair’s May 1997 election victory, Falconer senior was elevated to the unelected House of Lords, then served in a series of high-ranking government posts throughout his pal’s tenure, often coordinating with Jonathan Powell.

While there, the elder Falconer applied “huge pressure” to Attorney General Lord Goldsmith to change his conclusion that invading Iraq was completely illegal. This intervention may have played a decisive role in enabling the illegal war of aggression. Today, it’s been reported that many on Downing Street are “growing increasingly wary about the influence of… smooth Blairites.”

According to one British outlet, top officials in London are purportedly asking, “at what point… does ‘experience’ and ‘guidance’ become ‘control’?” The same question must be asked of MI6’s longstanding links to al-Sharaa.

British intel set up al-Sharaa’s civil apparatus

It is uncertain when British contact with HTS began. But Robert Ford, who served as the US ambassador to Syria from 2011 to 2014, disclosed that in 2023 Inter-Mediate sought his personal assistance in rebranding HTS from “terrorists” into politicians. Ford met repeatedly with al-Sharaa, who reportedly expressed no remorse about the massacres and atrocities he perpetrated in Iraq. Al-Sharaa had served five years in the US military’s notorious Camp Bucca jail for his involvement with Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. He was released in 2011 – just in time for the Syrian dirty war.

In September 2025, former-MI6 chief Richard Moore admitted Britain’s foreign spying agency had been courting HTS long before its seizure of Damascus. “Having forged a relationship with HTS a year or two before they toppled Bashar, we forged a path for the UK Government to return to the country within weeks” of the fall of Assad, Moore boasted.

British psychological warfare operations and ‘aid’ efforts greatly assisted HTS’ consolidation of power in areas of Syria it occupied. As The Grayzone revealed in the immediate aftermath of Assad’s fall, leaked documents show MI6 was well-aware that reports of the group’s split from Al Qaeda were a fantasy.

Nevertheless, British propaganda efforts portrayed dangerous, chaotic HTS-occupied territory as a “moderate” success story, in order to demonstrate “a credible alternative to the [Assad] regime,” per the leaks. Central to these psy-ops were British-created assets including the Free Syrian Police (FSP) and White Helmets.

Framed by Western media as providing vital humanitarian services to local populations, these ostensibly independent agencies enjoyed fawning coverage in mainstream media. In reality, the pair collaborated closely with extremist groups, including HTS, and were complicit in hideous atrocities.

Whether intentional or not, HTS was “significantly less likely to attack opposition entities… receiving support” from the British government, a UK intelligence contractor stated. The work of the White Helmets and FSP greatly enhanced the terrorist group’s credibility as a governance actor and service provider among Syrians. When HTS took power outright in northwest Syria, the FSP became the territory’s formal police force. Since Assad’s ouster, the White Helmets have been tapped by British intelligence assets to run the country’s emergency services.

Despite al-Sharaa’s refusal to repudiate his extremist past, British diplomats initiated a series of meeting with him and other HTS warlords from December 2024 onwards. The public encounters continued even as legacy media outlets acknowledged these summits were completely illegal, as HTS was a proscribed terror group under British law. Starmer did not formally lift this designation initially, but nonetheless led calls for the removal of sanctions on Syria by all Western countries.

In March 2025, the UK terminated the majority of its Syria sanctions, and the rest of the EU followed shortly. With the revocation of US sanctions in July, Syria had effectively been welcomed back into the fold of the so-called international community.

While London’s man in Damascus appears eager to please Starmer and his counterparts in Western capitals, his sectarian politics remain a source of domestic credibility. In January, al-Sharaa’s forces overran northeastern Syria, and freed many ISIS fighters from Kurdish-run prisons, where MI6 had long-managed covert propaganda operations to influence inhabitants. Many freed ISIS brides reportedly refused repatriation to their home countries, “because their husbands are with” al-Sharaa.

April 3, 2026 Posted by | Deception, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Wars for Israel | , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on His Majesty’s head-chopper: Syria’s MI6-backed president bows to King Charles

Forced to backtrack: ‘Israel’ drops Hezbollah disarmament goal

Al Mayadeen | April 3, 2026

The Israeli occupation army has acknowledged that disarming Hezbollah is not among the objectives of the current war, marking a significant reversal from positions held just two weeks prior, and a tacit admission of the limits of its military options in Lebanon.

“Israel’s” Channel 12 first reported the shift, with Israel Hayom military correspondent Lilach Shoval confirming that dismantling Hezbollah’s weapons is “not on the agenda.”

Yedioth Ahronoth described it as a formal change in the army’s direction, especially as the reversal came only two weeks after the army had publicly insisted it would pursue the full dismantling of Hezbollah’s arsenal.

The army now defines its primary objectives against Hezbollah as significantly weakening the group, establishing “a deep defensive line”, and demolishing dozens of homes along the frontline villages, mirroring the “yellow line” model applied in Gaza.

On disarmament, Israeli army officials admitted that “we must be modest on this issue.”

A sharp reversal

The course reversal stands in stark contrast to the maximalist rhetoric that defined the aggression’s opening weeks. Israeli War Minister Israel Katz had vowed to “separate Lebanon from the Iranian arena and strip Hezbollah of its ability to threaten, changing once and for all the situation in Lebanon,” explicitly invoking the Gaza model.

Meanwhile, IOF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir declared the campaign would end with “Hezbollah suffering a devastating blow,” while Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich went further, calling for the Litani River to become the entity’s “new border with the Lebanese state.”

Katz had also announced on March 24 that the IOF would establish a permanent security zone inside Lebanon up to the Litani River. He stated that all homes in border-adjacent villages would be demolished and that the return of displaced Lebanese civilians would be “completely prevented.”

Where officials once spoke of transforming Lebanon’s strategic landscape, the occupation army now concedes that full disarmament would require “a full occupation of Lebanon and the systematic dismantling of military infrastructure in every village,” conditions it realizes are unrealistic.

Notably, Israeli officials maintained that only the IOF, not the Lebanese state or any other party, could disarm Hezbollah, while simultaneously acknowledging that the conditions to do so do not exist.

‘A complex arena’

Earlier in the week, Israeli Channel 11, citing former army and Mossad officials, reported that “the Lebanese arena differs entirely from any other in terms of its complexity and military entanglement.”

Retired Major General and former Mossad chief Danny Yatom said Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon “hold a relative advantage over the Israeli army due to their deep familiarity with the terrain,” adding that “every tree trunk and every small hill can serve as an ambush position.”

He cautioned that even controlling territory up to the Litani River “would not solve the problem of rockets and shells,” and stressed that the real challenge lies in adapting at the tactical level, not merely the strategic one.

Lieutenant Colonel (res.) Oren Leshem, a former senior Israeli Air Force officer, was equally candid, saying there is “no magic solution to the Lebanon issue” and that the army has tried every available approach over the past 18 years, including during the Second Lebanon War, yet the situation “remains complex and highly challenging.”

Channel 14 added that “the problem in Lebanon is that military forces are constantly on the move and exposed, while Hezbollah exploits the terrain to target them.”

April 3, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation | , , , | Comments Off on Forced to backtrack: ‘Israel’ drops Hezbollah disarmament goal

Britain’s Lebanon surveillance network: A digital map for war

By Kit Klarenberg | The Cradle | April 3, 2026

On 7 March, the British government contractor Siren Associates unveiled Monitor Lebanon, a “real-time situational awareness platform” framed as a public safety tool “designed to help individuals and organizations understand and navigate Lebanon’s rapidly evolving security environment.”

The tool sifts vast swaths of “open-source information” from “news agencies, verified social media accounts, Telegram channels, conflict monitoring initiatives, and traffic data systems.”

Presented as a lifeline for journalists, humanitarian workers, businesses, and civilians during Israel’s ongoing war on Lebanon, the platform carries a far more operational intelligence function. Behind the humanitarian branding lies a sophisticated surveillance infrastructure embedded deep within the Lebanese state.

At the core of Monitor Lebanon is a live interactive incident map tracking “reported security events and key operational information.” The data is highly detailed, including information on “affected areas, road conditions, hospital locations, and other indicators that help users understand how developments may affect movement and access.”

A press release announcing the platform’s launch asserts Monitor Lebanon was initially constructed to provide Siren Associates staff with “a clearer view” of local events, before being rolled out for general public use.

“Already, team members displaced by the ongoing hostilities have been using it to check for reported strikes near their homes and to track evacuation orders. But many more people are navigating the same uncertainty, so we want to make this tool available to anyone who may benefit from clearer, real-time information.”

How did a British contractor produce such a detailed, nationwide surveillance platform instantly as the occupation state escalated its assault on Lebanon?

The answer lies in nearly two decades of British-backed penetration.

As The Cradle revealed in September 2021, Siren has received tens of millions of pounds from London to “professionalize” Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces (ISF). Staffed by former British military, intelligence, and policing officials, the company operates in Lebanon’s security sector in plain sight, yet largely beyond scrutiny.

Embedding control through ‘reform’

Siren’s footprint inside Lebanon’s state apparatus is extensive. The company maintains close ties with senior ISF officers, political figures, ministries, and intelligence branches. It has also cultivated future leadership within the ISF through training and recruitment programs.

In May 2019, Siren established Lebanon’s Command and Control Center with British funding. The installation provides the ISF with “state-of-the-art equipment, information and communication technology systems, [and] an analysis and planning room,” purportedly to strengthen the security forces’ intelligence capabilities.

In practice, it embedded a direct channel for British intelligence into Lebanon’s internal security infrastructure.

Such access grants London visibility over investigations, operations, and internal data flows. Over time, this has enabled the systematic accumulation of sensitive information on Lebanese citizens.

The scale of this data collection expanded dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. Siren quietly built COVAX, the digital backbone of the Lebanese government’s COVID19 vaccine rollout. Users could register, schedule appointments, and receive vaccine certificates. Over four million people used the service, logging extraordinary amounts of personal information in the process.

What appeared as public health infrastructure operated as a mass data capture system.

From welfare to surveillance architecture

COVAX became the foundation for broader digital penetration. In 2021, the World Bank allocated $246 million to Lebanon for social assistance. Siren used its existing infrastructure to launch DAEM, whereby citizens could apply for social assistance “in record time.”

Carole Alsharabati, Siren’s longtime research chief, has explained that “the idea [was] to deploy a system that was fully digitized from A to Z, just like we did for the vaccine.”

“The registration, the selection, then the payment, the cash transfer, the verification, the dashboard, etcetera. Everything was digitized. And we used the same framework, the same ecosystem, the same machines, the same security protection, the same data governance approach we used in the vaccine.”

Alsharabati described Lebanon at the time as a “very difficult environment,” with the experience of building DAEM “a wild journey.” After all, the country lacked a unique ID system, digital identification, or any established data governance rules, procedures, or even cybersecurity.

However, “nothing stood in the way of Siren’s determination to tackle these and many other challenges.” Evidently, the British and Lebanese governments were happy with the results. It was just the beginning of Siren’s new role in Beirut, constructing deeply intrusive databases on citizens.

This work has been replicated in multiple fields over the years, culminating in Monitor Lebanon’s recent launch. Much of this activity passed entirely under the public radar. It was not until December 2024 that Siren’s central COVAX role was openly admitted on the company’s official website, for example. That same month, Siren announced it had built a bespoke resource for the ISF, collating “operational data to inform decision making around mission planning, resourcing and management.”

Under the project’s auspices, British intelligence created a network of six separate Command and Control Centers across the country, linked digitally to 22 regional operation rooms. A “digital platform that enables the capture and analysis of crime and operational data” was also developed.

In December 2024, too, Siren disclosed how it had introduced “e-governance tools connecting more than 20 ministries, 1,000 municipalities and 1,500 mukhtars [local governments].” Unmentioned was a major scandal that erupted over this effort upon its rollout two years prior.

According to Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, the platforms produced by Siren were not secure, and permitted the firm to harvest the data of millions of users. Dubbed IMPACT, the resource allowed citizens to access a variety of government services, including applying for welfare payments.

The British embassy in Beirut, which funded the platform to the tune of $3 million, denied any wrongdoing, as did Siren. Nonetheless, local digital rights group SMEX expressed grave concerns over the security of private information stored by IMPACT, which was highly sensitive in nature.

Mapping a society for war

That Siren hoards an enormous amount of invasive information as a result of its work for and with the ISF is underlined by an April 2025 study, funded by Britain’s International Development wing. It probed “irregular maritime migration from Lebanon over the past three years,” placing the phenomenon in the context of Beirut’s “ongoing political, socio-economic, and security crises.”

The research sought to ascertain “who is migrating, why they are choosing to leave by sea, and what risks they face – particularly across gender lines.”

In September 2025, London renewed Siren’s ISF contract, allocating £46.3 million (around $61.3 million) – a significant increase. The timing raises serious questions about how much of that funding went into building Monitor Lebanon ahead of renewed Israeli escalation.

Since Operation Al-Aqsa Flood in October 2023, British activity in West Asia has pointed toward deeper involvement in a wider war effort targeting Iran and its allies.

In November that year, London attempted to secure unrestricted military access to Lebanese territory under the pretext of “emergency missions.” The proposal would have allowed British forces to operate freely, armed and immune from prosecution.

Public backlash forced Beirut to reject the plan. But the infrastructure remained.

Through Siren, Britain has built a digital panopticon spanning Lebanon’s institutions and population. This system provides real-time intelligence with clear military applications.

From Tel Aviv’s perspective, the benefits are obvious. Such data can be used to identify, track, and target members of Hezbollah and their support networks. It can also map civilian environments in ways that facilitate precision strikes.

The parallel to Palantir’s predictive surveillance platforms is clear.

Targeting the Axis of Resistance

Siren’s projects consistently overlap with services provided by Hezbollah. This is not accidental.

For years, British intelligence has worked to undermine the resistance movement’s social base by constructing parallel state structures.

For example, under the terms of a Foreign Office-funded youth radicalization effort, London sought to create an alternative to Beirut’s Hezbollah-run Ministry of Youth and Sport. It was hoped that “young, talented students and graduates” would thus reject the group.

There is little sign of these initiatives having borne fruit. A promptly deleted 23 March Daily Telegraph report documented how Lebanese Christians wholeheartedly embrace Hezbollah, and are determined to resist western-inspired efforts by Beirut’s army to disarm the resistance faction. “How can we as Christians in this area not be with Hezbollah?” a local citizen asked the newspaper perplexedly.

“They protect our churches. They helped us fight ISIS. During COVID, they gave us free care in their hospitals. When there was no electricity, they gave us generators. They even put up a Christmas tree at Christmas. How can we not be with them now?”

Despite the practical impossibility of disarming Hezbollah, it is a fantasy long harbored by western powers, which has gained in ever-mounting urgency since Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza commenced.

A British parliamentary briefing in September 2025 expressed optimism that the election of former Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) commander Joseph Aoun as president would weaken Hezbollah’s military wing.

That same month, US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack openly proposed equipping the LAF “so they can fight their own people.”

He acknowledged that Israel’s aggression since October 2023 had only increased Hezbollah’s popularity, while offering “zero” incentive for disarmament.

Aoun’s presidency has not dismantled Hezbollah. Israeli military escalation continues, with mounting losses on the battlefield and rising civilian casualties across Lebanon.

While its catastrophic military losses accumulate daily, innocent Lebanese civilians are being killed in significant numbers. The line of responsibility for their deaths may lead directly back to London, courtesy of Siren Associates.

April 3, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Full Spectrum Dominance | , , , , | Comments Off on Britain’s Lebanon surveillance network: A digital map for war

Hegseth’s Pentagon Purge Designed to Prevent a Mutiny: Karen Kwiatkowski

Sputnik – 03.04.2026

The secretary of war’s dismissal of Army Chief of Staff General Randy George and two other top generals signals intensifying rot in the Department amid the Iran war, former senior DoD insider-turned whistleblower Karen Kwiatkowski says.

General George represented “experience in Army battlefield operations,” while general David Hodne and major general William Greene Jr had “their pulse on the readiness, and more importantly the attitudes and thinking,” of younger soldiers, Kwiatkowski told Sputnik.

They see the Iran conflict as an “illegal and unneeded war,” driven by politics, ego and a foreign power (Israel), and understand “the real damage inflicted on US forces and installations” in the Middle East over the past month, the retired Air Force Lt. Col. added.

Hegseth’s “poor leadership skills,” disrespect for service members, and “religious invocations for slaughter,” have earned him “several degrees of contempt,” and Kwiatkowski suspects that sentiments of “no confidence and dislike” are “roiling throughout the ranks.”

“The reasons for the purges are Hegseth’s fear of organizational and political dissent of the leadership of the military,” stemming from “endless needless wars compounded by command mistakes” by recent administrations, from Covid vax mandates to the Iran crisis.

If this affects even 10-20% of the military, that’s a serious problem and the Pentagon will no longer have a fighting force it can rely on, no matter how many “yes men generals” are tapped to replace those who have been ousted, Kwiatkowski fears.

“Hegseth and the generals recognize there is no trust up or down the chain of command. Hegseth believes he can command that trust through sycophants; the generals very likely prefer a more structural approach of more and better training, and better civilian leadership… which is impossible at this time,” she summed up.

April 3, 2026 Posted by | Wars for Israel | , | Comments Off on Hegseth’s Pentagon Purge Designed to Prevent a Mutiny: Karen Kwiatkowski

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