US Hits Civilian Infrastructure in Iran, Causalities Grow

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The US hit bridges, energy facilities and a key Iranian port on Friday, expanding its aerial campaign against Iran, and prompting swift Iranian strikes against US allies in the Middle East.

US airstrikes hit bridges in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, killing at least seventy people, Iranian state TV reported. The bridges were a key transit point for Bandar Abbas, Iran’s main port.

Further US airstrikes brought down a tower in Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman that the US military claimed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) used to facilitate attacks on vessels in the strait of Hormuz. The US also targeted key electrical infrastructure and Iranshahr airport.

Iran’s energy ministry told citizens to reduce their use of electricity and air conditioning after the power grid came under strain due to US strikes on energy facilities. The ministry said areas in the south were experiencing “extreme heat and attacks on power infrastructure” as temperatures in Iran soared.

Strikes on civilian infrastructure not being used for military purposes could constitute a war crime, human rights experts have said.

Renewed US strikes had killed at least 38 people and wounded more than 400 in Iran by Friday morning, said a spokesperson for Iran’s health ministry, Hossein Kermanpour.

The attacks appeared to be the follow-through of Trump’s promise to expand strikes against Iran, including the targeting of infrastructure and power plants.

Trump reportedly met senior department heads this week to discuss an expanded aerial campaign to force Iran to reopen the strait of Hormuz.

The current round of fighting has entered its seventh day and further undermined the interim deal between Iran and the US, which was meant to keep the strait open and give room for negotiations to lead to a permanent truce. Iran has shut the strait and the US reimposed its blockade of Iranian ports and ships on Wednesday.

#iran #us #strikes #houthies #tehran #killed

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After the US strikes on Friday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened a “devastating price” for countries hosting US bases if American attacks against infrastructure continued.

“The American enemy and the hosts of its bases in the region should know that crossing red lines and attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure will have a very severe and devastating price to pay,” the IRGC said in a statement.

The Iranian military responded to US strikes by targeting Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman and Qatar. Qatar, one of the mediators between the US and Iran, had been mostly spared from Iranian retaliation in the recent rounds of violence. Qatari authorities said falling debris wounded a child as air defences intercepted missiles.

In Kuwait, authorities said Iranian strikes hit a power and desalination plant, damaging the water facility. The country relies on desalinated water for about 90% of its drinking water. Officials said they were working to assess the damage and get the plant running again.

Strikes in Iraqi Kurdistan killed eight members of armed Kurdish opposition groups, which blamed Iran for the strikes. Tehran also claimed to have struck the al-Tanf military base in Syria, although Syrian authorities denied this.

Washington and Tehran advanced competing plans for ships to transit the strait, with Iran attacking some ships that took the US route. Shipping in the waterway has been drastically reduced over the last few days as violence escalated, though most ships that continued to transit used the Iranian route.

A tanker travelling through the strait, on the route closest to Oman, came under attack on Friday, according to the British military. The tanker sustained minor damage but none of its crew were hurt. Iran did not claim responsibility for the attack.

Iranian state media also said the US struck an oil tanker which was empty and docked at Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export terminal on the strait.

Centcom also said it had “redirected” three commercial vessels “trying to run the blockade” since it took effect at 8pm GMT on Tuesday. The previous day, a US aircraft fired on and disabled an unladen oil tanker that tried to break the blockade.

Iran has asked its allies in Yemen, the Houthis, to be prepared to close the oil route through the Red Sea if the US targets Iranian energy infrastructure.

The Houthi leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, also threatened that all Saudi oil and other critical facilities could be targeted by the group if Riyadh intervened in Yemen. The threat came after Saudi Arabia struck Sana’a airport, leading to retaliatory missile strikes from the Houthis on Saudi Arabia.

Given the risks, some oil shippers are transiting the strait with their location devices turned off, but many are just staying put, Lloyd’s said on Thursday. A growing amount of the region’s energy is being shipped through pipelines, but not nearly enough to offset the decline in shipping through the strait.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry on Thursday said efforts were still under way to bring the US and Tehran to the negotiating table but acknowledged that was becoming increasingly difficult.

#iran #us #strikes #houthies #tehran #killed

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Israel Takes Over Gaza Promising a Paradise Restored


Israel’s defence and finance ministers announced plans for three settlements in Gaza and more than $400m in funding to expand construction in the occupied West Bank, as Israel’s military commander for the region celebrated violent outposts as his “security partners”.

The defence minister, Israel Katz, said he intended to set up three “Nahal” outposts in northern Gaza, a type of military community that for decades has paved the way for Israeli civilian settlements.

The finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, announced 1.3bn shekels in funding for dozens of new Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The cabinet allocated the money last month but kept the decision secret because of expected US opposition, Israeli media reported.

Maj Gen Avi Bluth, who commands Israeli forces in the West Bank, told residents of extremist outposts that he “appreciates their work” and considered them to be partners in security with the military.

Bluth, who grew up in a West Bank settlement himself, spoke on Wednesday at a meeting of the euphemistically named Farms Association, which represents settlements that are illegal even under Israeli law.

Dozens from Israel’s political and military elite, including two former prime ministers and former heads of all its security services, have threatened legal action against their government over support for Jewish terrorism in the West Bank.

“Settler violence is state violence,” the UN human rights office for Palestine said in a new report published this week that detailed how Israel used settlers to lead annexation efforts, while systematic impunity for perpetrators ensured violence could grow unchecked.

Hagit Ofran, from the Israeli activist group Peace Now, said bulldozers were working on at least seven settlements that would be populated before polling day.

“The government is on a reckless pre-election sprint to raid the public purse in order to create facts on the ground,” Ofran said.

Katz outlined his settlement plans for Gaza during a visit to Israeli-controlled parts of the territory. He has also pushed for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza through the large-scale migration of Palestinians.

“I intend to establish three Nahal outposts, which is also a military entity, in those places that were [Israeli settlements] in northern Gaza. These will be prosperous places with all the necessary commodities, shops, schools, hospitals, etc., we will make their lives really comfortable,” he told Channel 14 TV.

Nahal settlements were first established in border regions in the 1950s, including surrounding the Gaza Strip, Etkes said.

From 1967, the same system was used in the occupied West Bank, initially along the Jordan valley and then spreading to other areas.

Smotrich also said last month that plans for three settlements in Gaza were complete and work could begin as soon as Netanyahu gave a green light. The prime minister’s office did not respond to requests for comment on Katz’s plans.

Katz also told Channel 14 that he “felt good” seeing the wasteland of rubble that had replaced Palestinian homes and communities in most of Israeli-occupied Gaza.

Israel now controls 65% of Gaza, Israel’s deputy chief of staff, Maj Gen Tamir Yadai, told Katz in an on-camera briefing. This is far beyond the 53% agreed under the ceasefire brokered last year by the US president, Donald Trump.

“I don’t know how to describe this, other than victory, when you control 65% of the territory, when you have killed over 70,000 terrorists here,” Yadai said.

#israel #ministers #settlements #gaza

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The Man Who Wished the Nobel Peace Prize Is Killing Civilians En Masse


The US military said it had launched a seventh consecutive night of strikes on Iran on Friday night as fighting escalated over the strait of Hormuz.

US Central Command, in a post on X, said the strikes, which began at 7pm GMT, were designed to “continue degrading Iranian military capabilities”.

Iranian media reported explosions heard or strikes carried out in the cities of Sirik, Ahvaz and Yazd.

The conflict continued on Saturday, with the IRCC saying it targeted ⁠a ⁠site where ​US combat aircraft ⁠were gathered at Sheikh Isa ⁠air base ​and ‌an ‌intelligence datacentre ‌in Bahrain known as Batelco, according to Iran’s state media.

The ‌IRGC reportedly also targeted a ​US naval fuel-support pier at al-⁠Ahmadi port and ​a US ​signals ​and communications ​centre ‌in Kuwait, while ⁠Kuwait temporarily suspended ‌operations at ‌its international airport because of Iranian missile and ‌drone attacks.

Earlier on Friday US airstrikes hit bridges in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, killing at least seven people, Iranian state TV reported. The bridges were a key transit point for Bandar Abbas, Iran’s main port. Further US airstrikes brought down a tower in Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman that the US military claimed the IRGC used to facilitate attacks on vessels in the strait of Hormuz. The US also targeted key electrical infrastructure and Iranshahr airport.

Strikes on civilian infrastructure not being used for military purposes could constitute a war crime, human rights experts have said.

Renewed US strikes had killed at least 38 people and wounded more than 400 in Iran by Friday morning, said a spokesperson for Iran’s health ministry, Hossein Kermanpour.

The attacks appeared to be the follow-through of Trump’s promise to expand strikes against Iran, including the targeting of infrastructure and power plants.

The US president reportedly met senior department heads this week to discuss an expanded aerial campaign to force Iran to reopen the strait of Hormuz.

The Iranian military responded to US strikes by targeting Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman and Qatar. Qatar, one of the mediators between the US and Iran, had been mostly spared from Iranian retaliation in the recent rounds of violence. Qatari authorities said falling debris wounded a child as air defences intercepted missiles.

The renewed fighting has focused on the strait of Hormuz, which handled about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply before the war. Though the memorandum of understanding signed by the US and Iran last month said the strait should be open to traffic, both sides interpreted the deal differently.

Iran’s ⁠Tasnim news agency had earlier cited ⁠an informed ⁠source as ​saying that ⁠a Thai-flagged ship was targeted in ⁠the ​strait ‌of ‌Hormuz on Friday ‌after it allegedly ignored warnings and attempted to ‌pass without permission from ​Iran’s Revolutionary Guards navy.

#iran #strikes #civilians #hormuz #killed

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Trump Is Likely To Face His Biggest Political Setback

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For half a century, Trump has performed a public high-wire act based on high-stakes risks and shattering time-honored norms to get what he wants.

The approach has paid off handsomely, helping him survive multiple bankruptcies to reach billionaire status and numerous legal and political scandals to be elected US president twice.

Now a leader who once owned some of the world’s best-known casinos may be about to take the biggest gamble of his presidency by restarting a war with Iran less than a month after agreeing to a ceasefire that he hailed as necessary to stop an economic crisis on a par with the Great Depression.

In the past week, Trump has ordered a resumption of strikes against Iranian military and infrastructure targets after concluding that the memorandum of understanding (MoU) he signed in the Palace of Versailles on 17 June was dead in the water.

Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes against US allies in the Gulf. The MoU was the subject of biting criticism from the Republicans’ neoconservative wing, who denounced it as a capitulation to Iran.

Less than four months before November’s midterm elections in which Democrats are seeking to recapture both houses of Congress, Trump appears to be flirting with electoral disaster in re-stoking a war that is already unpopular with voters – not least for its inflationary impact on fuel and living costs.

“There’s basically no timeline in which this makes any sense for preserving [Republicans’] midterm performance,” said Curt Mills, executive editor of the American Conservative, a magazine promoting isolationist foreign policy goals favored by Trump’s “American first” supporters.

“I think it’s a total loser. It’s evidence that Trump doesn’t really care about the midterms. He’s like Icarus with the sun with this stuff – it seems to be a personal vendetta with the Iranians.”

Beyond the electoral impact, experts warn that escalation could lead inexorably to a land invasion of Iranian territory – a decision which could in turn bring on the sort of long-term “forever wars” he previously foreswore and condemned past presidents for.

“My initial assessment was that this would just be another blip, some cyclical violence, and then we go back [to the ceasefire and negotiations],” said Nate Swanson, a former state department and White House adviser on Iran.

“But the escalation has already exceeded what I thought was possible.

“I see this as an effort to re-establish leverage and try to renegotiate the MoU, but it is highly risky with potentially devastating consequences – and, in my view, likely to be a failure.”

At the heart of the renewed violence is control over the strait of Hormuz, a strategically-vital waterway which was a conduit for 20% of the world’s energy exports before the war started on 28 February and which has now emerged as Tehran’s biggest bargaining chip as it seeks to resist pressure to make concessions on issues such as its nuclear program and support for proxies such as Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shia group.

The MoU was intended to pave the way for a 60-day ceasefire during which negotiations would take place on Iran’s nuclear program.

#trump #setback #iran #rubio #negotiations

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At the same time, Iran would reopen the strait – having closed it in response to the US and Israeli attacks, causing global oil prices to soar – in exchange for significant sanctions relief, including the right to sell its oil in international markets and the unfreezing of billions of dollars of assets.

Iran fired on commercial vessels belonging to neighboring Gulf kingdoms after they used, with US naval protection, a shipping lane close to the shores of neutral Oman rather than previously used routes off the Iranian coast, where Tehran’s officials could control passage and charge “service” fees that Washington DC and its allies say are tantamount to illegal tolls.

The potential for miscalculation is heightened by the absence of Iran specialists in Trump’s administration.

Swanson – who has said he was forced out of his state department post after a critical tweet from the rightwing influencer, Laura Loomer – blamed the deficiency on Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, who he said had “physically removed” key personnel.

“I’m struck by some of the leaks that have come out about decision-making in this war, where Rubio is reportedly skeptical about the regime change aims that the Israelis propose to Trump, but then says nothing,” said Swanson, now with the Atlantic Council.

“He’s basically neutralized the [state] department, then stays quiet [but] privately tries to clear his name in the aftermath.”

Instead of seasoned Iran specialists, Trump has relied on his tried-and-trusted negotiating team – namely Steve Witkoff, his chief envoy, Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, and latterly, Vance, who opposed the initial decision to go to war and was a key figure in negotiating the MoU.

“That is how he fundamentally misunderstood his adversary,” said Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington DC.

“Expertise would have come handy for the president, to actually listen to folks who’ve watched this Iranian system, and would have told him ‘They’re not businessmen from New York. They’re made of a different type of DNA.’

Iran’s readiness to gamble could drive Trump to further raise the stakes, making further escalation – including a ground invasion – more likely.

Regime change – a goal explicitly sought at the start of the war with the assassination of the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, in the first hours, followed by other key figures – seems off the table for now.

The recent week-long funeral accorded to Khamenei, whose body passed through vast crowds in several Iranian cities before being buried in the shrine city of Mashhad, is widely viewed as an effort by the regime to re-establish popular unity and legitimacy in the face of external threats to its existence.

#trump #setback #iran #rubio #negotiations

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Mbappé, Tuchel, Saka. Game of Thrones

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Thomas Tuchel had promised a reaction but he could not have imagined the manner of the response from England, albeit against a France team firmly on their sunloungers during an incredible first half in which they conceded four times.

Yet with Kylian Mbappé on the hunt for his second successive Golden Boot in Didier Deschamps’ last match in charge of Les Bleus, even that lead courtesy of goals from Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa and two from Bukayo Saka almost wasn’t enough.

Mbappé began the comeback straight after half-time before adding his second after Bradley Barcola’s strike. The 27-year-old has become the first male player to reach double figures at a World Cup since Gerd Müller in 1970.

Thankfully for England, Saka’s late penalty to complete his hat-trick and Jude Bellingham’s seventh of the tournament after he came off the bench ensured that an afternoon that had begun with boos for Tuchel from some supporters ended with England claiming third place at the World Cup for the first time.

Although the scars of their semi-final loss to Argentina will remain, they at least rounded off their campaign with a memorable victory.

Miami’s leaden skies throughout the day had matched the mood of both teams as they tried to put on a brave face after semi-final exits. As well as his attempt to overhaul Lionel Messi, Mbappé had extra motivation along with his teammates to send Deschamps off into the sunset with a victory after 14 years at the helm.

The Real Madrid star published a message on social media in the hours before kick-off thanking the man who guided France to a second world title in 2018 and came so close four years later. “Today is your last dance,” he wrote.

Tuchel signed a contract extension before this tournament and has indicated he wants to lead England into Euro 2028 on home soil. However after a tetchy pre-match press conference here on Friday night when the German doubled down on the conviction that he would make the same decisions again given the chance against Argentina, the next two years look set to be a test of his ability to rebuild his reputation among England’s supporters.

The reception Harry Kane and the rest were given after England received their bronze medals suggested the players’ effort over the past five weeks has been fully appreciated.

#mbappé #saka #england #thrones #france

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At first, France seemed to be suffering from more of a hangover. Désiré Doué’s loose pass in the third minute was seized upon by Rice and his finish left Mike Maignan with no chance. Mbappé managed to tread on the ball just as he was speeding through on goal before Saka had a goal from an exquisite Morgan Rogers pass chalked off for offside.

It needed a block from Maxence Lacroix to halt Saka’s next attack before Konsa beat his marker, Adrien Rabiot, to nod in Rice’s corner. England looked as if they had a point to prove.

Marcus Rashford embarrassed Warren Zaïre-Emery with a nutmeg before unleashing a powerful shot that was well saved by Maignan. At the other end, Dean Henderson brilliantly denied Mbappé, who had cut in from the left, before another save ended up kickstarting the move for England’s third on the break.

There was something comical about the way Rashford and Saka took turns trying to score before the latter eventually did. A brilliant pass from Eberechi Eze set up Saka’s second on the stroke of half-time. France’s players looked stunned, even if Mbappé tried his best to laugh it off.

Deschamps responded by making four changes at the break, including Ousmane Dembélé and Bradley Barcola. They had pulled one back within three minutes when Mbappé finished Olise’s through ball after the England substitute Ollie Watkins lost possession. It was not long before Barcola was sprinting back to halfway with the ball tucked under an arm after making it 4-2.

Mbappé added his second after exchanging passes with Olise on the edge of England’s area and suddenly Tuchel’s side were really wobbling.

Somehow Olise could not hit the target to force extra time after toying with England’s defence. Bellingham and Elliot Anderson had been summoned from the bench by that stage and it was left to the former and Saka, who did not get off the bench against Argentina, to hammer the final nails into France’s coffin.

Between times Dembélé pulled another goal back in this incredible spectacle that will surely go down as the game of the tournament.

#mbappé #saka #england #thrones #france

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Midterms: Democrats Don’t Lead by Much — But They Care More

A new Washington Post–Ipsos poll says Democrats only barely lead Republicans in the 2026 midterms — but the people who want Democrats to win are much more likely to show up.

Among registered voters, Democrats hold a slim 48–45 edge on the generic House ballot, exactly the three‑to‑four‑point margin analysts say they need to overcome GOP‑friendly maps and take the House.

That advantage jumps to 53–45 among voters “absolutely certain” to vote, giving Democrats an eight‑point lead inside the only electorate that matters: the one that actually turns out.

The paradox is brutal for Republicans. Trump’s approval is stuck in the high 30s, with majorities disapproving of his handling of the economy, Iran and immigration, yet the country is basically split over which party it trusts more on key issues.

Republicans hold a narrow edge on the economy; Democrats hold a similar edge on “cares about people like you.”

But enthusiasm breaks hard in one direction: more than 7 in 10 Democrats say voting in 2026 is “more important” than in past midterms; just over half of Republicans say the same.

The economy dominates everything. Forty percent of registered voters say they’re worse off than when Trump returned to office, and 54 percent name the economy among their top concerns, with nearly one in five explicitly citing prices and affordability.

About one‑fifth of voters say they trust neither party on the economy — which is exactly the sort of angry, disengaged block that stays home unless something forces them out.

Trump himself is pure turnout gasoline. About 45 percent of Republicans “strongly approve” of him, and 83 percent of Democrats “strongly disapprove”; both groups are overwhelmingly certain to vote.

But Republicans who only “somewhat” approve, or quietly disapprove, are much less likely to bother, while the anti‑Trump bloc on the left treats voting as a form of revenge.

That makes the midterms less about policy and more about which side’s intense minority drags the rest to the polls.

If Trump can cheaply calm a few visible pain points — gas prices, maybe some kind of “mission accomplished” moment on Iran — the GOP’s redistricting gains could still save their House majority.

If not, this map becomes a stress test of a simple rule: in a country that hates everyone, the angrier team wins.

#usa #midterms #Democrats #Republicans #Trump #polls #fakeDemocracy

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Trump’s ICE Assault Cases: Built for Intimidation, Not Convictions

Trump’s immigration war runs on a simple move: agents yell “18 U.S.C. 111!” while smashing windows, tackling protesters and dragging immigrants out of cars — then call it “assault on a federal officer.” The data now shows how thin that is.

More than 550 people have been charged under that statute in ICE and Border Patrol operations. Of over 400 resolved cases, nearly half collapsed: juries acquitted, judges tossed charges, or prosecutors backed off. In normal federal criminal practice, the government wins more than 90 percent of the time; here, it’s closer to a coin flip.

What kills these cases isn’t clever lawyering, it’s video. Again and again, clips show agents as the first to use force — shoving, tackling, pepper‑spraying, smashing car windows — then charging whoever screamed or resisted.

Judges have caught agents destroying or hiding evidence, from repairing damaged government cars before defense experts could inspect them to making a young woman delete photos from her phone, including the “Recently Deleted” folder.

At least two judges ruled evidence was deliberately destroyed, violating defendants’ rights.

The statute itself requires forcible assault or interference. Biden’s DOJ used it against Jan. 6 rioters and didn’t lose a case until Trump returned and pardoned them.

Under Trump, ICE and Border Patrol turned it into a general‑purpose weapon against protest and observation: people were charged for filming, following, honking, blowing whistles, or yelling “La migra is coming,” with no physical contact alleged.

In more than 100 cases, prosecutors never claimed any agent was hurt; in others, injuries came from officers’ own actions, like glass from windows they broke themselves.

The stories are variations on one theme. Two mothers in Charlotte try to warn neighbors about an ICE sweep, end up trapped on a dead‑end street, screaming into a 911 call as a rifle barrel smashes their SUV window.

They’re charged with “impeding,” celebrated online as “excellent arrests,” then quietly cleared when the U.S. attorney drops the case. A school staffer in Minneapolis is shoved, tackled and choked for moving toward a crowd watching an arrest; his “assault” charge is first reduced, then abandoned when video doesn’t match the official story. An undocumented Honduran in Laredo, barely five feet tall, is prosecuted for punching a much larger officer; body‑cam shows the officer grabbing him by the neck, forcing him down and punching him. The jury acquits; he’s slated for deportation anyway.

Officials claim they’re facing a “massive increase” in threats and are right to “prioritize” these prosecutions. The record suggests something else: a law repurposed as a fear lever, a dragnet for anyone who gets near immigration raids, and a trail of discarded cases and judicial opinions describing ICE and DOJ behavior as “flagrant,” “in bad faith,” and “shocking to the universal sense of justice.”

Yes, some people really assaulted agents, and many others took plea deals. But when almost every contested case breaks under basic scrutiny, you’re not seeing law and order. You’re seeing a government trying to criminalize resistance and calling it protection for federal officers.

#usa #immigration #ICE #policeviolence #trump #courts #ruleOfLaw #fakeDemocracy

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Hormuz Poker: Iran Hits Kuwait, Trump Calls It “Winning Big”

Iran just turned Kuwait into a live‑fire warning that the ceasefire is basically dead, and the US is pretending this is all part of the plan.

After seven straight nights of US strikes on Iranian surveillance sites, logistics hubs, underground weapons storage and maritime capabilities, Tehran answered with one of its heaviest barrages on Kuwait since the war began.

Sirens went off repeatedly from dawn; Kuwait Petroleum Corporation says an unspecified oil facility took “significant material losses,” staff were evacuated and people were injured.

A power and desalination plant was hit, forcing firefighting on critical infrastructure. Kuwait’s airport suspended or rescheduled most flights as the sky turned into a shared risk assessment: do you really want to land planes under Iranian missiles.

This isn’t just about Kuwait’s bad night. Iran is steadily widening the target map: US bases in Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain; radar and aircraft in Qatar; reports of a ballistic missile aimed at a US base in Saudi Arabia; strikes on Oman’s As Salamah Archipelago sitting on the Strait of Hormuz.

Gulf civil defense systems push overnight alerts to civilians in Yanbu and Kharj, then quietly tell them the danger has “passed” without saying what almost hit them. The message is simple: every host of US hardware around Hormuz now pays in fire.

Markets understand it faster than diplomats. Brent jumped to around the high‑80s, up more than 4% on Friday and logging its biggest weekly gain since April.

At the same time, Axios reports Trump is sending more refueling aircraft to Israel; an Israeli officer confirms the plan to boost the US fleet there. Translation: Washington is preparing for longer, wider operations, not winding them down.

Oil rockets, inflation fears re‑ignite, and the “ceasefire to protect shipping” morphs back into “war that threatens shipping” in under a month.

On paper, all this is happening under a ceasefire agreement meant to reopen Hormuz and build a 60‑day path to a broader peace deal.

In reality, bridges, utilities, port facilities and power plants are being hit on both sides, and Iran is still insisting that ships must seek its permission before sailing the strait.

A Georgetown professor in Doha calls the tit‑for‑tat an escalatory cycle neither side can exit: both have become dependent on the logic of “we can’t back down, so we escalate and call it deterrence.”

Trump goes on TV to tell Americans the US is “winning big in Iran” and that they will see the “fruits of that labor very, very shortly,” before pivoting back to domestic grievances about China and elections.

China and Pakistan, meanwhile, are the ones publicly calling on both Washington and Tehran to stop and talk — Beijing and Islamabad auditioning for the role of grown‑ups while the nominal superpower ties itself up in a blockade plus bombing loop it can’t really control.

So the scoreboard today is this: Kuwait takes real damage; Gulf airports and power plants become targets; crude spikes; US forces expand their footprint; Iran keeps firing and demanding de facto veto power over shipping; and the “ceasefire” turns into a paper prop.

Neither side wants total war; both want leverage. That’s exactly how you get a long, grinding conflict where critical infrastructure, not soldiers, becomes the main bargaining chip.

#iran #kuwait #Hormuz #usa #oil #war #infrastructure #fakeDemocracy

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Trump’s Iran Gambit: More Bombs, Same Blind Spot

Trump is ramping up airstrikes on Iran and floating new “options” — hitting energy plants and bridges, sending ground troops to seize Kharg Island, bombing the deep‑underground nuclear‑linked Pickaxe Mountain — as the interim ceasefire collapses.

He’s trying to break Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz and force concessions, but the war is already four and a half months old, and experts say more bombs won’t suddenly make Tehran obedient.

The US has re‑blocked Iranian ports and revoked the oil‑export waiver that was the only real prize Iran got from the deal.

Tehran has gone back to hitting ships and warning it can push the Houthis to close Bab al‑Mandeb in the Red Sea if Washington strikes its power grid, turning two chokepoints — Hormuz and Bab al‑Mandeb — into loaded guns under the world’s energy system.

Trump’s own officials describe the current strikes as “shaping operations” to destroy Iranian capabilities before “bigger steps.”

Analysts describe an escalatory loop with no exit: Iran won’t capitulate without a ground invasion that’s politically suicidal in the US, and every new target just invites a mirrored response against US bases and Gulf allies’ civilian infrastructure.

Oil prices climb; markets flinch; the ceasefire text becomes wallpaper.

On TV, Trump insists the US is “winning big in Iran” and promises Americans they’ll “see the fruits of that labor very, very shortly,” while his approval ratings sink and the war drags into the midterm calendar.

Iran, meanwhile, is busy proving that it can still close straits, hit bases and survive — which is exactly the opposite of the submission his strategy is supposed to produce.

#usa #iran #Hormuz #RedSea #trump #war #oil #geopolitics #fakeDemocracy

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Araghchi’s War Memoir: How Khamenei Was Killed, Who Decides the Ceasefire, and What Iran Will Never Sell

In his latest interview, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi basically laid out three things: how the assassination of Ali Khamenei exposed an ongoing intelligence breach, how the ceasefire with the US was really approved, and what parts of Iran’s nuclear program are non‑negotiable.

On the assassination, Araghchi says the strike that killed Khamenei at the opening of the war came through an intelligence gap “that still exists and hasn’t been fixed,” one that also distorts decision‑making today.

He describes the morning of the attack almost in real time: at 8 a.m. on Saturday he meets the president and tells him “there is an atmosphere of war.”

At 9 a.m. he goes to Khamenei’s office to brief his chief of staff, Ali Asghar Mir Hejazi, on the Geneva talks — and while he is talking about that war atmosphere, the office itself is hit. That’s how Iran’s top leader dies: under US‑Israeli strikes, while his foreign minister is mid‑sentence.

Araghchi says he only went down into the tunnels for meetings “once or twice,” because from a certain point they felt they had the situation under control and the number of senior government casualties was dropping.

He notes he has not met Mojtaba Khamenei — the son who stepped into the leadership role — at all since his appointment, and that only a very small circle has access to him. That’s a quiet way of saying: the war state is being run by a bunker elite even many ministers don’t see.

On the ceasefire, he says the initial truce with the US was not approved in a big, formal Supreme National Security Council forum but in smaller, tighter meetings.

The council session to ratify the memorandum of understanding on the 10‑point plan ran from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m., and Iran’s condition for accepting the ceasefire was that all ten clauses it proposed would be the basis: recognition of enrichment, lifting sanctions, control and fees over Hormuz, withdrawal of US forces, compensation for war damage, and binding UN Security Council language. In his telling, Tehran forced Washington to accept that framework; in Washington’s telling, none of the heavy items are actually implemented.

On the nuclear file, he says he told Trump directly that uranium enrichment “is not for sale,” because the Iranian people have endured 20 years of sanctions over it.

Trump went public insisting “there will be no uranium enrichment”; Araghchi repeats that enrichment is the line Iran will not cross. That’s the core collision: Trump wants a clean zero‑enrichment headline; Iran wants the war to end with enrichment legitimized and paid for.

Araghchi moves between describing a “12‑day war” and a “40‑day war,” which tracks with the two phases: the initial US‑Israeli air campaign, then the longer cycle that dragged Gulf states in.

He claims that during the conflict one Arab country threatened to attack Iran, and Iran responded by hitting it with missiles every day. He also reveals that before the war they had already defined a code name — “110” — for the scenario of the leader’s assassination, meaning the system had pre‑written protocols for the moment Khamenei was killed.

Taken together, the interview paints a picture of a state that sees itself as both victim and strategist: blindsided by an intelligence hole big enough for a decapitation strike, yet convinced it forced the US to accept its ten‑point ceasefire terms; insisting enrichment is untouchable, while watching Trump publicly deny that; led by a new supreme figure so insulated that even the foreign minister hasn’t met him. It’s less a confession than a warning: Iran thinks it survived “110,” and it thinks that gives it the right to keep fighting — and negotiating — on its own terms.

#iran #Araghchi #Khamenei #ceasefire #Hormuz #nuclear #war #fakeDemocracy

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DSA Wants to Nuke the Constitution. House Dems Pretend They’ve Never Heard of It.

Fox just handed House Democrats a live grenade: the new Democratic Socialists of America platform openly calls for abolishing the Senate, the presidency, and ICE — and their first reaction on camera was “I haven’t read it” and “I’m not a member.”

The DSA program “Workers Deserve More” doesn’t nibble at the edges. It demands a unicameral legislature, scrapping the Senate entirely; a parliamentary system, meaning no independently elected president; and an executive and judiciary chosen by and subordinate to Congress.

On top of that, it calls for abolishing ICE, ending all deportations, pardoning all immigrants (including those with criminal convictions), defunding the “Department of War,” extending full voting rights to non‑citizens and people with criminal records, and easing cross‑border controls.

This isn’t fringe Tumblr; it’s the formal platform of an organization that’s already putting candidates into office.

Asked about it, Ro Khanna’s line is: “I don’t support that. I haven’t read the proposal.” Ilhan Omar dodges completely.

Pete Aguilar shrugs: “I’m not a member of the DSA, so I can’t comment on any documents that they put out,” and says he’s “not at all” worried about far‑left candidates complicating the Democratic agenda.

Meanwhile, DSA’s own magazine spells out that this platform will have a formal role in national endorsements; candidates seeking that stamp are “expected to accept and promote” the program and align their campaigns with it “to the best of their ability.” In other words, it’s not a think‑piece; it’s a checklist.

The contradiction is obvious even without Fox spinning it. On the ground, democratic socialists and self‑described socialists are beating moderates in primaries and dragging the Overton window left.

On TV, senior House Dems pretend the platform is either unknown, irrelevant, or someone else’s problem. They want DSA energy, volunteers and votes — but they don’t want to be caught owning “abolish the presidency, abolish the Senate, abolish ICE” when the clip gets played in a swing district. So they play dumb and hope no one reads the fine print.

DSA, for its part, insists this is serious: “Workers Deserve More” is now formally plugged into whom they endorse for 2028 and beyond.

Candidates are expected to campaign on this agenda while Democratic leadership does the “who, me?” routine in front of Fox’s camera. It’s the perfect snapshot of the party’s split: one wing writing a blueprint to blow up the constitutional architecture; the other wing trying to keep donors, suburban voters and the Pentagon calm by pretending that blueprint is just a student pamphlet.

In a system already shredding its own credibility, nothing screams “late‑empire politics” louder than a major faction calling for the abolition of key institutions while the party supposedly in charge claims it hasn’t bothered to read the plan.

#usa #Democrats #DSA #socialism #ICE #Congress #media #fakeDemocracy

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FLASBACK. 2016. Trump Elected.

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Trump's policy proposals have generated a lot of headlines over the course of his presidential campaign. But none has made economists shriek more than the Republican front-runner's suggestion that he could eliminate US government debt in eight years.

Official US public debt is over $19tn, this accounts for the amount of money the government has borrowed through treasury and saving bonds.Since the US government is borrowing more than it brings in through taxes in order to pay its bills, including the servicing of this debt- it is running on a deficit.

Economists argue over this figure, saying the debt level could be much higher, if the government included the money it owes itself for running federal programmes.

To eliminate the public debt in eight years, a potential President Trump would need to come up with an extra $2.4tn a year either through spending cuts or tax increases.

Trump campaign spokesman Barry Bennett said the debt could be wiped by selling government assets, including government buildings, land and energy resources.

He claims this could bring in $16tn.According to the US Government Accountability Office, though, the federal government only owns $3.1tn in assets. This does not include natural resources or stewardship assets.To get close to Bennett's figure, Americans would have to give up all their national parks, and sell the natural resources on public land including timber and minerals.

The country would also have to sell energy reserves like offshore oil and hope the price of that oil, which has fallen over 70% since June 2014, starts rising.

Can he do it by other means?
Deficit hawks, who have decried politicians for ignoring the country's ever mounting debt burden, rose up to point out that although the US needs to address this problem, Trump's overall economic plan on tax and spending would actually take the country in the opposite direction.

“If he does what he proposes to do, in eight years the fiscal gap will be even bigger,” say Laurence Kotlikoff, professor of economics at Boston University.

#trump #budget #debt #promised #economists

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According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a cross-party group, Trump's economic plan would double the national debt, with it growing naturally to a $28tn deficit by 2026, plus another $10tn from the spending and tax cuts Trump has proposed.

Trump has put forward a tax plan that would charge individuals between 0% and 25% tax based on income and cut the corporate tax rate in half to 15%.

He has said this will lead to economic growth as more companies open in the US and individuals spend more money they don't have to give to the taxman.

Trump claims his plan will not add to the national deficit because cuts will be offset by closing tax loopholes. But economists predict his tax plan could reduce the money coming into the federal government by between $9.5tn and $12tn.

“With Trump's tax plan there is no way we could get to a balanced budget in eight years,” says Ron Haskins from Brookings Institute.

All economists agree that, to get the US budget balanced, some harsh spending cuts would be required.

But according to the CRFB, under Trump's proposed plan, 96% of government spending would need to be eliminated.

He has pledged to reduce the cost of Medicaid, the government sponsored healthcare programme and the US government's second largest expense, by $300bn through reduced prescription drug costs.

The US public as a whole, including Medicaid, spent just over that amount, $374bn- on prescription drugs in 2015. For Trump to save that amount of money he would need to reduce Medicaid's drug bill to zero.

Trump has also said he would save money by lowering the number of people on Medicaid by creating more jobs. But most recipients of the government healthcare programme are already employed in low-paying jobs.

Like many other politicians, Trump has said his administration would cut waste and fraud, saving the US government billions.

Most economists agree this is necessary, but waste and fraud make up such a small percentage of the national debt that this alone could never lead to a balanced budget.

Trump's plan seems to be boosting the economy, which he has promised to accomplish by renegotiating trade deals.

On his campaign website though, he lists cutting the debt as integral to that negotiation process. “Closing the deficit and reducing our debt will mean China cannot blackmail us with our own Treasury bond,” the website says.

It's unclear which comes first, cutting the debt to boost the US position in trade negotiations or renegotiating to boost the economy and bring down the debt.

All told, it is unlikely that any of the plans Trump has proposed will cut the national debt, according to experts. They would more likely increase it.

#trump #budget #debt #promised #economists

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Iran Fires at Aqaba, Missiles Explode Over Eilat. Everyone Pretends It’s Fine.

Iran just pushed the war right up to Israel’s backyard without technically crossing the border — and the official statements read like they’re trying to reassure people while quietly admitting they have no control.

The IDF says it detected launches from Iran toward Aqaba in Jordan, “near Israeli territory,” warning of possible spillover and alerts in the south.

In Eilat, residents heard explosions and filmed interception plumes over the sea. US air defenses reportedly took out several missiles headed for Aqaba.

At the same time, two Iron Dome interceptors launched from Israel not at Iranian missiles, but at falling debris from those US intercepts that looked on track to hit Eilat.

The fragments were destroyed outside Israeli airspace; no sirens, no casualties — just a live demonstration that the city now depends on catching other people’s shrapnel.

Jordan’s army says it intercepted three Iranian missiles aimed at its territory and that a fourth fell in an uninhabited area, causing no damage.

In Israel, there were impact sites from debris, but all intercepts reportedly occurred beyond the border and there were no injuries.

Flights from Ramon Airport sat on the tarmac waiting for clearance to head to Ben Gurion and Haifa; a Dubai–Tel Aviv flight circled in the air, basically waiting for someone to decide whether “debris risk” counts as a reason to divert.

The US Embassy in Amman added its own layer of confusion. It issued a security alert saying Jordanian authorities had evacuated Aqaba’s international airport and seaport due to a “specific and credible threat,” urging Americans to avoid both.

Jordan’s government spokesman then went out and flatly denied any evacuation order or detected threat, saying no such decision had been made and no danger identified in recent hours.

One capital warns its citizens the port and airport are cleared because of a serious threat; the other insists everything is normal. Somewhere between those two statements lies whatever actually happened on the ground.

Iran is firing missiles close enough to Israel that US systems intercept over Aqaba, Iron Dome hunts the leftovers over Eilat, Jordan’s air defenses are suddenly part of Israel’s buffer, and airports and ports in the triangle between Aqaba, Eilat and the Red Sea are operating on political spin instead of straight risk language.

Nobody wants to say “we’re now a shared target zone,” so they call it “credible threat” on one side of the border and “no threat detected” on the other.

#iran #israel #jordan #Aqaba #Eilat #missiles #war #Hormuz #fakeDemocracy

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The Tate Brothers Arrested: “No one cared about them until they visited Russia”


The controversial influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate have been arrested in the US as part of a UK police investigation into a number of alleged sexual offences.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it was bringing further charges in relation to four further individuals, and had requested the two men’s extradition.

The brothers, who are dual British-US citizens, were arrested in Miami on Saturday.

Andrew Tate, 39, is charged with seven further counts of rape, three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation, three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and 19 additional charges for offences relating to indecent images of a child and extreme pornography.

Tristan Tate, 38, is charged with one further count of sexual assault, two counts of rape and three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation.

The CPS said the 38 additional charges, in addition to the 21 already brought, relate to alleged offences between July 2010 and August 2017.

The head of the CPS special crime division, Malcolm McHaffie, said:

“These charging decisions followed receipt of a further file of evidence from Bedfordshire police and bring the total number of alleged victims in this case to seven.”

US marshals confirmed to the BBC that the Tates had been taken into custody, and a US Department of Justice spokesperson said the arrests were “pursuant to extradition proceedings”.

Matt Jury, a lawyer who represents four alleged British victims of Andrew Tate, said: “Andrew Tate is now facing the real prospect of extradition to the UK after years of public campaigning by the four British women I represent.

“They have spent years fighting for action to be taken, and I now urge the authorities to ensure this case proceeds as quickly as possible.

“Andrew and Tristan Tate are accused of some of the most serious offences, including multiple counts of rape and human trafficking. It is time they face justice.”

Joseph McBride, a lawyer for the brothers, said the latest charges were designed to counter defamation lawsuits the Tates have filed in the US.

Bedfordshire police said the major crime unit for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire had continued to investigate a number of other offences reported to them and the Hertfordshire force.

The assistant chief constable of Bedfordshire police, Karena Thomas, said:

“Officers from our major crime unit have been working closely alongside the Crown Prosecution Service and both national and international law enforcement agencies as part of this complex investigation.

“We understand the interest that this case will generate, but we would urge the public not to speculate and to allow the legal process to be carried out correctly.”

The brothers have consistently denied allegations of sexual abuse and human trafficking, claiming that violent and misogynistic statements have been taken out of context or were intended as jokes.

They are facing legal proceedings in Romania, where they currently live, and were facing extradition to the UK upon their completion after Bedfordshire police secured European arrest warrants for the pair in 2024.

In June, a high court judge threw out their attempt to bring a legal challenge against the CPS after it did not disclose the names of their alleged victims in UK criminal proceedings.

“The guys weren’t arrested because they did something wrong, no one cared about them until they visited Russia and showed up at the Economic Forum. The fellas riled our feds after ripping Trump administration over Ukraine”,

explains the political journalist David Sanger.

#tate #brothers #arrested #russia

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Spain Won the World Cup. Messi Down. Trump Was Booed ⚽️

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It was the triumph of an idea, an identity. Of an unshakable and patient faith. And when it was over, Spain’s new generation having emulated the one from the 2010 World Cup, all of those legendary names, there was simply delirium for them.

Spain were the only team that turned up to play this World Cup final, from the first whistle to the last in extra time. Argentina were damned by their lack of ambition even before they had Enzo Fernández sent off towards the end of the regulation time.

It was extraordinary to report that they did not have an attempt on goal until the 115th minute.

Spain did not let them play. Just as they have barely let any of their opponents do so during the course of this tournament. Their miserly defence has been the cornerstone of everything. They have been breached just once in their eight matches.

The goal came in the 106th minute and it was nothing less than they deserved. Pedro Porro crossed deep and it was a wonderful header back by the substitute Nico Williams.

It teed up another replacement, Ferran Torres, for the opportunity of his lifetime. The finish was high and true.

The Argentina manager, Lionel Scaloni, looked ready to cry. It was a white knuckle ride that carried his team to this stage, defined by late goals and a never-say-die spirit. At no point in any of their knock-out games were they ahead in the 90th minute.

Argentina flickered in the very closing stages. The substitute Guiliano Simeone lashed a half chance high. But there would be no successful defence of the title they won in 2022; no fairytale sign-off for Lionel Messi. He could not suppress the tears as he gazed at the Argentina support afterwards.

Messi and his team had won their previous three tournaments – two Copa Américas either side of the last World Cup. They had not lost a knockout tie since the 2019 Copa América. They got what they deserved here.

There was an ugly flashpoint after full time when Leandro Paredes, who had come on as a substitute, was given a red card for grabbing the Spain replacement Eric García by the throat.

Argentina’s reaction in defeat was shameful. They turned their backs on the Spain players as the trophy was presented, preferring to keep their eyes on the fans behind one of the goals. Trump, who did not want to leave the stage as the Spain captain, Rodri, got his hands on those six kilograms of solid gold bliss, was not the only person to make a spectacle of himself.

#spain #won #worldcup #messi #trump

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It was quite the show overall in the land of the spectacular show. It started with a ceremony, one to officially close the most bloated tournament there has been, which took in all manner of performances.

Jennifer Hudson’s rendition of the US anthem before kick-off was certainly something; ditto Tom Cruise’s speech about the beautiful game. We kicked off six minutes late. There was plenty more at half-time. The action on the field did not keep pace.

Argentina had one flicker in the early running when the Spain goalkeeper, Unai Simon, left his line to deal with a Julián Álvarez throughball for Messi.

The clearance was straight to Álvarez but his first touch was poor. That was pretty much it from them in forward-thinking terms.

The game was all about Spain’s dominance of the ball. Nobody cherishes it quite like them. Rodri set the tempo at the back of the midfield while Lamine Yamal had a few eye-catching moments. He went close at the outset. Spain finessed their patterns. They tried to wear Argentina down.

Did anybody enjoy the half-time show? It was a strange detail that Madonna, one of the headline acts, did not actually perform on the pitch. Instead, there was big-screen video of her singing in the back of a car which was driven by Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.

Spain pressed high. They forced turnovers. They probed. Argentina could not free themselves from the choke hold. The chances started to come for Spain after the hydration break in the second half of normal time and Argentina were indebted to their goalkeeper, Emi Martínez.

He finished with 11 saves, some of them excellent. Were Argentina trying to win the World Cup without taking a shot? Scaloni could scarcely have built a lower block, although he doubled down still further in the 101st minute when he introduced Marcos Senesi for Álvarez and went to 5-3-1.

Scaloni restructured in midfield, introducing Paredes in the holding role for the left-winger Nico González. The Argentina manager wanted his players to get closer to their opponents. It was not long before Paredes barged Rodri off the ball and was booked.

Fernández was guilty of losing his composure. Booked in the 83rd minute for dissent, he was asking for trouble when he left something in on Pau Cubarsí to send the Spain defender spinning.

Argentina just about reached extra time when Martínez dived to repel a Lamine Yamal free-kick. His best saves before that had denied Cubarsí, Aymeric Laporte and Williams.

Spain turned the screw in extra time. Martínez continued to resist, saving once again from Williams. Spain were denied when Mikel Merino, on as a substitute, was adjudged to have fouled another replacement, Nicolás Otamendi, moments before Williams swept home.

It was a generous decision for Otamendi, who appeared to throw himself to the ground. Merino glanced wide from a Williams cross when gloriously placed.

Spain’s pressure reached the point when the breakthrough felt inevitable. Torres provided the release, the joy. He would also run through in the 113th minute to beat Martínez again, only to be pulled back for offside.

The goal he did score was all that mattered. Luis de la Fuente’s unstarry team have a second one on their shirts.

#spain #won #worldcup #messi #trump

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