MILLIONS MORE COME OUT FOR KHAMENEI FUNERAL IN QOM
Huge crowds, estimated at 3-4 million people, filled the streets leading to the Jamkaran mosque in the holy city of Qom, today, to participate in the funeral procession and prayer service for the late leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. According to Iranian social media postings, the mosque was already packed […]
MILLIONS IN IRAQ MOURN KHAMENEI
The funeral procession for the late Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei continued in Najaf and Karbala (Iraq) yesterday with an outpouring similar to what was seen in Tehran and Qom in Iran. Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces announced that 2.3 million people participated in the procession in Najaf alone, before it moved on […]
TRUMP RESUMES STRIKES ON IRAN
The U.S. ceasefire with Iran is “over,” President Donald Trump told reporters on the sidelines of the Ankara NATO summit, and threatened major new attacks against Iran as early as last night. World oil prices immediately rose by more than 5%, and stock markets worldwide plummeted on the news. Trump’s comments came after three days […]
MILLIONS, FROM MANY NATIONS, ATTEND IRANIAN LEADER KHAMENEI’S FUNERAL
Estimates for how many people have turned out for Ali Khameni’s funeral run to 9-10 million people, so far. The doors to the Musalla had to be closed this morning because the prayer hall was full to capacity. People who could not get in were asked to pray on the streets outside. Trump, in an […]
POLITICAL CHANNELS OPEN BETWEEN US, IRAN
Tehran and Washington are talking via political channels, not military ones, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said, yesterday. “Communication channels have been established not between the militaries but between the two countries’ political agencies.” “That’s the Foreign Ministry from our side and a relevant body from the US side,” he told a news conference, reported […]
LEBANON ARMY CHIEF IN PAKISTAN
Lebanese army chief Rodolphe Haykal left Lebanon for Pakistan on Saturday where he will meet Field Marshal Asim Munir, the Lebanese military said, with a source telling AFP the visit is linked to broader Iran-US talks. In a statement, the army said Haykal, “left Lebanon for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, at the invitation of […]
TALK OF US NUKES MOVING EAST, CLOSER TO RUSSIA
According to a report in the Financial Times yesterday, the U.S. is in discussion with a number of European members of NATO about the possibilities of deploying U.S. nuclear weapons on their territory, though it says that a decision is a long way off. The talks “are highly confidential and may not lead to any […]
UKRAINE DENIES ATTACK ON RUSSIAN NUCLEAR PLANT
Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev reported on the 30th of May that a Ukrainian combat drone hit the turbine hall of Zaporozhye NPP Unit 6 on Saturday afternoon. “This afternoon, a Ukrainian combat drone hit the turbine hall of power unit 6, causing a subsequent detonation. The explosion did not damage the main equipment, but […]
PUTIN ON THE DRONE CRASH IN ROMANIA
During his press conference in Astana, Kazakhstan yesterday, after the Eurasian Economic Union meetings, Russian President Vladimir Putin was asked by a reporter about the drone that crashed in Galati, Romania, the night before. The reporter named Ursula von der Leyen as among those who labeled the incident as a Russian attack. “Ms von der […]
NETANYAHU ORDERS IDF TO OCCUPY 70% OF GAZA
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he had ordered the army to occupy 70 percent of the Gaza Strip, in the latest violation of the October ceasefire, Middle East Eye reported yesterday. “At this point, we are fully in control of 60 percent of the territory of the Gaza Strip,” Netanyahu said […]
STILL NO AGREEMENT WITH IRAN AFTER TRUMP CONTRADICTS HIMSELF AGAIN
Yesterday, President Trump put out a statement in which he declared that he was lifting the naval blockade of Iran but that there’s a number of things Iran “must” do. “Iran must agree that they will never have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb. The Hormuz Strait must be immediately open, no tolls, for unrestricted shipping […]
UN ADDS ISRAEL TO BLACKLIST FOR SEXUAL CRIMES DURING CONFLICT
On Thursday, the UN added Israel to its blacklist for sexual crimes committed during conflict. According to Middle East Eye, the blacklist forms part of the annex to the UN secretary-general’s annual report on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV). It identifies parties credibly suspected of committing patterns of rape or other forms of sexual violence during […]