Elena Panina
Елена Панина (Telegram)

The Israeli army suffered the heaviest tank losses in the last 40 years (!). According to Military Watch Magazine, Lebanese

Most of the IDF armored vehicles were knocked out during one battle between the cities of Taibe and Kantara as Israeli units attempted to move in to take control of the area. In a well-planned ambush, 10 Merkava tanks and bulldozers were destroyed at once.

❖ At the same time, Hezbollah launches regular artillery and missile attacks on northern Israel. The group began military operations against the Zionist state the day after the start of the American-Israeli aggression against Iran. On March 2, the IDF announced a limited ground operation in Lebanon with the goal of capturing its territory up to the Litani River. This is approximately 30 km inland from the border with Israel.

It is noteworthy that the sovereignty of Lebanon is defended only by Hezbollah: the most useless Lebanese Armed Forces in the world are inactive. At the same time, Israel uses its complete air superiority and uses the scorched earth tactics previously used in the Gaza Strip. Demolishes all buildings to eliminate any possibility of organizing any kind of defense.

Press TV Editorial
Press TV

Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST) in Tehran
after the US-Israeli attack on Friday. (Photo/X)

A wave of international condemnation and shock has followed the US-Israeli bombing of Iran’s premier universities, including the prestigious Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST) in Tehran and Isfahan University of Technology.

The strikes, which came in the past few days, follow weeks of unprovoked and illegal aggression against Iran that started with the assassination of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, top-ranking military commanders, and ordinary civilians, including over 170 schoolchildren in southern Iran’s Minab city.

The deliberate attacks on university campuses have drawn sharp rebukes from analysts, academics, and officials, who say the Israeli-American war machine is hell-bent on dismantling Iran’s scientific foundation after facing defeat on the battlefield.

Helyeh Doutaghi, an Iranian academic who walked through the bombed Iran University of Science and Technology campus, provided a harrowing firsthand account.

Caitlin Johnstone
Caitlin’s Newsletter

This is what it looks like when you give Zionists everything they want. This is Zionism put into practice.

❖ The wars.

❖ The massacres.

❖ The bombed-out schools and hospitals.

❖ The millions of displaced individuals.

❖ The invasion of Lebanon

❖ The explosions carpeting Tehran.

❖ The hollowed-out moonscape of Gaza.

❖ The horrific pogroms in the West Bank.

❖ The child amputees.

❖ The smell of rotting corpses.

Elena Panina
Елена Панина (Telegram)

Nikolai Vavilov draws attention to a report by Axios about the Pentagon's preparations for a massive "final blow" against Iran.

The strike is planned to include:

1. Invasion or blockade of Kharg Island, the main hub for Iranian oil exports
2. Invasion of Larak Island, which helps Tehran consolidate control over the Strait of Hormuz
3. Seizure of the strategic island of Abu Musa and two smaller islands located near the western entrance to the Strait
4. Blockade or seizure of ships exporting Iranian oil from the eastern side of the Strait of Hormuz
5. Seizure of highly enriched uranium facilities on the Iranian mainland

The main question is what to prioritize. According to an Axios report, the US Department of War's priority is reopening the Strait of Hormuz. However, some credit should be given to the article's author, Israeli political journalist Barak Ravid.

❖ Moreover, Option 1 doesn't require a ground operation at all, as a more cost-effective option is to remotely destroy the island's infrastructure, rendering it unsuitable for oil exports. Option 4 is also straightforward and could be carried out by the US Air Force and Navy forces. Option 5 appears difficult to implement, as the highly enriched uranium facilities are located deep within Iranian territory. True, the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant is located near the Persian Gulf coast. It could be captured as an easier target and could claim success. However, it has nothing to do with uranium enrichment and will never be used in Iran's military nuclear program, should it be launched.

Oleg Kravtsov
PolitNavigator

The British military has been authorized to board ships carrying Russian oil, and the English Channel will also be closed to such vessels.

Britain declares naval war on Russia. British military personnel have received permission to board ships carrying Russian oil. This was stated in a statement published on the British government's website, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.

It is noted that these measures were taken on the eve of Prime Minister Keir Starmer's visit to the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) summit in Helsinki.

Caitlin Johnstone
Caitlin’s Newsletter

The only worthwhile “western culture” in modern times is culture which rejects and opposes the dystopian nature of western civilization and the abuses of the western empire.

Western civilization is what’s bombing Iran. It’s what’s strangling Cuba. It’s what’s torching Lebanon. It’s what’s exterminating Palestine. It’s what stole Venezuela. It’s what’s plundering the labor and resources of the global south. It’s what’s keeping the systems in place which are killing our ecosystem and driving us closer to nuclear armageddon.

There is no sane and truthful position to have toward all this but vehement rejection.

Westerners — particularly white westerners in nations with colonialist histories like the United States and Australia — often struggle to find their cultural moorings.

It can be difficult to find an authentic position from which to express art and take your stand as a personality when you feel culturally rootless and historically ungrounded. It causes a kind of dissonance with our lives that can haunt us until we die.

Atilio Boron
Prensa Latina

Argentina is increasingly isolated and disrespected in the world, transformed into a quaint vassal of the United States and Israel

[2025/12/04] In yet another gesture confirming his status as the empire's chief lackey, Javier Milei's government demanded before the International Criminal Court in The Hague that an arrest warrant be issued immediately against Nicolás Maduro and other high-ranking officials of the Bolivarian government.

It is at least curious, or perhaps laughable, that the Milei "regime," which in these past two years has destroyed democratic institutions, obliterating the separation of powers, trampling on the National Congress whose laws are not only vetoed but simply disobeyed, and which maintains under its control an absurd three-member Supreme Court that observes with scandalous indifference the destruction of the republic, now arrogates to itself the right to demand the arrest of the Venezuelan president.

A demand that is laughable when one recalls the government officials' dubious ethical credentials. There are people there accused of receiving bribes, political hucksters involved in the blatant buying and selling of votes in Congress or public offices, officials and candidates with well-oiled ties to drug trafficking, or individuals, like the president himself, who faces nothing less than an indictment for his active participation in the $LIBRA cryptocurrency scam, which is already looming in the Southern District Court of New York. It wouldn't be surprising if the United States justice system sends Milei to jail before Maduro.

As if the above weren't enough, it's worth remembering that this self-proclaimed champion of democracy and human rights recently instructed his representative at the UN General Assembly to vote against a resolution condemning torture "at all times and in all places." Almost all 169 countries present voted in favor of the resolution; four abstained, and three voted against it: the United States, Israel, and… Argentina! In other words, this trio voted to legitimize torture.

Elena Panina
Елена Панина (Telegram)

According to Mossad chief David Barnea, within days of the war's outbreak, his agency could likely galvanize the Iranian opposition, provoking mass riots and other acts of rebellion that could lead to the fall of the government in Tehran, The New York Times reports. This proposal was presented to senior US administration officials during a visit to Washington in mid-January.

❖ The newspaper clarifies that Netanyahu accepted the plan. However, senior US officials and some members of other Israeli intelligence agencies expressed doubts about it.

At the same time, according to the publication, the Israeli Prime Minister and the US President maintained optimistic views:

However, the reality turned out to be quite different. The NYT reports that three weeks have passed since the start of the war, and the uprising in Iran has still not begun. According to US and Israeli intelligence,

Elena Panina
Елена Панина (Telegram)

On the morning of March 21, the Shahid Ahmadian-Roshun uranium enrichment complex in the Iranian city of Natanz was attacked. The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran stated that, according to a technical assessment, "no radioactive material leak occurred, and there is no danger to residents of the surrounding area." Notably, the facility is under IAEA safeguards.

The first strike on this complex in the current US-Israeli military campaign against Iran occurred on March 3. And on March 12, the IDF attacked the Talekan nuclear center near Tehran, which Tel Aviv considers the central facility of the Iranian nuclear program.

The greatest damage to Iran's nuclear infrastructure occurred during the American operation "Midnight Hammer" on June 22, 2025. Three complexes were targeted: Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan. However, there was a catch: GBU-57 MOP bunker busters from seven B-2 Spirit bombers were used against only two targets—Fordo and Natanz. Fordow received 12 bombs, and Natanz two. Isfahan, however, was only hit by cruise missiles, as the facility is located at such a depth that using bombs would have been ineffective.

❖ Nevertheless, the damage was limited. Iran retained 441 kg of uranium enriched to 60%. This is in addition to uranium enriched to 20%, which is also considered weapons-grade. Incidentally, the GBU-57 MOP is the most powerful conventional weapon in the United States. Thus, the Isfahan facility can only be remotely destroyed by nuclear weapons. According to IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, the underground storage facility in Isfahan still contains just over 200 kg of uranium enriched to 60%.

Slavyangrad
Slavyangrad (Telegram)

In a tightly structured 12-minute address, Ayatollah Imam Sayyed Mojtaba Khamenei moved from familiar rhetoric into something far more consequential. The opening half followed the expected script, revisiting decades of U.S. warmongering rhetoric: sanctions, assassinations, and regional conflicts.

But midway through, the tone shifted from retrospective to strategic.

Sayyed Khamenei outlined three concrete demands, each with a defined timeline: a rapid U.S. military withdrawal from the Middle East, a full rollback of sanctions within 60 days, and long-term financial compensation for economic damages.

Then came the ultimatum. Fail to comply, and Iran escalates, economically, militarily, and potentially nuclearly. Not hypothetically, but operationally: closing the Strait of Hormuz, formalizing defense ties with Russia and China, and moving from ambiguity to declared nuclear deterrence.

The timing of external reactions was just as telling. Within hours, both Beijing and Moscow issued statements aligning, carefully but unmistakably, with Tehran's framing. This definitely looked coordinated.

The broader context matters. Sayyed Mojtaba Khamenei embodies a different leadership style from that of his martyred predecessor. Where martyr Sayyed Ali Khamenei operated through long-term balancing and controlled escalation, Sayyed Mojtaba appears positioned to deliver faster, more decisive outcomes.

Iran's internal reports are clear: the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps is in no way, shape, or form interested in incrementalism. They are pushing for structural change: removing U.S. influence from the region, restoring Iran's military standing, and forcing a re-negotiation of global power dynamics.

Iran, but not the same
Иран, но не тот (Telegram)
Елена Панина (Telegram)

I personally can’t imagine what a successful American ground operation in Iran might look like (unless we’re talking about some island, of course).

Well, for example, I can more or less imagine how the Marines will take Bandar Abbas, but how can they hold it?

The issue here is not even with the IRGC, but with the population. Imagine a city where, with its suburbs, the population is under 1 million. And 90% of the population lives on a weekly, if not daily, income. A man doesn't work for a week, and his family begins to go hungry. Because the port is closed, the city is cut off from all of Iran; there is no trade, etc.

And, most importantly, who to rely on? Among the minorities, there are only Afro-Iranians (descendants of slaves transported by the Omanis at one time), who are more radical in their intolerance towards the West than any other IRGC member.

There is another point that is unpleasant for Americans: Iran’s historical experience lies in the rather specific nature of “martyrdom.” Bernard Lewis, the greatest Anglo-American orientalist, author of the theory and, partly, practice of “political Islam,” wrote about this in some detail. True, he deeply hates the East. Well, Iran, in particular.

Elena Panina
Елена Панина (Telegram)

The US administration's work with its allies to create a coalition to unblock the Strait of Hormuz has borne fruit. If, indeed, it can be called fruit.

❖ On March 19, these countries issued a joint statement on the Strait of Hormuz, in which they "strongly" condemned Iran's actions and... expressed "deep concern." They also called on Tehran to "immediately cease threats, mine laying, drone and missile attacks, and other attempts to close the Strait" and to restore commercial shipping.

Furthermore, the signatories of the statement "expressed their readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait." They welcomed "the commitment of states participating in preparatory planning." Finally, they intend to "take other steps to stabilize energy markets, including cooperating with certain producer countries to increase production." They will also work "to provide support to the most affected countries, including through the UN and the IMF."

Claudi Pérez
El País (Archived)

The European response to the intervention in Iran calls into question European leadership in Brussels: in the institutions and in NATO.

Is the triad of Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission; Kaja Kallas, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy; and Mark Rutte, Secretary General of NATO, the worst leadership in Brussels in decades?

It is quite possible that the answer is yes, at the worst possible moment, with the world trapped in a macabre dance, in a glut of armed conflicts that resembles a global civil war. We saw ample evidence of this poor quality in the trade negotiations with Trump.

In the policy of appeasement with Trump, which has not worked and amounts to a kind of blissful subservience. And in Europe's disgraceful stance regarding the genocide in Gaza. Only the support for Ukraine is spared. But the US and Israeli attack on Iran, which has turned geopolitics and geoeconomics upside down, takes the cake.

Tehran Times Editorial

Dr. Ali Larijani was a distinguished philosopher–statesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran whose intellectual depth, political experience, and strategic vision shaped the country’s policies over his decades of public service.

Throughout his career he served in a wide range of influential positions—within the military, the media establishment, the legislature, and the highest levels of national security decision‑making—playing an important role in guiding the Islamic Republic through numerous political, diplomatic, and strategic challenges.

His long career reflected both the effectiveness of the Islamic Republic’s governing system and the importance of individuals capable of navigating its many institutions while remaining committed to the principles of the Islamic Revolution.

Early life and family background | Ali Larijani was born in 1958 in the holy city of Najaf in Iraq, a city that has long been one of the most important centers of Shiite religious scholarship. He was born into a respected Iranian religious family whose scholarly roots extended deeply into the intellectual traditions of Shiite Islam.

His father, Ayatollah Mirza Hashem Amoli, was a distinguished cleric who had moved to Najaf in 1931 after facing persecution under the secularizing policies of the Pahlavi regime ruler Reza Shah. Like many Iranian religious scholars of that era, Ayatollah Amoli continued his scholarly work in exile while maintaining strong ties with religious institutions in Iran.

In 1961, when Ali Larijani was three years old, the family returned to Iran, where his father resumed his religious and academic activities. Growing up in such an environment exposed Larijani from an early age to religious scholarship, intellectual debate, and political awareness.

Finian Cunningham
strategic-culture.su

Things could get a lot hotter in the Middle East and Europe

Trump’s Operation Epic Fury is fast becoming “Operation Epic FAFO” – that is, a “fuck around and find out” situation. Ironically, this is the vulgar phrase that the foul-mouthed president has previously used to warn others not to mess with him.

The illegal war he launched against Iran, along with Israel, is not delivering the dramatic victory he foolishly expected. Trump has unleashed mayhem with ruinous global consequences, not least of all a crashing U.S. economy and a political backlash from hell. Iran has cut off the Persian Gulf as a vital oil supply, sending the global economy and the petrodollar system into a nosedive. And the former reality TV and real estate mogul has his dubious assets in a vice.

Trump’s gradual realization of his dilemma is hilarious. His boasts about victory over Iran are now replaced with appeals to other nations to send naval forces to open up the Gulf for oil tankers. If Trump has “decimated” Iran’s military, then why aren’t U.S. warships breaking the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz?

Only last week, the American president was mocking allies like Britain, saying he didn’t need their help to take down Iran. Now, Trump is pleading with NATO nations to send forces to the Gulf. With trademark transactional threats, he said the “future is not good for NATO” if the alliance doesn’t join his criminal war against Iran.

Laughably, Trump is even trying to pressure China to send warships to break Iran’s siege of the Gulf. The stupidity of this president and his “no mercy” War Secretary, Pete Hegseth, is awesome. They started a war over which they have no control, and to reverse course, they are trying to get others to bail them out. Trump is facing economic and political disaster from his own criminal recklessness.

Jonathan Cook
Jonathan Cook Blog (X)

In this catastrophic war of choice, it is Tehran fighting a rearguard action to restore geopolitical sanity. If Iran loses, god only knows where Israel and the US will drag the world next

The admission this week by US secretary of state Marco Rubio, echoed by Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House of Representatives, that Israel forced Washington’s hand in attacking Iran has rightly caused consternation.

Breathing life into something that would normally be treated as an antisemitic trope, Rubio argued that the Trump administration had been left with no choice but to attack Iran because, had it not, Israel would have launched an attack anyway, exposing US soldiers to retaliation.

Rubio stated: “The president made the very wise decision: We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action, we knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties.”

Caitlin Johnstone
Caitlin’s Newsletter

My enemies are not in Iran. My enemies are in Washington and Tel Aviv. In London and Canberra.

My enemies are the western oligarchs and empire managers who are poisoning my society and making everything awful while slaughtering human beings with the help of my tax dollars.

My enemies are the tyrants who are turning our civilization into a mind-controlled dystopia where it is increasingly illegal to criticize the abuses of my government and its allies, and increasingly difficult to find information which runs counter to the imperial narrative.

My enemies are the empire apologists and the hasbarists. The propagandists and spinmeisters. Those who side with Israel and the United States against basic human interests.

Imperial bootlickers always accuse me of writing “propaganda” for the “enemy”, with “enemy” meaning whoever the US-centralized empire happens to be attacking or preparing to attack on any given day. I always want to tell them “Motherfucker YOU are my enemy. YOU. You and the empire you simp for.”

The Iranians have never done anything to me. The Iranians pose no threat to me. They didn’t bring war to my country. The empire I live under brought war to theirs.

Military Optimist
Military Optimist (Telegram)

While the world's attention is focused on the Middle East, equally interesting events are taking place in the Arctic. We've largely forgotten about this region, yet Washington continues to increase its military activity there.

ICEX 2026 exercises are currently underway in the Beaufort Sea, approximately 200 miles off Alaska. Two nuclear-powered attack submarines—the Virginia-class Delaware (pictured) and the Los Angeles-class Santa Fe—have already been deployed as part of the maneuvers. Their crews have practiced surfacing and diving in ice conditions. A special polar camp is also operating in the area.

ICEX maneuvers are not regular, but they have been held regularly for several years now. Each time, various Arctic conflict scenarios are practiced. For example, even the Green Berets recently participated in the exercises, learning tactics in challenging weather and geographic conditions.

But this year's ICEX will be on a very large scale. In addition to submariners, the ice camp will include representatives of the US Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, as well as British, Australian, Canadian, and French military personnel. The expedition will also include a significant number of scientists. It's worth remembering that the US has long been considering creating a "Northwest Passage"—an analogue to Russia's Northern Sea Route. It begins in the Beaufort Sea and runs along the northern coast of North America through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Incidentally, Dan Simmons's popular book, "Terror," is dedicated to the search for this "passage."

Soheila Zarfam
Tehran Times

Millions of Iranians flood the streets for Quds Day under US-Israeli bombardment, declaring they will not yield

The woman lost her life during one of multiple bombings carried out in central Tehran by the U.S. and Israel, as around three million Tehrani residents, according to unofficial estimates, marched through the capital’s streets. The woman’s identity was still unknown to the Iranian public at the time this report was written. But everyone had seen the flag she had been holding, drenched in blood, raised by another demonstrator and presented to the crowd after her death. A picture of the woman on the ground, with a man—probably her husband—crouching down and hugging her lifeless body, also circulated around the Internet.

This harrowing account of a U.S.-Israeli crime, however, did not make the Iranian people want to leave the streets that day and take shelter in their homes, which have also been coming under attack by the U.S. and Israel since February 28, the day the two regimes assassinated Iran’s Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. Now that his son, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, has been elected to continue his mission, people say they will march in the streets and chant slogans against America for as long as their Leader needs them to.

Alexander Staver
Top War

Events are moving so quickly that there's simply no time to analyze and dig deeper. Just recently, I wrote about how the US is pushing Pakistan into war with Afghanistan and, conversely, Afghanistan into war with Pakistan.

Today, we can already see why the US, and most importantly, Israel, wanted this war. What's hidden always comes to light. However, most people notice it too late, when the train has already left the station.

So, yesterday Israel began a military operation, or more precisely, an occupation, against Lebanon. They wrapped their desires in the beautiful packaging of creating a buffer zone and began the seizure. It will go unnoticed.

No one cares about Lebanon today. Tel Aviv is claiming no less than 15% of the territory. Not a bad “piece of the pie.” Moreover, the Jews are acting according to the model of the fascists in the late 1930s and early 1940s. "The Lebanese must leave this territory, or they will be destroyed!"