Israel vs Palestine/Lebanon/Iran/Yemen/Syria: a New Middle East War

[Ravenlocke]

I am placing the following here as it pertains to the Middle East and invasion of Iraq.



Li Jingjing 李菁菁

Everyone in China is talking about this movie: Once Upon a Time in the Middle East, a China-made movie about the US and UK's invasion of Iraq.

Hollywood won't be able to make this!

😭I watched it yesterday, cried hard in the cinema, and was deeply touched ... The movie shows the devastating impact of wars on a country, on ordinary people, especially on children, and how extremists were created. It also shows China's attitude towards world peace. I encourage you to watch it too!

⚠️Spoiler alert:
The movie follows the Chinese chef Xu Fu, who went to run a Chinese restaurant in a country in West Asia. At first, he was purely driven by money, but as wars broke out and the country was torn apart, he and his friends were dragged into the chaos and forced to cook for different forces.

He saw how the US bombed and destroyed a country, how some US soldiers at the front line treated local people as nonhuman, and how some other US soldiers were just ignorant kids that wants to go home; He saw how war orphans in the country were used and trained to be suicide bombers by terrorists, how foreign invaders deprived everything local people had and left them no choice but to join terror groups to revenge.

But throughout the movie, Xu Fu keeps telling everyone 好好吃饭(eat properly). He tried his best to provide decent food for children in the war zone, even if it meant risking his own life. The story was inspired by true stories of Chinese people who worked in Iraq, but instead of one person, it was based on several people’s stories.

💡My thoughts on governance:
You probably know how much Chinese people love food and value food. From a country that constantly suffered famine and wars, to a country with abundant food for 1.4 billion people, China made a lot of effort.

And I think it’s a philosophy that any political power should focus on: how to feed its people, and let them 好好吃饭 (eat properly).


https://x.com/Jingjing_Li/status/2089370167159439665

The World Correspondent

Aug 16
China Redefines War Cinema: The Film Hollywood Would Never Have Made
While Hollywood continues to produce war films that chronicle the conflict from an almost exclusively American perspective, China has created a work that flips the narrative. The film "Once Upon a Time in the Middle East" is not an action film, but a human tale set against the backdrop of the American invasion of Iraq. It centers on an unexpected hero: a Chinese chef who transforms his small restaurant into a shelter for Iraqi civilians.

A Counter-Narrative Operation
The decision to set the film in Iraq, rather than in a context more familiar to Chinese audiences, is a counter-narrative move that strikes at the heart of Western war rhetoric. The story, as described, shows the war from the perspective of civilians, not soldiers. The protagonist is not a hero with a gun, but a man who uses his craft—cooking—as a tool of resistance and humanity, offering food and shelter in a shattered world.

This approach is radically different from Hollywood narratives, which often present conflicts as a struggle between good and evil, with Americans in the role of saviors or reluctant heroes. The Chinese film, instead, showcases the suffering of ordinary people and the complexity of a war in which the lines between victims and perpetrators are blurred.

Challenging Hollywood's Narrative Monopoly
With this film, China isn't just making a movie; it's challenging Hollywood's narrative monopoly. For decades, American war films have shaped the global imagination, presenting a vision of the world in which the United States is the hero, and the rest of the world is the battlefield. This Chinese film, however, presents a different truth: that of a country (China) that is not a participant in the conflict, but offers an external, humanitarian perspective on the war.

"Once Upon a Time in the Middle East" could become a turning point for Chinese cinema, a work that doesn't simply entertain, but aims to redefine the way the world views war and the role of global powers. While Hollywood continues to produce films that, however criticized, remain the benchmark for the genre, China has created an alternative that speaks to the heart, not just the head.

#OnceUponATimeInTheMiddleEast #ChineseCinema #Hollywood #CounterNarrative #Iraq #War #Humanity #Culture #SoftPower #China

https://x.com/TheWorldCorresp/status...89077315998115

Arnaud Bertrand

Aug 15
This is a genuinely exceptional movie: probably the single best movie ever made on the Iraq war.

It's called "Once upon a time in the Middle East" (欢迎来龙餐馆) and I just watched it in a Chinese movie theater, but I'm sure it will be available abroad at some point (if not the case already).

It follows the story of a Chinese chef, Xu Fu, who travels to Iraq pre-war to cook at a Chinese restaurant in Baghdad. When the war breaks out, he initially wants nothing to do with it - he's already bought his ticket home. But his boss Zaid, an official at the water and electricity ministry, convinces him to stay and keep supplying meals to the safe zone for high pay.

As the occupation descends into chaos, Xu Fu gets pulled deeper into the conflict: he's detained and interrogated by the Americans for his ties to Zaid (who has become an insurgent after his family died in the war), then he gets detained by the insurgency when they attack the US prison where he was held, and he eventually end up trying to protect a group of orphans from being recruited as child bombers.

It's the contrary of pro-war propaganda, as war movies too often are: it's a film about how war swallows everyone who thinks they can stand apart from it. There are no glorious causes in it, no "good" or "bad" side, only people caught in the madness.

It's not even anti-American, at least not in a crude way: the film clearly blames the US for starting the war - which they did - but Xu Fu ends up befriending a group of American soldiers who become patrons of his restaurant and are themselves clearly portrayed as victims of the war, as are Iraqis.

As such there is no hatred in this movie - the only hatred is against hate itself, against the dynamic of war and maybe against rulers who decide to trigger it.

Which makes it a very subtle and profound film: it never lectures, never simplifies, and lets the tragedy play out quietly until it overwhelms you.

People weary of Hollywood's black-and-white framing, where wars are always morality plays with designated good guys, will find it deeply refreshing: here there are just human beings, which is precisely what makes it so devastating.

https://x.com/RnaudBertrand/status/2088543553756479724

[ExomatrixTV]

Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸

• @FmrRepMTG

They are discussing using nuclear weapons on Iran in strategy meetings.

Yes you read that correctly. It’s real. I’m not speculating, I know.

And it’s pure evil.

The last time a nuclear weapon was used was August 6th and 9th of 1945 on two cities in Japan, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, immediately killing 110,000 people, vaporizing people at ground zero, and total deaths reached 214,000 by the end of the year from severe burns and trauma.

But the extreme suffering continued for the Japanese people from radiation sickness, skyrocketing cancer rates, and generational birth defects.

Not to mention wiping out all means of their economy.

And the suffering was so great that all of humanity vowed, “never again.”

Trump and his admin were told by our own intelligence that Iran was no where near creating a nuclear weapon, then Israel said the same line it’s repeated for decades, “Iran is only weeks away.”

So we bombed anyways, killed their leaders and innocent little children in a school, and Iran has controlled the Strait of Hormuz ever since and punished the region for their part in it.

And now our government is the one actually discussing lowering the nuclear threshold in order to use nuclear weapons against Iran even though Trump claims he’s won the war like 40 times and says the U.S. controls the SoH.

Trump promised no more foreign wars, but may actually be the one who delivers a nuclear holocaust that would likely drag the entire world into major conflict, economic depression, and mass human suffering we’ve never seen in our lifetimes and maybe throughout history.

People need to speak out and boldly stop this insanity.

America is not untouchable.

If and when that happens, everyone, and I do mean everyone, will hold ALL of those in leadership right now fully responsible for the rest of human history.

Do not use nuclear weapons and stop this war NOW.
9:19 PM · Aug 16, 2026

5.1 Million Views

source

• MTG Drops BOMBSHELL: U.S. Preparing to NUKE Iran?

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=8VcuQj8Tvpo

The Kim Iversen Show LIVE | August 17, 2026 Marjorie Taylor Greene drops the claim of the year: that nuclear weapons on Iran are being discussed in actual strategy meetings — "I'm not speculating, I know" — warning that the country vowing "never again" after Hiroshima may be the one to break it, while the White House repeats that Iran will never have a nuke and Trump threatens to bomb Oman next if it gets in the way. Then the Fauci phone finally talks: Ron Johnson and Rand Paul release texts from his government iPhone — 34,000 messages, only three saved contacts — showing Fauci privately flagging in January 2021 that post-second-dose fevers "theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester," even as he publicly urged pregnant women to get the shot for another year. Kim also sorts the explosive from the exaggerated: the viral "82% miscarriage rate" claim ricocheting around, and the analysis showing that figure came from a badly botched denominator — because the real texts are damning enough without the bad math. Then the war comes home to the fleet: the NYT ties the USS Abraham Lincoln's supply crisis directly to Iranian strikes that wrecked Navy logistics hubs in Bahrain, the UAE and Oman — sailors documenting mold, broken toilets and shrinking meals after 260 days at sea, a sailor overboard, families warning 5,000 crew are at a breaking point — while CENTCOM insists morale is high, reenlistment is record-setting, and the reporting is "a disservice." And the bill arrives for everyone else: Trump says he'll "never apologize" for higher gas prices, JD Vance floats ending the dollar's reserve-currency status because Americans "consume too much, too cheaply," retail sales post their biggest drop in over a year — and women accounted for 100% of July's labor-force decline. Pay more, consume less, and don't ask about the nukes.

[shaberon]

Yemen carries its weight in reducing military buildup:

The Yemeni armed forces spokesman has announced targeting and setting on fire a Saudi warship and sinking several armed boats in new operations.

Brigadier General Yahya Saree made the announcement on Monday.

The spokesman for the Yemeni armed forces announced that the Yemeni armed forces targeted a warship and several boats of the Saudi army, setting the ship on fire and sinking the boats.

According to local Yemeni Al-Masirah TV website, General Yahya Saree said: We targeted a Saudi enemy warship along with four military boats in the Red Sea off the coast of Al-Mokha.

He added: This attack was precise and direct and carried out with several ballistic missiles. This operation resulted in the complete burning of the ship, the sinking of some boats and setting some other boats ablaze.

General Saree emphasized: We are closely monitoring all the movements and military gatherings of the Saudi enemy and will target these movements and gatherings both on land and at sea. Also, the siege against siege equation will continue, and all the centers of gathering of enemy soldiers in any place will be targeted.

The spokesman for the Yemeni armed forces also announced: We targeted a weapons depot belonging to the Saudi enemy-backed groups in the Sahn al-Jin military center in Marib with several drones and set it on fire.

Iran is perhaps very efficient, estimating that for the weapons and so forth they have had to spend about 1% compared to what has been thrown at them.


The newly-appointed commanders are a paradigm shift:

Israel too weak for war with Iran

Israel is not capable of waging war against Iran on its own and only entered the conflict with U.S. backing, dismissing the regime as a "proxy force" for Washington and the West.

He said the IRGC command under Major General Ahmad Vahidi had been tasked with "maximum deterrence" and a new posture in which defensive operations could take on an offensive character. "We have never been the ones to start a war, but since we are in the middle of a war and the enemy is seeking opportunities, the enemy should learn from these decrees and their messages that our armed forces will adopt transformational approaches," Javani said.

"The enemy must know it cannot carry out surprise actions against us and catch us off guard. Perhaps it should be the one expecting strategic surprises," he added.

So, like a parent giving a child one more chance to behave:

An Iranian official has reportedly told Reuters that Iran will switch to offensive if the talks with the United States fails as a result of Washington's reneging of its promises in the Islamabad MoU.

Iran has decided to shift its policy from defensive to a “fully offensive” one, a senior Iranian official has reportedly told Reuters.

Iran has set a deadline of a few weeks for the full implementation of the MoU by the US, the official said.

All Iranian entities will be prepared to escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and the region if diplomacy fails, the official warned.

Iran will not wait for the US to continue the naval blockade indefinitely, the official allegedly added.

[Rizotto]

https://www.rt.com/news/644320-israe...cks-west-bank/

Israeli settler attacks terrorize last all-Christian village in West Bank (VIDEO)
RT’s Charlotte Dubenskij reports from Taybeh, where residents face near-daily assaults, property damage, and incursions onto their land

August 17, 2026

A historic Palestinian village widely described as the last entirely Christian community in the occupied West Bank is facing near-daily Israeli settler attacks and growing restrictions, residents and activists have told RT.

RT’s Charlotte Dubenskij visited the Kaa’bneh family, part of a Palestinian Bedouin community living in Taybeh, east of Ramallah, where she witnessed settlers approaching with sheep and goats at sunset, hurling rocks, and trying to breach the fences. The family says such incursions can happen several times a day.

“They come and vandalize our property, cut through the fencing and bring their sheep onto our land,” Naif Kaa’bneh said. “They break the water tanks and cut off the electricity. If someone is filming, they beat them.”

Kaa’bneh said the harassment has continued for years but intensified recently, blaming Israeli military inaction for allowing settlers to act with near-total impunity. He said troops can take hours to respond to attacks and have never detained those responsible.

“They have never once come and arrested a settler. We tell them, ‘There’s the settler.’ The soldier just turns his head, pretends he hasn’t seen anything, and they leave,” he said.

The attacks come as Taybeh faces growing isolation. Historically known as Ephraim and mentioned in the Gospel of John as a place where Jesus stayed before his final journey to Jerusalem, the village has long drawn Christian pilgrims. But the Israeli military earlier this month declared parts of the area a closed military zone, claiming the measure is intended to curb settler attacks. Residents say it has instead restricted movement while failing to stop the violence, deterring pilgrims, and squeezing an economy heavily reliant on religious tourism.

Meanwhile, locals say new settler outposts are appearing on the hills around Taybeh, fueling fears that residents are being steadily hemmed in and pushed from land they have inhabited for generations.

(Video at above link)

[Rizotto]

Who exactly is Kushner to make such plans for a country not even his own? The real terrorists, i.e. the USA-Israel axis of genocidal terrorism, have already flattened Gaza because the Palestinians were defenseless from their fighter jets attacks.
_______________________________________________________________________

https://www.rt.com/news/644346-kushn...a-not-rebuild/

US won’t allow Gaza reconstruction until Hamas disarms – Kushner
Trump’s peace envoy said Gaza would not be rebuilt if it could be “taken over by terrorists or blown up again”

August 18, 2026

The US would not allow the reconstruction of Gaza until the Palestinian enclave is fully demilitarized, President Donald Trump’s peace envoy Jared Kushner said following meetings with Hamas officials and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, held a rare meeting with Hamas officials in Cairo on Sunday and spoke with Netanyahu the following day. According to the envoy, Hamas had reaffirmed its support for Trump’s peace plan and committed to “giving up their weapons.”

“Time will tell whether that’s going to be implemented,” Kushner told Fox News’ Trey Yingst.

“We have a plan to rebuild Gaza, but we will not allow Gaza to be rebuilt until the demilitarisation occurs,” Kushner said. “Nobody wants to put more money into a place that’s gone on for so long if it’s just going to be taken over by terrorists or blown up again,” he added.

Kushner said the US was “not going to restrict Israel’s right to defend itself if there are any imminent threats.”

Netanyahu rejected Trump’s 15-point plan, saying last week that the Israeli army would not withdraw from Gaza until Hamas completely disarms. Hamas officials, however, insisted that an Israeli withdrawal and an end to “all forms of aggression” were a “fundamental prerequisite” for the group’s disarmament.

The UN and human rights groups, both in Israel and abroad, have accused Israel of systematically targeting civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure, including high-rise buildings, during its war with Hamas. More than 73,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, and nearly all of the densely populated enclave’s pre-war population of 2 million have been displaced. Far-right Israeli politicians have argued that the Palestinian population should be driven out and Gaza resettled by Israelis.

Israel has denied deliberately targeting civilians and blamed Hamas for the destruction in Gaza.

At least 92% of Gaza’s housing units were either fully destroyed or damaged between October 2023 and October 2025, according to the UN. The organization’s special rapporteur on housing, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, described the devastation as domicide, defined as “the widespread or systematic destruction of housing and civilian infrastructure essential to the survival of a population.”

Last year, Trump unveiled a plan to redevelop Gaza into a “Riviera of the Middle East” and floated the idea of removing Palestinians and resettling them elsewhere. The proposal was promptly rejected by Arab states, the EU and the UN.

[bojancan]

These moments... browsing... just listen here TYT... Anna and Cenk talking about Iran's preparedness... they are so right in their talk...
Aug, 17
Iran Plans To Go On OFFENSE

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=7JqQg1g3yhw

Iran is building out its military capabilities in anticipation of peace talks with the United States failing. Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian discuss on The Young Turks.

"After President Trump signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran in mid-June, administration officials fanned out to build support for an agreement they hoped would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and start winding down the war.

Iran’s hard-line leaders huddled in Tehran and came up with a different plan, according to Iranian and Arab officials. In their view the pact was likely just an attempt by the U.S. and Israel to take pressure off the global economy and buy time for a bigger attack down the road. Instead of putting faith in talks, they took the past two months to prepare for a bigger fight. "

[Rizotto]

https://www.rt.com/news/644339-trump-bomb-oman-iran/

Trump threatens to ‘bomb the sh*t out of’ Oman
Tehran and Muscat are discussing a parallel Hormuz deal as talks with Washington stall

August 17, 2026

US President Donald Trump has threatened to “bomb the sh*t out of” Oman if it strikes a separate deal with Iran on control of the Strait of Hormuz, despite Oman’s key role as a mediator between Washington and Tehran.

In addition to brokering talks between the US and Iran, Omani negotiators have been conducting parallel negotiations with Tehran aimed at establishing a safe route for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran reportedly wants to charge fees for safe passage of the strait after an interim period, and Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told reporters on Monday that Iran had reached an “understanding” with Oman on the matter.

Asked about these Omani-Iranian talks, Trump told Fox News that “if Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the sh*t out of them.”

The US rejects any agreement that would involve Iran collecting tolls, and Washington has signaled that it will not lift its blockade on Iranian ports unless Tehran relinquishes this demand. Speaking in New York on Friday, Trump claimed that the Islamic Republic was “very badly defeated,” and that he would soon “be declaring the Strait of Hormuz a territory of the US.”

A memorandum of understanding signed by the US and Iran in June set a 60-day window to bring the conflict to an end and reopen the strait. The memorandum expired without a deal, and with both sides threatening escalation, on Monday.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran is prepared “to escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and wider region” if diplomacy fails, and to launch “timely and precise strikes” to break the US naval blockade if necessary. Trump did not reply directly to this threat in his comments to Fox News, but demanded that Iran “raise the white flag of surrender.”

In a post on X on Saturday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi urged Trump to “accept the reality” that the US had suffered “strategic and heavy defeats.”

“The Strait of Hormuz has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian,” Gharibabadi wrote, adding that the waterway “will only be closed and opened under Iran’s command.”

US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February prompted Tehran to close the Strait of Hormuz, with Washington responding by imposing a naval blockade of Iranian ports. The blockade disrupted traffic through one of the world’s most important energy corridors, sending global oil prices soaring to as high as $120 a barrel.

[kfm27917]

interesting analysis

https://strategicreflections.substac...-war-black-box

[shaberon]

Reflections from Foreign Affairs:

The Foreign Affairs magazine published an article about the end of the US era in the Middle East as the author, Marc Lynch, maintained that Iran has brought the “Last Gasp of a Failed Order”.

The American Middle East is finished, the article stressed.

“The regional order that has prevailed since 1991 has been one of the many casualties of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.”

“The American and Israeli failure to dislodge the regime in Tehran has proved the bankruptcy of decades of sanctions and violence.”

“The inability of the United States to protect its Gulf allies from Iranian attacks or to keep the Strait of Hormuz open has fatally undermined the core security bargain that justified its network of military bases in the region.”

Reasons for a shift of credibility from the New York Times:

According to an analysis cited by The New York Times, the war has placed America's military resources under strain. American forces have faced missile and drone attacks, some bases have been evacuated, and stockpiles of air defense missiles have also decreased.

The next Lincoln:

The USS Benfold, a US Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, was left without power for four days in the South China Sea last month after an engineering failure, forcing the vessel to be towed to the Philippines.

Popular collapse of Likud establishment figures:

On the political front, preliminary results from the Likud party primaries delivered unexpected shocks to the Israeli establishment. Energy Minister Eli Cohen emerged as the leading vote-getter, followed by Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, according to initial tallies.

The results spelled trouble for several high-profile ministers and sitting lawmakers, with Agriculture Minister and former Shin Bet chief Avi Dichter among those facing the prospect of being pushed out of the Knesset entirely a stunning reversal for a figure with decades of security establishment credentials.

The details and personalities make little sense to anyone who is not in the midst of them. More importantly, someone takes it seriously:

Israeli Security Establishment Warns of Full Blown Civil War after Knesset Elections in Light of Likud Primaries

Amid this internal turmoil, the Israeli newspaper Maariv revealed extensive preparations by the Israeli security establishment to confront extreme scenarios that could escalate to full-blown civil war following the announcement of the upcoming election results. The newspaper indicated serious concerns that some parties might refuse to accept the results, coinciding with television channels promoting narratives of “election fraud,” in a tense atmosphere with the presence of “tens of thousands of armed citizens.”

Security circles fear that the American scenario that followed the presidential elections between Joe Biden and Donald Trump will be repeated in ‘Israel’, where fears are rising that political and partisan disputes will turn into violent confrontations in the streets, especially in light of the extreme polarization and deep divisions that Israeli society is experiencing.

That would be one welcome result, for Israel to tear itself to pieces.

It gets far worse every day it continues to exist.

Yes, there is a strong hint Iran will give it the magic zap to finish it off. Its expected lifespan in such a situation is about a month.

Scupper the garbage. No more Israel, no US military adventurism.

[Ravenlocke]

🇷🇺 STANISLAV KRAPIVNIK 🇷🇺

🇮🇱❗️🇵🇸👰🏻‍♀️🤵🏻‍♂️ Ben-Gvir, a Talmudist and also the Minister of National Security of Israel, boasted on his social media that, at his order, a Palestinian groom and bride were arrested in the West Bank.

At the same time, the minister sarcastically noted that the young Palestinian couple would spend their honeymoon in an Israeli prison.

Ben-Gvir also once again called on Palestinians to "leave the historically Jewish lands peacefully," as he would not allow them to live a peaceful life.

❗️No matter what crimes Zionists commit, you will still be called a Nazi if you express outrage 🫵

https://x.com/STANISKRAPIVNIK/status...40922606194910

[bojancan]

I think this talk suits here too.... very eyeopening!

Aug, 17
Zeteo
2.2M subscribers
Why the U.S. Can’t Say No to Israel — AIPAC Explained

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Wyrub4e-R38

“I spoke with [Antony] Blinken and [Jake] Sullivan and [Joe] Biden, trying to tell them what the actual situation in Israel was like. But they’re socialized psychologically not to even be able to include in their agenda of possibilities what the realities are there.”

Why is the U.S. incapable of standing up to Israel? Who benefits most from the U.S.-Israel relationship? And is AIPAC’s influence in Washington starting to crack?

With AIPAC-backed candidates heading into this year’s midterm elections with massive financial backing but facing tougher races, Mehdi speaks with the authors of the new book, Israel’s Lobby: America in the Grip of a Foreign Power, about the changing power of the pro-Israel lobby.

Co-authors Eli Clifton and Ian Lustick join Mehdi to discuss AIPAC, why Washington struggles to say no to Israel, and whether the Israel lobby’s influence is finally beginning to wane.

Clifton argues that AIPAC’s silence is revealing, calling Israel a “toxic” issue for the lobby. He also notes that pro-Israel super PACs could raise and spend as much as a quarter of a billion dollars this election cycle. But money isn’t everything. Lustick details his attempts to convince Blinken, Sullivan, and Biden to confront the reality of Israel’s policies.

In the conversation — Mehdi, Clifton and Lustick also discuss how U.S. policy helped pave the way for the “extreme right-wing rogue state” Israel is today, whether AIPAC’s influence can be challenged, and what it would take to change the U.S.-Israel relationship.


CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
02:11 Israel’s Lobby and U.S. Politics
09:41 AIPAC and Israel Disagreements
12:26 U.S. Support for Israel
16:42 Israel’s Manipulation on America and Biden
23:24 Political Costs
25:39 Trump
28:03 Critique of Israel and Antisemitism
33:16 Tackling the Israel Lobby

[bojancan]

The latest video from Transition Protocol channel... Gentlemen Pepe and Zulfiqar's profound talks... interesting!

Aug, 18
Transition Protocol
88.4K subscribers
EXCLUSIVE PEPE: Trump’s Secret Iran Backchannel COLLAPSED-Pak Army Chief Refused Trump’s Request

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=KUgVI5uCQB8

The U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding has expired — and this episode reveals exactly why. Pepe Escobar and Zulfiqar Ali break down two secret back-channel plays Washington ran to bypass Pakistan and reach Iran’s military command directly, why IRGC leadership refused both times, and what Iran’s newly appointed #2 official signaled by shifting toward "offense."

The conversation goes deep on nuclear-normalization talk reportedly circulating in Washington, Iran’s retaliation posture, Pakistan’s damaged mediator role, and the upcoming BRICS Summit in New Delhi where Iran, Russia, and China’s presidents are expected to meet.

Pepe Escobar is a globally recognized, veteran geopolitical journalist with decades of on-the-ground reporting across Eurasia; Zulfiqar Ali hosts Transition Protocol with direct sourcing inside regional decision-making circles.

[shaberon]

That's too bad the trained chimpanzees don't know how to adjust to reality; after all, they have been peddling Fiction for eighty years. That's a lot of mind rot to undo!

Discontent aboard the Lincoln mostly stems from their supply base being incinerated.


Here's an apt metaphor:


Rezaei wrote that “the gap between America’s inability to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and its claim to own it is greater than the 7,000-mile distance between Washington and the strait itself.”

He concluded his message by saying: “Welcome to a post-American order in the Persian Gulf.”


And someone the politicians never listened to:

Pentagon has concluded that no existing military plan can guarantee the safe passage of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz or ensure energy stability in the region, a report has said.

The assessment, shared by an intelligence official familiar with US military deliberations, paints a stark picture of Washington's strategic deadlock in the Persian Gulf.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately one-fifth of global oil supply passes, has become a critical vulnerability for the United States amid its war against Iran.

"The Pentagon's assessment is that, at present, no military plan has the political and security capacity to guarantee the Strait of Hormuz remains open, ensure safe passage, and maintain energy stability," the informed regional source told Press TV.

The admission marks a significant setback for US military planners, who have long considered the strait a vital chokepoint requiring constant naval presence.

The inability to exert control on the strategic waterway has dealt a major blow to Washington's strategic posture in the region and exposes the limits of American military power against Iran's growing asymmetric capabilities.

The intelligence source further revealed that the deadlock has left US President Donald Trump deeply frustrated, prompting him to seek scapegoats within his own administration.

"Trump is frustrated, and he is seeking to settle scores and assign blame to the military and political layers around him," the source told Press TV.

The internal finger-pointing comes as the administration intensifies what the source described as "psychological warfare against Iran's economy," a campaign of threats and economic pressure designed to compensate for Washington's inability to achieve its strategic objectives militarily.

The Pentagon's acknowledgement that no viable military option exists effectively concedes Iran's strategic advantage in the narrow waterway, where geography and proximity favor the defender against the aggressor.

Iran maintains effective control over the strategic waterway and maintains that the passage through it will become completely safe once the US-Israeli war ends on all fronts and Iran’s legitimate demands as enshrined in the Islamabad memorandum of understanding (MoU) are honored by Washington.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), in a statement on Monday, said it is prepared to deliver a crushing response to any threat or aggression as a war-ending deal between Iran and the United States expires with no breakthrough in sight for talks to permanently end US hostilities.

The IRGC, the statement noted, “assures the honorable people of Iran that its forces, who are fully prepared and committed to employing all their capabilities, will work … in close coordination and synergy with the country’s other powerful armed forces to safeguard the Islamic Revolution and defend Iran’s territorial integrity, independence, dignity, and national interests.”

It was over before it began.

Living abortions, crawl back into the graves that birthed you.

[Rizotto]

"Turkey condemns Israeli airstrikes on Syria’s Abu Al-Duhur airbase, demanding accountability as tensions between Ankara, Tel Aviv and Damascus continue to escalate."

Turkey Warns Israel : Turkey Condemns Israeli Strikes On Syrian Airbase | NewsX World

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=SNcOh2Sthqs

[Vicus]

Well,Well,well...Surprise!

"Inciting hatred and violence": Germany accuses Israel of Nazism-today



German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil, commenting on the recent statement by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who called for the daily elimination of 30-40 Gaza Strip residents, not only those who pose a direct threat to the Jewish state, noted that Berlin will not support such actions.

Klingbeil, outraged by the Israeli minister's openly Nazi statements, does not rule out the possibility of sanctions against Tel Aviv at the European level. The German chancellor hastened to add that he generally supports the State of Israel, but considers Ben-Gvir's behavior inhumane. Klingbeil also clarified that he does not support a number of other Israeli ministers who "incite hatred, incite violence, and provoke unrest." Thus, the German government intends to firmly confront Israel, which has "crossed the line."

As is known, Ben-Gvir previously called on the IDF to carry out nightly targeted assassinations of Gaza residents, whom he considers "not even human," in order to subsequently build Jewish settlements in the Palestinian enclave. Ben-Gvir also criticized Netanyahu for scaling back the military operation in Gaza, demanding the complete occupation of the region, the restoration of the Gush Katif settlements destroyed in 2005, and a "final solution to the Palestinian question" through the deportation of the enclave's population.

At the same time, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich rejected the US-proposed peace plan and called for the complete occupation of the Gaza Strip by the IDF and the introduction of Israeli military rule there, since “any Palestinian administration supports terrorists.”

https://en.topwar.ru/288338-razzhiga...v-nacizme.html

Vicus comment:

In clown world there are "good" and bad Nazis...
Naturally the "good" are the Ukraine you dummy...

[Ravenlocke]

National Chronicle

The U.S. has sanctioned ICC President Tomoko Akane, freezing any U.S.-based assets she holds and effectively cutting her off from the American financial system as part of the Trump administration’s broader campaign against the court.

https://x.com/NCNewsOnX/status/2089776205075472574

European External Action Service - EEAS 🇪🇺

The EU deeply regrets the decision by the United States to impose sanctions against International Criminal Court (ICC) President Judge Tomoko Akane and Senior Trial Lawyer Abdoulaye Seye.

Read the full statement by HR/VP
@kajakallas
here: https://link.europa.eu/tPCMCT

https://x.com/eu_eeas/status/2090080846921285869

Nikkei Asia
@NikkeiAsia
US sanctions ICC's Japanese President Tomoko Akane

https://x.com/NikkeiAsia/status/2089823376118288724

[Ravenlocke]

Iran in Japan/ 駐日イラン大使館

By slapping sanctions on ICC President Tomoko Akane and Prosecutor Abdoulaye Seye, the U.S. administration is openly pursuing in row what Secretary Rubio described in the Wall Street Journal as dismantling the Court 'brick by brick.'

The objective is clear: to grant impunity to perpetrators of war crimes and genocide and insulating U.S. officials and service members from international justice.

This represents an aggressive assault on global governance, reducing the UN Charter and international law to mere casualties of unilateral power.

A clear example of how coercion thrives in all its forms and manifestations, permitted to proceed only through the absence of accountability.


https://x.com/IraninJapan/status/2089940720161558947

John Hudson

Rubio just imposed sanctions against ICC President Tomoko Akane, a woman who is currently wanted in Russia because she issued an arrest warrant for Putin for war crimes 1/2

https://x.com/John_Hudson/status/2089772754325131755

[Rizotto]

https://www.rt.com/news/644392-israe...-palestinians/

WATCH beaming Israeli security minister unveil execution facility for Palestinians
The facility will be used to hang convicted “terrorists” under a controversial new law and will include viewing booths, according to Itamar Ben-Gvir

August 19, 2026

Israel is building an execution facility for Palestinian prisoners sentenced to death on terrorism charges, ultranationalist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has announced. Apart from an execution chamber, the facility will house viewing booths where “crime victims” and their families can witness hangings – an option “customary in many countries,” Ben-Gvir mentioned while presenting the facility on Tuesday. (continued, full article at above link)

[rgray222]

Posted by Rizotto (here)
https://www.rt.com/news/644392-israe...-palestinians/

WATCH beaming Israeli security minister unveil execution facility for Palestinians
The facility will be used to hang convicted “terrorists” under a controversial new law and will include viewing booths, according to Itamar Ben-Gvir

August 19, 2026

Israel is building an execution facility for Palestinian prisoners sentenced to death on terrorism charges, ultranationalist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has announced. Apart from an execution chamber, the facility will house viewing booths where “crime victims” and their families can witness hangings – an option “customary in many countries,” Ben-Gvir mentioned while presenting the facility on Tuesday. (continued, full article at above link)

RT and your post make this sound like it is unique to Israel. Sadly that is not the case. I am glad that this Death Penalty for Terrorists Law and the construction of the execution facility are actively being challenged in the Israeli Supreme Court. There is a very strong case for this being unconstitutional.

Unlike many nations that conduct executions behind closed doors, Iran frequently carries out public hangings. The most common method involves using construction cranes to lift prisoners into the air by the neck. The condemned stand on a platform or the back of a pickup truck, and the crane hoists them up, leading to death by strangulation or until their neck are broken. This method is often used in town squares or stadiums to maximize public visibility and instill fear. There are numerous videos documenting these horrific events. Iran currently leads the world in executions, ranking above China.

Hamas has been equally as brutal as the Iranians; they have a long history of throwing people off buildings, raping prisoners, and conducting public hangings with no judicial review whatsoever. At least the Iranians have sham trials and pretend to go through the judicial motions. Sadly there are many many videos verifying these murders.

When I was in Riyadh, I was invited to Safa Square, known to expats and embassy staff as Chop Chop Square. It got its name because the warm-up event to the hangings and crucifixions (yes, crucifixions) was to chop the hands off convicted thieves. The square was always full of local spectators watching this bizarre event, and if they knew foreigners were in the crowd, they forced them to the front.

If you are like me, you can never justify this, but you can find a way to reconcile it in your mind by believing that people in the Middle East have a different culture and way of life. However, eventually, the truth will break through. People are people everywhere; there is no justification or rationalization for cutting off hands or hanging people from cranes or beheading them with swords. It is barbaric and unjustifiable under any circumstances and in any part of this world. No matter how much religious doctrine or national security rhetoric they spout, it does not make it right. I could go on, but I won't. Every man, woman, and child in the world should universally condemn this inhumane, backward, and sadistic behavior.

[bojancan]

President Trump is still claiming that the U.S. is controlling the Strait of Hormuz, despite what is happening on the ground. Ana Kasparian discusses on The Young Turks....

Aug, 19
The Young Turks
6.69M subscribers

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=RPOfMDhkj6A