A Jerusalem Post story, citing sources in Kuwait, alleged that the Biden national security team gave the Iranians the names of deep-cover Mossad operatives working in Iran to try to de-escalate tensions between Israel and Iran. //

All of this may be true. The Kuwaiti paper may have pushed an Iranian story to stir up mischief. Fox may not have done due diligence on the story. It all might be a clever bit of disinformation.

On the other hand, "a hit dog will holler."

The counterargument to the story is based on the idea that the Kuwaiti newspaper has links to the Tehran regime and has posted inaccurate stories. //

That sounds plausible until you consider how many of the Steele Dossier stories that the media accepted at face value were also based on a single anonymous source. I'm not sure that is the strongest argument to make given our own media's performance during the Russia Hoax and COVID when they produced regime disinformation on a massive scale. I don't know why I'd believe the same people who were involved in sending $1.7 billion in cash to Tehran and lying about it rather than some other group of liars. //

The fact is that Biden's foreign policy is based on two impulses: fear and appeasement. Well, three impulses: fear, appeasement, and lies. We have read over and over about how the White House is trying to prevent "escalation" between Israel and Iran. We know from White House sources that Biden is trying to pressure Netanyahu into winding down the war in Gaza and not reacting to Hezbollah and Iranian provocations. We know that Iran has threatened to hit American targets if it can't adequately punish Israel; see Iran Warns US That If It Helps Israel Defend From Iran's Retaliation Itself Then the US Is Next – RedState. We know that the White House permits Iranian-backed gunmen to rocket US bases in the region with token retaliation. //

We know that Biden's foreign policy and defense agencies have senior people with very close ties to Tehran; see Defense Official With Frequent White House Visits and Known Iranian Ties Has a Link to Kamala Harris. Kamala's national security adviser has been employed by what is described as Iran's lobbying arm in Washington.

We also know that the White House is in thrall to the "Palestinian" movement and is deeply anti-Israel, if not outright antisemitic. //

I understand why people don't want to believe the story is true. I'd also love to be able to tell the story of an outrageous fraud. What I don't understand is what about the story isn't both plausible and totally on-brand for the Biden White House.  //

John Q. Public Dieter Schultz
4 hours ago
The people who say that the story isn’t true have lied about literally everything else. Is today the day they finally decided to be honest? //

Wabash08
2 hours ago
Even if it’s not accurate, it reflects the utter shambles Biden has left our relationship with Israel. That story wouldn’t get reported unless there is either hard evidence the US acted as accused, or Israel is angry enough at American behavior to let it be printed without definitive proof. I would put my money on the story being true given Biden and his Obama staffed state department’s obsequiousness to Iran.

All of this may be true. The Kuwaiti paper may have pushed an Iranian story to stir up mischief. Fox may not have done due diligence on the story. It all might be a clever bit of disinformation.

On the other hand, "a hit dog will holler."

The counterargument to the story is based on the idea that the Kuwaiti newspaper has links to the Tehran regime and has posted inaccurate stories. //

That sounds plausible until you consider how many of the Steele Dossier stories that the media accepted at face value were also based on a single anonymous source. I'm not sure that is the strongest argument to make given our own media's performance during the Russia Hoax and COVID when they produced regime disinformation on a massive scale. I don't know why I'd believe the same people who were involved in sending $1.7 billion in cash to Tehran and lying about it rather than some other group of liars. //

The fact is that Biden's foreign policy is based on two impulses: fear and appeasement. Well, three impulses: fear, appeasement, and lies. We have read over and over about how the White House is trying to prevent "escalation" between Israel and Iran. We know from White House sources that Biden is trying to pressure Netanyahu into winding down the war in Gaza and not reacting to Hezbollah and Iranian provocations. We know that Iran has threatened to hit American targets if it can't adequately punish Israel; see Iran Warns US That If It Helps Israel Defend From Iran's Retaliation Itself Then the US Is Next – RedState. We know that the White House permits Iranian-backed gunmen to rocket US bases in the region with token retaliation. //

We know that Biden's foreign policy and defense agencies have senior people with very close ties to Tehran; see Defense Official With Frequent White House Visits and Known Iranian Ties Has a Link to Kamala Harris. Kamala's national security adviser has been employed by what is described as Iran's lobbying arm in Washington.

We also know that the White House is in thrall to the "Palestinian" movement and is deeply anti-Israel, if not outright antisemitic. //

I understand why people don't want to believe the story is true. I'd also love to be able to tell the story of an outrageous fraud. What I don't understand is what about the story isn't both plausible and totally on-brand for the Biden White House.  //

John Q. Public Dieter Schultz
4 hours ago
The people who say that the story isn’t true have lied about literally everything else. Is today the day they finally decided to be honest? //

Wabash08
2 hours ago
Even if it’s not accurate, it reflects the utter shambles Biden has left our relationship with Israel. That story wouldn’t get reported unless there is either hard evidence the US acted as accused, or Israel is angry enough at American behavior to let it be printed without definitive proof. I would put my money on the story being true given Biden and his Obama staffed state department’s obsequiousness to Iran.

A senior Department of Defense official linked to an organization that lobbies for the mullahs in Tehran has continued to hold the highest level of security clearance and visit the White House. //

Senior Department of Defense official Ariane Tabatabai participated in multiple meetings organized by the White House’s Presidential Personnel Office, which is responsible for recruiting and vetting scores of nominees across the government, visitor logs reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon show.

Tabatabai was at the White House just two months after Semafor revealed she was a key member of a secretive Iranian influence group, the Iran Experts Initiative, that reported back to Tehran’s foreign ministry, according to the logs. She participated in at least seven other White House gatherings throughout the end of 2023 and into April 2024, mixing with officials from a range of cabinet-level agencies. //

Her patron is none other than Phil Gordon, Kamala Harris's national security adviser.

Ismail Haniyeh, a top leader of Hamas, was assassinated on Wednesday by an explosive device covertly smuggled into the Tehran guesthouse where he was staying, according to seven Middle Eastern officials, including two Iranians, and an American official.

The bomb had been hidden approximately two months ago in the guesthouse, according to five of the Middle Eastern officials. The guesthouse is run and protected by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and is part of a large compound, known as Neshat, in an upscale neighborhood of northern Tehran.

Mr. Haniyeh was in Iran’s capital for the presidential inauguration. The bomb was detonated remotely, the five officials said, once it was confirmed that he was inside his room at the guesthouse. The blast also killed a bodyguard. //

Such a breach, three Iranian officials said, was a catastrophic failure of intelligence and security for Iran and a tremendous embarrassment for the Guards, which uses the compound for retreats, secret meetings and housing prominent guests like Mr. Haniyeh. //

Seth Mandel @SethAMandel
·
You know, I often make fun of the "MOSSAD UNDER THE BED!" ppl on here, but sometimes yeah the Mossad is under your bed what can I tell you
nytimes.com
Bomb Smuggled Into Tehran Guesthouse Months Ago Killed Hamas Leader
9:39 AM · Aug 1, 2024

On Thursday, we learned that Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who has been living in luxury in Qatar, was taken out by an explosive device placed in a guest house room in Tehran months ago and remotely detonated. Haniyeh was in Iran for the swearing-in of Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, which was scheduled for Tuesday. Haniyeh's pronouns have now been permanently changed to "was" and "were." //

Three Iranian officials separately told The New York Times that the security breach that allowed the explosive device to find its way into the compound where Haniyeh was residing – which is used by the Guards for secret meetings and housing prominent guests – is a massive embarrassment to the military agency. //

No matter who planted this device, it's an effective little piece of retribution for Oct 7th. And you know what the thing is about revenge? It's patient.

Iran supplying Samad-3 drones — like the one that hit Tel Aviv — to Mexican drug cartels and Venezuela, Israeli sources say. //

Iran-made drone flew over 1200 miles before hitting Tel Aviv
The Iran-made Samad-3 drone “traveled about 2,000 km from Yemen to Israel through the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt,” the Israeli news website YNET reported Friday. “The drone used different routes to confuse the IDF detection systems. The drone’s payload was relatively small and contained few kilograms of explosives to prolong the aircraft’s distance, allowing it to cross Sinai and enter Israel through the Mediterranean Sea.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken used the occasion of an interview at the Aspen Security Forum to announce that Iran “is now probably one or two weeks” away from having enough fissile material to construct a nuclear weapon. The real news is that Iran may already have a bomb. //

What is much more likely is that the Iranians have a nuclear weapon on hand. In February 2023, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl told the House Armed Services Committee that Iran could make enough fissile for one nuclear bomb in "about 12 days." If they could make enough material for a bomb in "about 12 days" a year and a half ago, there is no reason to assume they didn't. There is nothing in the behavior of the Biden White House that could have possibly deterred them. Just last month, the official White House estimate was 18 months (see How Close Is Iran to Getting Nuclear Weapons? New Info Alarms Intelligence Officials). //

Blinken, of course, tried to blame it all on the Trump administration for leaving the Obama-conceived Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that guaranteed Iran a path to owning a bomb without troublesome sanctions by calling Iran out for cheating (Trump Says Iran Is Violating Nuclear Deal and the Left Goes Bonkers (VIDEO) and BREAKING. President Trump's Remarks on Leaving the Iran Nuclear Deal – RedState).

The real fault lies in a strategy based on nothing more than the hope that a terrorist state dedicated to the destruction of the United States could be convinced to forgo developing a nuclear weapon by bribing them.

Hallen
an hour ago
The US should have taken care of this a year ago. There is a reason we have to be strong worldwide. When we clean up messes, nobody can do much about it. They may whine. They may call us bullies, but their governments pretty much all smile and wipe the sweat off their brow. They know that since the US did it, there won't be escalations.

With Israel and others having to do these things, it's the perfect excuse for others to escalate.

Anyone who doesn't get this is fooling themselves. It's why Biden's foreign policy is so dangerous. His weakness invites total war. A strong president would have bombed the Houthis out of existence by now -- well, at least their capability of harassing anyone. That would have ended that problem. Now, it's a much, much bigger problem. That's Biden's fault.

While most news outlets are focused on Roaring Kitty, the jobs report, or Hunter Biden, the most consequential news item of the year may be unfolding before our very eyes in our hemisphere. The Russians are coming. But so, too, are the Chinese and Iranians. In fact, they’re already here.

We’re not talking about the border so the right isn’t covering it. We’re not talking about Trump, so the mainstream media isn’t covering it. We’re talking about the war coming to South America designed to distract the United States.

To understand the significance of this, we must first recognize the rapidly changing geopolitical landscape at the expense of a distracted and weakened United States. An emboldened Russia, China, and Iran have coordinated internally to bypass international sanctions, while externally, they have provoked conflict on a growing number of fronts. //

American oil companies are actively exploring the oil-rich Essequibo region of Guyana. Venezuela is preparing to invade it. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Quds Forces are in Venezuela already, along with both Russian and Chinese military advisors. The Venezuelans have been using Iranian coast guard vessels to patrol the river border with Guyana.

Russia, China, and Iran are in Venezuela, helping them prepare an invasion of an American and British ally to seize American-backed oil fields. The only thing Joe Biden is doing is letting Venezuela sell oil to fund the invasion.

the Wall Street Journal reports in an exclusive:

Joe Biden is opposing a European plan to rebuke Iran for advances in its nuclear programme as Washington wants to avoid an escalation of tensions ahead of the US presidential election, diplomats involved in discussions have claimed.

The Biden administration is said to be arguing against an effort by Britain and France to censure Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency's member state board in early June, they added. While US officials deny lobbying against a resolution, the diplomats say the administration is pressing other countries to abstain in a censure vote, which is what Washington will do. //

The differences are emerging as Western officials’ concerns have deepened about Iran’s nuclear activities.

On Monday, the U.N. atomic-energy agency reported that Iran’s stockpile of 60% highly enriched uranium rose 20.6 kilograms to 142.1 kg as of May 11 from three months earlier, its highest level to date.

U.S. officials say that material could be converted into weapons-grade enriched uranium in a matter of days. It would then be enough to fuel three nuclear weapons….

European diplomats have warned that failure to take action would undermine the authority of the IAEA, which polices nonproliferation of nuclear weapons. They say it also weakens the credibility of Western pressure on Iran. And they are frustrated over what they see as U.S. efforts to undermine their approach.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ar-BB1n6Myr

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was on fire on Tuesday as he grilled Joe Biden's Secretary of State Antony Blinken before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

This may just be one of the most effective cross-examinations over how bad the administration has been on Iran that you're ever going to see, and how they've helped our enemies while hurting our allies. He really drops the hammer on him at the end. //

"You've funded our enemies and you undermine our friends," Cruz said. "And the world is much much more dangerous as result and Americans are in much greater jeopardy because of it."

Blinken protested saying we weren't "alone" anymore.

Cruz dropped him with a final withering remark, "Remember the Abraham Accords?"

That was a reminder of how we had the area in greater peace under former President Donald Trump and now it's in flames because of Joe Biden.

The question for the mainstream press and their Democrat friends was how to respond. Iran had become a quasi-ally of the far left over the last decade and a half, leaving journalists and politicians to decide whether to offer condolences or to speak clearly about who Raisi was. Expectedly, they went with the first option.

As RedState reported, the Biden administration released a letter of "official condolences," a move that left many in disbelief. Raisi was a genocidal butcher (the "butcher of Tehran" was his nickname) who oversaw the murder of thousands of innocent people over his time in power. //

When I made the above statement on social media, I had some people chime in by citing the command from Jesus to pray for one's enemies. I'm not too keen on taking religious advice from people who have probably never picked up a Bible, but that verse is not a command to pray for those mourning a genocidal maniac. The intention is to pray for one's living enemies that they might come to know salvation. Raisi is dead. Prayers aren't going to do anything for him at this point, and those mourning him and his tyranny are not doing something righteous. They are doing something evil.

Besides, the idea that the "Iranian people" are mourning Raisi is a vast misrepresentation of the dynamics on the ground. Heck, it's outright insulting to those whose loved ones have been killed by the Islamic Republic. Iran's regime is largely hated by its population, as evidenced by the massive demonstrations that have taken place (and been brutally put down) over the last several years.

This chaplain should have offered prayers for the victims of Raisi. That would have been prudent. //

Probable Cause Blue State Deplorable
8 hours ago
When I read that they prayed "for the Iranian people who mourn the death of their president," I thought:

"For both of them?"

John Hasson
@SonofHas
·
Follow
Last week: Biden Admin claims it can locate Hamas leaders, and it offers to give the locations to Israel to stop the Rafah invasion

Today: Biden Admin was wrong about Sinwar’s location, and its intel about Sinwar is roughly one month old
7:28 PM · May 18, 2024 //

That should leave people asking exactly what Iran, which uses Hamas as a proxy, has on the president. What else would motivate Biden to try this ruse on a long-time ally besides appeasing the Mullahs he's always bent over backward for?

I would think this has to be the end of Israel taking any council from Biden seriously.

Gabriel Noronha
@GLNoronha
·
Follow
My thoughts are with the @washingtonpost obituary team in this difficult time as they fiercely debate whether to call Ebrahim Raisi an “austere religious scholar”, a “patriotic anti-Zionist leader” or a “zealous anti-corruption crusader”.
3:04 PM · May 19, 2024. //

pat Real GOP 690
4 hours ago
They flew into the fog knowing God's hand would guide them. And he did. //

Locked and Loaded
6 hours ago
Pieces be upon him.

While Israeli media are talking about the "Rampage" air-launched cruise missile, the range of that missile is a fraction of that needed to hit Isfahan without overflight, including refueling, of Syrian and Iraqi airspace. //

John Ridge 🇺🇸 🇺🇦
·
Apr 19
@John_A_Ridge
·
Follow
So my initial gut feeling was correct, it was not UAVs. The IAF carried out a standoff attack from Syrian airspace with Sparrow, likely Blue Sparrow, air-launched ballistic missiles released from F-15Is.

Booster wreckage was recovered in Iraq //

John Ridge 🇺🇸 🇺🇦
@John_A_Ridge
Clarification: based on input from @orfialkov, this wreckage may be from Rocks specifically.

Rocks is the purpose-designed ALBM derivative of Sparrow produced by Rafael. This would expand the potential launch platforms from F-15A/B Baz and F-15I Ra’am to include F-16I Sufa.
10:37 AM · Apr 19, 2024 //

The message sent was clear. Israel doesn't need to launch hundreds of weapons that violate the airspace of neighboring countries. Israel can cut its way through what passes for an air defense system in Iran and dump ballistic missiles on a very specific target deep in Iran. Thursday, that target was an S-300 surface-to-air missile system. Tomorrow, it may be something a little more precious.

Was the message received? I think so.
...
Khameini didn't mention Israel's counterattack.

Message received.

Yonah Jeremy Bob
@jeremybob1
·
Follow
BREAKING: The attack on Iran at Isfahan, attributed to Israel, was carried out NOT by drones or land to air missiles, but by long range missiles launched from AIRCRAFT, the Jerusalem Post has confirmed:
jpost.com
Explosions heard in Iran, Syria, Iraq
2:56 AM · Apr 19, 2024 //

FDD
@FDD
·
Follow
"This may be an early demonstration of some new capabilities that Israel has and that the Iranians were not aware of."

@mdubowitz joins @CNN to break down Israel's retaliatory strike near an Iranian nuclear facility.

Watch 👇

12:15 PM · Apr 19, 2024

A missile, two Western officials said, was fired from a warplane far from Israeli or Iranian airspace and included technology that enabled it to evade Iran’s radar defenses. Neither the missile nor the aircraft that fired it entered Jordanian airspace, the Western officials said, a gesture meant to keep the kingdom out of the conflict after it helped shoot down Iranian weapons last week.

The two Iranian officials said that Iran’s military had not detected anything entering Iran’s airspace on Friday, including drones, missiles and aircraft. Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, reported that no missile attacks had occurred and that Iran’s air defense system had not been activated.

How precise was the attack? The NYT got a look at satellite imagery of the Natanz S-300 system, both before and after the attack. The missile strike destroyed the S-300 radar system while leaving other related equipment undamaged: //

Gerald McGlothlin argues at American Thinker that they took a page out of King David's playbook as a warning about what could happen next (via Adam Baldwin):

Targeting Isfahan, Iran's "crown jewel," Israel's action carried a profound warning: a demonstration of military might, and a counterattack that was presumed by many experts not to be made until after Passover.

This maneuver by Israel echoes a biblical story from 1 Samuel 26, where David, pursued by King Saul, infiltrates the king's camp and absconds with his spear and water jug—items placed next to the sleeping king. David's subsequent display of these items from a safe distance served as a powerful testament to his ability to strike at the heart of Saul's defenses without harming him. Similarly, Israel's recent military action against Isfahan sends a clear signal to Iran: "Your military can't protect you from us."

Israel's restraint is both a message and a warning. It signifies that while Israel possesses the capability to unleash devastating strikes that could result in massive casualties and escalate into a larger conflict, it chooses, for now, a path of caution and strategic messaging. This act of restraint should not be mistaken for weakness but rather seen as a calculated effort to avoid unnecessary bloodshed and instability in the region.

The Jerusalem Post
@Jerusalem_Post
·
Iran informed Turkey in advance of its planned operation against Israel, a Turkish diplomatic source told Reuters on Sunday, adding that the US conveyed to Iran via Ankara that its operation must be "within certain limits."
jpost.com
Iran informed Turkey in advance of its operation against Israel
10:11 AM · Apr 14, 2024

There's no way to sugarcoat that. The Biden administration told the Iranians it was acceptable to attack "within certain limits." Were those limits adhered to? That's something only the president and his handlers can answer (and never will), but given their rush to demand Israel not strike back, it would seem probable that everything went according to plan. //

This is a betrayal that is hard to fathom. //

Whatever Iran has on Biden and the entire Obama alumni must be incredibly serious given the links these people are going to to protect a terrorist state. //

Min Headroom llme
4 hours ago

Whatever Iran has on Biden and the entire Obama alumni must be incredibly serious given the links these people are going to to protect a terrorist state.

That may be true, but there is another possibility which is at least equally unsettling: there’s a “balanced” foreign policy mindset among a good deal of the DC elites, that requires their definition of all competing interests getting what they decide is a proper share. Part of this has to do with crackpot notions of proportionality, part of it is a craven hope that by carefully managing everything, stability, if not outright peace will be maintained. These wise f*ls actually think they are clever and orchestrating a grand scheme, all while fluffing their own egos and feathering their own nests. While the truth is they are weak and stupd.

So it’s not so much they are being blackmailed, although that’s possible, but more likely they are literally giving it away for free.

But then a disturbing report came out that the reason the U.S. had such good intel about an Iranian attack on Israel was because it was Iran who tipped the Biden team off. But they told the U.S. that they would consider it limited and not escalate if Israel didn't respond. The Biden team told Israel they would not be involved in an offensive attack on Iran and was encouraging Israel not to respond, to "take the win" from their good defensive response to the attack. They were also leaking about the discussions to the media, undercutting Israel and saying they didn't know if Israel would sit back after being attacked. //

Washington had conveyed to Tehran via Turkey that any action it took had to be "within certain limits." Basically, you were having Joe Biden green-lighting the attack.

U.S. forces in the area have reportedly shot down "dozens" of drones targeting Israel. They've also reportedly taken out missiles, as well. //

Israel says most launches were taken out outside of Israel. //

David M Friedman @DavidM_Friedman
·
Catching up now after Shabbat. Obviously missed a lot. Here are my quick takeaways:

1) Iran’s attack against Israel — 200+ drones, cruise and ballistic missiles — more aggressive and pervasive than expected.

2) Israel’s response so far has been magnificent — intercepting 99% of the incoming.

3) Lots of help provided by USA, UK, France and even Jordan. We are grateful.

4) Iran literally attacked the Al Aqsa Mosque. Had Israel not intercepted the missile, 3rd holiest site in Islam destroyed.

5) This is the time for Israel, the West and the moderate Sunni nations to unite against this evil, terrorist nation.
8:25 PM · Apr 13, 2024