#funding iran

[william-r-melich]

A Two-Word Solution - 04/15/2024

I hate all this war stuff. I wasn't looking forward to writing this article, but it is something I must do. We find ourselves as a country in a precarious situation of teetering on the edge of being pulled into a major, global conflict. I gathered some information from Joshua Philipp's podcast on Epoch Times, Crossroads. He read the following from an article in the "Express" in UK, published at 10:12 (their local time) on Sunday, April 14, 2024, updated the same day at 12:06.

"The possibility of Iran ramping up its enrichment activities to acquire a nuclear weapon has sent shockwaves through the region and in the West."

"Iran has already vowed to launch a 'stronger' offensive against Israel's response to Saturday's attack."

"A new government-funded billboard in Palestine Square in Tehran was unveiled last night after Iran launched hundreds of drones, missiles, and rockets at Israel with Hebrew text."

"Senior Iranian figures have urged Supreme Leader Khamenei to reconsider the country's stance on nuclear weapons, with calls to cancel the existing fatwa against their assembly."

"The shift in rhetoric has led to speculation in the West about Iran's intentions and the Supreme Leader's willingness to entertain the idea of pursuing nuclear armament."

"Mahmoud-Reza Aghamir, a prominent nuclear physics professor with ties to the Iranian regime, further fueled suspicions by suggesting that 'it would be a lot easier to build a bomb than to keep holding so much enriched uranium at high levels.'"

"Iran's possession of 150 Kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent" (which is the threshold for Israel to send counter attacks against Iran.) "has raised alarms about the potential for weaponization."

"Israel is closely monitoring these developments, aware that any move towards nuclear capabilities by Iran could prompt a significant military response from the United States."

"The fear is that Iran could discretely advance its nuclear program, leaving intelligence agencies as the only means of detecting such activities."

Sounds pretty iffy to me, a lot of what they could do. Yet, I suppose Israel needs to error on the side of pre-empting any possible nuclear attack. After Iran sent over 200 missiles and drones toward Israel, Israel, the U.S., and other allies knocked down 99% of them, leaving very little damage and seriously injuring a 10 year-old girl. My heart and thoughts go out to her and her family, I hope she'll be okay.

On his podcast this morning, Joshua Philipp had stated that the United States policy of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) is no longer in place. So, if a country uses a nuclear bomb on us or one of our major allies, then we would nuke them. When Russia threatened had threatened to possibly nuke Ukraine, the U.S. only threatened Russia with "economic and diplomatic harm." That's too weak of a response, in my opinion. So, if they use a nuke, we'll use a money-clip. Hell, we might as well use a paperclip.

I caught an informative article on Josh's show this morning which came from Time magazine back in November 2022, the headline reads:

"World Leaders Condemn Putin's War, Nuclear Threats Amid Pressure Campaign Against Russia"

"The U.S. and other world leaders issued a joint declaration Wednesday condemning Russia's War in Ukraine and denouncing threats of using nuclear weapons, an intimidation tactic that's become commonplace for Russian President Vladimir Putin since launching his invasion nine months ago."

"'The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible', read the statement, composed by the world's 20 largest economies. 'The peaceful resolution of conflicts, efforts to address crises, as well as diplomacy and dialogue, are vital. Today's era must not be of war.'"

"The 17-page document marks a victory for the Biden Administration and global allies, which sought to end this year's summit in Bali, Indonesia with a statement censuring Russia for its unprovoked military campaign in Ukraine. In recent weeks, the Biden team has launched a discreet, multi-pronged effort to pressure Moscow to dial back the increasingly reckless bluster that has sparked fears the world was nearing the brink of nuclear war."

"Through a series of one-on one discussions and back channels between top U.S. and Russian officials, combined with diplomatic maneuvering with other nations' leaders, the Administration has worked to get Putin and his government to stop threatening the use of nuclear weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine, where Moscow has faced mounting losses, this fall."

"In a rare disclosure on Monday, the White House revealed CIA Director William Burns met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Naryshkin in Ankara, Turkey's capital, to discuss potential costs to the Kremlin if it decides to use a nuclear weapon in the Ukraine conflict. 'He is not conducting negotiations of any kind,' a White House spokeswoman said. 'He is conveying a message on the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons by Russia, and the risks of escalation to strategic stability.'"

"The same day, President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a joint-statement that said nuclear weapons should never be used, particularly in Ukraine. The rebuke was notworthy considering Beijing has tacitly approved of Putin's actions and shown reticence to join the international community's widespread condemnation of invasion."

"Read more: U.S. Unveils Strategy Threats from China and Russia."

"The message the U.S. seeks to send is clear: if Moscow goes nuclear in Ukraine, it will only experience further economic and diplomatic isolation on the world stage. There are indications that the strategy, which has gathered momentum behind the scenes since late September after Putin illegally annexed four occupied regions of Ukraine then suggested he'd defend the territory with nuclear arms, may be working. Putin back tracked late last month by stating Russia would gain nothing through launching a nuclear strike. 'We see no need for that,' he said October 27 at a conference of international foreign policy experts. 'There is no point in that, neither political nor military.'"

"Concerned observers are cautiously optimistic that the U.S. approach will continue to draw Putin away from the nuclear threshold, but they worry about the ongoing instability of relation between the world's foremost nuclear powers. 'The Biden team has been effective in cautioning Putin not to cross the nuclear line, warning of the consequences, and quietly encouraging others with influence like China to provide similar messages to Putin. They've done this very adeptly while avoiding provocations,' says Lynn Rusten, vice president at the Nuclear Threat Initiative and former senior official on arms control." In my opinion, I think this writer is being too kind to Briben (Biden). I really don't think he's effective in deterring Putin's aggression.

This next article just came out in the Epoch Times: "Israel Announces It Will Respond to Iran Missile Attack as Airlines Cancel Flights to Region." It begins with this: "Israel's miliary chief said on April 15 that Israel will respond to Iran's missile and drone attack, but it's not clear how or when."

"Herzi Halevi, head of the Israel Defense Forces, told reporters that Iran's strikes "will be met with a response" without elaborating. He spoke during a visit to the Nevatim air base, which Israel sayts suffered light damage in the Iranian attack.

“Iran wanted to harm the strategic capabilities of the State of Israel—that is something that had not happened before. We were prepared for the ‘Iron Shield’ operation—preparation that brought Iran to also meet air superiority,” he said. “Last Monday, we saw what was being organized, and we think that the State of Israel is very strong and knows how to deal with it alone, but with a threat so numerous and so far away, we are always happy to have [the United States] with us. Looking ahead, we are considering our steps, and this launch of so many missiles, cruise missiles, and UAVs into the territory of the State of Israel will be met with a response.”

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been huddling with top officials to discuss a possible response to Iran’s attack involving hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles."

"Iran’s attack on April 13 was the first time Tehran directly targeted Israel since the current regime took over in 1979. However, the country has been engaged in proxy attacks against both Israel and the United States originating from a number of Middle Eastern countries."

"On April 15, a number of airline companies canceled or delayed flights again after the Iranian missile and drone attack. United Airlines and Air Canada, notably, canceled some flights into Tel Aviv as well as flights into Jordan."

"Iranian officials said the attack was carried out in response to an Israeli airstrike on April 1 on a Syrian compound that left two Iranian generals and other officials dead."

"'Our response will be much larger than tonight’s military action if Israel retaliates against Iran,' armed forces chief of staff Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri told state-run media in articles published on April 14. He claimed that Iran warned the United States through Switzerland that any support of an Israeli counterattack against Iran would lead to American assets being targeted."

"After the drones and missiles were launched, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard issued a direct warning to the United States through state-run IRNA that the 'U.S. government is warned any support or participation in harming Iran’s interests will be followed by decisive and regretting response by Iran’s armed forces.'"

U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said this on April 15 on whether the U.S. will be briefed on any response plans of Israel: "We will let the Israelis speak to that. "We are not involved in their decision-making process about a potential response."

"The Iranian attack on April 13 was the first time that Iran has launched a direct military assault on Israel, despite decades of enmity dating back to the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. The attack happened less than two weeks after a suspected Israeli strike in Syria that killed two Iranian generals in an Iranian consular building."

"Israel’s military stated that its Arrow system, which shoots down ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere, handled most interceptions and noted that 'strategic partners' were involved."

"U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement that U.S. military forces 'intercepted dozens of missiles and UAVs en route to Israel, launched from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen,' referring to a term used for unmanned aerial vehicles."

"'At my direction, to support the defense of Israel, the U.S. military moved aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to the region over the course of the past week,' President Joe Biden said in a separate statement over the past weekend. “Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skill of our service members, we helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles."

"Israel and Iran have been on a collision course throughout Israel’s six-month war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip after members of the group carried out a cross-border attack that left more than 1,200 civilians dead. More than 250 people were kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023, incident, according to officials. Israel’s government is still negotiating with Hamas for the release of the remaining hostages."

"The Associated Press contributed to this report."

With the weakness of the current appeaser-in-thief, Shmoe Briben (Joe Biden), this is absolutely the worst time for an imminent threat of a world war, let alone a nuclear one. I see this compromised-corrupt-oatmeal-for-brains-commie-ander-in-disbelief as not doing any affective deterrence, lying all the time and saying all the wrong things as he makes everything about himself on what a great job he's doing; all the while he's really been doing everything possible to cause this horrible situation which never would have happened under Donald Trump. Yes, most definitely he caused this dumb war by funding a major adversary of ours with billions of dollars which went directly to the terrorists who barbarically raped, tortured, and murdered so many innocent Israeli citizens; men, women, and children: brutally cutting out eyes, chopping off limbs, burning and beheading babies. Briben has a lot of blood on his hands which makes me both sickened and angry to the core. This kid-sniffing, corrupt bag of a rotting maggot, sub-human creature in the White House; wantonly funding such demon-savage, terrorist thugs is a heinous act driven by stupidity on steroids on a level of evil that falls perpetually deep into the infinite pits of darkness...

Yet, my hope is that I'm wrong in assuming that he'll not do enough of the right thing, and too much of the wrong thing to prevent a major global conflict. Realistically, I don't think it will come to that because Iran has to know that in spite of all the wokeness in our military at the top ranks, we would wipe them off the map in a direct war with them. I believe that China is waiting in the wings for us to get involved with at least a couple more wars while being hit with multiple, domestic terror attacks so that we'll be distracted and spread out thinly enough to give them a better chance at defeating us. We must make it to the election this November and get Trump re-elected. We must defeat Shmoe Briben, as Trump says, "get out of here, you're fired!" If we don't, we'll be seriously futticked! What a mess! Aside from the obvious, needed act of cutting off all the funding to Iran and their terrorist proxies, I have a simple, 2-word solution; stop fighting!

[i-am-aprl]

🚀 People trying to blame Iran for this measured and calculated “escalation” conveniently ignore the facts. The real question is why are the UK and US so quick to condemn Iran for its attacks tonight, but so unwilling to condemn the Israeli attack on Iran’s embassy in Syria?

[mirkobloom77]

‼️🇮🇱🇮🇷🇺🇸 US rules out joining Israeli counterattack on Iran

🔸 Source: Al Jazeera

[alwaysbewoke]

[nando161mando]

The National: We publish a timeline of a year of Israel's bombardment of Gaza. It's all here in black and white - the war crimes, murdered journalists, flattened hospitals, orphaned children. 7567 words, 42,000 deaths. Don't look away

[phoenixyfriend]

Can you explain the Iran-Israel situation please?

Alright, let's get to it. Please note that I'm writing this on mobile during my lunch break, so I can't include reference/source links as much as I'd like. Thankfully, most of what I'm going to be telling you should be easily located by searching for an article on one of the following: APNews, Reuters, BBC Global News Podcast, Democracy Now!, NPR, or The New York Times. Long-term background is probably best found in videos by the YouTube channels Real Life Lore or tldr global news, or on Wikipedia if you prefer text.

The short version: Israel attacked Iran's consulate in Syria to get at some of the military commanders that were there, which is legally equivalent to attacking Iran itself. Iran responded by sending about 300 bombs at Israel, most of which were shot down in transit. Given that they still called it a success, even though it seems only one person was even hurt, my understanding is that it's very likely that they only intended the rockets to be a show of force, rather than an actual escalation, because Iran can't afford a war right now.

To support my blogging so I can move out of my parents’ house, I do have a ko-fi. Alternately, you can donate to one of the charities I list in this post OR this post.

The long version:

Okay, let's start with some background on Israel, then Iran. This is... a lot, so if you already know the broad strokes skip down to 2023.

Israel was established following WWII by the English and French, following borders the two countries had secretly drawn up decades earlier in the Sykes-Picot agreement. The intent was to give the Jewish people a place to go... or, depending on who you ask, a place to send them. Their ancestral homeland was viewed as the best choice, sort of like a deportation millennia after a diaspora. Given that WWII had just ended by the time Sykes-Picot was actually put into effect, 'getting out of Europe' was something a lot of Jews were given to agree with.

The Arab world was not happy, as that land had belonged to the Ottomans for centuries, and had long since 'naturalized' to being Arab. I'm not going to pretend to know the nuances to when people do or do not consider Palestine to have been its own nation; it was an Ottoman state until WWI, at which point it came under British control for just under three decades, and that period is known as the British Mandate of Palestine; it ended after WWII, with the creation of Israel. Palestine's land and people have sort of just been punted around from one colonizer to another for centuries.

Iran is the current form of what was once Persia. They were an empire for a very long time, and were a unitary monarchy up until the early 20th century; in 1925, Iran elected a Prime Minister who was then declared the monarch. The following several decades had Iran's monarchy slowly weakened, and occasionally beset by foreign interventions, including a covert coup by the US and UK in 1953. The country also became more corrupt throughout the 1970s due to economic policy failing to control inflation in the face of rising oil prices.

In 1979, there was a revolution that overthrew the monarchy and the elected government, replacing the system with a theocracy and declaring Iran to be an Islamic Republic, with the head of state being a religious authority, rather than an elected one. This was not popular with... most countries. 1980 saw the closure of all universities (reopened in 1983 with government-approved curriculums), as well as the taking of over fifty American hostages from the US Embassy in Iran. You may have heard about that in the context of Ronald Reagan encouraging Iran to keep the hostages until the end of Carter's term in order to force the election.

So, the West didn't like having an Islamic state because it claims to like democracy, and also because the Islamic state was explicitly anti-American and this has some Bad Effects on oil prices. The Soviets didn't like having an Islamic State because a theocracy goes directly against a lot of communist values (or at least the values they claim to have), and weakened any influence their supposedly secular union could have on Iran and the wider middle east. The other countries in the Arab world, many of them still monarchies, didn't like the Islamic republic because if the revolution spread, then it was possible their monarchies would be overthrown as well.

(Except Oman, which is not worried, but that's the exception, not the rule.)

This is not a baseless worry, because Iran has stated that this is its goal for the Arab world. Overthrow the monarchies, overthrow the elected governments, Islamic Rule for everyone. That is the purpose of its proxies, like Hezbollah (Lebanon), the Houthis (Yemen), and Hamas (Palestine), along with less well-known groups like the Salafi Jihadists in Mali, who are formally under the umbrella of al-Quaeda, which Iran denies having any relation to but is suspected of funding. In areas where these proxy groups have gained power, they are liable to enact hard Shari'a law such as has happened in Northern Mali and other parts of the Sahel region.

While other conflicts have occurred in these countries, I think the above is most relevant.

Israel has repeatedly attacked, or been attacked by, other nations in the middle east, as they are viewed as having taken over land that is not theirs, and as being a puppet of the US government. The biggest conflicts have been 1947-1948, 1968/1973, and 2014.

And then, of course, 2023.

Now, Iran, more than any other nation in the Middle East, hates Israel. They have for a very long time, viewing them as an affront to the goal of spreading Islam across the whole of the middle east, and as being a front and a staging ground for the United States and other Western powers. Two common refrains in the slogans of Iran and its proxies are "Death to America" and "Death to Israel."

Due to Iran's military power and virulence towards Israel, the United States has been funneling money to Israel for decades. It has more generally been to defend itself against the Arab world at large, but it has narrowed over the decades to being about Iran and its proxies as relations have normalized with other nations like Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Cue October 7th, 2023. Hamas invades Israeli towns, kills some people, and takes others as hostage. Israel retaliates, and the conflict ramps up into what is by now tens of thousands of dead, some half of which are children.

In this time, Hamas's allies are, by definition, Iran and the other proxy forces. Hezbollah, being in Lebanon, share a border with Israel's north. They have been trading rocket fire across the border in waves for most of the past six months. The Houthis, down in Yemen, claim to be attacking the passing cargo ships in order to support Palestine. Given that the attacks often seem indiscriminate, and that the Houthi's control over their portion of Yemen is waning in the face of their poor governance, this is... debatable. It's their official reason, but given that "let's attack passing ships, claiming that we only attack Israeli or American ships and that it is to support Palestine" is rallying support domestically for their regime, it does seem to be more of a political move to garner support at home than about supporting Palestine.

Iran, however, has not attacked Israel. They've spoken out about it, yes, but they haven't done anything because nobody wants a regional war. Nobody can afford it right now. Iran is dealing with a domestic crisis due to oil subsidies bleeding the states' coffers dry, and the aging Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of Iran, refusing to pick a successor. They are looking at both an economic crisis and succession crisis, and a regional war would fuck up both situations further. Iran funds most of its proxies, and they can't do that, and fight a war on top of it, while their economy is in its current state. Pure self preservation says they don't want a war, especially with the ongoing unrest that's been going on for... well, basically since the revolution, but especially since the death of Mahsa Amini.

Meanwhile, in Israel, Netanyahu has been looking at corruption charges and legal issues since before the Hamas attack. It's generally agreed that if Israel were to hold new elections right now, he would lose and be replaced, and also immediately taken to court. Netanyahu wants to stay in power, and as long as the war on Hamas lasts, he is unlikely to get voted out. A change in leadership in the middle of a war is rarely a good idea for any country, and he's banking on that.

However, the war on Hamas rests on the shoulders of American money and supplies. Without that military support, Israel cannot fight this war, and America... is losing patience.

Officially, America and most of the western world have been telling Israel to not fucking escalate for the majority of the war.

There have been implied threats, more or less since Schumer's big speech about how Israel needs a new election, of American legislators putting conditions on any future aid. There have even been rumblings of aid being retracted entirely if Israel follows through on invading Raffah.

So...

American aid to Israel has, for a very long time, been given in the name of defending Israel against Iran and its proxies.

Israel has been fighting this war against Hamas for six months, killing what is by now innumerable civilians, on the power of US military aid.

Netanyahu benefits from the continued war due to domestic troubles.

Iran does not want a regional war, or really any big war, due to its own domestic troubles.

The US is, in theory, losing patience with Israel and threatening to pull the plug on unconditional support. It's very "we gave you this to fight Iran. Stop attacking civilians. If you keep attacking civilians, then you're going to have to rely on what we already gave you to fight off Iran so that you won't keep wasting it on civilians."

Israel... attacks Iran, prompting a response, and is now talking about escalating with Iran.

I am not explicitly saying that it looks to me like Israel, which is already fighting a war on two physical fronts and even more political/economic ones, has picked a fight with Iran so that America feels less like it is able to withdraw support.

I just... am finding it hard to understand why Israel, which is in fact fighting both Hamas and Hezbollah, would attack the Iranian consulate in Syria otherwise. They can't actually afford to fight this war, escalating to a full regional conflict, on a third front.

Not without pressuring American into keeping the faucet of military funding open at full blast.

To support my blogging so I can move out of my parents’ house, I do have a ko-fi. Alternately, you can donate to one of the charities I list in this post OR this post.

[ganondoodle]

seeing the video of palestinians tearing down the apartheid wall and i cant help but feel a similar kind of joy as when seeing the pictures from when the wall seperating germany fell, with masses of people storming it and helping each other climb qwq

[lewishamiltonstuff]

Biden would risk a wider regional war than stop Israel from committing genocide.

[aestariiwilderness]

This is still happening. This was organized. Iranian-funded Arab and Turk gangs hid in alleys to ambush and hunt down Israeli citizens leaving the match. Stabbing, assaulting, running over with cars, lynching. The Dutch police ARE ON VIDEO standing by and letting it happen. Israelis on Oct. 7th who escaped the massacre turned around and went back. They turned around and went back into hell on earth to save others, and they died doing it. And now the Dutch police just stand there and let it happen again, without lifting so much as a finger. This is 1938, and this is the opportunity so many people love to talk about -- how they would absolutely(!) hide a Jew and risk their lives to save them. Well, now's your chance, and at so much less risk to yourselves, to boot. You don't have to hide them. You don't even have to rescue Jews -- Israel is already on the way. But no decent person with a breath of air in their lungs should do anything right now but ask Israel, "how can we help?" This is a filthy stain on Amsterdam. This is a black mark on Europe. There needs to be accountability, and there needs to be justice for this. Justice for these innocents, on these terrorists and on every last Dutch police officer who stood back and watched.

A warning, for free:

Zechariah 2:8

For thus says the Lord of hosts: “He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you [Israel]; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye."

[vallygirl285]

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A post shared by Noa Tishby (@noatishby)

When will these brainwashed idiots wake up and realize what they are actually supporting!

[captain-casual]

US: “i am SO SORRY, they were supposed to use our bombs to kill children. We cool?”

[ilynpilled]

love to read political takes from some smug sheltered white bitch who was in middle school in 2016 and gets all her information from tumblr. and y'all wonder why no one listens to you.

thank u! i love to as well

[its-zaina]

1 Oct..

🇵🇸🇮🇷🇱🇧🇾🇪🇮🇶

|

[nekotine1]

Hi, 🌸

I'm FARAH. My family has lost everything in the war in Gaza. We’ve shared our story on GoFundMe, and we would be grateful if you could take a moment to see the pinned post, reblog it, and donate if possible. A $5 will be sufficient & supportive.Here’s the link to our story:

https://gofund.me/0dd287db

Thank you so much for your support.

Best regards, 💚

Farah

please help

[nerdfighterwhatevernumbers]

So currently Biden's response to the deaths of Americans in Palestine is to put sanctions, essentially just travel bans, on Israeli soldiers who kill Americans or "directly perpetrated violence, and those who have engaged in repeated acts of intimidation property destruction, leading to the forced displacement of Palestinian communities" which is all of them, everyone in the IOF is doing this as their mission but he's individualizing it to limit the very weak punishment and avoid standing against the genocide as a whole

Then yesterday, Feb 2, the U.S. struck more than 85 targets in Iraq and Syria. The reason given was that Iranian backed militant groups were allegedly responsible for the deaths of 3 Americans. And strikes against Yemen justified by 'Houthis action' continue.

The Biden administration has now targeted 5 nations in the middle east, Palestine, Yemen, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. We have directly bombed 3 of those countries and are funding bombs in a fourth one.

[kingofmyborrowedheart]

I’m sorry but you can’t cry “human rights violation!!!!” when you are actively carrying out a campaign of genocide.