English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For June 26/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,
and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as
yourself.’
Luke 10/25-28: "Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus.
‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him,
‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall
love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all
your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’
And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you
will live.
Titles For The
Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on June 25-26/2025
The Mullahs Go Hollywood: Iran’s Theatrical Missile Show at Al-Udeid/Elias
Bejjani/June 23/2025
Video Link/Syrian Christian woman at the church bombing site: I will never
abandon my land, my faith, or my Christianity. Our religion is peace. We don’t
know violence or hatred
Lest We Forget the Most Important Pillar of Resistance Is Faith in
Lebanon/Edmond El-Chidiac/June 25/ 2025
The "Sick Arab Mind" Behind the Contradictory Arab Stance on the Iranian
Mullahs' Regime/Dr. Kamal Yaziji/Facebook/June 25/2025
World Bank approves over $1 billion for projects in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq
Drone Strike in Mansouri, Israel Targets Hezbollah’s Financial Networks
Israel assassinates money changer, monitors others for allegedly transferring
money to Hezbollah
Lebanon’s economy to benefit from World Bank’s $250m recovery boost
Assad-era air force officer under EU, UK sanctions
Barrack: US Will Back Israeli Withdrawal if Hezbollah Disarms
Terror returns? Damascus church bombing sparks Lebanese probe into ISIS ties
Two wars, no winners: A year later, inside Israel’s battles on the Lebanon and
Iran fronts
Aoun urges end to Israeli occupation and attacks in talks with UK official
President Aoun stresses need to renew UNIFIL mandate, blames Israeli presence
for hindering army deployment
Lebanon, UK discuss UN Resolution 1701 and border security challenges
Grand Serail Hosts High-Level Meeting on Lebanon Recovery Fund
Lebanon's Speaker Berri calls Parliament to convene on June 30 for general
session
Hezbollah hails Iran's 'divine victory' over Israel
Syrian national arrested in Keserwan over suspected ISIS-linked training
The Order of Malta Celebrates the Feast of Its Patron, Saint John the Baptist
Hezbollah’s Hollow Promises in South Lebanon
World Bank Announces Lebanon, Syria Reconstruction Projects
Tense Calm in Shatila After Night of Heavy Clashes
Byblos International Festival 2025 Returns to Celebrate Cultural Resilience
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on June 25-26/2025
Trump says US and Iranian officials will talk next week
UN nuclear chief says it's possible Iran's highly enriched uranium 'is there'
A battered Iran faces an uncertain future after its grinding war with Israel
Iran turns to internal crackdown in wake of 12-day war
Can Iran attack the US now and how (and where) can it do it?
In US, the Iranian diaspora contends with the Israel-Iran war and a fragile
ceasefire
Iran's parliament approves bill on suspending cooperation with IAEA
Iranian-backed hackers go to work after US strikes
Putin will not go to BRICS summit in Brazil due to ICC arrest warrant, Kremlin
aide says
Turkey's Erdogan calls for permanent Iran-Israel ceasefire, Gaza truce
Seven Israeli soldiers killed during combat in Gaza, military says
Security Council hears of record violations against kids in conflicts, as UN
report sparks outcry over Gaza
Palestinians say teenager, three others killed in West Bank
Gaza rescuers say Israeli forces killed 20 including six waiting for aid
Trump meets with Zelensky and says higher NATO defense spending may deter future
Russian aggression
Armenia PM says foiled ‘sinister’ coup plot by senior cleric
Trump declares ‘victory for everybody’ and Iran’s nuclear sites ‘destroyed’
Titles For
The Latest English LCCC analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources
on June 25-26/2025
President Trump's Decision: A Historic Turning Point for World
Peace/Lawrence Kadish/Gatestone Institute./June 25, 2025
China's Renaming Spree: Will the World Just Surrender to Silent, Obdurate
Infiltration?
Rahul Mishra/Gatestone Institute/June 25, 2025
The myth of Iran’s invincibility has been broken, and the fallout could be
far-reaching/Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN/June 25, 2025
Victory over Iran gives Trump the chance to reshape Mid East with trade deals/Hussain
Abdul-Hussain/ New York Post/June 24, 2025
The high stakes in maintaining the Iran-Israel ceasefire/Dr. Abdel Aziz
Aluwaisheg/Arab News/June 25, 2025
Closing Strait of Hormuz would hurt Iran’s allies the most/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq
AlAwsat/June 25, 2025
How Netanyahu has used Oct. 7 attacks to reshape Middle East/Osama
Al-Sharif/Arab News/June 25, 2025
Iran and the craft of politics/Dr. Abdellatif El-Menawy/Arab News/June 25, 2025
Khomeini’s war: Sunni Islamists taught Shia Iran to hate Israel/Hussain Abdul-Hussain/The
Jewish Chronicle/June 24/2025
The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June
25-26/2025
The Mullahs Go
Hollywood: Iran’s Theatrical Missile Show at Al-Udeid
Elias Bejjani/June 23/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/06/144519/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bFJ_h-Ju3s&t=110s
In what can only be described as a cheap,
theatrical, and utterly absurd Hollywood-style display, Iran today staged what
it claimed was a "decisive response" to the destruction of its nuclear
facilities—by launching a laughably choreographed missile attack on the U.S. Al-Udeid
Air Base in Qatar. This childish performance could easily be titled: "We fired
the missiles—but told everyone in advance so no one would get hurt!"
Yes, these are the same deceitful, arrogant Iranian mullahs who have been
chanting “Death to the Great Satan” (America) and “Death to the Little Satan”
(Israel) since 1979, while vowing to “erase Israel from the map in seven and a
half minutes.” Yet they were the very ones who reportedly sent advance warnings
to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United States, and maybe even to Google Maps,
politely informing them of the exact time and location of the "attack"—not so
they could take cover, but so they could applaud.
President Donald Trump, watching the spectacle from the Situation Room as if it
were a Disneyland parade, innocently commented: “I’d like to thank Iran for the
early warning. No lives lost. No one injured. Let’s move on to peace!”
A Prearranged, Pathetic Response
From The New York Times to Reuters, and even President Macron, nearly all
Western and Arab sources agreed: this was not a military retaliation, but a
theatrical stunt. A premeditated performance aimed at helping Iran’s Supreme
Leader and his bunker-dwelling clerical gang save face—while they preached
“resistance” and “dignity” as they sought permission from their enemies to fire
harmless "plastic fury."
We’ve seen this movie before—specifically in January 2020, after Qassem
Soleimani’s assassination. Back then, Iran "retaliated" by lobbing unarmed
missiles at Ain al-Assad base in Iraq, in a carefully scripted performance
designed to avoid casualties—and, more importantly, not to wake the
Revolutionary Guards from their naps.
Resistance? Or Just a Failing Film Studio?
Iran today is no longer a nation in the traditional sense. It has become a
failed film studio. The mullahs of Tehran don’t fight real wars—they perform
them. Their missiles fly like props in a sci-fi movie: either intercepted
mid-air, explode silently, or land harmlessly. Meanwhile, Iranian state TV airs
“glorious victory” footage set to triumphant military music and accompanied by
sound effects seemingly borrowed from a 1980s B-movie.
The result?
Zero injuries.
Zero American retaliation.
Zero impact on U.S. military operations in the region.
The only message Tehran managed to send was this: “We lack courage, but we have
cameras and sound effects.”
Defeat Since 1979—But Who’s Counting?
For those with short memories, this isn’t a one-time act. These same delusional
rulers, obsessed with wiping Israel “off the map in 7.5 minutes,” have only
succeeded in having their own leaders and scientists eliminated—one after
another—by pinpoint Israeli strikes. Israel has entered and exited Syria at
will, assassinated Iranian commanders and nuclear experts from Tehran to
Damascus, to Baghdad, Beirut, and Yemen. The U.S. has repeatedly crippled Iran’s
nuclear infrastructure.
And Iran? It has responded with empty threats, followed by… “We gave you a
heads-up so you could prepare.”
Iran: The Rogue State That Only Fights Its Own People
Let’s be blunt: The Islamic Republic doesn’t know how to fight its enemies, but
it has mastered the art of brutalizing its own people. It leads the world in
executions. It silences dissent. It lashes women, shuts down universities, bans
music, restricts the internet, and would outlaw oxygen if it weren’t filtered
through the Supreme Leader’s ideology.
These laughable “pre-informed retaliations” might fool only the hopelessly
naïve. Iran is not a resistance. It is not a symbol of values or principles. It
is not liberation. It is farce. A rogue regime with a talent for media terrorism
and a track record of consistent failure in every real military encounter.
The Bottom Line: Theater of the Absurd
When a state becomes rogue, its leaders become actors, its missiles become
props, and its retaliations become prepaid performances, every Iranian
“response” to serious American or Israeli military actions becomes nothing more
than a commercial for delusion, hallucination, and empty bluster.
And in the end, President Trump thanked Iran’s Hollywood mullahs for their
theatrical coordination. Perhaps Qatar should too. Because at this point, let’s
face it: Hollywood isn’t in California anymore… it’s in Tehran.
Video Link/Syrian Christian
woman at the church bombing site: I will never abandon my land, my faith, or my
Christianity. Our religion is peace. We don’t know violence or hatred
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/06/144566/
https://youtube.com/shorts/RYV730t_KCo
25 June/2025
Video Link/Syrian Christian woman at the church bombing site: “If they tell me
to take my kids and flee to Europe, I won’t. I raised them here, and here I will
die. I will never abandon my land, my faith, or my Christianity. Our religion is
peace. We don’t know
violence or hatred
Lest We Forget the Most
Important Pillar of Resistance Is Faith in Lebanon
Edmond El-Chidiac/June 25/ 2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/06/144575/
Let us never forget the most vital pillar of resistance: faith in Lebanon.
This war is not over the Lebanese entity—it is over Lebanon’s identity, its
definition, and its distinctiveness.
This is a reminder—both to guard against frustration and to ensure that no one
takes advantage of us.
Lebanon began with the dawn of civilization, shaped its course, and remains a
beacon of civilization in a barbaric East and a chaotic world.
The name Lebanon appears in the Ebla tablets (which are still undergoing
translation), dating back to the mid-third millennium BCE (around 2500 BCE).
It is also mentioned in the Epic of Gilgamesh, from the 19th century BCE.
In the Bible, Lebanon is referenced 70 times, the cedars of Lebanon 75 times,
Tyre 59 times, and Sidon (along with variants) 50 times.
The Bible also mentions approximately 35 cities and villages, along with 10
regions, all located within the boundaries of today’s Lebanon. It also refers to
10 men and women from Lebanon.
Lebanon deserves our unwavering commitment to fight for it, to know its history,
to preserve its freedom, and to shape its future.
The "Sick Arab Mind" Behind
the Contradictory Arab Stance on the Iranian Mullahs' Regime
Dr. Kamal Yaziji/Facebook/June 25/2025
The Arab mind, if one can even call it that, is sick, distorted, or twisted, and
it doesn't adhere to the rules of logic. This explains the Arabs' backwardness
in all fields. They complain about Iran all year long, and then when someone
comes along who wants to relieve them of it, they get "stomach cramps," become
extremely sensitive towards the person doing the job, question whether it aligns
with their standards, and try to disavow and distance themselves from what's
happening. They then start praying: "Oh God, strike down the oppressors with the
oppressors!" And if the hypocrite is Lebanese, they say: "Let the pots break
each other."You must make up your minds. If the Iranian regime isn't that bad
and you can coexist with it—to the point where we feel you secretly sympathize
with it when it's struck, and you don't want to believe its end is near—then
congratulations to you.
But stop complaining about it throughout the year. If it is truly bad, trying to
impose imperialist hegemony on the region, destabilizing it, boasting that it
controls four Arab capitals, and directly threatening you, in addition to your
religious sensitivity towards it...
If that's the case, then you have two options: either summon Saad ibn Abi Waqqas
to undertake the mission—and there's nothing wrong with that—or shut up and stop
being reserved about those who are doing the job for you and washing your hands
of it.
In other words: stop the hypocrisy and let those who can do what you cannot do
finish their work. You're not asked to openly support; just stop the hypocrisy.
World Bank approves over $1 billion for projects in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq
Associated Press/June 25, 2025
BEIRUT (AP) — The World Bank said Wednesday it approved over $1 billion dollars
for infrastructure and reconstruction projects in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.
The biggest amount went to Iraq, where the World Bank approved $930
million to help improve the country’s railway infrastructure, boost domestic
trade, create jobs and diversify the economy. The World Bank said the Iraq
Railways Extension and Modernization Project will improve services and increase
freight capacity between the Umm Qasr Port on the Persian gulf in southern Iraq
to the northern city of Mosul. “As Iraq shifts from reconstruction to
development, enhanced trade and connectivity can stimulate growth, create jobs,
and reduce oil dependency," said Jean-Christophe Carret, director of the World
Bank's Middle East division. The World Bank also approved for war-torn Syria a
$146 million grant to help restore reliable, affordable electricity and support
the country’s economic recovery. It said the Syria Electricity Emergency Project
will rehabilitate damaged transmission lines and transformer substations.
Last month Syria signed an agreement with a consortium of Qatari, Turkish
and U.S. companies for the development of a 5,000-megawatt energy project to
revitalize much of its war-battered electricity grid. For Lebanon, which is
recovering from the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war, the World Bank approved $250
million to support the most urgent repair and reconstruction of damaged critical
public infrastructure and lifeline services.
Drone Strike in Mansouri, Israel
Targets Hezbollah’s Financial Networks
This is Beirut/June 25, 2025
On Wednesday morning, an Israeli drone targeted a man in the town of Mansouri,
south of Tyre. The victim, seriously wounded, was rushed to the Lebanese-Italian
Hospital. An explosion was also heard in Saida that same morning, though the
cause remains unknown. Meanwhile, Israeli forces opened fire on a truck carrying
rubble in the town of Mays al-Jabal. Several aerial activities were reported
across the region. An Israeli drone flew over the Qasimia River and its
surroundings, while another drone was spotted at low altitude over Adloun. In
Aita al-Shaab, an Israeli helicopter dropped a bomb near a group of tobacco
farmers, though no injuries were reported.Targeted Killings of Hezbollah
Financial Operatives According to Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee,
Israeli forces eliminated Haitham Abdallah Bakri in Kfar Dajjal (Nabatiyeh).
Bakri, described as head of the “Al-Sadek” money exchange network, was accused
of funneling funds to Hezbollah. On Tuesday morning, an Israeli drone struck a
vehicle on the Kfar Dajjal road, sparking a fire that killed three people,
according to Lebanon's Ministry of Health. Israeli authorities claim Bakri’s
network operated as a financial logistics platform, facilitating weapons
purchases, military operations and salaries for fighters. The funds allegedly
flowed through complex channels involving money exchange offices in Lebanon,
Turkey, Iraq and the UAE, under the oversight of Iran’s Quds Force. The Israeli
military said Bakri's assassination is part of a broader strategy to dismantle
Hezbollah’s financial infrastructure. Over the weekend, Bahnam Shahriari, a
senior commander of the Quds Force’s Unit 190, tasked with transferring hundreds
of millions of dollars annually to Tehran-linked groups, was also killed. “These
operations dealt a severe blow to the financial networks supporting Hezbollah’s
terrorist activities,” Adraee declared on his X account.
Israel assassinates money
changer, monitors others for allegedly transferring money to Hezbollah
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/June 25, 2025
BEIRUT: The Israeli army on Wednesday claimed that Lebanese Haytham Abdullah
Bakri, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Tuesday in the town of Kfar
Dajjal in the Nabatiyeh governorate in southern Lebanon, was “the head of a
currency exchange who operated with Hezbollah to transfer funds for Hezbollah
terrorist activities.”In a social media post, Israeli army spokesman Avichay
Adraee said: “The ‘Al-Sadiq’ Currency Exchange, managed by Bakri, serves as a
funds storage and transfer mechanism for Hezbollah, for funds originating from
the Iranian Quds Force.”
Adraee also posted photos of five other exchange centers in Lebanon that he
accused of being companies that also finance Hezbollah, in what appeared to be a
threat that they could be targeted similarly to Bakri. The documented
establishments include Al-Insaf Exchange under the management of Ali Hassan
Shamas, and a currency house operated by Hassan Mohammed Hussein Ayyash. The
intelligence imagery also shows Yara Exchange, run by Mohammed Badr Barbir,
alongside another operation managed by Ramez Mektef. Additionally, surveillance
targeted Maliha Exchange, which operates under Hussein Shaheen’s management. The
post displayed photographs of these shops pinpointed on a map stretching from
Beirut to Chtoura in the Bekaa and Mount Lebanon, including Beirut’s southern
suburbs. Adraee said that “these funds are used for military purposes including
purchasing weapons, manufacturing means, and providing salaries to operatives,
and are diverted for terrorist purposes and to finance the continuation of
Hezbollah's terrorist activities.”The Israeli forces announced the killing of
Behnam Shahriari in Iran last weekend, identifying him as the head of Quds Force
Unit 190 responsible for channeling hundreds of millions of dollars every year
to Iranian proxy organizations. Israeli officials claim Shahriari oversaw
sophisticated money transfer operations that funneled Quds Force resources to
Hezbollah through a network of currency exchange firms spanning Turkey, Iraq,
the UAE, and Lebanon. The killings of Shahriari and Bakri allegedly disrupted
critical Iranian financing channels to the Lebanese militant group. Dr. Louis
Hobeika, an economic analyst, said to Arab News that Lebanon’s Central Bank
monitors all international transfers, automatically freezing transactions above
$10,000 to verify their purpose, origin, and destination.
“Money exchange operators in Lebanon operate under regulatory oversight without
special exemptions based on transaction volume,” Hobeika said. “Yet Lebanon
harbors financial channels that evade state monitoring and control. Legal and
illegal operations sometimes blur together — a pattern visible beyond banking,
including customs enforcement where contraband interdiction remains incomplete
pending better scanning technology.”
Hobeika described Lebanon’s Syrian frontier as equally challenging, noting that
financial flows previously moved through coordinated arrangements under Bashar
Al-Assad’s government but now rely on individual smuggling operations. Israel
has repeatedly targeted Hezbollah’s Al-Qard Al-Hassan financial network, which
it accuses of bankrolling the organization’s activities. During last year’s
Israel-Hezbollah confrontations before November, Israeli airstrikes hit several
branches of the institution, which operates a parallel banking system outside
Lebanon’s regulated financial sector. The Lebanese Ministry of Interior and
Municipalities officially licensed the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association in 1987,
describing its objective as “assisting individuals by providing short-term loans
to help address certain social challenges.”Following the ceasefire agreement
reached at the end of November, the Israeli army placed Beirut International
Airport under surveillance, blocking an Iranian plane from landing to “prevent
the transfer of funds and weapons to Hezbollah.” This measure coincided with a
period in which Hezbollah faced a severe economic crisis, struggling to secure
the funds needed to pay its members’ salaries and to provide shelter for
thousands of families displaced by Israel’s systematic destruction of villages
along the southern border, as well as hundreds of residential buildings in
Beirut’s southern suburbs and the Bekaa Valley. In February, Hezbollah called on
the government to “revoke its decision to prevent (the) Iranian plane from
landing at Beirut Airport and to take serious measures to stop the Israeli enemy
from imposing its orders and violating national sovereignty.”Iran is estimated
to provide Hezbollah with up to $700 million a year, according to a US State
Department report issued in 2022. In a 2016 speech, the former secretary-general
of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah, said: “Our budget, salaries, expenses, food,
water, weapons, and missiles are provided by the Islamic Republic of Iran.”He
also confirmed in a 2021 speech that Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association has provided
$3.7 billion in loans to 1.8 million people in Lebanon since its founding in the
1980s, with approximately 300,000 individuals obtaining loans during that
period. In May, the US State Department announced a reward of up to $10 million
for information leading to the disruption of Hezbollah’s financial networks
operating in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.
Lebanon’s economy to benefit from World Bank’s $250m
recovery boost
MOHAMMED AL-KINANI/Arab News/June 25, 2025
JEDDAH: Lebanon’s battered infrastructure and strained public services are set
for a boost, as the World Bank has approved $250 million to launch a broader $1
billion recovery and reconstruction initiative. In a statement on Wednesday, the
World Bank announced that its board of executive directors had approved the
funding a day earlier under the Lebanon Emergency Assistance Project. The
project follows a phased approach to address response, recovery, and
reconstruction, focusing on prioritizing and sequencing interventions to achieve
maximum economic and social impact in the shortest possible time.
“The Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment of the impact of the conflict in Lebanon
between Oct. 8, 2023, and Dec. 20, 2024, estimated total direct damages across
10 sectors at $7.2 billion, and reconstruction and recovery needs at $11
billion,” the bank said in its press release. It added that around $1.1 billion
in damage had been sustained by key infrastructure and facilities vital to
public well-being and economic activity. Affected sectors include
transportation, energy, water, healthcare, education, and municipal services.
“Considering the scale of needs, the LEAP was designed to support restoration of
public infrastructure and buildings, given this is a precondition to economic
and social recovery,” the release explained. According to a separate World Bank
report released earlier this month, Lebanon’s cumulative gross domestic product
had contracted by nearly 40 percent since 2019. Meanwhile, the Lebanese pound
has lost more than 98 percent of its value, driving triple-digit inflation
through 2023.The study highlighted how the collapse of the banking sector and
the currency’s crash turned Lebanon into a dollarized, cash-based economy worth
$9.8 billion — about 45.7 percent of GDP in 2022.
“The conflict has introduced another shock to Lebanon’s already crisis-ridden
economy. While the economic contraction was anticipated to bottom out in 2023,
following five years of sustained sharp contraction, the conflict and its
spillovers have had negative knock-on effects on economic growth in 2023,
continuing into 2024,” the report said.It further noted that since July 2023,
the Lebanese pound has stabilized at 89,500 to the US dollar, which helped bring
inflation down to double digits in 2024 for the first time since March 2020,
following three consecutive years of triple-digit inflation.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed the news on social media, writing
on his X account: “I welcome the World Bank Board’s approval of the $250 million
Lebanon Emergency Assistance Project, which represents a key step toward
reconstruction by addressing damage to critical infrastructure and essential
services in areas affected by the conflict.”He added that the assistance
reinforces national recovery efforts within a government-led implementation
framework and paves the way for attracting further much-needed financing.
Jean-Christophe Carret, the World Bank’s Middle East division director, said:
“Given Lebanon’s large reconstruction needs, the LEAP is structured as a $1
billion scalable framework with an initial $250 million contribution from the
World Bank and the ability to efficiently absorb additional financing — whether
grants or loans — under a unified, government-led implementation structure that
emphasizes transparency, accountability, and results.”Carret noted that the
framework offers a credible platform for development partners to align their
support with Lebanon’s reform agenda and amplify the impact of long-term
recovery efforts.
According to the statement, the financing will enable immediate interventions to
fast-track recovery and return to normalcy. This includes the safe and efficient
handling of rubble to maximize recycling and reuse. To ensure timely
implementation, the government has undertaken key reforms within the project’s
implementing body, the Council for Development and Reconstruction, the statement
said. It added that LEAP will be carried out under the strategic guidance of the
prime minister’s office, with coordination across relevant ministries through
the Council of Ministers. The Ministry of Public Works and Transport will
oversee project implementation, while the Ministry of Environment will monitor
environmental and social compliance, including rubble management.
Assad-era air force officer
under EU, UK sanctions
AFP/June 25, 2025
DAMASCUS: Syria’s Interior Ministry said on Wednesday a former air force officer
who is under British and EU sanctions had been detained, the latest such arrest
announcement since longtime ruler Bashar Assad’s ouster. Authorities in the
Harasta area outside Damascus “arrested the criminal pilot Maj. Gen. Meezar
Sawan,” the ministry said in a statement. It said he held several positions
including commanding the 20th air force division at a military airport outside
the capital. “He is considered to be involved in issuing orders for warplanes to
bomb areas revolting against the former regime” in the Ghouta areas, the
statement said, referring to former rebel strongholds outside Damascus that were
pounded during Syria’s civil war. Sawan was transferred to the counter-terrorism
department for further investigation, it said. The EU and UK sanctions lists
also identify Sawan, born in 1954, as commander of the Syrian air force’s 20th
division. According to the EU, he was “in post after May 2011,” the year Syria’s
conflict erupted with Assad’s brutal repression of anti-government protests. “As
a senior officer in the Syrian air force he is responsible for the violent
repression of the civilian population including attacks against civilian areas
by aircraft operating from air bases under the control of the 20th Division,”
the EU listing adds. Since opposition forces ousted Assad in December, the new
authorities have occasionally announced the arrest of former security and other
officials.This month, authorities arrested Wassim Assad, a cousin of the
longtime ruler, in one of the most high-profile arrests so far. According to
Syria observers, many high-ranking officials fled the country after Assad’s
fall.
Barrack: US Will Back
Israeli Withdrawal if Hezbollah Disarms
This is Beirut/June 25, 2025
According to MTV, United States Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria
Tom Barrack informed Lebanese officials, during his visit to Beirut on June 19,
that a government’s public commitment to disarming Hezbollah would significantly
advance the issue of Israeli withdrawal from the five hills at the border. This
effort, he asserted, would be guaranteed by the US. Barrack emphasized the
broader implications of such a move, saying it would contribute to halting
Israeli airstrikes, targeted assassinations, and other military actions that
have become an almost daily occurrence in Lebanon, according to the same source.
He reportedly underlined that lasting reconstruction in Lebanon and the wider
region requires a foundation of peace. During his meetings, Barrack also drew
comparisons between Syria and Lebanon, pointing to Syria’s rapid engagement with
political solutions under the framework of the Abraham Accords. He warned that
the normalization “train” is moving quickly and stressed that Lebanon must
secure its place at the table to avoid exclusion from the emerging regional and
international order.
Terror returns? Damascus church bombing sparks Lebanese
probe into ISIS ties
LBCI/June 25, 2025
All signs — from Syria to Lebanon — suggest that terrorist cells remain active.
In Damascus, a terrorist group bombed Saint Elias church. The Syrian government
blamed ISIS for the attack, while a group calling itself Saraya Ansar al-Sunna
claimed responsibility. In Beirut, the Lebanese army announced the arrest of one
of ISIS’ top commanders, Lebanese national R.F., known by the alias “Qasoura.”
Is there a connection between the church bombing in Syria and Qasoura’s arrest?
According to security sources, Qasoura had been under surveillance for months,
and the army has never ceased its preemptive intelligence efforts to track and
prevent sleeper cells from operating. While the Damascus bombing has not
triggered any direct repercussions in Lebanon, sources consider it a warning
sign — prompting continued security coordination between Lebanon and Syria. LBCI
has learned that Lebanon has requested Syria to provide the identities of those
arrested in connection with the recent church bombing. Authorities want to
determine whether any are Lebanese, have criminal records in Lebanon, or are
linked to extremist groups operating locally. They also raised the possibility
of further joint security cooperation once the investigation concludes.
Meanwhile, Lebanese-Syrian security meetings continue, especially following
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s recent talks in Syria. One primary objective of
these meetings is to report any security breaches along the intertwined northern
and eastern borders, where both countries share critical security interests.
Lebanon's Army Commander, General Rodolph Haykal, visited Lebanese military
positions in the Bekaa region two days ago to inspect ongoing efforts to
maintain border control on the Lebanese side.
Two wars, no winners: A year later, inside Israel’s battles
on the Lebanon and Iran fronts
LBCI/June 25, 2025
The roar of Israeli fighter jets and the blast of Iranian ballistic missiles
have fallen silent, marking the end of a 12-day war. That conflict followed the
66-day war between Hezbollah and Israel, which may not be over. So what did the
two wars yield, and what consequences did each leave behind?
Let’s start with the morning of June 13.Israel launched what it called
“Operation Rising Lion,” targeting senior military commanders and striking
sensitive military facilities. Its stated objective was to dismantle Iran’s
nuclear infrastructure, but its broader aim was to destabilize—and ultimately
topple—the Iranian regime. But the operation faltered. Iran held its ground and
retaliated by striking Tel Aviv, setting off a trail of destruction from
northern to southern Israel. In Lebanon, Israel conducted a series of strikes.
The most notable was the pager explosion operation; the most consequential was
the assassination of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. The attacks
took a toll on the group, which retaliated—but not at a scale that matched
Israel’s assault. That’s the military picture. As for the ceasefire, it began
with a message from U.S. President Donald Trump to Iran: unconditional
surrender. The turning point came when Washington entered the conflict, striking
Iran’s nuclear sites. During the war, Trump floated the possibility of regime
change in Tehran—only to later state he was against it. In the end, Trump
declared the war over with a few words posted on social media. The ceasefire
agreement remains ambiguous, and all parties continue to claim victory. In
Lebanon, the ceasefire was formalized through a signed agreement—partially made
public, with significant portions kept undisclosed. A monitoring committee was
formed, yet Israel continues to occupy territory, carry out airstrikes, and
conduct targeted assassinations. The bottom line: Tehran was not defeated, and
Tel Aviv did not win. Attention has shifted to negotiations, where
Washington—the broker of the ceasefire—will face an Iranian regime newly armed
with the credibility of demonstrated military capability. As for the war in
Lebanon, Hezbollah is left with few gains. Both the group and the Lebanese state
remain barred from leading reconstruction, while Trump has permitted China to
resume importing Iranian oil. The outcomes of the Lebanon war and the Iran
conflict will likely differ. The most important variable: the results of both
wars—and, perhaps more crucially, that Trump is back in the White House.
Aoun urges end to Israeli occupation and attacks in talks
with UK official
Naharnet/June 25, 2025
President Joseph Aoun on Wednesday called for an end to Israel’s continued
occupation and attacks in Lebanon, in talks with the visiting UK Defense Senior
Advisor to the Middle East and North Africa, Vice Admiral Edward Ahlgren.
“Israel’s continued occupation of the five hills and their surroundings is still
obstructing the continuation of the army’s deployment up to the border, knowing
that wherever the Lebanese Army has deployed in the South Litani region, the
Lebanese state’s decision to monopolize arms in the hands of the regular armed
forces has been implemented, while all armed appearances have been removed,”
Aoun told the British visitor. He also lamented that “the persistent Israeli
attacks on southern villages, and their occasional spread to other Lebanese
areas in Mount Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, is keeping tensions high
and preventing the implementation of the measures that were agreed on in
November to preserve Lebanon’s sovereignty, security and stability.”
President Aoun stresses need to renew UNIFIL mandate,
blames Israeli presence for hindering army deployment
LBCI/June 25, 2025
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said renewing the U.N. peacekeeping mission’s
mandate in southern Lebanon remains a cornerstone of stability along the border,
urging support from U.N. Security Council member states to ensure the extension
is passed on time.During a meeting with the U.K. Defense Ministry’s Middle East
adviser, Aoun said Israel’s continued occupation of the five hills and
surrounding areas was obstructing the full deployment of the Lebanese army to
the southern border. “Wherever the army has deployed south of the Litani River,
the state’s decision on the exclusivity of arms has been enforced, and all armed
manifestations have been removed,” he added.
Lebanon, UK discuss UN Resolution 1701 and border security
challenges
LBCI/June 25, 2025
Lebanon’s Defense Minister Michel Menassa met on Wednesday with the UK Defense
Senior Advisor to the Middle East and North Africa, Vice Admiral Edward Ahlgren.
The talks provided a comprehensive overview of the regional and Lebanese
security landscape, examining recent developments and their potential impact on
Lebanon.Discussions also touched on the Lebanese army’s implementation of U.N.
Resolution 1701 and its deployment in southern Lebanon, amid Israel’s continued
occupation of the five strategic hills. The meeting further addressed the army’s
ongoing efforts to secure Lebanon’s northern and eastern borders with Syria.
Grand Serail Hosts High-Level Meeting on Lebanon Recovery
Fund
This is Beirut/June 25, 2025
The Grand Serail hosted a strategic meeting on the Lebanon Recovery Fund (LRF),
a UN-managed financing mechanism designed to coordinate international
grant-based support for Lebanon’s post-crisis reconstruction and recovery.
Representatives from relevant ministries and United Nations agencies attended
the session, headed by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. The LRF aims to fund projects
that promote social cohesion, bolster public institutions and support recovery
efforts at the community level. The initiative aligns with the short- and
medium-term priorities identified in the Lebanon Recovery Assessment (LRA),
jointly conducted by the government and the UN. According to a statement from
the Grand Serail, the meeting marks “a pivotal step” in attracting further donor
contributions and reinforcing Lebanon’s leadership in the recovery process.
Separately, Salam chaired a ministerial meeting focused on resolving the
persistent foul odors around Beirut International Airport (BIA), Choueifat and
nearby areas. The session brought together the Ministers of Interior (Ahmad al-Hajjar),
Environment (Tamara Elzein), Industry (Joe Issa al-Khoury) and Public Works and
Transportation (Fayez Rasamny) to explore immediate and long-term mitigation
strategies. Moreover, Salam underscored the Lebanese Armed Forces’ (LAF) role in
reinforcing state authority during a meeting Wednesday with Admiral Edward
Ahlgren, a Senior Advisor at the UK Ministry of Defense. The talks, which also
brought together British Ambassador to Lebanon Hamish Cowell, touched on
regional stability and reiterated Lebanon’s official stance against being drawn
into regional conflicts. In parallel, the officials also emphasized the need for
Israel to withdraw from remaining occupied Lebanese territories.
Lebanon's Speaker Berri calls Parliament to convene on June
30 for general session
LBCI/June 25, 2025
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has called lawmakers to convene at 11:00 a.m. on
Monday, June 30, for a general session. On the agenda are a series of draft laws
and legislative proposals set to be reviewed and discussed.
Hezbollah hails Iran's 'divine victory' over Israel
Agence France Presse/June 25, 2025
Hezbollah on Wednesday hailed what it called its ally Iran's victory over Israel
after 12 days of war, declaring it the start of a "new historical phase".In a
statement, Hezbollah offered its "most sincere congratulations" to the Islamic
republic, praising its "glorious divine victory".The victory, it said, was
"manifested in the precise and painful strikes it launched" against Israel, as
well as "the lightning response to the American aggression against its nuclear
facilities".On Sunday, the United States struck Iranian nuclear facilities in
response to the conflict, but a classified intelligence report concluded the
attacks would only set back Tehran's nuclear program by a few months. "This is
nothing but the beginning of a new historical phase in confronting American
hegemony and Zionist arrogance in the region," Hezbollah said. Hezbollah, which
fought a devastating war against Israel last year, expressed its "firm and
unwavering support for the Islamic Republic, its leadership and people,"
emphasizing that "any surrender, subservience, or concession will only increase
our enemies' arrogance and dominance over our region."Israel on June 13 launched
a major bombardment campaign targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites and
killing top officials.
The Iranian health ministry reported at least 610 civilians killed and more than
4,700 wounded in the fighting.Iran's retaliatory attacks on Israel have killed
28 people, according to official figures. Hezbollah called on its supporters to
a rally in front of the Iranian embassy in Beirut on Wednesday to celebrate "the
culmination of the struggle and sacrifices" of Iran and its people, "who
triumphed over the Israeli-American aggression". Iran has backed Hezbollah since
the group's founding in the 1980s, providing it with financial and military
support. The Lebanese group was heavily weakened following its latest
confrontation with Israel, which killed most of its top leadership and destroyed
much of its arsenal.
Syrian national arrested in Keserwan over suspected
ISIS-linked training
LBCI/June 25, 2025
Lebanon's State Security arrested a Syrian national, identified as H.A., in the
Keserwan district for entering the country illegally and receiving military and
ideological training.
Authorities said the man confessed to undergoing religious and combat training
under the supervision of Arab nationals who had previously belonged to ISIS. He
was referred, along with seized materials, to the competent judiciary for
further investigation.
The Order of Malta Celebrates the Feast of Its Patron,
Saint John the Baptist
This is Beirut/June 25, 2025
The Lebanese Association of the Knights of Malta, known as Order of Malta
Lebanon, celebrated the feast of its patron, St. John the Baptist, at the
invitation of its President Marwan Sehnaoui alongside the association’s members,
and in the presence of Her Excellency Maria Emerica Cortese, the Ambassador of
the Sovereign Order of Malta to Lebanon. A solemn Mass was held at Saint Elias
Church – Kantari, celebrated by the Apostolic Nuncio to Lebanon, His Excellency
Monsignor Paolo Borgia, and concelebrated by Bishop Paul Marwan Tabet,
representing Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rai and Bishop César Essayan, the
Apostolic Vicar of the Latin Church in Lebanon, along with representatives of
the patriarchs of various Christian denominations. The Mass was attended by
Lebanon’s First Lady Neemat Aoun, representing President of the Republic General
Joseph Aoun; MP Michel Moussa, representing Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri;
and Minister Joe Issa al-Khoury, representing Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. Also
present were several current and former ministers, representatives of the
Lebanese Army Commander-in-Chief and heads of security agencies, as well as
representatives of various religious communities, members of parliament (past
and present), ambassadors and members of the diplomatic corps. Extending
congratulations on the occasion were Sheikh Mahmoud al-Khatib, representing the
Grand Mufti of the Republic, Sheikh Abdel Latif Derian and Sheikh Sami Abdel
Khalek, representing the Sheikh Aql of the Druze Unitarian Community, Sheikh Dr.
Sami Abou al-Mona. The Mass was also attended by the embassy’s advisor François
Abi Saab, members of the association and a number of friends and supporters of
the Order. The Mass was accompanied by the choir of Notre Dame University (NDU),
led by Father Khalil Rahmeh. In his homily, His Excellency Monsignor Borgia
conveyed the blessing of Pope Leo XIV, as an expression of his solidarity with
the Order of Malta. He called to respond to the appeal made by the Holy Father
sincehe assumed the papacy, to pray and work for peace in the world. He
emphasized, “It is a call that requires responsibility and reason, and it must
not be drowned out by the noise of weapons and rhetoric inciting conflict.”
Borgia underlined the moral responsibility of every member of the international
community, every civil or religious institution, and every man and woman of
goodwill, to put an end to the tragedy of war before it becomes an irreparable
abyss. He continued, “War does not solve problems; it magnifies them and leaves
deep wounds in the history of nations that take generations to heal. Tonight, we
want to raise our prayer for peace, from here, from this troubled region in the
Middle East, and especially from this Holy Land that witnessed the birth of the
Prince of Peace.”
Hezbollah’s Hollow Promises in South Lebanon
This is Beirut/June 25, 2025
Behind Hezbollah’s grand rhetoric of solidarity lies a stark truth: Residents of
South Lebanon have been abandoned. Qard al-Hassan, the group’s so-called
charitable arm, is little more than an opaque illusion, insolvent, unaccountable
and hollow.
In the villages of southern Lebanon, a fragile calm masks deep anger. In Blat,
Khiam, Kfarchouba and Marjayoun, homes remain gutted, shops shuttered and
families shattered. Months after the bombings, reconstruction stalls, suffocated
by Hezbollah’s failure to deliver on its grand promises to its people.Where the
state was absent, the Shia militia pledged to repair and rebuild. Instead, it
offered only an illusion. Its heavily publicized compensation checks are worth
no more than the paper they’re printed on.
Empty Promises
Residents quickly realized Hezbollah’s pledges were a cruel farce. The checks
were all postdated by several months and often couldn’t be cashed when due.
Stripped of resources, many are forced to sell belongings, take on debt or
mortgage their remaining assets just to rebuild. Meanwhile, the group’s leaders
continue to boast of a divine victory on camera. “My roof was pierced, my room
unusable, my shop destroyed, debts piling up,” says Ahmad, 55, from Blat. “I
received a check in January 2025, payable in May. It’s still unused. It’s just a
reminder of what I lost while waiting.”
Qard al-Hassan: A Machine Crushing Hope
Where Hezbollah once promised to fill the state’s absence, it now enforces a
Kafkaesque bureaucracy. Qard al-Hassan, a so-called “financial institution,”
illegal even by Hezbollah’s own rules, claims to help disaster victims. In
truth, it operates like a ghost bank: no guarantees, no transparency, no funds.
When checks expire, recipients are shuffled into this shadow system, facing
additional delays that often lead nowhere. “I received a check in January, meant
to be payable in May. In May, they told me to wait another 35 days. It’s now
June, and my house is still exposed to the elements. My shop remains closed.
It’s a silent torture,” says Ali, 57, from Khiam.
A Collapse Disguised as Resistance
On June 23, Hezbollah’s compensation committee indefinitely suspended all
payments, blaming the escalating Iran-Israel conflict. The message was clear:
the funds have dried up. Hezbollah, portrayed as the “guarantor of resistance,”
can no longer honor its commitments to its supporters. Its claimed social
strength is crumbling, exposing its reliance on shrinking external financing.
“My check was due to be cashed this month. Now they’ve announced a freeze. This
is the ultimate betrayal,” says Abou Ali, 65, from Khiam. “Months of waiting and
hoping. And now? Nothing. Just contempt.”
A Trapped, Neglected and Forsaken People
Many families haven’t even received a check. Their homes were inspected and
photographed by Hezbollah-linked agents, but since then, silence. “They came,
took photos, and now it’s as if my house doesn’t exist. As if my suffering isn’t
real,” says Fadia from Marjayoun, her voice heavy with exhaustion. Hezbollah
claims to protect its people but abandons them. It promises reconstruction yet
leaves them waiting. It boasts of resistance while sacrificing its own.
The Fall of a Myth
Once proud to be a “state within a state,” Hezbollah is now an overwhelmed
caretaker, incapable of supporting those it claims to represent. The facade of
efficiency has crumbled, beneath it lies chaos. Qard al-Hassan is broke, its
checks worthless, and the people know it. “We can’t move forward or rebuild.
We’re trapped, clutching paper that’s worthless,” says Ramzi, whose home remains
unlivable. “Is this what resistance really looks like?”
In the ruins of South Lebanon, the waiting is over, people see the bare truth.
Many have lost all hope. The thin veneer of so-called solidarity has shattered.
What remains is raw anger, and a populace betrayed one time too many.
World Bank Announces Lebanon, Syria Reconstruction Projects
This is Beirut/June 25, 2025
The World Bank announced on Wednesday it had approved $250 million to support
Lebanon's post-war reconstruction and a $146 million grant to rehabilitate
neighbouring Syria's electricity sector. Lebanon is reeling from last year's
devastating war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, while Syria faces
massive needs after Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad
in December, capping a 14-year civil war. "The World Bank Board of Executive
Directors approved yesterday a US$250 million financing to Lebanon to support
the most urgent repair and reconstruction of damaged critical public
infrastructure and lifeline services, and the sustainable management of rubble
in conflict-affected areas," it said in a statement. The bank had previously
estimated the costs of post-war reconstruction and recovery in Lebanon at around
$11 billion.Jean-Christophe Carret, the World Bank Middle East Department's
division director, said that "given Lebanon's large reconstruction needs, the
(project) is structured as a $1 billion scalable framework with an initial $250
million contribution from the World Bank". Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam
welcomed the decision, calling the project "a key step in reconstruction by
responding to damage to critical infrastructure and essential services in
war-affected areas". "This support strengthens recovery efforts within the
state-led implementation framework and leverages much-needed additional
financing," he said. More than a year of hostilities between Lebanese group
Hezbollah and Israel, including a full-blown war that began in September, ended
with a ceasefire agreement in late November. The conflict caused massive
destruction across Lebanon, particularly in Hezbollah strongholds in the
country's south and east and in Beirut's southern suburbs, and further
exacerbated economic woes caused by an economic crisis that started in 2019.
Reconstruction remains one of the greatest challenges facing Lebanon's
government, with Beirut seeking foreign aid to finance the post-war recovery.
Syria
In a separate statement, the World Bank said it had approved a $146 million
grant to Syria from the International Development Association "to help restore
reliable, affordable electricity and support the country's economic recovery".
The grant will finance the rehabilitation of high-voltage transmission lines and
transformer substations damaged during the civil war, and the acquisition of
spare parts and maintenance equipment, according to the statement. "Among
Syria's urgent reconstruction needs, rehabilitating the electricity sector has
emerged as a critical, no-regret investment that can improve the living
conditions of the Syrian people," Carret said.It would also "support the return
of refugees and the internally displaced, enable resumption of other services
such as water services and healthcare for the population, and help kickstart
economic recovery", he added. "This project represents the first step in a
planned increase in World Bank support to Syria on its path to recovery and
development." Syria's war since 2011 had devastated the country's
infrastructure, with daily power cuts lasting hours.The grant comes after Saudi
Arabia and Qatar said they would pay off Syria's World Bank debt, and as the
country's new rulers press reconstruction efforts following the lifting of
Western sanctions. The UN estimates Syria's reconstruction to cost over $400
billion.
With AFP
Tense Calm in Shatila After Night of Heavy Clashes
This is Beirut/June 25, 2025
A tense calm settled over the Shatila refugee camp, adjacent to Beirut's Tarik
Jdideh neighborhood, on Wednesday morning following a night of fear and chaos.
Violent clashes erupted overnight between drug traffickers affiliated with rival
Palestinian factions, members of the Leddaoui family linked to Fatah, and the
Haziné group, aligned with Fatah al-Intifada. Heavy weapons and rockets were
used, triggering widespread panic and leaving several people injured. Terrified
residents of both Tarik Jdideh and the camp pleaded with the army and security
forces to intervene.At dawn, the death of Adel Leddaoui was confirmed.
Byblos International Festival 2025 Returns to Celebrate Cultural Resilience
This is Beirut/June 25, 2025
The historic port city of Byblos, Lebanon, will once again host its famed
international music festival amid a picturesque seaside setting. The Byblos
International Festival is making a long-awaited comeback after a multi-year
hiatus triggered by the country’s recent crises. Scheduled for August 5–10, 2025
in the ancient coastal city of Byblos, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the
festival’s revival is a beacon of hope that underscores Lebanon’s cultural
resilience and commitment to the arts. Now organized by In Action Live, a
division of In Action Events (co-founded by entrepreneurs Joe Harb and Cynthia
Warde), the festival aims to celebrate Lebanon’s enduring spirit while boosting
tourism and artistic exchange. For the first time since 2019, the historic
harbor venue will welcome local and international music fans. The festival drew
over 50,000 spectators per year in its peak years before the pause. Supported by
Lebanon’s Ministry of Tourism and the Municipality of Byblos, the event signals
a cultural renaissance, inviting visitors from around the world to experience
Lebanese hospitality and heritage. The open-air concerts will take place against
Byblos’s stunning backdrop, where the Mediterranean waters surround the stage,
and the medieval town looks on, reminding everyone of the city’s timeless role
as a crossroads of culture and history.
Star-Studded Lineup Shines over Byblos
Festival organizers have curated a star-studded lineup for 2025, bringing
together beloved local talent and global artists for four nights of
unforgettable live music under the stars. The program’s headline performances
include:
• August 5, 2025 – Guy Manoukian & Friends: Lebanese-Armenian composer and
pianist Guy Manoukian, a staple of the local music scene, will kick off the
festival with a special collaborative concert.
• August 8, 2025 – Lost Frequencies: Internationally acclaimed Belgian
DJ/producer Lost Frequencies will light up the stage with his chart-topping
electronic hits, marking his much-anticipated return to Lebanon.
• August 9, 2025 – Slimane: French singer-songwriter Slimane, often hailed as
one of France’s most soulful pop voices, brings his award-winning vocals to
Byblos for a night of moving performances.
• August 10, 2025 – Naïka: The festival’s finale features Naïka, a rising
multicultural pop sensation known for her Afro-Caribbean influences, performing
live in Lebanon for the first time.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on June 25-26/2025
Trump
says US and Iranian officials will talk next week
AP/June 25, 2025
THE HAGUE, Netherlands: US President Donald Trump asserted on Wednesday that US
and Iranian officials will talk next week, giving rise to cautious hope for
longer-term peace even as Tehran insisted it will not give up its nuclear
program.
Trump, who helped negotiate the ceasefire that took hold Tuesday on the 12th day
of the war, told reporters at a NATO summit that he wasn’t particularly
interested in restarting negotiations with Iran, insisting that US strikes had
destroyed its nuclear program. Earlier in the day, an Iranian official
questioned whether the United States could be trusted after its weekend attack.
“We may sign an agreement, I don’t know,” Trump said. “The way I look at it,
they fought, the war is done.”Iran has not acknowledged any talks taking place
next week, though US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff has said there has been direct
and indirect communication between the countries. A sixth round of negotiations
between the US and Iran had been scheduled for earlier this month in Oman but
was canceled when Israel attacked Iran. Earlier, Trump said the ceasefire was
going “very well,” and added that Iran was “not going to have a bomb and they’re
not going to enrich.”Iran has insisted, however, that it will not give up its
nuclear program. In a vote underscoring the tough path ahead, its parliament
agreed to fast-track a proposal that would effectively stop the country’s
cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN watchdog that
has monitored the program for years. Ahead of the vote, Parliament Speaker
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf criticized the IAEA for having “refused to even pretend
to condemn the attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities” that the US carried out on
Sunday. “For this reason, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran will suspend
cooperation with the IAEA until security of nuclear facilities is ensured, and
Iran’s peaceful nuclear program will move forward at a faster pace,” Qalibaf
told lawmakers.IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said he had written
to Iran to discuss resuming inspections of their nuclear facilities. Among other
things, Iran claims to have moved its highly enriched uranium ahead of the US
strikes, and Grossi said his inspectors need to re-assess the country’s
stockpiles.
“We need to return,” he said. “We need to engage.”
French President Emmanuel Macron, whose country was part of the 2015 deal with
Iran that restricted its nuclear program but began unraveling after Trump pulled
the US out in his first term, said he hoped Tehran would come back to the table.
Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program was peaceful, and US
intelligence agencies have assessed that Tehran is not actively pursuing a bomb.
However, Israeli leaders have argued that Iran could quickly assemble a nuclear
weapon. Israel is widely believed to be the only Middle Eastern country with
nuclear weapons, which it has never acknowledged. The Israel Atomic Energy
Commission said its assessment was that the US and Israeli strikes have “set
back Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons by many years.” It did not give
evidence to back up its claim. The US strikes hit three Iranian nuclear sites,
which Trump said “completely and fully obliterated” the country’s nuclear
program. When asked about a US intelligence report that found Iran’s nuclear
program has been set back only a few months, Trump scoffed and said it would at
least take “years” to rebuild. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei,
confirmed that the strikes by US B-2 bombers using bunker-buster bombs had
caused significant damage. “Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged,
that’s for sure,” he told Al Jazeera on Wednesday, while refusing to go into
detail. He seemed to suggest Iran might not shut out IAEA inspectors for good,
noting that the bill before parliament only talks of suspending work with the
agency, not ending it. He also insisted Iran has the right to pursue a nuclear
energy program.“Iran is determined to preserve that right under any
circumstances,” he said. Witkoff said on Fox News late on Tuesday that Israel
and the US had achieved their objective of “the total destruction of the
enrichment capacity” in Iran, and Iran’s prerequisite for talks — that Israel
end its campaign — had been fulfilled.“The proof is in the pudding,” he said.
“No one’s shooting at each other. It’s over.”
UN nuclear chief says it's possible
Iran's highly enriched uranium 'is there'
Francois Murphy/Reuters/June 25,
2025
VIENNA (Reuters) -There is a chance that much of Iran's highly enriched uranium
survived Israeli and U.S. attacks because it may have been moved by Tehran soon
after the first strikes, U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on
Wednesday. Israel repeatedly struck Iranian nuclear facilities during its 12-day
war with Tehran, and U.S. forces bombed Iran's underground nuclear facilities at
the weekend, but the extent of the damage to its stocks of enriched uranium is
unclear. International Atomic Energy Agency chief Grossi said earlier this week
that Iran had informed the IAEA on June 13 - the first day of Israeli strikes -
that it would take "special measures" to protect its nuclear materials and
equipment. "They did not get into details as to what that meant but clearly that
was the implicit meaning of that, so we can imagine that this material is
there," Grossi told a press conference on Wednesday with members of the Austrian
government. "So for that, to confirm, for the whole situation, evaluation, we
need to return (IAEA inspectors to Iran's nuclear facilities)." He said ensuring
the resumption of IAEA inspections was his top priority as none had taken place
since the bombing began although Iran's parliament approved moves on Wednesday
to suspend such inspections. The IAEA needs to determine how much remains of
Iran's stock of uranium enriched to up to 60% purity - a level that is close to
the roughly 90% of weapons grade. Uranium enrichment has both civilian and
military applications. Iran has always denied seeking nuclear weapons and says
its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes.The IAEA says no other
country has enriched to such a high level without producing nuclear weapons, and
Western powers say there is no civil justification for it.
'HOURGLASS APPROACH'
The last quarterly IAEA report on May 31 indicated that Iran had, according to
an IAEA yardstick, enough uranium enriched to up to 60% purity for nine nuclear
weapons if enriched further. It has enough for more bombs at lower enrichment
levels such as 20% and 5%, the report showed. A preliminary U.S. intelligence
assessment determined that the U.S. strikes at the weekend set back Tehran's
programme by only a matter of months, meaning Iran could restart its nuclear
programme in that time, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters
on Tuesday. "This hourglass approach is something I do not like ... It's in the
eye of the beholder," Grossi said. "When you look at the ... reconstruction of
the infrastructure, it's not impossible. First, there has been some that
survived the attacks, and then this is work that Iran knows how to do. It would
take some time."Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Tuesday that
Tehran's view on the nuclear programme and the non-proliferation regime would
now "witness changes, but it is not possible to say in what direction". Iran's
parliament approved a bill on Wednesday on suspending cooperation with the IAEA
and stipulating that any future IAEA inspection would need approval by Iran's
Supreme National Security Council. The bill still requires approval by Iran's
unelected Guardian Council to become law. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer
Qalibaf was quoted by state media as saying the IAEA "has put its international
credibility up for sale" and that Iran would accelerate its civilian nuclear
programme. "This would be, of course, very regrettable," Grossi said of Iran's
threat to withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). "I hope this
is not the case. I don't think this would help anybody, starting with Iran. This
would lead to isolation and all sorts of problems and, why not, perhaps, if not
the unravelling a very, very, very serious erosion in the NPT structure," he
said.
A battered Iran faces an
uncertain future after its grinding war with Israel
JON GAMBRELL and LEE KEATH/Associated Press/June 25, 2025
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The bombing has quieted in Iran’s 12-day conflict
with Israel. Now its battered theocracy and 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei must regroup and rebuild in a changed landscape. Israeli airstrikes
decimated the upper ranks of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard and depleted
its arsenal of ballistic missiles. Israeli missiles and American bunker buster
bombs damaged the nuclear program — though how much remains disputed. Khamenei
went into deep isolation in an undisclosed location, appearing only twice in
videos as the Israelis had free rein over the country’s skies. Iran's
self-described “Axis of Resistance,” a group of allied countries and militias in
the Mideast, has been mauled by the Israelis since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
Foreign support Tehran may have expected from China and Russia never
materialized. At home, old problems remain, particularly an economy wrecked by
international sanctions, corruption and mismanagement. “Iran’s leadership has
been dealt a heavy blow and will be conscious of preserving the ceasefire, which
gives the regime breathing room and allows space to focus on internal security
and reconstruction,” the Eurasia Group said in an analysis Wednesday.
Shoring up loyalty
One thing Israel’s campaign showed was how much its intelligence agencies have
infiltrated Iran — particularly its swift pinpointing of military and Guard
commanders and top nuclear scientists for strikes. The No. 1 task for Khamenei
may be to root out any suspected disloyalty in the ranks. “There must be some
sort of purge. But who will implement it? That is the question,” said Hamidreza
Azizi, a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security
Affairs. “This level of distrust that apparently exists now is going to paralyze
any effective planning or security overhaul,” he said.
In that atmosphere, rebuilding Iran’s military, particularly its Revolutionary
Guard, will be a challenge. But the forces have a deep bench of officers. One
top survivor of the war, Gen. Esmail Qaani, in charge of the Guard’s
expeditionary Quds Force, was seen in videos of a pro-government demonstration
in Tehran on Tuesday.
On the civilian side, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi found himself empowered to
the level of almost a de facto prime minister, publishing announcements on even
the ceasefire while others in Tehran remained silent. Khamenei also has to
rethink the security policy he wove together over the past two decades. The
“Axis of Resistance" alliances allowed Iran to project its power across the
Mideast but also was seen as a defensive buffer, intended to keep conflict away
from Iranian borders. That buffer has now been shown to be a failure.
Race for a bomb?
After Israel’s campaign exposed Iran’s vulnerabilities, Khamenei might conclude
that his country can only protect itself by turning its nuclear capability into
an actual bomb, as North Korea did. Iran has always said its nuclear program is
peaceful. But it is the only non-nuclear armed state to have enriched uranium to
60%, a short step from weapons-grade. Many observers believe Khamenei opposed
taking that step to a weapon to avoid a war, Azizi said. But now voices within
the system demanding a bomb are likely growing, he said. “We might have already
passed that threshold for Khamenei’s viewpoint to change.”
Still, any drive for a nuclear weapon would be a major gamble. The extent of
damage from the U.S. and Israeli barrages remains unclear, but Iran certainly
needs to rebuild its nuclear facilities and centrifuge infrastructure, whether
that takes months or years.
And it would have to do all that in extreme secrecy, concealed from Israeli and
U.S. intelligence. Were Israel to catch wind, it could resume strikes. Khamenei
could also take the opposite path, resuming talks with the United States in
hopes of winning sanctions relief. U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, appearing
Tuesday night on Fox News, called the chance for future negotiations
“promising.”“We’re already talking to each other,” he said. “We are hopeful we
can have a long-term peace agreement that resurrects Iran.”
Challenges at home
Many also fear an intensified crackdown on dissent, as a leadership battered by
war regroups amid mounting problems at home. Iran’s frail economy has been
wrecked by international sanctions, corruption and years of mismanagement. For
months, the ailing power grid has been plagued by hourslong, rolling blackouts.
The flight of much of Tehran’s population during the war temporarily eased the
strain. But as they return, even longer blackouts are likely to come roaring
back during the worst of the summer months, disrupting everything from bakeries
to factories. The war also shut down Tehran’s stock market and currency exchange
shops, pausing a collapse of Iran’s riyal currency. Back in 2015 when Iran
reached its nuclear deal with world powers, the rial traded at 32,000 to $1.
Today, it is near 1 million rials to the dollar. Once businesses reopen in
force, the plunge could resume. The economy has sparked unrest in the past.
After state-set gasoline prices rose in 2019, protests spread across some 100
cities and towns, with gas stations and banks burned down. In the ensuing
crackdown, at least 321 people were killed and thousands detained, according to
Amnesty International.
Then there’s the 2022 protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who
had been detained by security forces allegedly over not wearing her headscarf,
or hijab, to their liking. A monthslong crackdown killed more than 500 people
and saw over 22,000 detained. Many women in Tehran still refuse to wear the
hijab. But activists worry the war will trigger new restrictions. In an open
letter last weekend, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi wrote that “the
Islamic Republic is a religious, authoritarian, and misogynistic regime —
incapable of reform and systematically violating the fundamental rights of the
Iranian people.”But she called for a ceasefire in the war “because I firmly
believe that democracy and peace will not emerge from the dark and terrifying
corridors of war and violence.”
Questions persist over Khamenei’s successor
Despite Israel's talk of eliminating him, Khamenei survived this confrontation.
What comes after him remains unknown. The war could fuel a change in the Islamic
Republic itself, pushing more towards a military-style rule.Under the Islamic
Republic, leading Shiite clerics stand at the top of the hierarchy, drawing the
lines to which the civilian government, the military and intelligence and
security establishment must submit. As supreme leader, Khamenei symbolizes that
clerical power. A panel of Shiite clerics is tasked with choosing one of their
own as his successor. Several names have been touted, including Khamenei’s son
and the grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the father of the 1979 Islamic
Revolution. Some candidates are seen as more hard-line, some more open to
reform. Whoever is chosen, military and Guard commanders may more than ever be
the power behind the robes. “People have been talking of a transition from
clergy-dominated Islamic Republic to a military-dominated Islamic Republic,”
Azizi said. “This war has made that scenario more plausible. … The next
government will be more military-security oriented.”
Iran turns to internal crackdown in wake of 12-day war
Parisa Hafezi and Ahmed Rasheed/Reuters/June 25, 2025
ISTANBUL/BAGHDAD -Iranian authorities are pivoting from a ceasefire with Israel
to intensify an internal security crackdown across the country with mass
arrests, executions and military deployments, particularly in the restive
Kurdish region, officials and activists said. Within days of Israel's airstrikes
beginning on June 13, Iranian security forces started a campaign of widespread
arrests accompanied by an intensified street presence based around checkpoints,
the officials and activists said. Some in Israel and exiled opposition groups
had hoped the military campaign, which targeted Revolutionary Guards and
internal security forces as well as nuclear sites, would spark a mass uprising
and the overthrow of the Islamic Republic. While Reuters has spoken to numerous
Iranians angry at the government for policies they believed had led to the
Israeli attack, there has been no sign yet of any significant protests against
the authorities. However, one senior Iranian security official and two other
senior officials briefed on internal security issues said the authorities were
focused on the threat of possible internal unrest, particularly in Kurdish
areas. Revolutionary Guard and Basij paramilitary units were put on alert and
internal security was now the primary focus, said the senior security official.
The official said authorities were worried about Israeli agents, ethnic
separatists and the People's Mujahideen Organisation, an exiled opposition group
that has previously staged attacks inside Iran. Activists within the country are
lying low."We are being extremely cautious right now because there's a real
concern the regime might use this situation as a pretext," said a rights
activist in Tehran who was jailed during mass protests in 2022. The activist
said he knew dozens of people who had been summoned by authorities and either
arrested or warned against any expressions of dissent.Iranian rights group HRNA
said on Monday it had recorded arrests of 705 people on political or security
charges since the start of the war. Many of those arrested have been accused of
spying for Israel, HRNA said. Iranian state media reported three were executed
on Tuesday in Urmia, near the Turkish border, and the Iranian-Kurdish rights
group Hengaw said they were all Kurdish. Iran's Foreign and Interior Ministries
did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
CHECKPOINTS AND SEARCHES
One of the officials briefed on security said troops had been deployed to the
borders of Pakistan, Iraq and Azerbaijan to stop infiltration by what the
official called terrorists. The other official briefed on security acknowledged
that hundreds had been arrested.
Iran's mostly Sunni Muslim Kurdish and Baluch minorities have long been a source
of opposition to the Islamic Republic, chafing against rule from the
Persian-speaking, Shi'ite government in Tehran. The three main Iranian Kurdish
separatist factions based in Iraqi Kurdistan said some of their activists and
fighters had been arrested and described widespread military and security
movements by Iranian authorities. Ribaz Khalili from the Democratic Party of
Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI) said Revolutionary Guards units had deployed in schools
in Iran's Kurdish provinces within three days of Israel's strikes beginning and
gone house-to-house for suspects and arms. The Guards had taken protective
measures too, evacuating an industrial zone near their barracks and closing
major roads for their own use in bringing reinforcements to Kermanshah and
Sanandaj, two major cities in the Kurdish region. A cadre from the Free Life
Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), who gave her nom de guerre of Fatma Ahmed, said the
party had counted more than 500 opposition members being detained in Kurdish
provinces since the airstrikes began. Ahmed and an official from the Kurdish
Komala party, who spoke on condition of anonymity, both described checkpoints
being set up across Kurdish areas with physical searches of people as well as
checks of their phones and documents.
Can Iran attack the US now and how
(and where) can it do it?
Sasha Vakulina/Euronews/June 25, 2025
Iran's ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva
Ali Bahreini told Euronews on 19 June that Tehran will attack the US if
Washington “crosses the red lines". Iran has not acted on its threat since the
Sunday US strike on its nuclear facilities, continuing to focus its military
response on Israel instead, over Israel's 13 June attack on its nuclear
programme. But Iranian officials have doubled down on reprisal threats against
the United States. "Mr Trump, the gambler, you may start this war, but we will
be the ones to end it," Ebrahim Zolfaqari, a spokesperson for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya
central military headquarters, said on Monday in a recorded video statement.
Soon after the US strikes, President Donald Trump warned Iranian leaders
that the time had come to make peace, "if they do not, future attacks will be
far greater," he said during a presidential address from the White House on
Saturday.
The following day, he touted the idea of "regime change" in Iran on his social
media platform Truth Social. Most Western military experts agree that the most
probable scenario is for Iran to attack the US military bases in the region.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps already said on Sunday that the
origin of the US aircraft “has been identified and it is under surveillance”,
emphasising that American bases in the region are “not a source of strength, but
a point of heightened vulnerability”. Iran's proxy in
Yemen, the Houthis, also said on Saturday that they would target US ships in the
Red Sea if Washington participates in any potential attack against Israel in
co-operation with Israel. "We will target US ships and battleships in the Red
Sea if Washington participates in the attack on Iran," the group's military
spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement published by the group's media
outlet. The US has tens of thousands of troops
stationed in the Middle East, including at permanent bases in Kuwait, Bahrain,
Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Arab Gulf countries just across the Persian
Gulf from Iran — and much closer than Israel. Those
bases have sophisticated air defences, but would have much less warning time
before waves of missiles or swarms of armed drones. It also depends a lot on the
number of drones and missiles used in a possible attack. Even Israel, which is
several hundred kilometres further away, has been unable to stop all of the
incoming fire. Typically around 30,000 troops are
based in the Middle East, and about 40,000 troops are in the region now,
according to US officials and AP. That number surged
as high as 43,000 last October in response to heightened tensions between Israel
and Iran, as well as continuous attacks on commercial and military ships in the
Red Sea by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen. After
13 June, when Israel first hit Iran to stop its nuclear enrichment programme, US
forces in the region started taking precautionary measures, including having
military dependents voluntarily leave bases, in anticipation of potential
strikes and to protect personnel in case of a large-scale response from Tehran.
US targets at risk amid escalating tensions
US troops across the Middle East are also on high alert because Iran and its
proxies previously targeted US interests in the region.One major difference
compared to past attacks and threats though is that Iran's proxies Hezbollah and
Hamas' capabilities are much weaker since Israel decimated them after October
2023.Bashar Al-Assad, Iran's long-time champion in Syria, was toppled in
December 2024. Also, Iran has missiles, including ballistic, but not much of an
aviation force, owing to Western sanctions. Al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq,
the largest U.S. deployment in the country, has been a frequent target.
In 2020, after the US killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, Iran launched 16
missiles at American bases in Iraq. Eleven hit al-Asad, wounding dozens. Attacks
have continued, with drones and rockets striking the base as recently as August.
In January 2024, a drone strike on Tower 22, a small US outpost in Jordan
near the Syrian border, killed three American troops.
The drone strike was the first deadly one against US forces since the
Israel-Hamas war started in October 2023. US officials have blamed the attack on
the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iran-backed militias, including
Kataib Hezbollah. In Bahrain, the US Navy’s 5th Fleet
operates with around 8,000 personnel. Qatar hosts Al-Udeid Air Base, the forward
headquarters of US Central Command, which can accommodate up to 10,000 troops.
Camp Buehring, Ali al-Salem, and al-Dhafra are also key air bases located in
Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. US diplomatic
missions in Iraq and Israel have also begun evacuating staff. Officials warn
embassies could be targeted alongside military bases.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on X that “protecting US forces is our
top priority,” announcing the deployment of additional forces to bolster
regional defences.
Going for unconventional means, opting for terror attacks
Iran could also target US and Israeli interests in and beyond the Middle East,
resorting to terror attacks. The Islamic Republic has a long track record of
opting for terrorism either directly or through its proxies. It also has ties to
Al-Qaeda mostly over their common hatred of the United States but no proven
shared terrorist goals. It is also unlikely that so-called lone wolf terrorism
acts could be sponsored or inspired by Iran as it has not been its modus
operandi — at least so far. Here is a timeline of past terror attacks:
In US, the Iranian diaspora contends with the Israel-Iran war and a fragile
ceasefire
MARIAM FAM/Associated Press/June 25, 2025
Born and raised in Iran, Fariba Pajooh, was detained in her country before
coming to the United States. She wants to see changes in her homeland — but not
by Israel firing missiles or the U.S. dropping bombs. “Iranian people deserve
democracy and freedom,” said the 45-year-old doctoral candidate in Detroit. “But
real change cannot come through foreign military attacks, missiles and bombs.
History has shown that democracy is not delivered by force.”The fast-changing
war between Israel and Iran, in which the U.S. recently inserted itself by
targeting Iran’s nuclear sites, has caused a mix of emotions — including fear
and uncertainty — among many in the Iranian diaspora in America and also
showcased differences of opinion over the country’s future. Florida House
legislator Anna V. Eskamani, the daughter of Iranian immigrants, stressed that
complexity. “I think most of the diaspora is united in wanting to see a
different government in Iran and wanting to see a democracy in Iran, but I think
we’re also very concerned about the health and safety of our loved ones and the
impact on innocent civilians.”
Diaspora divided on approach to change in Iran
Some, like Eskamani, support diplomacy rather than war; others, she said, hope
military action can lead to an overthrow of the Iranian government. “It’s very
difficult, because not only are you just worried about what’s happening with
your family, but then you’re worried about the division within the community
here in the United States and around the world,” she said “So it's just layer
upon layer of complexity.”Israel launched a surprise barrage of attacks on sites
in Iran on June 13, saying it could not let Tehran develop atomic weapons and
feared it was close to doing so. Iran has long maintained that its program is
peaceful. After the two nations volleyed strikes for several days, a fragile
ceasefire now appears to be holding. If it does, it will provide a global sense
of relief after the U.S. intervened by dropping bunker-buster bombs on nuclear
sites over the weekend. President Donald Trump said he was not seeking regime
change in Iran, two days after first appearing to float the idea. “I’d like to
see everything calm down as quickly as possible,” Trump told reporters on Air
Force One. “Regime change takes chaos, and ideally we don’t want to see so much
chaos.”
Fearing for family in Iran
It has been an intense period, especially for those with relatives in Iran.
Pajooh said she and her mother were worried about Pajooh’s grandfather in Tehran
who initially was unable to evacuate before later managing to do so. “My mom is
a tough woman,” she said. “When she calls me and cries, it’s a big thing,
because always I call her and cry,” Pajooh added, her voice breaking with
emotion. Since the ceasefire, “my heart is not as heavy as it was,” she said. “I
feel I can breathe.”Pajooh, who worked as a journalist in Iran, said she was
arrested and held there twice. Still, she said, any changes in the country
should be the decision of the Iranian people there. “We don’t want you to bring
us democracy with your bombs,” she said. “It’s our work. We are doing it.”In
California, Sharona Nazarian, the mayor of Beverly Hills and a Jewish immigrant
from Iran, forcefully defended Israel’s decision to attack. “A nuclear-armed
Iranian regime would pose a grave danger,” she told a city council meeting last
week. “Israel’s action, though difficult, reflects a preemptive effort to
prevent a potential catastrophe.”She added: “True change in Iran must come from
its own people. ... My hope is that they will unite with strength and reclaim
their future.”
Intellectually torn and emotionally messy
Rachel Sumekh grew up in Los Angeles and is Jewish. Her parents are Iranian; she
has extended family in Iran and closer relatives in Israel. She knows many
people of Iranian descent in the U.S. are supportive of the war because they
want the “regime changed.”
“I’m just praying that this leads to more freedom and liberation for the people
of Iran,” Sumekh said. “But if history has taught us anything, it’s that in the
Middle East, bombs alone are not the way to create lasting peace. This is all
messy and confusing and layered.”
Sumekh said that as she drove Monday near what’s known as Persian Square or “Tehrangeles,”
she was surprised to see some people holding signs calling for the return of
monarchy in Iran. “Since when is a king democracy?” she said. “Regardless of
what religion we belonged to, we all left Iran for a reason. Many people are
upset in this moment and feel like if Iran goes back to the moment they left it,
it’ll all be fine.”In Massachusetts, when Elika Dadsetan first saw that the U.S.
had struck Iran, she recalled thinking: No one wins in this.
“We want to make that change. We want to do it internally. We don’t want to have
it be forced upon us and especially not from a place like Israel or the U.S.,
and not like this, not through bombing,” she said. For about a week she has been
having trouble getting updates from some relatives in Iran, as she grapples with
grief, rage and heartbreak. “We are resilient,”
Dadsetan said. “We’ll get through this, just really, unfortunately, it will be a
lot of pain before we do get through this.”
Iran's parliament approves bill on suspending cooperation
with IAEA
Reuters/June 25, 2025
DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran's parliament approved a bill on Wednesday to suspend
cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, state-affiliated news outlet
Nournews reported. The move follows an air war with Israel in which Iran's
longtime enemy said it wanted to prevent Tehran developing a nuclear weapon.The
bill, which must be approved by Iran's unelected Guardian Council to become law,
stipulates that any future inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) would need approval by the Supreme National Security Council. Parliament
Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf was quoted by state media as also saying Iran
would accelerate its civilian nuclear programme. Tehran denies seeking nuclear
weapons and says an IAEA resolution this month declaring Iran in breach of its
non-proliferation obligations paved the way for Israel's attacks. Qalibaf was
quoted as saying the IAEA had refused even to appear to condemn the attack on
Iran's nuclear facilities and "has put its international credibility up for
sale."He said that "for this reason, the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran will
suspend its cooperation with the Agency until the security of the nuclear
facilities is guaranteed, and move at a faster pace with the country's peaceful
nuclear programme."Parliament's national security committee approved the bill's
general outline this week and the committee's spokesperson said the bill would
suspend the installation of surveillance cameras, inspections and filing of
reports to the IAEA. The IAEA did not immediately comment on the Iranian
parliament's approval of the bill. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday he
was seeking the return of inspectors to Iranian sites including the plants where
it was enriching uranium until Israel launched strikes on June 13. The full
extent of the damage done to nuclear sites during the Israeli attacks and U.S.
bombing of underground Iranian nuclear facilities is not yet clear.
"I think that our view on our nuclear programme and the non-proliferation
regime will witness changes, but it is not possible to say in what direction,"
Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Qatar's Al-Araby Al-Jadeed this week.
Iranian-backed hackers go to work after US strikes
David Klepper/The Associated Press/June 25, 2025
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hackers backing Tehran have targeted U.S. banks, defense
contractors and oil industry companies following American strikes on Iranian
nuclear facilities — but so far have not caused widespread disruptions to
critical infrastructure or the economy. But that could change if the ceasefire
between Iran and Israel collapses or if independent hacking groups supporting
Iran make good on promises to wage their own digital conflict against the U.S.,
analysts and cyber experts say. The U.S. strikes could
even prompt Iran, Russia, China and North Korea to double down on investments in
cyberwarfare, according to Arnie Bellini, a tech entrepreneur and investor.
Bellini noted that hacking operations are much cheaper than bullets, planes or
nuclear arms — what defense analysts call kinetic warfare. America may be
militarily dominant, he said, but its reliance on digital technology poses a
vulnerability. “We just showed the world: You don’t
want to mess with us kinetically,” said Bellini, CEO of Bellini Capital. “But we
are wide open digitally. We are like Swiss cheese."
Hackers have hit banks and defense contractors
Two pro-Palestinian hacking groups claimed they targeted more than a dozen
aviation firms, banks and oil companies following the U.S. strikes over the
weekend. The hackers detailed their work in a post on
the Telegram messaging service and urged other hackers to follow their lead,
according to researchers at the SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks the
groups' activity. The attacks were denial-of-service attacks, in which a hacker
tries to disrupt a website or online network. “We
increase attacks from today,” one of the hacker groups, known as Mysterious
Team, posted Monday. Federal authorities say they are on guard for additional
attempts by hackers to penetrate U.S. networks. The Department of Homeland
Security issued a public bulletin Sunday warning of increased Iranian cyber
threats. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a statement
Tuesday urging organizations that operate critical infrastructure like water
systems, pipelines or power plants to stay vigilant.
While it lacks the technical abilities of China or Russia, Iran has long been
known as a “chaos agent” when it comes to using cyberattacks to steal secrets,
score political points or frighten opponents. Cyberattacks mounted by Iran's
government may end if the ceasefire holds and Tehran looks to avoid another
confrontation with the U.S. But hacker groups could still retaliate on Iran's
behalf. In some cases, these groups have ties to
military or intelligence agencies. In other cases, they act entirely
independently. More than 60 such groups have been identified by researchers at
the security firm Trustwave. These hackers can inflict
significant economic and psychological blows. Following Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023,
attack on Israel, for instance, hackers penetrated an emergency alert app used
by some Israelis and directed it to inform users that a nuclear missile was
incoming. “It causes an immediate psychological
impact," said Ziv Mador, vice president of security research at Trustwave's
SpiderLabs, which tracks cyberthreats. Economic
disruption, confusion and fear are all the goals of such operations, said Mador,
who is based in Israel. “We saw the same thing in Russia-Ukraine.”
Collecting intelligence is another aim for hackers
While Iran lacks the cyberwarfare capabilities of China or Russia, it has
repeatedly tried to use its more modest operations to try to spy on foreign
leaders — something national security experts predict Tehran is almost certain
to try again as it seeks to suss out President Donald Trump’s next moves.
Last year, federal authorities charged three Iranian operatives with trying to
hack Trump’s presidential campaign. It would be wrong to assume Iran has given
up those efforts, according to Jake Williams, a former National Security Agency
cybersecurity expert who is now vice president of research and development at
Hunter Strategy, a Washington-based cybersecurity firm.
“It’s fairly certain that these limited resources are being used for
intelligence collection to understand what Israel or the U.S. might be planning
next, rather than performing destructive attacks against U.S. commercial
organizations,” Williams said.
The Trump administration has cut cybersecurity programs and staff
Calls to bolster America's digital defense come as the Trump administration has
moved to slash some cybersecurity programs as part of its effort to shrink the
size of government. CISA has placed staffers who
worked on election security on leave and cut millions of dollars in funding for
cybersecurity programs for local and state elections.
The CIA, NSA and other intelligence agencies also have seen reductions in
staffing. Trump abruptly fired Gen. Timothy Haugh, who oversaw the NSA and the
Pentagon’s Cyber Command. The Israel-Iran conflict shows the value of
investments in cybersecurity and cyber offense, Mador said. He said Israel's
strikes on Iran, which included attacks on nuclear scientists, required
sophisticated cyberespionage that allowed Israel to track its targets. Expanding
America's cyber defenses will require investments in education as well as
technical fixes to ensure connected devices or networks aren't vulnerable, said
Bellini, who recently contributed $40 million toward a new cybersecurity center
at the University of South Florida. There is a new arms race when it comes to
cyberwar, Bellini said, and it's a contest America can't afford to lose. “It's
Wile E. Coyote vs. the Road Runner,” Bellini said. "It will go back and forth,
and it will never end.”
Putin will not go to BRICS
summit in Brazil due to ICC arrest warrant, Kremlin aide says
Reuters/June 25, 2025
MOSCOW-Russian President Vladimir Putin will not travel to next week's BRICS
summit in Brazil because of an outstanding arrest warrant issued against him by
the International Criminal Court (ICC), Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov
said on Wednesday. The ICC issued the warrant in 2023, just over a year after
Russia launched its full-scale war against Ukraine, accusing Putin of the war
crime of deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. Russia denies allegations
of war crimes and the Kremlin, which did not sign the ICC's founding treaty, has
dismissed the warrant as null and void.
But it means that Putin needs to weigh the risk he might be arrested if he
travels to another country that is a signatory to the ICC treaty. In 2023 he
decided against travelling to one such country, South Africa, for a BRICS
summit. But last year he was given a red carpet welcome in Mongolia, even though
it is an ICC member state. Ushakov said Putin would take part via video link in
the July 6-7 BRICS summit in Brazil. "This is due to certain difficulties, in
the context of the ICC requirement. In that context, the Brazilian government
could not take a clear position that would allow our president to participate in
this meeting," Ushakov said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will travel
to the summit to represent Russia. According to media reports, Chinese President
Xi Jinping will skip the summit.
Turkey's Erdogan calls for
permanent Iran-Israel ceasefire, Gaza truce
Reuters/June 25, 2025
ANKARA -Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told leaders at a NATO summit on
Wednesday that a ceasefire between Israel and Iran needed to be made permanent,
his office said, and called for a ceasefire in Gaza to alleviate the
humanitarian crisis there. NATO member Turkey has been fiercely critical of
Israel and its assault against Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza, which has
been reduced to rubble after two years of war and had its population displaced.
Ankara has also said Israel's "state terrorism" against Iran - with which it
shares a 560-kilometer border - heightened the risks of a wider conflict, and
welcomed the ceasefire between the two. At the NATO summit in The Hague, Erdogan
held talks with the leaders of France, Germany and Britain on regional tensions,
bilateral ties and relations with the EU, and defence industry cooperation.
Erdogan met U.S. President Donald Trump late on Tuesday. "Our President said he
welcomed the ceasefire between Israel and Iran, that the de facto situation
needs to turn into lasting calm as soon as possible, that the humanitarian
crisis in Gaza is increasingly continuing, and that a lasting ceasefire is also
needed there urgently," Erdogan's office said after his meeting with French
President Emmanuel Macron. He repeated that call to German Chancellor Friedrich
Merz, adding that a solution needed to be found to the humanitarian crisis in
Gaza. Erdogan also told British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that "these tensions
must not leave the humanitarian crisis in Gaza - which has reached a disastrous
level - forgotten". Erdogan said the problems between Tehran and Washington
could only be solved through diplomacy, adding that everyone must contribute to
achieving lasting peace in the Middle East. "We welcome the ceasefire achieved
through the efforts of U.S. President Trump," he told a press conference
following the summit. "We expect the parties to unconditionally abide by the
call of my friend Trump."
Seven Israeli soldiers killed during combat in Gaza,
military says
Reuters/June 25, 2025
CAIRO -The Israeli military said seven personnel, an officer and six soldiers,
were killed in fighting in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday. In a separate
incident, a soldier was severely wounded also in southern Gaza, the military
added in a statement on Wednesday. Israeli media
reported the seven were in the city of Khan Younis when an explosive device
planted on their vehicle detonated, setting it on fire. The war in Gaza was
triggered when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing
1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.Israel's
subsequent air and ground war in Gaza has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians,
according to its Hamas-run health ministry, while displacing almost the entire
population of more than 2 million and spreading a hunger crisis.
According to the military's tallies, 19 soldiers have been killed since
the beginning of June during combat in the strip.
Security Council hears of
record violations against kids in conflicts, as UN report sparks outcry over
Gaza
Ephrem Kossaify/Arab News/June 25, 2025
NEW YORK CITY: The UN Security Council convened on Wednesday to address what
officials described as an unprecedented surge in grave violations against
children during armed conflicts around the world. It followed the publication of
a devastating annual report by the secretary-general’s special representative
for children and armed conflict, Virginia Gamba. It documented 41,370 grave
violations during 2024, a 25 percent increase compared with the previous year,
and the highest number since the UN’s Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism was
established in 2005. Verified abuses of children spanned 25 countries and
included killings, maiming, recruitment, abductions, sexual violence, attacks on
schools and hospitals, and denial of access to humanitarian assistance. “This
year marked a devastating new record,” Gamba told council members. “Behind these
numbers are the shattered stories, dreams and futures of over 22,000
children.”She cited a sharp increase in “compounded violations,” in which
children were abducted, recruited and sexually abused, often simultaneously, in
the context of deteriorating humanitarian crises. Israel was responsible for the
highest number of violations by a single country against children in 2024, the
report found. Gamba’s office was able to verify more than 2,000 children killed
or maimed; more than 500 attacks on schools and 148 on hospitals; and over 5,000
incidents in which humanitarian access was denied, including 2,263 in Gaza
alone.
Algeria’s ambassador to the UN, Amar Bendjama, delivered a pointed rebuke of
what he described as “insufficient public engagement” by the special
representative’s office, noting that Gamba had made only two public statements
on Gaza during 2024, despite the staggering toll of the conflict there on
children.
“How can we ignore the 7,188 verified grave violations attributed to Israeli
forces?” Bendjama asked. “This is a man-made crisis … The children of Gaza
deserve immediate, effective protection and accountability for those
perpetrating these abhorrent violations.”
He also underscored the fact that the statistics in the report reflected only
verified violations and added: “For sure, the reality is far worse.
“The (special representative’s) statements fall critically short of the decisive
and sustained condemnation warranted by the immense scale of the crisis. This
limited public engagement starkly contrasts with the rapidly deteriorating
reality on the ground, where children’s right to life is denied every single
moment in Gaza.”He then presented to council members the numbers of incidents
reported by international humanitarian organizations, including UNICEF, which is
operating on the ground in Gaza and has reported more than 50,000 children
killed or injured since the war between Israel and Hamas began in late 2023.
As of May this year, 5,000 children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years old
had been diagnosed with acute malnutrition, he said, nearly double the total
number reported the previous month. About half of the 1.9 million people
internally displaced within Gaza are children, who are living amid the
widespread destruction of water, sanitation and healthcare infrastructure.
“How can we ignore these figures? How can we ignore these children?” Bendjama
asked.
Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres,
said that Guterres fully supports Gamba’s work, adding: “The report is done
under a very specific methodology of verification, and we are very clear in the
report that this is the tip of the iceberg.
“(Gamba’s) report is done according to a methodology which is given to her
through her mandate by the Security Council, which is extremely specific. And I
think the report itself is extremely clear in saying these are only the cases
they have been able to verify in what is an ongoing conflict, and also being
very clear by the fact that this only represents, very likely, a fraction of the
children who’ve been killed or maimed.”Asked by Arab News about the value of a
report when the monitoring system on which it is based is admittedly very
flawed, and whether it might be time to update the mechanisms, Dujarric said: “I
will leave it to the wisdom of the Security Council members to decide whether or
not to change the mandate they have given the secretary-general in creating that
office many years ago. “I think we’ve all said that the system could be
perfected. At minimum, it ensures that the plight of children who are suffering
on the front lines of armed conflict is not forgotten.”Dorothy Shea, the US
charge d’affaires to the UN, defended Israel over its military operations in
Gaza and placed the blame for the ongoing conflict squarely on Hamas. She
emphasized Israel’s right to self-defense, and told fellow council members that
the country had “taken numerous measures to limit harm to civilians and address
humanitarian needs.”
She added: “The loss of civilian life in Gaza is tragic. But the responsibility
for this conflict rests with Hamas, which could stop the fighting today by
freeing the hostages and agreeing to the ceasefire terms already accepted by
Israel.”Shea cited the attacks by Hamas against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that
killed 1,200 people, including 40 children, and in particular highlighted the
deaths of Ariel and Kfir Bibas, Israeli siblings who were 4 years old and 9
months old, respectively. “Hamas murdered the Bibas children and then paraded
their coffins through the streets,” she said. “This terrorist organization
continues to use civilians, including children, as human shields and refuses to
accept a ceasefire that would bring calm to Gaza.”Shea also accused Hamas of
obstructing deliveries of aid and targeting humanitarian workers. “On June 11,
Hamas murdered eight innocent Palestinians working on behalf of the Gaza
Humanitarian Foundation,” she told the council.The US envoy expressed
disappointment that the latest report did not sufficiently highlight what she
described as the “full scale” of abuses by Hamas and added: “We strongly condemn
Hamas’ actions.”UNICEF’s director of child protection, Sheema Sen Gupta, told
council members that “the world is failing to protect children from the horrors
of war.”
In 2024, more than 11,900 children were killed or maimed worldwide, she said,
with explosive weapons in populated areas cited as the leading cause of deaths
and injuries. She described this as a “systemic failure,” and the use of such
weapons as “a death sentence waiting to be triggered.”Sen Gupta also highlighted
a 35 percent increase in sexual violence against children, a form of abuse that
remains severely underreported because of stigma and fear.“These are not just
grave violations in technical terms,” she said. “These are acts of brutality
that destroy lives.”
Conflict zones such as Somalia, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo
and Haiti were highlighted as major hot spots for violations of children’s
rights.
In Congo alone, nearly 10,000 rapes were reported in the first two months of
2025, 40 percent of which involved children. In Haiti, where gangs control vast
areas, there has been a dramatic surge in gang rapes and child abductions.
Both Gamba and Sen Gupta emphasized the fact that many of the violations stem
from the deliberate targeting of civilians, disregard for ceasefire agreements,
and the systematic undermining of humanitarian access. The secretary-general’s
report also underscored the continuing sense of impunity that perpetrators
enjoy. However, the officials pointed to some progress. In 2024, for example,
more than 16,000 children formerly associated with military forces and other
armed groups were released and received reintegration support. Agreements were
also reached with armed forces in Syria, Colombia, the Central African Republic
and Haiti, with commitments made to end the recruitment of children and protect
civilian infrastructure. “These examples remind us that where there is political
will, progress is possible,” said Sen Gupta. The UN officials called for urgent
measures to address the problems, including: an end to the use of explosive
weapons in populated areas; protection of aid workers and humanitarian access;
engagement with nonstate armed groups to implement action plans; funding for
reintegration and mental health services to help affected children; and the
enforcement of international humanitarian law and accountability for
violators.Gamba urged all states to ensure that any political, financial or
military support provided to parties involved in conflicts comes with explicit
conditions regarding the protection of children. “Children are not soldiers,
they are not collateral damage, they are not bargaining chips,” Sen Gupta said.
“They are children and they deserve justice, safety and a future.”
Palestinians say teenager,
three others killed in West Bank
AFP/June 25, 2025
JERUSALEM: The Palestinian health ministry said four people were killed in two
separate incidents in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, including a
15-year-old boy who it said was shot by Israeli troops. It said the teenager was
killed in the northern West Bank town of Al-Yamoun, while three other unnamed
people died in a separate clash in the southern village of Kafr Malik. The
Israeli military (IDF) said it opened fire after intervening in a clash between
Israelis and Palestinians in Kafr Malik. It told AFP that it was “looking into”
the events in Al-Yamoun. The Ramallah-based health ministry said in a statement:
“The child Rayan Tamer Houshiyeh was killed after being shot in the neck by
soldiers” in Al-Yamoun, northwest of Jenin. Earlier Wednesday, the Palestinian
Red Crescent said that its teams had handled “a very critical case” in Al-Yamoun
involving a teenager, before pronouncing him dead. The ministry later said three
people died in the village of Kafr Malik in the south of the territory in an
“attack” by settlers. In a statement it reported “three martyrs and seven
injuries (including one critical) as a result of the settlers’ attack.” It did
not identify those killed. The Red Crescent earlier reported that a 30-year-old
man suffered a “serious head injury” in Kafr Malik, northeast of Ramallah. An
Israeli army spokesperson said in a statement that forces intervened in Kafr
Malik in the evening after “dozens of Israeli civilians set fire to property”
there, which led to stone-throwing by Palestinians and Israelis.“IDF and police
forces were dispatched to the area and acted to disperse the friction,” it said.
“Subsequently, several terrorists opened fire from within the village and threw
stones at the forces, who responded with live fire toward the source of the
shooting and the stone-throwers,” it added. “Hits were identified, and it
appears that there are several wounded and fatalities.”Stone-throwing lightly
injured an IDF officer and five Israelis were arrested, the IDF added. Reacting
to the reports, Palestinian Vice President Hussein Al-Sheikh accused settlers of
acting “under the protection of the Israeli army.”
“We call on the international community to urgently intervene to protect our
Palestinian people,” he added, in a message on X. The Al-Yamoun incident marked
the second time a teenager has been reported killed in the West Bank in two
days. On Monday, the health ministry said Israeli fire killed a 13-year-old it
identified as Ammar Hamayel, also in Kafr Malik. Earlier this month, the army
confirmed it had killed a 14-year-old who threw rocks in the town of Sinjil. In
a similar incident in April, a teenager who held US citizenship was shot dead in
the neighboring town of Turmus Ayya. The Israeli military said it had killed a
“terrorist” who threw rocks at cars. Israel has occupied the West Bank since
1967, and violence in the territory has soared since the Hamas attack on October
7, 2023 that triggered the Gaza war. Since then, Israeli troops or settlers have
killed at least 941 Palestinians, including many militants, according to the
health ministry. Over the same period, at least 35 Israelis have been killed in
Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to Israeli
figures.
Gaza rescuers say Israeli
forces killed 20 including six waiting for aid
AFP/June 25, 2025
GAZA CITY: Gaza’s civil defense agency said Israeli fire killed at least 20
people on Wednesday, including six who were waiting to collect food aid in the
war-ravaged Palestinian territory. The latest in a string of deadly incidents
near aid distribution sites came after the United Nations had condemned the
“weaponization of food” in the Gaza Strip, where a US- and Israeli-backed
foundation has largely replaced established humanitarian organizations. Civil
defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that six people were killed and 30
others wounded “following Israeli fire targeting thousands of civilians waiting
for aid” in an area of central Gaza where Palestinians have gathered each night
in the hope of collecting food rations. Bassal said the crowd was hit by Israeli
“bullets and tank shells.”Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was
“looking into” the report. Pressure grew Tuesday on the privately run aid group
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which was brought into the Palestinian
territory at the end of May to replace United Nations agencies but whose
operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and neutrality concerns. The UN
agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, called the US- and Israeli-backed system
an “abomination” that has put Palestinians’ lives at risk, while a spokesman for
the UN human rights office, Thameen Al-Kheetan, condemned the “weaponization of
food” in the territory. Despite easing its aid blockade in May, Israel continues
to impose restrictions. The health ministry says that since late May, more than
500 people have been killed near aid centers seeking scarce supplies. The civil
defense agency said Israeli forces killed 46 people waiting for aid on Tuesday.
The GHF has denied responsibility for deaths near its aid points. Bassal, the
civil defense spokesman, said Israeli air strikes on central and northern Gaza
early Wednesday killed at least 14 people. A pre-dawn strike on a house in the
central Nuseirat refugee camp killed six people including a child, with eight
others killed in two separate strikes on houses in Deir el-Balah and east of
Gaza City, Bassal said. Israeli restrictions on media in the Gaza Strip and
difficulties in accessing some areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify
the tolls and details provided by rescuers and authorities in the Palestinian
territory. The war was triggered by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, which
resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP
tally based on official figures.Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has
killed at least 56,077 people, also mostly civilians, according to the Gaza
health ministry. The United Nations considers its figures reliable.
Trump meets with Zelensky and
says higher NATO defense spending may deter future Russian aggression
AP/June 25, 2025
THE HAGUE: President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky
on the sidelines of the NATO summit Wednesday and suggested that increased
spending by the trans-Atlantic alliance could help prevent future Russian
aggression against its neighbors. NATO members agreed to raise their spending
targets by 2035 to 5 percent of gross domestic product annually on core defense
requirements as well as defense-and security-related spending. That target had
been 2 percent of GDP. “Europe stepping up to take more responsibility for
security will help prevent future disasters like the horrible situation with
Russia and Ukraine,” Trump said at the summit-ending news conference shortly
after seeing Zelensky. “And hopefully we’re going to get that solved.”Trump also
reiterated his belief that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to end the war
in Ukraine that began with Moscow’s invasion in February 2022.
“He’d like to get out of this thing. It’s a mess for him,” Trump said. “He
called the other day, and he said, ‘Can I help you with Iran?’ I said, ‘No, you
can help me with Russia.’”Trump’s meeting with Zelensky was their first
face-to-face session since April, when they met at St. Peter’s Basilica during
Pope Francis’ funeral. Trump also had a major confrontation with Zelensky
earlier this year at the White House. Zelensky, on social media, said he
discussed with Trump the possibility of Kyiv producing drones with American
companies and buying US air defense systems. “We can strengthen each other,” he
wrote. He said he also talked to Trump about “what is really happening on the
ground.” “Putin is definitely not winning,” Zelensky said. Trump left open the
possibility of sending Kyiv more US-made Patriot air defense missile systems.
Asked by a Ukrainian reporter, who said that her husband was a Ukrainian
soldier, Trump acknowledged that sending more Patriots would help the Ukrainian
cause. “They do want to have the antimissile missiles, OK, as they call them,
the Patriots,” Trump said. “And we’re going to see if we can make some
available. We need them, too. We’re supplying them to Israel, and they’re very
effective, 100 percent effective. Hard to believe how effective. They do want
that more than any other thing.”Over the course of the war, the US has routinely
pressed for allies to provide air defense systems to Ukraine. But many are
reluctant to give up the high-tech systems, particularly countries in Eastern
Europe that also feel threatened by Russia. Trump laid into the US media
throughout his news conference but showed unusual warmth toward the Ukrainian
reporter. “That’s a very good question,” Trump said about the query about
Patriots. “And I wish you a lot of luck. I mean, I can see it’s very upsetting
to you. So say hello to your husband.”Ukraine, which is not a NATO member, has
been front and center at recent alliance summits. But as the group’s latest
annual meeting of leaders opened in the Netherlands, Zelensky was not in the
room. The Trump administration has blocked Ukraine’s bid to join NATO. The
conflict with Russia has laid waste to Ukrainian towns and killed thousands of
civilians. Just last week, Russia launched one of the biggest drone attacks of
the war. During Trump’s 2024 campaign for the White House, the Republican
pledged a quick end to the war. He saw it as a costly boondoggle that, he
claimed, would not have happened had he won re-election in 2020. Since taking
office in January, he has struggled to find a resolution to the conflict and has
shown frustration with both Putin and Zelensky. Zelensky spent Tuesday in The
Hague shuttling from meeting to meeting. He got a pledge from summit host the
Netherlands for military aid, including new drones and radars to help knock out
Russian drones. The White House did not allow press coverage of Zelensky’s
nearly hourlong meeting with Trump. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer
announced that the United Kingdom will provide 350 air defense missiles to
Ukraine, funded by 70 million pounds ($95 million) raised from the interest on
seized Russian assets.
Armenia PM says foiled
‘sinister’ coup plot by senior cleric
AFP/June 25, 2025
YEREVAN: Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Wednesday that the
security forces had foiled a coup plot involving a senior cleric, the latest
twist in his escalating conflict with the powerful Apostolic Church. Pashinyan
has been at loggerheads with the Church since its head, Catholicos Garegin II,
began calling for his resignation following Armenia’s disastrous 2020 military
defeat to arch-foe Azerbaijan over the then-disputed Karabakh region. The
dispute escalated after Baku seized full control of the region in 2023.
Pashinyan started pushing an unpopular peace deal with Azerbaijan that would
essentially renounce Yerevan’s claims to a region many Armenians see as their
ancestral homeland. “Law enforcement officers have foiled a large-scale and
sinister plan by the ‘criminal-oligarchic clergy’ to destabilize the situation
in the Republic of Armenia and seize power,” Pashinyan wrote on his Telegram
channel early Wednesday. The authorities arrested Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan,
a charismatic senior church figure trying to rally opposition to Pashinyan,
accusing him of trying to mastermind the attempted coup. “Since November 2024
(he) set himself the goal of changing power by means not permitted by the
Constitution of the Republic of Armenia,” said the Investigative Committee,
which probes major crimes. The Apostolic Church wields considerable influence in
Armenia, which in the fourth century became the first nation to adopt
Christianity as a state religion.
Galstanyan, who leads the opposition movement Sacred Struggle, last year accused
Pashinyan of ceding territory to Azerbaijan and led mass protests that
ultimately failed to topple the prime minister. His lawyer, Ruben Melikyan,
condemned the case as politically motivated. He told reporters the archbishop
“acts independently” and said case materials showed no connection to the Church.
The Investigative Committee said it had arrested 14 people and launched criminal
proceedings against 16 suspects after raids of more than 90 premises in a case
related to Galstanyan’s Sacred Struggle movement. Publishing photos of guns and
ammunition found during a series of raids, it alleged that Galstanyan had
“acquired the necessary means and tools to carry out terrorist acts and seize
power.”It also released covert recordings suggesting Galstanyan and his allies
had called to execute officials, imprison opponents, and suppress any resistance
by force.“We either kill, or we die,” said a man, whose voice was said to
resemble that of Galstanyan, in one of the clips. Galstanyan’s legal team said
it expected he would be “charged with terrorism and attempted seizure of
power.”The News.am website published footage showing Galstanyan leaving his
house accompanied by masked police officers, who escorted him into a car and
drove him away. “Evil, listen carefully — whatever you do, you have very little
time left. Hold on, we are coming,” he said, apparently addressing Pashinyan, A
crowd of supporters outside shouted, “Nikol is a traitor!“The loss of Karabakh
has divided Armenia, as Azerbaijan has demanded sweeping concessions in exchange
for lasting peace. Pashinyan earlier this month alleged Garegin II had an
illegitimate child and, in an unprecedented challenge to the church, called on
believers to remove him from office. That triggered fierce opposition and calls
for Pashinyan himself to be excommunicated. Archbishop Galstanyan, a follower of
Garegin II, catapulted to the forefront of Armenian politics in 2024 as he
galvanized mass protests and sought to impeach Pashinyan. The charismatic cleric
temporarily stepped down from his religious post to challenge Pashinyan for
prime minister — though as a dual Armenian-Canadian citizen, he is not eligible
to hold the office. Pashinyan’s grip on power, boosted by unpopular opposition
parties and strong support in parliament, has so far remained unshaken.A former
journalist and opposition lawmaker, he came to power after leading street
protests that escalated into a peaceful revolution in 2018.
Trump declares ‘victory for
everybody’ and Iran’s nuclear sites ‘destroyed’
Reuters/June 25, 2025
Trump shrugs off US intelligence assessment saying Iran’s nuclear weapon path
set back by just months
Speaking at NATO summit, US president says he is confident Tehran will now
pursue diplomatic path
THE HAGUE/TEL AVIV/ISTANBUL: US President Donald Trump reveled in the swift end
to war between Iran and Israel, saying he now expected a relationship with
Tehran that would preclude rebuilding its nuclear program despite uncertainty
over damage inflicted by US strikes.As exhausted and anxious Iranians and
Israelis both sought to resume normal life after the most intense confrontation
ever between the two foes, Iran’s president suggested that the war could lead to
reforms at home. Trump, speaking in The Hague where he attended a NATO summit on
Wednesday, said his decision to join Israel’s attacks by targeting Iranian
nuclear sites with huge bunker-busting bombs had ended the war, calling it “a
victory for everybody.” He shrugged off an initial assessment by the US Defense
Intelligence Agency that Iran’s path to building a nuclear weapon may have been
set back only by months, saying the findings were “inconclusive” and he believed
the sites had been destroyed. “It was very severe. It was obliteration,” he
said. He was confident Tehran would not try to rebuild its nuclear sites and
would instead pursue a diplomatic path toward reconciliation, he said.
“I’ll tell you, the last thing they want to do is enrich anything right now.
They want to recover,” he said. If Iran tried to rebuild its nuclear program,
“We won’t let that happen. Number one, militarily we won’t,” he said, adding
that he thought “we’ll end up having something of a relationship with Iran” to
resolve the issue. Israel’s bombing campaign, launched with a surprise attack on
June 13, wiped out the top echelon of Iran’s military leadership and killed its
leading nuclear scientists. Iran responded with missiles that pierced Israel’s
defenses in large numbers for the first time.
Iranian authorities said 610 people were killed and nearly 5,000 injured in
Iran, where the extent of the damage could not be independently confirmed
because of tight restrictions on media. Twenty-eight people were killed in
Israel.
Both Iran and Israel declared victory: Israel claiming to have achieved its
goals of destroying Iran’s nuclear sites and missiles, and Iran claiming to have
forced the end of the war by penetrating Israeli defenses with its retaliation.
But Israel’s demonstration that it could target Iran’s senior leadership
seemingly at will poses perhaps the biggest challenge ever for Iran’s clerical
rulers, at a critical juncture when they must find a successor for Supreme
Leader Ali Khamenei, now 86 and in power for 36 years. President Masoud
Pezeshkian, a relative moderate elected last year in a challenge to years of
dominance by hard-liners, said the atmosphere of national solidarity during the
Israeli attacks would spur domestic reform. “This war and the empathy that it
fostered between the people and officials is an opportunity to change the
outlook of management and the behavior of officials so that they can create
unity,” he said in a statement carried by state media.
The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources
on June 25-26/2025
President Trump's Decision: A Historic Turning Point for World Peace
Lawrence Kadish/Gatestone Institute./June 24, 2025
Trump's decision to use military force to destroy Iran's nuclear weapons program
is a historic turning point for world peace and the legacy of a president who
has used Teddy Roosevelt's "big stick" to push the world back from the brink of
a Middle East nightmare that would have engulfed us all.
The media world is flooded with analysis and commentary regarding the joint
American-Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear weapons infrastructure, but little is
being said regarding what the future would hold if Teheran's radical Islamic
regime had been able to move ahead to create an atomic bomb.
Much the way Hitler's book, Mein Kampf, left nothing to the imagination were he
to secure power, as far back as 2005, then Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
was unequivocal when he called for Israel to be wiped off the map.
The Qatar's state-owned Al Jazeera TV network reported on the Iranian's leader
address before hundreds of students:
"'As the Imam said, Israel must be wiped off the map,' said Ahmadinejad,
referring to Iran's revolutionary leader Ayat Allah Khomeini."
And how does one "wipe Israel off the map?"
The obvious and only answer is with nuclear weapons.
Without the targeted aerial assault on Iran's military nuclear installations,
what would the future look like? Radioactive is the answer. Given Israel's
modest number of square miles, even two missiles with nuclear warheads getting
through their air-defense systems would effectively "wipe Israel off the map" UN
Security Council members would undoubtedly clasp their hands in "horror," decry
the attack, and then move on to other business that might include where to make
dinner reservations that night.
Adjacent nations such as Egypt and Jordan would be deeply concerned about
resulting radioactive nuclear fallout on their populations, but not as concerned
as with the realization that Iran would dictate their futures and that of the
entire Middle East.
Might Israel have delivered a nuclear counterpunch? Perhaps. Israel has never
acknowledged possession of nuclear weapons, but for this scenario, let's assume
Israel managed to respond with a nuclear strike on Teheran. In the calculus of
strike and counterstrike, would Iran's ruthless leaders be willing to lose
nearly ten million of its own citizens in return for "wiping Israel off the
map?" If their past rhetoric is any indication, we know the answer.
There will be a number of lessons gained from President Donald Trump's decision
to launch a pre-emptive attack on Iran's nuclear weapons facilities. Russia's
President Valdmir Putin needs to "recalibrate" if he previously thought Trump
was incapable of unleashing American might on behalf of world peace. North
Korean strongman Kim Jong Un just realized that Iran's nuclear weapons
development program was not the ultimate pressure point in dealing with this
White House. Trump's wisdom of pursuing a "Golden Dome" air-defense system to
protect American cities from ballistic missiles was also validated, as it adds a
strategic level of strategic uncertainty to enemies of freedom that nuclear
weapons will succeed where their hateful ideology has failed.
Trump's decision to use military force to destroy Iran's nuclear weapons program
is a historic turning point for world peace and the legacy of a president who
has used Teddy Roosevelt's "big stick" to push the world back from the brink of
a Middle East nightmare that would have engulfed us all.
*Lawrence Kadish serves on the Board of Governors of Gatestone Institute.
© 2025 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
China's Renaming Spree: Will the World Just Surrender to
Silent, Obdurate Infiltration?
Rahul Mishra/Gatestone Institute/June 25, 2025
Just as China has been attempting to redraw maritime boundaries in the South
China Sea —renaming reefs, building artificial islands and militarizing waters
in defiance of international rulings — it is now exporting a similar playbook to
land borders. These moves are about more than maps. They are about creating a
norm of impunity, where might makes right and ambiguity is weaponized.
Over the past two decades, China has transformed contested reefs, shoals and
rocks into militarily fortified islands, backed by creative "historical"
narratives, domestic law, and a selective reading of international norms. The
region is now a textbook case of how intangible symbolic acts, when repeated
enough to become normalized, can evolve into tangible material dominance.
In 2020 alone, China, in the same way it has renamed places in Arunachal
Pradesh, renamed more than 80 features in the South China Sea. These were not
acts of housekeeping, but of strategic myth-making, designed to weave a
narrative of historical ownership and administrative control. Each new name is
backed by maps, public pronouncements and military deployments. Over time, this
creates "facts on the ground" — realities that others must deal with, regardless
of legality.
Finally, China employs narrative warfare, by leveraging state media and
diplomatic messaging to delegitimize counter-claims and cast China as the
aggrieved party.
China's renaming campaign is a test of whether the world will allow
international borders to be changed -- not by war, but by quiet, obdurate
manipulation. The question is not about words. It is about the survival of an
international rules-based order that is being eroded by passively doing nothing
to confront unyielding infiltration.
If the international community does not push back against China's provocations
-- which may seem minor -- it risks enabling a model of complete surrender that
bypasses diplomacy, multilateralism and international law.
Just as China has been attempting to redraw maritime boundaries in the South
China Sea —renaming reefs, building artificial islands and militarizing waters
in defiance of international rulings — it is now exporting a similar playbook to
land borders. These moves are about more than maps. They are about creating a
norm of impunity, where might makes right and ambiguity is weaponized. Pictured:
A Philippine Coast Guard ship faces off against a China Coast Guard ship at
Sabina Shoal in the South China Sea on August 26, 2024. (Photo by Jam Sta Rosa/AFP
via Getty Images)
In May 2025, China announced a new list of renamed places in Arunachal Pradesh,
India's northeastern state that Beijing insists on calling "Zangnan." It is the
fifth such list since 2017, and not just symbolic. These cartographic
aggressions of renaming places seem to be part of a long-running strategy to
undermine territorial norms and chip away at international boundaries using
lawfare, infrastructure and semantics (the branch of linguistics concerned with
meaning).
In geopolitics, names matter. They signal claims, establish narratives and lay
the groundwork for future confrontations. China's repeated renaming of places it
does not control represents not only a challenge to India, it is an affront to
the principles of the rules-based international order that the US and the West
designed after World War II.
China's renaming spree appears to be a part of a broader playbook of coercive
diplomacy. These symbolic acts are designed to distort facts on the ground —
what scholars of international relations call "cartographic aggression." China's
tactic of proposing a territorial swap with India in the 1960s has long been
abandoned. Instead, China has turned to a kind of assertive incrementalism,
using symbolic tools and legal justifications to try to legitimize claims and
assert influence without resorting to war.
This strategy represents a direct challenge to the established norms of state
sovereignty and peaceful dispute-resolution. China's naming campaign appears to
be part of a larger tool kit of "grey zone" tactics -- those fall that below the
threshold of open conflict but are designed to shift the status quo in China's
favor. Examples include creating civilian settlements near disputed borders,
coming up with its Land Border Law (2022), which mandates civilian involvement
in border defense; blurring the line between state and civilian actors, and
developing infrastructure in disputed territories, such as building a dam on the
Yarlung Tsangpo River (which becomes the Brahmaputra in India) to create
geopolitical leverage.
Such tactics -- exploiting legal ambiguity and just plain general inertia among
many of the world's leaders -- reveal China's ambition to quietly but
persistently reshape the international order to suit its own interests.
China's renaming of foreign territory without consent -- supported by its
domestic law -- not only challenges the Westphalian principle of sovereignty, it
also defies the UN Charter, which emphasizes peaceful resolution of disputes and
respect for existing borders.
Just as China has been attempting to redraw maritime boundaries in the South
China Sea —renaming reefs, building artificial islands and militarizing waters
in defiance of international rulings — it is now exporting a similar playbook to
land borders. These moves are about more than maps. They are about creating a
norm of impunity, where might makes right and ambiguity is weaponized.
To understand China's actions in Arunachal Pradesh, one can simply look to the
South China Sea, where Beijing has long implemented its strategy of "creeping
sovereignty" and "cartographic aggression". Over the past two decades, China has
transformed contested reefs, shoals and rocks into militarily fortified islands,
backed by creative "historical" narratives, domestic law, and a selective
reading of international norms. The region is now a textbook case of how
intangible symbolic acts, when repeated enough to become normalized, can evolve
into tangible material dominance.
China's infamous "Nine-Dash Line" — a vague, historically dubious U-shaped
demarcation of nearly the entire South China Sea — has no standing in
international law. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague
ruled in favor of the Philippines, declaring China's expansive claims invalid
under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. China rejected the
ruling outright and accelerated military construction on the Spratly and Paracel
Islands.
In 2020 alone, China, in the same way it has renamed places in Arunachal
Pradesh, renamed more than 80 features in the South China Sea. These were not
acts of housekeeping, but of strategic myth-making, designed to weave a
narrative of historical ownership and administrative control. Each new name is
backed by maps, public pronouncements and military deployments. Over time, this
creates "facts on the ground" — realities that others must deal with, regardless
of legality.
Both in the South China Sea and at the India-China border, China deploys a
familiar playbook:
Symbolic assertion, through renaming, map revisions, manipulated historical
narratives, and legal engineering through domestic laws (such as the 2021 Coast
Guard Law and the 2022 Land Border Law) to justify its aggressive posture.
Exercising physical control over disputed territory, through infrastructure
militarization, such as building airstrips, ports, radar stations and villages
disguised as civilian projects.
Finally, China employs narrative warfare, by leveraging state media and
diplomatic messaging to delegitimize counter-claims and cast China as the
aggrieved party.
The result is a slow erosion of the rules-based international order, replaced by
an infiltrated norm in which power, patience and unilateralism dominate. China's
actions in South China Sea are no longer a theoretical precedent — they are a
foretaste of what China can accomplish when aggression, even of a symbolic kind,
is left unchallenged. If the international community normalizes what has
happened in the South China Sea, it risks doing the same with the Himalayas.
China's renaming campaign is a test of whether the world will allow
international borders to be changed -- not by war, but by quiet, obdurate
manipulation. The question is not about words. It is about the survival of an
international rules-based order that is being eroded by passively doing nothing
to confront unyielding infiltration.
If the international community does not push back against China's provocations
-- which may seem minor -- it risks enabling a model of complete surrender that
bypasses diplomacy, multilateralism and international law.
*Dr. Rahul Mishra is Associate Professor at the Centre for Indo-Pacific Studies,
JNU, New Delhi, and a Senior Research Fellow at the German-Southeast Asian
Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance, Thammasat
University, Thailand. He specialises in politico-security affairs of the
Indo-Pacific region, and the role of major and middle powers, especially in the
context of China's rise and the emergence of minilaterals in the region. He also
lectures on government, politics, and ethnic dynamics of Southeast and East
Asian region, ASEAN-EU regionalism, and comparative regionalism. Email:
rahul.seas@gmail.com X account @rahulmishr_
© 2025 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
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or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
The myth of Iran’s
invincibility has been broken, and the fallout could be far-reaching
Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN/June 25, 2025
For over than three decades, Iran built a web of proxy networks to push its
battles far beyond its borders – keeping enemies at bay, as Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei tightened his grip on power. Direct strikes on Iran
remained inconceivable.
That image of invincibility crumbled in the space of hours on June 13, when
Israel launched a surprise, unprecedented attack deep inside Iran, shattering
Tehran’s sense of security and unraveling its carefully cultivated aura of
strength. Its strikes took out top military leaders and some of Iran’s most
prominent nuclear scientists, including a few as they slept at home with their
families. The human toll was significant, with 627 killed, including at least 49
women and 13 children, according to Hossein Kermanpour, head of the information
center at the Ministry of Health. The US joined Israel’s campaign on Sunday,
striking three nuclear sites before declaring a ceasefire between Israel and
Iran the day after.
Many in Iran and abroad now fear the country’s leadership – its pride and
defenses wounded – may tighten its grip at home while adopting a much more
hawkish stance in both domestic and foreign policy. Israel and the US had
floated regime change as a potential outcome of their attacks on Iran, which
they hoped would result in a state more friendly to them. Their failure to bring
this about has prompted the regime to claim victory.
Iran’s leadership has shown resilience, replacing those it lost and carrying out
a harsh crackdown on those it sees as being complicit in Israel’s assault.
Signs also point to a regime that is much more paranoid, and likely to rule with
a tighter fist at home in fear of cooperation with its enemies. Iranian people
gather at the scene of an explosion at a residential complex due to Israeli
attacks in Tehran, Iran, on June 13. - Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto/Getty Images
Iranian people gather at the scene of an explosion at a residential complex due
to Israeli attacks in Tehran, Iran, on June 13. - Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto/Getty
Images
‘A wounded regime’
After three years of rule by a conservative government led by Ebrahim Raisi,
Iran last year elected reformist Masoud Pezeshkian, who had campaigned for
dialogue with Iran’s foes, and presented that as a means to address the
country’s domestic issues.
For many Iranians, he was seen as the last hope to deliver a nuclear agreement
with the West and re-integrate Iran into the international community.
During the 12-day conflict, Iran repeatedly struck back at Israel, causing
extensive damage to major cities like Tel Aviv and killing 28 people. Its
ability to retaliate under fire won praise at home, even among those CNN spoke
with who are opposed to the regime.
“People are at the moment feeling very nationalistic. We just went through a war
together that everyone feels was unjustified, so the government has a degree of
goodwill,” said Ali, 36. “They put us in the firing line with their policies but
generally, they handled the war well.” But it’s what happens next that has many
Iranians concerned. There are growing fears of an imminent crackdown on
reformists and calls for change, as the regime moves to root out perceived
collaborators with Israel. By Wednesday, authorities had arrested 700 people
accused of being “mercenaries of Israel,” state-affiliated Fars News Agency
reported. Neda, a 45-year-old Iranian, said she believes the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an elite wing of the Iranian military that is
sanctioned by the US, “will likely get stronger, consolidating even more power,”
especially if a disorganized leadership creates a power vacuum. Khamenei is
reportedly hiding in a bunker, with little access to communications, and has yet
to be seen in public since Israel and Iran reached the ceasefire, which came
into effect on Tuesday. “They (government) were strong in their show of force
(against Israel) and that will at least for some time play well,” Neda told CNN.
“There’s no telling if the gains we made (in bringing reform) over the past few
years will remain. What was it all for? We’ve always known change must come from
the inside and that was happening. Now where do we find ourselves?”All the
Iranians who spoke with CNN did so under the condition of anonymity out of fear
for their safety.
Arash Azizi, a New York City-based Iran expert and author of the book “What
Iranians Want,” said Iranians are likely worried about “a wounded regime coming
after them and closing the political and civic space further.”Repression might
worsen, he told CNN, adding that the Iranian opposition abroad has proven itself
to be “inept and politically irrelevant,” while civil society at home is “on the
defensive.”
Experts say that the attacks on Iran have only emboldened conservatives who have
long felt that the West and Israel cannot be trusted and that negotiations are
merely a tactic to weaken the country. The fate of reformers and pragmatists now
hangs in the balance, and only time will tell whether they survive the change in
the leadership’s ranks that is likely coming, they said.“The attacks have
bolstered hardliners who argue that diplomacy with the West is futile and that
Iran must remain militarily self-reliant,” Sina Toossi, a senior fellow at the
Washington, DC-based Center for International Policy, told CNN. “Reformist
voices, pro-engagement with the West forces, have been marginalized in this
climate.”
“In the short term, hardliners are likely to prevail,” he said. “But that may
shift depending on the broader outcome of the conflict and whether diplomatic
efforts with the US pay off.”
On Sunday, the US joined Israel’s campaign against Iran, striking three nuclear
facilities and risking a full-blown war with the Islamic Republic. But US
President Donald Trump subsequently announced the ceasefire between Israel and
Iran, preserving the regime that he later said he didn’t want to change because
it “would lead to chaos.”
“The broader lesson is that the Islamic Republic is not invincible, but neither
is it easily toppled,” Toossi said.
Israel’s attack on Iran did not lead to popular uprisings, but rather a show of
unity amongst Iranians who saw their country as being attacked in an unprovoked
war, even as they remain wary of the repression that may follow. “Whether people
are supporters of our government or not, there is an anger we feel about Trump
and Israel,” Reza, a 35-year-old man in Iran, told CNN.
Khamenei’s political fate
The longest serving leader in the Middle East, Khamanei has ruled with an iron
fist for more than 35 years, quashing protests since at least 2005. As the
highest authority in Iran, much of the country’s domestic and foreign policy is
influenced, if not shaped, by him.
Some experts say that despite the show of national unity after the conflict with
Israel, there is likely frustration with Khamenei. “He was too cautious when he
had to be bold, and too bold when he had to be cautious,” said Ali Vaez,
director of the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group, adding that the
cleric is likely seen as having destroyed Iran’s deterrence and “rendered the
country vulnerable.”“A lot of the blame is put on him and his decision making –
his inflexibility at the negotiating table, his defiance in the face of much
stronger conventional military powers,” Vaez told CNN. When the dust settles,
there may be questions about the ailing leader and his decisions over the years,
he said.
Questions may also arise about the role and the importance of a Supreme Leader
in the long term, according to Vaez.
“There is a strong desire from the Revolutionary Guards and military forces in
Iran to double down and adopt a much more entrenched position, further
militarizing the internal sphere and even eventually pursuing nuclear weapons as
the ultimate deterrent,” Vaez said.
The paranoia around Israel’s infiltration in government will likely lead to a
“purge” at the top level of the system, which might lead hardliners to prevail,
he added. The fate of reformist Pezeshkian and his moderate camp remains
unclear. While the Supreme Leader remained in hiding, it was Pezeshkian who
spoke to Iranians, making public statements and even attending an anti-war
protest in Tehran. Still, reformists aren’t escaping public anger. A 42-year-old
woman in Iran questioned the viability of the current regime. “They’ve put us in
a quagmire,” she told CNN. “This happened on a reformists’ watch.”
Experts say that the shattering of the regime’s aura of invincibility will
change Iran, but how that shift plays out is uncertain and dependent on how the
Iranian leadership and foreign powers react to the 12-day conflict. For the
Iranian people, a sense that they were at least safe within their country’s
borders has been quashed. “The Islamic Republic had one social contract with
society, which is that it deprived them of all freedoms… in return for providing
security,” Vaez said. “Now, that image has been shattered in the eyes of the
Iranian people.”
Victory over Iran gives Trump the chance to reshape Mid East with trade deals
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/ New York Post/June 24, 2025
Israel’s decisive victory over Iran’s Islamist regime has set Tehran’s nuclear
plans back years at the least. It has also created a unique opening to normalize
ties between Jerusalem and the Arab world, via an expansion of President Donald
Trump’s Abraham Accords.
Without Iran breathing down their necks, its neighbors in the region — Saudi
Arabia, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq — can focus on their own national interests.
That means peace with Israel, and racing to capture a bigger share of the
regional and global knowledge economy.
Tehran’s plan has been to divide and torture.
Iran’s mullahs were the sponsors of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre in Israel;
the Houthis’ war on Saudi Arabia and global economy; Bashar al-Assad’s fight
against his own people; Lebanon’s fight for sovereignty against Hezbollah; and
Iraq’s many divisions.
Without these anti-Israel distractions, there is room for change. The 2020
accords were the diplomatic high point of the first Trump administration. The
United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan all formally recognized Israel,
becoming the first Arab states to do so in a quarter-century.
The war in Gaza made it impossible for any further Arab states to join the
accords.
Yet today, some Arab countries that previously rejected any move toward peace
with Israel are a “maybe.”The primary motive for peace is the economy. Leading a
country battered by five decades of socialist tyranny that included 13 years of
civil war, Syrian President Ahmad Sharaa has focused intently on economic
revival. His recent peaceful overtures toward Israel are unprecedented since
Syrian independence in 1946. Sharaa and others who seek prosperity via peace are
trying to emulate the UAE, whose economic hubs of Dubai and Abu Dhabi have
become the envy of the region. Realizing that new technology and a growing
population required decisive moves away from dependence on oil exports, the UAE
is now competing on the global stage for a bigger share of the service economy.
This new Emirati economic model requires stability and the maximal expansion of
international ties: Enter peace with Israel.
The Arab League’s official position has been that Israel must withdraw from all
territories captured in 1967 and allow the establishment of a Palestinian state
before peace could be pursued. Events on the ground made that impossible. The
main Palestinian factions, the PLO and Hamas, were unwilling to talk to one
another, let alone form a government.
By 2020, unwilling to wait for the Palestinians to unify, four Arab League
members — the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan — opted for bilateral peace
through the Abraham Accords. This aroused hopes that Saudi Arabia might be next
to join. Its crown prince and de facto ruler Muhammad Bin Salman had begun
modernizing Saudi Arabia at breakneck speed, emulating the Emirati model and
hinting at the possibility of normalizing its relationship with Israel. It
would’ve been a major blow to Iran and Hamas if Riyadh joined the pact, given
its unique role as guardian of Islam’s holiest sites and the influence of its
unmatched oil wealth. The fighting in Gaza, as both Iran and Hamas understood,
produced pervasive images of Palestinian suffering — enough to stop the Saudis
in their tracks, even though the war began with a massacre of Israelis.
After Oct. 7, the Saudis fell back on their old rhetoric, announcing that Riyadh
would normalize ties with Jerusalem only after Palestinians were promised a
state based on the 1967 territories. Now, however, the situation on the ground
has changed once again — bringing new hope for peace. With his passion for
making unexpected deals, Trump convinced four Arab capitals to sign the Abraham
Accords. Can he do it again? The precise path to expand the accords remains
unclear, but Trump never seems to run out of tricks. “Peace through strength”
has been Trump’s foreign policy motto. Now that strength has served its purpose,
peace between Israel and each one of the Arab governments should follow.
**Hussain Abdul-Hussain is a research fellow with The Foundation for the Defense
of Democracies.
The high stakes in maintaining
the Iran-Israel ceasefire
Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg/Arab News/June 25, 2025
The Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers met in Doha on Tuesday to express
solidarity with Qatar a day after it was attacked by Iran. Although the missile
attack did not cause any casualties or substantial material damage, it was
unprecedented. It was the first military attack by Iran against Qatar and
probably the first time Qatar was attacked in recent memory. The foreign
ministers’ gathering was the second emergency meeting in as many weeks. Under
GCC rules, the Ministerial Council, the official name for foreign ministers’
meetings, meets four times a year in regular sessions, but it can meet any time
in emergency sessions. The previous meeting on June 16 was convened to discuss
Israel’s attack on Iran. At that meeting, the GCC ministers expressed support
for Iran and roundly condemned the Israeli attacks — and Qatar was among the
most enthusiastic supporters. Over the decades, Doha has cultivated a close
rapport with Tehran, while maintaining good relations with the US, which
maintains one of its largest military bases in the country. Qatar has frequently
mediated between Iran and the US and, as such, Iran’s missile attack on Monday
was surprising. The foreign ministers unequivocally condemned Tehran’s action
and rejected its justifications. Under the Mutual Defense Treaty of 2000, the
GCC states are committed to providing maximum support to any member subjected to
external aggression, a commitment that was renewed on Tuesday, as the council
stressed that the GCC countries’ security is “indivisible” and that an attack on
one state is an attack on all of them. They also praised Qatar’s ability to
thwart the attack and eliminate nearly all the missiles Iran launched against
it.
Trump received high praise from the GCC ministers for arranging a halt to the
12-day Iran-Israel war. US President Donald Trump received high praise from the
GCC ministers for arranging a halt to the 12-day Iran-Israel war. The sudden
turnaround in America’s approach to the conflict was as decisive as it was
surprising. Trump gave a rare public rebuke of Israel’s prime minister after
Netanyahu violated the ceasefire — as has been his modus operandi on other
similar occasions. The cessation of hostilities provides an opportunity to
return to the nuclear talks between Iran and the US, which were hosted and
facilitated by Oman and which were disrupted by Israel’s attack on Iran on June
13.
The US’ success in stopping this war is testimony to the tremendous influence it
has in this region and the diplomatic skills of Trump and his team, especially
Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. The president rarely gets praise for subtle
diplomacy, but his muscular handling of this conflict has been effective.
The nuclear negotiations, when they resume, can build on this momentum and
America’s newfound decisiveness. They will also be helped by the June 12
findings by the International Atomic Energy Agency regarding Iran’s breaches of
its commitments to the agency and the nonproliferation regime. The IAEA’s
decision to find Iran in noncompliance, the first in two decades, would anchor
the talks in verified facts by an independent UN agency, not the accusations of
an adversary, as Tehran has dismissed similar charges in the past. The talks now
have a better chance of success as the US has probably re-ascertained that
military action cannot end Iran’s nuclear ambitions. This is an opportunity that
should not be dismissed, because the alternatives are all bleak. The informal
truce remains fragile and would become even more so if there were to be a lack
of progress on nuclear diplomacy. A return to the Israel-initiated war would be
futile in achieving an end to Iran’s nuclear program and destructive to the
regional path toward diplomacy, which the GCC embarked on with Iran in recent
years. Similarly, if Iran decides to go nuclear (militarily), other states in
the region could do the same, launching a nuclear arms race that could threaten
both regional and international peace and security. It could also isolate Iran
further, similar to North Korea, and impoverish its people, as funds for
development would get diverted to military spending. The sanctions would remain,
making it difficult for Iran to reintegrate into the international economy.
Equally important, proposals for regional integration between Iran and the GCC
states would probably have to be shelved.
The cessation of hostilities provides an opportunity to return to the nuclear
talks between Iran and the US
Building on Trump’s success in arranging the Iran-Israel ceasefire, the GCC
ministers called on him to use his influence to end the war on Gaza. The US
should not support Israel’s sadistic policies of siege, starvation and mass
executions of helpless Gazans seeking the scraps of food dangled before them by
Israel’s agents, only to get mowed down in their scores every day. This
deliberate extermination of innocent women and children will forever be a stain
on Israel and those who support it or fail to stop it. The stakes in securing a
sustained ceasefire could not be higher. The GCC ministers pointed to the
possible disruption of supply chains if the conflict were to continue and
stressed the need to safeguard passageways and waterways and secure energy
supplies from the region, which possesses about half the world’s supply of oil
and a quarter of its gas supply. Success on the nuclear track would also help
accelerate other diplomatic efforts, including Gaza and the overall
Israel-Palestine conflict. GCC-Iran talks, bilaterally and collectively, could
also move faster, bringing the region closer to peace, stability and shared
prosperity. As close friends of the US, the GCC ministers cheered President
Trump for the ceasefire deal and hoped for more successes. He will undoubtedly
edge closer to his goal of getting a Nobel Peace Prize if he and his team
continue on this path of successfully mediating regional conflicts.
**Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg is the GCC assistant secretary-general for political
affairs and negotiation. The views expressed here are personal and do not
necessarily represent those of the GCC. X: @abuhamad1
Closing Strait of Hormuz would hurt Iran’s allies
the most
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq AlAwsat/June 25, 2025
Iran makes threats, but it will not act. It will not mine the Strait of Hormuz
or block it by bombing passing ships. This scenario would backfire and primarily
harm China — the largest buyer of Gulf oil, which would lose 4 million barrels a
day. Iran’s enemies — the Americans and Israelis — would be the ones to benefit
because Beijing would adopt an angry stance toward Iran. When a cargo ship
blocked the Suez Canal for just six days in 2021, the world was paralyzed —
similar to what happened when the Houthis disrupted global maritime movement by
targeting ships passing through the Bab Al-Mandab Strait. Therefore, closing the
Strait of Hormuz would hurt Iran’s allies the most. In the past, the Strait of
Hormuz was a card used to blackmail the world. Today, it is no longer a
strategic concern for the Americans, who have become nearly self-sufficient
thanks to their own oil production and that of neighboring Canada.
What if Iran’s goal in closing the strait was to choke its Gulf neighbors and
pressure them without entering into military confrontation? These countries have
been planning for such a dark day for decades. Even if the strait were
completely closed for several months, they could absorb the losses with limited
damage. If Iran were to act, such a move would drive up oil prices and cause
harm to China and Iraq, primarily. The biggest producer, Saudi Arabia, owns a
pipeline that allows it to export through the Red Sea port of Yanbu. Its
capacity is 5 million barrels per day — and it can be increased. This means it
would not lose a single barrel from its market. The UAE also has the port of
Fujairah, located beyond the Strait of Hormuz, through which it can export more
than 1.5 million barrels a day. Then there is Qatar, the largest gas producer.
Although it has no alternative sea routes, it can withstand several months of
forced interruption thanks to its massive financial reserves. Kuwait and Bahrain
will be affected, but their Gulf Cooperation Council partners can support
them.The biggest Gulf loser would be Iraq — Iran’s ally — as it exports nearly 3
million barrels per day through Hormuz. If it were deprived of its exports, it
would not have the financial capacity to meet its obligations to its citizens or
its external commitments. We know that Iran has repeatedly trained for the
closure of the Strait of Hormuz through dedicated military drills. If it does
act, it would drive up oil prices and cause harm to China and Iraq, primarily.
The Gulf states have prepared for such a possibility by building export networks
that bypass Hormuz. Since the 1980s, the threat of closing the strait has been
Tehran’s card to intimidate both the Americans and the Gulf states. But
yesterday’s strategies are no longer effective today. The US has become the
world’s largest oil producer. China is the Gulf’s biggest buyer. And the Gulf
states have prepared for such a possibility by building export networks that
bypass the bottleneck that is Hormuz. Tehran’s other options to widen the scope
of conflict remain dangerous for the region — and dangerous for itself. Each
option is akin to a suicide mission that would threaten a regime long bent on
domination and expansion. This may be its last chance. It must accept peaceful
coexistence in the region and stay within its borders.
**Abdulrahman Al-Rashed is a Saudi journalist and intellectual. He is the former
general manager of Al-Arabiya news channel and former editor-in-chief of Asharq
Al-Awsat, where this article was originally published. X: @aalrashed
How Netanyahu has used Oct. 7 attacks to reshape Middle East
Osama Al-Sharif/Arab News/June 25, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been campaigning against Iran
since the 1990s. He has used all possible excuses to demonize the Tehran regime,
just as he incited Washington against Iraq’s Saddam Hussein and Syria’s Assad
regime. Yes, Iran, Iraq and Syria were sworn enemies of Israel. But while
Netanyahu used the US to threaten, penalize and eventually attack these regimes,
he made sure no one raised the essential question about why such hostilities
existed in the first place. The tragedy of Palestine lay at the heart of all
three conflicts. Netanyahu never made that connection. For him, these countries
represented an existential threat to the state of Israel out of pure hatred and
animosity toward his country.The Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks provided a
beleaguered Netanyahu with the excuse to wage war not only against the
Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank but also Iran’s proxies in the region
and, finally, against Iran itself on June 13. On Saturday, he was able to lure
the Trump administration into his war. The US attack on Iran’s nuclear sites
fulfilled Netanyahu’s plan for what he has repeated several times: a new Middle
East shaped by Israel. Since December 2023, the Israeli leader has been
declaring that Israel is fighting a war on behalf of the Western world, seeking
to reshape the Middle East. He has said many times that he is closer than ever
to achieving this goal.
If Iran and its proxies are sidelined, Israel will emerge as a significant
regional power with virtually no enemies
In order to end the latest Israel-Iran faceoff, Tehran had to de-escalate to
preserve its regime and avoid a wider war with the US. Only one party can claim
an overwhelming victory: Netanyahu’s Israel. But what does a humbled Iran mean
in regional geopolitical terms? If Iran’s nuclear program has been gravely
degraded, then there will be new terms when it returns to diplomacy. It may have
to relent and accept stricter conditions on its ability to enrich uranium, which
has been the main issue of disagreement. Any political route to a lasting
settlement will have to resolve this point.
For Netanyahu, however, this is no longer the issue. For him, regime change is
now the ultimate prize. For the Trump administration, this is a case where its
position remains ambiguous. An Iranian capitulation — an issue the mediators
will struggle to define — is highly unlikely. Netanyahu will resist any
political compromise between Washington and Tehran. But the Trump administration
has to think of its “Make America Great Again” base, which has been against US
involvement in a new Middle Eastern war. The US will also have to take into
account the position of its regional Arab allies, which are anxious about an
extended war in the region.
In all cases, one potential winner will emerge and ensure the world knows about
it. Netanyahu will claim that, in less than two years, his army has destroyed
Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, helped bring down the regime of Bashar
Assad, degraded the power of the Houthis in Yemen, neutralized the pro-Iran
militias in Iraq, and impeded Iran’s ability to retaliate. He will say that he
did all this on behalf of the West, while reshaping the Middle East. And in many
ways, he will be right. If Iran and its proxies are sidelined, Israel will
emerge as a significant regional power with virtually no enemies. That is
becoming a likelier scenario. And one can go back to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks to
see how a grand geopolitical domino effect has taken place, serving Israel’s
interests. But what does that mean for the region? With Iran humbled and out of
the way, Israel will emerge as the region’s supreme power with no real threat.
Iran may rely on its regional proxies, but none can present a genuine challenge
to Israel. However, a triumphant Israel will not offer an olive branch to the
region. Even with Iran’s nuclear threat averted, Israel is unlikely to join the
Non-Proliferation Treaty. It will continue to be the only country in the region
to possess nuclear weapons.Israel has been gaslighting the international
community for months about its genocidal war in Gaza. Also, an Israeli victory
against Iran will only encourage Netanyahu and his extremist government to annex
most of the West Bank, while carrying out the most extensive plan for ethnic
cleansing in Gaza, with little international rejection. The fact is that Israel
has been gaslighting the international community for months about its genocidal
war in Gaza. Now, it wants to tell the world that it is fighting Iran on behalf
of the Western world. The US is in a position to redraw the lines. Yes, Iran has
a history of destabilizing the region, but so does Israel. At the end of the
first Gulf War, President George H.W. Bush called for the Madrid Conference.
President George W. Bush tried to launch a peace process after the 2003 invasion
of Iraq. Can we expect something similar this time around?
At this crucial moment, President Donald Trump must initiate a new political
process that addresses the root causes of all conflicts in the region. Defeating
Iran will not eliminate the source of these hostilities. On the contrary, it
will embolden Netanyahu and the Israeli extremists to push for biblical claims
to Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq as part of a so-called greater Israel. Arab
governments have had a complex relationship with Iran since 1979. But in the
end, there will have to be a balance between where Iran stands and what
Netanyahu’s new Middle East means.
If Netanyahu’s new Middle East spells out Israeli hegemony, then the countries
of the region should think deeply about what that means for the entire area.
Does that allow Israel to expel 2 million Palestinians from Gaza? Or does it
pave the way for Israel to expel almost 3 million from the West Bank? How would
that affect Jordan and Egypt? Netanyahu’s new Middle East offers the
Palestinians nothing. It assumes that life can go on with Israel as a regional
hegemon, while giving nothing to the Palestinians. Even worse, it believes that
it can push for a greater Israel that spans territories belonging to sovereign
Arab states. At some point, the Arab world will have to respond.
**Osama Al-Sharif is a journalist and political commentator based in Amman. X:
@plato010
Iran and the craft of politics
Dr. Abdellatif El-Menawy/Arab News/June 25, 2025
For decades, Iran’s patience has not been merely a political tactic, it has been
a way of life in how the country navigates crises, negotiations and power
projection. But the recent war with Israel, which lasted for 12 days of
unprecedented military escalation — including a US strike on Iran’s nuclear
facilities and Tehran’s retaliatory attack on the American Al-Udeid base in
Qatar, followed by President Donald Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire — tested
this model in an unprecedented manner. The question now is: Is this model still
valid or is it time for a fundamental shift in Tehran’s political doctrine?
Since the revolution in 1979, Iran has been known for a foreign policy approach
that combines ideological pragmatism with long-term patience in managing complex
challenges, especially under sanctions and international isolation. Many
analysts have labeled this approach as “strategic patience,” a term that
describes not just the regime’s behavior but also reflects deeper traits of the
Iranian national character, rooted in its cultural and historical legacy. The
metaphor of Persian carpet weaving is often invoked to describe this mindset: a
slow, meticulous process that unfolds not under pressure but in accordance with
an internal rhythm of precision and long-range vision. Just as crafting a
Persian carpet can take years of detailed work, so too does Iran build its
foreign policy, step by step, thread by thread, through cumulative, deliberate
moves rather than sudden leaps. But the recent Iranian-Israeli war has changed
many equations. For the first time, the confrontation moved beyond proxy battles
to a direct exchange, with strikes hitting targets inside both Iran and Israel.
The turning point came when Trump ordered a precise strike on Iran’s nuclear
facilities, reasserting America’s role as a military actor, not just a distant
negotiator. Iran’s response was swift yet calculated: targeting the Al-Udeid
base in Qatar, home to US forces, in what it described as a “measured warning”
rather than a declaration of war.This rapid and volatile escalation brings
Iran’s strategic patience face to face with a new geopolitical era
This rapid and volatile escalation brings Iran’s strategic patience face to face
with a new geopolitical era — an era of precision missiles, drone warfare,
real-time diplomacy and a shifting regional map that does not wait for anyone to
finish weaving their political carpet.
And yet, Iran’s response did not appear impulsive. While the Al-Udeid strike was
bold and direct, it came 72 hours after the US attack, following internal
deliberations and calibrated messaging. Tehran signaled clearly that it was
retaliating but not escalating. It remains within its familiar logic: punish
without provoking all-out war, respond without crossing the point of no return.
This dynamic echoes an old anecdote from the Iran-Iraq War. In 1980, an Arab
politician reportedly warned his Iraqi counterpart during the early days of the
war: “Don’t celebrate your initial victories too soon. A war with Iran is never
short. This is a people who spend 10 years weaving one carpet, they will endure
even longer in war.” It seems that Iran has not abandoned that long breath, even
in the age of fast-moving conflict.
The real transformation, however, lies not in Iran’s military behavior but in
how patience is being redefined within its strategic doctrine. Previously,
patience served as a tool for negotiation and building leverage. Today, it has
increasingly become a way of absorbing global chaos and delivering timed
responses — carefully selected and publicly claimed, but tightly controlled.
Looking back at Iran’s behavior over recent years, one sees the same disciplined
pattern: calculated delays in the nuclear talks, indirect power-building through
regional proxies, and strategic ambiguity when it comes to responsibility for
attacks. But the latest war laid these methods bare, putting them under a global
spotlight at a moment when options are narrowing, margins are shrinking and
pressure is mounting.
So, the key question is no longer whether Iran has strategic patience but
whether today’s world still allows it to be an effective tool.
Waiting is no longer a virtue in itself, but a component in a more agile, more
assertive strategy. It could be argued that Iran is not abandoning patience but
rather redefining it. Patience no longer means abstaining from action, it means
responding with precision, without falling into the trap of prolonged attrition.
Waiting is no longer a virtue in itself, but a component in a more agile, more
assertive strategy. Today, with Trump announcing a ceasefire, Iran emerges as a
player that lost nothing essential: it responded militarily, maintained its
deterrent image and benefited from a Qatari-mediated de-escalation that likely
came with new diplomatic channels or concessions. In this, we see a new face of
Iran’s patience: assertive patience. Patience that enables a response, not only
restraint. Patience that preserves control while wielding credible threats. But
this approach is not without its limits. Domestic pressure is growing, the
regional landscape is fluid and technological escalation leaves little room for
slow maneuvers. That is why the question is no longer: Does Iran possess
strategic patience? Rather, it is: Is the regional and global tempo still
compatible with this model of slow, deliberate endurance?
Perhaps the answer lies in adapting rather than abandoning. Iran may not be able
to wait 10 years for every policy outcome, as the old carpet metaphor suggests.
The craft remains, but the pace must evolve. Like the modern Persian carpet,
sometimes produced in six months with new tools and techniques, Iranian strategy
may need to integrate faster, more responsive tactics without losing its
long-range character. Between the roar of missiles and the whisper of weaving
needles, Iran remains a state that excels at survival. But the greater test now
is not how long it can wait, but whether it can change while waiting.
*Dr. Abdellatif El-Menawy has covered conflicts worldwide. X: @ALMenawy
Khomeini’s war: Sunni
Islamists taught Shia Iran to hate Israel
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/The Jewish Chronicle/June 24/2025
The ayatollahs adopted the Muslim Brotherhood’s worldview to make the
destruction of the Jewish state the regime’s holy cause. The Shia leadership in
Najaf now has the chance to return the Shia world to pacifism
The Islamic Republic has infamously made the destruction of the Jewish state its
animating principle. The obsession with Israel and Palestine, though, does not
come from religious Shia creed but from the world of its religious rival of some
1,400 years: the core literature of the Muslim Brotherhood, a militant Sunni
organisation founded in Egypt in the 1920s.
Traditionally, the Shia revere spots and shrines across Lebanon, Syria, Jordan,
Iraq, Iran, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, but not an inch in Mandate Palestine.
According to Shia tradition, when Prophet Muhammad made his nightly journey to
the “furthest mosque,” as narrated in the Quran, this was the Mosque of al-Kufah,
in southern Iraq, not Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem, as the Sunni tradition has it.
Palestine, whose Muslim population is predominantly Sunni, was thus exclusively
a Sunni issue, never a Shia problem, at least until 1979, when Shia firebrand
cleric Ruhollah Khomeini came to power in Iran. Khomeini preached a version of
militant Shiism that incorporated Muslim Brotherhood doctrines alien to the
traditional Shia creed as upheld by Iraq’s Najaf, the Vatican of the Shia world.
In 1928, Hasan al-Banna, a schoolteacher in Egypt, founded the Muslim
Brotherhood, whose guiding principle was the revival of the pan-Islamic
caliphate with the mission of spreading Islam, by any means necessary, including
violence. Banna therefore started arming the Brotherhood and training its
members. When the Egyptian government busted him, he found in the “liberation of
Palestine” a good excuse to justify his illegal militia.
Government agents assassinated Banna in 1949. He was succeeded by his rival,
another schoolteacher, Sayyid Qutb, who proved to be even more radical than his
predecessor. Qutb’s books defined the militant Islamist movement – especially
its hatred against Jews. The man who translated Qutb’s works from Arabic to
Farsi was a young Shia cleric in Iran. His name was Ali Khamenei, the Supreme
Leader of Iran today.
Khamenei’s mentor, Khomeini, imported Qutb’s thought into Shiism and came up
with his controversial theory about an Islamic government in which the state is
guided by one cleric. The singularity of the cleric at the helm of the state
broke with a millennium of Shiia religious decentralisation. For over 1,000
years, the Shia agreed that their clerics would guide the believers, but only on
spiritual issues, until the return of the Mahdi, Muhammad al-Mahdi, Arabic for
“the divinely guided one”. The Mahdi, a messianic figure, was the twelfth imam
who in Shiite tradition had gone into occultation and would return at the end of
times to restore justice on earth. Until his return, the Shia pledged allegiance
on temporal matters to whichever sovereign was in power. That’s why most senior
Shia clerics, in both Iraq and Iran, opposed Khomeini’s idea of clerical rule,
arguing that leadership belonged to Imam Mahdi only. Khomeini rebutted that the
supreme leader cleric would serve as the imam’s deputy, until his return. At the
outbreak of the revolution, Khomeini feared that the communists would outflank
him on the Left, so he instructed his thugs to run over the US embassy, take its
diplomats hostage. He then tried to rally the Sunni Muslim world around his
Muslim Shia leadership by inviting Yasser Arafat to take over the Israeli
embassy in Tehran.
Anti-Americanism and antisemitism thus became the defining doctrine of the Shia
Islamist regime of Iran, even though the Shia creed advocates pacifism while
waiting for the second coming of the Mahdi. Khomeini also relied on Shiism to
expand his Islamist empire. Iran organised Shia communities in Lebanon, Gaza,
Iraq, Bahrain, Yemen and Syria, and made them into militias that pledged
allegiance to Tehran. Tehran then used these militias to wrestle Iraq from
America’s hands, besiege Israel with a “ring of fire” and use Arab Shia and, in
the case of Gaza, Sunni populations, as a “first line of defence” for non-Arab
Shia Iran. War, conquest, Jerusalem and anti-Imperialism cannot be found in Shia
tradition or literature. Khomeini and Khamenei imported them from the founding
literature of the Muslim Brotherhood. This is how Palestine became a problem in
Iranian Shiism, after it had been for long an exclusively Sunni cause.
As Israel decimated the Iranian militias and bruised Tehran’s Islamist regime,
the Shia traditional leadership in Najaf now has the opportunity to lead the
Shia world back to pacifism. Shiism, after all, is a religion that requires
spiritual guidance, not missiles and nukes.
**Hussain Abdul-Hussain is a research fellow at the Foundation for the Defense
of Democracies (FDD).
https://www.thejc.com/opinion/khomeinis-war-sunni-islamists-taught-shia-iran-to-hate-israel-yg85ctin
Selected Twitters For Today June 24/2025
Reza Pahlavi
My fellow compatriots,
We are now moving to the final phase of our struggle. It will be hard. But the
regime is weak. It is near collapse. Only we, the Iranian people, can end it.
To the military—as you’re given orders to lash out at the people—stand down.
This is your final chance. You are being watched. We will remember who stood
with the people and who committed crimes against them.
To the world—do not save this corrupt, crumbling, terrorist regime. At this
historic moment, stand with the Iranian people. Shield them from the regime’s
desperate backlash. Do not prop up a regime that will, soon again, turn its
guns, missiles, and terror toward you. Do not fear. Be bold. Victory is in our
hands.
Reza Pahlavi Communications
The Islamic Republic has been humiliated and dealt a blow from
which it will not recover. Fearful of its inevitable downfall, and as its leader
Ali Khamenei continues to hide in his bunker like a rat, the regime has launched
a disinformation campaign against Prince Reza Pahlavi. The regime’s most recent,
ridiculous claim is that the Prince has suffered a heart attack. This is, of
course, a lie. This is the level of absurdity to which this regime will go to
take hope from the people of Iran. But it will not succeed.
Charles Chartouni
The BRICS is a collection of pathetic and aimless contradictions.
These nations, despite their diverse political and economic systems, often
struggle to find a unified purpose. Their differing priorities and approaches
can lead to confusion, making it challenging for them to present a coherent
front on the global stage. How farcical! Why do they keep meeting?
Franck Salameh
https://x.com/i/status/1937776061275865253
Fundamentally Christian as her words may be, they are also the words of a
civilization exiting history. In #Dar_al_Islam you don't bring flowers to a gun
fight. "Quand on n'a que l'amour pour parler aux canons.." works for #Brel. For
#NearEasternChristians it's HELL.