China sends massive aid to Cuba

China has reportedly sent around 30,000 tons of rice to Cuba as part of an emergency food aid program.

The goal?

To help ease ongoing shortages and support millions of people facing economic hardship.

Officials described the move as a sign of longstanding ties and cooperation between the two countries.

The rice will be distributed for free across the island, offering relief during a time when access to basic food supplies has become a growing concern due to the increasing hostile US military naval blockade of Cuba. 

As China, Russia, Mexico and others attempt to help Cuba will the Pentagon move to stop them?

Can the US afford to keep escalating globally in order to vainly save its crashing colonial project which only benefits the 1%?

Help from Italy

Aid from American people

 Mexico delivers and Cubans are deeply grateful for the solidarity

Fairford air base in UK protested for hosting U.S. bombers/Another MQ-9 shot down

 

Watch four heavily armed B-52 and B-1 strategic bombers launch from England for West Asia, as a U-2 spy plane prepares for  surveillance ops. This is RAF Fairford (near Oxford) at its busiest during major US military Operation Epic Fury. 

Children's clothes have been hung at RAF Fairford in anti-war protests in memory of the school children killed in Iran.

The base is being used by U.S. bombers and other aircraft involved in the war with Iran - although the British government said it did not support the initial attack on Iran, it has allowed the U.S. to use its bases for what it described as 'defensive measures'.

Footage shows the crash of another American MQ-9 drone after it was shot down by Iranian air defenses above Bushehr, Iran. 

The US military has lost 12 MQ-9 Reaper drones during the US-Israel war on Iran, according to US officials cited by CBS News, marking one of the most significant equipment losses of the war. 

The total cost of the lost aircraft is estimated at more than $360 million. 

MQ-9 Reaper drones are unmanned aerial vehicles used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, as well as precision strike operations.

These MQ-9 losses prove that Trump's claim that Iranian air defense has been destroyed is just one more Pentagon lie.

Sunday song

US-Israel can kill them fast or they can kill them slow

 

The US/Israel struck Andimeshk’s hospital in Iran with bombs. 

Illegal war.

Trump says he wants to liberate the Iranian people.
Come out into the streets and overthrow the 'regime'.

The only 'regimes' I see are in Washington and Tel Aviv.

They target hospitals,
schools, residential blocs,
water treatment facilities

and more civilian targets.

Yes they just love 
the people in Iran.

The killers from US-Israel
love to see the people bleed.
They love to see them dead.

They are genocidal maniacs,
posing (not so effectively)
as lovers of 'democracy'.

The only way to change things
is for the pedophile empire
to collapse.

I'm cheering for Iran.

Anyone who goes to fight
against Iran (Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, Iraq)
are suckers.

An American MQ-4C drone took off from Station Sigonella base in Italy and is conducting reconnaissance patrols near Iran’s coast. 

US bases in Europe

and beyond are involved.

Ramstein, Wiesbaden,

Fairford in the UK.

Diego Garcia in the 

Indian Ocean.

The list is endless.

Yes Trump just loves

the Iranian people so much.

Bruce 

Craig Murray: Joy at Death & Destruction

Attack around Enghelab Square in Tehran on March 3. (Tasnim News Agency, Wikimedia Commons/ CC BY 4.0)

Consortium News

By Craig Murray

The United States and Israel are both reveling in inflicting the maximum possible death and suffering on Iran. 

After the genocide in Gaza, on a far larger field in Iran, those in power in Israel and the U.S. have a lust to kill and they revel in impunity. 

The Epstein Files reveal the same dynamic. We live in a society where those who obtain power wish to exercise it in the cruelest possible ways against the most defenceless. 

It appears to be a feature of late Western capitalist society, where sociopathic tendencies are essential to obtaining power in a society which rejects altruism and cooperation as concepts and promotes competition, self-love and ruthlessness. 

Iran is showing commendable fighting spirit, but American military power should not be underestimated. They have the ability to destroy Iran from the air, to obliterate the institutions of the state and all of the key civilian infrastructure. Electricity, water, healthcare, education, administration, policing all can be knocked out just as they were systematically in Gaza and — on a scale insufficiently recalled — in Iraq. 

Trump is already asking Congress for $50 billion to fund the operation and replenish stocks. The scale of destruction Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu envisages will cost at least half a trillion dollars from the U.S. Treasury. But there is nothing that can stop them. 

I witnessed close up over five months the 80 to 100,000 homes destroyed in Lebanon by Israel in the last three years. We have all seen what they did to Gaza. The notion they cannot do this to Iran is simply wrong. It requires a colossal effort of will, a mania for killing, a vast amount of money and the depletion of the U.S. arsenal. But they can do it. 

Only political action by the peoples of the West against their leaders can stop it.

Iran and its allies have been the only physical opposition to the creation of Greater Israel. If the physical destruction of Iran is achieved, Greater Israel will be established at pace.

One of the world’s greatest civilisations will lie in ashes, covering millions of corpses, but none of that will prevent the extraction of oil.

Pete Hegseth, U.S. secretary for war, simply comes over as a Nazi thug. He plainly is enjoying this as much as Netanyahu, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir or Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. He has gloatingly promised “Death and destruction from the sky, all day long.” He repeatedly signals ever-escalating bombing.

The Iranian Red Crescent has listed the bombing destruction as of March 7. By then it included:

• 5,535 civilian residential units
• 1,041 commercial units
• 65 schools
• 14 hospitals and medical centres
• 13 Red Crescent Society bases

By contrast, there has been no credible claim that Iran has inflicted widespread civilian damage. It has very tightly targeted specific facilities — collateral damage seems almost entirely confined to debris from intercepted drones and missiles.

But we know the U.S.-Israel axis targets hospitals and medical facilities. It is proven beyond doubt in Gaza, and I witnessed it in Beirut.

In gloating about U.S. military superiority, Trump advised Iranian civilians: “Don’t leave your home. It’s very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere.”

Yet they are deliberately bombing residential buildings, exactly as in both Lebanon and Gaza. Trump is attempting to terrorise Iran into “unconditional surrender.”

At the 1815 Battle of Waterloo — an epic, large-scale and unmissable event — approximately 15,000 people died on the field of battle (more died later of wounds in an age before antibiotics). You are supposed to believe that the Iranian government in January killed twice as many demonstrators as died at Waterloo. This using only small arms and despite the complete lack of visual evidence of killing on anything like that scale.

At the same time you are supposed to believe that tens of thousands of tonnes of the highest explosives have been dropped into the centre of cities all across Iran but that these are “precision attacks” killing very few civilians.

It is obvious nonsense.

AI targeting only adds a new layer of dystopia to an entirely vicious and unnecessary war. The indifference of the Western media to the slaughter of 175 Iranian school girls leads to really difficult questions about the type of society the West has become. Racism is just the beginning of the problems.

The effort to coerce the Kurds into yet again fighting for the U.S., only to be abandoned when no longer deemed helpful, is reckless in the extreme. It is bound to lead to further war and fragmentation in Iraq. The repercussions in Turkey are potentially extreme — and possibly may jolt Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from his complacent furthering of the U.S-Israeli agenda.

Civil war is close in Lebanon. The traitorous Zionist regime of Lebanese President General Joseph Aoun has no forces capable of taking on Hezbollah; but the other Zionist puppet al-Jolani [Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa] has concentrated forces on the border with the Bekaa Valley ready to attack Hezbollah from the East while Hezbollah fight Israeli invading forces in the South. French President Emmanuel Macron has indicated he may send troops and armour to assist Aoun.

This entire conflict sounds like a dreadful regional disaster in which millions could die – and it is. But to the U.S. and Israeli Zionists, the prospect of a devastated region is precisely what they wish to achieve to facilitate Israeli expansion and American seizure of resources.

There is an urgent need for regime change – in the West. The only way for this carnage to stop is for the people of the West to remove their Zionist-controlled ruling classes.

~ Craig Murray is an author, broadcaster and human rights activist. He was British ambassador to Uzbekistan from August 2002 to October 2004 and rector of the University of Dundee from 2007 to 2010. His coverage is entirely dependent on reader support. Subscriptions to keep this blog going are gratefully received.

the funnies

 

Warning to the U.S. from madman Netanyahu

The Islander

“It is not enough to be moral. It is not enough to be just. Jesus Christ has no advantage over Genghis Khan. If you are strong enough, ruthless enough, and powerful enough, evil will overcome good.”

The mask is off.

This is the operating system of the Third Temple cult project and now you understand why American Zionist Christians (theological oxymoron) funding it are committing the greatest theological betrayal in history, if they want to claim to be Christians.

The Third Temple that Christian Zionists are sending money and casting votes to build? Christ already built it. And hint for Ted Cruz: it’s not made of stone or bricks and mortar.

John 2:19 Jesus says “destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” John clarifies explicitly: he was speaking of his body. The resurrection is the Third Temple. The veil tore from top to bottom at the crucifixion not symbolically, as a theological declaration that the entire system was finished and fulfilled.

The Letter to the Hebrews spends thirteen chapters making one argument: every element of Temple worship... the priesthood, the sacrifice, the Holy of Holies, the ark — was a shadow pointing forward to Christ. Paul tells the Corinthians twice: you are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Not a building. Not a geography. You. Peter calls believers living stones built into a spiritual house.

So when American Christian Zionists cheer on wars to rebuild a physical temple, they are funding the theological rejection of their own Saviour. A rebuilt temple doesn’t prepare for Christ’s return. It denies his first coming. It says the sacrifice wasn’t enough. The resurrection didn’t count.

Zionist Christianity isn’t a fusion of two faiths. It’s the abandonment of one in slavery to another. And it’s currently armed, funded, and flying messianic combat missions.

Netanyahu just told you what he thinks of your Jesus. 

Believe him. 

Israel hates a free media

RT correspondent Steve Sweeney:

"Israel tried to kill me in a targeted airstrike in southern Lebanon while I was covering the event that targeted bridges and led to the forced displacement of a million people—an act of ethnic cleansing on a scale even larger than the Nakba.

I have no doubt that this was deliberate. Despite claims that there were no warnings before the strike and no notifications were sent to the Lebanese army, which granted us permission to film. 

As we saw in Gaza, they want to silence journalists who document and report on the war crimes they are committing.

It is the Western powers that provide political and military support to Israel, supplying it with weapons to the core to carry out genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing here in Lebanon. They are not just complicit, they are active participants, and they must be held accountable for their actions."

(He was wounded but survived this assassination attempt.)

History lesson: The Nuclear Secret JFK Died Trying to Stop

In 1963, President Kennedy sent Israel's Prime Minister an ultimatum: allow full nuclear inspections at Dimona nuclear facility or lose American support. Twenty-four hours later, Ben-Gurion mysteriously resigned. 

Five months later, Kennedy was dead. This is the declassified story of how Israel defied an American president, built atomic bombs in secret, and changed the Middle East forever. 

Based on recently released documents from the National Security Archive and JFK Presidential Library showing Kennedy's desperate attempts to prevent Israeli nuclear weapons.

Sources:

• National Security Archive (George Washington University): Declassified Kennedy-Ben-Gurion-Eshkol correspondence, 1961-1963
• JFK Presidential Library: Letters between Kennedy and Israeli leaders, White House records
• Wilson Center: "Kennedy, Dimona and the Nuclear Proliferation Problem: 1961-1962"
• U.S. State Department: Foreign Relations of the United States, Volume XVIII (Near East 1961-1963)
• Atomic Energy Commission: Inspection reports from Dimona visits (1961, 1962, 1965-1967)
• Avner Cohen: "Israel and the Bomb" and various scholarly articles on Israeli nuclear history
• CIA declassified assessments of Israeli nuclear capabilities
• Seymour Hersh: "The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy"

Boots in the Gulf: Why ground troops are America’s only option left

SouthFront Press

The United States has reached a strategic deadlock in its war with Iran. Weeks of airstrikes and precision attacks on leadership and infrastructure have failed to produce a decisive result. Even after the reported death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Iran’s command system continues to function. Military infrastructure, especially underground, remains partially intact. 

The limits of air power are becoming increasingly clear. Iran has spent years building hardened facilities, including bunkers, storage depots, and hidden launch sites. Many of them are beyond the reach of standard munitions. Even specialized bunker-busting bombs are available only in limited numbers. 

At the same time, the operational cost is rising. U.S. and allied stockpiles of air defense missiles are being depleted. Additional Patriot and THAAD systems are being rushed into the region. Naval forces have also adjusted their posture. Aircraft carriers such as the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R. Ford have moved farther from the Iranian coast, reflecting the growing threat from drones and fast attack craft. 

Against this backdrop, preparations for a ground phase are becoming more visible. The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit is already en route to the region as part of an Amphibious Ready Group. It includes roughly 2,200 Marines, supported by F-35B fighter jets, MV-22 Osprey aircraft, and attack helicopters. 

In parallel, the 82nd Airborne Division has been placed on high alert. The division is undergoing restructuring into more mobile brigade combat teams, optimized for rapid deployment and independent operations. These units are expected to play a central role in seizing airfields, ports, and critical infrastructure deep behind enemy lines. 

Initial objectives of a ground operation would likely focus on the southern coast. Strategic locations include Bandar Abbas and nearby islands controlling the Strait of Hormuz. Capturing these sites would limit Iran’s ability to disrupt maritime traffic and launch naval attacks. 

However, such an operation carries serious risks. Iran has adapted to modern warfare, relying on drones, mobile strike teams, and small-unit tactics. Swarms of unmanned systems and fast boats could threaten both landing forces and naval assets. Even limited successes against large ships or transport aircraft would have a significant operational impact. 

Urban and coastal combat would further complicate the situation. Narrow terrain, fortified positions, and the presence of local militias could slow any advance. Iranian forces are likely to avoid large-scale engagements, instead focusing on attrition and constant pressure. 

The emerging picture is clear. Air superiority alone is not enough to win this war. Without control of territory and sustained ground presence, the United States cannot achieve its objectives. A ground invasion now appears not just possible, but increasingly inevitable. 

Trump hugs the B-2 bomber

'Give me that BOMBER… Let me just hug that little sucker',  Trump says.

‘This looks small, but in person it's really big.' 

Peace Prez or just a phony baloney modern day pirate who appears to get off killing people - including school girls in Iran.

Where are the voices of the moral/religious leaders? Where are the voices of the academic international law experts? Where are the voices of the women's groups with the pink knit hats? Where are the voices of American and international school teachers?

Where are the voices....?

Gaza, West Bank, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Venezuela, Cuba. Who is next?

Maybe us in the United States?

Bruce

It's total war now!

 

Say good-bye to the global economy.

Trump and Netanyahu have got what they really wanted.

Total war with Iran. 

The Qatari Foreign Ministry has condemned Israel’s attack on Iran’s South Pars gas field, which is jointly operated by Iran and Qatar. The ministry said that strikes on Pars constitute “a threat to global energy security.” 

Gas processing facilities on the Iranian side of the field were damaged in strikes on Wednesday. While Israel has not taken responsibility for the strikes, Axios reported that they were carried out by Israeli forces in coordination with the US.

In a post on X, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari blamed the destruction on Israel.

“The Israeli targeting of facilities linked to Iran’s South Pars field, an extension of Qatar’s North Field, is a dangerous and irresponsible step amid the current military escalation in the region,” he wrote. “Targeting energy infrastructure constitutes a threat to global energy security, as well as to the peoples of the region and its environment.”

Everything crashes now - the devils in Washington and Tel Aviv got the madness they always wanted.

Below video:  Max Blumenthal reports that a psychological warfare campaign orchestrated by Zionist interests targeted Trump to drive him into war with Iran. 

The Pentagon has asked the White House to approve a funding request exceeding $200 billion to support the war in Iran, according to The Washington Post, a figure that could face strong resistance in Congress. 

The request would go far beyond current spending levels and aims to replenish weapons stocks rapidly depleted as US and Israeli forces have carried out thousands of strikes over the past three weeks, The Washington Post reported. 

The report notes the war’s cost has already exceeded $11 billion in its first week alone, with officials warning that further funding could trigger a major political battle amid limited public support. 

The proposal comes despite earlier pledges to curb overseas military spending, raising questions over the scale and sustainability of Washington’s expanding campaign.

Kushner: A fox in the chicken coop

Aaron Mate: Is Jared Kushner Netanyahu’s Agent?

Yes, he is working for Mossad. No doubt. Steve Witcoff is as well.

Hell, the Congress and most of Washington, the media, Wall Street and much more work for Israel. So does Hegseth!

Kent resigns: 'Clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel'

Joe Kent with Trump in happier times....

 

Trump’s Director of the National Counterterrorism Center Joe Kent resigned over the Iran War

The Islander

“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.” 

Joe Kent was formerly a veteran in US special forces whose wife Shannon was murdered by ISIS in Syria after the Pentagon deliberately sabotaged the First Trump Administration’s US withdrawal at the command of James Jeffries.

Kent would later run for Congress to as an anti-war independent.  And now he is one of the first few top US officials who recognizes Israel’s role for manufacturing the war in Iran just like they manufactured the regime change efforts against Bashar al-Assad that led to the murder of his wife at the hands of Al Qaeda and ISIS forces backed by the CIA and Mossad.

He further confirms that the Israelis have full control over the Trump Administration by appealing to the demented US President to “reflect on what we are doing in Iran, and who we are doing it for.”  There are many other forces inside the Trump Administration who feel the same as Kent, but are too intimidated by Trump and his Israeli Epstein coalition.

They want you to believe that Iran is the number one sponsor of state terrorism in the world.  However, it was US intelligence that sent $1 billion per year, along with the British and Israeli intelligence, to militants in Syria linked to Al Qaeda through Operation Timber Sycamore. 

And it was the IRGC under the command of Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani that played the leading role in defeating ISIS alongside the Russians and President Assad. The Trump Administration vaporized Soleimani [while on a visit to Iraq in 2020] explicitly to prevent him from destroying ISIS.

Joe Kent is a true American patriot.  However, it’s very likely now that the Trump Administration will target him just like they have done to Tucker Carlson, Charlie Kirk and Julian Assange because he went against Israel and its vast network of lobbyists controlling the US government.

Disclaimer:

I seriously object to this statement by Kent in his resignation letter. But I am glad he resigned.

Bruce 

Trump-Natanyahu's war goes sour - latest news

Protest at US Yokosuka naval base in Japan against US-Israeli war against Iran. 80% in Japan oppose the attack on Iran. Likely one of highest percentages in the world. Yokosuka is the main base for US Navy's 7th fleet.

• Trump is going to introduce tariffs against countries that do not acknowledge that the USA has defeated Iran. 
• Washington’s aim is to decouple Iran from China and Russia, and turn it into a colony of the West, leaving the regime in power but ridding it of its regional influence in the Middle East.  This would essentially allow for the Greater Israel agenda to become a reality. 
• China is the world’s largest crude oil importer and Iran is its second-largest supplier after Russia, accounting for roughly 15% of China’s oil imports, much of it at discounted prices, and powering China’s economy, particularly the manufacturing sector.  90% of Iran’s oil exports go to China.
• The conflict in Latin America and the kidnapping of Maduro was another war on Chinese energy imports with Venezuela sending over half its exports to Beijing before January 2026, accounting for another 2% of China’s crude oil imports.
• The Iranian national football team will be able to participate in the current World Cup despite the war if the team's matches are moved from the US to Mexico, The WSJ reports, citing the Iranian ambassador in Mexico City. According to him, the problem is that the first stage matches will be held in the United States. Shouldn't the US lose rights to World Cup and be banned from competing? Wasn't that part of the western colonialist's so-called 'Rules based order'? 

• Netanyahu to call up nearly half MILLION reservists for ‘potential ground operation’ in Lebanon. Not likely since Zionists are escaping Israel daily.
• The US/Israel bombed & levelled a high-school in Khomein, Iran.
• Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi: When the U.S. Secretary of War declares 'no quarter', he doesn't project strength. He conveys moral bankruptcy and ignorance about law of armed conflict. We advise him to review the Hague Convention and Rome Statute of the ICC, unless he aspires to join Netanyahu as war criminal.
• Trump says he’ll have the ‘honor of taking Cuba: I can do anything I want with it’. [That is the same attitude Trump and Epstein had with the young girls they raped.] Trump's comments came amid a U.S. oil blockade. The country’s electrical grid collapsed Monday, causing a Cuba-wide blackout. 
• US efforts to build an international coalition to secure shipping in the Strait of Hormuz have turned into a “mess” because Washington’s partners are reluctant to offer assistance, Axios reported. The outlet added that Trump had been warned the government in Tehran could consolidate power rather than collapse. 

• Over 600 sailors aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier were left without beds after a fire broke out last week, the New York Times reports. US Central Command described the incident as 'not combat-related'.  The newspaper revealed on Monday that it took more than 30 hours to extinguish the fire, which originated in the ship’s main laundry area. Dozens suffered smoke inhalation, the report said, citing anonymous sources. More than 600 sailors lost their bunks and have since been sleeping on floors and tables. Many sailors have been unable to do laundry since the incident. Previous reporting noted that the $13 billion lead ship of its class has also been plagued by toilet problems. 
• An Asahi newspaper survey found that 82% of Japanese respondents oppose the attack on Iran by Israel and the US, while 9% support it. The nationwide poll also showed that 51% disapprove of Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae’s decision to avoid clarifying the legal status of the attack, while 34% approve. While Spain and several other countries have condemned the attack as a violation of international law, the Prime Minister declined to comment, stating she will “refrain from making a legal assessment.”

• More money flowed through the prediction market Polymarket on the timing of the US government’s recent attack on Iran than was bet on this year’s Super Bowl with Nevada’s sportsbooks. Bettors traded more than $529 million in forecasts of when the US would next strike Iran in a market opened last year on Polymarket, the self-described world’s largest prediction market. Just goes to show the madness and moral decay that is the USA.
• Ali Larijani (Iran's Secretary of Supreme National Security Council) in one of his final statements before his speculated assassination, has confirmed that the Epstein regimes in the US and Israel are planning to carry out a false flag terrorist attack similar to 9/11 and then blame Iran for it.  The hope is that the attack will create a justification for a ground invasion of Iran and further war crimes against the Iranian people. Professor Seyed Mohammad Marandi corroborated this account, confirming that extremist figures within the CIA and Mossad discussed a plan to target a landmark tower either in an American city or the United Arab Emirates.

• Putin delivers a message to the West. "The truth is that the problems you are facing now are the result of years of actions by the ruling elites of your own countries. They do not think about how to improve your lives. They are obsessed with their own selfish interests and excessive profits." 

• Estonia to deploy 7 soldiers to help defend the US and Israel against Iranian threats.

• 200+ US troops wounded across seven countries in Iran war. Traumatic brain injuries among most common reports Washington Post.

• Zelensky on Iran war: 'He [Netanyahu] has what I need, and I have what he needs.' Ukrainian dictator Volodymyr Zelensky desperately trying to organise ‘date night’ with Israeli genocidal maniac Benjamin Netanyahu. 

There is another way - La Cooperativa

Behind Italy’s beauty (and parmesan) is a radical tradition of cooperatives. In some areas, they make up nearly a fifth of the GDP. 

We went to Emilia-Romagna, one of the richest regions in the country, to investigate how Italy’s workers built a more democratic economy.

Many thanks to the Bologna Film Commission and the City of Reggio Emilia for the support and for the assistance.

'If we don't question our system then we can't change our system'.

PS - Fascists don't like coops so if you want to piss off the oligarchs form cooperatives!  

Macron to Iran: 'Stop the war & you can have whatever you want'

 

Iran TV

📞 Macron calls Mr. Mojtaba Khamenei: 

Macron told Mr. Khamenei, “You are punishing the world, not Trump, and the world will face an unprecedented famine and economic collapse.”

Mr. Khamenei interrupted him and asked, “Where were you when the Iranian people were starved for 45 years?”

Macron: “This is American policy, and we reject it, as we have stated previously.”

Macron: “Now I propose a meeting with the European Union countries, and you can have whatever you wish.”

Mr. Khamenei replied, “We don’t want anything except to punish Trump and Netanyahu.”

Macron: “And request exemptions for French ships to pass through.”

Mr. Khamenei responded, “Expel the American and Israeli ambassadors, and then you can pass through. We don’t deal with those who rely on two sides. That’s all I have to say.” 

He then hung up. 

US tries to assemble Hormuz tanker coalition

https://tass.com/pressreview/2102005

MOSCOW, March 16. /TASS/. Washington is unlikely to succeed in persuading its allies to escort oil tankers in the Persian Gulf; Paris launches talks on joint nuclear deterrence with nearly a dozen European countries; and Russian petroleum product producers are redirecting fuel shipments to new markets. These stories topped Monday’s newspaper headlines across Russia. 

Washington will be unable to persuade its allies to escort oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, experts believe. US partners will likely limit their involvement to technical support and symbolic assistance. Earlier, President Donald Trump called on countries that depend on Middle Eastern oil to ensure the security of the Strait of Hormuz. However, Tehran still has the resilience to resist, while the White House is beginning to realize that it has lost its grip on the situation.  

Washington is trying to draw its European allies into the Middle East conflict, as the Americans are running out of ways to pressure the Iranian leadership, Pavel Koshkin, a senior researcher at the US and Canadian Studies Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Vedomosti. In his opinion, the White House is also trying to drive down energy prices, including by partially lifting sanctions on the Russian oil industry. 

The US is trying to share the risks of the Middle East conflict with other countries and, if possible, expand the anti-Iran coalition, Dmitry Suslov, deputy director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the Russian National Research University Higher School of Economics, emphasized. European authorities condemn Iran for blocking the Strait of Hormuz, he noted. However, they are avoiding involvement in the highly unpopular American gamble. 

Meanwhile, Iran continues to employ a strategy of asymmetric warfare, exploiting the enemy’s weaknesses, buying time, and inflicting irreparable damage on military and civilian infrastructure to undermine the alliance between the US and its key partners. The most desirable scenario for Tehran is to allow regional states to walk away from cooperation with the US toward cooperation without the involvement of external actors, Grigory Lukyanov, deputy dean of the Eastern Faculty at the Russian State Academic University for the Humanities, told Izvestia. 

Despite the damage sustained, Iran still has the resources to resist, Middle East studies expert Leonid Tsukanov noted. “The initial projected timeframe for the operation, which estimated that Iran would surrender in a few days to two weeks, appears to have been inaccurate. The Americans’ planned budget has also been exceeded many times,” he emphasized. According to the expert, the US has two options: launch a full-scale campaign with a ground component similar to the one in Iraq, which would risk prolonging the conflict, or conclude the operation by announcing symbolic victories. 

Update:

China, Italy, Japan, France, Germany, South Korea, the UK and Australia all told Trump to pound sand. Trump is now begging NATO to help open the Strait of Hormuz threatening that he helped them with Ukraine and ‘NATO will have a very bad future’ should NATO not help with unblocking Hormuz.  There is of course much trolling and a suggestion for Trump is why does he not call on the Israeli Navy to ‘open the straits’?

Skip FIFA World Cup in the U.S.

"The silent crisis hitting American streets is no longer silent. MAGA Voters furious at global boycott of American Tourism. The world is effectively turning its back on the United States, not with weapons, but with their wallets."

We are seeing a massive shift in how the globe interacts with America, and the results are empty hotel lobbies, cancelled flights, and a tourism industry that is screaming for help. This isn't just about politics anymore; it is about the livelihood of everyday Americans who depend on the global economy.
Why is this happening now? Reports indicate that travel warnings from long-time allies have spooked potential visitors. 

The narrative being spun abroad is one of chaos and instability, and Trump voters react with absolute rage at what they see as a coordinated smear campaign against the greatest nation on earth. The media overseas is painting a picture of America that many locals don't recognize, yet the economic impact is undeniably real. From Florida's beaches to New York's avenues, the lack of foreign accents is becoming hauntingly noticeable.

Is this the price of 'America First'? Or is it an unfair punishment from a global community that refuses to respect our sovereignty? The anger is palpable. People feel betrayed, not just by the international community, but by the lack of clear answers from leadership on how to fix this reputation crisis. When MAGA voters see their towns suffering because European and Canadian tourists are staying home, the conversation shifts from ideology to survival.

This video explores the raw, unfiltered opinions of voters who feel they are being held hostage by a global narrative they can't control and people from other countries to vow to never visit America again. This is the story of a travel boycott that feels personal, vindictive, and dangerous for the American economic future. Join us as we break down exactly why the world is staying away and why the base is absolutely irate about it.

West has long been confused about China

  

Why the West Always Gets China Wrong (The 3 Myths) 

Why has the West consistently failed to predict China's trajectory?

For decades, experts have called for an imminent collapse or a democratic revolution that never arrived. 

In this video, we go beyond the headlines to explore the "wrong glasses" the West has used to view the Middle Kingdom. We break down the three fundamental myths identified by scholars Rana Mitter and Elsbeth Johnson: the false link between wealth and democracy, the misunderstanding of authoritarian legitimacy, and the assumption that Chinese culture will inevitably Westernize. 

From the deep roots of Confucian collectivism to the unique "State-Capitalist" model of the CCP, discover why China is playing by an entirely different set of rules. 

Sunday song

Arundhati Roy condemns U.S. and India for its 'bloodlust'

Award-winning writer and public intellectual, Arundhati Roy stirred the audience in Gurgaon when she spoke of the travesty of the war in West Asia, imposed by US and Israel on Iran, threatening to engulf the region, and the world.

She also strongly criticizes her own nation India for its new 'deal' with Israel and remaining silent over the US attacks on Iran.

Epstein cover-up war crashing

• Bloomberg: The US Army has sent 10,000 AI-enabled Merops interceptor drones, originally developed for Ukraine, to the Middle East to help defend against Iranian drone attacks. 

• ABC News reported Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth approved a request from U.S. Central Command for a Marine expeditionary unit with 2,200 Marines aboard three U.S. Navy amphibious ships to be sent to the Middle East, identifying the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit primarily located in Okinawa, Japan. 

• The ships could take roughly two weeks to reach the Middle East, suggesting the war against Iran could continue into April, which would be weeks after President Donald Trump said the war was “very complete.” 
• Gaza redux: Iranian Red Crescent: 160 medical centers and 120 schools across the country were damaged due to the US-Israeli attacks. 
• Russia sent 13 tons of humanitarian medical aid to Iran after Tehran requested help due to rising civilian casualties and damage to hospitals. It includes medicines, first-aid kits and other medical supplies. 
• A Turkish female journalist reporting from Israel said an Israeli man approached her and said, “From now on, you are our next enemy. Do you know that?”
• The Wall Street Journal: Gulf allies are privately furious with Washington, blaming the US for igniting a conflict that endangers them. According to people familiar with the discussions, Trump has been calling regional leaders this week to reassure them.
• CNBC: Who do you think has more endurance? Trump's former Defense Secretary Mark Esper: "Frankly, I think the Iranians do."

• Channel 14 (Israel): Five aerial refueling aircraft belonging to the US Air Force were damaged and possibly destroyed at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. 
• Fatemeh Mohajerani, spokesperson for the government of Iran: “The U.S.–Israeli aggression targeted 36,489 residential units and 6,000 commercial units.” 
• Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth: Contrary to the statements, Hezbollah in Lebanon shows no signs of disintegration or collapse. 
• Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth: Less than a year and a half after Benjamin Netanyahu said that this is not the same Hezbollah as before the war, they are now crushing the north and shelling Tel Aviv. 
• Martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah: "We should thank Trump for revealing yet again the true face of the U.S. administration — a racist, criminal, murderous, bloodthirsty entity that confiscates freedoms, plunders wealth, conspires against oppressed peoples." 

• US Senator Chris Murphy: Trump has lost control of the US-Iran war. Based on closed-door briefings, the senator says: 1) Trump believed Iran would not close the Strait of Hormuz → he was wrong. Oil prices are spiking; if the Strait stays closed → global recession (possibly already too late). 2) Plan to open the Strait does not exist. 3) US can’t combat Iran’s navy tools (thousands of small drones, speed boats, mines). 4) Naval escorts for tankers are theoretically possible but impractical: Would require entire US Navy (≈100 tankers/day need escort). 5) US can’t combat Iran’s drone war. 6) Persian Gulf countries are running out of interceptors. 7) Trump has no endgame/ no off-ramp.
•  Al Jazeera, continuing its familiar takfiri pattern against Iran, misquoted the statements of Hamas and circulated the narrative that Hamas asked Iran to stop the attacks. In reality, Hamas called on regional countries to confront the aggression and affirmed Iran’s right to respond. https://t.me/enemywatch/50565
• The Iranian Ministry of Cultural Heritage reports that 56 museums, historical landmarks, and cultural sites have been targeted in attacks by the US-zionist aggression.
• Australia's Energy Minister: "We only have enough gasoline for 18 days, diesel fuel for 16 days, and aviation fuel for 14 days. And a ship from the Persian Gulf takes 2 to 4 weeks to arrive." Australia supported the US and Israel's attack on Iran. 
• Netanyahu has requested talks with Zelensky about Ukrainian interceptor drones. The meeting is expected early next week.
• Israeli Haaretz newspaper: Iran, not the United States, holds the key to reopening the global energy market.
• Tucker Carlson claims the CIA read his private text messages and is preparing a criminal referral to the Justice Department accusing him of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act. According to Carlson, the alleged case is based on him communicating with people in Iran before the war, though he says he was never acting as a foreign agent and believes the accusation is politically motivated.
• Israeli airstrikes on the oil depots in and near Tehran have released toxic pollutants that could impact millions of people for decades, Bloomberg reports. Burning fuel and missile explosions sent heavy metals and chemical particles into the air, which mixed with rainfall and created “black rain” over the city. The Israeli army tells CNN: We intend to continue the war against Iran for another 3 weeks.

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