Pete Hegseth denies U.S.-Israel started war on Iran

• Iran’s Central Military Command (Khatam al-Anbiya) in reaction to Trump’s threats: “The criminal US has threatened to attack the nuclear and other sensitive facilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is hereby declared that, should the aggressive and terrorist military of that country enter such a phase, we will regard it as an expansion of the war throughout the region. All interests belonging to the US, its allies, and the supporters of that rogue and hostile state will then be targeted by powerful attacks from the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” 

• In a new statement, the IRGC says it struck an early-warning radar; a tactical radar complex near Ali Al Salem Air Base; and a radar system on Kuwait’s Bubiyan Island. These radar systems were destroyed and put out of operational service.
• An official told Washington Post that a ground operation is unrealistic, as Iranian “standoff strikes” would have fire-control over any US ground forces. “I think it would be a mistake to put ground forces anywhere in islands in the strait or onshore,” said Seth Jones, who heads the defense and security department at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, referring to the Strait of Hormuz. “I don’t think U.S. forces are prepared for standoff strikes from Iranians.” 

• Iran’s IRGC announced they destroyed multiple drones at US bases. Inside the King Faisal & Prince Hassan Air Bases, the IRGC struck:  An F-15 preparation hangar; A drone-preparation hangar with 8 brand-new MQ-9 drones still inside their packaging and not yet assembled for service were completely destroyed; 2 additional drones positioned outside the hangar sustained heavy damage; At a helicopter-maintenance hangar 2 heavy US helicopters sustained major damage; An accommodation facilities killing & injuring several. 
• Video by an American soldier with 5 minutes time to take shelter during an Iranian missile attack. 

• Meanwhile, Fox News commentator seems to be on the cusp of a groundbreaking discovery: ‘I don’t understand how it’s possible that Iran has the capabilities to fight this way and continue to lash out at Gulf countries and US military bases…Because the US has OBLITERATED Iran’s military and the President continues to reiterate that.’ They’re a couple of lines of reasoning away from finally reaching the conclusion that Trump is pathologically lying, and the entire world is suffering because of it. 

• The Israeli military is rapidly constructing a large earthen barrier in the Gaza Strip, further entrenching the division of the tiny Palestinian enclave.
• Trump meets with Lebanese western-backed corrupt President Joseph Aoun at the White House: Aoun says, 'You are a great president.' Trump replies: 'He knows how to get to me. He can have anything.'

• Trump on Syria & Hezbollah: 'Well, it’s a concept. We get along very well with the President of Syria. He’s done a very good job. He’s pulled Syria together. He would like to come in and do something with Hezbollah in Lebanon. He has been fighting Hezbollah for a long time. I think it would be very effective.'
• Stars & Stripes Stuttgart, Germany: Up to eight US Air Force KC-135 refueling aircraft could soon be positioned at a military base in Bulgaria, the country’s leader said this week. Prime Minister Rumen Radev on Monday said Bulgaria’s parliament was expected to soon vote on the plan, which came at the request of the US Embassy in Sofia. [US is trying to move its planes farther away from West Asian bases that lately have been pounded by Iran missile and drone strikes. If Bulgaria, a NATO member, accepts this role then NATO will become increasingly complicit in the war on Iran, Lebanon and Palestine. This has been a Trump goal since the start of this war.]  

• Pete Hegseth: 'Iran has been given every opportunity to negotiate, to show that they’re reasonable on the Strait of Hormuz. But if they’re going to target commercial shipping, then we’re going to hit them, as the President has said, ten times harder.' 

• According to a Reuters report, the Yemeni naval blockade is forcing Saudi oil tankers to turn back from the Red Sea. Two tankers carrying Saudi oil, one bound for China and the other for India, changed course and headed toward the Suez Canal after the Houthis warned ships against loading or unloading at Saudi ports. A third tanker turned back before even reaching Yanbu to load. The rerouting of shipments through the Suez Canal adds weeks and costs to their arrival times in Asia. Saudi crude oil exports have reached their lowest levels since the imposition of the Yemeni blockade.
• The IRS will take a cut of Spain's $51,000,000 FIFA World Cup prize money. Since the tournament was hosted on US soil, FIFA prize money, bonuses, and appearance fees earned during the tournament fall under US federal income tax hitting players, coaches, staff, and even referees. Tax experts estimate Spain could lose close to half the payout to Washington.
• Thousands of farmers opposing a proposed trade deal with the US marched toward Delhi on Tuesday, presenting another challenge to the government of Indian Prime Minister Modi, already facing a student protest in the capital. The farmers’ unions say New Delhi’s proposed trade deal could hurt India’s agriculture sector by opening the door to cheaper American food and hurt domestic farmers, livestock and dairy producers, as well as small traders. 

• NATO troops in Ukraine are absolutely unacceptable states Kremlin: “It has been stated repeatedly, including at the highest level, that there are specific plans to deploy foreign contingents, including troops from NATO countries, on Ukrainian territory. These plans are reportedly ready and, moreover, are intended to become part of the security guarantees for Ukraine. For us, this is absolutely unacceptable,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Russia considers that it cannot permit the deployment of EU or NATO troops in Ukraine, he added.
• Patrick Lawrence writes: Based on National Security Presidential Memorandum–7 of September 2025, Trump declared a government offensive against “domestic terrorism” of the “Left-Wing” kind. This latest declaration of war is intended to “identify, disrupt, defund, debank, arrest, and prosecute these political terrorists operating in our country,” said Stephen Miller, Trump’s domestic policy adviser. So we can add “dangerous” to our descriptives. If the going gets as heavy as Cointelpro was at its worst, this new iteration could so prove. Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of this formal declaration of authoritarianism. On the nitty side, it is plain from the White House document and Rubio’s presentation of it that the Trump regime is in the grip of a creeping desperation. The victories of social democrats of various stripes in recent elections have Trump calling them all “Communists.” Beyond this, it is evident that American public opinion is tilting, measurably now, leftward toward populism. Anxiety in the upper reaches of power tips into fear. As to the gritty, this latest aggression against all of us, no exceptions, is simply too stupid to work. As an attempt at apple-pie fascism it is likely to make a mess, depending on how vigorously the regime presses its case, but the net of it will be the further alienation of power from people. 

• History lesson how war began in 2014: After the Obama-Biden orchestrated coup d'état in Kiev, the US-NATO armed, trained and directed Nazis from western Ukraine began attacking citizens in the Russian-ethnic region of the Donbass in eastern Ukraine right along the Russian border. One of the very first places they hit and captured was Mariupol. This video shows them driving over make-shift barricades erected by the people of Mariupol. Mariupol was taken back under Russian control in May 2022. The fall of Mariupol marked a strategic victory for Russia in the region. 

• Ukrainian dictator Zelensky named Mikhail Drapaty as the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Drapaty is on Russia’s wanted list. According to Russian investigators, he commanded Ukrainian forces operating against the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics from 2017 to 2019. Moscow alleges that units under his command shelled dozens of Russian-ethnic settlements in Donbass more than 70 times, killing and injuring more than 150 civilians. 

• Sovereignista: Oh Mama Mia. Trump wants to see FIFA President Gianni Infantino as the new UN Secretary-General, according to the New York Post. Trump believes that Infantino is respected around the world and has the ability to bring people together. The UN has discredited itself to such an extent that even if Trump’s psychiatrist is nominated, it would come as no surprise. This election for a new UN Secretary General will take place this year. We don’t have a date yet and the process of election is almost like that of a Pope. Straw poles (secret ballots) are held by the Security Council continually, until they agree. We just don’t see black smoke or white smoke.