Tag: iran

Israel Says It Will Not Let Trump Sign A Bad Peace Deal

Israeli ministers Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich gave comments to reporters today on the wars.

Israeli National Security Minister Ben-Gvir:

“We need to cut the electricity in Lebanon.

“If the Lebanese government does not control Hezbollah, then the territory south of the Litani — and even south of the Zahrani — must become a ‘security zone’ for the State of Israel. 

“We need to cut the electricity, destroy the infrastructure, and make clear to them: if there is terrorism, you will suffer.

“In light of the reactions around the world, you can understand one thing: Israel has stopped being the punching bag of the Middle East — and I’m proud of that.

“The policy I lead is not a policy of giving them sandwiches and flowers. That doesn’t help. It doesn’t help. They come again and again and again. They mock us. They call us suckers when we behave the way they expect us to.

“You saw that even the Europeans apparently learned something — surprisingly, it works. The message gets through.

“The Israeli government will not let Trump sign a “bad deal” with Iran.

“I call on Prime Minister Netanyahu: call Trump, go to him, bang on the table in front of him, and make clear that the State of Israel is not willing — not willing to accept this, not willing to tolerate this.”


Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:

“The most effective way to stop Hezbollah is simply to announce that for every drone, 10 buildings in Beirut will be destroyed.

“If there were seven drones, then 70 buildings. If there were 15, then 150.

“And if the buildings in Beirut run out, then we move on to Tyre, Sidon, and the Beqaa Valley.

“We are changing the Middle East. Iran is far weaker today, even if it has not yet collapsed — and that too is a goal we will achieve, with God’s help.

“Look at what Gaza looks like. Look at what Lebanon looks like.

“We are completely changing the equations.

“We are striking our enemies hard — not with one blow, but with 100 blows.

“Have we finished? Not yet.

“The war must end with there being no Hamas in Gaza. Period.

“We are in 60% of the Gaza Strip, and there will be no reconstruction without demilitarization and without completing the mission — the destruction of Hamas.

“I’m convinced Netanyahu — and I take my hat off to him and give him full credit for this — knew how to bring Trump and the United States to stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel against the Iranian threat.

“We have the most supportive administration that has ever been in the White House.  There has never been anything like it.”

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Five Shameless Moments of Iran War Opportunism & Grifting

As the U.S. blockade on the Strait of Hormuz threatens an already tenuous ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, many at home are looking to profit. Below are five examples of wartime grifters, profiteers, and opportunists absolutely outdoing themselves.

Lockheed Martin CEO: wartime Trump Pentagon a “golden opportunity”

Late last month, Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet lavished praise on the Trump administration for rolling out the red carpet to the defense industry.

“This is a golden opportunity right now based on who’s in government,” Taiclet told investors during an earnings call. He cited in particular officials’ “willingness to change” and “the demand that they have for what we do and what our partners in our industry do.”

That “demand” of course is war, and the administration has pretty much been in it since Trump’s 2025 inauguration, from supporting Israel in its Gaza and Lebanon operations, firefights with the Houthis, and now Iran. Lockheed has signed billions in contracts with the Pentagon since the beginning of the year, mostly to replenish missiles. Lockheed Martin also has an agreement with the Pentagon to quadruple its production of THAAD interceptors by 2027.

And the U.S. has used many of them both. As the Center for Strategic and International Studies found late last month, the U.S. has burned up over 45% of its Precision Strike Missiles (PrSMs) and roughly half of its THAAD and Patriot missile defense interceptors.

To refill these stocks, the U.S. is mulling a possible Iran war supplemental package — slated to cost an estimated $80 to $100 billion — to replace lost munitions and other military equipment. According to Mike Fredenburg in his reporting for RS in 2024, the U.S. pays way too much for each missile, a lot more than it should for say, a SM-2 missile ($1.2 million-$2 million a piece) or SM-6 (upwards of $5 million each), but since there are only a handful of prime contractors in the business, they can charge whatever they want.

As Stephen Semler, journalist and co-founder of the Security Policy Reform Institute, tells RS, “The interceptor shortage will be addressed in the military-industrial-congressional complex’s favorite way: throw money at the problem.”

Trump’s sons roll in the drone industry dough

Powerus, a drone firm funded by President Trump’s sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump, Jr., received an Air Force contract for an unspecified number of interceptor drones last week. Bloomberg reported last month that Powerus is also in talks with the United Arab Emirates about a potential sale of drones that can counter Iranian attacks.

In recent months, the Trump brothers have gone all out on defense tech, lining themselves up to profit from the wars their father is waging. Besides Powerus, Eric Trump has invested in Israeli attack drone firm and DoD contractor Xtend, whose drones have seen use in Iran, through a multimillion dollar contract with an unnamed Middle Eastern government. Donald Trump Jr., for his part, backs drone parts startup Unusual Machines and is also a partner at defense- and tech-oriented venture capital (VC) firm 1789 Capital.

Keith Kellogg, Trump’s former special envoy to Ukraine, also joined Powerus as an advisor last month, mere months after leaving his diplomatic post — likewise positioning himself to cash in on his time in government.

Defense-contractor funded think tanker: Iran war is a bargain!

Last week, the Pentagon estimated that the Iran war has cost about $25 billion. Matthew Kroenig, a senior director at the defense contractor-funded Atlantic Council, called the low-ball price tag a “very good value.”

“The entire U.S. defense budget is roughly $1 trillion and designed to deal with China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran,” Kroenig wrote on X. “It only cost 2.5% of the annual defense budget to seriously degrade one of the four.”

But others have to pay for Kroenig’s bargain.

“I’m sure the farmers, trucking companies, and other small businesses that are going belly up because of soaring gas prices won’t be surprised to hear that a war industry funded think tank believes the Iran war is a ‘very good value,’” Ben Freeman, director of the Democratizing Foreign Policy program at the Quincy Institute, told RS.

The total cost of the Iran war has been a point of contention. Critics challenged the Pentagon’s $25 billion estimate; U.S. officials have since told CBS the conflict has cost around $50 billion. Last month, Harvard economist Linda Bilmes predicted taxpayers will pay at least $1 trillion for it in the long term. And none of these estimates include the broader impact of the war on the global economy.

According to the Quincy Institute’s Think Tank Funding Tracker, the Atlantic Council has received nearly $13 million from Pentagon contractors since 2019.

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RINO Ted Cruz Pushes for Prolonged War, Attacks Trump for Seeking Peace Deal

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) lashed out at Trump on Saturday as a deal with Iran was being negotiated, suggesting without any knowledge that Trump was caving to Iran. 

Early reports on the deal with Iran suggest that an agreement is near and that Iran is poised to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and abandon its nuclear enrichment program.

Cruz, a potential 2028 presidential contender and longtime cheerleader of the war in Iran, applauded Trump for starting the war but attempted to undermine the efforts to end the war.

Describing himself as “deeply concerned,” Cruz said Trump was making a “disastrous mistake” with a deal that would result in Iran “receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium & develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the Strait of Hormuz.”

Trump, he said, “should continue to hold the line, defend America & enforce the red lines he has repeatedly drawn.”

Likewise, RINO warmonger Lindsey Graham, the world’s biggest proponent of war with Iran, also attacked the notion of making a deal to end the war on Saturday, describing the outcome as “a nightmare for Israel.”

“It makes one wonder why the war started to begin with if these perceptions are accurate,” he ironically said after years of pushing for war.

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Trump says Netanyahu ‘will do whatever I want’ after long phone call with Israeli leader

Donald Trump has said Benjamin Netanyahu will do “whatever I want him to do” after the two leaders held a lengthy phone call over the war in Iran.

In a “dramatic” conversation on Wednesday, the pair are said to have clashed over whether to resume strikes in Iran or give negotiators more time to reach a deal.

The US president had been expected to relaunch military attacks imminently, but called off plans on Wednesday in order to give Tehran a chance to “give the right answers”.

Speaking to Israel’s Channel 12 following the call, Trump said he was in “no hurry” but that the US was prepared to strike if a deal was not agreed.

“Believe me, if we don’t get the right answers, it goes very quickly. We’re all ready to go,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews. Asked how long he would wait, Trump said: “It could ⁠be a few days, but it could go very quickly.”

Speaking about Netanyahu’s stance on resuming military action, the US president said: “He’s a very good man. He’ll do whatever I want him to do. And he’s a great guy. Don’t forget he was a wartime prime minister.”

When asked if he is on the same page as the Israeli president, Trump replied: “Yeah”.

Both the US and Israel have said they draw a red line at Iran having a nuclear programme. Trump’s other demands include a surrender of the country’s uranium, which he has referred to as “nuclear dust”.

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Here’s What We Know About Trump’s “Largely Negotiated” Iran Deal

President Donald Trump announced Saturday that a deal to end the war with Iran has been “largely negotiated,” signaling what could become one of the most consequential foreign policy developments of his presidency.

As The Gateway Pundit recently reported, Trump said the final details of the agreement are still being discussed and will be announced shortly. The president described the emerging arrangement as a “Memorandum of Understanding pertaining to PEACE,” following calls with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain. 

Trump also said a separate call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went “very well.”

The central issue appears to be whether Iran will agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the critical shipping passage that has been at the center of global economic concern throughout the conflict. 

Reuters reported that the proposed framework would unfold in three stages: formally ending the war, resolving the Hormuz crisis and opening a 30-day window for a broader agreement.

That broader agreement would likely focus on Iran’s nuclear program, the biggest sticking point between Washington and Tehran. 

Iran has insisted that nuclear issues are not part of the current negotiations, while Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei described the draft as a framework agreement meant first to end the war. 

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Warmonger Lindsey Graham Attacks Trump as He Seeks to End War in Iran

RINO warmonger Lindsey Graham took a swipe at Trump on Saturday as he attempts to reach a deal to end the war in Iran.

Graham attacked any potential deal, suggesting it would be a surrender that concedes dominance to Iran. “If a deal is struck to end the Iranian conflict because it is believed that the Strait of Hormuz cannot be protected from Iranian terrorism and Iran still possesses the capability to destroy major Gulf oil infrastructure, then Iran will be perceived as being a dominate force requiring a diplomatic solution,” he said, describing the outcome as “a nightmare for Israel.”

“It makes one wonder why the war started to begin with if these perceptions are accurate,” he said. “I personally am a skeptic of the idea that Iran cannot be denied the ability to terrorize the Strait and the region cannot protect itself against Iranian military capability.”

It should be recalled that Graham has been the biggest cheerleader for this war, constantly demanding that Trump escalate offensive operations, expand the scope of the war to include Lebanon, and encouraging South Carolinians to “send their sons and daughters over to the Mideast” to die for his war.

It can be recalled that Graham called for the US to ”go all-in to help Israel finish the job” last year after Israel started the “12-Day War” with Iran. Approximately two weeks later, Trump ordered the Operation Midnight Hammer strikes to take out Iran’s nuclear sites.

Now, Lindsey finally has his war with Iran after Trump launched Operation Epic Fury, killing the Ayatollah in February, and he’s not happy that it’s potentially on the cusp of ending.

President Trump had a conference call scheduled with Gulf leaders on Saturday after saying the US and Iran are “getting a lot closer” to a peace agreement.

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US said to fire more interceptors to protect Israel in latest Iran war than Israel did

The US reportedly used up more than half of its inventory of THAAD anti-missile interceptors while defending Israel from Iranian attacks during the recent war.

According to The Washington Post on Thursday, the United States used over 200 THAAD interceptors to shoot down missiles bound for Israel. It also launched more than 100 SM-3 and SM-6 interceptors to defend Israel, which itself used fewer than 100 Arrow interceptors and around 90 from the David Sling’s system, the report said, quoting Defense Department data.

Overall, the report said, the US “expended far more advanced interceptors to protect Israel than Israeli forces did.”

A US official told the newspaper that if fighting renews with Iran, the US will likely need to use even more interceptors defending Israel because Israel has sent some of its missile defense batteries for maintenance.

“Israel is not capable of fighting and winning wars on its own, but nobody actually knows this, because they never see the back end,” said a US official quoted in the report.

The Pentagon denied to The Washington Post that there is any issue of burden sharing with Israel, saying, “Ballistic missile interceptors are just one tool in a vast network of systems and capabilities.”

The Israeli Embassy in Washington said in response that “the US has no other partner with the military willingness, readiness, shared interests and capabilities of Israel.”

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Trump Admin Preparing to Strike Iran: Report

President Trump is preparing to hit Iran with a new round of military strikes, CBS reported on Friday evening.

CBS noted that no final decision has been reached.

Earlier Friday, President Trump raised eyebrows after he announced he would not be attending his son Don Jr’s wedding this weekend because it is “important” for him to remain in DC “during this important period of time.”

“While I very much wanted to be with my son, Don Jr., and the newest member of the Trump Family, his soon to be wife, Bettina, circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America, do not allow me to do so,” Trump said.

“I feel it is important for me to remain in Washington, D.C., at the White House during this important period of time. Congratulations to Don and Bettina!” Trump said earlier Friday.

CBS News reported:

The Trump administration was preparing Friday for a fresh round of military strikes against Iran, according to sources with direct knowledge of the planning, even as diplomacy continued.

No final decision on strikes had been reached as of Friday afternoon.

“Circumstances pertaining to Government” are keeping President Trump from attending his son Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding this weekend, he said in a social media post. The president had planned to spend Memorial Day weekend at his golf property in New Jersey but will now return to the White House.

Some members of the U.S. military and intelligence community canceled their plans for the Memorial Day weekend in anticipation of possible strikes, several sources said.

Defense and intelligence officials began updating recall rosters for U.S. installations overseas as tranches of troops stationed in the Middle East rotate out of theater, part of an effort to reduce the American military footprint in the region amid concern about possible Iranian retaliation.

The US and Israel first struck Iran in late February.

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Ivanka Trump targeted for assassination by IRGC terrorist in twisted plot to avenge president taking out his mentor: sources

First Daughter Ivanka Trump was targeted for assassination by an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) trained terrorist in a twisted plot to avenge the president taking out his mentor, The Post has learned.

Recently captured Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, 32, made a “pledge” to kill Ivanka and even had a blueprint of her Florida home, sources claimed.

The Iraqi national was allegedly targeting President Donald Trump’s family in response to the killing of Iranian military chief Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike in Baghdad six years ago.

“After Qasem was killed, he [Al-Saadi] went around telling people ‘we need to kill Ivanka to burn down the house of Trump the way he burned down our house,’” Entifadh Qanbar, a former deputy military attaché in the Iraqi embassy in Washington told The Post.

“We heard that he had a plan of Ivanka’s house in Florida,” Qanbar added. A second source also confirmed Al-Saadi’s plot to kill Ivanka.

Al-Saadi also posted a picture of a map showing the enclave in Florida where Ivanka and husband Jared Kushner have a $24 million home on X, alongside a chilling threat in Arabic which translates to: “I say to the Americans look at this picture and know that neither your palaces nor the Secret Service will protect you. We are currently in the stage of surveillance and analysis. I told you, our revenge is a matter of time.”

Al-Saadi is said to be a high-ranking figure in Iraq-Iran terror circles, arrested in Turkey on May 15 and extradited to the US where he is charged with 18 attacks and attempted attacks throughout Europe and the United States, per the Department of Justice.

He’s been behind attacks on US and Jewish targets including the firebombing of the Bank of New York Mellon in Amsterdam in March, the stabbing of two Jewish victims in London in April and a shooting at the US consulate building in Toronto, also in March, according to the DoJ.

He also “planned, coordinated” and allegedly took responsibility for attacks against Jewish people including the bombing of a synagogue in Liège, Belgium, the arson of a temple in Rotterdam in March, according to the feds, as well as various other foiled counter-attacks in the US in response to the current conflict in the Middle East. 

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Greene: Trump may use Iran as excuse to cancel presidential election

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said Thursday she fears President Trump may use the war in Iran to try to cancel the 2028 presidential election.

Greene, who resigned from Congress in January after a public falling-out with the president, was once a loyal MAGA ally and one of Trump’s fiercest defenders. Her frustrations over the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine as well as the administration’s handling of files related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein caused a rift in their once-strong relationship.

In an interview with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, another former MAGA loyalist, Greene pointed to comments Trump made during a 2025 meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Elections in Ukraine were postponed because of the ongoing war with Russia.

“So, you say, during the war, you can’t have elections?” Trump said to Zelensky at the meeting. “Three and a half years from now, so you mean if we happen to be in a war with somebody, no more elections? Oh, that’s good.”

Greene, speaking to Jones, first noted that “he said it jokingly.”

“But at the same time, knowing President Trump, I looked at that and I thought … I don’t know if he’s joking,” she continued.

The former lawmaker added that the president’s comments about extending power during wartime could risk normalizing the idea while he tests support for a third term.

“I think it’s incredibly dangerous and no one should ever accept it,” the Georgia Republican said. “There cannot be a third term, no. That’s against our laws, that’s against the Constitution, there is no third term.”

She continued, “And if this country is at war, no, our elections should not be canceled.”

There has been a growing fracture among Trump’s MAGA coalition over the war in Iran. Several prominent conservative pundits, including Megyn Kelly and Tucker Carlson, longtime Trump allies who helped boost the president in his 2024 bid to return to the White House, have criticized the U.S. operation in Iran as a reversal of Trump’s “America First” campaign pledge to keep the country out of foreign wars.

The 22nd Amendment bars an individual from being elected as president for more than two terms. Trump has openly quipped about the prospect of a third term but conceded that he knows he cannot run again.

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