Tag: israel

‘Bibi Sold It As Easy’: How A Vance-Netanyahu Call Exposed Chinks In US-Israel Alliance Over Iran War

As the Iran war grinds on with no clear endgame, a private phone call between US Vice-President JD Vance and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blown the lid off quiet but consequential differences between the two allies.

Far from routine diplomacy, the exchange reflects growing unease in Washington over how the conflict was initially framed and how realistic the expectations were. It also highlights a deeper question now shaping the war effort: whether early assumptions about Iran’s internal fragility and the prospects of regime change were misjudged.

According to sources cited by Axios, Vance directly challenged Netanyahu’s pre-war projections, particularly around the likelihood of internal upheaval in Iran.

“Before the war, Bibi really sold it to the president as being easy, as regime change being a lot likelier than it was,” a US source told Axios. “And the VP was clear-eyed about some of those statements.”

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Benjamin Netanyahu declares campaign against Iran is ‘not over’ and there is ‘more to do’ – while US-Tehran peace talks take place in Pakistan

Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that Israel‘s campaign against the Islamic Regime is ‘not over’ as US-Iran peace talks are underway in Pakistan. 

Speaking in a televised address on Saturday, the Israeli Prime Minister also said ‘we still have more to do’ to ensure Iran doesn’t achieve a nuclear weapon. 

‘But we can already say clearly – we have historic achievements,’ he affirmed. 

‘They wanted to strangle us, and (now) we are strangling them. They threatened us with annihilation, and now they are fighting for survival,’ Netanyahu added, as he noted that the war against Tehran had also weakened Iran’s leadership and its regional allies. 

Netanyahu’s remarks came as US and Iranian negotiators held talks in Pakistan on Saturday to try to end their six-week war. 

The talks in Islamabad were the first direct US-Iranian meeting in more than a decade and the highest-level discussions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The Strait of Hormuz, a major transit point for global energy supplies that Iran has effectively blocked but Trump has vowed to reopen, is crucial to negotiations between the sides during a two-week ceasefire agreed last week.

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said the waterway remains among the main points of ‘serious disagreement’ in talks between Iranian and US delegations in Islamabad.

The American military said two of its warships had passed through the strait, and conditions were being set to clear mines, while Iran’s state media denied any US ships had transited the waterway.

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US-Israeli Strikes on Iran’s Universities Signal Higher Ed No Longer Off-Limits

Throughout their war on Iran, the U.S. and Israel broke many norms of military engagement, such as systematically targeting academic institutions in Iran. Universities became a major casualty, and explicit acknowledgements by Israeli leaders and some U.S. public figures clarified that these institutions were not collateral damage, but rather, intended targets. There are no definitive figures as to the number of higher education institutes targeted, but Iran’s science minister, Hossein Simaei Saraf, has said more than 30 universities have been bombed.

“It is truly unbelievable that in the 21st century, in the age of human rights, in the age of international law and international humanitarian law, civilian locations and civilians are being targeted,” Simaei Saraf told reporters upon inspecting the ruins of the Laser and Plasma Research Institute at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran on April 4.

“It is regrettable that our adversary has gone back to the Stone Age rather than us coming from the Stone Age,” he said, a reference to Donald Trump’s infamous threat against Iran. Simaei Saraf added that the international community is deprived of Iran’s human potential when the country’s scientific centers become targets in military campaigns.

Founded in 1960 as the National University of Iran, Shahid Beheshti University (SBU) is known for its robust law, literature, and architecture departments. The U.K.-based QS World University Rankings has ranked Shahid Beheshti University 214th in Asia among 1,534 universities listed regionally. Mir-Hossein Mousavi, a former presidential candidate and leader of the 2009 Green Movement who has been under house arrest since 2011, is an SBU alumnus.

The most shocking incident in this string of attacks was the bombing of Tehran’s Sharif University of Technology, often referred to as Iran’s MIT. In the early hours of April 6, U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on the southern parts of the iconic campus destroyed several buildings, including the Philosophy of Science Group, High-Performance Computing Center, and Information and Communication Technology Center.

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DNC panel rejects AIPAC-specific resolution, advances broader measure condemning dark money

A Democratic National Committee (DNC) panel voted on Thursday to reject a resolution condemning “the growing influence” of dark money and corporate-backed outside spending in Democratic races, particularly the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). 

At the DNC’s spring meeting in New Orleans this week, the resolutions committee voted to kill the push, which would have been nonbinding, as scrutiny over the pro-Israel lobby grows amid the midterms. 

“The use of massive outside spending to support or oppose candidates based on their positions regarding international conflicts or foreign governments raises concerns about undue influence over democratic debate and policymaking, potentially constraining elected officials’ ability to represent the views of their constituents,” reads the resolution, submitted by Florida DNC member Allison Minnerly, pointing out AIPAC in particular for spending some $14 million in the Illinois Democratic primaries last month. 

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D), who was once an AIPAC donor, condemned the group after the primaries — joining a growing number of Democrats once supportive of AIPAC who have turned on the political powerhouse over its involvement in elections this year. 

While the panel on Thursday voted to recommend a broader resolution condemning the influence of dark money in the 2026 Democratic primary elections, it did not specifically call for AIPAC contributions to be rejected, though the attitude was largely implied. 

The resolution calls for “robust” campaign finance transparency and says the DNC “reaffirms its commitment to campaign finance practices that align with the Party’s core values.” It further adds that the aspects of the resolution “shall inform the development of the 2028 Democratic Party Platform.”

The AIPAC resolution’s failure to advance out of the DNC committee shows that while there is an appetite within the party to take a more forceful stance against the organization — an influential pro-Israel group whose opposition against conditions on aid to Israel has made it more divisive in races more recently — it’s not one that many DNC members are comfortable standing behind. 

The DNC resolution panel’s rejection of the resolution means it will not go before the full body for a final vote on Friday. Still, AIPAC remains a wedge issue for the party.

Some political groups cheered the resolutions panel’s decision to reject the resolution.

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Seven Messages – Can Israel Survive Defeat without Setting the Region Ablaze?

The moment a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran was announced – brokered through Pakistani mediation on April 7 – Iran declared that Lebanon was included in the arrangement. It was a clear message: the war could not be compartmentalized, and the fronts were linked.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rushed to deny it. But the denial exposed more than it concealed. Lebanon and other resistance fronts were already embedded within Iran’s broader ten-point proposal – a framework the Trump administration had accepted as a workable basis for negotiations set to begin Friday.

Netanyahu was left politically and strategically exposed.

Iran was never just another battlefield. It was the culmination of a long campaign of perpetual war that Netanyahu has sustained for years – beginning with the genocide in Gaza, expanding into Lebanon, and stretching across multiple fronts whenever his political survival demanded escalation.

Each war served a purpose: to silence dissent within his coalition, to distract from collapsing approval ratings, to evade accountability in corruption trials. War became governance.

But the Iran gambit failed. And failure, for Netanyahu, is never an endpoint. It is a trigger. With no victory to claim and no strategic gains to present, he turned – once again – to Lebanon.

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Trump claims Netanyahu will scale back strikes on Lebanon 

US President Donald Trump has said he asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to scale back the bombing of Lebanon as Gulf countries and some NATO members insisted that a ceasefire in the area must be part of a broader truce with Iran.

Despite Trump’s assertion, Lebanese media reported Israeli strikes across the country on Friday morning. An estimated 1,800 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon since the start of the escalation in the Middle East, with more than 300 dying on Wednesday alone. The attacks triggered significant public outcry, including from US allies in the EU.

Iran has insisted that fighting in Lebanon must cease as part of the two-week truce framework with the US – something Washington and the Jewish state have opposed.

The exact outlines of a potential US-Iran peace deal remain unclear, after Iranian media shared a plan envisaging non-aggression, Tehran’s control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, acceptance of some uranium enrichment, stopping Israeli attacks on Hezbollah, and the lifting of all sanctions. The US previously opposed many of the terms.

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What Trump’s inner circle really thought of plan to go to war with Iran: CIA ‘dismissed regime-change plan as “farcical”. JD Vance said “it’s a bad idea”. But Donald went with his instinct’

Donald Trump’s inner circle’s almost all thought the Iran war was a bad idea when Israel gave a secret White House briefing that convinced him to launch Operation Epic Fury, it has been claimed.

Benjamin Netanyahu was invited to make his case for war in the Situation Room, The New York Times reports, a venue rarely used for in-person briefings with foreign leaders.

Seated across from the President on February 11, the Israeli prime minister delivered a detailed, hour-long presentation. His message was clear – Iran was vulnerable and the time was ripe for regime change. 

The Israeli delegation painted a picture of swift and decisive victory. Iran’s missile capabilities, they argued, could be dismantled within weeks.

The Strait of Hormuz would remain open, and retaliation against American targets would be minimal.

Behind the scenes, Israel’s intelligence service, Mossad, could help spark an internal uprising to finish the job.

At one point, Netanyahu played a video montage highlighting potential future leaders of Iran should the regime collapse – including Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the country’s last shah.

Trump’s reaction was positive, and he appeared to be on board.

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Scenes of devastation after Israel bombs Lebanon 100 times in 10 minutes

Israeli strikes rained down on residential areas and estates in central Beirut today without warning, hours after a ceasefire was announced between the US and Iran.

Israel has said the agreement does not extend to its conflict with the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah in Lebanon, however.

Today, the IDF launched more than 100 strikes on Hezbollah targets within 10 minutes in Beirut, southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa valley.

At least 254 people have been killed by Israeli strikes across Lebanon today, according to civil defence authorities.

The highest death toll was ⁠in the capital Beirut, where Israeli strikes killed 91 people. These tolls are expected to rise.

Black smoke towered over several parts of the seaside capital, and booms interrupted the honking of traffic on what had been a blue-sky afternoon, as ambulances raced toward open flames.

At least one apartment building was struck as emergency responders searched charred vehicles. There was no sign of Hezbollah launching strikes against Israel in the first couple of hours after the attacks.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that the airstrikes hit at least five different neighbourhoods in Beirut’s central and coastal areas.

Lebanon’s minister of social affairs, Haneed Sayed, said the strikes were in the ‘heart of Beirut’ where half of the internally displaced people had been.

She said Lebanon’s government is ready to enter into negotiations with Israel for an end to hostilities, an offer that the president previously made.

Israel has not responded.

Hezbollah had fired missiles across the border days after the US and Israel attacked Iran, resparking a lengthy regional conflict.

Israel responded with widespread bombardment of Lebanon and a ground invasion, and claims to have killed hundreds of Hezbollah fighters.

Israel has killed more than 1,530 people in Lebanon, including more than 100 women and 130 children, in the attacks. More than one million people have been displaced in Lebanon.

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Israeli MPs furious over Trump’s ceasefire with Iran

A ceasefire deal struck by Washington and Tehran is a “disaster” and “failure,” several prominent Israeli politicians have said. Israel was left out of the equation, they argued, calling it a strategic mistake on the part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

US President Donald Trump announced a two-week pause to the US-Israeli war on Iran to negotiate a long-term solution to the conflict on the basis of a 10-point plan put forward by Tehran. It reportedly includes Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz, acceptance of its uranium enrichment, the lifting of sanctions, and the cessation of war on all fronts, including Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

Netanyahu’s office said on Wednesday it “supports” Trump’s decision while maintaining that Israel would continue its military campaign against the Iran-linked Hezbollah group in neighboring Lebanon.

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Israeli-Backed Militia Launches Deadly Attack on Gaza Refugee Camp Under Cover of Airstrikes

The dead and wounded were brought to Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah by car, truck, ambulance, and motorized rickshaw following a brutal attack by an Israeli-backed Palestinian militia supported by airstrikes on Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza on Monday.

Inside the hospital morgue, young men wept openly as they gathered around the lifeless bodies of their relatives lying on blankets on the floor. “Don’t leave me brother,” one man screamed as he put his head on the chest of his dead relative before grabbing his limp hand and putting it to his lips in grief. At least 10 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in the assault, according to the WAFA news agency.

The attack began when members of an Israeli-backed militia raided the eastern part of Al-Maghazi refugee camp, multiple eyewitnesses told Drop Site News. The area was just 50 meters from the “yellow line,” where Israeli troops withdrew after the October “ceasefire” agreement, effectively cleaving the Gaza Strip in half.

“We were shocked when Abu Nasira’s forces—or the militia—entered the neighborhood and began firing at people’s homes and at the children inside those homes,” Ahmed Al-Maghari, a resident who witnessed the attacks, said in reference to an Israeli-backed militia. “Some residents of the neighborhood were forced to go out and defend the area and their community, so they began firing back at the militias that were there,” he said, adding that the area was then targeted by Israeli aircraft with multiple airstrikes.

“There were three or four injured people just three to four meters away from our homes, and we were unable to reach them because of the direct gunfire from the militia,” Al-Maghari said. “Whenever anyone tried to approach to provide aid to the injured, they were immediately targeted by the aircraft.”

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