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Thursday, March 05, 2026

03/05 Links Pt1: Who Wants This War?; The New Israeli Rules of Engagement; Iran ‘catastrophically’ miscalculated in striking Arab countries; Israel eases wartime restrictions, offices to reopen

From Ian:

Lee Smith: Who Wants This War?
The name given to the Iran campaign, Operation Epic Fury, suggests that Donald Trump’s political trajectory may have begun with the 1979 embassy takeover. It was plain proof that America was losing, and it inspired him to turn things around. America’s defeat in Vietnam, left-wing political violence, and rampant drug use left our country sucking wind during the ’70s. But the embassy siege was a public humiliation that lasted 444 days, during which the revolutionary cadres ground our faces in excrement: “The United States has made threats and raised a great deal of noise,” said Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. “America can’t do a damn thing.” And because America didn’t do a damn thing, it acclimated itself to losing to Iran and its regional allies.

President Reagan rolled back the Soviet empire but blinked after the Iranians directed Hezbollah to kill U.S. armed forces, spies, and diplomats in Beirut. Bill Clinton admitted he was a loser. After the U.S. president spent political capital and personal prestige to bully Israel into giving up land to create a state under the Iranian revolutionaries’ old friend Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian terror master told Clinton no. “I’m a colossal failure,” Clinton told Arafat. “And you made me one.”

George W. Bush’s global war on terror turned Iran into a regional hegemon, presiding over what was for a time known as the Shiite crescent, reaching from the Persian Gulf to the eastern Mediterranean. Democratizing Iraq meant ensuring power would rest with the country’s Shiite majority, whose political leaders, with few exceptions, were controlled by Tehran. Even though the administration had been warned that elections in the Palestinian territories would lead to a Hamas victory, Bush’s Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pushed for elections, which the Iranian-backed terror group won, leading to Hamas’ eventual takeover of Gaza. As if the freedom agenda hadn’t done enough harm to American regional interests, Bush stopped Israel’s 2006 war against Hezbollah to protect a Lebanese government the administration saw as a beacon of democracy, even if it was controlled by Hezbollah.

By withdrawing from Obama’s nuclear deal and from guarantees to protect Iran’s bomb against Israeli attacks, Trump started to roll back the losing. In January 2020, he helped initiate the terror regime’s eventual death spiral by liquidating Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force, Iran’s expeditionary terror unit. “Soleimani has been perpetrating acts of terror to destabilize the Middle East for the last 20 years,” said Trump. And what the United States did “should have been done long ago,” Trump said. “A lot of lives would have been saved.”

That is, because America had gotten used to losing, because previous presidents had neglected the normal business of protecting U.S. citizens, Americans died. Trump promised victory. “I will not hesitate to deploy military force when there is no alternative. But if America fights, it must only fight to win,” Trump said in an April 2016 speech. “I will never send our finest into battle unless necessary, and I mean absolutely necessary, and will only do so if we have a plan for victory with a capital V.”

So why didn’t the influencers opposed to Trump’s Iran campaign hear that part, that what distinguished him from his predecessors wasn’t that he renounced violence against our enemies—far from it—but that he swore to win? Further, here’s a president who means not only to dismantle Iran’s threat to Americans but also to avenge the many thousands of Americans kidnapped, tortured, and killed by the Iranians in the past five decades. That’s epic fury revising in fire and steel 47 years of American defeat at the hands of an anti-American regime that no U.S. president dared to challenge until Trump.

For normal Americans, it’s inspiring to see a commander in chief picking up the gauntlet for the purpose of killing terrorists who target Americans. More than 80% of the president’s party thinks so. And thus there’s no question that the campaign run by Carlson, Kelly, Walsh, and the others is designed to demoralize Americans. The tell isn’t that they don’t know the history but that their accounts are congested with lies. Maybe they’re lying for clicks and views; maybe they’re being paid by foreign parties. In the end, the external drivers are irrelevant because the crucial factor is that the demoralizers are themselves demoralized.

Winning is hard and losing is easy. Now, after embracing the ethos of losing, and elevating it as a sign of personal virtue, the demoralizers find themselves very clearly on the losing end—on the side of the ayatollahs and at odds with the White House and the Pentagon’s display of military dominance in the skies over Iran. The lesson is that losers love company, even if that company wears clerical robes stained with the blood of thousands of Americans and many hundreds of thousands of innocent people throughout the Middle East. As the history of the American hard left shows, there is no way out of that kind of ugly bitterness, in part because that’s where history’s most determined losers feel most comfortable. For the rest of us, winning is preferable.
Amit Segal: The New Israeli Rules of Engagement
On Oct. 6, 2023, the Israeli defense establishment realized something was stirring in Gaza but failed to act. Officials were paralyzed by the fear of a miscalculation. Decades of containment, restraint and forbearance had made Israel slow to stir and vulnerable in appearance. Two and a half years later, Israel stands at the pinnacle of its power in the Middle East - a transformation that occurred only after it shed rules it had adopted in recent decades.

There are new rules of the game. For years, Israel shied away from targeted killings, granting terror leaders and Iranian officials the time and peace of mind to plot against the Jewish state. The IDF's new mindset is the exact opposite: If terrorists are running for their lives, they can't make plans to take ours.

Another rule is: when enemies announce their intention to destroy you, believe them. "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" aren't lip service or empty words. They are mission statements.

Ignoring small security problems invites larger ones. Israel fled Gaza to avoid improvised explosive devices and shooting attacks, only to be attacked by two commando divisions with the world's largest tunnel network at their disposal. It withdrew from Lebanon because it couldn't stomach 20 fallen soldiers a year; in exchange, Hizbullah entrenched itself on the border with a missile arsenal rivaled by few global powers.

For years, the enemy fired rockets and Israel replied with "proportional" force. This normalized the firing on civilians, kidnapping and invasion. But this changed after Oct. 7. Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah thought he was still playing by the old rules, launching a few rockets daily. It ended with his elimination, the decapitation of his organization, and the destruction of 80% of their missile stockpile.

The new rules are in effect in the operation launched on Saturday. The Jewish state can't accept the existence in Iran of production facilities and thousands of ballistic missiles, with every launch sending half of Israel into shelters and threatening mass casualties. It can't tolerate a regime that continues to fund its greatest enemies with more than a billion dollars annually.

President Trump understood that Iran is a danger to regional and world peace. Iran's attacks on peaceful Gulf states and Cyprus show what they would have done had they been allowed to develop nuclear weapons. This war will save us from the necessity of many others.
A Weakened Iran Is Already a Victory
In the war against Iran, something major has already happened. An evil and powerful regime that has destabilized the world for nearly half a century has been significantly weakened.

Aware that its fearsome reputation has crumbled and it is now in survival mode, Iran is hoping that the hundreds of missiles and drones it is launching against Israel, American bases and Gulf countries will regain some of its honor and help it survive.

But no matter what happens, something earth-shattering has already happened in the Middle East. The world's biggest sponsor of terror has lost its power to terrorize the world.

A nation that for decades has proudly trumpeted "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" is now worried about its own death.

A nation that threatened to destroy Israel with nuclear weapons is now worried about its own destruction.

Since 1979, the arrogant mullahs of Iran have been spreading their toxic poison and getting away with it.

This week, as we commemorate the failure of another Persian named Haman to destroy the Jews 2,500 years ago, these arrogant mullahs are getting a taste of their own medicine.


Brendan O'Neill: The Iran War began on 7 October
When people describe the Israel-US attack on the theocrats in Tehran as ‘unprovoked’, what they are really saying is that they do not consider the mass murder of Jews to be a provocation. When they call it unwarranted aggression, they’re saying the violent destruction of Jewish life is not something worth getting aggressive about. When they describe Israeli strikes against Tehran as an ‘escalation’, and never used that word for the Tehran-sponsored barbarism inflicted on Israel, they betray their own hyper-paternalistic Third Worldism. They confirm that in their Western-centric worldview, America and Israel are responsible for every earthly ill, while child-like states such as the Islamic Republic merely respond. Or ‘resist’. It’s ‘resistance’ when the Islamic Republic and its proxies kill Jews, but a ‘war crime’ when the Jews and their allies push back. We see you.

Events in Iran speak not to any criminal madness or bloodlust on the part of the American Empire and the Jewish State, but rather to the suicidal lunacy of 7 October. You don’t have to support the current regime-change efforts to recognise that the Iranian regime and its murderous proxies brought this calamity upon themselves. The 7 October attacks will go down as the most self-destructive military adventure of modern times, an act of apocalyptic vanity. Yahya Sinwar, the architect of that grim day, thought he would bring Zionism to its knees and provoke a Nazi-like expulsion of Jews from the Holy Land. Yet now he is dead, his movement of Hamas is decimated, Hezbollah is flagging, and the Iranian backers of their anti-Semitic crusade are under severe pressure.

The Islamic Republic did this to itself. It forgot that killing Jews has consequences now. It isn’t the 1490s or the 1930s. The rape and murder of Jews comes with repercussions these days. That the regime forgot this is somewhat understandable. It is, after all, consumed by cosmic delusions, by an inflated sense of holy importance as the final boss of Jew hatred. The Western left’s neglect of this truth, however, is less forgivable. You would think that woke agitators who love to talk about ‘consequence culture’ would recognise that murdering a thousand Jews might provoke war. Their demonisation of Israel and absolution of the Islamic Republic is not ‘anti-imperialism’ – it is the double racism of seeing the Jewish State as the sole author of violence in the Middle East and ‘brown’ Persians and Arabs as witless, wide-eyed victims.

It is terrible that the people of Gaza suffered so much in the wars of 7 October. It is terrible that Iranian civilians are now suffering in these wars, too. But this era of apocalyptic violence was started not by Israel or America but by the Islamic Republic. What concerns me is that the military suicide committed by Islamists on 7 October is finding its echo in the moral suicide of the West in the same period. Witness the Hamas sympathy on our streets these past two years or the current floundering of our rulers who can’t even bring themselves to say the Islamic Republic is a wicked regime whose Jew hatred, misogyny, homophobia and intolerance run counter to the moral virtues of our own civilisation. If you don’t think the killing of Yahel Sharabi and a thousand other Jews is an act of historic importance, then you have been defeated, too. Iran and its proxies may not have succeeded in destroying the Jewish nation, but they destroyed your soul.
Iran ‘catastrophically’ miscalculated in striking Arab countries, experts say
Leading Middle East foreign policy experts warned that Iran’s decision to expand its response to the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign by striking neighboring Arab states could prove to be a major strategic miscalculation — one that risks isolating Tehran further and potentially drawing Gulf countries to take action.

In the days following the launch of the campaign, Iran carried out widespread drone and missile strikes at multiple Arab nations, striking all members of the Gulf Cooperation Council — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — as well as Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Oman.

Some Iranian strikes hit U.S. military installations in those countries, as well as the U.S. consulate in Dubai and the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia, in what analysts said was an apparent attempt to raise the costs for Washington and lead allies to pressure it to halt the campaign.

But Iran also indiscriminately struck civilian targets — including airports, hotels and major oil and gas infrastructure — causing damage that is sending oil prices soaring and could have lasting economic consequences for the region. Prior to the attacks, several of the affected Arab governments had publicly stated they would not allow their territory to be used to launch strikes on Iran.

On Sunday, the U.S. issued a joint statement along with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait, strongly condemning Iran’s “indiscriminate and reckless missile and drone attacks against sovereign territories across the region.”

The attacks have only continued and expanded since then: On Wednesday, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said that Iran had launched a ballistic missile towards its airspace that was intercepted by NATO defense systems. NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart condemned the incident, adding that NATO “stands firmly with all allies.”

While Arab officials have sought to distance their countries from the conflict and have largely remained silent as they weigh their options, experts said Iranian attacks are a significant error from Tehran that risks pushing Arab states toward direct involvement.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards Face Defeat
For years it seemed that the engine of the Iranian revolution - the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) - was only growing stronger. The revolution extended its arms across the world: South America, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Sudan. Now a series of colossal mistakes, a misreading of the American administration, an underestimation of the international community, dependence on treacherous patrons - Russia and China, has led the Iranian leadership to the edge of the abyss. What was built over decades as a palace of revolutionary self-confidence is now slowly sinking into the sand.

The conduct of Iran and its proxies, firing at neighboring states and widening the fronts of war, is not an expression of strength. It resembles a chess player who, in rage, knocks the pieces off the board as checkmate approaches.

The name that arises again and again to succeed the Supreme Leader is his son, Mojtaba Khamenei. Yet Mojtaba is not a leader who grew out of the religious tradition. He has no religious law backbone, no aura of a learned cleric, and no real military experience to his credit. If appointed, he will be a puppet of the Revolutionary Guards, not a leader who guides the system.

In practice, it has long been clear who runs the country. The Revolutionary Guards view the current campaign as a new chapter in the eternal drama of a faithful minority against a hostile world, and therefore every compromise feels like betrayal.

This logic also explains the pressure placed on Hizbullah. The Revolutionary Guards made it clear that if they do not join the war now, the relationship ends. Refusal would sever it from its patron in Tehran, from money, weapons, and ideology, and its fate as a revolutionary religious organization would be sealed.
Secretary of War Hegseth on Israel: "Fighting Shoulder to Shoulder with Such a Capable Ally Is a True Force Multiplier and a Breath of Fresh Air"
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth discussed the U.S. operation in Iran on Wednesday:
"As President Trump has said, we will take all the time we need to make sure that we succeed....We are only four days into this, and the results have been incredible, historic really. Only the United States of America could lead this, only us. But when you add the Israel Defense Forces, a devastatingly capable force, the combination is sheer destruction for our radical Islamist Iranian adversaries."

"The mission is laser-focused: obliterate Iran's missiles and drones and facilities that produce them, annihilate its navy and critical security infrastructure, and sever their pathway to nuclear weapons. Iran will never possess a nuclear bomb, not on our watch, not ever."

"To our steadfast partner, Israel, your mission is being executed with unmatched skill and iron determination. Fighting shoulder to shoulder with such a capable ally is a true force multiplier and a breath of fresh air. We salute your courage and your contribution."

"When I said a breath of fresh air, I really meant it. Usually it's us with some ancillary benefits from allies who are maybe willing, but not as capable. When you have both the will and the capability of an ally that can really bring things to bear, we take certain targets, they take certain targets, and when you coordinate it, it has incredible effects."

Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said:
"The operation was, again, launched with clear military objectives designed to dismantle Iran's ability to project power outside of its borders both today and in the future. First, we are targeting and eliminating Iran's ballistic missile systems to prevent them from threatening U.S. forces, partners and interests in the region....We're ensuring Iran cannot rapidly rebuild or reconstitute its combat capability or combat power."

"Over the initial days, the U.S. Joint Forces continued to attack and attrit ballistic missile capabilities as well as integrated air defense capabilities along the southern access. Along the northern access, Israel and the Israel Air Force has predominantly been working integrated air defense targets along the northern flank as well as medium-range ballistic missile capability." "Jordan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait are all defending their people with their own combat capability with precision and restraint. Jordanian air defense crews recently intercepted a cluster of Iranian one-way attack drones headed to Amman....Saudi Patriot batteries stopped a salvo of ballistic missiles aimed at energy facilities near Dhahran. The UAE neutralized multiple drones targeting Abu Dhabi's industrial zone."
We Are Finally Free from Khamenei's Suffocating Gaze
The face of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has loomed over everyone's life in Iran. The requisite photo of him was hung in every public space, where people learned, worked, lunched, transacted, watched theater, saw art and visited the doctor. He was always there, watching.

The permanence of his image signified the control of the regime. Now he is dead. Will another face replace his and carry on a version of the same story? When I first saw the words "Ali Khamenei has been killed" flash on a television screen, there was no relief, just a flood of grief for all the suffering and the bleak inheritance he had left us.

Released from the grip of life under Ayatollah Khamenei, tens of millions of Iranians - inside the country and out - will grasp at whole new ways to contemplate the future. For the first time in 47 years, there will be possibilities: about how to articulate a new Iranian identity, and about how to relate to one another outside the logic of repression.

Even if the war carries on for weeks, even if Iran returns to talks after inflicting what damage it can, Iran's fundamental crises remain: the economy on the brink of collapse and the state at open war with its citizenry. There is a dignity in the chance to envision the path to a different kind of rule, for moving beyond the failed Islamic model.
Seth Mandel: Ukraine To the Rescue
Yet another unplanned benefit of the growing anti-Iran coalition: Ukraine may finally get its due.

As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky himself posted this afternoon: “We received a request from the United States for specific support in protection against ‘shaheds’ [Iranian-made drones] in the Middle East region. I gave instructions to provide the necessary means and ensure the presence of Ukrainian specialists who can guarantee the required security. Ukraine helps partners who help ensure our security and protect the lives of our people. Glory to Ukraine!”

The issue is that the Iranian missiles and suicide drones cost far less to fire than they do to be intercepted by modern missile-defense systems across the Mideast. It is Tehran’s one point of advantage in this war, though the U.S. and Israeli missions have been destroying Iranian launch sites at an impressive clip. Ukraine had to figure out how to defend against the Shaheds because Russia was acquiring them from Iran and firing them at Ukraine, in large part to bankrupt Kiev’s defense.

So Ukraine came up with a solution: drones to intercept the drones. It’s a fascinating case of two sides in a war reverting to the use of less-advanced technology in the part of the war that will be decisive: the battle for the skies.

As the Telegraph reported on such innovations last July, “One unveiled by Ukraine’s western air command this month is a flying-wing shaped, rail-launched craft that looks a bit like a Stealth bomber, and which a grown man can just about carry under one arm. Others look ‘a bit like an American football with wings’, says Bob Tollast, of the Royal United Services Institute. The Ukrainian Wild Hornets group has one called Sting, with four large fins attached, for hunting Shaheds.”

Earlier in the war, our own Abe Greenwald wrote about how Russia’s Black Sea forces were pushed back in part by “ingeniously designed Ukrainian sea drones.” Ukraine then moved on to developing flight drones, and the tactic was a resounding success; some versions of the interceptors cost less than $1,000 a piece.

Necessity is the mother of invention. Iran’s strategy of firing drones and missiles all over the Gulf is aimed at picking off weak links in the coalition who can’t afford to keep shooting down Shaheds. The answer is to fight cheap fire with cheap fire, and no one knows how to do that better than the Ukrainians.
John Spencer: AI-enabled kill chains, swarming drones, high-energy lasers and stealth clusters: Military insider reveals all the classified weapons pummeling Iran
Wars have always been laboratories for new weapons.

World War I introduced the tank and large-scale air combat. World War II debuted radar, jet aircraft, and the atomic bomb. The Gulf War in 1991 revealed precision-guided munitions to the world.

Now the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran is offering the first real glimpse of what the next generation of warfare looks like.

Across the skies of the Middle East, weapons that until recently existed mostly in testing ranges and classified briefings are now being used in combat. Lasers are shooting down drones. Cheap swarming drones are striking targets hundreds of miles away. Stealth aircraft are penetrating air defenses. And precision missiles are hitting targets once considered unreachable.

The battlefield is becoming a preview of the future.

One of the most notable debuts is the Low-Cost Unmanned Combat Attack System, or LUCAS, a new American kamikaze drone manufactured by an Arizona-based firm called SpektreWorks. The irony is that LUCAS was designed specifically to counter Iran's own drone strategy. For years Iran and its proxies used inexpensive one-way drones to overwhelm expensive Western air defenses. The United States responded by building its own version.

The result is LUCAS — a small delta-wing drone costing roughly $35,000 that can fly hundreds of miles and strike a target with an explosive payload. It was used in combat for the first time in the opening strikes of the war this past weekend.

Drones like LUCAS represent a profound shift in military thinking. For decades, the United States relied on exquisite and extremely expensive weapons. Now it is embracing what defense planners call 'affordable mass,' large numbers of inexpensive drones capable of overwhelming enemy defenses.
Douglas Murray: If only Britain was as important as Iran thinks we are
During one of his statements this week, Starmer mentioned that the Iranian government has been caught trying to carry out 20 terrorist plots in the UK in the past year alone. Ordinarily, that is the sort of thing that would offend a country – the sort of thing that might make a country seek to act. It is at least the sort of thing that would allow you to say that although you haven’t joined in the attack by your allies, you wish them well and wish them success – as Germany has. ‘Your forecast is already out of date.’

The reasons why Starmer can’t and won’t do that seem to be twofold. The first reason is that he knows that all such foreign conflicts – particularly in the Middle East – now have the potential to cause serious domestic disturbance. Anyone doubting that need only read what Ministry of Defence sources told the Guardian a decade ago, when they stressed that, thanks to mass migration, there were now multiple foreign theatres of conflict which the UK could not risk getting involved in. Or they might take note of the number of planned events in the UK to commemorate the deceased Ayatollah Khamenei.

The second reason is that this government is run by international lawyers. As The Spectator has noted before, Starmer, Lord Hermer and the rest of them really do seem to believe that there is no such thing as a sovereign government. International law – of an especially nebulous, if left-wing variety – reigns supreme above mere national governments, let alone electorates. And so Starmer and the rest cannot make judgments based on Britain’s national interests or even their preferred policy. They simply sit back, wait for the legal advice – and then do nothing.

It is a strange place for a once-great world power to find itself in. But it makes for a logic of a kind. An island of strangers busily trying to set an example that absolutely none of the rest of the world is looking to follow.
The Israel-U.S. Strategy against Iran's Missile Arsenal
In the previous war with Iran in June 2025, Israel struck a missile production and launch network that was not seriously prepared for a surprise attack. Since then, the Iranians dispersed their missile storage and launch systems, making it far more difficult to strike them.

Most storage and launch sites are located in the Zagros Mountains in northern and western Iran, where numerous caves have been expanded into missile storage facilities. They often have several entrances, some concealed and camouflaged.

Israel Air Force attack drones are primarily operating against these sites. Some drones have been damaged or destroyed. Destroying or sealing the cave facilities requires jet fighters.

The Americans are targeting underground "missile cities" with GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs carried by B-2 bombers which primarily take off from the U.S. They are also operating extensively against storage and launch sites east of Qom.
The MAGA Split That Wasn't: Inside the Polling on Trump's Iran Strikes
The Numbers: A Rally ‘Round the Flag
Despite the high-decibel criticism from influencers and podcasters, Republicans appear to have largely consolidated around the President. Multiple major polls conducted in the days following the strikes show support levels that defy the “fracture” narrative.

A new CBS News/YouGov poll shows that 85% of Republicans support the military action. Furthermore, a Washington Post text poll places GOP backing at approximately 80%. These are supermajority numbers that resemble the party unity seen during traditional foreign policy crises, not a splintering coalition.

CNN’s data reinforces this trend. Their poll found that 77% of Republicans approve of the strikes. Furthermore, 83% of Republicans say they believe Trump has a clear plan for the conflict.

The disconnect between the “podcaster class” and the voting base is stark: while Tucker Carlson called Trump’s decision to strike Iran “evil”, Fox News polling shows that more than eight in ten Republicans approve of Operation Epic Fury.

The 90% Figure: Loyalty Above Policy
The most revealing data comes from a NBC News poll released this week. It exposes a dramatic chasm within the Republican Party itself—not between MAGA and the establishment, but between the MAGA core and everyone else.

According to the NBC data, 90% of self-identified MAGA Republicans support the strikes. This statistic suggests that for the party’s activist base, Trump’s judgment supersedes the isolationist principles preached by figures like Carlson and Greene.

However, the same poll shows that among non-MAGA Republicans, support drops to just 54%, with 36% actually opposing the action. This is the real split: not a rebellion within MAGA, but a hesitation among the moderate and traditional Republican wing that usually favors military intervention.

Polling data suggests the President has maintained considerable support within his base for Operation Epic Fury, even as a vocal segment of online commentators has expressed reservations. The extent to which that online dissent reflects broader grassroots sentiment remains an open question.
How Iran Turned Its Embassies Into a Global Terror Network
As the U.S. and Israel conduct joint strikes against Iran under Operation Epic Fury, targeting missile production facilities, naval assets, and military installations, the operation brings renewed scrutiny to a separate but deeply connected threat architecture: Iran’s global diplomatic network.

Across more than a dozen countries, intelligence agencies have spent years documenting how the Islamic Republic’s embassies serve as the logistical backbone for a foreign terror and espionage apparatus operated by the Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) and the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IO-IRGC).

The evidence, drawn from criminal convictions, parliamentary intelligence reports, mass diplomatic expulsions, and testimony from former Iranian embassy staff, presents a consistent and damning picture.

In June 2025, Iran International published testimony from multiple former Iranian diplomatic employees whose accounts document what they describe as a foreign service defined not by protocol but by surveillance and covert action.

“Every embassy has a list. People to watch. People to engage. People to silence,” one former employee told the outlet. Another was more direct: “The people sent abroad are on assignment, not appointment.”

According to these individuals, whose identities were protected for safety reasons, Iranian missions maintain the outward structure of any diplomatic posting — ambassadors, attachés, advisers — while the underlying roles frequently serve as cover. “A person listed as a translator might actually coordinate funds for proxy groups,” one former diplomat said. “Titles are just for appearances.”
As airstrikes rain down on the Iranian regime, can a fractured opposition unite to lead if it falls?
As U.S. and Israeli air forces continue to attack Iran’s leadership and facilities with devastating military strikes, there are intense discussions unfolding about who will rule the country if the regime falls.

One of the biggest questions being asked by Iran experts is whether the fragmented opposition groups can come together and unite in defeating the regime.

Lawdan Bazargan, an Iranian political and human rights activist who was imprisoned by the regime for her dissident activities in the 1980s, told Fox News Digital there is a dangerous precedent for a total unified opposition.

"Unity cannot mean everyone stands under my flag," she said.

"That model failed Iran once before. In 1979, one figure [Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini] absorbed moral authority while claiming he wasn’t seeking office and ended up consolidating absolute power. It’s also not fair to automatically position someone who has not lived in Iran for decades as the interim authority of over 90 million people. That fuels more mistrust, not less."

She also warned about the need to avoid a Venezuela situation in which Nicolás Maduro was replaced by his devotee, Delcy Rodríguez.

Mariam Memarsadeghi, a senior fellow at The Macdonald-Laurier Institute and founder and director of the Cyrus Forum for Iran's Future, told Fox News Digital, "When it comes to helping unite opposition forces, the crown prince [Reza Pahlavi] has the most responsibility because he is leading. It is to everyone’s advantage for him to build true alliances and real cooperation.

"He can start through reconciliation with prominent figures who once were in collaboration with him before spoilers in his own ranks were propelled by regime manipulation and infiltration to turn on others. It will be tempting to think that, because he is popular, he does not need others. But there is much hard work ahead."

Reza Farnood, a researcher, writer and activist, told Fox News Digital, "In 48 years of activism and struggle, I have never experienced such broad unity and alignment. Even those who for years held firmly leftist views and were staunch opponents of the Shah and the Pahlavi family are now openly supporting the prince. Inside Iran, people are openly and courageously chanting his name."

Yet others remain skeptical of Pahlavi.

"Unfortunately, the Iranian opposition is more divided than ever," Alireza Nader, an Iran expert, said. "And I blame much of it on Reza Pahlavi and his team. Take the announcement of the formation of the new Kurdish Iranian coalition. Pahlavi attacked the coalition as soon as it was formed, labeling them as ‘separatists.'

"But then Pahlavi had to walk back his statement after he found out that President Trump had called Kurdish leaders, an important development." Burning cars line a street in Tehran as thick smoke rises during unrest.

Nader added, "The Kurds are very organized and capable. And they are armed. Anyone who wants to free Iran has to work with them. The regime is a deeply entrenched system in Iran. It’s an ideology and belief system that will not be uprooted with air strikes. And the regime has been preparing for this moment for decades. The individual leaders may not matter as much as the system."

Yet while many voices claim Pahlavi should be the rightful successor to bring democracy to Iran, others point to the influential Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), the Iranian exile organization that has attracted supporters like former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.


How Israel and the U.S. Coordinate Strikes on Iran
After Israel-U.S. operations in Iran in June 2025, both militaries reached a key understanding: from Iran's perspective, if either side attacked it, Iran would strike both.

That realization led to the conclusion that joint Israeli-American action - not only in defense but also offensively - would serve as a force multiplier.

Coordination cells now operate in Israel and the U.S., where intelligence and targets are synchronized. The teams sit together, analyze targets, and decide who will strike what based on relative advantages.

Regarding surface-to-surface missile threats, the IDF primarily strikes in western and central Iran, while the Americans are responsible for strikes in the south of the country.

The Americans have dozens of tanker aircraft at Ben-Gurion Airport which have been refueling Israeli fighter jets.

The IDF says the next two weeks are expected to involve systematic attrition of regime and military targets throughout Iran.

The IDF says there are no constraints on resources or time, and no U.S. restrictions of the kind that existed in the past.

The objective is clear and both sides want to achieve it together. "So far it's going very well," IDF officials said.
U.S. and Israel Target Iran's Underground "Missile Cities"
Iran spent decades constructing underground bunkers to shield its vast missile arsenal from destruction. Less than a week into the war, the strategy is beginning to look like a blunder. U.S. and Israeli planes and armed drones are circling over the dozens of cavernous bases, striking missile-carrying launchers when they emerge to fire. Meanwhile, waves of heavy bombers have dropped munitions on the sites, entombing the Iranian weapons below ground in some locations.

Satellite imagery taken in recent days shows the smoldering remains of several Iranian missiles and launchers destroyed in U.S. and Israeli airstrikes near entrances to the "missile cities." Analysts said it is likely that much of Tehran's remaining stockpile of missiles remains in underground bases whose locations are mostly known to the U.S. and Israel.

That underscores a fundamental flaw in the missile-city concept: "What was once mobile and difficult to find is no longer mobile, and easier to hit," said Sam Lair, a research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. Almost all of the dozens of missile bases are underground but have aboveground buildings, roads and entrances that make it possible to identify them from satellite photos. The Pentagon and Israel's military have spent years locating the facilities.


Two wounded in Iranian drone strike on Azerbaijani airport
Iranian drones hit an airport in Azerbaijan and a nearby school on Thursday, injuring two people, according to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

“This attack against the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan constitutes a violation of the norms and principles of international law and serves to increase tensions in the region,” the ministry wrote in a statement.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said it demanded explanations from Iran and has summoned its ambassador in Baku to provide clarifications.

An Iranian drone exploded near a secondary school in the village of Shakarabad in Azerbaijan’s Babak District in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, according to Azeri outlet Report.

The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic is an exclave of Azerbaijan, bordering on Iran’s northwestern tip and Armenia.

Azerbaijan is a close ally of Israel and possesses one of the Caspian basin’s largest and most modern armies. It has attempted to maintain constructive relations with its neighbor Iran while pursuing a close military cooperation with Israel, Turkey and NATO member countries.


Hezbollah anti-tank rocket wounds IDF soldiers in South Lebanon
Two Israel Defense Forces soldiers were moderately wounded by anti-tank fire while fighting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist group in Southern Lebanon, the military said on Wednesday.

The injured troops were evacuated to an Israeli hospital and their families were informed, the statement added.

IDF soldiers have been deployed across Lebanon’s south as part of what Jerusalem describes as a “robust forward defensive posture” in response to Hezbollah’s decision on Monday to join the war on behalf of Tehran.

The terrorist group “chose to attack Israel on behalf of the Iranian regime, and it will bear the consequences of its actions. The IDF will not allow harm to come to the residents of Israel and will continue to act to defend the State of Israel and its residents,” the military stated.

Soldiers from the 91st “Galilee” Division have been operating in the eastern part of Southern Lebanon; the 146th Reserve Division is deployed to the west; and the 210th “Bashan” Division is stationed in the Mount Dov area, the IDF said in a separate statement. The deployment consists of infantry, armored brigades and engineering soldiers operating together, it added.

Soldiers are tasked with providing an additional layer of defense for the residents of northern Israel, preventing “any emerging threats,” and stopping any attempt to infiltrate the Jewish state.


1,473 taken to hospitals since launch of ‘Roaring Lion’
Israel’s Health Ministry said on Thursday that as of 7 a.m., 1,473 people have been evacuated to hospitals nationwide since the launch of “Operation Roaring Lion” five days ago.

The ministry said 145 people remain hospitalized or under observation. Of those, four are listed in serious condition—two of them not as the result of direct rocket impacts—28 in satisfactory condition, 67 in good condition and two under medical evaluation.

In the past 24 hours, 199 people have been taken to hospitals after suffering injuries. Fourteen are listed in satisfactory condition, 170 in good condition, 13 were treated for anxiety and two are under evaluation.

Health Ministry officials urged the elderly to move carefully and as soon as possible to protected spaces during rocket sirens, noting many injuries occur while descending to shelters. The public is asked to assist senior neighbors in identifying and reaching the nearest safe area before alarms sound.


Israel eases wartime restrictions, offices to reopen
Israel’s Home Front Command has lightened wartime restrictions, announcing on Wednesday evening that starting on Thursday at noon Israelis can work from offices and congregate in groups of up to 50 people.

The change came after warnings from the Israeli Finance Ministry that continuing with the restrictions linked to the most severe “red” level was causing excessive damage to the economy.

The ministry warned on Wednesday that the war could cost 9.5 billion shekels (~$3 billion) per week under the current restrictions. It asked the Home Front Command to shift the current security level from “red” to “orange.”

Under “red” conditions, schools and workplaces are shuttered (outside of those defined as essential). Under “orange,” it’s permitted to work in offices from where one can reach a protected space, i.e. shelter or reinforced room. Schools remain closed.

“Maintaining the strength of the economy is not a luxury, but a necessity that cannot be taken lightly,” Israeli Finance Ministry Director General Ilan Rom wrote in a letter on Wednesday to the commander of the Home Front Command, IDF Brig. Gen. Shai Klepper.


Courting Anti-Zionists
Today we discuss 2028 democratic hopefuls Gavin Newsom and Ruben Gallego ratcheting up their anti-Israel rhetoric. JNS's Ruthie Blum then joins us from Tel-Aviv to discuss the reality of bomb shelters and life under the shadow of Iranian attacks and the battle for American public opinion. Plus, John recommends the movie Sovereign.


Reporting on Iranian regime part of ‘multi-year’ intelligence cycle: Former Mossad officer
Former Mossad officer Oded Ailam details years' worth of Mossad intelligence efforts concerning the Iranian regime.

“The most powerful tool in this modern warfare is not necessarily the missile, but sometimes the code and the people on the ground,” Mr Ailam told Sky News host Sharri Markson.

“What we’ve been seeing in Iran was not just a lucky break or a glitch … but an accumulation of multi-year multi-work intelligence cycle.”


Ben Shapiro: Iran's Plan To Make You SIMP
Cowards, liars and America-haters unite to try to undermine President Trump’s action against Iran; we talk about whether the war is a "distraction" from domestic priorities; and we bring you the state of play in the Middle East.


Ben Shapiro: BOOTS on the GROUND in Iran
"Regime change" shouldn't be a dirty word; yes, there will be boots on the ground... they just won't be ours; and we give you the deep dive on our erstwhile Kurdish allies, who may be preparing to take on the IRGC.


The Rubin Report: Iran’s Retaliation Strike Just Backfired on Them in a Huge Way | Caroline Glick
Dave Rubin of “The Rubin Report” talks to International Affairs Advisor to the PM of Israel Caroline Glick about the Israel–Iran conflict and Middle East geopolitics; how Iran’s reckless strikes on its neighbors are already backfiring; U.S.–Israel military coordination and intelligence sharing in operations against Iranian threats; Iran’s nuclear ambitions and why Israel views the regime as an existential danger; the resilience of Israeli society under missile attacks; the possibility of major regional change if Iran’s regime weakens; new opportunities for economic cooperation in the Middle East; and the strength of the U.S.–Israel alliance and its global strategic impact, and much more.




UKLFI: Extended explanation of legality of military action against Iran by Natasha Hausdorff
Natasha Hausdorff, barrister and legal director of UKLFI Charitable Trust, provides an extended explanation of the international law applicable to Israeli and US military action against Iran in conversation with Aylana Meisel.

She first observes that those ruling out the legality of military action when Iran is seeking nuclear weapons undermine confidence in international law; but fortunately, international law, properly understood, accords with good sense.

She points out that it is necessary to distinguish between ius ad bellum, the right of recourse to armed force, and ius in bello, the law on how armed conflicts are conducted.

As regards ius ad bellum, she notes that Israel and Iran were already in a state of armed conflict; Israel and its allies, including the US, are therefore entitled to use armed force against Iran in support of Israel, provided they comply with ius in bello.

Furthermore, arguably the US was also entitled to use armed force pre-emptively in its own self-defence against an imminent threat of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons or the ability to build them out of reach of US military action.

Natasha then considers the law applicable to the conduct of the military action (ius in bello), including the targeting of political leaders who are participating in the direction of Iran's military action.

She also addresses the question of whether military action is justified to protect the people of Iran, observing that this argument is problematic under international law without authorisation by the UN Security Council.

On the other hand, she draws attention to another justification for military action against Iran, namely to prevent Iran's threatened genocide of the people of Israel - a point which has been raised by Lord Wolfson KC, the UK's Shadow Attorney-General.

In a final remark, she warns against assessing the legality of strikes without knowing the information on which they were based, since ius in bello is intention-based, not effects-based.


UKLFI: Natasha Hausdorff warns that credibility of international law is being undermined by false analysis
Natasha Hausdorff, UKLFI Charitable Trust Legal Director, warns that the credibility of international law is being undermined by false analysis of the legality of US and Israeli military operations against Iran. The correct analysis, she explains, is that there was already an ongoing armed conflict with Iran, in which the US and Israel are entitled to take military action against Iran provided it complies with international law on the conduct of armed conflict (jus in bello).


Coleman Hughes: What Does ‘Winning’ Look Like in Iran?
As coordinated American and Israeli strikes on Iran continue, I wanted to sit down with Mark Dubowitz, the CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a leading expert on Iran’s nuclear program and U.S. sanctions policy.

I asked Mark the most pressing questions to emerge since the major conflict began over the weekend: How does this serve American interests? Why did President Trump choose to strike now? And what comes next?

Mark and I discussed what Iran actually wants—whether its nuclear program is meant as leverage, deterrence, or a weapon it intends to use—and what American policymakers are realistically trying to accomplish. Is the objective regime change, degrading Iran’s capabilities, long-term containment, or some uneasy equilibrium? We also examined how China’s growing ties with Tehran factor into Washington’s calculations.

Mark unpacked Israel’s strategic thinking, the integration of U.S.–Israel intelligence and military operations, and the degree to which Israeli priorities shaped American decision-making. We discussed the complex effects across the region, including for Saudi Arabia and the future of the Abraham Accords.

Finally, we consider possible futures: regime survival, internal reform, or regional normalization—and what a freer, more prosperous Iran might look like.




Amit Segal in an interview with CNN about the effects of the war on the Middle East and the attempts to bring about regime change in Iran
I was interviewed by CNN and talked about the effects of the war on the Middle East and the attempts to bring about regime change in Iran. You are welcome to watch


CIA Iran expert: This war will change global power
In this episode of The Brink, we sit down with Norman Roule to unpack the unfolding war with Iran and the strategic thinking behind the campaign against the Islamic Republic.

We discuss how the military operation has unfolded so far, why Iran’s response has followed a predictable pattern of drones and ballistic missiles, and what the campaign reveals about the strengths and weaknesses of the Iranian regime. Norman explains why Tehran may avoid closing the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic miscalculations that may have shaped Iran’s early decisions, and how Gulf states are navigating a conflict happening on their doorstep.

The conversation also explores the broader geopolitical stakes. We examine the role of intelligence cooperation between the United States and Israel, the limits of air power in forcing regime change, and the difficult question of what a post-conflict Iran might look like. Could the regime collapse, or could the country descend into fragmentation and unrest?

Finally, we discuss the long-term implications for the Middle East, from the future of the Abraham Accords to the possibility of deeper security integration among Gulf states. This is a wide-ranging and sobering conversation about war, intelligence, and the uncertain path toward a more stable Middle East.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
03:24 Inside the US Campaign Against Iran
05:42 Why Iran Won’t Close the Strait of Hormuz
08:00 Strategic Failures Inside the Iranian Regime
10:05 Why This Was the “Moment” to Act
11:54 The Courage of the Iranian People
15:00 Trump’s Strategy: Keep the Enemy Guessing
17:02 The Kurdish Question and Risks of Fragmenting Iran
19:28 Why Iranian Protests Haven’t Overthrown the Regime
22:09 Can Air Power Bring Down the Islamic Republic?
25:37 US–Israel Intelligence Cooperation Against Iran
30:32 The Gulf States’ Real Position on the War
35:33 Why the Gulf Feels Abandoned by the International Community
38:10 Europe, Trump and the Fracturing of the Western Alliance
40:00 Will the Abraham Accords Expand After This War?
42:12 How Defeating Iran’s Proxies Could Transform the Middle East
46:57 The Intelligence Case for War With Iran
49:40 Imminent Threats, Terrorism and the Logic of Military Action


Erin Molan: Former CIA Director David Petraeus on Reza Pahlavi: Can He Lead Iran?
Who could actually lead Iran if the regime collapses?

On this episode of The Erin Molan Show, Erin speaks with former CIA Director and U.S. General David Petraeus and Middle East analyst and activist Dalia Ziada about the future of Iran and the possibility of a completely new Middle East.

As tensions escalate, Petraeus explains why regime change from the air is far more complicated than many believe — and why the real challenge begins the day after the regime falls.

The conversation then turns to the Reza Pahlavi question and whether a credible opposition leadership could realistically emerge.

Dalia Ziada brings a powerful perspective from the Arab world, explaining why many in the region believe the fall of the Iranian regime could reshape the Middle East entirely — and what Iran’s people must do to avoid repeating the mistakes of past revolutions.

Two perspectives. One enormous question:
What comes after the Iranian regime?

Chapters
00:00 Intro
02:20 Interview with General David Petraeus
25:40 Interview with Dalia Ziada


Erin Molan: Megyn Kelly Is Wrong About Iran — And It’s Dangerous
Megyn Kelly says U.S. troops “died for Israel.” Erin Molan says that’s offensive — and wrong.

In Episode 109 of The Erin Molan Show, Erin responds directly to Megyn Kelly’s take on the Iran strike and explains why framing American casualties that way dishonors their sacrifice.

Erin also exposes Kamala Harris’s glaring hypocrisy on Iran, reacts to tributes for the Ayatollah being held in Australia, and breaks down what this moment means globally.

Then two major interviews:
Former Reagan, Bush, and Trump foreign policy advisor Elliott Abrams joins the show to explain why President Trump’s strike changes history — and why even he was surprised Trump acted.

And Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar reveals what happens next, how aligned U.S. and Israeli objectives really are, and what Hezbollah may do moving forward.

⏱ CHAPTERS
00:00 – The Big Question After the Iran Strike
00:55 – Tributes for the Ayatollah in Australia?
02:25 – Kamala Harris: Then vs Now
03:57 – Megyn Kelly’s Take on U.S. Troops
11:15 – Elliott Abrams: “Finally, A President Acted”
12:00 – Why Trump Must Address the Nation
16:56 – Political Courage & Domestic Fallout
17:31 – What This Means for China & Taiwan
20:08 – Global Reactions: UK, France & Europe
31:19 — Gideon Saar Interview


Erin Molan: He Took My Father. Now He’s Gone. This Is What ‘Justice’ Feels Like.
Her father was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by the regime.

For years, she lived with the grief. The anger. The unanswered questions.

Now, the man at the top of that regime is gone.

In this powerful and deeply personal conversation, Gazelle Sharmahd shares what that moment felt like — and whether the fall of a tyrant brings justice, closure… or something far more complicated.

This is not about politics.

This is about a daughter.

⏱ Chapters
00:00 – Her Father’s Story
03:15 – The Day Everything Changed
07:40 – Living With Grief
12:20 – When The Leader Fell
17:05 – Does Justice Bring Peace?
22:10 – Her Message to the World


Why China Won't Help Iran
China is watching carefully as the U.S. and Israel bombard Iran. Beijing is, after all, Tehran's most important partner. Both oppose a Western-dominated global order. More than 55% of China's total oil imports in 2025 came from the Middle East (13% from Iran itself), most of which must pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Because the recent bombing campaign potentially jeopardizes Beijing's ability to ship oil from the region, some analysts have speculated that Beijing will come to Tehran's aid.

But although China is concerned, it is not likely to get involved. After Israel's 12-day war against Iran in June 2025, China offered only boilerplate diplomatic rhetoric in support of the Islamic Republic. Since October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, Beijing has grown increasingly disillusioned with Tehran's capability and credibility as a regional power. Ultimately, Beijing doesn't see regime change in Iran as a worst-case scenario. China is willing to work with whatever leadership emerges after the strikes as long as it protects oil flows and prioritizes shared economic interests.

Pessimism about Iran's fate is now baked into Chinese assessments of the Middle East: in the current crisis, Chinese opinion leaders such as the prominent pundit Hu Xijin lament the quagmire Iran and its people now face and blame Tehran for leading the country into it. China has already lost faith in the leadership of the Islamic Republic. What matters now is figuring out how to work with the next power holders to keep oil flowing from the Middle East.


Anthony Albanese won’t direct security agencies to probe those celebrating slain terror leader
Anthony Albanese has revealed he will not direct security agencies to monitor and investigate those celebrating the brutal terrorist leader of Iran Ali Khamenei, ignoring calls from Jewish leaders concerned with radical Islamic ideology.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei oversaw a brutal regime that executed thousands of innocent civilians and orchestrated terror attacks across the world.

Despite this, five Australian mosques held mourning ceremonies for the slain terror leader.

This triggered calls within the Jewish community for mourners to be investigated and charged if found to be supporting a terrorist leader.

In an exclusive interview with Sky News Australia, the Prime Minister confirmed he would not direct security agencies to investigate the mosques.

“Look, what I'm about here is promoting social unity here, I'm not looking for division,” Mr Albanese said.

“The Australian government's position has been very clear, and it's an unequivocal one.”


Why Israeli Flags Are Flying at Iranian Expatriate Celebrations
In videos on social media, Iranian exiles in cities across the globe can be seen celebrating the death of Iran's Supreme Leader and his top commanders. These clips often feature Israeli flags, as Jews and Israelis join the festivities.

Rabbi Tarlan Rabizadeh, a prominent Jewish-Iranian-American activist in Los Angeles, said, "If you only knew how many Persian songs now have new lyrics praising Bibi [Netanyahu]. It's hilarious."

"Cyrus the Great allowed the Jews to live in the Persian empire and practice our religion freely....So, this is a nod to the fact that there is a deep, deep connection between Persians and Jews and that we lived together harmoniously for many, many years."

"This war is good for the future of Israel, and it's good for the future of the world."
Israelis and Iranians come together in show of unity in Golders Green
More than 300 Iranians and Jews came together last night to celebrate Purim at a party generously hosted by Bracha in Golders Green.

Bracha co-owners Neta Segev and Yochy Davis said they “wanted to extend congratulations to the Iranian diaspora in London for the catalyst of change in Iran.”

Neta added: “It is seemingly prophetic that in the week of Purim, when the Jewish people avoided certain death and defeated evil in ancient Persia, we can celebrate the day the Persian people took control and defeated evil in modern Persia.”

It was very much a street party with people dancing and singing outside the restaurant and free food and drinks being handed round.

“I truly had a wonderful time,” said Masoud. “It was a real honour for me and my Iranian family to be there with you. May God always keep you safe and protected. I appreciate your warmth and kindness.”

Akbar said: “I hope that soon our country, Iran, will be free and that celebrations like this – strengthening the bond between Iranians and Israelis – will happen more often. We believe that good days are ahead for all of us. Long live Israel, long live Iran.”
Pro and anti-Iran protesters face off at Ayatollah vigil in Manchester
Hundreds of anti-Iran protesters gathered in Manchester on Wednesday at a vigil for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The event saw around one hundred pro-Ayatollah protesters waving the regime’s flag alongside the Palestinian flag, candles, photos of Khamenei, flowers and a handwritten sign declaring: “You can kill a man but you can’t kill an ideology”.

Posters stated the event was supported by the “Friends of Islamic Centre of Manchester”. A photograph of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set alight and another placard said Khamenei had been “Killed at the hands of Zios”.

A counter-protest of around 400 people, including Iranians, played loud music, chanted, waved portraits of Donald Trump and danced to the Village People’s YMCA, (a song popularly associated with Trump’s campaign rallies) in celebration of the American intervention. A table at the Manchester vigil, with signs featuring quotes from the Ayatollah and pictures of the deceased Supreme Leader | PA

They also waved US and Israeli flags, as well as the the pre-1979, Lion and Sun flag of Iran. Others carried pictures of Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last Shah of Iran, with a sign saying “Pahlavi will return”.

Greater Manchester Police separated the two sides and said that despite tensions, there was “no significant disruption”.




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