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Tuesday, April 21, 2026

04/21 Links Pt1: Israel’s enemies are Britain’s, too; Trump extends Iran ceasefire indefinitely; The Death of a French Soldier in Lebanon

From Ian:

Israel’s enemies are Britain’s, too
Israel is the West’s front line in the Middle East. Whenever it’s hit, jihadi plots in Europe spike. If Israel falls, the vacuum won’t be filled by states that care about social justice or international law. It will be filled by the very forces that hate our way of life and want to destroy it.

Beyond ideology, the practical reality of British and European security is inextricably linked to Israeli survival. While our politicians posture, our security services are quietly relying on a partnership that keeps British citizens safe. This cooperation involves a vital exchange of high-end intelligence and defensive technology, including Israeli signals intelligence (the interception and analysis of electronic signals, from communications to radar) and other human assets – all which help thwart terror attacks on European soil. Be it drone technology or missile defence, Israeli innovation is woven into the fabric of Western military readiness. When Westminster downgrades this relationship because the optics get difficult, the UK degrades its own defences as a consequence.

I don’t argue this as a detached onlooker, but as someone who sees this collision from both sides. I was born and raised in Israel, but Britain has been my home for 17 years. My children are British. When I work to combat anti-Semitism here, it isn’t just out of tribal loyalty; it is also because the hatred being directed at Jews and the Jewish state is a precursor to a wider assault on the West. I have seen the front line first-hand, and I can tell you, it is moving closer to home.

And yet, British politicians are either totally unable or unwilling to contend with this reality. Westminster seems paralysed by a fear of domestic Islamic voting blocs and a loud, radicalised middle class. We have raised a generation of ‘anti-imperialist’ activists who view their own country as a racist, illegitimate entity that they would refuse to fight for. For members of this young, comfortable class, Israel is the ultimate villain because it represents everything they have been taught to loathe: national pride, borders and a willingness to fight for their own survival.

This weakness is mirrored in our crumbling hard power. Britain’s armed forces are at their smallest since the Napoleonic era. In the absence of the ability to deter threats, we seek instead to placate. We lecture Israel on ‘restraint’ because we no longer have the stomach for the reality of defence. British politicians parrot that ‘Israel has a right to exist’ while at the same time pursuing policies that directly threaten that existence. This has emboldened a growing anti-Zionist chorus in public life, including MPs, Green Party candidates and university lecturers who have moved beyond legitimate criticism of Israeli policies and settler violence to denying Israel’s very right to nationhood. By tolerating this rhetoric, we are legitimising an ideology that views the entire Western order as something to be torn down.

As Israel celebrates 78 years of defiance, Britain needs to make a choice: we can continue to indulge the ‘anti-colonial’ fantasies of our radicalised youth, as well as the Islamist sectarianism that undermines our national security, or we can recognise Israel for what it is: an essential security asset. It is time to stop treating our allies like enemies and our enemies like partners. The survival of the West may well depend on it.
The Gulf Learns What It's Like to Be Israel
Forty days of war following the U.S. and Israel's joint campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran are reshaping the Middle East and its alliances. Countries across the Gulf region now see what it has been like to live in Israel in recent decades, as rockets, missiles and drones have struck civilian population centers.

For decades, Israelis endured attacks on their cities from Iran and its proxies. Much of the world treated those attacks as background noise, or something to rationalize or applaud. In the recent conflict, Israel absorbed wave after wave of Iranian ballistic missile fire. Beersheba, Haifa, Jerusalem, Nahariya, Arad and Tel Aviv all took hits. At the same time, outrage barely registers across the U.S. and Europe over Iran's targeting of civilians and infrastructure, both in Israel and across the region.

Unlike in Israel, homes and offices in parts of the Gulf lack hardened bomb shelters, leaving civilians more exposed. The same holds true for Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman. None of these states are parties to the conflict. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps struck vital infrastructure, including oil facilities and desalination plants. The expectation of safety across many of these nations, once taken for granted, no longer holds. Countries that once viewed Israel's security challenges from a distance now confront them directly.

When Israel comes under fire, the international reaction arrives late - diluted by equivocation - or not at all. This time, the missiles have not fallen on Israel alone. Yet where is the outrage? Where are the emergency sessions? Where is the Arab League? Where is the Organization of Islamic Cooperation? The UN Security Council cannot pass a resolution brought by Bahrain and other Gulf states calling for condemnation and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

This moment tests whether targeting civilians is truly unacceptable or only unacceptable when it is convenient to say so. If attacks of this scale, across this many countries, fail to produce clarity, then the language of international norms becomes performance. Silence is not neutrality. It is acquiescence. When aggression meets no consequence, it expands.
Iran War Sent Shock Waves through Asia
The impact of the war in Iran has hit Asia harder and faster than expected. The Asia-Pacific region relies more heavily on Middle Eastern energy imports than almost anywhere else in the world. Even before the war started on Feb. 28, Asia's energy capacity was falling short of demand. In interviews, farmers in Vietnam, laborers in India, innkeepers in Sri Lanka, drivers in the Philippines, and executives in Hong Kong and Singapore all sounded worried.

Carriers flying through the Middle East, where 24 million migrant workers from South and Southeast Asia are employed, suspended trips to Dubai and other Gulf hubs right away. With jet fuel nearly doubling in price and with its availability threatened, airlines are slashing many more routes indefinitely. Qantas, Air New Zealand, Lion Air of Indonesia, VietJet, AirAsia, Air India, Cathay Pacific and Batik Air of Malaysia are cutting service.

Copper and nickel production rely on natural gas and sulfur, a fossil fuel byproduct. Both are in short supply, forcing several Indonesian nickel processors to reduce output. Polyester and nylon are also derived from petroleum. In the sewing hubs of Bangladesh, severe disruptions to production and shipment schedules have become common. Prices have soared for helium, a gas byproduct used for semiconductors, and some Asian chipmakers are slowing production.

Without enough petrochemicals to make plastic packaging, fewer Korean beauty products are heading to stores. A lack of fertilizer is threatening rice crops in Vietnam. Cattle farmers in Australia are warning of a meat shortage because of idled slaughterhouses and truckers.


Arsen Ostrovsky: Britain should not wait for tragedy to protect its Jews
Britain, much like Australia, has long prided itself on being a nation where minorities can live openly and safely, contributing to public life without fear. For centuries, British Jews have done exactly that, woven into the fabric of the country’s society. Yet today many British Jews are asking a question that should trouble every citizen: are we still safe here?

This is not hysteria, but the inevitable result of watching synagogue after synagogue targeted while anti-Semitic rhetoric increasingly spills from the fringes into the mainstream.

British Jews, like Australian Jews, are not asking for special treatment. We do not wish to live behind closed walls. We simply want something more fundamental: equality. The same right as every other citizen to walk the streets safely, to send our children to school without fear and pray in our synagogues without wondering whether we might become the next target.

The lesson from Australia is stark: waiting until violence erupts is already too late. As the Chief Rabbi, Sir Efraim Mirvis warned after the most recent synagogue attack in Harrow on Saturday night:

Leadership means confronting the problem before tragedy strikes. It means drawing clear red lines against anti-Semitism in all its forms, whether from radical Islamist extremists, populist agitators or those who cloak it in the language of political activism under the veneer of ‘anti-Zionism’. It means more than statements after the fact. It means enforcing the law decisively against those who attack Jewish institutions and ensuring swift consequences.

Most importantly, it means recognising that anti-Semitism is rarely isolated. It is a warning sign of a broader breakdown in the values that hold our democratic society together.

Britain still has time to change course. The warning signs are already there. The question is whether Britain’s leaders will act with the urgency this moment demands – or wait until tragedy forces their hand.
It’s long past time for local politicians to stand up for British Jews
In the wake of the cowardly arson attacks on the Jewish community we have seen in recent days, the local elections represent an opportunity. We are calling on every party and every candidate to stand up for British values by condemning acts of hate directed at our community, and to oppose any expression of anti-Jewish hatred unequivocally.

In our newly published Jewish Manifesto for Local Government, the six pledges we have defined sets out the standards we should expect every local candidate or elected official to meet, regardless of the party affiliation: fight antisemitism; safeguard education; promote community cohesion; avoid importing conflict; make public services inclusive; and celebrate Jewish culture.

Our call on parties and candidates not to import international conflict to our local communities is particularly resonant now. We see some parties and candidates deliberately exacerbating community tensions created by conflict in the Middle East for their political ends.

And this at a time when it appears that the Iranian regime or its proxies are orchestrating violent attacks on the British Jewish community.

Any attempts to marginalise or intimidate us, or spread hate about us – whether a hateful post on social media, or a flaming bottle thrown at a Jewish building – is not only an assault on British Jews, but an assault on British values. This point has been rightly emphasised by many of our political leaders and other parts of our society, who have shown their solidarity with us.

Where candidates and parties take positions harmful to our community, or fail to fulfil their responsibility to weed out candidates with antisemitic views, we will confront them.

At the same time we must recognise that the results of these local elections will likely reveal the full scale of the changes in our political landscape. Our multi-party democracy, like many others around the world, is becoming more fractious, fragmented, and polarised.
London synagogue arsonist released on bail amid spate of attacks on Jewish community
The arsonist who pleaded guilty to attacking a North London synagogue on Saturday night was released on bail by the Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

The 17-year-old boy, whose name has not been disclosed due to his age, threw a bottle containing accelerant through the window of Kenton United Synagogue, according to the Metropolitan Police. The Community Security Trust, U.K.’s Jewish security organization, said that the building faced minor smoke damage but no injuries. It was the third such attack on a Jewish institution in London within a week.

District Judge Nina Tempia granted the arsonist bail under the conditions that he live and sleep at his home address and not enter any synagogue, or he will be re-arrested, The Independent reported.

A second suspect, a 19-year-old male, was also arrested after the attack and had been released on bail earlier this week, the Met Police said.

Shortly before the arrests of the two teenagers, U.K. Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis condemned the “sustained campaign of violence and intimidation” targeting British Jews.

Two suspects in an arson attack on London’s Finchley Reform Synagogue last Wednesday were also released on bail. On Friday, a building that used to house the Jewish Futures charity which still bears its name on the side was targeted in another arson attack. Also last week, police launched an investigation into a video posted to social media claiming the Israeli Embassy was going to be attacked with drones carrying “dangerous substances” — the embassy said it was not ultimately attacked and police said suspicious items found nearby were “non-hazardous.”
Seven more arrested over conspiracy to commit arson at another Jewish site
Seven more people have been arrested following a series of arson attacks on Jewish sites in London.

The Metropolitan Police said the suspects were arrested within the past 48 hours over an alleged conspiracy to commit a further arson attack, although the specific target is not yet known.

Since late March there have been arson attacks on Jewish community ambulances in Golders Green, two synagogues and a former Jewish charity, as well as an incident where a drone was flown near the Israeli embassy.

The latest arrests by detectives from Counter-Terrorism Policing London, saw three men aged 24, 25 and 26 held in Harpenden on Sunday, and on Monday a 25-year-old man arrested in Stevenage, as well as a 26-year-old man and two women aged 50 and 59 detained in a car near Birmingham.
UK aliyah at highest level for 40 years, report shows
2025 saw the largest number of British citizens making aliyah since the 1980s, according to a new report from the Institute for Jewish Policy Research – which also found that migration to Israel has remained “strikingly stable over the last twenty years”, despite the country having come under attacks from Hezbollah, Hamas and lately the Iranian regime itself.

The data, compiled by JPR executive director Dr Jonathan Boyd, interpret recent aliyah figures to assess whether the latest figures represent a genuine shift fuelled by concerns about antisemitism in the UK.

‘Time to leave the UK? Patterns of Jewish migration to Israel post-October 7’, found that taking the past three years together, an average of 566 British Jews made aliyah per year – close to the annual average over the past two decades.

Whilst the data demonstrates that the overwhelming majority of Jews are staying, and feel able to practise their Judaism in the UK, the “sense of conditionality surrounding that future” has increased, the report says.

The figures pre-date the Heaton Park Synagogue attack in Manchester in October 2025 and the Golders Green firebombing attack on the Hatzola ambulances in March 2026, but are measured against the backdrop of the 7 October 2023 atrocities and the deadly attacks on Jews in Sydney, Australia, Washington DC and Boulder in the USA, and countless other traumatic assaults on Jewish targets worldwide.
Venezuela sends key terror suspect to Panama 32 years after deadly plane bombing
A man long sought in connection with the deadliest terrorist attack in Panama’s history arrived in the country Monday after being extradited from Venezuela, marking a breakthrough in a case that had remained unresolved for more than three decades, U.S. officials in Panama said.

Ali Zaki Hage Jalil, a Colombian-born Venezuelan national accused of involvement in the 1994 bombing of Alas Chiricanas Flight 901, was taken into custody upon landing at Panama City’s Tocumen International Airport under heavy security. Authorities say his transfer represents the most significant development yet in efforts to bring those responsible for the attack to justice.

The bombing, which occurred on July 19, 1994, killed all 21 people on board, most of them members of Panama’s Jewish community as well as at least three U.S. citizens. The aircraft exploded minutes after takeoff from Colón, a Caribbean port city about 50 miles from the capital, before crashing without survivors.

For years, the case languished amid limited evidence and shifting investigative priorities. It was only in recent years, after renewed cooperation between Panama, the United States and Israel, that authorities began to make headway.

U.S. Ambassador to Panama Kevin Cabrera described the extradition as “a very important step toward justice,” noting that the process now moves into the Panamanian judicial system while leaving open the possibility of future legal action in the United States.

“We hope that the legal process and its eventual conclusion will bring peace to the families of the victims who have waited more than 30 years for justice,” Cabrera said after Jalil’s arrival.

Panamanian officials confirmed that Jalil was immediately transferred to the country’s Judicial Investigation Directorate and is expected to face questioning by prosecutors in the coming days. He is accused of participating in the planning and logistical support of the attack, though he has not been convicted of any charges.

The case has long carried international implications. U.S. intelligence agencies have attributed the bombing to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, describing it as part of a broader wave of coordinated attacks targeting Jewish and Western interests in Latin America.


The Myth of an "Emboldened" Iran
On July 18, 1994, Argentine investigators say a suicide bomber in a van packed with explosives drove into the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, killing 85 civilians. Hundreds more were wounded in the attack, which U.S. and Argentine officials allege was carried out by Hizbullah, with direction and support from Iran. A similar attack on the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires two years earlier killed 29.

The AMIA bombing has haunted me ever since I covered it as the South America bureau chief for the Miami Herald. I've thought of the victims over the past several weeks, while pundits and officials have warned that Washington's war is emboldening the Islamic Republic. I can't help but wonder: How much bolder - and more dangerous - could a regime become than one willing to murder scores of innocents, during peacetime, 8,500 miles away?

Last month, an Argentine prosecutor sought indictments for a trial in absentia of 10 Iranian and Lebanese suspects, including Ahmad Vahidi, the newly appointed commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Salman Raouf Salman, a senior member of Hizbullah, and Mohsen Rabbani, a high-ranking Iranian cleric and former cultural attache at Iran's embassy in Buenos Aires. A defector from the Iranian ministry of intelligence said that senior Iranian officials picked the AMIA building from a list of targets at a meeting in Mashhad, Iran, in August 1993.

The AMIA bombing stands out. Civilians weren't collateral damage; they were the point. I'm no fan of war, yet in the absence of options to change the Islamic leadership's worldview, reducing its capacity to act on its intent seems like worthwhile progress - or the only progress possible.
The Iranian Regime's Deceptive Negotiation Strategy
Tehran entered direct talks with the Trump administration in Islamabad, presented itself as a negotiating partner, demanded that Israel halt its ongoing operations against Hizbullah as a precondition for any agreement, and then walked away when the nuclear file remained unresolved. Days later, under the pressure of a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports, the regime announced that the Strait of Hormuz was "completely open," only to have its Foreign Ministry dispute, within hours, the terms of what had reportedly been agreed.

This conduct is called, in Persian, ketman, a tradition of concealment in which the believer is permitted, and at times obligated, to say one thing while believing and pursuing another. Iranians are adept at outfoxing their opponents by appearing polite and cooperative while simultaneously working to destroy them. The courteous posture at the table is part of its strategy. In the Iranian worldview, negotiations are for discussing terms after one side has already won.

The regime's characteristic move is to concede in public, renegotiate in private, and reserve the right to deny tomorrow what was stated today. The regime in Tehran does not honor agreements. It exploits them. Every concession offered at the table is interpreted as weakness. Every pause is time purchased for enrichment and proxy reconstitution. The only language the regime has historically respected is the language of force, which must be credible, continuous, and, where required, kinetic.
Assessing Israel's Approach in Lebanon
The ceasefire imposed on Israel in the Lebanese arena is nothing more than the halting of a fourth war in the past forty years, without removing the threats and without addressing their root causes.

This is a direct result of a flawed doctrine: the attempt to replace military decision with "conflict management."

The IDF achieved impressive successes in the south, capturing, clearing, and establishing a significant buffer zone up to the Litani River, but failed to effectively contend with the rocket threat.

Even if Hizbullah retains only 20% of its arsenal, this still amounts to tens of thousands of rockets.

While IDF fighters clear border villages, the main centers of power in Baalbek and Dahieh remain relatively immune from ground operations.

To ensure that this ceasefire is not merely a prelude to a fifth war, Israel must abandon its defensive posture of attrition. All efforts must be focused on achieving a clear outcome.

This includes aggressive diplomatic warfare led by the U.S. and supported by Gulf states, with an uncompromising demand to outlaw Hizbullah and dismiss its ministers, close the Iranian embassy, neutralize the negative role of Nabih Berri as a mediator, and replace Lebanese army commander Rodolphe Haykal, who cooperates with Hizbullah.
Hizbullah Remains Central Barrier in Israel-Lebanon Negotiations
In the direct Israeli-Lebanese talks held in Washington, Lebanon cannot adopt a language that frames these talks as a partnership with Israel against Hizbullah without destroying its domestic legitimacy. Hizbullah is simultaneously a Lebanese sovereignty problem and an Israeli security threat. There is a certain overlap of interests between Beirut and Jerusalem on the need to prevent Hizbullah from exercising independent military control over southern Lebanon. However, that does not put the two sides on the same side.

Peace with Lebanon is an important goal. Normalization between the two countries would be a genuine regional achievement. Still, none of this is achievable as long as Hizbullah continues to exist as an armed terrorist organization with its own escalation decisions and a position that fundamentally negates Lebanon's monopoly on force. Peace cannot exist with one government when another actor inside the country holds the right to decide on war and peace.

This is why the goal must be reframed. The objective is the systematic, gradual denial of the sovereign functions Hizbullah currently exercises from Lebanese soil. The first is the right to decide on war and peace, independent of the Lebanese state. The second is physical control over southern Lebanon and the border zone. The third is dominance over financial flows, supply chains, and smuggling networks. The fourth is the capacity to substitute for the state itself through reconstruction, welfare, services, and political representation within the Shia community.

Only the gradual removal of these four functions can return southern Lebanon, and the authority over it, to the Lebanese state. The more effectively southern Lebanon is brought under the authority of the Lebanese state, the less need there is for Israel to act on its own.

What is required is not a redeployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces, but a dedicated Lebanese force for the south: recruited from outside the south's local population and outside the infrastructure Hizbullah has built there, and tasked with holding ground, controlling the border, and preventing Hizbullah's return. This Lebanese state force is required in order to make Lebanese sovereignty real in practice.

Hizbullah's supply routes must be permanently degraded, not temporarily disrupted. No security arrangement survives if the population remains exclusively reliant on Hizbullah for the basics of normal life. A state-led reconstruction mechanism, backed internationally, is a strategic necessity.

Success is not a signed document. Success is a verifiable situation, within a few years, in which Hizbullah no longer functions as an operational sovereign south of the Litani; southern Lebanon has genuinely transferred to state authority; Hizbullah's financial and logistical networks are measurably degraded; and the Shia community has real alternatives to dependence on a single armed organization. That is also the condition for peace.
Board of Peace confirms Hamas disarmament talks have stalled
A top official on the US-backed Board of Peace (BoP) in Gaza has confirmed that negotiations with Hamas over disarmament have effectively stalled.

"We’ve had some very serious discussions with Hamas over the last few weeks. They’re not easy,” Nickolay Mladenov, the BoP’s High Representative for Gaza, told Reuters.

During the interview on Monday, he confirmed that no disarmament agreement has been reached as yet, despite the New York Times reporting earlier this month that he had given the terror group a one-week ultimatum to sign up to his terms.

These, the report added, would be based on the proposal outlined by Washington, which would see Hamas give up its heavy weaponry immediately and then relinquish smaller arms progressively, matching pace with the planned IDF withdrawal from Gaza. That deadline, though, expired ten days ago.

Per the New York Times, Hamas produced its own counter-proposal last week, which would see it give up thousands of automatic rifles and “other weapons” currently used by its internal security forces.

But it would see the group retain much of its artillery and other heavy armaments, including rockets and missiles.

The group also said it would only give its weapons to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), the technocratic Palestinian committee set up under the BoP to govern Gaza day-to-day following a permanent ceasefire, but it is not clear whether the committee has the power to enforce any deal.

Nonetheless, Mladenov insisted he was “fairly optimistic that we will be able to come up with an arrangement that works for all sides and, most importantly, works for the people in Gaza”.
Hamas Awaits the End of the Iran War while Preparing for Continued Fighting
Senior Israeli security officials say Hamas aims to recover economically and rebuild its military strength as it prepares for the next confrontation with Israel.

Against this backdrop, Hamas is expected to prolong negotiations with President Trump's Peace Council, adopting an Iranian-style approach, buying time and setting preconditions.

Security sources say Hamas is tightening its control, acting forcefully against critics, suspected collaborators, and militias supported by Israel. Its confidence is growing, as seen in the presence of its armed forces on the streets.

At the same time, Hamas strengthens it civilian rule by expanding police, monitoring markets, keeping ministries active, and giving out aid.

Hamas takes the aid, sells it in local markets, and uses the money to recruit new members or upgrade its weapons.

Hamas continues trying to smuggle in weapons, sometimes via Egypt. It is also developing its own weapons, recruiting and training new fighters, and repairing damaged infrastructure.

Hamas is continuing attacks against IDF forces, using explosives, anti-tank fire, and guerrilla warfare.

As long as Israel and the U.S. are focused on Iran and Hizbullah, Hamas will keep its hold on Gaza.
Murphy’s ‘Awesome’ Problem By Abe Greenwald
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Murphy has peddled the NIAC line at every turn. He opposed Trump’s 2020 assassination strike on IRGC leader Qassem Soleimani and, in 2022, he supported the idea that the Biden administration should remove the IRGC from its list of designated terrorist organizations.

All of which is to say that Murphy holds repugnant views on Iran and the Middle East. And he may very well have thought it was “awesome” that Iran reportedly outwitted the U.S. at sea. I just don’t think he’s quite dumb enough to have knowingly blurted out what was in his heart at that moment.

He is, however, thoroughly dumb enough to have believed the fake story in the first place. It turns out, no Iranian vessels made it through the blockade. And he’s repugnant enough to have used the false story as a zinger against Trump before bothering to verify it.

I therefore judge Chris Murphy guilty of wanting pro-regime, anti-American propaganda to have been true. And that’s more than bad enough.

Think about it. If Murphy felt the news was too good to fact-check, then he can’t logically have been sarcastic about declaring it awesome. So while he probably wanted the retweet to be understood as sarcasm, he was obviously thrilled to have a snippet of bad war news to aim at Trump. In other words, it turns out that Murphy is more than dumb enough to have unwittingly revealed what was in his heart.

That’s what shines through here, and it’s why he looks and sounds so uncomfortable in trying to explain himself after the fact. You can’t do sarcasm when you’re in earnest agreement with your own supposedly sarcastic comment.

I’d call this emotional dissonance, except people like Murphy aren’t really conflicted at all: They want Trump to fail. This, by extension, means they want the U.S. to fail and Iran to triumph. The only thing that’s tripping up Murphy is logical dissonance. There’s no way to pretend that you’re patriotic while rooting against America. The mask won’t fit your face.


Trump extends Iran ceasefire indefinitely amid stalled negotiations
President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he was extending the ceasefire with Iran indefinitely until negotiations are complete, reversing course from recent comments that he did not plan to extend the deadline again.

Trump said on Truth Social that he was making the decision at the request of Pakistani negotiators and “based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so,” so that Iran’s “leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal.”

“I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other,” Trump continued.

The news came shortly before the ceasefire was set to expire — Trump had said it would expire Wednesday evening, while Pakistani officials said Tuesday night. Vice President JD Vance had been set to leave for the discussions in Islamabad early Tuesday morning but postponed his trip, instead staying in Washington. Vance, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited the White House Tuesday afternoon, shortly before Trump made the announcement..

The news represented a stark reversal of Trump’s own comments made earlier Tuesday: Asked on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” if he would extend the ceasefire to allow time for negotiations to continue, Trump said, “Well, I don’t want to do that.”

He said further that he preferred resuming military operations to extending the ceasefire. “I expect to be bombing, because I think that’s a better attitude to go in with, but we’re ready to go. I mean, the military is raring to go.”

A White House official confirmed to reporters early Tuesday evening that, “In light of President Trump’s TRUTH Social post confirming the United States is awaiting a unified proposal from the Iranians, the trip to Pakistan will not be happening today. Any further updates on in-person meetings will be announced by the White House.”

The official did not say that Vance’s trip was canceled, and his spokesperson could not immediately be reached by Jewish Insider to confirm if the vice president was planning to make another trip to Pakistan for talks.


Seth Mandel: The Death of a French Soldier in Lebanon
So the killing of a French UNIFIL soldier makes clear the danger of letting Hezbollah fester in someone else’s country. French President Emmanuel Macron has been calling for Israel and Lebanon to hit the brakes on their recent attempts to defeat Hezbollah and reassert Lebanese sovereignty, but perhaps this will inspire a change of heart?

Probably not. Here was Macron’s statement on Saturday:

“Everything suggests that responsibility for this attack lies with Hezbollah. France demands that the Lebanese authorities immediately arrest the perpetrators and take their responsibilities alongside UNIFIL.”

France apparently wants to know how Lebanon could have let something like this happen. After all, Lebanon has a responsibility to police its territory and maintain its monopoly on the state use of force.

When Hezbollah kills French citizens, anyway. The attitude is quite different when Hezbollah is busy killing Israelis. Or Jews anywhere in the world, including on European soil. In that case, the impatience is with Israel not Lebanon.

Hypocrisy at this level is a talent. France is a peerless practitioner of narcissism in foreign policy. Everyone has something they’re good at. This is what Macron’s France is good at. So it permeates every utterance out of Paris.

Perhaps France should lend a hand at disarming and disbanding Hezbollah? Or would that be too much to ask? Relatedly, there is a possibility that Israel will be the one to bring justice to the murderer of the French soldier. If that happens, Macron will no doubt criticize Israel for violating a cease-fire.

Of course, the current Israel-Lebanon negotiations have nothing to do with France, because the Trump administration sidelined Paris and then immediately brought Israel and Lebanon closer to mutual recognition than they’ve been in decades, maybe ever. That is no coincidence: France does not desire peace in the Levant. Instead, it desires a running scapegoat for all its manifold failures in the region and the bloodshed that its malign incompetence has wrought. That scapegoat is Israel.

Just over a century ago, France played a role in the birth of Palestinian Arab nationalism by using force to keep Syria from establishing an independent kingdom. The Arabs of Palestine anticipated being part of Greater Syria; their nationalism, to the extent it was coherent, was Syrian. Arab leaders had until that point been receptive to some form of Jewish self-determination in the land, which they publicly and readily admitted was the historic Jewish homeland. Now, thanks to the French, they turned their nationalist fervor to the cause of anti-Zionism.


2 troops dismissed, jailed for smashing statue of Jesus in southern Lebanon
An Israel Defense Forces soldier who smashed a statue of Jesus with a sledgehammer in southern Lebanon, along with another soldier who photographed the act, have been dismissed from combat duty and sentenced to jail, the military announced on Tuesday.

An investigation by the military into the incident in the Christian village of Debel found that in addition to the soldier who damaged the statue and the soldier who photographed him, six other troops were “present at the scene and did not act to stop the incident or report it.”

“The inquiry determined that the soldiers’ conduct completely deviated from IDF orders and values,” the military said.

The military also said that troops had replaced the damaged statue with a new one.

The findings of the investigation were presented on Monday night to the commander of the 162nd Division, Brig. Gen. Sagiv Dahan, who is responsible for the sector in southern Lebanon where the incident took place. The IDF said Dahan accepted the findings and the commanders’ recommendations.

Accordingly, he decided to dismiss the soldier who damaged the statute and the soldier who photographed the act from combat duty, and sent them to 30 days in military prison.

“The remaining troops who stood by have been summoned for clarification discussions that will be held later on, after which further command-level measures will be determined,” the military said.

The IDF said that “procedures regarding conduct with religious institutions and symbols were reinforced to the troops prior to their entry into the relevant areas, and will be reinforced again for all troops in the area following the incident.”


Ben Shapiro: Iranian Regime Signs Its Own DEATH WARRANT?
The IRGC launches new attacks in the Strait of Hormuz while announcing they won’t negotiate any of the key points on nuclear arms or missiles; President Trump keeps everyone guessing; and Democrats move in favor of Third Worldism.


EylON the Record : Can Israel and Lebanon Actually Make Peace? | Dan Feferman
War is easy to start. Peace is much harder to build. And in the Middle East, the difference between a breakthrough and a mirage can be a matter of political will.

In this episode of EylON the Record, Eylon Levy speaks with Dan Feferman, co-founder and co-editor of Middle East 24, former executive director of Sharaka, and an IDF reserves major, about the sudden and extraordinary possibility of peace talks between Israel and Lebanon. They unpack how Hezbollah’s weakening, Lebanon’s internal political shifts, and American mediation have created an opening that would have seemed unimaginable just a few years ago — and whether this moment could produce a real strategic shift or just another temporary pause before the next war.

In this episode, we discuss:
Why the real conflict is not between Israel and Lebanon, but between both states and Hezbollah
How Israeli military pressure changed the political balance inside Lebanon
Whether the Lebanese state can actually confront Hezbollah without sliding into civil war
Why parts of the Western media and European leadership still misunderstand this moment

This conversation goes beyond the headlines to ask what peace would actually require: not just ceasefires or diplomatic theater, but the dismantling of an Iranian proxy that has held Lebanon hostage and kept both countries trapped in a conflict neither population truly wants. Getting this right matters not only for Israel and Lebanon, but for the wider struggle between regional stability and the forces that profit from permanent war.

0:00:00 Intro: The Unimaginable Israel-Lebanon Peace Talks
0:04:41 Israel Has No Territorial Claims in Lebanon
0:08:17 Can Lebanon Make Peace While Hezbollah Occupies It?
0:12:06 Israel's Strategy to Force Lebanon to Disarm Hezbollah
0:14:43 Is a Lebanese Civil War the Only Way to Dismantle Hezbollah?
0:17:22 Why U.S. Ceasefire Pressure Empowers Hezbollah
0:21:14 The West's Appeasement vs. The Arab World's Pragmatism
0:26:06 The 50-Year Vision for an Abraham Accords Middle East
0:31:16 How Everyday Citizens Can Lay the Groundwork for Peace
0:39:01 Outro


Erin Molan: America is Crushing Iran In A SILENT War Nobody's Talking About
🎙️ Episode 137 (Part 1)
The war against Iran has entered a new phase — and this time the battlefield is money.

Erin Molan breaks down how the United States is turning up the pressure on the Islamic regime through sanctions, trade pressure, and economic warfare, while intelligence expert Omri Reiter reveals how networks linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps may be moving funds through digital channels during the conflict.

Chapters:
00:00 Phase 2 of the war begins
00:41 America hits Iran economically
01:19 Erin’s Kamala moment 😂
02:03 Meet Omri Reiter
03:10 How Iran moves money
04:47 Can the US stop it?
07:19 What happens if Iran loses access?
08:28 Is America doing enough?
09:15 How to stop it for good
11:08 Final warning on the regime


Erin Molan: Iranian Bollywood Actress BREAKS DOWN Live On-Air
🎙️ Episode 137 (Part 2)
Mandana Karimi — the Iranian actress and model known to millions in India — joins Erin Molan for a raw and emotional interview.

Mandana says she is currently running for her life from Iran’s Islamic regime. In this powerful conversation, she speaks about oppression, fear, women’s rights, executions, and why so many Iranians want freedom.

Then one moment becomes too much… and she breaks down live on air.

Chapters:
0:00 Erin intro
0:23 Meet Mandana Karimi
2:20 Reality for women in Iran
6:00 Fear, executions and repression
8:30 Western voices getting Iran wrong
11:25 Why Iranians want change
17:30 Can Iran take its country back?
21:10 Emotional breakdown moment
23:20 Erin responds




Magyar says Netanyahu would face arrest if he came to Hungary, but invitation remains
Hungarian Prime Minister-elect Péter Magyar said Monday that his government would be obligated to detain Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he enters Hungarian territory while still subject to an International Criminal Court warrant.

Magyar made the remarks to reporters as he pledged to halt Hungary’s planned withdrawal from the ICC.

The comments mark a clear policy shift from outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who declined to enforce the warrant during Netanyahu's April 2025 visit to Budapest. Orbán had also announced Hungary’s withdrawal from the court and publicly guaranteed that Netanyahu would not be arrested.

Magyar says that Netanyahu's trip to Hungary still stands, but so does ICC warrant
Magyar said he had already conveyed Hungary’s position directly to Netanyahu and stressed that his government intends to keep the country in the court. He said Hungary would move to stop the withdrawal process before it takes full effect.

Netanyahu has already accepted an invitation to visit Hungary this fall, a trip that could now become an early test of Magyar’s foreign policy and legal posture toward Israel. The Magyar said that if Hungary remains an ICC member and a person wanted by the court enters its territory, “that person must be taken into custody.”

The two leaders spoke last week, and stated that they both wish to maintain good relations with each other.

Previously, Magyar said that Israel and Hungary share a "special relationship."
Germany and Italy reject push by EU allies to end association deal with Israel
European Union diplomats sparred Tuesday after several member states called for suspending the bloc’s cooperation agreement with Israel, amid rising anger over the country’s conduct in Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank.

Spain, Slovenia and Ireland had put the issue of halting the agreement on the table, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Tuesday ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

“Spain, along with Slovenia and Ireland, has requested that the suspension of the Association Agreement between the European Union and Israel be discussed and debated today,” Albares said.

But Germany poured cold water on the idea, with Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul calling the proposal “inappropriate.”

“We have to talk with Israel about the critical issues,” he said at the start of the meeting.

“That has to be done in a critical, constructive dialogue with Israel,” Wadephul said. “That is what we stand for.”

Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani pushed back as well, saying that “no decision will be taken today.”

Attitudes toward Israel among EU member states, already hardened over its conduct in the war in Gaza, stiffened further after Israeli ground operations were launched into Lebanon last month — in response to the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group’s missile fire on Israel — and after the Knesset passed a new law on the death penalty for Palestinian terror convicts in the West Bank.


Jewish anti-Zionist group files ‘genocide’ claim against FedEx over Israel deliveries
American logistics giant FedEx has been targeted in France by a legal complaint alleging “complicity in the crime of genocide” over claims it transported parts for Israeli aircraft involved in bombing Gaza.

The French Jewish Union for Peace (UJFP), an anti-Zionist group, said it had filed the complaint against FedEx’s French subsidiary for “the transport and delivery of essential combat aircraft components from the United States to Israel via France.”

Those parts were used “to maintain and repair F-35 combat aircraft used by the Israeli air force” over the Gaza Strip, it added in the document filed with anti-terrorism prosecutors and seen by AFP.

FedEx told AFP: “We do not make any international deliveries of weapons or ammunition.”

Israel has repeatedly denied allegations of genocide in Gaza. It has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas, including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.

The UJFP said it based its case on a recent report by campaign group Urgence Palestine (Palestine Emergency), which catalogued 117 cargoes that it said transited through Paris via FedEx’s French subsidiary between April and October last year.
Former Iranian State Media Editor Now Works for US ‘Media Bias’ Group That Rates Liberal Outlets as More Reliable Than Their Conservative Counterparts
A former paid scribe for an Iranian state-affiliated newspaper now works for a U.S. media watchdog group known for producing a "media bias" chart that rates liberal outlets as more reliable than conservative ones.

Meisam Zamanabadi, an analyst with Ad Fontes Media, spent a large part of his career as an editor at Iranian state-run media outlet Hamshahri, a Tehran-run newspaper controlled at the time by then-mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf—now speaker of the Iranian parliament and chief regime negotiator.

Ad Fontes, which the influential Poynter Institute has praised as fair and "easy to understand," is cited by institutions like Cornell University as a good option for news consumers to evaluate media bias. Ad Fontes also promises that corporations that use its ratings can "get great business results by advertising on high quality news." Major corporations such as General Motors say they use Ad Fontes to "ensure that [our] ads also show up in reliable publications."

Zamanabadi, who grew up and went to college in Iran, is based in California. Ad Fontes's website describes him as the "founder & editor of the Tamashagar news agency," an Iranian sports news website, and says he has worked in "journalism since 1996."

Before moving to the United States from Iran, Zamanabadi served as the editor of Hamshahri's sports pages, according to a copy of his résumé posted online. Hamshahri, a state-controlled newspaper overseen by the municipality of Tehran, has been associated with hardline politicians and drew international condemnation after holding a Holocaust denial cartoon contest in 2006.

Posts from Zamanabadi's online blog indicate that he was an editor at Hamshahri in 2008 and 2009, while Ghalibaf was mayor of Tehran. His résumé also states that he worked for the Iranian Students' News Agency and the Iran Labor News Agency, both of which have links to the regime.




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