Iran
December 9, 2024 — Scott Johnson
Close observers can tell that alleged President Biden is on his way out the door some time soon. He’s letting his forehead go to hell, as one can see in the video (below) of his statement yesterday afternoon on developments in Syria. He appears to have abandoned the Botox injections now that his exit from the White House is imminent, though it cannot come soon enough. In his statement Biden
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November 9, 2024 — Scott Johnson
The criminal complaint against Farhad Shakeri charges that in September he was directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran to surveil and kill Trump, whom the charging papers identify as “Victim-4.” The criminal complaint was unsealed yesterday. I have embedded it via Scribd below. Please do read it or the Politico story on it here. Politico recounts that the charged attempt to assassinate Trump is only “the latest
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November 8, 2024 — John Hinderaker
Earlier today, the Justice Department unsealed a criminal complaint that alleges an Iranian plot to assassinate Donald Trump: Investigators were told of the plan to kill Trump by Farhad Shakeri, an accused Iranian government asset who spent time in American prisons for robbery and who authorities say maintains a network of criminal associates enlisted by Tehran for surveillance and murder-for-hire plots. Shakeri told the FBI that a contact in Iran’s
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October 26, 2024 — Steven Hayward
Many of the media headlines reporting on Israel’s air strikes on Iran in the middle of the night last night say something along the lines of “could lead to an escalation of the regional war.” I have news for everybody: World War III has been underway at least since October 7 of last year, whether we want to acknowledge it or not. The only question is whether its scale and
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October 21, 2024 — Scott Johnson
One big weekend story suggests that someone inside the United States government “leaked” intelligence documents — is “leak” the right term? — bearing on Israel’s impending strike on Iran. CNN’s story describes the documents as follows: They describe preparations Israel appears to be making for a strike against Iran. One of the documents, which says it was compiled by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, says the plans involve Israel moving munitions
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October 19, 2024 — John Hinderaker
After firing thousands of rockets that forced the depopulation of much of northern Israel, Hezbollah has been devastated by Israel’s counterattacks. But if down, Hezbollah and its sponsor Iran are not quite out. Earlier today, they tried to assassinate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: A drone fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon that exploded in the central seaside town of Caesarea early on Saturday targeted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private home, his
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October 19, 2024 — Scott Johnson
Michael Doran is director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East and (says I) our best analyst of American Middle East policy. See, for example, his classic 2015 essay “Obama’s secret Iran strategy” and, following up, his 2021 Tablet column “The realignment.” Doran explains otherwise inexplicable Obama/Biden policies while also demonstrating that the Obama/Biden team is, speaking colloquially, crazy. That’s not how the Obama/Biden
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October 9, 2024 — Scott Johnson
Canada’s next federal elections is scheduled to take place no later than October 20, 2025. Canada’s Conservative Party is led by Pierre Poilievre. We like what we have seen of him. Who can forget Poilievre’s depantsing of a standard-issue left-wing reporter while he (i.e., Poilievre) stood calmly munching an apple? John posted the video here. This past April he spoke at a pro-Israel rally in Toronto (video here). Yesterday Poilievre
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October 7, 2024 — John Hinderaker
Someone leaked to the Telegraph a “regime policy planning document” written for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. It relates to the possibility that Donald Trump may once again be the U.S. President: Iran is plotting to infiltrate Donald Trump’s team amid fears he could topple its regime, according to a secret dossier. The Telegraph has obtained a regime policy planning document which reveals Tehran’s five-point strategy to woo figures close
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October 7, 2024 — Scott Johnson
Our friends at the Washington Free Beacon have posted the upbeat editorial “Oct. 7, A year Later.” Seeking to provide additional commentary and perspective on the day, I asked the editors (via my daughter Eliana) for permission to publish it on Power Line. The text is below the break. * * * * * Israelis awoke to a country safer and more secure today, a year after Jews around the
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October 7, 2024 — Scott Johnson
Our friends at Tikvah deem this the most consequential year in modern Jewish history. They refer, of course, to the invasion of Israel by Hamas this past October 7 and the related events since then. Well, since then…as has frequently been noted by the Israelis, they have been fighting a war on seven fronts. On every front the intention of Israel’s enemies is to wipe it off the map. They
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October 4, 2024 — Scott Johnson
The Iran regime struck Israel with some 180 ballistic missiles fired from Iran. The Iranian regime meant to inflict death and destruction on Israel. As it is, Israel’s most sophisticated missile defense system approached perfection under an assault that was intended to overwhelm it. In the event, the strike did damage but killed only one Gazan Arab who had relocated to the West Bank. Watching the strike in real time
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September 30, 2024 — Scott Johnson
The Sunday morning gabfests are generally a waste of time, but Senator Tom Cotton’s appearances are not to be missed. He was the lead guest on Face the Nation yesterday. I have posted the video at the bottom. CBS has posted the transcript here. Robert Costa filled in for regular host Margaret Brennan. Costa asked Senator Cotton about Israel’s potential expansion of the war between Israel and Iran. This is
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September 29, 2024 — Scott Johnson
You may have heard that the Secret Service was dispatched to guard the president of Iran — one Masoud Pezeshkian — during his visit to the United Nations in New York last week. For some reason, the Secret Service has done a better with the President Pezeshkian than with President Trump. AEI’s Danielle Pletka attended a closed session with Pezeshkian for press types. Pletka sizes Pezeshkian up and discreetly (per
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September 28, 2024 — John Hinderaker
The London Times is a liberal paper, but not far-left like the New York Times or the Washington Post. So it is not surprising to see this headline: “Why killing of Hassan Nasrallah marks beginning of the end for Iran.” The piece is by Lina Khatib, associate fellow at the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House. Some excerpts: Iran found in Nasrallah a valuable tool for expanding
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July 31, 2024 — Steven Hayward
Lots of observers are remarking on social media that Israel’s strikes against Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut and Hamas commander Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran resemble the climactic scene in The Godfather when Michael Corleone “settled all family business” with the simultaneous assassinations of his mob rivals. It’s looking like a more apt analogy this afternoon with breaking news reports that a senior Iranian commander has been killed in Damascus.
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July 27, 2024 — Scott Johnson
Today Hezbollah launched a rocket attack on the Golan Heights that killed ten Israelis — mostly children — with many more citizens injured in the mostly Druze town of Majdal Shams. Iran is closing the ring on Israel. Missing from Prime Minister Netanyahu’s address to the joint session of Congress this week is any articulation of a grand strategy to deal with the Iranian threat. Gadi Taub is an Israeli
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