Pro-Palestinian plaintiff says New South Wales government trying to 'rip up our democratic rights to protest'; State Premier Chris Minns stands by decision to limit demonstrations
The post Australian court strikes down post-Bondi massacre protest law as unconstitutional appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Russia hammered civilian areas of Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles in an attack that stretched for hours from daytime into the night, killing at least 16 people and injuring more than 80 others as terrified residents cowered in their homes, officials said Thursday.
Russia launched nearly 700 drones and dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles, primarily targeting civilians, in its biggest aerial barrage in almost two weeks, authorities said.
Tetiana Sokol, a 54-year-old resident of Kyiv, said two missiles hit near her home and she took cover with her dog in the hallway as flashes lit up the night and windows shattered from the blast wave.
"On the third attack everything broke, everything flew, we were shocked, we didn’t know where to run. I grabbed whatever came to hand and ran away with the dog," she told The Associated Press. "I still can’t find the cats in the house, they climbed out somewhere, I don’t even know. No windows, nothing, the dog is still walking around in stress."
RUSSIAN WINTER STRIKE LEAVES NEARLY 800K HOMES WITHOUT POWER AND HEAT IN UKRAINE’S DNIPRO REGION
Moscow's forces have hit civilian areas almost daily since its all-out invasion of its neighbor more than four years ago, with the regular assaults occasionally punctuated by massive attacks. More than 15,000 Ukrainian civilians have died in the strikes, the United Nations says.
Zelenskyy on a mission to improve air defenses
The latest bombardment came in the wake of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's 48-hour trip this week to Germany, Norway and Italy in an urgent search for more air defense systems that can stop Russian missiles.
Ukraine has developed a significant domestic arms industry, especially in the production of drones and missiles, but it can’t yet match the sophistication of U.S. Patriot air defense systems. Ukraine’s top diplomatic priority is securing allies’ help to buy and build more and better air defenses, Zelenskyy said this week.
Cash-strapped Ukraine also needs the speedy disbursement of a promised loan from the European Union of 90 billion euros ($106 billion) that has been blocked by Hungary.
Ukraine fears the Iran war is burning through stockpiles of the advanced American-made systems it needs, and has argued against a U.S. temporary waiver on Russian oil sanctions that Kyiv says is helping finance the Kremlin's war effort.
"Another night has proven that Russia does not deserve any easing of global policy or lifting of sanctions," Zelenskyy said on X.
He thanked Germany, Norway and Italy for new agreements this week on supporting Ukraine's air defense. Officials are also working with the Netherlands on additional supplies, he said.
At the same time, he noted that some partner countries haven't followed through on pledges of military support.
"I have instructed the Commander of the Air Force to contact those partners who earlier committed to providing missiles for Patriot and other systems," Zelenskyy said.
Other areas of Ukraine and Russia were also hit
The bombardment was the biggest in weeks. Last month, Russia fired 948 drones and 34 missiles in the space of 24 hours in the largest assault of the war on civilian areas.
At least four people were killed overnight in Kyiv, including a 12-year-old, with more than 50 others injured, according to authorities. Officials said the attack damaged 17 apartment buildings, 10 private homes, as well as a hotel, office center, car dealership, gas station and a shopping mall in the capital.
RUSSIAN DRONE ATTACK ON PASSENGER TRAIN IS AN ‘ACT OF TERRORISM,’ ZELENSKYY SAYS
Nine people were killed and 23 injured in the southern port city of Odesa, three women were killed and around three dozen injured in the central Dnipro region, and one person was killed in Zaporizhzhia in the south.
"Such attacks cannot be normalized. These are war crimes that must be stopped and their perpetrators held to account," Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X.
Ukraine’s air force said air defenses shot down or disabled 667 out of 703 incoming targets, including 636 Shahed-type drones and other uncrewed aerial vehicles.
It said 20 strike drones and 12 missiles hit 26 locations.
Meanwhile, in Russia, Krasnodar regional Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev reported that a 14-year-old girl and a woman were killed in Ukrainian strikes in the Black Sea port of Tuapse.
He said that attacks damaged six apartment buildings, 24 private houses and three schools. Drone fragments also fell near the port of Tuapse.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that its air defenses downed 207 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Spain’s prime minister is facing a complaint at the International Criminal Court alleging his government enabled Iran’s “terror machine” through dual-use exports, with the legal group behind the filing arguing that responsibility for war crimes extends to those who provide the means.
The post Israeli NGO Files War-Crimes Complaint Against Spain’s PM Alleging Iran Aid Enabled the Regime’s ‘Terror Machine’ appeared first on Breitbart.
Ukraine’s allies pledged a massive new military aid package Wednesday, including 120,000 drones from the U.K., as Russia launched hundreds of drones and ballistic missiles in fresh overnight strikes.
The commitments came as Kyiv warned of escalating Russian bombardments and urgently pressed for more air defenses.
Russia launched 324 drones and three ballistic missiles at Ukraine overnight Wednesday, Ukrainian officials said, part of a broader surge in aerial assaults, according to Reuters.
Russian strikes hit more than a half a dozen areas of Ukraine behind the front line on Tuesday and Wednesday, The Associated Press reported.
‘ONLY TRUMP CAN STOP RUSSIA’: MILLIONS FACE FREEZING WINTER, UKRAINE ENERGY EXECUTIVE WARNS
Between November and March alone, Moscow fired roughly 27,000 Shahed-type drones, nearly 600 cruise missiles and 462 ballistic missiles, according to Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
"Every day we need air defense missiles—every day Russia continues its strikes," Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram.
The latest attacks struck multiple regions behind the front lines, killing an 8-year-old boy in the central Cherkasy region and injuring a woman in southern Zaporizhzhia, according to Ukrainian officials.
RUSSIAN ATTACK ON KHARKIV WIPES OUT YOUNG FAMILY, LEAVING PREGNANT MOTHER AS SOLE SURVIVOR
The war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, has now stretched beyond three years.
Defense leaders from about 50 countries met virtually Wednesday to coordinate military aid and boost weapons production and especially air defense systems.
The session was led by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and British Defense Secretary John Healey, with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also present. The United States was represented by Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby.
Several countries also announced new contributions to Ukraine. Germany and Ukraine agreed on a 4 billion-euro ($4.7 billion) defense package, while Norway pledged 9 billion euros (about $10.6 billion) in assistance.
The Netherlands said it will spend 248 million euros ($293 million) to produce drones for Ukraine. The United Kingdom pledged 120,000 drones.
Russia pushed back on the expanded support, warning that European efforts to boost drone production for Ukraine risk deepening their involvement in the conflict.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the decisions by European countries to supply drones to Ukraine was leading to an escalation of the military-political situation and a "creeping transformation" into Ukraine’s strategic support base, TASS reported.
Hezbollah, an Iran-backed terrorist group, saw its command structure across Lebanon come under what Israeli officials described as one of the most devastating blows of the war April 8.
Nearly simultaneously, explosions tore through Beirut, Lebanon, the Beqaa Valley and southern Lebanon as roughly 50 Israeli aircraft struck more than 100 Hezbollah targets.
The targets were not rocket launchers or weapons depots, according to Israel Defense Forces (IDF), but the nerve centers of the organization: command rooms, intelligence headquarters and offices where Hezbollah commanders planned the next stage of the fight.
The strike marked a new phase in the war between Israel and Hezbollah, which erupted March 2 after Hezbollah entered the conflict in support of Iran — one day after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Since then, Hezbollah has fired rockets, drones and anti-tank missiles into northern Israel, while Israel has responded with widening airstrikes and a ground offensive inside southern Lebanon.
BROTHER OF MICHIGAN SYNAGOGUE ATTACKER WAS HEZBOLLAH TERRORIST, ISRAEL ALLEGES
"Within only a minute, the IDF eliminated 250 Hezbollah terrorists in three areas simultaneously," the Israeli military said in a statement, adding that the assessment is still ongoing.
IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani told Fox News Digital the strike was the result of weeks of intelligence work.
Israeli intelligence agencies tracked Hezbollah operatives as they moved between apartments, offices and safe houses across Lebanon.
"The timing had to do with the preparations," Shoshani said. "There was weeks of amazing intelligence."
Asked whether the operation showed Israel still has deep penetration inside Hezbollah despite months of war, Shoshani pointed to the scale of the attack.
"The fact that we were able to find 250 terrorists hiding in different locations in Lebanon, many of them in locations for recent weeks, eliminating them in real time, I think the capabilities speak for themselves," he said.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned Wednesday's strikes.
"The scale of the killing and destruction in Lebanon today is nothing short of horrific," said United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Türk. "Such carnage, within hours of agreeing to a ceasefire with Iran, defies belief."
Hezbollah said the day after the attack that it fired rockets at Israel, "This response will continue until the Israeli-American aggression against our country and our people ceases," the group said in a statement.
IDF UNCOVERS HEZBOLLAH WEAPONS STASH INSIDE HOSPITAL IN LEBANON
The strike drew a comparison to the "beeper" operation in September 2024, when thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah operatives exploded almost simultaneously across Lebanon and Syria in an operation widely attributed to Israel.
The blasts killed more than 40 people and wounded roughly 4,000, according to Lebanese authorities, while Hezbollah later acknowledged that about 1,500 fighters were taken out of action. The operation shattered Hezbollah's communications network and became the benchmark in Israel for a strike that fundamentally changed the battlefield.
"The beeper had more of an effective injuries that was the purpose of it," Shoshani said. "But both targeted hundreds of terrorists, and within 60 seconds."
Like the beeper operation, he said, the April 8 strike was intended not just to kill operatives but to throw Hezbollah into disarray.
"It was important to the aspect of creating disarray, of breaking their chain of command, breaking their command and patrol capabilities, and kind of tilting the organization out of balance," he said.
A former Israeli intelligence official, speaking on background, said the strike may not have reached the level of the beeper operation, but appeared to hit an unusually broad layer of Hezbollah's middle ranks.
Hezbollah remains in shock from the blow, according to the former official, even if that has not yet been reflected in a drop in its rocket fire.
But he cautioned against judging the operation only by the number of people killed.
The real measure, he said, is whether the strike changes the course of the war and leaves Hezbollah less able to operate.
The IDF said many of those killed belonged to Hezbollah's Radwan Force — Hezbollah's most capable and best-trained combat unit, intelligence apparatus, missile units and aerial Unit 127.
The Israeli military said most of the targets were embedded inside civilian areas.
"Most of the infrastructure that was struck was located within the heart of the civilian population," the IDF said.
HEZBOLLAH, IRAN UNLEASH COORDINATED CLUSTER BOMB STRIKES ON ISRAEL IN MAJOR ESCALATION
Shoshani said Israel warned civilians to evacuate before the strikes, but Hezbollah moved its operatives into new civilian locations.
"When we gave the warnings for areas, civilians moved out, then Hezbollah saw that they moved out and started hiding behind civilians in new locations," he said.
Despite the blow, Israeli officials say Hezbollah remains a major threat. Shoshani said the group, which before the war possessed between 150,000 and 200,000 rockets and missiles, still has the ability to fire into Israel.
"They still are a real threat for our civilians," he said.
The strike comes as Israel and Lebanon opened their first direct talks in more than three decades at the U.S. State Department in Washington.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has signaled willingness to discuss normalization and the eventual disarmament of Hezbollah, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted there will be no ceasefire until Hezbollah is dismantled and pushed back from the border.
Within hours of the diplomatic opening, Israeli warplanes again struck Lebanon and Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel.
Reuters contributed to this report.
With a second round of talks likely to place between the U.S. and Iran’s regime this week over its illicit nuclear weapons programs, leading experts on Tehran’s program say the Trump administration was right to walk away.
After nearly a day of talks, Vice President JD Vance’s team pulled the plug on the negotiations taking place in Pakistan, something welcomed by experts in the field.
"The U.S. team was wise to walk away once it became clear the Iranians would not agree to Washington’s core nuclear demands. Tehran maintaining enriched uranium stocks and uranium enrichment capabilities provides it with a pathway to nuclear weapons, plain and simple," Andrea Stricker, deputy director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ nonproliferation program, told Fox News Digital.
A core dispute between the U.S. and Iran is over Tehran’s desire to enrich uranium — the material used to build nuclear weapons.
WITKOFF WARNS IRAN IS ‘A WEEK AWAY’ FROM 'BOMB-MAKING MATERIAL' AS TRUMP WEIGHS ACTION
In 2018, President Trump withdrew from President Obama’s nuclear weapons deal with Iran because his administration argued that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the formal name of the deal, permitted Iran to build an atomic bomb.
When asked what a good nuclear agreement would look like, Stricker said, "A good deal requires the regime to not only turn over its nuclear fuel, dismantle key facilities, and commit to a permanent ban on enrichment, but to cooperate with an IAEA investigation that fully and completely accounts for and dismantles Iran’s nuclear weapons-relevant facilities, equipment, documentation, centrifuges and related production capabilities."
Stricker acknowledged that the process could take several years, but noted that "the IAEA is well-equipped for this mission and has experience dismantling nuclear weapons programs in Iraq, Libya and South Africa. Anything less and Iran will likely cheat on its commitments and reconstitute a breakout pathway."
TRUMP REVEALS IRAN MADE 'SIGNIFICANT PROPOSAL' AFTER ULTIMATUM, BUT 'NOT GOOD ENOUGH'
Sen. Lindsey Graham said Monday he opposes a reported proposal by the U.S. for a 20-year ban on Iran’s uranium enrichment under a potential deal.
"I appreciate President Donald Trump’s resolve to end the Iranian conflict peacefully and through diplomacy. However, we have to remember who we’re dealing with in Iran: terrorists, liars, and cheaters," Graham posted on X.
"If this reporting is accurate, the idea that we would agree to a moratorium on enrichment rather than a ban on enrichment would be a mistake in my view," he said.
"Would we agree to a moratorium for al-Qaeda to enrich? No."
A regional official from the Mideast confirmed to Fox News Digital that a 20-year moratorium on enriched uranium was made by the U.S. and rejected by the Islamic Republic.
David Albright, a physicist who is the founder and president of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, D.C., praised the U.S. decision to end the talks in Pakistan. Writing on X account, which is closely followed by Iran watchers, he stated: "The U.S. was Right to Walk Away in Islamabad."
Albright told Fox News Digital the move by the U.S. negotiators "makes it clear that this is not negotiating for negotiating’s sake. And leaving threw Iran on the defensive, signaling it as the losing state in the war. Moreover, the Iranians would not have shifted their positions in any significant way. They usually have no flexibility. But Iran wanted to have negotiations continue in order to try to tie the hands of the U.S. and Israel, while trying to portray themselves as victors. Now, Iran has to decide whether to accept the U.S. offer or risk war resuming."
He added that a good nuclear deal for the U.S. would mean "no enrichment and no stocks of HEU [Highly Enriched Uranium] and LEU [Low Enriched Uranium]; Iran cooperating with the inspectors and verifiably ending its nuclear weapons program and providing a complete nuclear declaration, something it has never done."
Albright continued that "If Iran signals willingness to accept the U.S. position, meeting again makes sense.
"Iran has absolutely no need to enrich. Its only civil need is for a small amount of 20% percent enriched for its small research reactor, the Tehran Research Reactor, and it has enough 20% enriched uranium in fuel or nearly made into fuel stored in Iran and in Russia under JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] arrangements for 20 years."
He concluded, "To be flip, and paraphrase Abbie Hoffman, I have the right to yell theater in a crowded fire, but I don’t. Iran’s emphasis on its right to enrich is as irrelevant and beside the point."
Iran demanded "compensation" from five Middle Eastern countries it has been bombing since early March in a letter to the UN.
The post Iran Demands Arab Countries It Bombed Pay ‘Compensation’ appeared first on Breitbart.
In the deadliest year for Diaspora Jews in three decades, the March of the Living becomes a meeting place for those who experienced antisemitic persecution on three continents
The post At Auschwitz, Diaspora Jews who lived through terror march alongside Holocaust survivors appeared first on The Times of Israel.
British comic legend John Cleese has blasted Black Lives Matter and the wider liberal elites for their collective silence in the wake of the Easter massacre of Christians in Nigeria who were targeted by Islamic terrorists.
The post John Cleese Blasts Black Lives Matter, Liberal Silence amid Easter Massacre of Nigerian Christians by Islamist Terrorists appeared first on Breitbart.
Im französischen Houdan (Yvelines) haben linke Öko-Extremisten einen verheerenden Brandanschlag auf den Schweineschlachthof Paris Terroirs verübt – und brüsten sich nun ganz ungeniert mit ihrer blinden Zerstörungswut.
In der Nacht zum 4. April gingen auf dem Parkplatz des letzten Schlachthofs der Region Yvelines 17 Fahrzeuge in einem gewaltigen Flammenmeer auf. Kühltransporter, schwere Lkw und Lieferwagen brannten völlig aus. Nur dem schnellen Eingreifen der Feuerwehr, die um 4 Uhr morgens anrückte, ist es zu verdanken, dass die Flammen nicht auf das Hauptgebäude übergriffen, das dennoch schwere Rauchschäden davontrug. Der komplette Verlust der Kühlflotte führt nun zu massiven Betriebsausfällen. Für die Angestellten des Schlachthofs droht Kurzarbeit, sie müssen – mitten in ohnehin schwierigen wirtschaftlichen Zeiten – wegen dieser linken Terroristen um ihre Existenz bangen. Die französischen Bauernverbände verurteilten den Anschlag scharf. Dieser schwäche einen ohnehin extrem fragilen Sektor nur noch weiter.
Am 11. April, gut eine Woche nach der Tat, veröffentlichte ein linksextremes Bündnis aus „grünen“ und „anti-speziesistischen“ Fanatikern ein völlig wirres Bekennerschreiben. Unter dem Terrorgruppen-Kürzel ALF („Anarchistes Lance-Flamme“ – also „Flammenwerfer-Anarchisten“) feierten die Täter ihren kriminellen Akt. Indem man die Logistik des Tierhandels ins Visier nehme, greife man „das Funktionieren von Speziesismus und Kapitalismus“ an, schwadronieren die Linksextremisten.
Ihre absurde Botschaft: „Schweine wollen, wie alle anderen Tiere auch, nicht an dieser tödlichen Gesellschaft teilnehmen! Feuer den Schlachthöfen, Schluss mit der Unterdrückung!“ Dass sie mit ihrem Hass auf den „Kapitalismus“ in Wahrheit Arbeitsplätze von ganz normalen Menschen vernichten, interessiert die radikalen Anarchisten nicht. Stattdessen warnten sie andere, gemäßigtere Organisationen davor, in die „Falle der Akzeptanz“ zu tappen. Offenbar gilt in diesen Kreisen nur noch derjenige als echter „Aktivist“, der bereit ist, schwere Straftaten zu begehen und fremdes Eigentum zu zerstören.
Bezeichnend für den Umgang mit dem linken Terror ist die Reaktion der Politik. Die lokalen Behörden hatten das Feuer zunächst beschönigend als „mysteriös“ eingestuft, obwohl 17 Lkw gleichzeitig in Flammen aufgingen. Bislang wurden keine Festnahmen vermeldet, die Polizei ermittelt nun wegen schwerer Brandstiftung.
Es ist übrigens nicht das erste Mal, dass dieser Schlachthof Zielscheibe von linksgrünen Extremisten wurde. Bereits im April 2018 brachen 68 Aktivisten auf das Firmengelände ein, ketteten sich an Maschinen und legten den Betrieb lahm. Als die Polizei anrückte, um geltendes Recht durchzusetzen und die Besetzer zu entfernen, folgte die klassische Täter-Opfer-Umkehr: Die Extremisten überzogen die Beamten hinterher prompt mit Klagen wegen angeblicher „Polizeigewalt“. Dieser Vorfall in Frankreich verdeutlicht dabei wieder einmal, wie gefährlich dieser linksgrüne Extremismus ist. Solche radikalen Subjekte haben weder Respekt vor fremdem Eigentum, noch vor der wirtschaftlichen Existenzgrundlage anderer Menschen.
8 ex-employees of cement implicated, including former CEO Bruno Lafont, who is handed 6-year prison sentence over payments to Islamic State from 2013 to 2014
The post French company Lafarge found guilty of paying $6.54 million to jihadists in Syria appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Iran could retaliate against a U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by directing its Houthi allies to disrupt another critical global shipping route, a senior Middle East analyst warned Sunday.
The Bab al-Mandeb — a narrow chokepoint linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden — carries roughly 12% of global oil shipments and serves as a vital trade corridor between Asia and Europe, making it a strategic target for escalation that could further strain global energy markets.
"If the U.S. proceeds with its plan to blockade the strait, Iran’s escalation strategy could dictate that it ensures Gulf countries can’t export, either," Mona Yacoubian, director and senior adviser at the Middle East Program, told Fox News Digital.
TRUMP VOWS US WILL STRIKE IRAN’S POWER PLANTS, BRIDGES IF STRAIT OF HORMUZ IS NOT REOPENED
"This could translate to further attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure or even deploying the Houthis to blockade the Bab al-Mandeb," Yacoubian added.
Yacoubian’s remarks came after Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser on international affairs to Iran's Supreme Leader, signaled Tehran’s view of the Bab al-Mandeb in light of potential U.S. action to block the Strait of Hormuz.
"Today, the unified command of the Resistance front views Bab al-Mandeb as it does Hormuz," he said in a post on X.
WHY THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ MATTERS AS TRUMP ISSUES FRESH ULTIMATUM TO IRAN
"If the White House dares to repeat its foolish mistakes, it will soon realize that the flow of global energy and trade can be disrupted with a single move."
U.S. Central Command released a statement Sunday saying the naval blockade would begin Monday and be "enforced against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman."
President Donald Trump also said the U.S. Navy would block "any and all ships trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz" in a post on Truth Social.
In March, the U.S. warned ships at the Red Sea chokepoint of Houthi attacks
"The Houthis continue to pose a threat to U.S. assets, including commercial vessels, in this region," a maritime advisory said of the Iran-backed armed group that controls much of northern Yemen.
TRUMP GIVES IRAN 48-HOUR ULTIMATUM TO REOPEN STRAIT OF HORMUZ OR FACE STRIKES ON POWER PLANTS
"Potential hostile actions include one-way unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks; unmanned surface vehicle (USV) attacks; unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) attacks; ballistic and cruise missile attacks; small arms fire from small boats; explosive boat attacks; and illegal boardings, detentions, and/or seizures," it said.
"U.S.-flagged commercial vessels operating in these areas are strongly advised to turn off their AIS transponders," the advisory stated.
Yacoubian also determined in a Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) report that Iran was threatening to expand the conflict further to the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb compounding global market disruptions.
"It could leverage the Houthis, its Yemeni proxy, to once again wage attacks on the strategic waterway, depriving Saudi Arabia of its key workaround for oil shipments given the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz," she added.
The Houthis joined Iran’s war against the U.S. and Israel on March 28 when the organization launched two ballistic missiles at southern Israel. Both were intercepted.
A prolonged delay in the burial of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, signals a deepening crisis inside the Islamic Republic, according to a prominent Iranian strategist.
Dr. Ramesh Sepehrrad’s remarks came as peace talks between the United States and Iran stalled and internal tensions raised questions about the regime’s stability.
Fortieth-day mourning ceremonies for Khamenei began in Iran on April 9, with authorities withholding information about his burial more than 40 days after his killing. A three-day state funeral scheduled for early March 2026 had already been postponed.
IRAN'S CEASEFIRE PUSH MAY BE A 'CYCLE OF DECEPTION,' ANALYSTS WARN AS SHADOWY FIGURE GAINS POWER
"Forty-four days have passed, and the regime does not have the confidence to publicly bury Mojtaba’s dead father," Sepehrrad of the Organization of Iranian American Communities (OIAC) told Fox News Digital.
"That is an indicator of the fear within this regime from top to bottom," Sepehrrad added, before describing how, usually, "a religious regime believes that their dead must be buried in 24 hours."
Khamenei was killed Feb. 28 in a strike targeting a regime compound in central Tehran, with a separate strike affecting his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, who succeeded him.
Mojtaba is said to be still recovering from severe facial and leg injuries, three people close to his inner circle told Reuters on April 11.
Khamenei’s face was disfigured in the attack on the supreme leader’s compound in central Tehran, and he suffered a significant injury to one or both legs, three sources told the outlet.
"The 56-year-old is nonetheless recovering from his wounds and remains mentally sharp, according to the people, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters."
IRAN MODERATES PUSHING TRUMP DEAL RISK BEING ‘ELIMINATED’ AS REGIME FRACTURES DEEPEN
He is taking part in meetings with senior officials via audio conferencing and is engaged in decision-making on major issues, including the war and negotiations with Washington, two of the sources say, according to reports.
The report came as Iran navigated diplomatic efforts with the U.S. in Islamabad aimed at easing tensions amid a two-week ceasefire, which ultimately failed to produce a breakthrough.
"Mojtaba input in the broad red lines of negotiations, even if he is not the public face," Sepehrrad claimed. "At the end of the day, for more than 10 years, he served as his father’s right-hand man and as a conduit to the IRGC."
"Mojtaba may be less rhetorical, less publicly ideological, and more operational because his primary focus is survival of the regime."
Iran also confirmed Sunday it had no plans for further peace talks after the marathon summit, where Pakistan mediated.
"No plan has yet been announced for the time, place, or next round of negotiations," Iranian state news agency Nour reported Saturday, citing the country’s Supreme National Security Council, with no statement from the new Supreme Leader.
IRAN'S SUPREME LEADER MOJTABA KHAMENEI 'MISFUNCTIONING,' NOT CONTROLLING REGIME: SOURCES
"Mojtaba is less the supreme leader in the traditional sense and more the coordinator of a security-led system," Sepehrrad explained before describing him as "more like a security-backed coordinator."
"This regime does not communicate with one unified voice. It communicates by function," Sepehrrad said.
"One channel negotiates, another threatens, another punishes, and another tries to maintain ideological continuity. It is now a mafia," the strategist claimed.
"The key point is not harmony but division of labor. What holds them together is regime survival, not trust."
"What we are seeing now is deeper: a leader who lacks organic authority and therefore governs through the institution that controls force," Sepehrrad said.
On the Iranian side, negotiations, the analyst said, also did involve "diplomats," but a wider circle of security-linked figures shaping Tehran’s posture, reflecting the increasing dominance of hardline institutions.
US-SANCTIONED MOJTABA KHAMENEI NAMED IRAN’S NEXT SUPREME LEADER AFTER FATHER’S DEATH: REPORTS
"This was a brittle coalition of security men," Sepehrrad said, before describing how Mojtaba is "at the top, but is heavily reliant on the Guards, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, SNSC chief Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, IRGC commander Ahmad Vahidi, Judiciary chief Mohseni-Ejei, and law enforcement chief Ahmad-Reza Radan."
"Several of the most important surviving figures are not primarily diplomats," Sepehrrad said before suggesting that that should "change how we should read everything coming out of Tehran."
"That is a different system from the one many Western analysts still think they are dealing with," Sepehrrad explained. "Dual track — tactical flexibility in talks and a harsher repression at home."
"While the regime negotiates to buy time, reduce pressure on its forces, and prevent broader external escalation, internally, it is likely to intensify arrests, executions, intimidation, and internet controls now," the strategist warned.
"The regime fears internal unrest more than diplomacy," Sepehrrad said.
Around a dozen survivors, aged 90-100, will travel to Poland though most Israeli delegates forced to cancel; march to be led by survivors of attacks on Jews; former hostages to light torch
The post Despite war cancellations, Holocaust survivors from Israel to join March of the Living appeared first on The Times of Israel.
Die direkten Friedensgespräche zwischen USA und Iran in Pakistans Hauptstadt Islamabad sind am Samstagabend (11.04.2026) ohne Ergebnis zu Ende gegangen.
Trotz mehrerer Runden bestehen Misstrauen und tiefe Meinungsverschiedenheiten, insbesondere zur Straße von Hormus, dem iranischen Atomprogramm und der Unterstützung von Gruppen wie Hamas und Hisbollah.
Die US-Delegation unter Vizepräsident JD Vance traf auf iranische Vertreter mit Parlamentspräsident Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Iranische Medien wie Tasnim und Fars berichten von „überzogenen US-Forderungen“, darunter freie Schifffahrt durch die Straße von Hormus – Teheran plant ein Mautsystem. Die USA fordern einen Stopp der Urananreicherung und der Terrorunterstützung.
US-Vizepräsident JD Vance ist abgereist. "Man verlasse den Ort der Verhandlungen und lasse einen Vorschlag für Iran zurück, der ein endgültiges Angebot darstelle", sagte Vance.
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Bildquelle: Tomas Ragina / shutterstock
A man was detained Saturday at Shannon Airport in Ireland after allegedly climbing onto the wing of a U.S. military aircraft and attacking it with a hatchet, according to local reports.
Irish police, or Gardaí, said a man in his 40s entered an unauthorized area of the airport in County Clare and was arrested shortly before 11 a.m. on suspicion of criminal damage. Investigations are ongoing, Gardaí said.
The aircraft involved was a U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules transport plane that had been parked on a remote taxiway, Irish news outlet The Journal reported.
Video circulating online appeared to show a man in dark clothing walking along the wing of the aircraft during the incident. He moved across the wing near the engines and fuselage.
The breach raises renewed concerns about security at Shannon Airport, which has experienced multiple recent incidents involving unauthorized access to restricted areas.
A spokesperson for Shannon Airport said the airport temporarily shut down operations after the breach.
"The airport suspended operations at approximately 9:50 a.m., and operations resumed at 10:15 a.m.," the spokesperson said.
The brief closure caused minor disruption, with two departing flights delayed and one incoming aircraft placed in a holding pattern before landing shortly after 10:20 a.m., The Journal reported.
Authorities, including airport police, Gardaí and Irish Defence Forces personnel responded, The Journal reported. Armed officers and specialist units were also deployed.
Officials carried out a search of the airport perimeter to determine how the suspect gained access to the restricted area.
BULLET DISCOVERED ON COMMERCIAL JET AT MAJOR AIRPORT SPARKS SECURITY SCARE
According to The Journal, the incident is the latest in a string of recent security breaches at Shannon Airport.
In November, three people were arrested after a van breached airport security and entered a restricted area. In May, another vehicle crashed through a perimeter fence, forcing a temporary shutdown. Weeks later, three women were arrested after allegedly accessing the airfield and damaging an aircraft.
Authorities have not said whether Saturday’s incident is linked to those prior breaches.
Shannon Airport has been the site of frequent anti-war protests for years over its use by the U.S. military, dating back to the Iraq War era.
Fox News Digital reached out to the U.S. Air Forces in Europe for comment.
Euronews macht sich zum nützlichen Idioten der Hamas-Propaganda. Ein berüchtigter Terror-Kommandant wird von israelischen Truppen ausgeschaltet – und der europäische Sender trauert um einen “Medienmitarbeiter”. Wieder einmal wird die antiisraelische Islamisten-Propaganda nachgeplappert.
Ein Kommentar von Heinz Steiner
Man traut seinen Augen kaum, wenn man liest, hört und sieht, was die Redaktion des EU-Nachrichtensenders Euronews ihren Lesern und Zuschauern da ungeniert auftischt. Unter dem rührseligen Deckmantel der Pressefreiheit wird aus einem Anti-Panzer-Kommandanten der islamistischen Terrororganisation Hamas urplötzlich ein unschuldiger “Al-Jazeera-Reporter”, um den in Gaza angeblich furchtbar “getrauert” wird. Das ist kein Journalismus mehr. Das ist die ungefilterte Übernahme von Terror-Propaganda.
Euronews schreibt, eine israelische Drohne habe das Auto von Mohammed Wishah getroffen. Man zeichnet das Bild eines mutigen Reporters, berichtet von “Trauernden” im Al-Aqsa-Krankenhaus und zitiert völlig distanzlos “Vertreter des palästinensischen Gesundheitswesens”. Bei Euronews wird demnach geflissentlich ignoriert, dass das “palästinensische Gesundheitswesen” im Gazastreifen de facto das Hamas-Fiktionsbüro ist.
Doch es kommt noch schlimmer: Euronews zitiert die Vorwürfe der israelischen Armee, Wishah sei “bereits früher als Hamas-Mitglied identifiziert worden”, nur um diese als bloße “Darstellung” abzutun, die der katarische Staatssender Al Jazeera (übrigens ein Sprachrohr der islamistischen Moslembruderschaft, was man ebenfalls geflissentlich unter den Teppich kehrt) praktischerweise “zurückweist”.
Die IDF hat bereits Anfang 2024 auf einem Laptop in einer Kommandozentrale in Nord-Gaza eindeutige Beweise gefunden. Bilder zeigten Mohammed Wishah nicht etwa mit Notizblock und Mikrofon, sondern in voller Montur einer Hamas-Spezialeinheit. An der Panzerfaust ausgebildet, ballerte der angebliche “Reporter” mit RPGs und bildete andere Terroristen an Panzerabwehrraketen aus. Er war ein hochrangiger Kommandant der Hamas. Al-Jazeera war für ihn offensichtlich nur der gut bezahlte Nebenjob, um den Terror medial zu flankieren und die Menschen im Westen zu blenden.
Aber anstatt diese harten, belegten Fakten zu nennen, greift Euronews lieber in die manipulative PR-Kiste und bemüht das “Komitee zum Schutz von Journalisten” (CPJ). Plötzlich ist von “mehr als zweihundert getöteten palästinensischen Journalistinnen und Journalisten” die Rede. Dass auf dieser völlig absurden Liste unzählige Hamas- und Islamischer-Dschihad-Terroristen stehen, die hauptberuflich den bewaffneten Kampf gegen Israel führen und in ihrer Freizeit für irgendwelche Terror-Propaganda-Kanäle das Mikro halten, lässt man unter den Tisch fallen.
Wenn ein Sender, der den Anspruch erhebt, Europa zu informieren, sich weigert, zwischen einem Terroristen mit Panzerfaust und einem echten Journalisten zu unterscheiden, dann ist das ein Offenbarungseid. Es zeigt, wie tief die anti-israelische und pro-islamistische Schlagseite dort mittlerweile verankert ist. Mohammed Wishah war kein Märtyrer der Pressefreiheit – er war ein Terrorist der islamistischen Hamas. Darauf mit “Sorge um die Sicherheit von Medienmitarbeitenden” zu reagieren, ist eine Farce. Denn die Waffe eines Journalisten ist seine spitze Feder und nicht die Panzerfaust.
Israeli authorities arrested a 22-year-old Haifa resident for his involvement in an Iranian-backed plot to assassinate a high-ranking Israeli official, with the intended target believed to be former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, reports say.
Ami Gaydarov, 22, was arrested last month on suspicion that he was working with an Iranian agent to gather intelligence and build a bomb for use in a terror plot against a high-ranking Israeli official. Gaydarov was unaware of the target's identity. A gag order on his arrest was recently lifted, allowing Israeli media outlets to report on the case.
Authorities said Gaydarov first made contact with his Iranian handler in August 2025 and was paid roughly $23,000 — most of it in cryptocurrency — to carry out tasks in preparation for the assassination plot.
Gaydarov allegedly rented an apartment in the city's downtown area to serve as a laboratory for the bombs.
TOP IRANIAN OFFICIAL, COMMANDER KILLED IN STRIKE, ISRAEL DEFENSE MINISTER SAYS
"To facilitate the contacts with his handlers, Gaidarov purchased dedicated phones and rented an apartment in Haifa where he produced the explosive substance, while documenting his activities in videos and photos that were sent to his handler as proof of compliance," the Israeli police force said.
In connection with the plot, Israeli authorities have also arrested three other suspects, including Sergey Leibman and Edward Shovtiuk. The fourth suspect has not been named. Authorities said indictments for the four suspects should occur in the "coming days."
The terror plot was uncovered as part of Israel's "Operation Roaring Lion," a major military campaign launched against Iran on February 28, coinciding with the start of the war with Iran.
The arrest of the four men comes as Israeli authorities have won more than 40 indictments against more than 60 defendants working on behalf of the Iranian government. Just two months ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered that the citizenship of Israelis convicted of espionage for Iran be stripped of their citizenship.
Since the outbreak of the war with Iran, pro-Iranian attacks linked to radical groups have been on the rise. Just last week, French officials reported that a pro-Iran group was behind a failed bomb plot on a Bank of America office in Paris.
Nach dem Angriff auf das israelische Konsulat in Istanbul verdichten sich Hinweise auf eine Beteiligung des „Islamischen Staates“. Die türkischen Behörden reagieren mit landesweiten Razzien und nehmen Hunderte Verdächtige fest. Lebt die Gefahr durch die Terrorgruppe wieder auf?
Dieser Beitrag Dschihadismus Istanbul: IS soll hinter Angriff auf israelisches Konsulat stecken wurde veröffentlich auf JUNGE FREIHEIT.
