Hegseth: NATO lost its way… our allies must step up!

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the decline of European NATO as a warfighting organisation has mirrored the continent’s crisis of faith in itself and the open borders era, telling a meeting of alliance leaders they now need to step up if they want America to keep contributing.

Hegseth appeared to make implicit that the U.S. would be reconsidering its deployment in Europe at the end of this six months and decisions would be based on which countries made solid guarantees on access to bases and overflight rights, and on which countries show that credible path to making their alliance spending commitments five per cent of GDP on defence investment.

Hegseth Torches ‘Paper Tiger’ NATO at Defence Summit: You Have Six Months to Shape Up o

Hegseth Torches ‘Paper Tiger’ NATO at Defence Summit: You Have Six Months to Shape Up or Face Consequences

A meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) member state defence ministers in Brussels, Belgium was addressed by U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Thursday morning as a session opener, where he delivered a blunt assessment of the alliance’s failure to be war-ready, and warned it had six months to turn itself around or else face consequences.

Hegseth’s remarks spoke the language of “NATO 3.0” — also frequently mentioned by Secretary General Mark Rutte when discussing plans underway to transform the alliance — shorthand for the new standards members have to meet going forward. This third NATO is expressed as being a return to the first incarnation of the alliance, which won the Cold War and where its European members were major military powers, and as the end to NATO-two where Europe took full advantage of the so-called peace dividend to massively scale back defence and plough that money into other projects, most often welfare spending.

Read it all

Previous blog entries:

Continue reading Hegseth: NATO lost its way… our allies must step up!

Trump says it’s ‘back to dropping bombs’ if he doesn’t like final Iran deal

Trump Signs MOU During Dinner at Palace of Versailles

President Donald Trump personally signed a copy of an agreement aimed at ending the conflict between the United States and Iran during a dinner at the Palace of Versailles, according to a report from Barak Ravid, the global affairs correspondent for Axios and a CNN analyst.

US-Israel war on Iran

  • United States President Donald Trump says the memorandum of understanding with Iran that is to be signed on Friday is not final and warns of a return to “dropping bombs” if he “doesn’t like it”.
  • Iran has accused Israel of violating the truce in Lebanon 84 times since it reached the agreement with the US and warns of a “harsh response” if attacks continue.
  • The warning comes after Israeli forces killed four people in southern Lebanon, and Trump criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he has to be “more responsible” in Lebanon.
  • A third tanker carrying Iranian oil has sailed past the US navy’s blockade line in the Gulf of Oman, according to TankerTrackers.

NATO Boss Hails Trump’s Iran Deal

‘Improves Security For Us All’

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte delivers a speech during a press conference on the eve o

Trump at G7: Iran Deal Will Bring ‘A Lot of Success to the World’

Israel Refuses to Leave Lebanon Despite Reported Inclusion in U.S.-Iran Deal

Iranian Media Claims Tehran Can Impose Fees on Strait of Hormuz Under U.S. Deal…

Iranian Dissident Group Welcomes Steps to End War, Says Peace Is ‘Poison’ to Regime Survival

Iranian Dissident Group Welcomes Steps to End War, Says Peace Is ‘Poison’ to Regime Survival

Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), on Monday welcomed the emerging U.S.-Iran understanding aimed at ending hostilities while asserting that peace poses a greater threat to the survival of the Islamic Republic than military confrontation.

White House: U.S. Signs Iran Memorandum of Understanding, Reopens Hormuz, Says No Frozen Assets Rel

What About the Houthis?

From the Gates of Vienna

The Houthis in Yemen have generated a lot of news headlines since the Gaza war began, lobbing missiles into Israel and causing serious problems for international maritime traffic by attacking ships transiting the Bab-el-Mandeb off southern Yemen.

The Houthis (whose official name is now Ansar Allah) are a Shi’ite movement backed by Iran. They came into prominence during the Yemeni Revolution in 2011, which was an adjunct of the “Arab Spring” that had already swept Tunisia and Egypt. Their principal Sunni rivals within the radical Islamic ferment in Yemen were Al Qaeda and the Islamic State.

With assistance from Iran, the Houthis took over about a third of Yemeni territory, including the capital, Sana’a. Their stronghold is in southern Yemen, adjacent to the Red Sea, which is why they have been able to do so much damage to ships travelling to or from the Suez Canal.

Continue reading

Trump: ‘this has been a successful 40 hours in China’

Trump Refuses to Reveal Whether He Would Defend Taiwan

The Ayatollahs and the Mullahs are watching American cable news.

They see Democrats scream “illegal war.” They watch anchors call our own President the bigger threat.

Regime leaders watch Schumer, Jeffries, Pelosi, and AOC do their jobs for them on live television.

So why would they ever take a deal? Why negotiate in good faith?

The mullahs and generals have been told, over and over, by half of Washington and 90 percent of the press, that all they have to do is wait. Stall. Hold out. The Democrats will do the rest. The media will do the rest.

Our latest meme nails exactly what is happening.

Trump, Rubio, and Hegseth swinging the Maximum Pressure hammer at a cracking Iranian regime.

Schumer, Jeffries, Pelosi, AOC, and a wall of media microphones scrambling to hold the pedestal together before it collapses.

Look at it. Whose side are these people actually on?

And now we are right back to the brink.

“Trump is going to hit them a bit,” one administration official told Israel’s Channel 12. Trump just rejected Tehran’s peace offer outright, calling it “a piece of garbage” and the current ceasefire “unbelievably weak.”

If the war resumes in the coming days, and every signal says it will, remember exactly how we got here.

Iran did not hold out because they are strong. They held out because they were told they could win the waiting game.

They were told American voters would crack first. They were told American media would carry their water for free.

They were told correctly.

So when the shooting starts again, do not let a single person forget the names on that cartoon.

Schumer. Jeffries. Pelosi. AOC. Every anchor screaming about Trump while the mullahs sleep soundly in Tehran.

Whose side are Democrats and the mainstream media on? Name the worst offender in the comments. Then share this so every American sees who is propping up the regime.

Source: Iran International

  • China’s Foreign Ministry says the Iran war has caused “disasters” in the Middle East, after US President Donald Trump’s visit to meet with his counterpart, President Xi Jinping.
  • The US president and Xi discussed the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, the White House said, with the Chinese leader agreeing that the waterway “must remain open to support the free flow of energy”.
  • Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the US is sending “contradictory messages” on negotiations, further complicating the process.
  • Dozens of vessels including Chinese-owned have passed through the Strait of Hormuz under Iran’s “management protocols”, the Revolutionary Guard says, as Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping discuss the crucial waterway.
  • Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi has denounced the US and Israel for “expansionism and warmongering” saying instability in the Middle East is a “lose-lose proposition for all sides – including the aggressors”.
  • Iranian officials are saying the strait is not fully open and not fully closed. They say it is open to everyone, except their adversaries. They are trying to put this grand strategy into practice.

Marco Rubio says US ‘not asking’ for China’s help on Iran

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has insisted the US doesn’t need China’s help on Iran while reiterating that President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping found “common ground” on the Strait of Hormuz.

“We’re not asking for China’s help. We don’t need their help,” Rubio told NBC.

Trump: ‘this has been a successful 40 hours in China’

We were told the US and China were looking to establish a “Board of Trade” to oversee commerce between the two countries.

There’s been no official announcement about that.

But a lot of what Trump wanted to do here, he will think he has achieved.

He talked about selling more planes to China. According to Trump, Boeing is leaving with a deal for 200 jets.

The US also expects to sell more agricultural products to China, in what could be billions in sales over the next three years.

That would be a success for Trump.

He also says there has been progress with the idea of China opening up its markets. That’s why so many US companies were on the trip here.

All in all, Trump will feel this has been a successful 40 hours in China.

But remember, this is just the first of three more expected meetings that the leaders will have this year – two at summits later in the year, and then, of course, an expected state visit by Xi Jinping to Washington, DC in September.

Islamic Jihad has published a list of 15 commanders killed in the war….

The jihad is permanent & relentless. All Muslims must participate, those who don’t are renegades, ‘hypocrites’, worse than infidels, and must be killed.

A post from the IDF: IDF units and an IDF drone have successfully killed 400 armed terrorists from the murderous terror organization Hezbollah, including in their central headquarters, and seized 1,000 of their weapons over the past 2 months. (13.05.2026)

How the Palestinian Authority brainwashes kids to love jihad terror, glorify jihadis, and seek ‘martyrdom’

The IDF has confirmed the elimination of Anas Muhammad Ibrahim Hamed, identified as a Nukhba commander involved in the October 7 massacre at the Nova music festival.
 
According to Israeli reports, Hamed was part of Hamas’s elite “Nukhba” unit, the same force that led the brutal cross-border assault targeting civilians that day.
He was reportedly killed in a precise strike in central Gaza after being tracked by Israeli intelligence and assessed as an ongoing threat to troops operating in the area.
 
For context, the Nova festival attack saw militants storm the site, opening fire on fleeing civilians and abducting hostages in one of the deadliest incidents of October 7.
 
Israel has repeatedly stated it is systematically targeting individuals directly involved in those attacks. This strike appears to be part of that ongoing effort.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad has published a list of 15 commanders killed in the war. Interestingly , you can find their names listed as medics and other civilians on various sites that claim “genocide”

His official statement after the attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield: “Violence is a cycle. Ayman Ghazali lost family, including two children, in an airstrike in Lebanon last week. They were innocent people.” Except the brothers that Ghazali lost were Hezbollah.

The Gulf Countries Are Building a Middle East that Iran Cannot Tolerate

For decades, Iran’s leadership has opposed the direction much of the Gulf has taken politically, economically and diplomatically. Today, that opposition is increasingly being expressed through direct attacks on the states’ infrastructure and way of life. Since Feb. 28, the Iranian regime has launched 549 ballistic missiles, 29 cruise missiles and 2,260 drones at the UAE.

The Iranian regime presents its model as the only legitimate form of Islamic governance. Yet, Gulf states have demonstrated that economic growth, global engagement, and religious life can develop together without the same degree of state control.

Continue reading Islamic Jihad has published a list of 15 commanders killed in the war….

World Starts To “Build” Around Hormuz

Gold Jumps, Dollar Dumps As AMD & Imminent Iran Deal Lift Stocks & Bonds, Sink Oil

US crude oil futures rose by approximately $1 in early Thursday trading as investors weighed the prospects of a potential peace deal in the US-Israel war on Iran.

German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd says the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is costing it about $60m per week in fuel and insurance costs, as it remains too risky to send its vessels through the strategic waterway, AFP reports.

Iran Oil Official In Surprise Admission: ‘Fate Of Our Refineries Now At Risk’ As US Blockade Begins To Bite

Meanwhile US Navy jet fires on Iranian ship trying to reach Iranian port…

World Starts To “Build” Around Hormuz; Japan Buying UAE Oil Bypassing Strait As ADNOC To Spend $55 Billion On Pipelines

“Iran’s mistake is that once Hormuz becomes structurally unreliable, the world builds around it…

Long after the Iran war is just a bookmark in the history books, one distinct consequence will persist: much of the world, at least the part that does not fall under the Chinese sphere of influence, will do everything it can to avoid the Strait of Hormuz and failing that, have a Plan B. Just like when the Biden admin weaponized the US Dollar in 2022 by booting Russia from SWIFT after the Ukraine war, and in the process started the biggest gold and bitcoin rally in history as the rest of the world parked its savings in non-USD assets, so the world’s most important oil choke point will never again be viewed again in the same way after Iran launched dozens of rockets at the ships transiting it. 

This shift in perception is what James Thorne, chief market strategist of WellingtonAltus, called “Iran’s Historic Mistake“; he explains it as follows: 

By weaponizing the Strait of Hormuz, Iran committed a strategic blunder of historic proportions. Tehran meant to punish America. Instead, it exposed every power built on imported energy, vulnerable sea lanes, and the delusion that globalization repealed geography. China is exposed. Europe is exposed. Britain is exposed. Iran has created a world where hard resource power decides outcomes.

And the punchline:

Iran’s mistake is that once Hormuz becomes structurally unreliable, the world builds around it. That means bypass corridors, revived pipeline politics, and urgent planning for routes linking Aqaba to Mediterranean outlets near Gaza and the long-stalled Basra-to-Aqaba pipeline. The old energy order is cracking. The UAE’s OPEC exit signals cartel discipline giving way to national advantage under pressure.

Continue reading World Starts To “Build” Around Hormuz

Trump: Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon – not now, not ever

That is his bottom line.

So it seems unlikely he will sign up to any sort of deal that would allow Iran to postpone those nuclear talks for the time being.

He’s also very much aware the blockade is doing significant economic damage to Iran. He thinks it’s putting the Iranians under extreme pressure and, as he said on social media, he’s waiting for Iran to effectively sort out its leadership so they can work out who to speak to.

Two months of near-total internet blackout in Iran

Iran’s near-total internet blackout has now lasted exactly two months, according to global watchdog Netblocks.

Five sentenced to life in Bahrain for plotting with Iran

Five people have been sentenced to life in Bahrain for plotting “terrorist and hostile acts” with Iran.

  • As Gulf leaders meet in Saudi Arabia, Qatar says the Strait of Hormuz should not be used as a pressure card and warns against the possibility of a “frozen conflict”.
  • US President Donald Trump’s national security team is reviewing an Iranian plan to halt the war and open the Strait of Hormuz, while postponing talks on its nuclear programme.
  • Israel and Hezbollah continue to trade fire as the death toll from Israeli attacks on Lebanon since an April 17 “ceasefire” rises to at least 40 people.
  • Dozens of nations have called for the “urgent and unimpeded reopening” of the Strait of Hormuz, with UN chief Antonio Guterres warning that the US-Iran standoff in the waterway risks triggering a global food emergency.
  • Visit our live tracker for the latest casualty figures from across the region.

The Arab Voice

Strait of Hormuz should have ‘never been closed’

Qatar’s FM spokesperson al-Ansari says they are engaging with all their interlocutors over reopening the Strait.

“We believe it should have never been closed and it should be opened immediately, regardless of other considerations going on in the region,” he said.

Qatar in favour of ‘comprehensive deal’ to end conflict

The spokesperson said that Doha would be in favour of a “comprehensive deal” to end the conflict, following a question about reports that Iran wants to decouple Hormuz talks from nuclear discussions.

Lebanon:

Lebanon began discussing the group’s full disarmament, while debates raged within the country over Hezbollah’s future as a military and political power.

However, Hezbollah is now back on the battlefield, fighting Israel in southern Lebanon and appears not to be as degraded a fighting force as many had believed.

Read more here.

Iran accuses Washington (of everything)

Read more here.

Money talks: how Islam corrupted all institutions of higher learning

The Brainrot happening inside universities has a cause, and it has a money trail. Watch Charles Asher Small of @isgapinternational expose the insanity of what’s happening, and the strange connection between the Taliban and liberal universities in the West.
.
Jihad by the pen, jihad by speaking, by education and by corrupting western universities as enabled Islam to penetrate the West in ways unimaginable just half a century ago.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ISGAP (@isgapinternational)

Continue reading Money talks: how Islam corrupted all institutions of higher learning

“No More Mr. Nice Guy”

Iran’s Top Negotiator Rejects Talks ‘Under Threat’

Warns Regime ‘Ready to Reveal New Battlefield Cards’

Ceasefire Looms

Pakistan Tensely Awaits Next Round Of Talks As Ceasefire Deadline Looms, US Navy Boards Another Vessel

Hit Iran where it hurts most. In their wallets. That always gets results and starves the IRGC of the funds it needs to operate. Keep up the pressure and the good work.

Trump: Iran has Violated the Cease Fire numerous times!

Iran pulls out of peace talks due to ‘Washington’s excessive demands and the ongoing naval blockade’

The Islamic Republic is using negotiations to buy time in order to regroup and fight again more effectively. As such, the mullahs need them more than Trump does. On the other hand, they know that his threats have proven empty before, and thus that they have some time to regroup even without making any concessions to the Great Satan

Iran Claiming Ownership of Strait of Hormuz a ‘Violation of International Law’

“No More Mr. Nice Guy”: US Strikes, Seizes Iranian Cargo Ship Trying To Break Blockade

“…the Iranian crew refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine-room. “

High Rolling Iranian Businesswoman Nabbed at Los Angeles Airport, Accused of Arms Trafficking

High Rolling Iranian Businesswoman Nabbed at Los Angeles Airport, Accused of Arms Traffick

An Iranian-born immigrant who became a lawful permanent resident alien under the Obama administration was arrested and charged with brokering arms sales on behalf of the Iranian Government. According to Bill Essayli, the United States Attorney for the Central District of California, federal authorities arrested 44-year-old Shamim Mafi at Los Angeles International Airport on Saturday evening.

Leading From The Rear: Macron and Starmer Announce Hormuz Mission After Trump Opens It

Trump Tells Iran: ’Lots of Bombs Start Going Off’

US President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran on the evening of Tuesday, April 7, in Washington, DC, meaning it was due to expire on Tuesday, April 21.

’Lots of Bombs Start Going Off’

Trump: Ceasefire Extension ‘Highly Unlikely’ if No Deal by Wednesday Night

Trump: “they will not have a nuclear weapon. They’ll have no access to, no chance of having, a nuclear weapon. And we can’t allow that to happen. That could be the destruction of the world, and we’re not going to let that happen,” he added.

“And I have to say, we had no choice in Iran. It wasn’t like we had a choice. We had to do it,” Trump said.

Title: Trump Image ID: 26103613929978 Article: President Donald Trump speaks outside the O

Wednesday evening Eastern time marks the expiration of the two-week ceasefire in the war between the United States and Iran, and bombing will resume if a deal is not reached, according to reports of phone interviews with President Donald Trump.

Iran’s Top Negotiator Rejects Talks ‘Under Threat’

Warns Regime ‘Ready to Reveal New Battlefield Cards’

Ceasefire Looms

TEHRAN, IRAN - APRIL 16: In this handout image provided by Iranian Parliament Communicatio

Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, declared late Monday that Tehran will not negotiate with the United States “under the shadow of threats,” warning Tehran is prepared to “reveal new cards on the battlefield” as a ceasefire deadline looms and the fate of renewed talks remains uncertain.

  • Diplomatic efforts to end the US-Israel war on Iran remain uncertain, with Tehran saying it will not negotiate under the “shadow of threats”.
  • US President Donald Trump says the blockade on Iranian ports will remain until Tehran agrees to a deal.
  • Lebanon and Israel will head back to Washington, DC, for another round of talks on Thursday to end hostilities.
  • Israel continues to bombard southern Lebanon, wounding six people in an air attack on the town of Qaaqaaiyet El Jisr and demolishing homes in the town of Khiam in violation of a 10-day ceasefire.
  • Trump says Iran will negotiate with the US or face “problems like they’ve never seen before” amid continued uncertainty over whether Tehran can be persuaded to send a delegation to Pakistan’s Islamabad.
  • He also says Iran’s nuclear sites have been totally obliterated and that “digging it out will be a long and difficult process”.
  • Iran has lodged a complaint with the UN over the US’s seizure of its cargo ship, condemning it as a barbarous act that violates international law.
  • Stock markets in Asia have rebounded on early trading, with investors holding on to hopes that the US and Iran may resume peace talks.
  • Dozens of US veterans and their family members have been arrested after they occupied a congressional building in Washington, DC, in a protest against the war on Iran.

Iran files complaint at UN over the US’s ‘illegal, barbarous’ ship seizure

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has lodged a formal complaint with the UN secretary-general and the International Maritime Organization over the US seizure of the Iranian merchant vessel Touska on Monday, condemning it as an “illegal and barbarous act” that violates both international law and the ceasefire agreement.