Russia warned the United States against even thinking about supporting Israel‘s attacks on Iran as the burgeoning conflict entered its sixth day.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Wednesday that direct U.S. military assistance to Israel could radically destabilise the situation in the Middle East.
Ryabkov said Russia cautions the U.S. against supplying such assistance to Israel – as the ministry warned Israeli strikes on nuclear facilities had pushed the region ‘millimetres away from catastrophe’.
The remarks came as the Ayatollah Khamenei issued a chilling threat to the U.S., warning that ‘any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage’.
‘This nation will not surrender to anyone in the face of imposition,’ he said in his first televised comments since Israel launched its surprise attack on Friday.
The stark warning came as U.S. officials indicated that Iran has 24 to 48 hours to surrender and save itself from American invention as President Trump considers joining Israel’s war.
White House officials said the next two days will be critical in determining whether Washington and Tehran can find a diplomatic solution to the burgeoning crisis in the Middle East.
In this, Trump shows he is either not Israel’s lapdog or he is pretending he is not Israel’s lapdog. Normal analysis of his demeanor and words is he has sidelined Netanyahu and Jewish Supremist in both Israel and USA. This is a sign that USA controls Israel, not the other way around. And also, it could be theater. But I think Trump wants lasting peace in the Middle East and has a good chance of seeing it happen through a coalition of regional powers controlling the region, with USA looking on. ABN
US aircraft carrier USS Nimitz is heading towards the Middle East as the conflict between Israel and Iran spirals into all-out war.
Donald Trump earlier warned that Iran will experience ‘the full strength’ of the American military if it attacks the US amid the conflict with Israel, despite reports he had vetoed Israel’s plans to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader.
The US President warned Tehran that if ‘we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the US Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before’.
This all comes down to what ‘we’ means. So far, and as long as Trump continues to keep out of the conflict, ‘we’ means we are going to keep out of the conflict. This is good. It means radical Israeli Supremists are not getting any help from USA in establishing their Greater Israel fantasy; thus keeping them from becoming sole hegemon of the Middle East. This is KOBK game theory playing out before our eyes. ABN
The US has admitted that it has approximately 500 military personnel stationed in Taiwan breaking previous pledges to not post soldiers on the contested island.
Retired US Navy Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery made the admission of a US military presence on Taiwan during testimony before lawmakers on May 15 – the first official confirmation of long-time suspicions that the US has a military footprint in Taiwan.
Significant intelligence was collected and surveillance was carried out to incriminate senior Iranian security officials and nuclear scientists who were eliminated.
Alongside this, a covert operational campaign to damage Iran’s strategic missile array. The Mossad carried out a series of covert operations in Iran, which were intended to damage Iran’s strategic missile array and its air defense capabilities.
As part of their activities, Mossad agents implemented significant moves to introduce special weapons on a large scale, deploy them throughout Iran, and launch them towards the attack targets in a precise and effective manner.
These are three different operations:
First, in central Iran, squads of Mossad commando fighters operated to deploy operational systems of precision-guided weapons, in open areas near the location of Iranian surface-to-air missile systems (SAM).
With the beginning of the Israeli attack, in parallel with the air force attacks throughout Iran, the systems were trained and activated, and the precision missiles were launched directly at the targets at once and with great accuracy.
In another operational campaign to thwart Iran’s air defense capabilities that threaten Israeli fighter jets, the Mossad, in secret operations, planted sophisticated attack systems and technologies on vehicles. With the start of the surprise attack, the weapons were launched and completely destroyed the targets of the attack – the Iranian defense systems.
In the third campaign, the Mossad established a base of explosive drones that were infiltrated into the heart of Iran long before the attack by Mossad agents. During the Israeli attack, the explosive drones were activated and launched at the surface-to-surface missile launchers (SGMs) located at the Asfaqabad base near Tehran and that pose a threat to strategic targets and Israeli citizens.
I am not so sure Trump is complicit. Ofc, he knew what was coming. What he says and what he does are not the same. A different analysis from Macgregor’s is Trump has distanced himself from Netanyahu and is not going play along with him. I would keep both analyses and more in mind as events, which are beyond our control and knowledge, continue to unfold. Don’t place too much stock in who makes the right guesses in matters like this. The future is not a roulette wheel to be bet upon. The present is something we analyze and assess. There are many unknowns in an event of this magnitude. ABN
I am seeing the assertion that Israel’s Mossad had a secret drone base or bases or caches of drones prepositioned in Iran and that these were used in the attack, which took out military leaders first; then nuclear sites.
The tactic of using concealed drones appears to have been roughly similar to the one used in Ukraine’s attacks on Russian bombers. It’s cheap and fairly easy to do.
Obviously, USA can expect something like this, and probably soon. Tomorrow is a big day and would appeal to anyone planning attacks like this.
Under Biden-Harris-Mayorkas, some two million migrant ‘got-aways’ escaped into USA. Military operatives will surely be among them. ABN
According to most information flowing from the region, a second wave attack from Israel us underway (or just completed). The first wave targeting was the Iranian military leadership and nuclear scientists, the second wave hitting the nuclear installations.
We could tell from the initial targeting, the IDF were not targeting hardened installations, they were targeting people who run them where they live in the middle of the night. This appears to be confirmed by ground reporting of residences being the target with highly strategic Mossad agents on the ground doing major intelligence activity to identify the targets. It appears Israel was very successful (but still really early).
That approach also establishes the baseline for internal Iranian political opposition to push for regime change.
The second wave of Israeli targeting then goes directly at the nuclear installations. This approach also makes sense. First round takes out the brain power, second round takes out their hardened facilities (much more difficult to eliminate).
As the operation proceeds, we now turn focus to the U.S. interests, and this is where we use hindsight to last Sunday’s Camp David meeting.
Secretary of State / National Security Advisor Marco Rubio emphasizes Israel is acting “unilaterally,” without USA support. President Trump proactively and strategically emphasizes his preferred approach of “diplomacy.”
Some will doubt, but I would draw your attention to Trump’s relay of the call with Vladimir Putin last week. Obviously, President Trump understood Israel was on the cusp of taking some ‘unilateral’ action, albeit with a likelihood of a head’s-up to USA of approximate timing (Sunday Camp David as a proactive ‘get us prepped’ agenda).
The scenario begins to become self-evident when you consider that President Trump redirected 20,000 patriot defense missiles from Ukraine to Israel, much to the chagrin and anger of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as expressed June 9th. Which also takes us into the conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Under this scenario, Camp David on Sunday would likely be a coordination meeting between President Trump, Secretary/NSA Marco Rubio and top military officials where the topic was getting our interests prepared and shifted as the administration knew this week something was going to happen with Iran. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday the U.S. moves personnel and non-essentials into a more secure and stable environment. Friday, Boom.
Back to Putin.
[This is a first-rate analysis, well-worth reading. Posted in full with Sundance’s permission. ABN]
Russia fears China could annex part of its Far East region, including the port city of Vladivostok, and beyond, according to a leaked document from Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).
The eight-page internal FSB document, obtained by The New York Times, reveals that despite Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s outward projection of warm ties with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, he fears Beijing is “trying to encroach” on Russian territory.
Vladivostok was ceded to Tsarist Russia in 1860 under the Treaty of Peking, which established the border between China and Russia along the Amur and Ussuri Rivers, as indicated on Newsweek‘s maps in this article. This agreement granted Russia control of Vladivostok, a key port city in the Russian Far East.
Per the FSB, China has sought to bolster its historical claims in the Russian Far East by researching traces of “ancient Chinese peoples” in the region. In 2023, China’s Ministry of Natural Resources mandated that new maps use the Chinese names for Vladivostok and seven other cities in the region. The document suggests that China may be trying to influence local opinion to support its narrative.
The FSB memo also alleges that Chinese intelligence agents are interested in the Arctic and the Northern Sea Route, which is located by the northern coast of Russia. The route, which significantly reduces shipping time between Asia and Europe, would allow China to export its goods more efficiently.
American Buddhist Net 