Time to ban American higher education from accepting Qatari funding. The post Qatari Textbooks Praise Jihad, Whitewash Hitler appeared first on Frontpage Mag.

Breaking News: “Broadcast on Iranian state television has been hacked, replaced with messaging from Netanyahu and Trump,” The Spectator Index reports. We don’t know what they might have said. There is a lot going on today, with a potential Ayatollah dying and Iranian leaders allegedly wanting to talk with President Trump. We have a temporary […] The post Another Ayatollah-to-Be Passes & Iran’s New Leaders Want to Talk appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

First, we had the suspected terrorist attacker from Senegal in Austin, and now we have a man stabbing people after a crash in Annandale, Virginia. According to initial information from the scene, four victims were stabbed after the crash. The suspect was shot by police during the incident. CPR was being performed on one victim, […] The post Terrorism in Annandale, Virginia? appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

The United States didn’t hedge — it called Tehran out by name, publicly torching what it says are flat-out lies from the Iranian regime in a blunt, point-by-point takedown posted by U.S. Central Command, just hours after the joint United States–Israel operation that eliminated Iran’s supreme leader. The fact-checking barrage comes in the wake of the coordinated strike by the United States and Israel that took out Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a move officials have framed as a decisive blow against what they describe as the regime’s decades-long campaign of terror and regional destabilization. In a pair of sharply worded statements on X, CENTCOM directly contradicted claims made by Iran’s ambassador at the United Nations and by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, labeling them false and accusing Tehran of deliberately misleading the international community. During a U.N. Security Council meeting, Iran’s ambassador claimed Tehran’s response had been directed “solely and exclusively at the bases and assets of the United States.” CENTCOM rejected that claim outright. “The Iranian Regime is actively targeting civilians and has attacked more than a dozen locations,” the command stated, listing sites it says were struck. According to CENTCOM, those locations include: Dubai International Airport Kuwait International Airport Zayed International Airport, Dubai Erbil International Airport, Iraq Fairmont Palm Hotel, Dubai Burj Al Arab Hotel, Dubai Crowne Plaza Hotel, Bahrain Port of Dubai Residential areas in Beit Shemesh, Israel Residential areas in Tel Aviv, Israel Residential area of Era Views Towers, Bahrain Residential areas in Qatar The public rebuttal marks a significant escalation in messaging, with the United States accusing Tehran of attacking civilian infrastructure while misrepresenting its actions before the international community. In a separate claim, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps asserted it had struck the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier with ballistic missiles. CENTCOM again dismissed the claim. “The Lincoln was not hit. The missiles launched didn’t even come close,” the command said. “The Lincoln continues to launch aircraft in support of CENTCOM’s relentless campaign to defend the American people by eliminating threats from the Iranian regime.” The forceful denials come as the United States and Israel continue a coordinated military campaign targeting Iranian military assets, including air defenses, missile infrastructure, and naval capabilities. By publicly labeling Tehran’s statements as false, Washington is waging an information battle alongside ongoing military operations — seeking to counter Iranian claims, reassure allies, and underscore that key U.S. assets remain fully operational.

'They should have done it sooner'

American Energy Dominance

THE DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—Journalist Masih Alinejad took to the streets of New York City Saturday to celebrate the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. President Donald Trump confirmed Khamenei’s death in a post on Truth Social Saturday afternoon, hours after he announced Operation Epic Fury early that morning. Alinejad posted the video of her celebration on X Saturday afternoon. “Every morning I wake up reading that my people are being killed by Ali Khamenei, but this is the first morning in my life that I get the good news, but I wanna run,” Alinejad said. “I wanna run. I wanna run. I wanna run. I wanna just run. I wanna just run and shout and shout and shout out of joy, out of joy, out of joy, out of joy.” In January 2023, three men were indicted on charges relating to a plan to assassinate Alinejad, roughly a year and a half after the U.S. Justice Department charged an Iranian intelligence network with plotting to kidnap her and forcibly return her to Iran, where she would be killed. Alinejad then went out on the streets of New York, where at least two women hugged her as she celebrated the death of the Ayatollah. Alinejad learned of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks about Khamenei’s death from CBS News anchor Major Garrett Saturday. “I also want to give you some other information we’ve just gotten in my ear,” Garrett told Alinejad. “So, in an address a short time ago, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there were signs that Iran’s Supreme Leader is ‘no longer,’ no longer, but he didn’t, he didn’t go anything farther than that. He didn’t confirm his death, but he did say no longer. What does that indicate to you, if anything?” “Khamenei’s dead?” Alinejad asked Garrett, her hand coming to her chest. “If he’s really dead, this is a day of celebration. I call every Iranian, every American, if Ali Khamenei is gone, do not mourn. Do not even dare to mourn for the killing of a terrorist, because removing a terrorist is not tragedy. It’s a sign of justice,” Alinejad told Garrett. “Let’s not forget Nar Sultan. Let’s not forget Pouya Bakhtiari, Pewan, Massina Amini, Aida the doctor. Let’s not forget the Innocent unarmed civilians being killed because of him. He ordered my killing three times. He ordered the killing of innocent Iranians for 47 years, and that’s the dream of me to be alive, to tell Iranians, celebrate this moment when Osama bin Laden was killed in America.” “What did Americans do, my fellow American citizen? What did you do? Did you mourn the killing of Osama bin Laden?” Alinejad continued. “No, because you saw this as a sign of justice for the victims of September 11th. If Ali Khamenei is killed, this is a sign of justice for the family members of thousands of unarmed, innocent people who have faced a massacre, who have been executed because of this guy. Do not dare to mourn for terrorists, and I hope, I hope this is the truth, and I’m sure that millions of Iranians will celebrate the killing of their [oppressor].” Alinejad previously criticized the Biden administration for giving Iranian President Sayyid Ebrahim Raisolsadati, also known as Ebrahim Raisi, a visa to enter the United States in order address the United Nations General Assembly. Her outspoken criticism of Khamenei’s regime was said to be a reason for the assassination plots from Iran. “[Alinejad] was targeted for exercising the rights to which every American citizen is entitled. [Alinejad] publicized the Iranian Government’s human rights abuses; discriminatory treatment of women; suppression of democratic participation and expression; and use of arbitrary imprisonment, torture, and execution,” then-Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters in January 2023. “This activity posed such a threat to the Government of Iran that the Chief Judge of Iran’s Revolutionary Courts warned that anyone who sent videos to [Alinejad] criticizing the regime would be sentenced to prison—especially videos contrary to criminal laws mandating that women and girls wear head coverings in public.” Originally published by The Daily Caller News Foundation. The post Journalist Marked for Death by Khamenei Celebrates His Demise appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Iran's Endgame Strategy Is Revealed

Japan transformed from an expansionist military power to a pacifist state within a decade after World War II, adopting a firmly non-nuclear posture after suffering atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Yet Japan possesses one of the most advanced civilian nuclear infrastructures in the world, technically capable of creating nuclear weapons.As debates in the United States intensify over alliance commitments and burden-sharing, questions about the credibility of America’s extended deterrence are growing. If that credibility weakens, Japan may find itself increasingly alone in deterring China, North Korea, and Russia.As Japan becomes more militarized, nuclear pacifism may begin to be replaced with nuclear realism.Japan is already reinterpreting elements of its postwar restraint, evident in the modernization of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and the acquisition of long-range counterstrike capabilities for “deterrence by punishment.” Will Japan do the same with nuclear weapons?The nuclear threshold is nearJapan lacks nuclear warhead expertise, dedicated delivery systems, and secure nuclear testing infrastructure, but it does have the industrial, material, and financial resources to begin a nuclear weapons program.Japan possesses full-scale nuclear fuel cycle facilities, accumulating over 45 metric tons of separated plutonium, enough to make thousands of nuclear weapons. Japan is projected to increase reliance on fast breeder reactors; these reactors produce more plutonium than they consume.Japan is also building facilities that eliminate the need to outsource its spent fuel for reprocessing, allowing Japan to domestically produce separated plutonium. Some analysts estimate that Japan could develop a small nuclear arsenal within a year.Despite Japan’s nuclear latency, it has not crossed the nuclear threshold. Other than public consensus and constitutional restraints, Japan is held back by technical and financial costs. Japan needs to develop nuclear weapons design expertise, delivery systems, and secure infrastructure, all financially and politically costly endeavors.Furthermore, Japan’s civilian nuclear facilities operate under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. That makes it difficult to run a clandestine nuclear weapons program. While the costs are substantial, they are not prohibitive for a country with Japan’s industrial and technological capacity. Given its advanced nuclear power program and infrastructure and increasingly sophisticated military, Japan can develop the technical requirements for a nuclear weapons program in short order.Hedging nuclear betsJapan is a nuclear latent power, so the central issue is intent. Japan adopted what strategists call “insurance hedging,” entailing a cost-benefit analysis of U.S. extended deterrence to determine whether relying on U.S. nuclear weapons is worth the risk of Japan not having its own. Should U.S. extended deterrence fail or be perceived as too weak, Japan will claim insurance by developing nuclear weapons for its own protection.Japan became an insurance hedger for two reasons: It wants the option to develop nuclear weapons and does not want to forgo U.S. extended deterrence. Japan relies on U.S. extended deterrence for security, but pursuing nuclear weapons could remove Japan from America’s nuclear umbrella.RELATED: Trump’s Iran gamble: Peace Prize or Persian Gulf firestorm Photo by Tajh Payne/US Navy via Getty ImagesInsurance hedging allows Japan to stay within U.S. extended deterrence while preparing for the possibility of abandonment or failure by the United States. Nuclear latency serves as leverage. If U.S. security guarantees weaken, Japan would retain the ability to respond independently.Nuclear latency was always the planJapan’s nuclear latency is not an accident. As early as the 1950s, Japan deliberately preserved nuclear latency while relying on the United States for deterrence. Japan understood the deterrence value of nuclear weapons, especially in a security environment surrounded by nuclear powers and potential nuclear powers.For Japan, the United States would serve as its nuclear deterrent, which allowed Japan to maintain its pacifist posture. Nuclear pacifism is still dominant in Japanese strategic culture, but as Japan becomes more militarized, nuclear pacifism may begin to be replaced with nuclear realism.If U.S. extended deterrence no longer offers Japan the protection it needs, and domestic consensus against nuclear weapons is resolved, Japan could shift in favor of nuclear weapons. To create the JSDF, Japan reinterpreted Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution; Article 9 is an explicit “Renunciation of War” mandating that Japan never maintain “war potential.” Japan once reinterpreted Article 9 to build the Self-Defense Forces. Reinterpreting nuclear pacifism would be far more controversial, but not unprecedented.Editor's note: This article was originally published by RealClearDefense and made available via RealClearWire.