The U.S. Navy on Tuesday identified the aviator who went missing after the MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter he was aboard made an emergency landing in the Arabian Sea.
<a href="https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2026/07/07/squadron-commanding-officer-identified-as-navy-aviator-killed-in-downed-helicopter/">Cmdr. Gabriel Edwards</a>, commanding officer of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5, remained missing after the helicopter made an emergency landing around 3:30 a.m. EDT on July 1. Three other crew members were rescued, but search efforts spanning 102 hours and 14,000 square miles ended without locating Edwards.
&#8220;Commander Gabe Edwards was the epitome of selfless leadership, who dedicated himself to service and sacrifice for the last 20 years,&#8221; said Capt. Matthew Lewis, commander of Carrier Air Wing 7. &#8220;Our deepest gratitude and sympathy go out to his family.&#8221;
Edwards had served in the Navy for two decades and was leading Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5, which flies the MH-60S Sea Hawk, during the USS George H.W. Bush&#8217;s deployment. The Sea Hawk is a multi-mission helicopter used for logistics, search and rescue, medical evacuation, and other fleet missions.
The search included Navy and Air Force aircraft, destroyers, and helicopter squadrons from across the region. The Navy suspended search-and-rescue operations on Monday.
&#8220;The efforts concluded following an extensive search by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility,&#8221; the service said in a statement.
The Navy previously said there was no indication that the helicopter&#8217;s emergency landing was caused by hostile activity. Officials have not released additional details about what led to the emergency landing, and the incident remains under investigation.
Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said in a Tuesday statement that Edwards would be promoted to the rank of captain posthumously.
“For 20 years, Commander Edwards served our nation with courage and integrity,” Cao wrote. “In recognition of his extraordinary service and sacrifice, I have directed that Commander Edwards be posthumously promoted to his selected rank of captain.”
Edwards is survived by his wife, Rebecca, and their two children. In a statement, the family remembered him as a devoted husband and father and thanked those who took part in the search.
&#8220;Gabe has dedicated his life to serving his country with honor, courage, and commitment,&#8221; Edwards said. &#8220;He led with humility, integrity, and compassion, always putting his people before himself.&#8221;

Cmdr. Gabriel Edwards

Navy Identifies Missing Pilot After Emergency Landing At Sea

Iran

Iran war

Navy

Live blog

Trump Warns Iran: ‘It Will Get Much Worse’ If Shipping Attacks Continue

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

Protest

Revolution

President Donald Trump declared the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding (MOU) effectively dead on Wednesday, unloading on Tehran&#8217;s leaders as &#8220;scum&#8221; and &#8220;sick people&#8221; after Iranian attacks on commercial shipping vessels in the Strait of Hormuz shattered a deal that had survived just 21 days.
Trump also warned that the United States could launch another round of strikes against Iran Wednesday night. 
&#8220;We hit them very hard last night — very, very hard — and we&#8217;ll probably hit them hard again tonight,&#8221; Trump said from the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. &#8220;I&#8217;ll give them a little warning, we&#8217;re gonna hit them hard tonight.&#8221;
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&#8220;They&#8217;re scum. They&#8217;re sick people,&#8221; Trump said during the NATO summit in Ankara, when asked whether he still viewed the memorandum as salvageable. 
The president added that further negotiations with Iran would be &#8220;a waste of time,&#8221; signaling a dramatic reversal from the optimism that surrounded the agreement&#8217;s signing on June 17.
Trump also defended his negotiating team, saying Jared Kushner, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Vice President JD Vance spent months trying to reach a lasting agreement with Tehran.
“So we&#8217;ll see now as to whether or not Steve Witkoff, Jared, JD, and everybody working on that will talk — I guess they can talk, but I&#8217;m not seeing it with them,” Trump said. “My whole life is deals. I don&#8217;t see it.&#8221;
The MOU was negotiated after the United States and the Iranian regime agreed to a ceasefire on April 8 following a period of escalating military conflict. While not a formal treaty, the agreement was intended to serve as a roadmap toward a broader settlement to address Iran&#8217;s nuclear program, sanctions relief, maritime security, and regional stability.
Under the MOU, Iran agreed to cease military operations against the United States and its allies, ensure the safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, enter negotiations on a final agreement within 60 days, and reaffirm that it would not develop a nuclear weapon. 
In return, the United States agreed to begin lifting its naval blockade, issue waivers for Iranian oil exports, refrain from imposing new sanctions during negotiations, and pursue broader sanctions relief and economic normalization if a final agreement is reached. 
Critics of the agreement argued that Tehran was stalling negotiations and using the MOU&#8217;s 60-day negotiating period to buy time. Those concerns intensified after Iran and Oman announced plans to negotiate the future administration of the Strait of Hormuz, including navigation services and associated costs, after the MOU&#8217;s 60-day toll-free period expires. 
Secretary of State Marco Rubio later warned that charging commercial vessels to transit the waterway &#8220;will never be an acceptable condition of any deal.”
Trump now argues that Tehran violated the agreement and negotiated in bad faith.
&#8220;These people, they lie, and they cheat, and you have an agreement, and they&#8217;ll go outside,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;For instance, they agreed, &#8216;Well, we&#8217;ll never have a nuclear weapon.&#8217; They agreed. Then they go outside, they have a news conference, or they leak that we never discussed the subject.&#8221;
The collapse also appears to have ended a 91-day ceasefire that had mostly halted direct attacks between Washington and Tehran following months of military confrontation.
The breaking point came when Iranian forces targeted three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, triggering a forceful American response, including strikes against more than 80 Iranian targets, according to <a href="https://www.centcom.mil/MEDIA/PUBLIC-RELEASES/Article/4535772/us-forces-complete-new-round-of-retaliatory-strikes-against-iran/">U.S. Central Command</a>.
Trump warned that the latest strikes stopped short of targeting some of Iran&#8217;s most critical infrastructure, including bridges, power plants, desalination facilities, and major oil-export infrastructure.
&#8220;We attacked Kharg Island last night, we knocked out a piece,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;I said don&#8217;t touch the oil, because maybe we&#8217;ll take over Kharg Island. We may take over Kharg Island; there&#8217;s not a thing they can do about it. But I said don&#8217;t hit the pipes, just hit everything else.&#8221;
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused Washington of violating the agreement, <a href="https://x.com/mb_ghalibaf/status/2074681304625369519">writing</a> that, &#8220;The era of bullying and extortion is over. It leads nowhere. We don&#8217;t fold.&#8221;
Trump also said the United States could restore the naval blockade that was suspended under the MOU.
&#8220;We may put back the blockade,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;And it&#8217;ll only be a blockade for Iran. Anybody else can have whatever they want.&#8221;
The naval blockade was suspended under the MOU. Before it was lifted, U.S. forces had intercepted more than 140 vessels suspected of violating sanctions or supporting Iranian maritime activities.
On Tuesday, the Trump administration also rolled back sanctions relief provided under the MOU. The Treasury Department gave companies until July 17 to wind down existing business but barred new purchases, sales, loading, or delivery of Iranian oil after July 7. 
A U.S. official said the waiver was contingent on Iranian compliance with the memorandum of understanding and was revoked after Iran attacked the tankers, calling Tehran&#8217;s actions &#8220;wholly unacceptable.&#8221;
The collapse of the agreement comes as Iran remains in the middle of a massive state funeral for former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and days after members of Iran&#8217;s Assembly of Experts appeared to endorse the assassination of President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, declaring that anyone who gains access to the two leaders is obligated to &#8220;send them to hell.&#8221;
Under the slogan &#8220;We Must Rise,&#8221; Iranian authorities have spent months organizing ceremonies across Iran and Iraq in what officials hope will become one of the largest public gatherings in modern history. The funeral has been promoted by the regime not only as a memorial service but also as a demonstration of national unity and political legitimacy following months of war and the regime massacring protesters.
Trump said Iranian officials had specifically requested that the United States refrain from attacking during Khamenei&#8217;s funeral ceremonies.
&#8220;They said this, &#8216;Please don&#8217;t kill us during the funeral.&#8217; I said, &#8216;I won&#8217;t,'&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;And we didn&#8217;t, we didn&#8217;t do anything.&#8221;

Trump and Mojtaba

Trump Drops Brutal Four-Letter Label On Iran Before Revealing America’s Next Move

Donald Trump

Operation Epic Fury

WASHINGTON — A Kuwaiti man who obtained a green card in the U.S. is being sent home after he called America &#8220;the enemy&#8221; and expressed support for terrorists.
Tareq Alkhudari entered the country on a non-immigrant student visa in 2014 to attend San Jose State University, a source familiar with the situation said. He gained lawful permanent resident status in November 2024, but is now in federal custody pending removal from the United States after Secretary of State Marco Rubio terminated his legal status. 
In posts from his Instagram and Bluesky accounts, Alkhudari repeatedly expresses disdain for the United States and white people. In December 2025, he posted a cartoon of a brown-skinned individual preparing to set fire to the American-flag-cape draped over the shoulders of a woman dressed in red, white, and blue.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-trump-admin-sends-middle-eastern-migrant-packing-for-hating-america/screenshot-2026-07-07-at-3-55-24-pm" rel="attachment wp-att-1130001"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-1130001 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-07-at-3.55.24-PM-772x576.png" alt="" width="772" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-07-at-3.55.24-PM-772x576.png 772w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-07-at-3.55.24-PM-300x224.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-07-at-3.55.24-PM-768x573.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-07-at-3.55.24-PM-1536x1146.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-07-at-3.55.24-PM.png 1670w" sizes=" (max-width: 772px) 100vw, 772px" /></a>
In another post he speaks positively of the &#8220;Al-Aqsa Flood,&#8221; the code name given by Hamas for their terror attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
&#8220;Since Al-Aqsa Flood, we&#8217;ve witnessed an unprecedented surge in public support for Palestine,&#8221; reads a graphic that Alkhudari shared. The post questions whether Western supporters of Palestinians are genuine and whether their support is &#8220;consequential and coincidental, or has it been prepared for this inevitable time?&#8221;
He also shared a graphic stating &#8220;the compass remains Palestine&#8221; and &#8220;the enemy remains Isntreal and Amerika.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-trump-admin-sends-middle-eastern-migrant-packing-for-hating-america/unknown-7" rel="attachment wp-att-1129877"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-1129877 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/unknown-3-708x576.png" alt="" width="708" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/unknown-3-708x576.png 708w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/unknown-3-300x244.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/unknown-3-768x625.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/unknown-3.png 936w" sizes=" (max-width: 708px) 100vw, 708px" /></a>
In another post, he mocks a woman for defending both Palestinians and Americans, writing: &#8220;Lol I wonder what this cracker would think if she knew I watch documentaries and investigations of white on white crimes to soothe myself to sleep.&#8221;
In an Instagram post about his plans to travel home to Kuwait before President Donald Trump launched Operation Epic Fury, Alkhudari blames &#8220;Isntreal and Amerika&#8221; for the &#8220;instability&#8221; and says those countries are responsible even if an Iranian missile kills him.
&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-trump-admin-sends-middle-eastern-migrant-packing-for-hating-america/screenshot-2026-07-07-at-4-45-59-pm" rel="attachment wp-att-1130059"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-1130059 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-07-at-4.45.59-PM-705x576.png" alt="" width="705" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-07-at-4.45.59-PM-705x576.png 705w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-07-at-4.45.59-PM-300x245.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-07-at-4.45.59-PM-768x628.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-07-at-4.45.59-PM-1536x1256.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-07-at-4.45.59-PM.png 1654w" sizes=" (max-width: 705px) 100vw, 705px" /></a>
As he lamented reports of a deal between Iran and the United States, Alkhudari posted a photo of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump, saying: &#8220;Hope whatever the other carries is contagious and they both perish from a comet striking them just before they take their final breaths suffocating on white phosphorous [sic] and their own blood.&#8221;
He also railed against &#8220;incessant Amerikan and zionist expansion proxy warfare, sectarian fragmentation, and the normalization of colonial presences across the region.&#8221;
&#8220;The Trump administration will never allow foreigners who denigrate our great nation to abuse the hospitality of the United States and remain on American soil,&#8221; a State Department official shared. 
“This foreign national wished harm on our president, referred to America as &#8216;the enemy,&#8217; and voiced support for foreign terror organizations,&#8221; the official added. &#8220;Foreign nationals who echo propaganda from foreign adversaries while residing in the United States should expect to find themselves on a deportation flight. They must return home.” 
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-trump-admin-sends-middle-eastern-migrant-packing-for-hating-america/screenshot-2026-07-07-at-3-55-35-pm" rel="attachment wp-att-1129997"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-1129997 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-07-at-3.55.35-PM-316x576.png" alt="" width="316" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-07-at-3.55.35-PM-316x576.png 316w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-07-at-3.55.35-PM-164x300.png 164w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-07-at-3.55.35-PM.png 734w" sizes=" (max-width: 316px) 100vw, 316px" /></a>
Alkhudari also expressed an intense hatred of Americans, even those who agreed with his political causes.
&#8220;You satiate your desperations from theatrical representations with more American consumerism, as the country continues its planned genocides, colonization, and exploitation of Black, Brown, and indigenous bodies,&#8221; he wrote in a post on Bluesky.
Another post slams Westerners who &#8220;identify as pro-Palestine&#8221; but don&#8217;t understand why Iran is targeting American bases in the Middle East, saying that these Westerners are &#8220;exposing the limits of their political literacy and nature of their performativity.&#8221;
&#8220;There is no point walking them through it,&#8221; he writes. &#8220;It&#8217;s fruitless labor. Imagine explaining sectarianism to a white Amerikan who roots for Francesca Albanese and thinks Pierce [sic] Morgan&#8217;s sympathy signifies change&#8230;If one cannot situate the Zionist entity within the broader architecture of regional militarization and normalization, the confusion is self imposed.&#8221;
In a Kuwaiti newspaper article, Alkhudari tears into New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, arguing that Mamdani is not radical enough and &#8220;came from the heart of the American liberal establishment and enjoyed the support of white feminist movements and liberal normalizers whose true loyalty remained with the American colonial system, even if they wore the mask of &#8216;progress and civilization.'&#8221;
And as he reflected on how Americans are beginning to view the Palestinian cause and what freedom means to him, he questions: &#8220;Does it mean a state alongside the occupier? Or does it mean dismantling the existing entity and establishing a single, just state on all of the land? Eyes are beginning to open to the fact that among them are normalization advocates and traitors hiding behind masks of freedom.&#8221;

President Trump Meets With Visiting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban

EXCLUSIVE: Trump Admin Sends Middle Eastern Migrant Packing For Hating America

Hamas

Immigration

Kuwait

State Department

As Iran sought to turn former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei&#8217;s funeral into a global show of legitimacy, a handful of Americans traveled to Tehran to help push the regime’s propaganda, praise the late leader, and denounce the United States.
Khamenei, who ruled Iran for 36 years, oversaw the Islamic Republic through decades of conflict with the West, the expansion of Tehran&#8217;s network of terrorist proxies across the Middle East, and the brutal suppression of domestic dissent before he was killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes earlier this year.
The funeral is more than a memorial. Iranian officials have spent months organizing what they hope will become one of the largest public gatherings in history, expecting tens of millions of mourners to rally under the slogan, &#8220;We Must Rise.&#8221; The regime has framed the ceremonies as both a show of national unity and a call for revenge over Khamenei&#8217;s death, inviting foreign delegations from more than 30 countries to help project that message to the world.
While that revenge would be directed at the United States, several Americans answered the invitation and have been working to help project Iran&#8217;s message to the world.
<h4>Jackson Hinkle</h4>
Jackson Hinkle, an American social media grifter who has built his online brand defending U.S. adversaries and authoritarian regimes, traveled to Tehran for the former supreme leader&#8217;s funeral, where he spent days amplifying Iranian regime propaganda to his 3.8 million followers on X.
&#8220;I came here as an American to say that I fully reject the crimes of the U.S. empire and the Zionist entity against the good people of Iran,&#8221; Hinkle <a href="https://x.com/canarymission/status/2074267105642389663">said</a> from Tehran. Days later, he posted: &#8220;LONG LIVE KHAMENEI!&#8221;
Born in San Clemente, California, Hinkle is a co-founder of the American Communist Party and has become known for championing the causes of Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Russia while frequently spreading conspiracy theories online.
During his trip, Hinkle met with senior Iranian regime officials, including government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani and Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, according to his X account. 
He filled his social media feed with videos celebrating the regime, including crowds <a href="https://x.com/jacksonhinkle/status/2074037629020971449">burning</a> American, British, and Israeli flags, mourners <a href="https://x.com/jacksonhinkle/status/2074093502967971974">throwing</a> objects at a portrait of President Donald Trump, and supporters <a href="https://x.com/jacksonhinkle/status/2074044581025345921">waving</a> Hezbollah flags. 
In another video, Hinkle stood on stage <a href="https://x.com/jacksonhinkle/status/2074294440361959524">waving</a> a red flag — associated with calls for vengeance in Shiite Islam — while leading chants of, &#8220;Down with Zionists.&#8221;
Hinkle has repeatedly aligned himself with Iranian-backed groups. In February 2025, he attended the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon. The following month, he traveled to Yemen for a four-day <a href="https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-847301">conference</a> hosted by the Houthis, where he condemned U.S. military strikes against the terrorist group and <a href="https://x.com/jacksonhinkle/status/1903919691334066299">met with</a> Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree.
On July 5, Hinkle was in Tehran as crowds gathered for the funeral, <a href="https://x.com/jacksonhinkle/status/2073888762749211007">telling his followers</a> that Iranians were united &#8220;against the United States&#8221; and &#8220;against the Zionist entity.&#8221; 
He ended the video by declaring, &#8220;If there&#8217;s one thing I can tell you here tonight, it&#8217;s that the people here want their revenge — and revenge I am sure they will get.&#8221;
<h4>Max Blumenthal </h4>
Far-left activist writer Max Blumenthal <a href="https://x.com/MaxBlumenthal/status/2073927750688096762">joined</a> war drummers in Tehran as crowds gathered to mourn former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, posting video of himself participating in a Shia ritual meant to evoke battle and martyrdom.
&#8220;The drummers at Tehran&#8217;s Tajrish Square asked me to join them for a few minutes,&#8221; Blumenthal wrote on X. He explained that the Dammam drumming tradition recreates &#8220;the sounds of the Battle of Karbala,&#8221; with deep bass drums symbolizing the pounding of horse hooves and cymbals representing clashing swords. He added that the drummers had gathered for nightly rallies that have filled the square since &#8220;the U.S. and Israel imposed war on Iran.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The drummers at Tehran&#8217;s Tajrish Square asked me to join them for a few minutes
They&#8217;re playing a distinctively Shia style from southern Iran and Iraq called Dammam, named for the drum, which evokes the sounds of the battle of Karbala. The deep bass drums recreate the beating of… <a href="https://t.co/pNEENQqxMV">pic.twitter.com/pNEENQqxMV</a>
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) <a href="https://x.com/MaxBlumenthal/status/2073927750688096762?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 6, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Blumenthal, the editor of The Grayzone and son of former Clinton adviser Sidney Blumenthal, said he spent his time in Iran interviewing members of the country&#8217;s negotiating team, government officials, academics, and ordinary Iranians.
During the ongoing funeral, Blumenthal <a href="https://x.com/MaxBlumenthal/status/2073789018731389107?s=20">wrote</a> that Khamenei&#8217;s assassination had strengthened, rather than weakened, the Islamic Republic.
&#8220;If the assassination of Khamenei was designed to spur regime change, his funeral demonstrates how badly it has backfired,&#8221; he wrote. In another post, he declared that the funeral had &#8220;consolidated the Islamic Republic and its revolutionary society as a political reality that cannot be erased through regime change, war, or sanctions.&#8221;
Blumenthal also posted interviews with mourners, <a href="https://x.com/MaxBlumenthal/status/2073794214278627762">writing</a> that &#8220;a common sentiment at the funeral for Khamenei was incandescent rage at the American leadership that authorized his assassination, but a refusal to hold average Americans collectively responsible for the crime.&#8221;
Blumenthal has long drawn criticism for his coverage of Israel and the Middle East. He has authored books comparing Israel to Nazi Germany, repeatedly defended Hamas following its wars with Israel, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/shocker-tucker-carlson-invites-rabid-anti-semitic-elliott-hamilton">referred</a> to Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel as a &#8220;defender of apartheid&#8221; after his death. Following Hamas&#8217; October 7 massacre of civilians, he <a href="https://x.com/MaxBlumenthal/status/1732637484184441343">dismissed</a> Israeli accounts of sexual violence by writing that Israel was &#8220;projecting its own sick rape culture onto Palestinians to justify its criminal post-10/7 rampage.&#8221;
<h4>Christopher Helali</h4>
Christopher Helali, an elected local official in Vermont who serves as Orange County&#8217;s high bailiff, declared himself &#8220;the ONLY elected USA politician in Iran right now” during the funeral.
While at the funeral, he posted a selfie in front of a “Kill Trump” banner, writing that the &#8220;ELECTED High Bailiff of Orange County, VT, USA&#8221; was in Iran to &#8220;honor, salute, and pray for Imam Khamenei and his family.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The ELECTED High Bailiff of Orange County, VT, USA is in Qom, Iran to honor, salute, and pray for Imam Khamenei and his family. <a href="https://t.co/ZqHy1VWUV4">pic.twitter.com/ZqHy1VWUV4</a>
— Christopher Helali (@ChrisHelali) <a href="https://x.com/ChrisHelali/status/2074388728642941369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 7, 2026</a></blockquote>
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On July 4, the 250th anniversary of American independence, Helali <a href="https://x.com/ChrisHelali/status/2073560085121417719">wrote</a> that he was in Iran &#8220;to honor and participate in the funeral&#8221; of Khamenei, adding: &#8220;Death to U.S. Imperialism and Zionism!&#8221; In another post, <a href="https://x.com/ChrisHelali/status/2073508109968867640">he wrote</a>, &#8220;Such an honor to be here to pray for, salute, and honor our beloved Imam Khamenei!&#8221; Days earlier, after Khamenei&#8217;s death, <a href="https://x.com/ChrisHelali/status/2072886513507975417">he declared</a>, &#8220;Imam Khamenei lives on in all of us!&#8221;
Helali was elected as a write-in candidate in 2024. He serves as Orange County&#8217;s high bailiff, a little-known Vermont office that exists primarily to assume a sheriff&#8217;s duties if the sheriff is unable to serve or, in the rare event it becomes necessary, to arrest the sheriff.
Despite holding elected office in Vermont, Helali lives primarily in Moscow, where he told Vermont&#8217;s White River Valley Herald he feels safer than in the United States. He also serves as the international secretary of the American Communist Party and works for an international law firm with operations across Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. Before entering politics, he worked as a high school teacher in Hanover, New Hampshire.
Helali told the newspaper he has &#8220;been detained off and on since 2013&#8221; by federal authorities and claimed he was placed on a Department of Homeland Security watch list after fighting against ISIS in Syria.
While in Iran this week, Helali also <a href="https://x.com/ChrisHelali/status/2074463354744094766">posted a video</a> of Khamenei&#8217;s coffin accompanied by a broken-heart emoji.
<h4>Calla Walsh</h4>
Twenty-one-year-old American activist Calla Walsh traveled to Tehran as one of the Iranian regime&#8217;s most vocal American defenders, spending days praising the late supreme leader and promoting his funeral on social media.
Walsh, who once lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, previously volunteered for Sen. Elizabeth Warren&#8217;s 2020 presidential campaign, helped organize youth support for Sen. Ed Markey, and canvassed for Michelle Wu&#8217;s mayoral campaign before becoming one of the most prominent young American supporters of the Islamic Republic.
As a teenager, she was profiled favorably by the New York Times as a social media activist helping shake up the Democratic Party in Massachusetts.
She recently relocated to Beirut and regularly contributes to Press TV, the Iranian government&#8217;s English-language television network, which is under U.S. sanctions. According to <a href="https://www.thefp.com/p/the-radicalization-of-calla-walsh?utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=paid-search&amp;utm_campaign=pmax&amp;utm_adgroup=1&amp;utm_term=&amp;utm_matchtype=&amp;wm_source=google&amp;wm_medium=ads&amp;wm_ad_id=&amp;wm_adgroup_id=&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=23996383669&amp;gbraid=0AAAAApHxamHvgs5nnom9apWmvl1bj0WpZ&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwx7LSBhB3EiwAjcodxIHoYdVPA2Gge7IkAWbYQrtGMeSIhSPVOiGrdrYCy2Bp4RZnxgQEphoCKY0QAvD_BwE">The Free Press</a>, Walsh was placed on a suspicious persons watch list because of her extensive dealings with the governments of Iran and Cuba. 
The outlet also reported that she participated in &#8220;guerrilla-style&#8221; raids targeting Israeli defense companies in the United States, leading to her arrest in 2024, and has called for the assassination of Israeli officials and their allies.
Last year, Walsh was seen in a <a href="https://x.com/IranIntl_En/status/1947940980868386956">video saying</a> &#8220;Death to America&#8221; and &#8220;Death to Israel&#8221; during a memorial event in Tehran, according to Iran International. 
On March 3, following the deaths of four U.S. soldiers in an Iranian-backed drone attack, Walsh <a href="https://x.com/CallaWalsh/status/2028978021491700089?s=20">wrote</a> on X: &#8220;They all died fighting for fascism, genocide, pedophilia, and cannibalism.&#8221;
Earlier this year, Walsh reportedly traveled to Iran as part of what critics described as a regime-backed propaganda tour, where she defended the Islamic Republic and downplayed the regime&#8217;s violent crackdown on anti-government protesters.
At the funeral, she called Khamenei a martyr and praised him, <a href="https://x.com/CallaWalsh/status/2073770888256770264">calling</a> the funeral &#8220;a resounding referendum on the Iranian masses&#8217; loyalty to the Islamic Revolution.&#8221; 
&#8220;He was a leader to all people in the world who struggled against imperialism, against arrogance, against Zionism, against genocide,&#8221; Walsh said. &#8220;To me, he was the greatest anti-imperialist leader to live during my lifetime.&#8221;
In another post, she wrote: &#8220;Glory and honor to the martyred leader of the free world, Sayyed Ali Khamenei.&#8221;
CNN senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen was granted access to cover Khamenei&#8217;s funeral by the Iranian regime. CNN noted that its team was operating in Iran only with the government&#8217;s permission but &#8220;maintains full editorial control.&#8221;
In one report from the funeral procession, Pleitgen stood amid a crowd chanting &#8220;Death to America.&#8221; Footage from the scene also showed at least one sign depicting President Donald Trump with crosshairs over his head.
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CNN’s Fred Pleitgen reports from inside Tehran, where Iran’s new supreme leader still has not been seen publicly after the third day of his father’s funeral. CNN operates in Iran only with the permission of the government but maintains full editorial control of its reports. <a href="https://t.co/YRAIfHU2Dm">pic.twitter.com/YRAIfHU2Dm</a>
— Erin Burnett OutFront (@OutFrontCNN) <a href="https://x.com/OutFrontCNN/status/2074293717922615518?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 7, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;As you can see, the people here are extremely angry,&#8221; Pleitgen said. &#8220;What they&#8217;re chanting right now is &#8216;Death to America,&#8217; and they have vowed revenge for the killing of the supreme leader, both against the United States as well as President Donald Trump.&#8221;
Other Americans made an appearance at the funeral, too — just not by choice.
Among the crowds were threatening posters depicting prominent Americans with crosshairs over their heads above the warning: &#8220;Sooner or later your heads will roll.&#8221;
Those featured included President Donald Trump, GOP megadonor Miriam Adelson, Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro, activist Laura Loomer, tech billionaire Peter Thiel, Sen. Lindsey Graham, and Foundation for Defense of Democracies CEO Mark Dubowitz.
Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad, who reposted video of the display, said the footage was being amplified by Russian state media.
&#8220;When the Islamic Republic threatens to kill you, believe them. I know from experience,&#8221; she wrote in <a href="https://x.com/AlinejadMasih/status/2074445536631943370">her post</a> with the video.

Iran Blumenthal

Meet the Americans Who Went To Iran For Ayatollah Khamenei’s Funeral

Ali Khamenei

The United Arab Emirates made its position very clear over the July Fourth weekend, opting to skip the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei&#8217;s funeral in Iran in favor of a red, white, and blue flyover for America 250 celebrations in New York City.
NBC News showed footage of the flyover, which featured the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Demonstration Team Al Fursan in a tight, seven-plane formation trailing red, white, and blue smoke. They flew alongside the U.S. Navy&#8217;s Blue Angels and the U.S. Air Force in a stunning display.
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While some were mourning Khamenei, the UAE was busy celebrating America&#8217;s 250th Independence Day in New York.Those queuing in Iran were nowhere to be seen. In this region, the UAE has proven itself to be the strong, brave, and reliable ally. 
Now you know who the real friend is. <a href="https://t.co/6NJtoxMraO">pic.twitter.com/6NJtoxMraO</a>
— Amjad Taha أمجد طه (@amjadt25) <a href="https://x.com/amjadt25/status/2073722548819464220?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Navy Vice Admiral John Gumbleton described the scene as they flew over Liberty Island in New York Harbor: &#8220;We got the United Arab Emirates Flight Demonstration Team, and they&#8217;re flying the smoke of the red, white, and blue in honor of the nation&#8217;s 250th — and looking quite professional going by.&#8221;
According to several reports, in addition to not sending a delegation to the late Iranian Supreme Leader&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/iran-wants-the-world-to-see-one-thing-at-khameneis-funeral">funeral</a>, the UAE also opted not to send condolences to the regime.
As The Daily Wire previously reported, the funeral is expected to be a massive spectacle designed to draw large crowds and give what is left of the regime legitimacy.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, as previously reported, called on citizens “of every ethnicity, religion, preference and political tendency” to attend, adding, “Your widespread presence will be a decisive response to the logic of terrorism, violence, and bullying, and a clear message to the world that the Iranian nation stands united and in solidarity in defending its independence and dignity.&#8221;

New York City Celebrates 4th Of July

UAE Skips Khamenei Funeral, Opts For America 250 Flyover Instead

America 250

United Arab Emirates (UAE)

America&#8217;s man at the United Nations unloaded on Iran&#8217;s chief diplomat Thursday, delivering a blistering smackdown after Tehran&#8217;s envoy tried to shut down an emergency Security Council session on the Gulf crisis — telling him bluntly that intimidation tactics don&#8217;t fly on East River soil.
&#8220;This is not Tehran,&#8221; U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz thundered at Iranian envoy Amir Saeid Iravani after the Iranian diplomat suggested the council shouldn&#8217;t even be meeting and accused Waltz and other members of spreading lies. &#8220;This is the United States of America. This is the United Nations Security Council. You will not silence this body.&#8221;
Waltz — the first Green Beret elected to Congress, who <a href="https://usun.usmission.gov/ambassador-michael-waltz/">served</a> 27 years in the U.S. Army, including multiple combat tours in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Africa, and received four Bronze Stars, including two for valor — wasn&#8217;t done. He continued:
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The representative goes on to say that the ambassador from Bahrain, the foreign minister, myself, and other members of this body are full of lies; they were lying. Let me ask you. What here is a lie? Who&#8217;s lying here? Is this Arab family in Bahrain in a residential neighborhood whose home was destroyed by an Iranian Shahed drone, are they lying? Crowne Plaza Hotel, full of tourists? Are they lying? First responders whose headquarters were struck deliberately so that they couldn&#8217;t put out fires:  Were they lying? Is this hypocrisy? Is this what this council is here to denounce today? I ask the representative, are these lies? Are these photographs, are these lies? I&#8217;d say not.
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Iran will not silence us on our own soil.
That might work in Tehran, but not in the UN Security Council.
We will tell the truth. <a href="https://t.co/AwzEbdETzn">pic.twitter.com/AwzEbdETzn</a>
&mdash; Ambassador Mike Waltz (@USAmbUN) <a href="https://x.com/USAmbUN/status/2072736749671878682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 2, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The fireworks capped a brutal day at the U.N., where Bahrain&#8217;s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani, <a href="https://www.iranintl.com/en/202607022230">laid out</a> a horror-show tally: 808 Iranian missile and drone strikes on his tiny kingdom since late February, killing three civilians and wounding 465 more. Al-Zayani said the barrage — 203 ballistic missiles and more than 600 armed drones — hammered homes, hospitals and infrastructure, and warned that an April strike on an ammonia tank came within a hair of triggering a toxic gas catastrophe.
Waltz, addressing the council earlier, had warned that President Donald Trump&#8217;s patience with Tehran was wearing thin, accusing the regime of strangling global trade by choking off the vital Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint UN economists say threatens 61 developing nations. &#8220;Iran cannot, and we cannot allow it to, hold the world&#8217;s economy hostage,&#8221; Waltz declared, insisting a &#8220;transformative&#8221; opportunity for ordinary Iranians remains on the table if Tehran changes course.
Iranian envoy Iravani claimed Waltz&#8217;s remarks were &#8220;lies and disinformation,&#8221; <a href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/us-military-presence-in-persian-gulf-brings-nothing-but-insecurity-irans-un-envoy/3984794">insisting</a> Iran&#8217;s strikes were purely defensive retaliation against American bases used to launch attacks on Iranian soil. He argued Washington has no business dictating security in the Gulf, insisting only regional nations should call the shots.
Waltz was having no part of it.

UN-US-ISRAEL-IRAN-WAR

Waltz Blasts Iran Envoy: ‘This Is Not Tehran. This Is The United States Of America’

Mike Waltz

United Nations

The Iranian regime is betting a historic turnout at former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei&#8217;s funeral will send a message of national unity and legitimacy by rallying mourners under the slogan &#8220;We Must Rise.&#8221;
The funeral ceremonies, beginning Friday, will span Iran and Iraq over several days. After lying in state in Tehran, Khamenei&#8217;s body will be taken to the Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala before returning to Iran for ceremonies in Qom and a July 9 burial at the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad, his birthplace.
Iranian authorities <a href="https://www.mehrnews.com/news/6871071/%D8%AC%D8%B2%D8%A6%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%AA%D9%85%D9%87%DB%8C%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%81%DB%8C%DA%A9%DB%8C-%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%85-%D8%AA%D8%B4%DB%8C%DB%8C%D8%B9-%D9%BE%DB%8C%DA%A9%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B7%D9%87%D8%B1-%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A8%D8%B1-%D8%B4%D9%87%DB%8C%D8%AF">estimate</a> turnout could reach tens of millions, marking one of the most widely attended funerals in history.
The scale of the preparations reflects the significance of Khamenei&#8217;s 36-year rule and the regime&#8217;s desire to demonstrate popular support following its massacre of thousands of anti-regime protesters and the war that claimed the former leader’s life.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has urged citizens &#8220;of every ethnicity, religion, preference and political tendency&#8221; to attend, explicitly linking turnout to the image Iran hopes to project internationally.
&#8220;Your widespread presence will be a decisive response to the logic of terrorism, violence, and bullying, and a clear message to the world that the Iranian nation stands united and in solidarity in defending its independence and dignity,&#8221; Pezeshkian said Thursday.
Iran&#8217;s chief negotiator and parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, likewise called on Iranians to attend in massive numbers, framing participation as an act of revenge for Khamenei&#8217;s death.
&#8220;The nation&#8217;s call for vengeance must ring in the ears of the whole world,&#8221; Ghalibaf said, urging citizens to &#8220;write a glorious page in the history of Islamic Iran.&#8221;
The funeral&#8217;s official slogan, &#8220;We Must Rise,&#8221; alongside imagery of Khamenei&#8217;s raised fist, reinforces the regime&#8217;s effort to transform the ceremonies into a display of resilience and national unity.
Foreign delegations from more than 30 countries are expected to attend, though the list of sitting world leaders appears limited. According to <a href="https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-901216">The Jerusalem Post</a>, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Tajikistani President Emomali Rahmon are expected to be among the highest-profile attendees. China announced that senior lawmaker He Wei will attend, while India said it would send its deputy foreign minister and a state governor. Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev will attend as a special envoy for Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the <a href="https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/07/02/medvedev-to-lead-russian-delegation-at-iranian-supreme-leaders-funeral-a93149">Moscow Times</a>.
One major question remains whether Iran&#8217;s current supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, will appear publicly during the ceremonies. The son of Ali Khamenei reportedly suffered injuries in the attack that killed his father and has not been seen publicly since assuming power, though written statements attributed to him have been released. The attack also reportedly killed Mojtaba Khamenei&#8217;s wife, Zahra Haddad-Adel, along with Ali Khamenei&#8217;s wife, a daughter, a son-in-law, and a grandchild.
The government is undertaking an enormous logistical operation to accommodate the expected crowds. According to The New York Times, officials have established massive parking areas outside Tehran, arranged buses to transport mourners into the capital, and opened military barracks and schools to house visitors arriving from across the country. Crews have also been constructing platforms and crowd-control routes at Tehran&#8217;s Grand Mosalla, where Khamenei&#8217;s body will initially lie in state.
The expected crowds have drawn comparisons to the 1989 funeral of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic. An estimated 10 million people attended the funeral, making it one of the largest public gatherings in modern history. The funeral reportedly <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/07/world/amid-frenzy-iranians-bury-the-ayatollah.html">descended</a> into chaos as mourners surged toward Khomeini&#8217;s coffin, causing his body to fall from it. Security forces fired warning shots to disperse the crowd, and at least eight people were killed in the crush.
The 2020 funeral of Qasem Soleimani also drew millions before a stampede killed dozens of mourners. 
Mourners from Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other countries have already begun traveling to Iran, and commemorative events are planned in Iraqi cities as well.
Khamenei will be buried inside the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad rather than in a dedicated mausoleum. Khomeini, by contrast, was entombed in a sprawling shrine complex outside Tehran that became a pilgrimage site. Some observers have suggested the decision could spare the government from inevitable comparisons between the two leaders&#8217; public followings, particularly after years of protests that challenged the popularity of Khamenei’s rule.
The timing is also unusual, as Islamic tradition generally calls for burial as soon as possible after death. According to experts, Khamenei&#8217;s body has likely been kept refrigerated because chemical embalming is prohibited under Islamic law. The more than four-month gap between his death and burial reflects the turmoil that followed the war and the challenges Iran faced in organizing a funeral during wartime. 
Even as indirect negotiations continue, Iranian officials have used the lead-up to the funeral to issue fresh threats against the United States and Israel. Ali Abdollahi, commander of Iran&#8217;s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, warned of a &#8220;harsh retaliation&#8221; against any attack. 
Members of Iran&#8217;s Assembly of Experts over the weekend appeared to endorse the assassination of President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, declaring that anyone who gains access to the two leaders is obligated to &#8220;send them to hell.&#8221;

IRAN-US-ISRAEL-WAR-FUNERAL

Iran Wants The World To See One Thing At Khamenei’s Funeral

funeral

Iraq

An American citizen has been arrested in Israel for allegedly spying on behalf of Iranian intelligence, Israeli authorities announced Tuesday.
The suspect, identified as a U.S. citizen in his 20s, was taken into custody on June 9, 2026, following a joint operation by the Israel Police and the Shin Bet. According to a joint statement, the arrest was triggered by intelligence flags raised by international security organizations. 

The young man’s assignments reportedly included photographing and documenting “sensitive sites” across Israel in exchange for payments ranging from tens to hundreds of dollars per task.
The investigation, which was conducted under a strict, sweeping gag order by the Jerusalem District Police’s Central Unit, revealed that the suspect had been in active contact with Iranian intelligence handlers over the past several months. To allow authorities to investigate, a Jerusalem court repeatedly extended his detention over the last three weeks.
With the investigation complete, prosecutors have filed a formal statement against the suspect, clearing the way for a formal indictment in the coming days.
Prosecutors are expected to request that he be kept in custody until legal proceedings are concluded, <a href="https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-900984">reported the Jerusalem Post</a>.
“In recent months, several defendants suspected of spying for the enemy have been exposed, some of whom allegedly acted during wartime and thereby assisted the enemy in advancing its plans within Israel,” Chief Inspector Amichai Panta, an investigations officer in the Jerusalem District’s central unit, reportedly said.
The arrest highlights a growing trend of espionage orchestrated by Tehran. According to a 2025 Shin Bet annual summary cited by The Jerusalem Post, security forces disrupted 120 separate Iranian intelligence operations and indicted 25 individuals on related espionage charges. In many of the cases, individuals are contacted through social media and receive small payments for various spying tasks.

Handcuffs with hand in front of flag

Israel Arrests American Citizen Accused Of Spying For Iran

Israel

Spying

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani launched an intellectually dishonest attack on Israel that wouldn&#8217;t survive five minutes of scrutiny.
Asked point-blank whether he supports Israel as a Jewish state, he waffled, hedged, and retreated into a fog of false equivalence. Don&#8217;t be fooled. This wasn&#8217;t principle. It was pandering dressed up as philosophy.
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Reporter: Israel is a Jewish state. That’s in the charter. Do you support that?
Mamdani: I’ve said time and again that I support the state of Israel as a state with equal rights.
Reporter: As jewish state?
Mamdani: I believe that any state that privileges one religion over… <a href="https://t.co/SkUiYoqxrb">pic.twitter.com/SkUiYoqxrb</a>
&mdash; Open Source Intel (@Osint613) <a href="https://x.com/Osint613/status/2071257524796277056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Mamdani had the nerve to lump Israel in with Saudi Arabia as states that &#8220;privilege one religion&#8221; at the expense of others. Never mind that Israel&#8217;s own <a href="https://www.gov.il/en/pages/declaration-of-establishment-state-of-israel">Declaration of Independence</a> — its founding charter — explicitly guarantees &#8220;complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex&#8221; and promises to safeguard the holy places of every faith. Saudi Arabia? It bans churches. Israel has them built. The comparison is an insult to anyone paying attention.
And Israel doesn&#8217;t just make promises on paper. Arab citizens — Muslim and Christian — make up 20% of the population. They vote, they sit in the Knesset, they serve on the Supreme Court. Jerusalem&#8217;s holiest sites, including Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Western Wall, are all protected and accessible under Israeli rule. Muslim authorities even retain administrative control of the Temple Mount, the holiest site in all of Judaism.
Where else in the Middle East does that kind of religious pluralism exist? Nowhere Mamdani seems interested in talking about.
Now look at his beloved Palestinian cause. Under Palestinian Authority control in the West Bank, Israeli civilians — read: Jews — are flatly banned from entering Area A. Banned. Not discouraged. Not warned. Barred outright. This in a territory containing some of Judaism&#8217;s most sacred ground: the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, the Tomb of Rachel, the Tomb of Joseph — sites of Jewish worship for thousands of years. If Mamdani spent even a fraction of his outrage on that exclusion, maybe his &#8220;equal rights for all faiths&#8221; routine would be worth taking seriously — but he doesn&#8217;t.
And then there&#8217;s the silence that truly damns him. Mamdani tossed out Saudi Arabia as a rhetorical fig leaf, but couldn&#8217;t bring himself to utter the name of Israel&#8217;s most bloodthirsty enemy: Iran. The mullahs in Tehran — who arm Hamas, fund Hezbollah, and openly call for Israel&#8217;s destruction — run a regime that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom <a href="https://www.uscirf.gov/countries/iran">describes</a> as one of the worst on earth. Baha&#8217;is are persecuted. Christians are imprisoned. Jews are terrorized. Sunni Muslims are suppressed. Women are arrested for showing their hair. This is the regime that backs the very forces Mamdani&#8217;s allies romanticize as freedom fighters. His failure to mention Iran isn&#8217;t an oversight. It&#8217;s a tell.
Mamdani wants to play the high-minded equality warrior while giving a pass to Palestinian exclusion and Iranian theocratic brutality.
Israel deserves better than this kind of drive-by slander from a man who can&#8217;t be bothered to get his facts straight.

US-NEWS-NYC-MAYOR-MAMDANI-NY

Mamdani Accuses Israel Of Religious Favoritism, Trips Over Saudi Arabia And Iran

Hypocrisy

Palestinian

Zohran Mamdani

As Vice President JD Vance leads negotiations aimed at ending the war against Iran and delivering on the administration&#8217;s promise that Iran would never have a nuclear weapon, one major question looms over the whole process. Can we trust Iran?
The U.S. negotiating team has signaled that Iran&#8217;s team has shown itself to be much more pragmatic than Iranian negotiators in the past. Little attention, however, has been paid to who exactly these more pragmatic Iranians are.
Iran&#8217;s delegation is not composed solely of career diplomats. The team includes former Revolutionary Guard commanders, officials tied to violent crackdowns on protesters, figures accused of human rights violations, and regime insiders linked to corruption scandals and political repression.
Their records offer a revealing look at the team helping shape the Iranian regime&#8217;s approach to the West and its response to dissent at home. 
Here are the three top men representing Tehran in negotiations with the United States.
<h4>Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf</h4>
<div id="attachment_1123735" style="width: 875px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1123735" class="size-large wp-image-1123735" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2271039175-865x576.jpg" alt="" width="865" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2271039175-865x576.jpg 865w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2271039175-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2271039175-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2271039175.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 865px) 100vw, 865px" />Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (Photo by Iranian Parliament Speaker Office / Handout / Anadolu via Getty Images)</div>
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As speaker of Iran&#8217;s parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has emerged as one of the key figures representing Tehran in negotiations with the Trump administration.
A veteran of the U.S.-designated terror organization, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Ghalibaf has spent more than four decades in some of the regime&#8217;s most powerful positions, including commander of the IRGC Air Force, chief of Iran&#8217;s national police, mayor of Tehran, and, since 2020, speaker of parliament.
Across that span, Ghalibaf has faced repeated allegations of corruption and human rights abuses while earning a reputation as one of the Islamic Republic&#8217;s most prominent enforcers of violent suppression of civilian protests.
During the July 1999 student protests, he was one of 24 senior IRGC commanders who <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/irans-parliamentary-speaker-qalibaf-floated-as-possible-u-s-contact-in-talks-as-war-rages-on#:~:text=Trained%20as%20a%20pilot%2C%20he,a%20subsequent%20security%20force%20crackdown.">signed a letter</a> warning then-President Mohammad Khatami that the military would intervene if his government failed to crush the demonstrations. 
In a leaked 2013 audio recording, he allegedly <a href="https://iranhumanrights.org/2013/05/ghalibaf_tape/">boasted</a> about personally assaulting student protesters, saying photographs showed him riding on the back of a motorcycle &#8220;beating them with wooden sticks,&#8221; before adding, &#8220;I was among those carrying out beatings on the street level and I am proud of that. I didn’t care I was a high ranking commander.”
He went on to describe his role in later efforts to suppress dissent, including the 2003 student demonstrations, claiming he pressured officials to authorize security forces to enter university campuses and use force against protesters. 
“I went to the National Security Council meeting and raised hell, spoke very harshly. Didn’t observe proper protocol and I told them as head of the Police, I will demolish anyone who would show up tonight on the campus to protest,” he said. 
Discussing the mass protests that followed Iran&#8217;s disputed 2009 presidential election, Ghalibaf boasted that Tehran&#8217;s municipality played such a significant role in suppressing the unrest that officials ranked it among the government&#8217;s top-performing institutions in responding to the protests.
&#8220;Although the Mayoralty is not a security agency, we were ranked third in how well we responded&#8230; and this is amongst intelligence-security organs, not all state organs,&#8221; he said.
The death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman who died after being detained by Iran&#8217;s morality police for allegedly violating the country&#8217;s mandatory hijab law, sparked nationwide anti-regime protests in 2022. Ghalibaf dismissed the demonstrations as an effort to overthrow the Islamic Republic and called for those <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/iran-parliament-speaker-says-protests-could-weaken-society-/6772502.html">he accused</a> of threatening public order to be dealt with harshly.
As the regime carried out a sweeping crackdown on anti-government protests in late 2025 and early 2026, with some estimates placing the <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-iran-protest-crackdown-death-toll/">death toll</a> as high as 32,000, Ghalibaf defended the government&#8217;s response at a state-organized &#8220;Iranian Uprising Against American-Zionist Terrorism&#8221; rally. Speaking to the crowd, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/jan/12/iran-protests-crackdown-toll-foreign-minister#:~:text=State%20TV%20showed%20crowds%20of,who%20railed%20against%20western%20intervention.">he portrayed</a> the unrest as foreign-backed terrorism, arguing Iran was fighting a &#8220;war against terrorism.”
Ghalibaf has also faced repeated corruption allegations, including during his tenure as Tehran&#8217;s mayor, when his administration was accused of improperly transferring valuable municipal properties to politically connected insiders. 
Years later, as Iran struggled with inflation topping 40%, he was <a href="https://www.iranintl.com/en/202204240105">engulfed</a> by the 2022 &#8220;Sismonigate&#8221; scandal after members of his family were photographed returning from Turkey with luxury baby goods and nearly 20 pieces of luggage. The scandal sparked calls for his resignation. It deepened further after reports that members of his family had also purchased two luxury apartments in Istanbul worth roughly $1.6 million.
Despite four <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mohammad-Bagher-Ghalibaf">unsuccessful</a> presidential campaigns, repeated corruption allegations, and more recent attacks from hardline lawmakers over negotiations with the United States, Ghalibaf has remained one of the Islamic Republic&#8217;s most influential political figures. His critics have accused him of shielding the negotiations from parliamentary scrutiny and crossing Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei&#8217;s red lines, reported <a href="https://www.iranintl.com/en/202606247001">Iran International</a>.
<h4>Abbas Araghchi</h4>
<div id="attachment_1123731" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1123731" class="size-large wp-image-1123731" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2259038069-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2259038069-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2259038069-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2259038069-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2259038069.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Images)</div>
As Iran&#8217;s foreign minister and one of the regime&#8217;s longest-serving nuclear negotiators, Abbas Araghchi has become the face of Tehran&#8217;s diplomacy with the West. 
Araghchi has spent more than two decades <a href="https://en.mfa.ir/portal/organizationpersoninfo/13756">climbing the ranks</a> in the Islamic regime. After earning a Ph.D. from England&#8217;s University of Kent, he served as Iran&#8217;s ambassador to Finland and Japan, Foreign Ministry spokesman, deputy foreign minister, chief nuclear negotiator, and, in 2024, foreign minister.
To Western audiences, Araghchi is often viewed as a seasoned diplomat. But before entering the Foreign Ministry, he spent nine years serving in the IRGC during the Iran-Iraq War.
The IRGC remains one of the most powerful pillars of the Islamic Republic and has long been accused of supporting terrorism abroad and brutally suppressing dissent at home.
Araghchi has consistently defended the regime&#8217;s hardline positions toward the United States and its allies. Following U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in 2025, he <a href="https://x.com/araghchi/status/1936638107169722536?utm">accused</a> Washington of committing &#8220;a grave violation of the UN Charter, international law and the NPT&#8221; and warned the attacks would have &#8220;everlasting consequences.&#8221;
Araghchi has also brushed off Western criticism of the regime&#8217;s human rights record. In 2023, amid global demonstrations supporting Iran&#8217;s protest movement following the death of Mahsa Amini, Araghchi urged Iranian officials to prevent demonstrations against the Islamic Republic from taking place abroad. He <a href="https://www.iranintl.com/en/202302196059">argued</a> the protests were fueling an effort to &#8220;defame and delegitimize&#8221; the regime and warned the campaign was &#8220;very dangerous&#8221; because it was harming Iran&#8217;s relationships with other countries.
During the regime&#8217;s squashing of the protests in January 2026, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz accused Tehran of using &#8220;disproportionate and brutal violence&#8221; against demonstrators. Araghchi <a href="https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2026/01/13/762276/Iran-lashes-out-at-Germany-Merz-over-riots-linked-remarks-says-Berlin-worst-placed-to-give-lecture-on-rights">dismissed</a> the criticism, arguing Germany had forfeited its credibility on human rights because of its support for Israel&#8217;s war in Gaza.
<h4>Ali Bagheri Kani</h4>
<div id="attachment_1123733" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1123733" class="size-large wp-image-1123733" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2155259558-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2155259558-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2155259558-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2155259558-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2155259558.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Ali Bagheri Kani (Photo by Marwan Naamani/picture alliance via Getty Images)</div>
Another key figure in Iran&#8217;s delegation is Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of Iran&#8217;s Supreme National Security Council and a longtime regime insider whose career has taken him through Iran&#8217;s security establishment, judiciary, and nuclear negotiating team.
Bagheri Kani&#8217;s rise through the Islamic Republic has been closely intertwined with one of the regime&#8217;s most influential political families. His father, Mohammad-Bagher Bagheri Kani, is a prominent cleric and former member of parliament and the Assembly of Experts. His uncle, Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani, served as acting prime minister, interior minister, and later chaired the Assembly of Experts. His brother is married to a daughter of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/21/who-is-ali-bagheri-kani-irans-acting-foreign-minister">according to Al Jazeera</a>.
He <a href="https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2025/08/30/754028/Bagheri-Kani-appointed-Deputy-for-International-Affairs-at-Iran%E2%80%99s-Supreme-National-Security-Council">served</a> as deputy foreign minister for political affairs and briefly as acting foreign minister after Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian was killed in a 2024 helicopter crash.
He also held senior positions in Iran&#8217;s judiciary, serving as deputy for international affairs and secretary of the regime&#8217;s Human Rights Headquarters, which is responsible for defending Iran&#8217;s human rights record on the international stage.
He also <a href="https://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/sanctioned-person/bagheri-kani-ali">worked</a> under hardline negotiator Saeed Jalili from 2007 to 2013, when the Supreme National Security Council handled the country&#8217;s nuclear file. Bagheri Kani managed Jalili&#8217;s 2013 presidential campaign, defending his confrontational approach to negotiations while opposing then-candidate Hassan Rouhani&#8217;s push for a nuclear agreement with the West. He later <a href="https://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/iran-resistance/a-feckless-west-has-chosen-to-ignore-tehrans-actions-and-words-about-the-bomb/">defended</a> Iran&#8217;s strategy of stalling negotiations, saying Tehran deliberately sought to &#8220;buy time&#8221; so work at the Fordow and Arak nuclear facilities could continue.
After Rouhani took office and pursued President Barack Obama&#8217;s 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Bagheri Kani became one of its most outspoken critics. He <a href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/iransource/iran-amir-nuclear-abdollahian-ali-bagheri-kani-jcpoa/">repeatedly attacked</a> the negotiations in parliament, wrote op-eds condemning the agreement, and argued it was a Western trap that surrendered Iran&#8217;s sovereignty. He later described Iran&#8217;s negotiations with the United States as &#8220;a bitter historical experience.&#8221;
In 2021, <a href="https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2025/08/30/754028/Bagheri-Kani-appointed-Deputy-for-International-Affairs-at-Iran%E2%80%99s-Supreme-National-Security-Council">he became</a> Tehran&#8217;s chief nuclear negotiator and led the Vienna talks aimed at reviving the very agreement he had spent years opposing.
Bagheri Kani has consistently taken a hard line against the United States. He denounced what <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/11/3/iran-nuclear-talks-with-world-powers-to-resume-on-november-29">he called</a> Washington&#8217;s &#8220;unlawful and inhumane sanctions,&#8221; argued in <a href="https://en.mehrnews.com/news/218001/Bagheri-Kani-criticises-US-approach-in-Iran-s-nuclear-talks#:~:text=TEHRAN%2C%20Jul.,in%20the%20world%20have%20failed">July 2024</a> that the U.S. &#8220;cannot be part of the solution&#8221; in the Middle East but is instead &#8220;the main obstacle,&#8221; and, <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/iran-s-bagheri-kani--tehran-will-never-submit-to-us-pressure">in June</a>, he accused Washington of seeking to &#8220;destroy Iran&#8217;s civilisation, capabilities, and self-confidence.&#8221;
Leona Salinas contributed to this report.

Abbas Araghchi, Ali Bagheri Kani, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf

Meet The Iranians Leading Negotiations With JD Vance

J.D. Vance

The Daily Wire editor emeritus Ben Shapiro weighed in late on Friday after the United States launched retaliatory strikes on Iran, saying that President Donald Trump&#8217;s latest move was proof that the &#8220;peace through strength&#8221; foreign policy was back.
Shapiro responded to the news that American forces had targeted &#8220;Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites&#8221; on Friday afternoon, responding to an Iranian attack on a Singapore-flagged ship in the Strait of Hormuz that took place one day prior.
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Shapiro laid out what exactly had transpired in the hours leading up the the the U.S. response, and noted the Trump had quickly made it clear he &#8220;couldn&#8217;t allow&#8221; Tehran to violate the agreement.
He went on to say that the president&#8217;s reaction was proof of a &#8220;shift&#8221; in the thinking within the administration, and that the &#8220;peace through strength&#8221; foreign policy — often touted by the late President Ronald Reagan — was back: &#8220;A President Trump 1.0 foreign policy.&#8221;
United States Central Command (CENTCOM) issued a statement at the time, saying that American forces would remain in the area to make sure that Iran obeyed the terms laid out by the ceasefire agreement.
&#8220;CENTCOM forces continue to provide safe passage coordination and support to commercial vessels transiting the strait,” the command said. “The U.S. military remains present and vigilant to ensure all aspects of the agreement with Iran are adhered to, obeyed, and in full force and effect.&#8221;
Vice President JD Vance also responded to news of the retaliatory strike, saying that the United States had every intention of holding to the terms of the ceasefire agreement, but would not stand down if Iran moved in violation of the deal. &#8220;Violence will be met with violence,&#8221; he said.
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Ben Shapiro Reacts: Trump is BACK!

Ben Shapiro

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