Former U.S. Ambassador to Germany and acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell, who harbors no illusions about the brutality of the Iranian theocratic regime, blasted a succinct and powerful response when Iran’s Supreme Leader issued a tweet decrying those who do not wear masks, ostensibly because he cared about the health and welfare of the Iranian people.
Iranian Supreme Leader Imam Sayyid Ali Khamenei decided to pontificate about the need for wearing masks in Iran due to the coronavirus. Khameini tweeted, “I definitely wear a mask in meetings, but I see that some of the officials are not using masks. When you are one of the officials and you don’t wear a mask in assemblies or in the public, this negativity affects people’s behavior. They become encouraged to not wear masks either.”
On Sunday, Grenell fired back, “Do you wear a mask when you push gays off buildings?”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Do you wear a mask when you push gays off buildings? <a href="https://t.co/ACmCRxLGR8">https://t.co/ACmCRxLGR8</a>
&mdash; Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) <a href="https://twitter.com/RichardGrenell/status/1279800537899102209?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2020</a></blockquote>
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In June 2019, Iranian Foreign Minister Javid Zarif was asked by a reporter for the mass circulation German paper Bild, “How do you deal with the executions of gays?&#8221; He reportedly answered, &#8220;Our society has moral principles, and according to these principles we live. These are moral principles regarding the behavior of people in general. And that&#8217;s because the law is upheld and you abide by laws.&#8221;
In response, Grenell told <a href="https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/irans-fm-affirms-right-to-execute-gays-and-blasts-us-and-israel-592055">The Jerusalem Post</a>: “The UN’s Declaration of Human Rights makes clear that these answers from the Iranian regime are violating basic UN principles. UN members should agree with the Declaration in order to be members. Criminalizing homosexuality violates the Declaration, plain and simple.”
Grenell <a href="https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/us-ambassador-to-germany-horrific-actions-of-iran-equal-to-isis-579692">wrote</a> in Bild in February 2019, “The recent press reports, first carried by The Jerusalem Post, that the Iranian regime publicly hanged a 31-year-old man for being gay, should be a wake-up call for anyone who supports basic human rights. Politicians, the UN, democratic governments, diplomats and good people everywhere should speak up – and loudly. In Iran, where children as young as nine can be sentenced to death, gay teenagers are publicly hanged in order to terrify and intimidate others from coming out. Iran’s horrific actions are on par with the brutality and savagery regularly demonstrated by ISIS.”
On Sunday, Grenell noted that Twitter does seem to have its priorities twisted, as he targeted Khameini again, tweeting, “Twitter employs people to investigate complaints about Americans’ tweets. But @twitter allows Iran’s Supreme Leader to spew hate everyday. @jack.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Twitter employs people to investigate complaints about Americans’ tweets. 
But <a href="https://twitter.com/Twitter?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@twitter</a> allows Iran’s Supreme Leader to spew hate everyday. <a href="https://twitter.com/jack?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jack</a> <a href="https://t.co/E18n1C4uhd">pic.twitter.com/E18n1C4uhd</a>
&mdash; Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) <a href="https://twitter.com/RichardGrenell/status/1279802708107489280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2020</a></blockquote>
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On June 27, Grenell noted, “One of the reasons I joined @parler_app was because when I call for the condemnation of the Muslim Brotherhood on Twitter for saying gay people should be killed/set on fire, @Twitter launches an investigation of me for being mean to the Muslim Brotherhood. I’m not intimidated!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
One of the reasons I joined <a href="https://twitter.com/parler_app?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@parler_app</a> was because when I call for the condemnation of the Muslim Brotherhood on Twitter for saying gay people should be killed/set on fire, <a href="https://twitter.com/Twitter?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Twitter</a> launches an investigation of me for being mean to the Muslim Brotherhood. 
I’m not intimidated! <a href="https://t.co/ZMEZeflofy">pic.twitter.com/ZMEZeflofy</a>
&mdash; Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) <a href="https://twitter.com/RichardGrenell/status/1276945985168531457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
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In November 2019, when massive protests erupted against the despotic Iranian regime and the Iranian government imposed a virtually universal blackout on the internet, Grenell tweeted, “We have the technical ability to turn on the internet for the people of Iran. And ensure it is free of government blockers. Europe and America should do it together.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
We have the technical ability to turn the internet on for the people of Iran. And ensure it is free of government blockers. Europe and America should do it together. <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/RegSprecher?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RegSprecher</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SecPompeo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecPompeo</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/HeikoMaas?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HeikoMaas</a> <a href="https://t.co/RsJgLFs3rN">https://t.co/RsJgLFs3rN</a>
&mdash; Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) <a href="https://twitter.com/RichardGrenell/status/1195957873613910018?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers with the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe"> member</a>.

Mike Pompeo Visits Germany

Iran’s Supreme Leader Tweets About Masks Protecting Iranians. Ric Grenell: ‘Do You Wear A Mask When You Push Gays Off Buildings?’

Iran

Richard Grenell

On Thursday, the Department of Justice <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/warrant-and-complaint-seek-seizure-all-iranian-gasoil-aboard-four-tankers-headed">announced</a> it had discovered a scheme involving multiple parties affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a designated foreign terrorist organization, in which Iranian oil was covertly shipped to Venezuela, enabling the IRGC to reap profits from petroleum sales that “support the IRGC’s full range of nefarious activities, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, support for terrorism, and a variety of human rights abuses, at home and abroad.”
The DOJ named “all petroleum-product cargo aboard the Bella with international maritime organization (IMO) number 9208124, the Bering with IMO number 9149225, the Pandi with IMO number 9105073, and the Luna with IMO number 9208100,” saying it was subject to forfeiture based on the terrorism forfeiture statute.
The DOJ continued, “There are approximately 302,502 barrels of Iranian gasoline currently on board the Bella, approximately 302,522 barrels of Iranian gasoline currently on board the Bering, approximately 259,700 barrels of Iranian gasoline currently on board the Luna, and approximately 298,484 barrels of Iranian gasoline currently on board the Pandi. United States District Judge James E. Boasberg issued a warrant to seize all Iranian gasoline on these four vessels, based on a probable cause showing of forfeitability. The warrant commands the property to be brought to the sole jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.”
The DOJ noted, “A warrant for arrest and civil forfeiture complaint are merely allegations. The burden to prove forfeitability in a civil forfeiture proceeding is upon the government. Funds successfully forfeited based on terrorism authorities are in part directed to the United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund.”
In January, after the U.S. killed IRGC commander Qassim Suleimani, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps&#8217; Aerospace Force, <a href="https://www.memri.org/tv/irgc-aerospace-force-commander-gen-hajizadeh-killing-trump-esper-attack-american-bases-not-enough-avenge-soleimani/transcript">said</a>, as translated by MEMRI, &#8220;Even if we attack every U.S. base, kill Trump, and kill his Secretary of Defense [Mark Esper], this would not be enough to avenge the blood of Hajj Qasem (Soleimani.) The blood vengeance for Hajj Qasem should take the form of expelling America&#8217;s evil from the region. We should cleanse the region of their accursed presence,” as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/irgc-commander-killing-trump-secretary-esper-attacking-all-u-s-bases-not-enough-for-revenge?%3Futm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=dwtwitter">The Daily Wire</a> reported.
Hajizadeh said that it will &#8220;absolutely&#8221; happen, adding, &#8220;[Trump] cannot threaten the Iranian people, who sacrificed 300,000 martyrs. Who the hell is he to threaten us? He must order many coffins for his soldiers before making any threats.&#8221;
MEMRI reported that General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, IRGC Deputy Commander for Coordination, <a href="https://www.memri.org/tv/irgc-dep-com-gen-naqdi-muslim-youth-pull-american-ebmassies-bases-hang-blindfold-trees/transcript">said</a>, &#8220;As a result of this event, the U.S. is not safe anywhere in the world – not only in Iran and Iraq, but in the other Islamic countries as well. America has no security anymore. Many young people now have the motivation to attack it. Until now, they would live their lives, and pass right next to America&#8217;s nest of spies [embassy] in their country. Starting tomorrow, or even today, they will view this nest of spies differently. They will view the people who come and go there in a different way. The Americans will bring the situation to a point&#8230; The pressure America exerts on the Islamic nation will lead the peoples of the Islamic countries to pull them out of their nests of spies and their military bases&#8230; I can see that day&#8230; They will pull them out and hang them blindfolded from the trees in their cities.&#8221;
The State Department released a <a href="https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/286410.pdf">comprehensive report</a> titled, “Outlaw Regime: A Chronicle of Iran’s Destructive Activities.” In it, the State Department asserted:
<blockquote>The policy President Trump has laid out comes to terms fully with the fact that the Islamic Republic of Iran is not a normal state. Normal states do not attack embassies and military installations in peacetime; fuel terrorist proxies and militias; serve as a sanctuary for terrorists; call for the destruction of Israel and threaten other countries; aid brutal dictators such as Syria’s Bashar al-Assad; proliferate missile technology to dangerous proxies; conduct covert assassinations in other countries; and hold hostage citizens of foreign nations. Normal states do not support terrorism within their armed forces, as Iran has done with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its Qods Force.</blockquote>
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Iranâs fuel shipments to Venezuela

DOJ Announces Discovery Of Plot Funding Iranian Terrorist Organization

Department of Justice

Terrorism

Venezuela

Iran has issued an “arrest warrant” for President Donald Trump for his role in the January killing of top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s top military commander and the world’s No. 1 terrorist at the time.
According to the country’s <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/29/iran-issues-arrest-warrant-for-trump-over-killing-of-qasem-soleimani.html">Fars News Agency</a>, Iranian officials said “red alerts” were issued for Trump and 35 other officials from numerous countries. Iran wants Interpol, an international law enforcement organization, to find and arrest them. While Iran did not identify the foreign officials, they said Trump “stands at the top of the list and will be prosecuted” when he leaves office.
“Thirty-six individuals who have been involved or ordered the assassination of Hajj Qassem, including the political and military officials of the U.S. and other governments, have been identified and arrest warrants have been issued for them by the judiciary officials and red alerts have also been issued for them via the Interpol,” Tehran’s Prosecutor-General Ali Alqasi Meh said, Fars reported.
All 36, including Trump, are accused of “murder and terrorist action.”
Trump ordered the U.S. military to launch an airstrike near Baghdad International Airport that took out Soleimani, who was then the leader of Iran’s Quds Force, an elite unit of the country’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. Trump and other U.S. officials said Soleimani was responsible for orchestrating attacks by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, both against U.S. troops and contractors.
Days after the airstrike, Iran retaliated by launching missiles at U.S. forces stationed at Iraq’s al-Asad Air Base, injuring U.S. military members, some of whom suffered traumatic brain injuries.
Retired Gen. David Petraeus said in January that it is “impossible to overstate” the significance of Trump’s order to take out Soleimani, calling the strike “bigger” than the death of Osama bin Laden.
Pertraeus &#8212; who served 37 years in the United States Army and rose to the rank of four-star general before becoming CIA director &#8212; also said Iraqis cheered Soleimani&#8217;s death.
“It’s impossible to overstate the significance of the attack that takes out Qassem Soleimani and the number two militia leader in Iraq as well, who also never dared to set foot in Iraq during the surge after we’ve missed him and he escaped,” Petraeus said, referring to No. 2 leader Iraqi paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. “So this is bigger than bin Laden. It’s bigger than Baghdadi,” he said of the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, who U.S. forces took out last October.&#8221;
“The people are demonstrating on the streets and in unprecedented numbers since the revolution against the economic deprivation, the lack of employment opportunities and the plummeting of their quality of life. So, they’re not- by the way, they’re not that invested in the kinds of Iranian adventures that have been funded and carried out by the Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force under the leadership of Qassem Soleimani.”
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Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Iran Issues Arrest Warrant For President Trump

David Petraeus

Donald Trump

On June 19, an ayatollah who represents Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, noting the rioting in American cities and the concurrent leftist attacks on American history, delightedly delivered a sermon in which he chortled that now Americans themselves are saying. “Death to America!”
As <a href="https://www.memri.org/tv/shiraz-friday-sermon-ayatollah-dezhkam-americans-themselves-chanting-death-to-america-collapse">MEMRI</a> translated and reported, Iranian Ayatollah Lotfollah Dezhkam, who represents Khamenei in the Fars province, stated:
<blockquote>The entire world has seen with its very eyes that today, America cannot be the main decision-maker when it comes to strategic matters in the world. We are unequivocally informing the American administration, Republicans and Democrats alike: If you&#8217;ve shut your ears with cotton balls, remove them [so you can hear].
The sound of America being shattered and of its collapse, is being heard all over the world. The shout of the Iranian nation, which has been leading the fight against America for 40 years, is being heard from mouths of the Americans themselves: Death to America!</blockquote>
The audience repeated: &#8220;Death to America! Death to America! Death to America! Death to America!&#8221;
The movement to replace the traditional perspective on American history with a fundamentally anti-American one, whether articulated by leftists such as Howard Zinn or those who seek to destroy monuments dedicated to true American heroes, has gained a strong foothold among some Americans.
Henry Olsen, writing in <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/06/22/anti-statue-movement-has-taken-turn-into-absurdity/">The Washington Post</a>, noted the principle articulated in the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal, then pointed out the malignity of protesters tearing down statues to the men who fought for those principles:
<blockquote>Protesters who tear down statues to brave warriors who fought to more fully implement that principle mock and dishonor the idea that enables us to become a more perfect union. George Washington owned slaves, but he also founded a nation dedicated to the idea whose incompatibility with slavery made its eradication inevitable. Defacing or toppling his monuments dishonors the country.
More than any man save Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant destroyed the Confederacy with his magisterial generalship. As president, he tried to extend the Civil War’s purpose by presiding over the Reconstruction of the South, an effort that was abandoned only after he left office. Toppling his statue — as protesters did in San Francisco, citing a slave whom Grant was gifted and later freed before the war — is ahistorically ludicrous.</blockquote>
Last September, after the attacks on two oil refineries in Saudi Arabia that destroyed 5% of the world’s oil supply, prompting accusations from the U.S. government that the attacks were launched by Iran, a top Iranian general boasted that U.S. sites were in range of Iranian missiles and Iran was ready for a &#8220;full-fledged&#8221; war.
Amirali Hajizadeh, who heads Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps Aerospace, bragged, &#8220;Everybody should know that all American bases and their aircraft carriers in a distance of up to 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) around Iran are within the range of our missiles,&#8221; adding &#8220;Iran has always been ready for a &#8216;full-fledged&#8217; war,&#8221; as quoted by the semi-official Tasnim news agency and reported by <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-usa-missiles/iran-says-u-s-bases-and-aircraft-carriers-within-range-of-its-missiles-tasnim-idUSKBN1W004A">Reuters</a>.
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Iran US Politics Hostage Anniversary

Representative Of Iran’s Supreme Leader Delightedly Preaches ‘Death to America’ ‘Being Heard From Mouths Of The Americans Themselves’

Leftism

An &#8220;earthquake&#8221; that rocked northeastern Iran late last week may have been a blast from a suspected nuclear silo, experts tell The <a href="https://apnews.com/8d2517ff364bb395f0385859f0fa9d0f">Associated Press</a> and is likely associated with a &#8220;fireball&#8221; that could be seen over the country&#8217;s capital city, Tehran.
&#8220;An explosion that rattled Iran’s capital came from an area in its eastern mountains that analysts believe hides an underground tunnel system and missile production sites, satellite photographs showed Saturday,&#8221; the AP reported Sunday, adding that the blast&#8217;s location is suspiciously close to where Iran has tested powerful nuclear weapons triggers before.
The blast is the second concerning, potentially nuclear event in as many days. On Saturday, Russia denied that one of its nuclear power stations was suffering a meltdown, despite Swedish authorities saying they detected a rise in at least three different types of radioactive emissions, <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/fa883021-948d-4b70-befd-e3a214616839">Financial Times reports</a>.
After the United States terminated an agreement with Iran barring it from pursuing its nuclear ambitious &#8212; at least theoretically &#8212; Iran promised to return to building nuclear armaments (many international experts, and the Trump Administration, believe that Iran never abandoned their pursuit).
Last week&#8217;s blast indicates that they may also be working on developing missiles and missile components.
&#8220;The blast shook homes, rattled windows and lit up the horizon early Friday in the Alborz Mountains. State TV later aired a segment from what it described as the site of the blast,&#8221; the AP said. &#8220;Satellite photos of the area, some 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) east of downtown Tehran, showed hundreds of meters (yards) of charred scrubland not seen in images of the area taken in the weeks ahead of the incident. The building near the char marks resembled the facility seen in the state TV footage.&#8221;
The site is home to Iran’s Khojir missile facility and associated weapons manufacturing operations. The area, experts told The Associated Press, is the &#8220;site of numerous tunnels, some suspected of use for arms assembly.” The site “support[s] most facets of Tehran’s ballistic missile capabilities, including the operational force and the missile development and production program.&#8221;
In the years before the Iran agreement, nuclear inspectors with the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency accused Iran of using the facility to produce specific triggers for nuclear weapons &#8212; the same triggers many experts suspect were behind last week&#8217;s explosion.
There&#8217;s another dimension to the incident, though: both Israeli and Iraqi forces have been targeting Iran&#8217;s nuclear weapons operations, and both nations may have launched aggressive actions against Iran&#8217;s nuclear missile development in the last week, though neither nation has taken direct responsibility for the blast. Israel, especially, is concerned about Iran&#8217;s weapons development, given that the rogue nation has yet to successfully deploy a missile that can carry a nuclear warhead to Israel &#8212; and Israel would like to keep it that way.
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&nbsp;

IRAN

REPORT: Iran ‘Earthquake’ Was Blast From Suspected Nuclear Missile Site

Iran Nuclear Deal

Nuclear Weapons

Iran sponsored an international art exhibition highlighting the death of American George Floyd, who died while being arrested by Minneapolis police on Memorial Day.
The exhibition, titled “I can’t breathe” after Floyd’s own comments during his final moments, featured artwork depicting Floyd’s arrest, U.S. police as Nazis and white supremacists, and the United States as a systemically racist country. In one painting, a Guillotine for “black people” was decorated with an American flag blade, according to Iranian state television video shared by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Tehran Hosts “I Can’t Breathe” Cartoon Exhibition: America, Trump, Police Depicted with Nazi, KKK Imagery; Star of David Shown Crushing the Neck of a Dove <a href="https://t.co/2YEbsfXaHo">pic.twitter.com/2YEbsfXaHo</a>
&mdash; MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) <a href="https://twitter.com/MEMRIReports/status/1272201817456328704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Masoud Shojaei Tabtabaei, the director of the Center for Visual Arts in Hozeh Honari, explained the exhibition in an interview with state television.
“After we witnessed the bitter incident in which a black man was murdered by American police, we also witnessed a wave of protests in America and it has spread to other western countries. Since the pleading and the cries for help were accompanied by the words ‘I can’t breathe,’ we named the exhibition ‘I can’t breathe,’” Tabtabaei said according to MEMRI.
“In our view, the fire was smoldering underneath the ashes and it has now erupted. This is not only happening in America, we are witnessing a wave of protests against racial discrimination in all Western countries,” Tabtabaei continued. “We invited our friends, the artists, to accompany us in this. The result is 72 pieces by 45 artists from 27 countries.”
Floyd’s death has sparked a wave of civil unrest in major American cities that has spread internationally to countries such as Japan, France, and New Zealand. Iran has used the unrest to characterize the U.S. as a prolific violator of human rights while ignoring its own systemic problems.
For example, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif defended the government’s policy of executing citizens found to be gay last year, according to <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/iran-defends-execution-of-gay-people/a-49144899">DW</a>.
“Our society has moral principles. And we live according to these principles. These are moral principles concerning the behavior of people in general. And that means that the law is respected and the law is obeyed,” Zarif said in response to a question on the law from a German reporter. He continued to attack alleged human rights violations by the U.S. and Israel.
An increase in gasoline prices sparked a massive wave of protests against the Iranian regime last year. The government responded forcefully, killing potentially hundreds of its own citizens in an effort to quell the backlash against its government. An Iranian economy devastated by U.S. sanctions contributed to the unrest and anger against the regime.
“The recent use of lethal force against people throughout the country is unprecedented, even for the Islamic Republic and its record of violence,” Omid Memarian, the deputy director at the Center for Human Rights in Iran, told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/01/world/middleeast/iran-protests-deaths.html">The New York Times</a> in December.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Hassan Rouhani

Iran Puts On ‘I Can’t Breathe’ Art Exhibition, Shows Trump As Hitler, Police as Ku Klux Klan

George Floyd

Protest

Rifts are growing between Iran and its militia groups in Iraq six months after the death of top general and terror leader Qassem Soleimani.
Soleimani and top militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, both designated terrorists by the U.S., died in a U.S. drone strike in January. Soleimani’s spot at the top of Iran’s Quds Force was filled by Esmail Ghaani, who has been unable to replicate the level of devotion Iran’s proxy forces showed to his predecessor, The <a href="https://apnews.com/afde374dca8886517b224bdc18942f1c">Associated Press</a> reports.
On Ghaani’s first meeting with the militia leaders earlier in the year, he brought them symbolic silver rings to express Tehran’s gratitude when the militia leaders were expecting the customary cash payment. On Ghaani’s second trip to meet with the militias, he had to obtain a passport to travel into Iraq, something that Soleimani never had to do.
The silver ring incident is one example of how U.S. sanctions and a global oil glut have devastated Iran’s economy. Iranian leaders are now struggling to maintain stability at home, much less among its network of militia and terror groups throughout the Middle East. The passport is a small example of a growing separation between the government of Iraq and Tehran.
The militia groups, together known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, are a significant political power in Iraq and are thought to control a plurality of seats in Iraq’s parliament. The PMF fought alongside U.S. and Iraqi security forces against the Islamic State, though as recently as late last year, Iraqi officials were <a href="https://apnews.com/57a346b17d6da07ae732ba1437520fd2">concerned</a> of being caught in the middle of a proxy fight between Washington and Tehran.
Those tensions peaked in January when President Trump ordered a drone strike on Soleimani as he was conducting business in Iraq. The strike also killed al-Muhandis. Iran retaliated by launching about a dozen ballistic missiles into an Iraqi military base where U.S. troops were stationed. No Americans nor Iraqis were killed in the bombing, though dozens were <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/30/world/middleeast/iraq-iran-brain-injuries.html">treated</a> for concussions.
“All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties &amp; damages taking place now. So far, so good! We have the most powerful and well equipped military anywhere in the world, by far! I will be making a statement tomorrow morning,” Trump <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1214739853025394693">tweeted</a> after the attack, marking an end to the escalation.
In the months since the missile attack, Iran’s already severe problems have continued to escalate with the outbreak of the coronavirus and a <a href="http://dailywire.com/news/saudi-arabia-throws-down-gauntlet-to-russia-raises-crude-oil-supply-to-record-high">trade war</a> between Russia and Saudi Arabia that sent global oil prices plummeting. Though Moscow and Riyadh have since reached an agreement, the oil market has been slow to recover under the combined effects of an oil glut and low demand.
U.S. military leaders say that since Soleimani’s death, Iran’s aggression in Iraq has markedly declined.
Marine Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, who oversees U.S. Central Command, told <a href="https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/06/10/iran-has-backed-off-of-challenging-us-soleimani-killing-general-says.html">Military.com</a> that “I think [Soleimani’s death] has set them back,” though he did not want to paint a “rosy picture” of U.S.-Iranian relations.
“They have seen we have the capability and the will to respond,” McKenzie said. “That&#8217;s why we&#8217;ve seen a decline in those tensions.”
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Qasem Soleimani

Report: Six Months After Trump Droned Iran’s Top General, Tehran Is Losing Control Of Iraqi Militias

Iraq

Qassem Soleimani

On Sunday, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appeared on CBS’ “Face The Nation,” where host Margaret Brennan noted that Russia, Iran, and China were using the images of the riots in American cities as proof of a racial divide in America. Brennan then asked, “Do you see this racial divide as a national security threat to us?”
In a <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/full-transcript-of-face-the-nation-on-june-7-2020/">blistering response</a>, Rice utterly rejected the concept that those countries and Europeans who lambast the United States had any moral leg to stand on. Rice stated:
<blockquote>I would say to those, particularly, in places like China and Russia and Iran, who may want to use this for propaganda, let&#8217;s not be absurd. This is not Tiananmen Square where you&#8217;ve mowed down people who disagreed with the government. This is not the invasion of Crimea where you took land from your neighbor. This is not the Green Revolution in Iran where you killed people wantonly because they wouldn&#8217;t agree with the theocratic government.
And I would even say to our friends abroad, in places like Europe, where I&#8217;m seeing demonstrations in support of what is happening here, thank you for your support, but please look in the mirror. Please ask yourself, in countries in Europe and countries all across the world, what are you doing about racial and ethnic in — inequality in your own circumstances?</blockquote>
She continued, “America has gotten better because we have been willing to confront our problems. And we&#8217;re going to confront our problems again. We&#8217;re confronting them now. And I think we will move forward this time. But I — I really don&#8217;t need to be lectured by Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping about peaceful protest when they have themselves used their own force just because people wanted to criticize the government. That is not is what — that is not what is happening here.&#8221;
Rice added, “I&#8217;ve heard the President talk about the resilience of Americans. I&#8217;d love to hear more of that. Twitter and tweeting are — are not great ways for complex thoughts, for complex messages. When the President speaks it — it needs to be from a place of — of thoughtfulness, from a place of having really honed the message so that it reaches all Americans. And, by the way, not just the President. I would love to hear this from our leaders in Congress on both sides of the aisle. I would love to hear it from mayors and from governors and from others. Leaders at this particular point need to do everything that they can to overcome, not intensify our divisions.”
In May 2018, Rice <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/international/middle-east-north-africa/385626-condoleezza-rice-defends-trump-leaving-iran">said</a> of the furor surrounding President Trump&#8217;s push ti exit the dangerous Iran nuclear deal, &#8220;I don’t think it’s the end of the world if the administration leaves the agreement.” She stated she would not have signed on to the agreement as the Obama administration had, adding that  the deal’s verification methods “were not very strong &#8230; The administration’s been worried about this agreement from the very beginning and there’s reason to be worried about the agreement.&#8221;
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.  
&nbsp;

Secretary Of State Pompeo Delivers Remarks To Stanford University Students

CBS Tries Baiting Condi Rice With U.S. Adversaries’ Criticisms. Rice Rips Adversaries To Shreds.

China

Condoleezza Rice

Racism

Russia

Former Secretary of States Condoleezza Rice ripped Russia, Iran, and China during a CBS News interview on Sunday for trying to use the death of George Floyd to create propaganda.
During the interview with host Margaret Brennan, Rice also noted that there was &#8220;no excuse for the criminality and for the looting&#8221; that have hit America&#8217;s inner cities during the violent riots over the last couple of weeks.
&#8220;Madam Secretary, you know, some of America&#8217;s adversaries, Russia, Iran, China, they are using the images of what happened to Mr. Floyd and what is happening in the streets of American cities right now in their own state propaganda,&#8221; Brennan said. &#8220;Do you see this racial divide as a national security threat to us?&#8221;
&#8220;Well, I&#8217;ve always thought that America&#8217;s greatest strength is that we are a country where you can come from humble circumstances and do great things, and where, despite our painful history, we&#8217;ve worked harder and harder every day, brick by brick, to build a more perfect union for all of us,&#8221; Rice responded. &#8220;And I would say to those, particularly in places like China and Russia and Iran, who may want to use this for propaganda, let&#8217;s not be absurd.&#8221;
&#8220;This is not Tiananmen Square where you&#8217;ve mowed down people who disagreed with the government,&#8221; Rice continued. &#8220;This is not the invasion of Crimea where you took land from your neighbor. This is not the Green Revolution in Iran where you killed people wantonly because they wouldn&#8217;t agree with the theocratic government.&#8221;
&#8220;And I would even say to our friends abroad, in places like Europe, where I&#8217;m seeing demonstrations in support of what is happening here, thank you for your support, but please look in the mirror,&#8221; Rice continued. &#8220;Please ask yourself, in countries in Europe and countries all across the world, what are you doing about racial and ethnic inequality in your own circumstances? America has gotten better because we have been willing to confront our problems. And we&#8217;re going to confront our problems again. We&#8217;re confronting them now.&#8221;
&#8220;But I really don&#8217;t need to be lectured by Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping about peaceful protest when they have themselves used their own force just because people wanted to criticize the government,&#8221; Rice concluded. &#8220;That is not what is happening here.&#8221;
WATCH:
<iframe title="Condoleezza Rice to Trump: &quot;Twitter and tweeting are not great ways for complex thoughts&quot;" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1OPDQ5A95ZM?start=602&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
TRANSCRIPT:
<blockquote>MARGARET BRENNAN: We turn now to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. She joins us from Stanford, California. Great to have you back with us.
FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE CONDOLEEZZA RICE: It&#8217;s a pleasure to be with you.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You&#8217;ve written that there- there seems to be something different about this moment. What do you think is different?
RICE: Well, I think what&#8217;s different is that this, as I said recently, people are a little bit sick and tired of being sick and tired, to quote the great civil rights leader, Fannie Lou Hamer. And I think that is leading people of various backgrounds, different colors, different experiences to say how can we really make the outcome different this time? And it&#8217;s leading people to look at questions about our criminal justice system, about the justice of our institutions. But more importantly, it&#8217;s looking- having us look in the mirror at questions about race. It&#8217;s a very, very deep and abiding wound in an America that was born with a birth defect of slavery. And I&#8217;m really hoping that this time, we&#8217;ll have really honest conversations, conversations that are not judgmental. Conversations that are deep but honest conversations about what we&#8217;ve been through and who we want to be.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You wrote in an opinion piece recently that, &#8220;protests will take our country only so far and if we are to make progress, let us vow to check the language of recrimination at the door.&#8221; What do you mean by that?
RICE: We have a very painful history. Europeans and Africans came to this country together. Africans came in chains. My- you- my DNA is 40 percent European. My great-great-grandfather was my great-grandmother&#8217;s slave owner. That&#8217;s a very hard truth. But it is the truth of the past. We now have to talk about how to move forward. And when I talk to people of different colors, particularly my white friends, my white colleagues, I don&#8217;t want it to be in the language of recrimination. I want to be in the language of how do we move forward. I think we each have an individual responsibility. It&#8217;s a collective responsibility, yes, but it&#8217;s an individual responsibility to ask what am I going to do specifically? What am I going to do to help heal these wounds and to move our country forward? Because race is still very much a factor in everyday life in America.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You said for you personally answering the question of &#8220;what do I do,&#8221; you focused on education.
RICE: Yes.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Is- is- why? Why do you think that is so key?
RICE: Well, partly it&#8217;s my background, I come from a family of educators. I come from a family where my grandfather managed as- as a sharecropper&#8217;s son to get educated in Alabama in the 1920s. Education was always for us a way to break through the barriers of prejudice, to make sure that my parents used to say, make sure that you have all of the armor you need to move forward. And I know that an education is not a- a shield against prejudice, but it gives people a fighting chance. And when I look at what has happened, particularly the poor kids and minority kids in our country, they really don&#8217;t have that shot at a high-quality education. I can honestly now look at your zip code and tell whether you&#8217;re gonna get a good education. And so I think if we can focus on specific things that we can do to make sure that those kids have a chance, that their parents have choices.
MARGARET, if- if anything, if you look at this COVID-19 crisis, it has exposed even deeper inequalities in our society. Just imagine being a child who&#8217;s trying to learn- to learn at home and the parents don&#8217;t speak English, the parents don&#8217;t have an educational background of their own. And contrast that with the kid whose parents are well-educated and who can read to them. We&#8217;ve got a lot of work to do around inequality. And I&#8217;ve just always believed that education is our most important intervention against the scourge of inequality, and particularly, when we look at race and poverty, which is a particularly tough witch&#8217;s brew.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And to your point about the pandemic, I mean, it seems to be widening the existing divide. Just looking at the data, the jobless rate in this country for the black community ticked up in May to 17 percent and black women in particular are bearing the brunt of that. Where do you see the policy solutions coming from right now? Is anyone offering anything of meaning?
RICE: Well, one of the things that&#8217;s happened is that this crisis has exacerbated problems that were there already, and we now have to ask ourselves, are we just going to say, well, my goodness, look at what we&#8217;ve seen, are we really going to act? And I think there are a couple of specific things. We know that in this crisis, if you can work from home, if you are capable of being on the Internet, then you can continue to work. You&#8217;re not unemployed. Knowledge workers are doing better. So let&#8217;s talk about higher skills levels for everybody. But I also think there&#8217;s something very specific we could do. Let&#8217;s say every American is going to have broadband. Every American is going to have access to a reliable Internet. And that means people in rural areas. That means people in- in schools that are not well-endowed. I&#8217;d love to see us have a national project about access to the Internet, access to the broad- to the broadband in the way that we&#8217;ve had access, for instance, to the highway at another time in our history.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, that&#8217;s quite a to do list for Congress if they were to agree to take it up. If you were advising this particular president, what would you be telling him to do at this moment?
RICE: I would ask the president to first and foremost speak in the language of unity, the language of empathy. Not everyone is going to agree with any president, with this president, but you have to speak to every American, not just to those who might agree with you. And you have to speak about the deep wounds that we have and that we&#8217;re going to overcome them. I&#8217;ve heard the president talk about the resilience of Americans. I&#8217;d love to hear more of that. And I&#8217;m not advising the president. But, you know, unfortunately, Twitter and tweeting are- are not great ways for complex thoughts, for complex messages. When the president speaks, it needs to be from a place of- of thoughtfulness, from a place of having really honed the message so that it reaches all Americans. And by the way, not just the president. I would love to hear this from our leaders in Congress on both sides of the aisle. I would love to hear from mayors and from governors and from others. Leaders at this particular point need to do everything that they can to overcome, not intensify our divisions.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You are speaking like the diplomat that you have been, Secretary Rice, because I know when we spoke last year, you said that this president doesn&#8217;t recognize how raw race is as a factor in America. And just in the past few weeks, he has mourned George Floyd&#8217;s death but he&#8217;s used language like &#8220;when the looting starts, the shooting starts.&#8221; He said his supporters love &#8220;the black people.&#8221; When you hear phrases like that, how does that land with you? Do you just dismiss it because it&#8217;s President Trump?
RICE: Well, no. The president, obviously, the shooting and looting, he said that he didn&#8217;t know that historical context. And so I would say think about the historical context before you say something, because it is a deep wound. And the presidency is special in that regard. People look to the Oval Office as we&#8217;ve looked to the Oval Office throughout our history for- for messages, for signals. And as I said, the president has used some language that I&#8217;m really very, very much admire, like the resilience of the American people. Just be careful about those messages. I&#8217;m not advising the president, but if I were, I would say let&#8217;s put tweeting aside for a little bit and- and talk to us, have a conversation with us. And I think we need that. And I think he can do it.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Retired General Jim Mattis said that it wasn&#8217;t in his interpretation unintentional. In fact, he said, &#8220;Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people. He does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us.&#8221; Do you believe that it&#8217;s intentional? Do you agree with Mattis?
RICE: Well, look, I have enormous respect for Jim Mattis. And he&#8217;s a man of great integrity. He&#8217;s a patriot. He&#8217;s my friend. And he spoke to something that he needed to speak to. What I want to speak to is the future and what we do here over the next several months. We are having protests that need to be peaceful, but we&#8217;ve always moved ahead in part by protest. There&#8217;s no ex- excuse for the criminality and for the looting and for those outside influences that Governor Cuomo referred to- to- to come in from across state lines. That&#8217;s not what- who we are and what we are. But I will tell you, as somebody who grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, Jim Crow Alabama, when if a black man was shot by a policeman, it wouldn&#8217;t have even been a footnote in the newspaper, I&#8217;m really grateful to people who are going out now and saying, no, that is not acceptable. I&#8217;m grateful to those people who are thinking about how to support good police, who are thinking about how to support all of those people who put their lives on the line every day to protect us, but also to say to those who do not have our best interests at heart, who don&#8217;t undertake that obligation to protect and defend without regard to color, enough. We won&#8217;t put up with that either. And so this is a time for every American to speak to our unity, but to also be very cognizant of how we describe our differences, how we address our differences, and especially how we address one another with empathy.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You said you were grateful to those who are expressing their opposition. Is there any circumstance in which you think it would be acceptable in these days to use what the president said to governors he would use, which was the Insurrection Act, to send active duty military into American cities?
RICE: Well, I would absolutely advise against it, particularly at this time. Look, the founding fathers were very smart about this. Thomas Jefferson talked about the citizen soldier, and the embodiment of the citizen soldier these days is the National Guard and Reserve. They come from these communities. They are of these communities. They are trained in everything from dealing with natural disasters to dealing with issues like crowd control. And when the local police can&#8217;t handle it, the National Guard&#8217;s the right- the right answer. Our military isn&#8217;t trained to do this. Our military is trained for the battlefield. And this isn&#8217;t a battlefield in that sense. Now, I- I understand that- and my, personally, the violence and the ugliness and the livelihoods of business people who have now watched literally their life&#8217;s work go up in smoke, that has to be dealt with. But I fundamentally believe that the National Guard, when it&#8217;s needed, local law enforcement to the degree that it can, is the way to do this. And I would really advise against the Insurrection Act. I- I understand that President George H.W. Bush did so in the Rodney King affair back in Los Angeles. But that was at the request&#8211;
MARGARET BRENNAN: At the request of California&#8211;
RICE: &#8211;of- of California. So I would- let&#8217;s- let&#8217;s use the instruments that by our tradition, by the wisdom of our founding fathers, were given to us, citizen soldiers who can police their own.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Madam Secretary, you know, some of America&#8217;s adversaries, Russia, Iran, China, they are using the images of what happened to Mr. Floyd and what is happening in the streets of American cities right now in their own state propaganda. Do you see this racial divide as a national security threat to us?
RICE: Well, I&#8217;ve always thought that America&#8217;s greatest strength is that we are a country where you can come from humble circumstances and do great things, and where, despite our painful history, we&#8217;ve worked harder and harder every day, brick by brick, to build a more perfect union for all of us. And I would say to those, particularly in places like China and Russia and Iran, who may want to use this for propaganda, let&#8217;s not be absurd. This is not Tiananmen Square where you&#8217;ve mowed down people who disagreed with the government. This is not the invasion of Crimea where you took land from your neighbor. This is not the Green Revolution in Iran where you killed people wantonly because they wouldn&#8217;t agree with the theocratic government. And I would even say to our friends abroad, in places like Europe, where I&#8217;m seeing demonstrations in support of what is happening here, thank you for your support, but please look in the mirror. Please ask yourself, in countries in Europe and countries all across the world, what are you doing about racial and ethnic inequality in your own circumstances?America has gotten better because we have been willing to confront our problems. And we&#8217;re going to confront our problems again. We&#8217;re confronting them now. And I think we will move forward this time. But I- I really don&#8217;t need to be lectured by Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping about peaceful protest when they have themselves used their own force just because people wanted to criticize the government. That is not is what- that is not what is happening here.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Noted. Madam Secretary, you did not support President Trump in 2016. Seeing what you&#8217;ve seen, will you support him in 2020?
RICE: As I&#8217;ve often said, when I&#8217;m ready to speak about American politics, I&#8217;ll come back to you. And I&#8217;ll- you&#8217;ll be the first to know when I want to speak about American politics. Right now, what I want to speak to is my fellow Americans and to understand the deep divisions that we have, to understand what it is to be black. I know what it&#8217;s like to be met with a look of dismissiveness or the like. So I- I want to focus on that right now. And I want to say one other thing. You asked about the military earlier. Let&#8217;s remember, too, that our people in uniform also come from different backgrounds. They come from different races. They&#8217;re united in a common cause. But this is hard for them, too. And I know that their commanders are aware of the painful conversations that need to be- need to take place even within our military. But one great thing is when we unite for a common cause, as they often do, it helps us to overcome those differences.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Madam Secretary, thank you for your reflections and your time today. We&#8217;ll be&#8211;
RICE: It&#8217;s a pleasure being with you. God bless.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We&#8217;ll be right back with a lot more FACE THE NATION, so stay with us.</blockquote>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Former U.S. Secretary Of State Condoleeza Rice Visits &#8220;FOX &amp; Friends&#8221;

America’s Enemies Try To Use George Floyd’s Death For Propaganda. Condoleezza Rice Smokes Them.

Race

On Friday, President Trump celebrated the Senate confirmation of his nominee for new director at the Voice of America (VOA), Michael Pack, and he was not the only one celebrating: Iranian and Chinese dissidents who oppose the tyrannical regimes of their countries also celebrated as they have felt the VOA has supported those same tyrannical regimes.
As Monica Showalter of the American Thinker <a href="https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/06/loud_cheers_from_iran_and_china_dissidents_on_booting_of_obama_holdovers_at_voice_of_america.html">noted</a> as she documented just some of the dissidents who expressed their gratitude and praised President Trump, the extended battle over Pack’s confirmation was “sort of miracle, given the dirty, protracted battle from deep state&#8217;s Obama holdovers to keep him out. It was so underhanded it involved a last-ditch Kavanaugh-style bid to smear Pack as corrupt if for nothing else to delay his Senate confirmation to eternity. It was deep state at its worst and it failed. Now, what&#8217;s probably the last solid Obama bastion of deep-state government has toppled.”
Trump tweeted:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Congratulations to Michael Pack! Nobody has any idea what a big victory this is for America. Why? Because he is going to be running the VOICE OF AMERICA (<a href="https://twitter.com/VOANews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VOANews</a>), and everything associated with it&#8230;
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1268676374501502977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&#8230;Michael is Tough, Smart, and Loves our Country. This has been a big battle in Congress for 25 years. Thank you to our Great Republican Senate! <a href="https://twitter.com/SenateCloakroom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenateCloakroom</a>
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1268676378574061571?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Dissidents celebrated:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Thank you, Mr President! We will win the heart and soul of the peoples around the world! I began to listen to VOA at 15, and went to prison in communist China for spreading the words of freedom &#8211; VOA former China Branch director <a href="https://t.co/091nExFy24">https://t.co/091nExFy24</a>
&mdash; 龚小夏 Sasha Gong (@Sasha_Gong) <a href="https://twitter.com/Sasha_Gong/status/1268691482019606529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Thank you, Mr. President Hope to see fundamental changes in VOA Farsi or currently the voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran in America
&mdash; khabarbin (@khabarbin) <a href="https://twitter.com/khabarbin/status/1268713835902283776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Thank You Mr President!
Voice of America [Farsi] has been the roaming field for Mullahs’ exported “journalists” for years. Many call it Voice of Mullahs!
VOA needs to represent America &amp; POTUS’ policy of max pressure toward #1 sponsor of terrorism, paving the way for Free Iran. <a href="https://t.co/NUm7MLv0uA">pic.twitter.com/NUm7MLv0uA</a>
&mdash; Saeid Sajadi (@Saeid_Emdi) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saeid_Emdi/status/1268684536323420161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Fantastic! Start by firing Setareh Derakhshesh and everyone else out of VOA persian and hire people NOT working for the islamic republic!
&mdash; Kourosh (@KouroshPahlavi2) <a href="https://twitter.com/KouroshPahlavi2/status/1268814544677240834?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Congratulations to you President Trump Now the traitors in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/VOA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#VOA</a> must be fired.They not only betrayed to Americans but they betrayed to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Restart_opposition?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Restart_opposition</a> the really opposition against the terrorist IRI ,the regime which is behind the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AntifaTerrorists?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AntifaTerrorists</a><a href="https://t.co/NIrwNzWk4d">https://t.co/NIrwNzWk4d</a>
&mdash; یاس پرپر (@yase_parpar1) <a href="https://twitter.com/yase_parpar1/status/1268769521906733057?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
As a Chinese immigrant, I hope <a href="https://twitter.com/VOANews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VOANews</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/VOAChinese?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VOAChinese</a> not to continue to be pro-Beijing, the CCP dictatorship is the biggest threat and enemy for any free nation. I see most many medias and social platforms are penetrated in deeply and distributing the CCP propagandas. That&#39;s bad. <a href="https://t.co/6fwGfoYB9Z">pic.twitter.com/6fwGfoYB9Z</a>
&mdash; 末日獨裁 (@hvLiao) <a href="https://twitter.com/hvLiao/status/1268738867596718081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
We too We have waited a very long time for this happen They did the biggest treason to Iranians too . They censored the largest populist movement of Iran against the brutal and terrorist regime of Iran. They&#39;ve always helped to IRI . <a href="https://t.co/4hNziByjJ9">https://t.co/4hNziByjJ9</a>
&mdash; یاس پرپر (@yase_parpar1) <a href="https://twitter.com/yase_parpar1/status/1268774600470642689?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2020</a></blockquote>
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This is great news. All of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Iran?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Iran</a>&#39;s apologists/lobbyists should be shunned from pushing the mullahs&#39; talking points in America. <a href="https://t.co/c1DgEzrp36">pic.twitter.com/c1DgEzrp36</a>
&mdash; Heshmat Alavi (@HeshmatAlavi) <a href="https://twitter.com/HeshmatAlavi/status/1268797079901687808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2020</a></blockquote>
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VOA has been a propaganda tool of CCP, now VOA is the time to come back to Americans&#39; hand to serve USA!
&mdash; Jane (@LingJia_USA) <a href="https://twitter.com/LingJia_USA/status/1268730871789449222?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2020</a></blockquote>
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In April, an events summary produced by the White House digital team <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/amid-a-pandemic-voice-of-america-spends-your-money-to-promote-foreign-propaganda/">fired criticism</a> at Voice of America for spreading propaganda on behalf of Communist China. The statement read:
<blockquote>VOA too often speaks for America’s adversaries—not its citizens. The Coronavirus pandemic is no exception. Secrecy from the Communist Party of China allowed the deadly virus to spread across the world. Journalists should report the facts, but VOA has instead amplified Beijing’s propaganda. This week, VOA called China’s Wuhan lockdown a successful “model” copied by much of the world—and then <a href="https://twitter.com/VOANews/status/1247625724304994304">tweeted out video</a> of the Communist government’s celebratory light show marking the quarantine’s alleged end.
Even worse, while much of the U.S. media takes its lead from China, VOA went one step further: It created graphics with <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/VOA-Facebook-US-Virus-Death-Toll-Exceeds-Official-China-Tally-638x1024-1.jpg">Communist government statistics</a> to compare China’s Coronavirus death toll to America’s. As intelligence experts point out, there is simply no way to verify the accuracy of China’s numbers.</blockquote>
The statement noted, “The Coronavirus story is just one example of this pattern. Last year, VOA helped highlight the Twitter feed of Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif while he was <a href="https://bbgwatch.com/bbgwatch/voa-iran-rt-tweet-circle/">issuing threats against the U.S.</a> and sharing Russian anti-U.S. propaganda videos.”
<a href="https://www.heritage.org/global-politics/commentary/its-long-past-time-leadership-change-us-agency-global-media">The Heritage Foundation</a> has said of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which supervises VOA:
<blockquote>The U.S. Agency for Global Media is the government’s primary public diplomacy tool and is funded to the tune of $685 million by U.S. taxpayers. It dwarfs any other expenditure by the government on international outreach, including educational and cultural exchanges, embassy outreach, and American centers at foreign universities. In the hands of left-leaning producers and directors, much of the broadcasting paid for by U.S. taxpayers resembles that of CNN more than anything else, both in its story selection and its anti-Trump bias.</blockquote>
A Stanford University <a href="https://www.hoover.org/sites/default/files/research/docs/chineseinfluence_americaninterests_fullreport_web.pdf">report in 2018</a> from the Hoover Institution stated:
<blockquote>VOA officials sought to scale back what were perceived to be sensitive reports. After running two years of a radio series on aspects of modern Chinese history, including the Cultural Revolution and other events post-1949, VOA cut the program in 2009 despite several of those shows garnering well over three million hits each on the web …
In 2012, a Chinese immigrant, who was also a former Chinese dissident and a specialist on the US political system, became the first female Chinese head of the service. She was later fired over a controversial interview that drew the official ire of the PRC, which threatened repercussions. Since her dismissal, VOA’s Mandarin service has resumed a pattern of avoiding stories that could be perceived to be too tough on China, according to several staffers.</blockquote>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Members Of The Coronavirus Task Force Hold Press Briefing

Trump’s Choice For VOA Director Finally Confirmed. Iranian, Chinese Dissidents Praise Trump, Celebrate.

Voice of America

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) wrote a letter to the Justice Department and the Treasury Department on Friday urging a criminal investigation into Twitter for potential criminal activity related to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and sanctionable activities prohibited by Executive Order 13876.
The letter, addressed to Attorney General William Barr and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, states that Cruz informed Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey early this year that &#8220;Twitter and its principals face criminal liability and sanctions exposure for providing social media accounts to Iranian persons designated as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) pursuant to E.O. 13876.&#8221;
&#8220;The letter spelled out in detail how Twitter is in violation of IEEPA,&#8221; the senator&#8217;s <a href="https://www.cruz.senate.gov/files/documents/Letters/2020.05.29%20-%20Letter%20to%20DoJ%20and%20Treasury%20on%20Twitter%20Criminal%20Probe.pdf">letter</a> to the Justice Department and Treasury Department explains. &#8220;It explained that the President invoked his powers under IEEPA to issue E.O. 13876, which prohibits &#8216;the making of any contribution or provision of… goods or services&#8217; to persons designated pursuant to that order. It then cited two specific and active Twitter accounts belonging to individuals designated pursuant to E.O. 13876 – Ali Khamenei (@khamenei_ir), the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, and Javad Zarif (@JZarif), the Iranian Foreign Minister – and called on Twitter to come into compliance with United States law by ceasing to provide services to these individuals.&#8221;
Cruz noted in his letter that despite being in violation of the Executive Order and the IEEPA, Twitter continues to provide its services to top Iranian officials despite the clear prohibition.
&#8220;First and foremost, Twitter argues that its corporate values require it to provide these accounts. Twitter stated that it will not eliminate these accounts because &#8216;to deny our service to [Iran’s] leaders at a time like this would be antithetical to the purpose of our company,&#8217; and because Twitter’s &#8216;goal is to elevate and amplify authoritative health information as far as possible,'&#8221; the letter continues. &#8220;The position cannot be aligned with Iranian policy as it actually exists or with how designated Iranian officials use Twitter. Iranian officials ban Iranian citizens from accessing Twitter. In early April, Khamenei and Zarif used their Twitter accounts to post anti-American disinformation and conspiracy theories, not authoritative health information. They use their accounts provided by Twitter to threaten and taunt their enemies real and imagined. In any event, Twitter’s corporate values and grave misapprehension of the threat that Khamenei and Zarif pose are irrelevant. An American person’s disagreement with IEEPA or E.O. 13876 is no excuse for noncompliance.&#8221;
&#8220;Second, Twitter incorrectly argues that its actions do not violate IEEPA because &#8216;[m]aking the Twitter platform available for use . . . as a tool of communication is broadly exempted from OFAC prohibitions.&#8217; This is false, and Twitter should know that is false, because our letter explained in no uncertain terms why this broad exemption does not apply to Khamenei and Zarif’s accounts,&#8221; the letter continues. &#8220;The General License D-1 (GL D-1) to which Twitter implicitly refers creates an exception for services and software incident to Internet-based communication. But it expressly &#8216;does not authorize&#8217; the services &#8216;to any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to any part of 31 C.F.R. chapter V, other than persons whose property and interests in property are blocked solely pursuant to Executive Order 13599 as the Government of Iran[.]&#8217; Khamenei and Zarif are designated pursuant to E.O. 13876 and so the exception does not apply.&#8221;
Cruz notes that &#8220;when a company willfully and openly violates the law after receiving formal notice that it is unlawfully supporting designated individuals, the federal government should take action,&#8221; and that IEEPA includes criminal penalties of &#8220;up to $1 million in fines and imprisonment for up to 20 years for willful violations.&#8221;
Cruz concludes: &#8220;The cohesion and legitimacy of our laws rest on their equal application to all citizens and entities, no matter how large or how powerful. The Department of Treasury and the Department of Justice should investigate what appears to be Twitter’s blatant and willful violation of IEEPA and E.O. 13876 by providing services to Khamenei, Zarif, and other designated Iranian entities, and, to the extent appropriate, enforce any violation through sanctions and by seeking civil and criminal penalties.&#8221;
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

US-POLITICS-IMPEACHMENT

Ted Cruz Contacts DOJ, Demands Criminal Investigation Of Twitter Over Potential Crimes Related To Iran

Ted Cruz

Twitter

The father of a 13-year-old girl in Iran beheaded her with a farming sickle while she was sleeping, reputedly as an “honor killing” for falling in love with an older man.
Romina Ashrafi, who lived in Hovigh, Talesh county, had fled her home after her father said he was furious that she planned to marry 35-year-old Bahamn Khavari.
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This 13-year old Iranian girl, Rumina, is a victim of anti-women laws in Iran.
A 35-year old man tricked her into eloping with him. 
Then, she was arrested. The judge decided to hand her over to her dad.
Her dad cut her head off in her sleep.
There was no-one to save her <a href="https://t.co/US1E6ep5cq">pic.twitter.com/US1E6ep5cq</a>
&mdash; Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlinejadMasih/status/1265282782399430656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The families of both Khavafri and Romina contacted authorities, triggering a five-day search that culminated with Romina being returned to her home, despite the fact that Romina said her life would be endangered by returning home. The father later turned himself in to police as he held the bloody sickle.
<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8361083/Girl-13-beheaded-father-slept-Iranian-honour-killing.html">The Daily Mail</a> noted that Romina’s return to her home was “required by Islamic Republic laws,” adding, “Iranian laws mean girls can marry after the age of 13, though the average age of marriage for Iranian women is 23.”
<a href="https://iranintl.com/en/iran/reactions-honor-killing-13-years-old-romina-ashrafi">Iran International</a> pointed out, “According to the Sharia law, only the &#8216;blood owners&#8217; (the immediate family members) are allowed to demand execution for the murder of their loved one, therefore most honor killings go unpunished or with little punishment since the family will not demand the death sentence for another family member.”
“Since he is the ‘guardian’ of the victim, based on Iran’s Islamic penal code, the father will be exempt from ‘qisas,’ an Islamic term meaning ‘retaliation in kind,’ or retributive justice,” <a href="https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/05/26/Iranian-girl-13-beheaded-by-father-in-reported-honor-killing.html">Al Arabiya</a> reported.
Fariba Sahraei, senior editor at Iran International, pointed out that Romina’s death was exceptional even in a world used to honor killings: “Every year in Iran, women, and girls are killed by their male relatives under the guise of defending their honor, but the nature of Romina Ashrafi&#8217;s murder is one that has shocked the country and the rest of the world.”
The Daily Mail added, “While the exact number of honour killings in Iran is not known, a Tehran police official has previously said they account for around 20 per cent of Iran&#8217;s murders.”
Shahindokht Molaverdi, a former vice-president for women and family affairs and the current secretary of Iran&#8217;s Society for Protecting Women&#8217;s Rights, <a href="https://twitter.com/mowlaverdi/status/1265194918567456768">wrote</a>: “Romina is neither the first nor the last victim of honor killings; As long as the law, the judiciary and the prevailing culture of the local and global communities do not have the necessary deterrence and serve this human crime by encouraging and promoting it!”
The U.S. State Department <a href="https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/IRAN-2019-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf">noted</a> in 2019, “The law reduces punitive measures for fathers and other family members who are convicted of murder or physically harming children in domestic violence or &#8216;honor killings.&#8217; If a man is found guilty of murdering his daughter, the punishment is between three and 10 years in prison rather than the normal death sentence or payment of diyeh for homicide cases.”
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Cutting grass with a scythe

Iranian Father Beheads 13-Year-Old Daughter In ‘Honor Killing’

honor killing

Iran is curbing its aggressive tendencies and beginning to take small steps toward cooperating with the United States in the Middle East.
Tehran is taking intentional steps to avoid further conflict with the United States in the run-up to the U.S. presidential election in November. Iranian leaders are afraid that aggressive action on their part could benefit President Trump in the election, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/19/world/middleeast/iran-us-relations.html">The New York Times</a>.
Years of intense pressure by the United States to curb Iranian aggression in the Middle East is beginning to pay dividends, the State Department said.
“Pressure works,” U.S. special representative for Iran policy Brian Hook told the Times. “For over three years we have contained and countered Iran through deterrence and diplomacy. The regime is also broke because of our sanctions. Iran’s leaders today face a choice: either negotiate with President Trump or manage economic collapse.”
Trump has ramped up pressure on the Iranian regime since pulling the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 and reasserting strict sanctions on Tehran. Iran is now facing political upheaval at home because of worsening economic conditions, as well as the outbreak of the coronavirus.
To ease tensions in the lead-up to the U.S. election, Iran has largely stopped using proxy militias and terror groups across the Middle East to launch attacks on U.S. forces. Iranian naval forces in the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane, have cut down attacks on shippers and are staying away from U.S. military vessels after <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-gives-order-to-shoot-down-and-destroy-iranian-gunboats-harassing-us-ships">threats</a> from Trump.
Tehran has backed off its influence on Iraqi politics, choosing not to interfere against the election of a U.S.-backed prime minister to lead the Iraqi parliament earlier this month. Last month, Tehran negotiated a prisoner swap in the U.S., offering an imprisoned U.S. Navy veteran for an Iranian-American doctor who U.S. forces were holding.
Analysts say that Iran’s new tactics should not be misinterpreted as a change of its overall strategy and ambitions. The loss of General Qasem Soleimani, who was responsible for coordinating Iran’s various militias and terror groups, was a blow to Tehran’s influence throughout the Middle East. That, along with increasing pressure from U.S. sanctions, has forced Iran into a defensive position.
Tensions between Tehran and Washington reached a boiling point around the start of the year when Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-trump-reveals-attack-that-soleimani-was-planning-that-led-to-drone-strike">ordered</a> an airstrike that killed Soleimani, Iran’s top general and terror leader.
In late December, Iranian-backed militia launched rockets into an Iraqi airbase, killing several Iraqi soldiers and one U.S. contractor. The U.S. military responded with airstrikes against several militia targets in the region that killed at least two dozen militia members.
On December 30, Iranian officials inspired a violent mob to attack the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, prompting Trump to approve a Jan. 3 drone strike that killed Soleimani. Fearing open conflict with the U.S., Iran responded to Soleimani’s killing with several rocket strikes against an Iraqi military base where U.S. troops were sanctioned. No U.S. or Iraqi soldiers were killed in the attack, and the U.S. declined to respond as Trump’s red line – no more dead Americans – was not crossed.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

President Trump

‘Pressure Works’: Two Years After Trump Scrapped The Iran Nuclear Deal, Tehran Is Beginning To Cooperate

On Tuesday, Iran’s Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah Khameini, issued a Twitter thread in which he vilified Israel, calling it a “cancerous tumor,” saying it was built on “lies, deception, bloodshed, massacre, and trampling human rights,” and called for arming all of the Palestinians living in Judea and Samaria. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a staunch defender of the Jewish state, fired back that Khameini “denies the Holocaust, sends money and weapons to anti-Israel terrorists, and now has invoked the Nazi call for the Final Solution, concluding, “Is this someone who can be trusted with deadly weapons?&#8221;
Khameini’s rhetoric began with him tweeting, “The Zionist regime was built based on oppression, lies, deception, bloodshed, massacre, and trampling human rights. Over the past few decades, the occupying Zionist regime has lived and survived using suppression, killing, encroachment &amp; attacking innocent people.”
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The Zionist regime was built based on oppression, lies, deception, bloodshed, massacre, and trampling human rights. Over the past few decades, the occupying Zionist regime has lived and survived using suppression, killing, encroachment &amp; attacking innocent people.
&mdash; Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) <a href="https://twitter.com/khamenei_ir/status/1262507418359074816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2020</a></blockquote>
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He continued, “The West Bank must be armed, just as Gaza. The only thing that can reduce the Palestinians’ hardships is the hand of power. Otherwise, compromise won’t reduce a bit of the cruelty of this usurping, evil, wolf-like entity.”
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The West Bank must be armed, just as Gaza. The only thing that can reduce the Palestinians’ hardships is the hand of power. Otherwise, compromise won’t reduce a bit of the cruelty of this usurping, evil, wolf-like entity.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyTheFlag?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyTheFlag</a>
&mdash; Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) <a href="https://twitter.com/khamenei_ir/status/1262513122532896771?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2020</a></blockquote>
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He concluded, “The Zionist regime is the most evidence example of state terrorism. Ever since Britain’s anti-Islamic, antihuman policies put the Zionists to rule in #Palestine, they have been acting like a cancerous tumor, furthering their goals by massacring children, women.”
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The Zionist regime is the most evident example of state terrorism. Ever since Britain’s anti-Islamic, antihuman policies put the Zionists to rule in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Palestine?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Palestine</a>, they have been acting like a cancerous tumor, furthering their goals by massacring children, women and men.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyTheFlag?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyTheFlag</a>
&mdash; Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) <a href="https://twitter.com/khamenei_ir/status/1262835308242092038?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Pompeo fired back, “The United States condemns Supreme Leader Khamenei&#8217;s disgusting and hateful anti-Semitic remarks. They have no place on Twitter or on any other social media platform. We know Khamenei’s vile rhetoric does not represent the Iranian people’s tradition of tolerance.”
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The United States condemns Supreme Leader Khamenei&#39;s disgusting and hateful anti-Semitic remarks. They have no place on Twitter or on any other social media platform. We know Khamenei’s vile rhetoric does not represent the Iranian people’s tradition of tolerance. <a href="https://t.co/cfBhyOfFa9">pic.twitter.com/cfBhyOfFa9</a>
&mdash; Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecPompeo/status/1263090899619328000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Pompeo then implicitly pointed out the absurdity of the infamous Iran nuclear deal embraced by the Obama administration, which President Trump jettisoned: “The leader of the world’s top sponsor of terrorism and anti-Semitism denies the Holocaust, sends money and weapons to anti-Israel terrorists, and now has invoked the Nazi call for the Final Solution. I ask all nations: Is this someone who can be trusted with deadly weapons?”
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The leader of the world’s top sponsor of terrorism and anti-Semitism denies the Holocaust, sends money and weapons to anti-Israel terrorists, and now has invoked the Nazi call for the Final Solution. I ask all nations: Is this someone who can be trusted with deadly weapons?
&mdash; Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecPompeo/status/1263090902106587136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2020</a></blockquote>
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At the end of April, Pompeo <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/trump-is-committed-to-use-every-tool-we-have-to-prevent-iran-from-getting-more-conventional-arms-pompeo">spoke with Fox News</a> about preventing Iran from buying weapons systems, which they would be able to do in October. He stated:
<blockquote>We&#8217;ve seen their bad behavior. That was nuts. That&#8217;s why we got out of the deal; that’s why we left it. Now our task is to do our best to make sure those arms can&#8217;t be sold. We’re working with our British, our French partners, our friends saying, ‘You all know this doesn&#8217;t make sense, either.’ I think they agree with us on that. We hope the Russians and the Chinese will see it that way, too. But make no mistake about it: we’[re going to use every tool we can in our diplomatic capability to ensure that that prohibition on arms sales to Iran doesn’t expire in just a handful of months.</blockquote>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

President Trump Meets With His Cabinet At The White House

Iran Supreme Leader Calls For Arming All Palestinians, Calls Israel ‘Cancerous Tumor.’ Pompeo Blasts Him.

Israel

Mike Pompeo

Dozens of Iranian sailors were reportedly killed during the early morning hours on Monday after an Iranian destroyer accidentally opened fire on another Iranian destroyer.
&#8220;Dozens of sailors in Iran&#8217;s Navy were killed early Monday after a on-board missile was accidentally shot from one destroyer and hit another,&#8221; The Jerusalem Post <a href="https://www.jpost.com/international/dozens-of-iranian-soldiers-killed-in-navy-missile-accident-627595">reported</a>. &#8220;During a military drill, a C-802 missile was fired toward another Iranian Navy destroyer, striking it and causing extensive damage, the reports said.&#8221;
&#8220;Some 40 naval service members were missing after the incident, local media outlets reportedly said,&#8221; according to <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/iran/iranian-warship-sunk-by-friendly-fire-dozens-feared-dead-reports-say-1.8836206">Haaretz</a>. &#8220;Iran&#8217;s Fars semi-official news agency meanwhile said one person was killed and several injured during a naval exercise.&#8221;
The news comes after tensions between the U.S. Navy and the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN), which is a designated terrorist organization, increased last month when 11 Iranian gun boats swarmed a U.S. destroyer in the region.
The U.S. Navy said in a <a href="https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=112658">statement</a> at the time:
<blockquote>On April 15, eleven Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) vessels repeatedly conducted dangerous and harassing approaches of the USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 3), USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60), USS Firebolt (PC 10), USS Sirocco (PC 6), USCGC Wrangell (WPB 1332) and USCGC Maui (WPB 1304) while the U.S. vessels were conducting joint integration operations with U.S. Army AH-64E Apache attack helicopters in the international waters of the North Arabian Gulf.
The IRGCN vessels repeatedly crossed the bows and sterns of the U.S. vessels at extremely close range and high speeds, including multiple crossings of the Puller with a 50 yard closest point of approach (CPA) and within 10 yards of Maui&#8217;s bow.
The U.S. crews issued multiple warnings via bridge-to-bridge radio, five short blasts from the ships&#8217; horns and long-range acoustic noise maker devices, but received no response from the IRGCN.
After approximately one hour, the IRGCN vessels responded to the bridge-to-bridge radio queries, then maneuvered away from the U.S. ships and opened distance between them.
The IRGCN&#8217;s dangerous and provocative actions increased the risk of miscalculation and collision, were not in accordance with the internationally recognized Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) &#8220;rules of the road&#8221; or internationally recognized maritime customs, and were not in accordance with the obligation under international law to act with due regard for the safety of other vessels in the area.
The U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, Marines and Army have been conducting joint interoperability operations in the North Arabian Gulf since late March.
U.S. naval forces continue to remain vigilant and are trained to act in a professional manner, while our commanding officers retain the inherent right to act in self-defense.</blockquote>
Trump later responded to the incident by saying, &#8220;I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea.&#8221;
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I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea.
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1252932181447630848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2020</a></blockquote>
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This is a breaking news story, refresh the page for updates.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Iran&#8217;s first domestically made destroyer

BREAKING: Iran Accidentally Opens Fire On An Iranian Military Ship, Dozens Of Iranian Sailors Reportedly Dead

Iran, the world&#8217;s leading state sponsor of terrorism, has reportedly had to cancel its annual anti-Israel al-Quds Day rally due to the nation&#8217;s continued struggle with the coronavirus pandemic, which originated in China.
&#8220;Iran stages the annual demonstrations out of solidarity with the Palestinians every year on al-Quds Day, the last Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan, which this year falls on May 22,&#8221; Haaretz <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/iran/.premium-iran-cancels-annual-al-quds-day-anti-israel-protests-amid-pandemic-1.8816992">reported</a>. &#8220;Al-Quds is the Arabic name for Jerusalem, the city claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians as their capital. Iran does not recognize Israel and regards it as the source of all regional problems.&#8221;
A spokesperson for Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is a designated terrorist organization, told a semi-official Iranian news agency over the weekend, &#8220;The fact is that we are not in a normal situation because of the coronavirus and therefore cannot organize the al-Quds rallies as in previous years.&#8221;
Iran, which was one of the first countries to be hit by the pandemic, is widely believed to be lying about the true extent of the pandemic in their nation.
State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus <a href="https://freebeacon.com/national-security/iran-lying-about-coronavirus-statistics-state-department-says/">told</a> The Free Beacon at the end of March, &#8220;The regime has imprisoned dozens of Iranians for sharing statistics and forced hospital officials across Iran to falsify the number of cases and deaths.&#8221;
According to a Johns Hopkins University &amp; Medicine Coronavirus tracker, Iran has at least 98,647 reported coronavirus cases and at least 6,277 reported deaths.
However, the real figures are likely far greater as a World Health Organization official indicated in mid-March that Iran&#8217;s real numbers were likely at least five times higher than what was being reported.
The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/w-h-o-doctor-paints-grim-picture-of-coronavirus-outbreak-in-iran">reported</a> in mid-March:
<blockquote>Iranian officials identified the central city of Qom as the center of an outbreak that was announced on Feb. 19, but refused to quarantine the city, calling such measures relics of the era before World War I.
After the virus spread to other cities, the government kept the roads open to the northern part of the country, despite pleas from local officials there to restrict traffic, though it has urged Iranians not to travel and has canceled large gatherings such as Friday prayers.</blockquote>
Iran&#8217;s outbreak was so bad that The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/iran-coronavirus-outbreak-graves/">obtained</a> satellite images that showed mass graves being dug:
<blockquote>Two days after Iran declared its first cases of the novel coronavirus — in what would become one of the largest outbreaks of the illness outside of China — evidence of unusual activity appeared at a cemetery near where the infections emerged.
At the Behesht-e Masoumeh complex in Qom, about 80 miles south of Tehran, the excavation of a new section of the graveyard began as early as Feb. 21, satellite images show, and then rapidly expanded as the virus spread. By the end of the month, two large trenches — their lengths totaling 100 yards — were visible at the site from space.
According to expert analysis, video testimony and official statements, the graves were dug to accommodate the rising number of virus victims in Qom.</blockquote>
In mid-March, a British journalist reported that a doctor that she spoke to in Iran said that they were losing &#8220;20 or 30 patients a day&#8221; at just one hospital and that it was &#8220;worse than a war.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Tonight <a href="https://twitter.com/Channel4News?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Channel4News</a> I’m reporting on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/coronavirus?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#coronavirus</a> spreading in Iran, including audio of a desperate doctor who says his hospital is losing 20 or 30 patients a day. “It’s a disaster. It’s worse than the war.” A few days after the recording he also died.
&mdash; Lindsey Hilsum (@lindseyhilsum) <a href="https://twitter.com/lindseyhilsum/status/1238514679997255688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Nearly a month later, Iranian officials were lashing out at China for lying to the world about the extent of their outbreak, saying that it was obvious based on what they were experiencing that China was not telling the truth.
A doctor on Iran&#8217;s coroanvirus task force, epidemiologist Dr. Hamid Souri, also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/iran-hits-at-ally-china-chinas-coronavirus-numbers-a-bitter-joke-not-trustworthy">took a shot</a> at China’s reported numbers.
“The evidence shows us that what happened is worse than what the Chinese reported,” Souri said. “We could not make any judgements at first because our country had no experience [with coronavirus] to compare the results.”
“Wrong data leads to wrong results and incorrect policies which in turn lead to in an increase in the number of victims,” Souri continued. “Italy is now experiencing a slowing trend [in infections and deaths] but we have unfortunately not got there yet.”
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

IRAN-DEMOSTRATION

How Bad Is Iran’s Coronavirus Outbreak? They Just Canceled Their Anti-Israel ‘Quds Day’ Rally

Coronavirus

The vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff praised President Donald Trump&#8217;s order this week to destroy Iranian gunboats that harass U.S. ships in the Persian Gulf, saying that if the the world&#8217;s leading state sponsor of terrorism tries to take action against U.S. military forces that the U.S. force &#8220;will come large&#8221; after Iran.
&#8220;Well, I&#8217;ll just say that every capability that we deploy, every ship that deploys into harm&#8217;s way has the inherent right of self-defense, as the secretary just described,&#8221; Vice Chairman Gen. John Hyten told reporters. &#8220;What that means is if we see a hostile act, if we see hostile intent, we have the right to respond up to and including lethal force, and if it happens in the Gulf, if it happens in any way, we will respond with overwhelming lethal force, if necessary, to defend ourselves, and it&#8217;s really that simple. But nobody should doubt that the commanders have the authority right now to respond to any hostile act or hostile intent.&#8221;
Trump tweeted earlier in the week that the U.S. Navy has been instructed to &#8220;shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea&#8221; after 11 gunboats swarmed U.S. ships in the Persian gulf last week.
&#8220;So, I like that the president warned an adversary,&#8221; Hyten added. &#8220;That&#8217;s what he&#8217;s doing. He&#8217;s providing a warning. If you want to go down that path, we will come and we will come large, so don&#8217;t go down that path. That is what he&#8217;s saying. He&#8217;s saying it in clear, uncertain terms. We understand that direction, and every commander that&#8217;s deployed has the ability to execute that.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The leader of Iran&#39;s Revolutionary Guard has warned he ordered his forces to potentially target the U.S. Navy after President Donald Trump&#39;s tweet a day earlier threatening to sink Iranian vessels. <a href="https://twitter.com/JenGriffinFNC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JenGriffinFNC</a> reports <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/specialreport?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#specialreport</a> <a href="https://t.co/2iZxPDdIOc">pic.twitter.com/2iZxPDdIOc</a>
&mdash; Bret Baier (@BretBaier) <a href="https://twitter.com/BretBaier/status/1253477602947457025?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The U.S. Navy documented the incident in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/iranian-general-orders-naval-forces-to-destroy-any-american-ship-in-persian-gulf-that-threatens-security">statement</a> last week from the terrorist regime against the U.S. ships:
<blockquote>On April 15, eleven Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) vessels repeatedly conducted dangerous and harassing approaches of the USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 3), USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60), USS Firebolt (PC 10), USS Sirocco (PC 6), USCGC Wrangell (WPB 1332) and USCGC Maui (WPB 1304) while the U.S. vessels were conducting joint integration operations with U.S. Army AH-64E Apache attack helicopters in the international waters of the North Arabian Gulf.
The IRGCN vessels repeatedly crossed the bows and sterns of the U.S. vessels at extremely close range and high speeds, including multiple crossings of the Puller with a 50 yard closest point of approach (CPA) and within 10 yards of Maui’s bow.
The U.S. crews issued multiple warnings via bridge-to-bridge radio, five short blasts from the ships’ horns and long-range acoustic noise maker devices, but received no response from the IRGCN.
After approximately one hour, the IRGCN vessels responded to the bridge-to-bridge radio queries, then maneuvered away from the U.S. ships and opened distance between them.</blockquote>
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Gen. Hossein Salami ordered his naval units on yesterday that he ordered them to destroy American ships if they threatened Iran&#8217;s security.
“I have ordered our naval forces to destroy any American terrorist force in the Persian Gulf that threatens the security of Iran’s military or non-military ships,” Salami <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/04/23/iran-warns-us-warships-in-gulf-will-be-destroyed-if-threatened/">said</a>. “Security of the Persian Gulf is part of Iran’s strategic priorities.”
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">subscriber</a>.

Confirmation Hearing Held For Gen. John Hyten To Be Vice Chairman Of Joint Chiefs

Top Military Commander Warns Iran On Latest Provocation: ‘We Will Come Large’

Military

On April 15, the State Department told the House Committee on Oversight and Reform that state-run media in China, Russia, and Iran are colluding on something nefarious: shifting the blame for the coronavirus pandemic onto the United States.
The State Department’s accusation were noted in an internal GOP Oversight and Reform Committee report, according to <a href="https://townhall.com/tipsheet/juliorosas/2020/04/23/report-state-department-confirms-china-iran-and-russia-are-pushing-same-message-to-blame-us-for-covid19-n2567491">Townhall</a>, which obtained a copy of the report. Townhall also revealed that the report delineated how the World Health Organization and China had misled the world about the severity of COVID-19 early on.
The report stated of the collusion among China, Russia, and Iran:
<blockquote>According to a cybersecurity report, Chinese state-run media has attempted to shift the blame for the pandemic away from China and instead painted China as a global leader in the response to the pandemic. A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry has openly blamed U.S. servicemembers for originating the virus in China. China further censored and detained any Chinese official, including doctors, who tried to warn of the true origins of the virus.
The State Department has confirmed Chinese, Iranian, and Russian state-run media are all promoting similar messages in an effort to blame the U.S. for COVID-19. Further, China is attempting to use propaganda regarding its pandemic response to convince the world that socialism, communism, and authoritarianism are better than freedom, liberty, and representative government.</blockquote>
Of China and the World Health Organization’s misleading the rold, the report stated:
<blockquote>The global health community relied on these early Chinese reports to plan responses in other countries, and such underreporting may have led other countries to operate under false assumptions regarding the spread of the virus … These preliminary investigations included China jailing any doctor that disseminated any information about COVID-19 not first cleared through state-run media. Additionally, the WHO failed to promote in a timely manner Taiwanese warnings of human-to-human transmission in December 2019; Taiwan is not currently recognized by the WHO as an independent nation. On January 23, 2020, the WHO finally recognized human-to-human spread was occurring – a month after the first warnings.
By the time the WHO declared COVID-19 a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on January 30, 2020, the disease had infected almost 10,000 and killed almost 1,000 people in nineteen different countries. The Guardian has reported the delay in the PHEIC declaration was a result of intense pressure from China. While making the declaration, Dr. Tedros said “China is to be congratulated for the extraordinary measures it has taken to contain the outbreak.” Since then, there have been over 2.5 million new cases and 175,000 deaths worldwide.&#8221;</blockquote>
The State Department asserted it was countering Chinese propaganda by collaborating with international organizations to reinforce the U.S. perspective; pointing out that China’s claim of its superiority in dealing with the virus as opposed to the U.S. was untrue, and simply calling on the Group of Seven to fight against propaganda campaigns.
On Wednesday, as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/china-still-not-letting-u-s-in-to-study-coronavirus-mike-pompeo-says">The Daily Wire</a> reported, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that China is still blocking U.S. scientists from entering the country to study the coronavirus. “Even today, the Chinese government hasn’t permitted American scientists to go into China, to go into not only the Wuhan lab or wherever it needs to go to learn about this virus, to learn about its origins,” Pompeo told <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/pompeo-china-who-coronavirus-lack-of-transparency">Fox News’</a> “The Ingraham Angle,” <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/04/23/china-blocking-us-scientists-from-examining-coronavirus-pompeo/">according to The New York Post</a>.
Also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/iranian-general-orders-naval-forces-to-destroy-any-american-ship-in-persian-gulf-that-threatens-security">on Wednesday</a>, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Gen. Hossein Salami ordered his naval units on Wednesday to destroy American naval vessels if they threatened the “security” of Iranian vessels in the Persian Gulf, <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/04/23/iran-warns-us-warships-in-gulf-will-be-destroyed-if-threatened/">saying</a>, “I have ordered our naval forces to destroy any American terrorist force in the Persian Gulf that threatens the security of Iran’s military or non-military ships. Security of the Persian Gulf is part of Iran’s strategic priorities.”
&nbsp;

KYRGYZSTAN-SCO-SUMMIT-DIPLOMACY

State Department: Chinese, Russian, Iranian State-Run Media Colluding To Blame America Regarding Virus

State Department

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Gen. Hossein Salami ordered his naval units on Wednesday to destroy American naval vessels if they threaten the &#8220;security&#8221; of Iranian vessels in the Persian Gulf.
&#8220;I have ordered our naval forces to destroy any American terrorist force in the Persian Gulf that threatens the security of Iran’s military or non-military ships,&#8221; Salami <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/04/23/iran-warns-us-warships-in-gulf-will-be-destroyed-if-threatened/">said</a>. &#8220;Security of the Persian Gulf is part of Iran’s strategic priorities.&#8221;
Salami has gained more attention in the IRGC, which is a designated terrorist organization, after President Donald Trump terminated his terrorist colleague Qassem Solemani earlier this year.
Salami&#8217;s remarks come after Trump announced on Wednesday that the administration&#8217;s new policy towards Iranian gunboats harassing U.S. naval ships was to &#8220;shoot them out of the water.&#8221;
Trump tweeted on Wednesday, &#8220;I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea.&#8221;
The president doubled down on his remarks during the White House Coronavirus Task Force press briefing later in the day, saying that the new rules of engagement were to &#8220;shoot them out of the water.&#8221;
The announcement by Trump came after 11 Iranian terrorist gunboats <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/11-iranian-military-boats-swarm-u-s-naval-ships-china-might-be-testing-nukes-russia-north-korea-show-military-aggression-various-reports">swarmed</a> U.S. naval ships last week. The U.S. Navy revealed details of incident in a statement:
<blockquote>On April 15, eleven Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) vessels repeatedly conducted dangerous and harassing approaches of the USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 3), USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60), USS Firebolt (PC 10), USS Sirocco (PC 6), USCGC Wrangell (WPB 1332) and USCGC Maui (WPB 1304) while the U.S. vessels were conducting joint integration operations with U.S. Army AH-64E Apache attack helicopters in the international waters of the North Arabian Gulf.
The IRGCN vessels repeatedly crossed the bows and sterns of the U.S. vessels at extremely close range and high speeds, including multiple crossings of the Puller with a 50 yard closest point of approach (CPA) and within 10 yards of Maui&#8217;s bow.
The U.S. crews issued multiple warnings via bridge-to-bridge radio, five short blasts from the ships&#8217; horns and long-range acoustic noise maker devices, but received no response from the IRGCN.
After approximately one hour, the IRGCN vessels responded to the bridge-to-bridge radio queries, then maneuvered away from the U.S. ships and opened distance between them.
The IRGCN&#8217;s dangerous and provocative actions increased the risk of miscalculation and collision, were not in accordance with the internationally recognized Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) &#8220;rules of the road&#8221; or internationally recognized maritime customs, and were not in accordance with the obligation under international law to act with due regard for the safety of other vessels in the area.
The U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, Marines and Army have been conducting joint interoperability operations in the North Arabian Gulf since late March.
U.S. naval forces continue to remain vigilant and are trained to act in a professional manner, while our commanding officers retain the inherent right to act in self-defense.</blockquote>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">subscriber</a>.

IRAN-US-SAUDI-CONFLICT

Iranian General Orders ‘Naval Forces To Destroy Any American’ Ship In Persian Gulf That Threatens Security

President Donald Trump confirmed his new policy on Wednesday toward Iranian military boats that harass U.S. naval ships: &#8220;Shoot them out of the water.&#8221;
The president made the remarks during the White House Coronavirus Task Force news conference when asked about his tweet from earlier in the day that stated: &#8220;I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea.&#8221;
Trump&#8217;s tweet and remarks come after 11 Iranian gunboats swarmed several U.S. naval ships last week and got within 10 yards of the ships.
&#8220;We don’t want their gunboats surrounding our boats and traveling around our boats and having a good time, we don’t want them anywhere near our boats,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;Under the Obama administration, it was taking place all the time. Under my administration, I gave this order early on and nothing happened. They were very nice, there was no problem. But then I noticed yesterday they did that in a much lighter form, but they did that again.&#8221;
&#8220;I said, &#8216;We’re not going to stand for it,'&#8221; Trump continued. &#8220;So if they do that, that’s putting our ships at danger and our great crews and sailors in danger, I’m not going to let that happen. And we will… They’ll shoot them out of the water.&#8221;
&#8220;The U.S. military does not have to change its rules of engagement in order to follow your order?&#8221; a reporter asked the president.
&#8220;No, that’s the rules of engagement,&#8221; Trump responded. &#8220;That’s a threat. When they get that close to our boat, and they have guns, they have very substantial weapons on those boats, but we’ll shoot them out of the water.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
U.S. President Donald Trump on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Iran?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Iran</a>: -We don&#39;t want them anywhere near our ships &amp; sailors. -I don&#39;t think I have to repeat myself. -It was happening all the time during the Obama administration. -We&#39;re not going to stand for it. -Our Navy will shoot them out of the water. <a href="https://t.co/rKn6o3AXCD">pic.twitter.com/rKn6o3AXCD</a>
&mdash; Heshmat Alavi (@HeshmatAlavi) <a href="https://twitter.com/HeshmatAlavi/status/1253206283295096833?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
TRANSCRIPT:
<blockquote>REPORTER: Mr. President, thank you. Can we talk about Iran? You put out a message this morning making a rather big announcement for our military when it comes to Iranian aggression. Are you going to change formally rules of engagement for our U.S. military so that they can engage?
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We’re covered 100%. We don’t want their gunboats surrounding our boats and traveling around our boats and having a good time, we don’t want them anywhere near our boats, and… So you know the order I gave, I don’t think you have to say it again, but I’ve given that order. Under the Obama administration, it was taking place all the time. Under my administration, I gave this order early on and nothing happened. They were very nice, there was no problem. But then I noticed yesterday they did that in a much lighter form, but they did that again. I said, “We’re not going to stand for it.” So if they do that, that’s putting our ships at danger and our great crews and sailors in danger, I’m not going to let that happen. And we will… They’ll shoot them out of the water.
REPORTER: The U.S. military does not have to change its rules of engagement in order to follow your order?
TRUMP: No, that’s the rules of engagement. That’s a threat. When they get that close to our boat, and they have guns, they have very substantial weapons on those boats, but we’ll shoot them out of the water.</blockquote>

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