Crooked Bough News Round-up

— Iran Downs US Aircraft As Israel Prepares ‘Unprecedented Strikes’ Amidst Election Turmoil

 

at 10/30/26 1:18pm

Iranian air defences downed three US drones and opened fire on a fighter jet, amidst ongoing military preparations by the United States to carry out another large-scale attack. In this edition of The Target, MintPress News’ Robert Inlakesh looks at the latest battlefield developments across West Asia and how this ties into Israel’s election results. After Palestinian citizens of Israel took to the ballot box in unprecedented numbers, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused “Arabs” of stealing the election. While Israel uses its right to vote as a propaganda to suggest that Palestinian citizens live in a democracy, this election has exposed the Zionist system for what it truly is. The Israeli opposition bloc ran a campaign with the explicit goal of ousting Netanyahu. They now have the opportunity to do just this, but refuse to form a government with Arab parties in the Knesset. In order to form a government, a coalition must be formed of 61 elected officials. Netanyahu’s Likud Party bloc received 51 seats, the opposition managed to secure 48, while the Arab parties acquired a historic 19 seats. Yet, any Jewish Israeli Party that works with Arab Parties knows that this will spell the end of them politically in any future Israeli elections. During the voting process, the Israeli Premier and his allies were recording videos, taking to the streets, claiming that Hamas was interfering in their election. The mere fact that Palestinian citizens of Israel were actually exercising their right to vote in a significant way, was dubbed an attempt to “steal Israeli democracy”. Robert Inlakesh analyses the outcome of the Israeli election, what it means and provides the context to the racist rhetoric, in addition to physical attacks on Palestinian voters, in this Thursday’s Target Stream. Meanwhile, Yemen’s Armed Forces loyal to the Ansarallah-led government in Sana’a have been closing in on the remaining areas of Taiz City, amidst a firestorm of sectarian propaganda. In this edition of the show, we look at the corporate media’s distortions of the situation inside Yemen, the escalating Saudi airstrikes against civilian areas and the impacts of ballistic missile strikes against Riyadh’s oil infrastructure. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have also been testing new kinds of missiles and drones for over two weeks, while escalating their rate of fire towards oil tankers and assets in the Strait of Hormuz. Despite the US Trump administrations desperate attempts to push the narrative that they control the Strait, oil prices continue to skyrocket and the economic fallout of the Israeli-American illegal war of aggression progresses. The Target analyses all the latest developments across West Asia, the continued threats of escalation, all of the latest battle footage, in order to make sense of the regional wars current predicament. The post Iran Downs US Aircraft As Israel Prepares ‘Unprecedented Strikes’ Amidst Election Turmoil appeared first on MintPress News.

[Category: Behind The Headlines, Daily Digest, Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Inside Stories, Investigations, National, News, The Target, Top Story, Videos, Ansarallah, Iran, IRGC, Israel, Israeli elections, Middle East, MintPress News, Robert Inlakesh, Saudi Arabia, United States, West Asia, Yemen]

— Pedophile President: Trump & Epstein Argued Over Who would Take 13-Year-Old’s Virginity, New House Report States

 

at 10/30/26 12:14pm

A new Democrat-led House Committee on the Judiciary report released this week sheds more light on President Donald Trump’s close relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. The Document, entitled “‘We Have Certain Things in Common, Jeffrey’: The Case Against Donald Trump Emerging in the Epstein Files and DOJ’s Desperate Efforts to Cover it Up,” is based on the accounts of eleven women, five of whom alleged Trump raped or sexually assaulted them in the presence of the disgraced financier. Two of those women were 13-year-old children at the time of the alleged events. The report portrays both Trump and former United States Special Representative for Global Partnerships Paolo Zampolli as being members of Epstein’s trafficking inner circle, and catalogs how Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) “actively obstructed the Epstein investigation into any co-conspirators and attempted to block the release of the Epstein Files in order to protect the president. Even so, Trump’s name still appears roughly 38,000 times in the released Epstein Files, with Epstein himself claiming that he introduced Trump’s future wife Melania to him, and that the pair first had sex aboard his infamous “Lolita Express” jet. Melania was, at the time, a model working for Zampolli’s agency. A Host of Women Come Forward Beatrice Keul In 1993, Miss Switzerland Beatrice Keul was in New York City competing in Trump’s American Dream Pageant. It was there that she met both the future president and Jeffrey Epstein. Trump offered to secure her a place at New York University, and for Zampolli to arrange her visa. Epstein, she said, described himself as “Don’s best friend.” Keul went to a suite in the Plaza Hotel for what she thought was a meeting about NYU. However, upon entering the suite, she said, Trump grabbed her from behind and “brutally” raped her, tearing her dress and caused bleeding and bruising across her body. “Katie Johnson” (a pseudonym) alleges in a lawsuit that Trump raped and sexually abused her on multiple occassions in 1994, when she was just 13-years-old. At an Epstein party in New York, she states that she was ordered to strip down to her underwear, massage Epstein, and touch Trump’s penis. Trump and Epstein argued over who would take her virginity, with Epstein getting angry and “violently raping her” when he found out Trump had already done so. Johnson also alleges that Trump and Epstein threatened to kill her if she went to the authorities, stating “we will make you disappear like [name redacted].” In a separate complaint, Johnson said that, on another occasion, she pleaded with Trump to wear a condom, to which he struck her in the face and screamed that he “would do whatever he wanted.” After he finished, Johnson claimed that Trump threw money at her and screamed “get a fucking abortion.” Jane Doe 4 Another 13-year-old allegedly assaulted by Trump was Jane Doe 4. She told the FBI that, in 1983, she bit Trump while performing oral sex on him, in response to which he hit her in the face. She said that Epstein flew her to New York City on multiple occasions, where she was offered up as “fresh meat” at “intimate gatherings with other, prominent, wealthy men,” where she was “brutally and forcibly battered, assaulted, and raped by these other men.” Stacey Williams Williams, a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, dated Epstein in the 1990s. While at Trump’s Christmas party at the Plaza Hotel, she said that Trump groped her in front of Epstein. “His hands were all over me. They were on my breasts, they were on my butt, they were on, you know, my hips, up and down,” she said. Epstein berated her for letting Trump touch her. Jill Harth Harth alleges that in 1993, Trump bundled her into his daughter’s bedroom at Mar-a-Lago, kissed and groped her, and prevented her from leaving. Jane Doe 1 At just 14-years-old, Epstein brought her to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property, telling him “this is a good one, huh?” to which Trump responded “Yes.” She described in detail the sexual abuse she received from Epstein and others, but did not name Trump as one of those individuals. Maria Farmer Epstein’s former assistant alleges that, while at the financier’s New York City office, Donald Trump marched into the office in an imposing “predatory” manner. Epstein then appeared and told Trump that Farmer was “not for you,” escorting him to another room where Farmer believes another girl was waiting. She also stated that Trump said he “thought she was 16” although she was actually 25 at the time. “Kate” Kate (another pseudonym) states that Epstein’s partner Ghislaine Maxwell introduced her to Trump, “with the clear understanding that she was available for sex.” This sex, she said, did not happen. However, in 1997, the British tabloid, The Sunday Mirror, ran a story reporting how “America’s best known billionaire Donald Trump has fallen under the spell of a 20-year-old English girl” (Kate). It also noted that Maxwell had “introduced several of her attractive friends” to Trump. The Sunday Mirror was owned by Ghislaine’s father, Robert Maxwell, until his death in 1991. Obfuscating Reality Many of these allegations were already publicly available. But the fact that they are appearing in an official government publication is highly significant, especially as the report concludes that “there is more than enough evidence” against Trump and that he “must be investigated and prosecuted.” It also goes into detail analyzing what it sees as a “relentless” Trump Department of Justice cover-up in order to protect the president. In vociferously defending themselves, the report notes, Trump and his team have been caught telling “brazen lies” about his relationship with Epstein. Among those, it notes, is Trump’s claim that he kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago after he was caught being a “creep”. This assertion, it notes,  is contradicted by Trump himself. A 2009 document detailing a conversation between Trump, his Mar-a-Lago manager and his legal team shows that Trump admitted and his manager confirmed that Epstein “was never asked to leave” the premises. “This document remains under redaction in the DOJ database, in clear violation of federal law,” the House report notes. In 2024, Trump also took to social media to insist that he was “never on Epstein’s plane.” Yet flight records show that he, in fact, flew at least eight different times on the “Lolita Express” during the 1990s alone. Furthermore, the report takes aim at Trump’s Department of Justice, which, it claims, has attempted to obfuscate the truth and prevent the public from knowing more about the case. “To cover up” Trump’s relationship to Epstein, it states, the “DOJ has actively obstructed the Epstein investigation into any co-conspirators, attempted to prevent the release of the Epstein files, and then released an incomplete and heavily redacted set to the public—all while withholding key information about Trump in the process.” As a result, it concludes, the DOJ has effectively “given a pass to all the individuals who took part in this decades-long, multibillion-dollar international sex trafficking ring that victimized over 1,000 women and girls.” Prospects for Justice While the report makes many explosive allegations and explicitly calls for a special investigation and prosecution, it is unlikely that it will lead to real consequences, at least in the short term. The report was authored by House Democrats, who are the minority in Congress, and are unable to compel witness testimony or solicit documents through subpoenas without some Republican support. Few Republicans have voiced support for more transparency into Epstein, and those who have, such as Thomas Massie or Marjorie Taylor Greene, have been attacked and marginalized by the party. The potential for the investigation could dramatically change if Democrats win back power in either chamber, but it would rely on them following through on their rhetoric and actually prosecuting the president. Historically, Democrats have shown little interest in declaring a political civil war. This is compounded by former president Bill Clinton’s own ties to Epstein. The White House brushed off the report as “nothing more than a desperate attempt by crazed Democrats to distract Americans from the surging Republican momentum driven by President Trump’s historic achievements.” It remains completely uncertain whether Trump will face real consequences as a result of this report. What is clear, however, is that his relationship with the world’s most notorious pedophile sex trafficker is a lot closer than many people understand. MintPress News has been closely covering the development of the Epstein story. Our “Too Big to Fail” series details Epstein’s connections with U.S. intelligence and foreign intelligence, and organized crime, and how sexualized blackmail became an institutionalized tool of the national security state. Earlier this year, we published an investigation detailing the close relationship between Epstein and star academic Noam Chomsky, the latter considering Epstein to be his “best friend.” For more on the Maxwell family’s close connections to U.S. and Israeli state power, read our investigation, “The CIA, Mossad, and Epstein: Unraveling the Intelligence Ties of The Maxwell Family.” And to catch up on recent Epstein-related news, read our recent report, “Ten Epstein Revelations You Might Have Missed.” The post Pedophile President: Trump Epstein Argued Over Who would Take 13-Year-Old’s Virginity, New House Report States appeared first on MintPress News.

[Category: Front Page: Inside Stories, Front Page: National, Investigations, National, News, Top Story, Department of Justice, Epstein, Jane Doe, sex trafficking, Trump]

— Lyor Cohen: The Shady Israeli Executive Running YouTube Music & the Global Hip Hop Industry

 

at 10/29/26 2:01pm

When most people are asked “who controls hip hop?” they are unlikely to think of a 67-year-old Israeli Zionist who comes from a family of Israeli spies and state officials. But Lyor Cohen is the real deal. The brash, cigar-smoking 6 ft 5 in head of YouTube Music is the undisputed king of rap, and arguably the most important and influential person in the entire music business. Entering his fifth decade in the industry, Cohen began his career as the manager of legendary rap group, Run-DMC, and has launched the career of countless hip hop acts, including LL Cool J, Public Enemy, De La Soul, Slick Rick, A Tribe Called Quest, the Beastie Boys, and DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince (Will Smith). He later moved beyond just rap and worked with stars like Bon Jovi, Mariah Carey, Nickelback, The Killers, Shania Twain, and Elvis Costello. Throughout his career, Cohen has pushed hip hop to become more profitable and corporate-friendly, and has worked hard to root out what he sees as anti-semitism in the industry, and ensure that the medium does not become a vehicle for revolutionary change or Palestine solidarity. MintPress explores the story of how a white Israeli-American came to dominate rap. This is part of a series of investigations examining the relationship between the U.S. national security state and hip hop music. “From Fight the Power to Work for It: Chuck D, Public Enemy and How the CIA Neutralized Rap” explained how Washington works with American musicians to promote regime change in foreign countries. “Rappers For Regime Change: How the CIA Recruits Hip Hop Artists Around the World” exposed a large network of political rappers quietly on the CIA payroll, promoted by the agency to lead color revolutions across the planet. Building a Hip Hop Dynasty “Pull up to the curb, drop head, 2-door Rollsing Dior posing, couldn’t be more chosen If not, make sure you Warn a Brother, Lyor Cohen”  Vado, feat. Ludacris and Jadakiss, “Check Em Out” “Rap mogul” was in many ways an unlikely career path for Lyor Cohen. Born in New York in 1959 to Elisha Cohen, an Israeli secret agent, and Ziva Sirkis, an official at the Israeli Embassies to the United States and United Nations, Lyor spent his formative years living in the Israeli settlement of Kfar Haim, near Netanya. Kfar Haim was named after Haim Arlosoroff, a Zionist negotiator who worked with Nazi Germany in the 1930s, transferring German Jews and their assets to historic Palestine. Although he attended the University of Miami and lived in the U.S. for the majority of his life, he has never shaken his Israeli accent. Cohen grew up privileged, living in the former Hollywood home of comedian Chico Marx. These features made him stand out even more in the world of 1980s rap music. After graduating, his mother secured him a job at Israeli state-owned financial institution, Bank Leumi. In the wake of the 1978-1979 Revolution, his primary responsibility was assisting Iranian Jews get their money out of the country and into Israeli hands. Yet Cohen had his heart set on a much more interesting career. His big break in the music industry came after he met brothers Joseph and Russell Simmons. Joseph was one-third of up-and-coming hip hop crew, Run-DMC. Russell co-founded fledgling record label Def Jam and ran Rush, an arts management company responsible for looking after a number of big-name acts. In 1984, Cohen joined Rush, working as a road manager for Run-DMC, and helping to manage and promote the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Public Enemy, and other acts. He quickly worked his way up the ranks, becoming president, CEO, and a major shareholder in Def Jam Records. There, he helped launch the careers of a host of household names, including Ludacris, Redman, Eric B. and Rakim, and DMX. He also began working with Jay-Z after Def Jam bought out Roc-A-Fella records in 1997. It is no exaggeration to state that Cohen was primarily responsible for mainstreaming rap and turning Def Jam Records into a powerhouse and a cultural touchstone. By 1999, he and Russell Simmons decided to sell their remaining shares in the company, pocketing a reported $130 million between them. The buyer was a conglomerate that would ultimately become Universal Music Group. Cohen joined Universal and became the head of Island Records, a legendary label that sported the likes of Bon Jovi, Mariah Carey, and Sir Elton John on its roster. In 2004, he moved to Warner Music, becoming its CEO and president, and mentored the next generation of music executives, such as Julie Greenwald and Todd Moscowitz. By 2012, however, the music industry was rapidly changing, and Cohen was ready for a new challenge, founding independent entity, 300 Entertainment. The number “300” was a reference to the 300 Spartan warriors who fought at the Battle of Thermopylae, and symbolized Cohen’s vision that a small team of committed and capable individuals could take on the calcifying, backward major labels and win. 300 launched the careers of a number of notable rappers, including Young Thug and Megan Thee Stallion. Warner Music eventually bought the company out for $400 million in 2021. Cohen was long gone by then, however, as in 2016, he took on his most influential role yet: that of global head of music for Google and Youtube. Over one billion people listen to music on YouTube alone, including 125 million premium paid listeners. In this position, Cohen holds considerable influence over what the world listens to, which artists are promoted, and who is demoted. In addition, he currently serves on the board of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and of the National Independent Venues Association, a group of some 1,500 entertainment venues across America. Throughout his more than four decades in the business, Cohen has developed a reputation as a hard-nosed negotiator with a talent for spotting stars and making money. In 1986, when rap was aggressively not profit orientated, he brokered a historic $1 million marketing deal between Run-DMC and Adidas, the sports apparel company seeing significant increases in shoe sales after the rap group released their hit track “My Adidas.” The moment was described in Rolling Stone magazine as hip hop’s “tipping point,” where the medium crossed over from the underground into the corporate mainstream. Cohen also pioneered a financial agreement less popular in the industry: the 360 contract. Before the 360 deal, record labels paid for the recording, manufacturing and distribution of music. In return, they took a cut (usually a majority) of the profits from said sales. Artists would make their money primarily through touring and merchandise sales. The 360 deal, in contrast, took a cut of every conceivable revenue stream an artist had, including ticket sales, merchandise, image rights, movie appearances, and advertising deals. Many complained that 360 deals left seemingly popular and successful artists broke or even in debt. Political Actor “Like Lyor Cohen, thoughts start flowin’ when I hear a Def Jam”  – MC Jin, 100 Thousand Sold Pt. 2 Cohen has used his considerable influence to shape rap and to promote causes close to him, including that of Israel and anti-Semitism. During the 2024 election campaign, he donated to the Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI), a lobbying group that funds right-wing pro-Israel Democrats and attacks candidates advocating for Palestinian rights or statehood. In 2021, for example, the DMFI endorsed little-known but staunchly pro-Israel candidate Shontel Brown in her contentious face-off for Ohio’s 11th congressional district against Nina Turner, a democratic socialist, national co-chair of Bernie Sanders’ 2020 election campaign, and an outspoken critic of Israel’s policies. Vast amounts of pro-Israel money flowed into Brown’s campaign, helping her to defeat Turner. In her acceptance speech, Brown praised Israel and later thanked the Jewish community for “help[ing] me get over the finish line.” The DMFI ran the same playbook against Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush, and the organization continues to play a key role in stamping out left-wing insurgents within the Democratic Party. Cohen has also opened his checkbook to directly bankroll pro-Israel Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Chuck Schumer and Cory Booker. In October of 2023, Cohen – who usually avoids the limelight – took to the stage at the Spirit of Life gala in Los Angeles to denounce Hamas’ “brutality” “slaughtering innocent children, women, and men, just because they were Jewish,” and call for a release of captured Israelis. He later signed an open letter decrying opposition to Israel’s actions in Gaza as inherently racist anti-semitism. “Hamas, Iran, and their allies and ideological sympathizers in the West have flooded the world with their hateful lies and antisemitic incitement since October 7 — lies designed to demonize Israel, the Jewish people, and their supporters,” the letter begins, taking aim at, “well-meaning celebrities and public figures have been manipulated by this constant stream of misinformation, which they have also helped to amplify.” The statement’s claims become increasingly extremist themselves, claiming that the phrase “Free Palestine” is “a call to violence” against Jews. Cohen and the other signatories categorically reject that Israel is carrying out a genocide, arguing that accusing Israel of such crimes is a disgusting “blood libel.” At the same time, however, they insist that the October 7 attacks themselves constitute a “genocidal war on Israel,” and that Hamas alone is responsible for all the deaths caused. “The suffering of civilians in Gaza is a strategy of Hamas,” they explain, as Hamas “leav[es] women and children above ground to be used as their human shields.” Perhaps the most extreme and contentious statement that Cohen signed onto frames Israel’s murder of hundreds of journalists as justified. “The vast majority of ‘journalists’ pumping out propaganda in Gaza are, in fact, members or supporters of the terrorist organizations themselves,” it claims. The letter was organized by the Creative Community for Peace (CCP) and signed by many of the most influential executives in the music industry, including multibillionaire entertainment kingpin Haim Saban, Spirit Music Group chairman, David Renzer, and former Atlantic Records Group CEO, Julie Greenwald. The CCP – an organization MintPress has previously profiled – is an entertainment industry pressure group working to oppose the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, and stymie anti-Israel sentiment within the field more generally. Mr. Cohen: Israel’s James Bond “Its summertime, but its like snowin’ in my watch. Check the Funk Doc, the Lyor Cohen of the block.” –DJ Envy feat. Redman, “So Vicious”. Cohen’s parents were, if anything, even more involved with the defense and promotion of Israel than their son. Ziva Serkis met Elisha Cohen when she was a nurse tending to his headwounds sustained during the Nakhba – the 1948 ethnic cleansing of around 750,000 Palestinians that allowed for the creation of the State of Israel. Elisha was a member of the elite Palmach strike force and served in the Harel Brigade, commanded by future prime minister Yitzhak Rabin. The Harel Brigade is infamous for its many crimes in 1948, including carrying out biological warfare against the region’s indigenous population. After the war, the Cohens moved to New York City, where both would work at the Israeli Embassy, Ziva as an official, and Elisha as security. They would later divorce. After the 1968 war, Israeli fighters, security, and secret agents were in high demand across the world, and Elisha moved to Nigeria to work on a number of projects. There, he let it be known that he was working for Israeli state intelligence outlets, Shin Bet and the Mossad. Cohen, an investigation from Israeli outlet Haaretz claimed, spent much of his time building close relations with senior officers in the Nigerian military. But he also forged ties with anti-government rebels in the secessionist state of Biafra. As the brutal civil war was raging in Nigeria, he was captured by General Olusegun Obasanjo, who accused him of building installations and providing smuggling equipment to the rebels. Far from denying it, Cohen responded “we can also build for you” – a response that evidently impressed Obasanjo. Cohen spent many years working with the Nigerian military and, in 1984, just as his son, Lyor, was leaving his job at the Israeli bank to try to make it in the music industry, Elisha returned to Nigeria for perhaps his most controversial job yet. A military coup the previous year had catapulted many of Elisha’s old contacts into senior positions in the government. They wanted him to find and kidnap the previous Minister for Transportation, Dr. Umaru Dikko, who had become a scapegoat for the new regime. For this, Cohen was to be paid between $3-5 million. Dikko had fled to London, so Cohen put together a crack team of Israeli and Nigerian operatives to carry out the intercontinental operation. On July 4, 1984, as he was leaving his home, Cohen’s team surrounded Dikko, bundled him into a van, and drugged him with sedatives. The plan was to keep him sedated, force him into a diplomatic crate and place him into a Nigerian cargo plane waiting at London’s Stansted Airport. He would then be flown to Nigeria, where Cohen and the military junta were waiting. The plan failed, however, because Dikko’s secretary unexpectedly arrived at his address, just as the incident was occurring, and notified local police, who ignored the diplomatic cargo identifications, and released him. The event caused a worldwide scandal. The four operatives on the ground (three Israeli and one Nigerian) were quickly arrested, and given long prison sentences. But as soon as British authorities identified Cohen as the mastermind, the U.K. Ministry of Defence unexpectedly shut the investigation down entirely. Although there has never been any official confirmation that Cohen was indeed a Mossad or Shin Bet operative, his second wife, Susan, continued to believe that he was. Haters Gonna Hate “CEO? The next Lyor, no, the next leader of the whole free world!” – Jay Z., “Ignorant Shit” Lyor Cohen has a long history of using his influence to wheedle out artists with problematic viewpoints. In 1989, he successfully pressured Public Enemy frontman Chuck D to fire band member Professor Griff after he made controversial and anti-semitic remarks to The Washington Times. Griff, the band’s “Minister for Information,” was responsible for most of Public Enemy’s political direction, infusing it with the message of Malcolm X, the Nation of Islam, and the Black Panthers. With Griff gone, Public Enemy’s message became significantly less radical, to the point where today, Chuck D and Lyor Cohen have teamed up with the State Department to use rap music to promote regime change around the world. Shortly after Griff’s defenestration, another band member, Flavor Flav, went through a number of controversial incidents. In 1991, he pled guilty and was imprisoned for domestic violence. Two years later, he was charged with attempted murder and imprisoned for shooting his neighbor. He also was at the center of a string of other domestic violence cases (including one where he tried to stab a child) there were no calls for him to be censured, and he remains in Public Enemy to this day. Lupe Fiasco’s career was similarly derailed by Cohen, at least in his own telling. The rapper said that Cohen attempted to pressure him into signing an onerous 360 deal, suggesting his future would be in jeopardy if he did not agree. “Lyor was like, ‘Yo if you don’t sign this 360 deal, we’re not promoting your records,” he said. “I didn’t sign, and my career was like ‘goodbye’. My career ended at [my third album] ‘Lasers,’” he said. Lupe Fiasco is a passionate supporter of Palestinian liberation, regularly sporting the flag at his shows. One of his most critically acclaimed songs, “Words I Never Said,” included a searing critique of U.S. foreign policy: “Limbaugh is a racist, Glenn Beck is a racist. Gaza Strip was getting bombed, Obama didnt say shit.” Despite being critically acclaimed as one of the most skilled lyricists in the business, Lupe Fiasco’s career did indeed begin to nosedive after “Lasers” and “Words I Never Said.” He became increasingly jaded with the industry, and, in 2016, directly referenced Cohen’s treatment of him in the freestyle track, “N.E.R.D.” where he said, “Artists gettin’ robbed for their publishing by dirty Jewish execs who think that it’s alms from the covenant.” The backlash to the freestyle was intense. After the Anti-Defamation League publicly condemned him, the track was pulled from Soundcloud for hate speech. His upcoming albums were cancelled, and he announced his retirement from making new music (although he would later return). A similar occurrence happened to Yasiin Bey (a.k.a. Mos Def). Bey, who, like Fiasco, is Muslim, also addressed the power and influence of those at the top of the music industry in his song, “The Rape Over,” obliquely referencing Cohen in the lyrics: “Old white men is runnin this rap shit Corporate forces runnin this rap shit Some tall Israeli is runnin this rap shit We poke out our asses for a chance to cash in” Like with Fiasco, the song was immediately denounced as hate speech, including by the Creative Community for Peace, and was essentially banned, being removed from his album by the record company. Where’s the Beef? Tell Lyor I need a million for my monologues. A small price for my cocaine catalog. –Pusha T. “Cook it Down (Freestyle)” Cohen is undoubtedly brilliant and successful at what he does. His tactics and negotiating styles are legendary, but have made him many enemies over the years. Social media is festooned with videos of rappers recounting their run-ins with him. Beanie Sigel, for instance, stated Cohen’s brash insults and his insinuation that he was illiterate caused him to pull a gun on him. Big Daddy Kane said he and his crew almost lynched Cohen. And Suge Knight spat in his face after Cohen lowballed him during a business negotiation. Method Man complained that Cohen’s predatory tactics have left rappers broke, while he sits on a net worth rumored to be north of $170 million. “How many old artists and entertainers are left with the bag? It’s not many of them. But you have still got your Lyor Cohen’s who have still got the bag,” he said. “How the fuck did we get back to minus – not even a whole fucking penny but a portion of a penny – and the rest going to someone who doesn’t even make music at all? He just has a platform?” he added. Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder Damon Dash, a longtime associate of Cohen, has gone further, describing him as a “culture vulture” – someone from outside a culture who is there to exploit it for profit. Dash accuses Cohen of looking past Black candidates to appoint Jews like Julie Greenwald and Todd Moscowitz to top positions in hip hop, despite their lack of knowledge or familiarity with the genre in order “to further control our culture.” “He is the cancer for the culture,” he told The Joe Budden Podcast. Cohen admits that he can be a tough negotiator, but rejects any accusation of serious impropriety. “I’m a carnivore — I’m not a vegan. I’m a predator. But I don’t do anything illegal,” he told The Financial Times. Songs of Subversion “Your mind Im blowin’, cash Im stowin’, without you knowin’ While I rustle up dough like Lyor Cohen” – Nice & Smooth, “Hot Shit” Cohen’s position at Google and YouTube is surely the most influential post he has held. As the company’s global head of music, he helps shape tastes and curate what the public around the world listens to. And he has used this position to willingly team up with the United States Department of State to use music as a vehicle to push for regime change across the planet. In 2024, Cohen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken jointly announced the creation of the new Global Music Partnership program, a scheme directly modeled on the CIA’s successful Cold War-era attempts to use American artists to help force through color revolutions in targeted countries. In the Congo, the CIA used a U.S. government-sponsored Louis Armstrong tour as a cover to send its agents deep into the country, gathering information on newly-elected president, Patrice Lumumba. The CIA considered Lumumba an “African Fidel Castro” and worked to successfully assassinate him, plunging the country into decades of dictatorship, from which it has never recovered. Meanwhile, the CIA flooded Eastern Europe with American music with more than a hint of regime change about it. Referencing these events, Blinken said during the program’s announcement, that “America’s secret weapon is a blue note and a minor chord. Music is such a powerful diplomatic force because, I think, it taps into something fundamental, universal.” “In Berlin, just before the wall came down, Bruce Springsteen played to the adoration of countless fans.” Cohen said he was pleased to be helping the State Department “leverage global events.” “We will utilize major international gatherings to inspire action,” he added. What exact sort of “global events” and “actions” Blinken and Cohen had in mind are open to interpretation. A number of rappers, including Chuck D and Armani White signed on to the program, despite its history of being used to depose Black leaders. Spies in Our Midst “The Lyor Cohen of Dior Homme Thats ‘Dior Homme,’ not ‘Dior, homie’ The crib Scarface, could it be more Tony? You love me for me, could you be more phony?” –Kanye West feat. Rick Ross, “Devil in a New Dress.” Today, Cohen is just one of a host of Israelis in senior, influential positions at YouTube. The company’s longtime vice-president and chief marketing officer for Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, Riki Drori, is a former Israeli soldier, consulate communications manager, and chief communications advisor for Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Meanwhile, YouTube’s global head of crater programs, Netta Gross, is a former Israeli military space satellite officer. More worrying is the trend of YouTube promoting ex-Israeli spies to the upper echelons of its organization. One example of this is product strategy and operations executive Naama Citron-Topf, whose LinkedIn profile notes she received the Unit 8200 Award of Excellence while serving in Israel. Unit 8200 is the Israeli Defense Forces’ most elite spying organization, responsible for cyberwarfare and psychological operations worldwide. Rappers for Apartheid “Dior Cold when I got ice on,  Lyor Cohen, plus I got the hype yall feed off” –Lady London and Mila J, “D4M” Music has always been a battleground. And many industry executives have made Israel a centerpiece of their politics, attempting to promote the Jewish State and attack its opponents at every opportunity. Billionaire entertainment executive Haim Saban, for example, is the largest individual fundraiser for the Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces (FIDF), a charity that raises money to buy equipment for IDF soldiers. Im a one-issue guy, and my issue is Israel, he said. He has supported AIPAC and attacked Democrats insufficiently enthusiastic about the country. In 2010, he attempted to pressure CBS to ditch Oliver Stone’s documentary series and pushed the industry to cancel him due to what Saban considered Stone’s anti-Semitic beliefs. He is widely identified as being the author of President Joe Biden’s Israel policy. Another executive working to promote Israel’s image is Cohen’s longtime partner at Rush and Def Jam, Russell Simmons. Emails published by Wikileaks show that Simmons was part of a large clique of entertainment executives working alongside Israeli government and military officials behind the scenes to promote Israel. Some even worked on a conspiracy to cancel left-wing film director Ken Loach. Simmons specifically worked on improving Israel’s floundering image among the Black community. When asked if he had any ideas on how to do this, he said, “Simple messaging from non Jews specifically from Muslims promoting peace and Israel’s right to exist…We have resources and the desire to win rather than lose the hearts of young Muslims and Jews.” What these resources were, he explained: “We have hundreds of collaboration programs between Imams Rabbis and their congregations. We have many respected imams who would join former chief rabbi metzker [sic] rabbi Schneier and non Jews in promoting the Saudi peace plan.” “Through this campaign we will be helping Israel,” he concluded. In short, then, hip hop is a product of African American culture. But it is not owned and controlled by that community. Lyor Cohen helped shape the genre more than perhaps any other individual. The son of an Israeli secret agent and a state official has put his own stamp on the music, and worked hard to eradicate anti-semitism in the industry. He has also made his views on Israel and Palestine well known. More concerning still is his collaboration with the State Department on regime change and psychological operations masquerading as cultural programs. Yasiin Bey is right: this tall Israeli really does run the rap game. The post Lyor Cohen: The Shady Israeli Executive Running YouTube Music the Global Hip Hop Industry appeared first on MintPress News.

[Category: Front Page: Inside Stories, Front Page: National, Investigations, National, News, Top Story, hip-hop, rap, Universal Music Group, YouTube Lyor Cohen, YouTube Music]

— Iran Threatens “War Without Limits” On Israel, Unveils “Shocking” Weapons, As Casualties Mount

 

at 10/24/26 3:00pm

Iran’s Army has revealed a new drone that carries a warhead twice the weight of the previous generation, as Tehran threatens a war without limits in retaliation for US-Israeli military operations – MintPress News’ Robert Inlakesh looks at the latest developments in the regional war, the economic fallout and weapons that are being deployed on the battlefield. Yemen’s Armed Forces under the command of the Sana’a based government continue to advance upon new positions along multiple fronts, while striking vital targets deep within Saudi Arabia. The Ministry of Defense in Riyadh was struck with a ballistic missile, while large volleys of varying types of projectiles have taken out a series of targets at ARAMCO facilities and Saudi oil fields themselves. In this Thursday’s edition of The Target, we look at the latest drone footage from the frontlines inside Yemen, as Saudi-backed PLC forces suffer rising casualties and equipment losses, while also analysing the new Iranian strike strategy in the Strait of Hormuz. Reports emerged of US strikes on an Iranian missile launch platform, which are yet to be formally announced, as oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz are running into mines planted by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)’s Navy. Inlakesh provides an analysis of the current predicament, looking at US President Donald’s direct threats to strike Iran, the Iranian counter-threats that they will launch the Father Of All Bombs (FOAB), in response to US claims that they are preparing to use the Mother Of All Bombs (MOAB). In this episode, the reason why Iranian armed forces are so difficult to significantly damage is explained. The newly revealed Arash-3 drones are being manufactured by the Iranian regular army (Artesh)’s own independent production lines, not being built to operate independent of GPS and with a 100 kilogram warhead, opposed to the previous models 50 kilogram warhead. This stream’s analysis points out that the Artesh is separate from the IRGC, which has its separate drone and missile arsenal, operating through what is known as the Mosaic Defense structure. What this means is that the Iranian armed forces operate on a command structure that is autonomously operated by region, giving tremendous decision making power to local generals. It enables the Iranians to avoid any significant degradation to their ability to continue operations, even when more senior commanders operating on a national level are assassinated or injured in enemy attacks. We also look into the recent escalation in southern Syria, the Israeli occupation forces executing a Syrian man with Down Syndrome, and its agenda to use separatist militias to carve out a greater zone of control inside the south of the country. Israel has meanwhile prepared its air defences and shelters for the renewal fighting with Iran, raising its security readiness, as it also heads into its own national elections. Will Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu carry out his threats to strike Tehran and go after its nuclear facilities, or is the US-Israeli attack going to happen after the US midterms as President Trump claims? The post Iran Threatens War Without Limits On Israel, Unveils “Shocking” Weapons, As Casualties Mount appeared first on MintPress News.

[Category: Behind The Headlines, Daily Digest, Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Inside Stories, Investigations, National, News, The Target, Top Story, Videos, Ansarallah, Iran, IRGC, Israel, Middle East, MintPress News, Robert Inlakesh, Saudi Arabia, United States, West Asia, Yemen]

— Iran Destroys U.S. Strike Plan As Yemen Acquires Khaibar Shekan Missiles To Strike Israel

 

at 10/21/26 7:58am

Iran’s IRGC have implemented an intensive strike strategy in the Strait of Hormuz, changing the nature of their conflict with the United States, while working alongside their regional allies to create new conditions on the ground. In this Monday’s episode of The Target looks at the shifts in the power balance and the battle-front in Yemen. The United States has issued warnings to its citizens, through 11 different embassies and missions across West Asia, all as Israel signals its intent to launch yet another attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran. Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been running military drills and testing new variations of its ballistic missiles, announcing publicly that it will use new weapons that have not previously been revealed if they are subjected to yet another US-Israeli aggression. The Yemeni Armed Forces managed to shoot down an AH6i Helicopter over the border area with Saudi Arabia, in an embarrassing affair that exposed Riyadh’s denial propaganda. Yemen initially announced that they had shot down an Apache Helicopter. Because they misidentified the kind of aircraft, their Saudi opponents believed that they had scored an opportunity to create a damage control narrative. Saudi Arabia then went on to announce that the helicopter, an AH6i, had simply malfunctioned and in the midst of admitting that the two pilots had died. Yemen’s Ansarallah-led government waited to allow Saudi propagandists to begin bragging about exposing their alleged lies, before releasing footage of them shooting the helicopter down and admitting that they had misidentified the aircraft initially. On the show, Inlakesh also looks at some of the latest battle footage from Yemen, including of Yemen’s Armed Forces using quadcopter drones to take out enemy gathering with anti-personnel munitions and their successful defensive fight to repel an advance by Saudi-backed PLC forces. He also spends time on the stream, dedicated to exposing British journalist Sami Hamdi’s false depiction of Yemeni history. The show goes through the distortion of the timeline of the Yemen-Saudi war, sectarian and tribalist arguments, while delving into the history of the Ansarallah movement and where it truly came from. At a time when sectarianism and division is rampant, in an attempt to convince audiences that the regional resistance to US-imperialism and Israeli expansionism is itself just as evil as those it fights, this historical context cuts through the propaganda. According to a recent report by Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), a leading Tel Aviv-based think tank, has altered its security doctrine to consider all surrounding Arab Nations as a mere collection of tribes, opposed to real sovereign nations. We look at how this fits into the so-called ‘Greater Israel’ project and why it is likely doomed to fail. The post Iran Destroys U.S. Strike Plan As Yemen Acquires Khaibar Shekan Missiles To Strike Israel appeared first on MintPress News.

[Category: Behind The Headlines, Daily Digest, Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Inside Stories, Investigations, National, News, The Target, Top Story, Videos, Ansarallah, Iran, IRGC, Israel, Middle East, MintPress News, Robert Inlakesh, Saudi Arabia, United States, West Asia, Yemen]

— Iran’s Covert Missile Strikes Revealed, US Threatens MOAB Attack & The Arab-Israeli Plot Exposed

 

at 10/17/26 8:59am

Iran releases the shocking claim that it killed 200 US Soldiers in its strikes on bases in Jordan alone, provoking a denial from CENTCOM and threats to use the Mother Of All Bomb (MOAB)’s against the Islamic Republic. In the latest episode of The Target, MintPress News’ Robert Inlakesh looks at the escalatory measures being implemented across West Asia and Israel’s threats to carry out another attack on Tehran. The Israelis have raised their level of alert, alleging that Iran and its allies are preparing a potential surprise attack prior to Tel Aviv’s national elections later this month. Raising the stakes, Iranian military assets appear to have been deployed towards their Western borders and ongoing missile drills have shocked Washington-based analysts at the rapid replenishment of their munition stockpiles. Mohammad Reza Naqdi, a senior official in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) publicly claimed that sources belonging to Jordan’s Red Crescent informed Tehran that at least 200 American soldiers had been killed as a result of attacks on US bases inside the country. US Central Command, which has been silent about casualty claims in the past, were even encouraged to post on social media a brief message pushing back against the allegation. The report may have hit a nerve, especially following revelatory leaks of casualty coverups in the corporate media over the past months. The Iranian strategy in the Strait of Hormuz appears to have also developed, as the IRGC’s Navy are now sinking ships and have been demonstrating that the key international shipping route has been covered in mines. US President Donald Trump previously bragged about demining the Strait. Meanwhile, Saudi oil infrastructure continues to take heavy hits across the nation, following the continuous waves of ballistic missiles and drones fired from Yemen. One of these operations conducted by the missile units of Yemen’s Armed Forces managed to cause significant damage to Saudi ARAMCO’s headquarters – located in the Dhahran area of the country’s east coast. On the ground the war in Yemen rages on, with the Ansarallah-led government in Sana’a managing to secure over 20 strategic positions across the southern Taiz Province. Their armed forces additionally continue to take over more portions of Taiz City, the second largest in the country. Inlakesh reviews the latest battle-footage from the Taiz and Bab al-Mandeb fronts, while looking at the broader framing of the issue and the implications of the ongoing development on the battle-field. In this edition of The Target, we also look at the latest revelation that Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara’a engaged in a direct phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. We discuss the historical context behind the moves we see today, how this impacts the fate of Israel’s expansionist endeavours and the blow being dealt to US imperialism. The post Iran’s Covert Missile Strikes Revealed, US Threatens MOAB Attack The Arab-Israeli Plot Exposed appeared first on MintPress News.

[Category: Behind The Headlines, Daily Digest, Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Inside Stories, Investigations, National, News, The Target, Top Story, Videos, Ansarallah, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Middle East, MintPress News, Robert Inlakesh, Saudi Arabia, United States, West Asia, Yemen]

— Rappers For Regime Change: How the CIA Recruits Hip Hop Artists Around the World

 

at 10/16/26 11:18am

Bangladesh: Songs of Subversion “The U.S. government has observed the power of hip hop culture as a vehicle for expression, protest, and a political voice for young people,” Professor Sujatha Fernandes, a sociologist at the University of Sydney and the author of the book, “Close to the Edge: In Search of the Global Hip Hop Generation,” told MintPress News.  “Groups like the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and USAID earlier consistently chose Black cultural expressions from jazz to hip hop as a way of infiltrating those societies and trying to promote regime change,” she added.  One of those countries is Bangladesh. In 2024, longstanding prime minister Sheikh Hasina was toppled in a U.S.-supported revolution. Hasina’s relationship with Washington had seriously deteriorated over her friendliness towards China and her refusal to cede control of the strategically-located Saint Martin’s Island in the Bay of Bengal so the U.S. could build a military base there.  Just days after meeting with Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Donald Liu, Hasina publicly warned that a “white skin country” had threatened there would be trouble for her if she did not grant it permission to build a base in Bangladeshi territory. Nevertheless, she remained obstinate; “I do not want to come to power by leasing out parts of the country or handing it over to someone else,” she said. Three weeks later, nationwide protests erupted across the country. Specifically targeted at a controversial quota system that reserved 30% of government jobs for the families of those that fought for the country’s independence in 1971, the movement quickly expanded to include people from a wide swath of society. It also turned extremely violent: over 1,4000 people were killed before the military stepped in, forcing Hasina to ignominiously flee to India by helicopter.  Hasina was replaced by Muhammad Yunus, a longtime associate, mentor, and close friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton. One month after the affair, Yunus traveled to New York to meet with President Biden, who offered continued U.S. support as Bangladesh implements its new reform agenda. Yunus also spoke at the Clinton Global Initiative, where he revealed that the protests were not a spontaneous uprising, but an operation meticulously designed by young Bangladeshi leaders.  One of the leaders of the demonstrations was rapper and barrister Towfique Ahmed, who shot to prominence after he offered to provide free legal support to anyone arrested by Hasina’s forces.  Yet Ahmed had for years been on the U.S. government payroll, explicitly as an agent of change, the International Republican Institute (IRI) – a CIA front group – funding and promoting his music career far and wide.  A leaked IRI document published by The Grayzone shows that the organization’s expressly stated goal was to “destabilize Bangladesh’s politics.” To that end, they spent millions funding all manner of opposition groups and figures, including musicians like Ahmed, whom, the document notes, “are neither solely an artist nor solely an activist; instead, they are functioning as a hybrid agent of change.” “If the public is more aware of current issues of government oppression, discrimination and shrinking space for political participation, then the Bangladeshi people will be more active to drive [a] power shift through social and political reforms,” it concludes.  As it was never intended to see the light of day, the report is unusually frank about the U.S. government’s explicit goals of regime change, and does not mask it with vague language alluding to democracy promotion. The IRI produced a number of music videos for Ahmed, and helped spread his music far and wide. His song, “Tui parish” (You Can Do It) is a thinly-veiled call for regime change. As the IRI notes, “Tui Parish” “targets youth with a message of perseverance in difficult times and encourages those who are committed to strengthen democracy in Bangladesh in every possible way including protests and street movements.” Another song, “E Daay Kaar” (Demand It!) the IRI states, was specifically “designed to reveal social issues in Bangladesh and build up disappointment and even dissent to government so as to call for social and political reforms.” Ahmed’s music became an anthem of the protests, thanks in part to the IRI consistently promoting it, including on its own televised cultural program, that, it boasted, “reached over 79,000 households in Bangladesh.” In total, the IRI spent millions supporting a wide range of artists, musicians, dancers and actors, all with the goal of removing Hasina from power. Today, Bangladesh and the United States are in the final stages of agreeing a new strategic military partnership that will grant the U.S. the rights to use a plethora of Bangladeshi ports and airbases for military purposes.  Senegal: The Revolution Will Be Organized If Bangladesh was the perfect insurrection, Senegal was the blueprint. Western media called it the “Rap Revolution.” In 2012, enormous protests against President Abdoulaye Wade broke out. The 85-year-old leader was seeking a controversial third term in office, and was attempting to bring his son, Karim, into high office – a move many critics saw as Wade trying to establish a family dynasty.  The demonstrations were led by a rap collective called YEn a Marre (Enough is Enough). YEn a Marre capitalized on public discontent over corruption, blackouts, and economic stagnation, inflaming tensions and encouraged people out on the streets.  One rapper in particular had been sowing the seeds for action for quite some time. In 2010, Cheikh Oumar Touré, known by his stage name, Thiat, released the song with his group, the Keurgui Crew called “Coup 2 Guele” (Diatribe), in which he and his partner, Kilifeu, excoriated Wade and called for a revolution.  “Old man, your seven year presidential reign has been expensive,” “You cheated during the last elections,” “This lusty regime has wasted all our money,” he raps. “Let’s fight this buffoon who is stealing all our money” he tells his countrymen, while concluding that the people of Senegal must “act on our words in the same way we resisted Hitler and De Gaulle.”  Surprisingly, the Kergui Crew immediately released an English version of the song, suggesting their intended audience was not purely Senegalese. Thiat was elevated to stardom in the West, where he received a great deal of positive press, long before the protests even began.  Coup 2 Guele became the soundtrack to the struggle, and Wade was decisively beaten at the ballot box, as Western media applauded this innovative form of activism. Thiat and YEn a Marre became known worldwide as “the rappers who took down a dictator.”  Many expected Thiat to formally enter electoral politics. Instead, however, one of his first major post-revolution moves was to announce that he had been appointed a Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).  The NED was explicitly set up as a front group of the Central Intelligence Agency.  In the wake of a series of public scandals that seriously hurt the agency’s credibility, the Reagan administration established the NED in 1983. It proceeded to act as a front group for the CIA, carrying out many of its most controversial regime change operations abroad, in an effort to give the U.S. some level of plausible deniability. The endowment interfered in the 1996 Russian elections to ensure U.S. puppet Boris Yeltsin remained in power. Six years later, it bankrolled a briefly successful coup against Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. It has also funded and supported insurrections in Ukraine, Hong Kong, and Belarus, among other countries.  Although it is funded and staffed by the U.S. government and its officials, the NED is technically a private entity, meaning it is not subject to the same transparency laws and public scrutiny as a body like the CIA.  In their more candid moments, NED leaders are unequivocal about the organization’s role. “It would be terrible for democratic groups around the world to be seen as subsidized by the CIA,” Carl Gershman, NED president from 1984 to 2021, said, explaining why his organization was set up. NED co-founder Allen Weinstein agreed: “A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA,” he told The Washington Post. USAID – an official government body – has functioned in much the same way, acting as a CIA front group, spying on both enemy and friendly countries, and organizing countless coups around the world. When the Trump administration cut funding to USAID last year, it inadvertently exposed a global network of over 6,000 journalists and nearly 1,000 “independent” media outlets that suddenly faced immediate bankruptcy. In 2025, USAID and its activities were formally subsumed into the State Department.  It was this context that explains why so many were shocked when Thiat made his announcement, and led some to wonder how much the United States was involved in the seemingly spontaneous, grassroots uprising.  Certainly, the NED had been agitating in Senegal for years. In 2006, it funded a project whose public goal was to “strengthen understanding and advocacy for democracy among the urban middle class and youth in Senegal.” The NED’s local partners, it stated, would “lead a civic education campaign on democracy consisting of a series of published investigative reports on Senegals democratic development and training seminars for young people, civic organizations, and political parties. Another 2009 NED project, entitled “Partners for Democratic Change” promised to “create a platform for dialogue between civil and military actors in Senegal,” suggesting that Washington was eager for its chosen activists to have closer ties to the military.  The Reagan-Fascell Fellowship gave Thiat an international platform, and allowed him to travel worldwide. The fellowship, the NED itself noted, provided him the time and resources to compose a new album.  Thiat, however, appears to dismiss any criticism or claims of U.S. involvement in Senegal. In a recent interview, he stated that, “We are showing that we can change everything without the intervention of other countries and without military interventions. And without the West, of course.” “Most African presidents are puppets of the West,” concluded the NED-funded activist.  Washington continues to fund hip hop artists in Senegal. In 2018, the NED’s sister organization, USAID, collaborated with political rapper, Last Under to produce an album, while in 2023, it partnered with Sister LB to release a track to promote “transparency and accountability” in the country’s extractive industries. And if there is one Senegalese rapper that receives more effusive Western press coverage than Thiat, it is Babacar Niang, better known as Matador. “You can learn everything you need to know about the main challenges facing Africa today by talking to just two people in Senegal: the rapper and the weatherman” wrote Thomas Friedman in the pages of The New York Times, describing Matador as a “pioneer,” and the “voice of the voiceless,” and featuring him in his documentary, “Years of Living Dangerously.” Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, Matador is also closely connected to Washington. Africulturban, the multimedia center he cofounded, is directly funded by the U.S. Embassy in Dakar.  West Africa: Rage on Behalf of the Machine Both Thiat and Kilifeu from the Keur Gui Crew also later participated in a much wider hip hop project bankrolled and overseen by the NED’s World Movement For Democracy. As part of a 2019 attempt to build bridges and links between “pro-democracy” (i.e. U.S.-backed) forces across Western Africa, the NED sponsored the production of a rap album, “Music as a Messenger of Democracy,” featuring a plethora of political artists from the region.  In addition to the Keur Gui Crew, this included Sengalese/Beninise rapper Moonaya, Awa Bling and Killa Ace from The Gambia, Nigeria’s Cill, Togo’s Elom 20ce, as well as Ami Yerewolo and Master Soumy from Mali.  Not only did the NED fund the production and promotion of the album, but it further supported the artists by hosting rap shows across the region. One example was a 2018 hip hop night in Dakar, Senegal, where, in addition to Thiat and Kilifeu, it flew in Elom 20ce and Killa Ace for the performance. Meanwhile, Cill spoke at the World Movement For Democracy’s Tenth Global Assembly.  Another West African hip hop act with a close relationship with the NED is DJ Switch, a popular Nigerian artist who collaborated with rap legend Busta Rhymes on a remix to her hit song, “So Tey.” DJ Switch campaigned against police brutality, and even livestreamed the shooting of anti-government protestors, an act that jeopardized her safety in her home country. Only a few months after this incident, it was announced that, like Thiat, she had become an NED Reagan-Fascell Fellow.  For the United States government, the point of sponsoring huge numbers of individuals and organizations around the world is far less about training the shock troops who will lead a color revolution (although that certainly happens), and more about ensuring that a giant cadre of pro-U.S. agents exists in all countries and in all manner of influential fields, from politics and business to academics and the arts. This is so if the U.S. does decide to do something, there will be a loyal intelligentsia to support it. Rappers are merely a tiny piece of this puzzle.  One country, however, where hip hop artists are very much at the forefront of the U.S.’ regime change plans is Cuba.  Cuba: The Great Astroturfed Revolution  The United States has been trying to overthrow the government of Cuba since the Revolution of 1959. And in July 2021, they thought they had concocted the perfect plan. Washington spent enormous amounts of resources encouraging Cubans into the streets in an attempt to topple President Miguel Díaz-Canel.  America believed it had found the ideal figurehead in Yotuel, an aging rapper who left Cuba in the 1990s, and had released the anti-government song, “Patria y Vida” (Fatherland and Life) to great U.S. fanfare just months earlier. “For those new to the issue of Cuba, the protests we are witnessing were started by artists, not politicians,” tweeted Cuban-American senator Marco Rubio, “This song ‘Patria y Vida’ powerfully explains how young Cubans feel. And its release was so impactful, you will go to jail if caught playing it in Cuba,” he claimed, sharing a link to the track with his millions of followers.  On the same day as Rubio’s tweet, a huge swath of U.S. media outlets, including The New York Times, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, Voice Of America, and National Geographic, all simultaneously published articles profiling the song. Collectively, this coverage identified “Patria y Vida” as the clarion call for a new generation, noted that it was a retort to the communist slogan “Patria o Muerte” (fatherland or death), and presented Yotuel as a crusading warrior of democracy. But none told readers that anti-government Cuban rappers like Yotuel had been sponsored, hothoused, and coached for years by the U.S. government for precisely this purpose.  The NED was, at the time, financing numerous schemes training Cuban rappers as agents of regime change. One project entitled “Empowering Cuban Hip-Hop Artists as Leaders in Society,” stated that its goal was to “promote citizen participation and social change,” and to “raise awareness about the role hip-hop artists have in strengthening democracy in the region.” Another, called “Promoting Freedom of Expression in Cuba through the Arts,” claimed it was partnering with local musicians on projects related to “democracy, human rights, and historical memory,” and to help “increase awareness about the Cuban reality.” This “reality,” as President Biden himself stated the week of the insurrection, was that the Cuban government is an “authoritarian regime” that has meted out “decades of repression” while its leaders only “enrich themselves.”  At the same time, USAID was offering $2 million worth of funding to groups that could use culture to bring about a color revolution in Cuba. The announcement directly referenced Yotuel as a model to follow, stating that,  “Artists and musicians have taken to the streets to protest government repression, producing anthems such as ‘Patria y Vida,’ which has not only brought greater global awareness to the plight of the Cuban people but also served as a rallying cry for change on the island.”  In the end, despite the impeccable coordination from the U.S. government, social media, the Cuban-American lobby, celebrities, and the press, all of whom came together to bombard the country with messaging telling them to get out on the streets, barely a few thousand people island-wide heeded their call. Moreover, they were dwarfed by far larger, pro-government counter-demonstrations (images of which, for some time, Western media often presented as anti-government marches).  The reality was that Patria y Vida’s supposed popularity was largely astroturfed. Yotuel had not even lived in Cuba for a quarter-century, and instead led a much larger sympathy demonstration in Miami. Days later, President Biden invited him to the White House for a special meeting.  Despite its failure, the U.S. government has evidently still not given up on Yotuel as a potential regime change leader. This September, he appeared at the NED’s 2026 Democracy Awards and performed “Patria y Vida” live to those in attendance.  This was not the first time that Washington had been caught using hip hop to overthrow the Cuban government. In fact, inside Cuba, the rap scene is notorious for being full of undercover U.S. agents. Gaining popularity in the late 1990s, local rappers had a considerable impact on society, helping bring to the fore many previously under-discussed topics. The United States saw their biting critiques of racism as a wedge they could exploit, and attempted to infiltrate their ranks.  In 2009, the U.S. government sent Serbian music promoter Rajko Bozic to the island with a mission: to recruit a stable of rappers to use as anti-government shock troops. Bozic was a veteran of Otpor, a CIA-backed political group that led the insurrection against Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic – the first successful color revolution of the century.  Bozic soon found willing partners in rap group, Los Aldeanos. With seemingly limitless funds for the operation, he immediately started aggressively promoting the duo, producing an anti-government TV show they starred in. Although it was not broadcast on television, Bozic and his team simply paid for it to be distributed around the country on DVDs and USB drives instead.  He also used Washington’s money and connections to get their music on the radio, and to bribe big Latino music stars into allowing them to open for them at their gigs, thus buying them more credibility and exposure. Los Aldeanos were even flown to Serbia for secret training, under the guise of playing at the Exit Music Festival.  Cuban authorities eventually exposed the scheme, however, and Los Aldeanos fled to Florida.  Being a hip hop fan in Cuba is fraught with difficulties. Without realizing, many Cubans are listening to albums, reading hip hop magazines, or even going to concerts secretly funded by the U.S national security state. The Caribbean island is without doubt where Washington has most concentrated its efforts in attempting to co-opt the rap scene.  Yet, for all its efforts, Fernandes told MintPress that the U.S. government has had little success. Cuba, she said, is a place with an organic hip hop movement built from the ground up, and rappers are “not trying to overthrow their government but to create more spaces for their demands of anti-racism and equality under an expanding market economy. They had little reason to collaborate with U.S. agencies.”  As Fernandes explained, being found to be in the pay of a CIA front group would be seen as something of a scarlet letter:  “Cuban artists are wary of working with any U.S. government agencies, because it would completely damage their credibility and compromise their own belief systems. Thats not to say there arent newer and younger artists who may be more willing to engage with the U.S. government. But among long-term and established artists, they realize that any such engagement would risk closure of their critical spaces and loss of their credibility.”     Funding a Global Medium In the Republic of Congo, President Denis Sassou Nguesso has been faced with over a decade of opposition from the Ras-le-Bol movement, which, in 2015, coordinated the largest anti-government protests in the country’s history in response to his attempts to change the constitution.  Ras-le-Bol shares many similarities with YEn a Marre in Senegal. For one, they were both co-founded by a rapper, in this case, Martial Panucci. Panucci noted that he took direct inspiration from Senegal. Indeed, Ras-le-Bol is a direct translation of YEn a Marre, both meaning “enough is enough.” And like Thiat, Panucci is a former Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy. While at the NED, he used the time to produce “Music for a Democratic Future in Congo”, a 12-track album the NED describes as “denouncing the dictatorship and kleptocracy that undermines his country.” Unlike in Senegal, however, Ras-le-Bol has been unsuccessful in dislodging Sassou Nguesso, who first came to power in 1979.  The U.S. government has also supported the career of Moroccan political rapper Youssra Oukaf, better known as Soultana. Soultana takes on issues such as patriarchy and sexism in her music, and has helped other women enter the arena. While finding no aid from her own government, she has found plenty from Washington. “For me, it’s so big. It’s not just support, it’s an honor,” she said of her U.S. backing.  In Jordan, a USAID audit reveals that the agency greenlit a project to produce a rap song “targeting first-time voters” ahead of the 2007 elections. The song, it claims, was “played by most commercial radio stations” and reached “more than 2 million Jordanians.”  The U.S. government has also sponsored rap projects on a smaller scale in Uganda, South Africa, Tanzania, Ghana, and El Salvador. These initiatives range from concerts in Haiti featuring Wyclef Jean, to small scale workshops aimed at youths.  For Fernandes, hip hop is such a powerful medium because of its history and its universality:  “[It] goes back to its origins at a time when the organized left/Black Power was under attack and in decline, and the culture provided a voice for Black youth in the U.S. and globally when so many other avenues were closed. That continues to be true today. But the other reason is its musical innovation and style – the rhythm and beats derived from African-American culture that caught on like fire in the diaspora and beyond.”   To this day, hip hop still maintains its rebellious spirit. But even counter-cultural art forms are not immune to being co-opted by the powerful.  Rap as a Pacifying Force While successive American administrations have used rap as a wedge to divide populations against each other and heighten existing contradictions within societies, they have also used it as a uniting force in nations with friendly governments, tamping down tensions and papering over divisions.  That was the case in Colombia, a country ravaged by decades of brutal drug war and mass killings by U.S.-backed far-right militias. In 2020, USAID’s Alliances and Reconciliation Program created an initiative aimed at the country’s youth with a message of coexistence, truth, dialogue, and reconciliation.  It appointed local rappers, Melisa MC, and Ken Zingle, as ambassadors of the program. Together, the pair produced the song, “Rímalo” (Rhyme It), which served as the project’s anthem.  Later, USAID also developed an outreach program targeting youths in conflict-affected areas of Colombia (where it was often the United States itself supplying the weapons). The program aimed to channel young people’s anger and frustration into peaceful co-existence and music creation. USAID published one of these rap songs, “Queremos” (We Want) on YouTube.  At the same time in Kenya, USAID partnered with well-known rapper King Kaka to launch its #16BarsforPeace hip hop campaign, wherein it challenged Kenyan youth to submit videos of themselves rapping about peace and conflict resolution. Hundreds entered the competition, with the winner getting to rap with King Kaka on his song, “Mbekse” (“Two”: an allusion to the two fingers used to make the universal “peace” sign). Also appearing on the track was U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Kyle McCarter, who delivered a short verse in Swahili.  From “Fight the Power” To Working For Power The United States government has long understood the power of hip hop. Since 2001, the State Department has sent American hip hop artists, DJs, and beatboxers across the globe as cultural envoys to spread pro-U.S. messaging. Why would it do this? Mark Katz, the former director of the State Department’s hip hop diplomacy’s program explained:  “Hip hop is well known to be the product of young, marginalized Americans of color who insisted on being heard and seen and who reveled in their survival. As the embodiment of struggle and celebration, hip hop resonates deeply with young people around the world. It’s the perfect vehicle for promoting a more nuanced and positive image of the United States and for connecting with populations that our embassies rarely engage.” In 2024, the State Department announced it was joining forces with YouTube to create a new “Global Music Ambassador” program. The initiative was directly modeled on Washington’s Cold War-era efforts to use the arts to inspire U.S.-backed regime change in Eastern Europe, and to use musical tours as covers that the CIA could use to assassinate foreign leaders. A number of rap artists, including Chuck D and Armani White, are signed up to the program. Also participating is Lyor Cohen, the Israeli former head of the iconic Def Jam record label, and current head of YouTube Music. Cohen noted that YouTube would strive to help the U.S. government “leverage global events.” “We will utilize major international gatherings to inspire action,” he said. What kind of “actions” the State Department is interested in fomenting was not directly stated, and so is open to speculation. Chuck D’s participation in the project surprised and shocked many. The Public Enemy frontman and writer of songs such as “Fight the Power” and “Rebel Without a Cause” portrays himself as Malcolm X with a microphone. And yet, he willingly volunteered for an endeavor that Cohen explicitly presented as a thinly veiled regime change project.  The CIA has long used music as a cover for overthrowing foreign governments. In 1960, it embedded itself on Louis Armstrong’s tour of the Congo, accompanying the jazz legend in order to secretly gather information on the movements of the country’s prime minister, Patrice Lumumba, whom CIA director Allen Dulles described as Africa’s Fidel Castro. Lumumba was assassinated later that year, plunging the country into decades of U.S.-backed dictatorship, from which it has never recovered.  The project continued until the successful overthrow of Communism and Eastern Europe; events in which the U.S. government played a significant role. There have long been credible rumors that the CIA wrote and promoted the Scorpions’ hit song “Winds of Change” as regime change propaganda. Meanwhile, David Hasselhoff – the American singer who has long been inexplicably popular in Germany – has strongly insinuated that he worked with the agency to bring down the Berlin Wall. His song, “Looking for Freedom,” became the unofficial anthem of the wall’s destruction, and he played it to a huge Berlin crowd in 1989.  More recently, in Venezuela, the NED funded and supported rock bands producing music aimed at destabilizing and overthrowing the socialist government. In 2011, for example, it was involved in approximately two dozen agreements for funding its performance and distribution. This included funding a national music contest, with the winners playing in Caracas. The documents, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, note that the project aimed to “promote greater reflection among Venezuelan youth about freedom of expression, their connection with democracy, and the state of democracy in the country.” The NED got more than it bargained for, however, when the contest’s local organizers chose “Primates” –  an overtly racist track that compared the (primarily Black and mixed race) government and its supporters as subhuman monkeys and gorillas – as its national winner. This sort of music was far less easy to support internationally than something like “Patria y Vida.” Breakdancing With The Devil The United States has been at war for 231 of its 250-year history. Its military spending rivals that of all other countries combined, and it operates a network of nearly 1,000 military bases worldwide. Its post-9/11 wars have killed at least 4.5 million people and displaced over 38 million more. Even by the most charitable metrics, it militarily supports three-quarters of the world’s dictatorships, and has launched nearly 500 foreign military interventions in its history. President Trump has bombed eight countries in the past 12 months, and has threatened military action against Greenland, Canada, Panama, North Korea, and Cuba.   It has also overthrown or attempted to overthrow the governments of more than 50 foreign countries, including some of the most vibrant experiments in democracy the world has ever seen. It does this through a network of institutions influenced, directed, or financed by the Central Intelligence Agency, including the IRI, NED, and USAID.  That is why it is so inappropriate and problematic for any individual or entity claiming to support democracy, freedom, and human rights to work with these agencies. Many of the musicians profiled here truly have put their lives in danger by opposing genuinely repressive governments. But their claims to be fighting for justice are undermined by their decision to liaise with organizations representing the most dangerous threat to freedom in modern history. In short, while many of these rappers may have good intentions, if they have not realized this basic truism of human rights, they are either hopelessly naive and ignorant (and therefore unworthy of attention) or, worse, have chosen to become unofficial agents of the U.S. government, attempting to further extend Washington’s control. In either case, they should be heavily scrutinized. Even for genuine activists in extremely poor and repressive countries, where money and support are hard to come by, collaborating with the CIA and its cutouts should be a non-starter.  Hip hop grew out of Black struggles against oppression in America. As it flourished, both the artform and its message resonated with people worldwide. Aware of this, the U.S. government has attempted to hijack it, and use it for its own, nefarious ends. (Although, contrary to some more outlandish conspiratorial claims put forward by the likes of Joe Rogan, its involvement in the rap scene as a whole still remains marginal). Nevertheless, what Washington has proven is that rappers can be regime change artists, too. Some rappers choose to fight the power. Others choose to represent it.    Alan Macleod Alan MacLeod is Senior Staff Writer for MintPress News. He completed his PhD in 2017 and has since authored two acclaimed books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent, as well as a number of academic articles. He has also contributed to FAIR.org, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, and Common Dreams. Follow Alan on Twitter for more of his work and commentary: @AlanRMacLeod. The post Rappers For Regime Change: How the CIA Recruits Hip Hop Artists Around the World appeared first on MintPress News.

[Category: Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Inside Stories, Front Page: National, Investigations, National, News, Top Story, Bangladesh, hiphop, rapper, Regime Change]

— Revealed: The London Synagogue Supplying the IDF

 

at 10/16/26 9:53am

The page that is still up Westminster Synagogue sits in the exclusive Knightsbridge district of London. In the financial year 2024, it brought in a total income of £1.31 million (U.S.$1.75 million). Its “Ways to Support” page still lists appeals that go well beyond a collection plate. Two of them explicitly note that the money is going towards helping the troops of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). The first is Temple Sinai Operation Tourniquet: a plan to supply the IDF with thousands of medical kits. The copy the synagogue reprints is logistical, not pastoral, noting that: “We’re focusing exclusively on Combat Tourniquets. We’re in direct contact with the IDF to find the supply gaps and give each soldier a chance to save their own and other’s life by directly proving them with a tourniquet. Over the last week we’ve handed thousands of tourniquets directly to soldiers throughout Israel. We just partnered with a 501c3 and are fundraising for 3000 new tourniquets this weeks. Each one is $20.” That paragraph lives on a British charity site. The campaign itself sits on the ShulCloud form of Temple Sinai of North Dade, a Reform congregation in North Miami Beach that names “Support for the People, Land, and State of Israel” among its standing values. The second is Kibbutz Magen. The synagogue’s own pasted text is blunter still about who is being bankrolled: “The army evacuated all the members of the kibbutz to the Dead Sea. Now, only 17 Magen members are left to guard the kibbutz and take care of 200 elite unit soldiers, including their food, showers, and laundry. We need your help to financially support these brave IDF soldiers who are defending our community.” Civilian reconstruction can, if tightly drawn, sit inside poverty or humanitarian objects. This paragraph does not ask only for roofs in Be’eri. It asks readers to “financially support these brave IDF soldiers.” Food, showers and laundry for two hundred elite-unit troops are field-kitchen and billet costs. In other words, it is support for a foreign army. The first Internet Archive capture of the support page is dated July 12, 2025, so the page has been live at least since then. The IDF installations at the kibbutzes themselves most probably went up in early 2024, in the first wave of post-October appeals. Either way, trustees have had a long time to read their own site against the Commission’s published ruling. What the objects actually say The Charity Commission register states Westminster Synagogue’s objectives in one sentence: “to provide a centre for Jewish worship and study and to further religious and charitable undertakings appropriate to this.” The 2024 trustees’ report repeats the same formula; “what the charity does” is religious activities. Who it helps is children, older people, and other charities. And how? By providing human resources and services to the people of Westminster, London. There is no objective that says “supply combat kits to a foreign army.” None that mentions “paying for the food, showers and laundry of two hundred elite soldiers.” And certainly no mention of “acting as a British shop-window for an American 501(c)(3) that boasts of filling IDF ‘supply gaps.’” Trustees must further the purposes in the governing document. They must not apply charitable status, Gift Aid wrapping, or the congregation’s website to something that is not a charitable purpose at all. Shockingly, Westminster Synagogue donors are eligible for Gift Aid.  This allows the Synagogue to reclaim £0.25 in each £1 received in membership fees or donations. The line the Commission has already drawn In January 2025, the Charity Commission regulator issued an official warning to Chabad Lubavitch Centres North East London and Essex Limited. That charity’s purposes were ostensibly promoting orthodox religion, education, and the relief of poverty and sickness. But in October 2023, it started a fundraising page for “Aron Dov Sufrins reserve unit” – the son of the Chabad Rabbi, Aryeh Sufrin, who was serving with the IDF. The page raised about £2,280 (just over U.S.$3,000). Trustees sent £937 (around U.S.$1250) to the soldier, and could not account for the spend. The rest went on “non-lethal military equipment” bought by the trustees and shipped to the same man. The Charity Commission investigated the Chabad Lubavitch Centres North East London and Essex, and issued an official warning to the group. In explaining the decision, Helen Earner, then-director for regulatory services at the Charity Commission, said the sentence that should be taped above every fundraising page in the sector: “It is not lawful, or acceptable, for a charity to raise funds to support a soldier of a foreign military.” Although British charities are allowed to aid the U.K. armed forces, “Providing aid or military supplies to any foreign armed force is not a charitable purpose, and no charity can legally undertake such activity,” it stated.  More than 180 complaints triggered that case. The commission called the activity outside the charity’s purposes, not capable of being charitable, and a breach of trust. This ruling is highly relevant to the case of the Westminster Synagogue. Chabad sent supplies to one soldier and received an official warning. Westminster reprinted a drive that claims to have already handed thousands of tourniquets already to soldiers, with three thousand more on order. It also asks donors to fund the food and laundry of 200 elite Israeli soldiers carrying out a genocide.  The legal distinction is not “non-lethal.” Chabad’s leftover cash went on non-lethal kit. Laundry soap and a field canteen are also non-lethal. The Charity Commission still said no. A tourniquet is issued so a combatant can keep fighting after limb trauma. Hot meals and showers for an elite unit are how that unit stays in the line. Both are support for a foreign army. Two asks, one problem It is worth putting the two Westminster Synagogue appeals side by side, because a trustee may try to split them. Operation Tourniquet is hardware. Combat application tourniquets are IDF standard issue. The organisers say they hand them “directly to soldiers” and that they are “in direct contact with the IDF.” Kibbutz Magen is sustainment. The synagogue text says the army evacuated the members, that seventeen people remain, and that those seventeen are “left to guard the kibbutz and take care of 200 elite unit soldiers, including their food, showers, and laundry.” The last sentence does not hide the beneficiary: “financially support these brave IDF soldiers who are defending our community.” A border kibbutz that wants civilian trauma care is one thing. A paragraph that treats the IDF company on its lawn as the object of the collection is another. The Magen description states the civilians have been sent to the Dead Sea. The people still on site, in even the synagogue’s own telling, are the unit and their minders. If the commission meant what Earner said, both projects fail to meet the definition of a charity. One fails as it is providing military kit to a foreign army. The other fails as it is providing welfare services to that same force. Neither is “a centre for Jewish worship and study.” Building Swimming Pools For the IDF The Chabad warning did not arrive in a vacuum. By its 2025–26 annual report, the Charity Commission said it had opened over 400 regulatory cases since October 2023 “in the context of the escalation of conflict in the Middle East.” In addition, it had made over 80 police referrals. That file includes charities on both “sides” of the genocide. Only a fraction are about fundraising for a foreign army — but that subset is the one Earner wrote the rule for. Mizrachi UK — legally Mizrachi (UK) Israel Support Trust (registered U.K. charity number 1137199), the operating religious-Zionist charity at the London School of Jewish Studies — is the closest published parallel to Westminster’s “we only hosted the appeal” line. In March 2025, the Commission began assessing a complaint from the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians over Facebook and newsletter appeals for tactical helmets, ceramic plates and other kit for IDF soldiers.  On 18 November 2025 it issued an official warning. Mizrachi UK trustees had promoted, on Facebook and its website, an external appeal “to provide equipment to soldiers in a foreign military.” That purpose, the commission said, did not further their objectives for the public benefit; promoting it was not in the charity’s best interests and risked its reputation. There was no evidence that Mizrachi’s own funds bought the kit; promotion was enough. The register still carries a regulatory alert.  Westminster’s tourniquet paste-up and the Kibbutz Magen appeal to “financially support these brave IDF soldiers” are the same species of act: a UK charity platform used to tout support for a foreign army. UK Friends of the Association for the Wellbeing of Israel’s Soldiers (AWIS, registered U.K. charity number 1084272) is the case that tests whether the commission means what Earner said. The regulator opened a compliance case because of concerns the charity was fundraising for military support for the IDF — which, they stated, “would have been unlawful and outside of the charity’s objects.” Inspectors later said they found no misapplied funds. They still issued an official warning in July 2025, but only over a distressing combat video and over trustees who had outsourced the website. The public site has stayed down. That outcome sits oddly against the commission’s own rule, and against what the charity had already put on camera. Its registered objects are to support serving and discharged Israeli soldiers through education and leisure. The Israeli partner is the body that describes itself as the channel for donations to IDF soldiers and units. A May 2023 Facebook video, cited in reporting on the U.K. arm, shows the project “created a swimming pool in the heart of the desert for the training base of the artillery corps.” The same reporting records an annual “enlistment festival” for some 30,000 recruits. A pool on an artillery training base and a festival that marks joining the army are not a village leisure centre with a Star of David on the gate. They are infrastructure and pageantry for a foreign force. Chabad Ilford sent non-lethal kit to one soldier and caught an official warning, because that purpose is “not capable of being charitable.” Mizrachi UK promoted an equipment appeal and caught one even though its own cash was not shown to have bought the plates. AWIS helped fund a swimming pool for the IDF and a recruitment gala for tens of thousands of conscripts, and the finding was: funds inside objects: warn them about a video. Either a desert pool for the artillery corps is “leisure” that happens to sit on a firing range, or the commission applied a different test to a charity whose objects already name Israeli soldiers as the class. Westminster’s tourniquet paste-up and the Magen drive to feed “200 elite unit soldiers” will be argued under whichever of those two readings the regulator now prefers. The question is whether that preference is the law, or the postcode. Complaints also appear to have been made against The British Friends of the Israeli War Disabled Trust (registered charity number 269269), the long-running British fundraising arm for wounded members and ex-members of the armed forces of the Jewish State. As I reported in August 2025, it had brought more than 5,000 potential war criminals to the U.K. to be hosted by British Jewish families. After those complaints, the public website was shuttered. The objects on the register were explicit about who the money was for: “members, or ex members of the Armed Forces of the State of Israel.” That is the same foreign army. The Commission’s published rule does not create a welfare exemption that turns military beneficiaries into a charitable purpose they would not otherwise be. Magen’s “food, showers, and laundry” line is that welfare exemption argued in plain English — and it is still an ask for IDF soldiers. UK Toremet Limited (registered charity number 1140972) is the donor-advised platform that processes other groups’ appeals so U.K. donors can wrap Gift Aid around them. The Islamic Human Rights Commission has twice written to the Commission about Toremet pages that routed money towards IDF equipment, such as vests, helmets, drones. Declassified UK later documented grants via Toremet for PTSD treatment of Yahalom combat engineers. Police have been notified about other Toremet flows into the occupied West Bank. Toremet says it cooperates and that restricted grants stay restricted. The point for Westminster is simpler: the Commission already knows this pipeline exists. Acheinu Limited (registered charity number 1131948), which operates under the name, The Boys Clubhouse, was highlighted in the same post-October wave. The commission looked at an event featuring a British man who had been fighting with the IDF in Gaza. Acheinu’s objects are poverty, education and recreation for Jewish children and young people. Hosting a homecoming for a foreign combatant is not those objects. The register still lists “Israel” among areas of operation. Westminster is not Chabad, Toremet or Acheinu. It is a progressive London synagogue with a Holocaust-scrolls museum in the basement. That is why the page matters. If the rule is real, it applies in Knightsbridge not just in Stamford Hill.   What the law allows — and what it does not English charity law is not, or at least should not be, a vibe. Purposes must fall inside the Charities Act headings. Advancing religion can cover worship, study, pastoral care, and grants that further those things. The relief of poverty can cover civilians in need. The promotion of the efficiency of the U.K. armed forces is a recognised purpose. The armed forces of another state are not. Therefore, a synagogue may: run services and study raise for its own building and school send pastoral or humanitarian grants that stay inside religion, education or poverty point members to another charity whose objects are lawful It may not: raise for a named soldier of a foreign army buy or tout military kit for that army, “non-lethal” or not pay, or ask others to pay, for the food, showers and laundry of elite-unit troops act as the British noticeboard for a campaign that says it is in direct contact with the IDF and is putting kit into soldiers’ hands Gift Aid makes the breach worse, not better. A taxpayer top-up on a donation that is not charitable is a public subsidy for a private political project. Trustees also have a duty to protect reputation. Hosting an IDF supply appeal and an IDF-billet appeal on the same domain as High Holy Day bookings is a reputation fact, whether or not a pound has yet left Kent House. The other “ways to support” The tourniquet and Magen appeals do not stand alone. The same page asks for money for the Kibbutz Movement, Kibbutz Be’eri, Sha’ar HaNegev and Kibbutz Nir Oz; for partner congregation Kol Haneshama in Jerusalem; for Leket; and for the New Israel Fund’s crisis appeal. Those neighbouring items are the camouflage. Rebuild Be’eri, feed displaced families, stock a partner place of worship. Readers in a hurry could tell themselves the whole list is humanitarian. It is not. Two entries on that list name IDF soldiers as the people who eat, wash, sleep and bleed with the kit. The congregation marks Yom Ha’atzmaut (“Israel Independence Day”) with Jewish National Fund, the Zionist Federation and the World Zionist Organisation. Its conversion syllabus includes “History of Ancient and Modern Israel” in the same week as Yom HaZikaron (the “national” day of remembrance for “fallen” Zionist soldiers) and Yom Ha’atzmaut. An exhibition in Kent House showed photographs from the Western Wall and Masada. None of that is, by itself, a legal offence. Religion may talk about a land. The offence begins when the charity website moves from talk to inventory and rations for a foreign army. Who presides over the books? The president of Westminster synagogue is Howard Leigh, Baron Leigh of Hurley. He is a Conservative life peer, senior treasurer of the party, and sits on the advisory board of Conservative Friends of Israel. He chairs Jerusalem Foundation UK (which builds settlements in East Jerusalem in contravention of international law) and is a vice-president of the peak communal lobby group the Jewish Leadership Council. Those are declared offices. They explain why a Knightsbridge pulpit is not a quiet backwater. A peer who raises millions for Jerusalem Foundation settlements still has to keep a U.K. charity inside U.K. charity law. Money also arrives the other way. The Ashley Tabor-King Foundation, the private foundation of Ashley Tabor-King, the man behind Global and LBC radio, has donated to Westminster Synagogue. Stephen Miron, Global’s chairman, sits in the same commercial and communal world, being also a trustee of the charity – brought up in a Zionist synagogue affiliated to United Synagogue in London. Westminster Synagogue is wired into a donor circuit that already treats the Jewish State as a communal given. No wonder LBC Radio host Sangita Myska’s contract was not renewed after she tried to hold an IDF spokesperson accountable. At the same time, company leadership sat on a charity which donated to the Westminster Synagogue where the common sense support of Zionism, and later the genocidal IDF, is baked in.  Temple Sinai, the Florida partner, lists support for “the People, Land, and State of Israel” as a core value. Alan E. Litwak has served as its senior rabbi since 2002. That is their constitution. It is not Westminster’s open charitable purpose. Why “we only signposted” will not do A trustee who is tempted to say, “we did not send the money, we only linked to campaigns,” should read the Chabad file again. The misconduct was the fundraising activity. Hosting the appeal, wrapping it in charitable livery, and pointing their flock at the Israeli military was enough. Westminster’s page does more than link. It pastes the operational paragraphs — IDF contact, thousands of tourniquets already delivered, three thousand more, price per unit; seventeen minders and two hundred elite-unit soldiers who need food, showers and laundry — all under the synagogue’s own headings. A reader of the support page is entitled to think the charity is endorsing the campaigns. If no tourniquet money and no Magen mess-fund has left Kent House, the trustees can say so to the Commission. They still have to explain why the paragraphs are there, and why they were still there after the Chabad warning of January 2025. What happens next The Commission said in the Chabad release that the warning was “a clear message to other charities to stay true to their established purposes.” “Other charities” includes Westminster Synagogue. A serious complaint will ask the regulator to: Capture the live “Ways to Support” page, the July 2025 Archive snapshot, and the Temple Sinai form. Require trustees to say when the Tourniquet and Magen blocks were posted, who approved them, and against which object. Require them to say whether any Westminster funds, Gift Aid, or staff time went into Operation Tourniquet, Kibbutz Magen, or any other IDF kit or sustainment appeal. Compare both blocks with the Chabad Official Warning and with the AWIS case opened on the same legal theory. Order the paragraphs down if they cannot be brought inside the objects — and consider an Official Warning if they cannot. The regulator has the power. It has the precedent. And it has the evidence. What it has not yet done is apply that quote to a well-connected independent synagogue in Knightsbridge. The findings in this article will be submitted to the Charity Commission. The Commission should look very closely. A rule that bites in Stamford Hill and goes quiet in Knightsbridge is not a rule. It is a preference. If combat tourniquets “handed directly to soldiers,” and a collection “to financially support these brave IDF soldiers,” are lawful charitable activities in England and Wales, Helen Earner was wrong in January 2025. If she was right, action against Westminster Synagogue’s fundraising efforts needs to be taken.   The post Revealed: The London Synagogue Supplying the IDF appeared first on MintPress News.

[Category: Front Page: Foreign Affairs, Front Page: National, Investigations, Nation, National, News, Top Story]

— Embarrassing Defeat: Yemen’s Resistance Thwarts Greater Israel Plot for Red Sea Dominance

 

at 10/14/26 2:02pm

Al- Hodeidah- Yemen – Having failed to defeat Yemen’s Armed Forces and lift their Red Sea blockade in support of Gaza, Tel Aviv began establishing a foothold in neighboring Somaliland as a means of preparing the stage for a regime change operation against the Ansarallah-led government in Sana’a.  This MintPress News’ investigation examines how Yemen’s resistance have thwarted an Israeli plot to secure a platform for Red Sea dominance and control over the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, by establishing a strategic foothold in Somaliland and in other strategic islands along Yemen’s western coastline. Tel Aviv sought to use this web of military outposts to launch a regime change operation, only to have been pre-empted by a large-scale Yemeni offensive. The strategic passage, of the Bab el-Mandab Strait, was transformed into a pressure point against Israel after Yemen’s Ansarallah launched a successful maritime blockade in the Red Sea preventing Israeli ships from transiting the water-way; during Israel’s genocide in Gaza. This blockade disrupted Israeli-bound shipping that drove Israel’s Eilat Port into a financial crisis, bankrupting its busiest maritime port and forcing it to suspend operations entirely by July of 2025.  In creating a foothold in Somaliland, Israel sought to expand its strategic encirclement of the two countries that have historically stood up to its colonial plans: Iran and Yemen – while Palestine’s Arab neighbors helped Israel circumvent Yemen’s Red Sea blockade and have built new military alliances through the Abraham Accords.   Israel has spent nearly a decade building its operational and intelligence capabilities by establishing alliances in the Caucasus and Persian Gulf. The Abraham Accords helped accelerate Israel’s intelligence capabilities in the region with the goal to target Iran and Yemen. Israel’s military outpost in Somaliland gives Tel Aviv much more than an intelligence outpost, its military assets will be in close enough proximity to interfere with 70% of Yemen’s commercial food imports and humanitarian aid that reach the country through the Red Sea’s Hodeidah Port. It also allows for Israel to monitor the military movements of the Yemeni resistance, giving them more early warning for drone and ballistic missile fire. They also gain the potential benefit of deploying support for their own offensive naval and air operations, according to the assessment of experts operating within the Yemeni Armed Forces.   Sitting adjacent to the Bab el-Mandeb Straight and less than 80 miles away from Yemen’s coastline, Somaliland became a strategic foothold in the horn of Africa to establish a military and intelligence post to fulfill Israel’s regional expansionist goals. This week, US President Donald Trump described Somaliland as “a total different country” boosting Somaliland’s quest to become Africa’s newest country and Israel’s new military colony to control the Bab el-Mandeb strait.  Since declaring independence from Somalia in 1991, following the collapse of the nation’s central government, Somaliland has failed to gain international recognition. As a result, Somaliland’s separatist leadership has proven itself politically willing to cooperate with any external party that simply recognizes its independence. Israel has exploited this opportunity, exchanging recognition for the establishment of military positions, as well as a number of logistical and intelligence support centers at the Port of Berbera along the Gulf of Aden.  In reaction to emerging reports of Israeli presence on Somalia’s internationally recognised territory, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has stated that Israel’s recognition of the Somaliland region came after the separatist authorities accepted three key Israeli conditions: The establishment of a military base on the Gulf coast, to help in the “resettlement” of Palestinians displaced from Gaza, and joining the Abraham Accords.  Israel has no peaceful intentions in coming to Somalia, and the world, especially Arab and Muslim nations, must view this Israeli move as a serious threat, remarked Somalia’s President, adding that the presence of Israel will be felt by everyone in the region. Mogadishu has vowed to “confront” this project from taking place on its soil, but is yet to take any tangible measures. A high-ranking official within Yemen’s ruling Ansarallah Party informed MintPress News that it considers the acceptance of Somaliland’s leadership to facilitate the ethnically cleansing the people of Gaza transgresses against its own red lines, as well as those of the Arab and Islamic World. When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin announced his official recognition of Somaliland as a state on December 26, 2025,  a joint cooperation agreement was immediately signed, followed by the mutual opening of embassies in occupied Jerusalem as well as Hargeisa. Somaliland’s Abdirahman Abdullah then declared that his separatist movement does not rule out the establishment of an Israeli security presence in the country.  According to a Sana’a government intelligence official that spoke to MintPress News, Israeli officers of African origin are already operating inside Somaliland and are integrating their own military infrastructure with those of the separatist authorities. This includes aircraft hangars, air-defense systems, advanced radars, a command and control room, in addition to logistical support centers, the sources claimed. In June, the Middle East Eye reported that Tel Aviv had deployed a small military force to Somaliland. Citing a senior Somali government official, the report alleges that the force is composed of approximately 50 soldiers and was sent to Somaliland shortly after Israel recognized the breakaway region as a state. MintPress News was informed, by two high-ranking Ansarallah political sources and a military official, that the Israeli threat posed from Somaliland had played a role in prompting the recent offensive to take control of the nation’s Western coastline and islands – including Mayyun (Perim) island that is located in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. These islands had provided the Israeli military and intelligence services with an advantage over the Yemeni Armed Forces, who had been granted access to facilities built and operated by Emirati-backed forces previously stationed there. The Yemeni move, according to the same officials, came as a preemptive step aimed at depriving Israel of advanced positions to the west of Yemen, and establishing new positions from which to confront Israel in Somaliland itself – by taking advantage of the strategic Yemeni islands’ proximity to Somaliland. Yemen’s Sana’a-based Foreign Ministry had previously issued a series of strongly worded warnings against both Israel and the authorities of Somaliland, cautioning them from establishing any military bases or security presence in the region overlooking the Gulf of Aden.   The Strategic Military Importance Of Somaliland For Greater Israel Israel’s military positioning in Somaliland would give it far more than an intelligence post, according to an analysis of the territory`s strategic value, Situated near Yemeni`s western coast-including the city Hodeidah,  Israel’s capture of territory through its use of Somaliland separatists gains Tel Aviv much more than an observation outpost, its military assets will be in close enough proximity to interfere in 70% of Yemen’s commercial food imports and humanitarian aid that reach the country through the Red Sea’s Hodeidah Port. It also allows for Israel to monitor the military movements of the Yemeni resistance, giving them more early warning for drone and ballistic missile fire. They also gain the potential benefit of deploying support for their own offensive naval and air operations, according to the assessment of experts operating within the Yemeni Armed Forces.   Beyond aiding in the surveillance and air defense sphere’s, Israel’s strategic positioning would also enable them to more effectively launch large-scale offensive operations inside Yemen. If their presence expands significantly, they could potentially even impose an air and naval blockade on the country.  The same experts expressed that this power could be harnessed to carry out extensive missions across the entire Horn of Africa, Red Sea, and result in it asserting dominance over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. A fear of this reality being imposed likely played into compelling a broad rejection of Israel’s Somaliland recognition from the African Union Commission, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and various African States. Establishing a foothold in Somaliland has been a long-standing Israeli objective, predating the Ansar Allah movements presence in Yemen. Israel’s first Prime Minister David Ben Gurion had even set the strategic objective of securing access to the Red Sea and finding ways to combat what was then the threat of a blockade over the Straits of Tiran. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz during his meeting with the president of the breakaway Somali region, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, on June 17th: Israel and Somaliland have a long-standing friendship based on shared interests. We have cooperated for many years discreetly in a series of operations that will remain confidential. We are determined to elevate our security cooperation to new levels, for the benefit of both peoples and for the sake of stability in the region”, he added. We are closely monitoring developments in Somalia and the activities of the Israeli enemy in the Gulf of Aden, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Red Sea. We will take the initiative at any time to target any Israeli activity in Somalia, and we will not stand idly by in the face of any Israeli presence there, declared Ansarallah leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi in response to reports of Israel’s intent to deploy military assets to the region. Al-Houthi directly threatened practical steps against the Israeli presence, asserting that we will not wait for the hesitant and complacent regimes. Rather, we will take the initiative whenever the Israeli enemy establishes any presence in Somalia, targeting it with all available means. Israel Loses Its Foothold In Bab El-Mandeb The military doctrine of the Yemeni Armed Forces, led by Ansar Allah, instructs its personnel to act proactively, instead of waiting to absorb enemy attacks. In the context of its confrontations with Israel, Yemen has emphasized seizing the initiative and preemption. A source from within the Yemeni military informed MintPress New that his nation’s military doctrine is intended, among other objectives, to prevent a repetition of the scenario faced by Iran. On September 3, Yemeni forces, supported by tribal fighters along Yemen’s western coast, launched a military operation aimed at reshaping the military balance along the Red Sea. One of the operation’s publicly stated objectives was to establish control over all areas surrounding the Bab al-Mandab Strait, as well as the strategic island of Mayyun and the Hanish Islands that are located around 100 miles north Bab el-Mandeb. Sultan al-Barakani, the Saudi-appointed head of Yemen’s Riyadh-backed parliament, declared that 35 armed brigades were deployed across the nation’s West coast, while approximately 50,000 fighters were undergoing training. These forces included local recruits, Salafist fighters, and even Saudi military personnel. These preparations formed part of a broader plan for a ground offensive aimed at seizing territory from the Ansarallah led government. MintPress News was informed that this Saudi-led plot was set to be supported by Israeli air operations originating from Somaliland. Saudi-aligned media outlets even promoted the prospect of a decisive campaign, using rhetoric suggesting that Anasarallah would be eliminated through a single overwhelming military operation. Instead of allowing Saudi Arabia to order its proxy forces to launch an offensive, the Yemeni Armed Forces countered with their own advance that resulted in the seizure of approximately 5,400 square kilometers of territory. Yemeni military spokesman, Yahya Saree, later declared that the preemptive operation targeted four coastal districts—Hays, Al-Tuhayta, Al-Khawkhah, and Dhubab – areas then held by forces associated with Tariq Saleh, and those backed by Saudi Arabia and its allies. The operation combined conventional ground advances with coordinated drone and ballistic missile launches. An Ansarallah military planner noted that a key component to this strategy was a series of strikes carried out against command-and-control centers, training sites and ammunition depots – located both at the Al-Wadi’ah border crossing with Saudi Arabia and inside Yemen itself. This effectively disrupted the Saudi-backed forces from resupplying, reinforcing their positions and coordinating along the frontlines. Although the Saudi-backed forces announced a counter-offensive and Riyadh deployed its airforce to their aid, it proved ineffective, as the Yemeni Air Defences managed to shoot down at least 9 drones during this initial seven day period. Among its most strategically significant achievements was the capture of the port of Mokha, accompanied by the release of hundreds of Yemeni detainees from prisons in the city. During interviews conducted by MintPress news with a number of released detainees, the prisoners of war testified to having been subjected to torture by Saudi-backed personnel. The advancing forces also captured substantial quantities of foreign military equipment. According to War media footage accounts reviewed, the equipment included American- and Israeli-origin systems such as drones, air-defense equipment, radar and surveillance systems, communications equipment, electronic-jamming technology, military vehicles, and large quantities of ammunition. MintPress News has viewed evidence indicating American-made Oshkosh Armoured Vehicles and Emirati-manufactured JAIS Mk 2 44 armored vehicles were captured. In addition to this, a large number of medium-machine guns (MMG)s, anti-aircraft weapons, tanks, naval radars, military boats and self-propelled artillery vehicles fell into the hands of Yemen’s Armed Forces. Other kinds of weapons including Kornet and TOW anti-tank guided missile systems were also seized. Further equipment was captured at the following locations/facilities: Communication equipment at the Joint General Command headquarters in Mocha; military equipment and technology at Dhubab airbase and on the Mayyun Island; advanced surveillance systems left behind at the Yakhtal Base, as well as in the Naval Command and Coast Guard Administration Headquarters in Mocha. The Coast Guard Operations Center’s surveillance stations on Zuqar Island and the Greater and Lesser Hanish Islands also meant that Yemen’s forces gained access to modern Radar systems. Sizeable weapons depots were additionally discovered at the Khalid bin Walid Camp, Jabal al-Nar Camp, al-Dhubani Camp, al-Aqd and al-Maghras Camps, Anbarah Camp, and Abu Musa al-Ashari Camp. The significance of Yemen’s successful capture of enemy equipment may well extend beyond that of its immediate military application. The Yemeni Armed Forces and their allies will likely work to reverse engineer some of these systems, meaning domestic variants of the U.S. and Israeli military systems/equipment may become available for production and even modifications that make them more effective. All of this from the seizure of communications devices, surveillance capabilities, electronic warfare capabilities, modern radar technology and air-defense capabilities.   Propaganda To Rally The World Against Ansarallah In Bab El-Mandeb Following the capture of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Mayyun Island, both Israel and Saudi Arabia launched global smear campaigns against Yemen, claiming that international maritime security in the Bab al-Mandab Strait was now under threat. Yemen’s Sana’a based authorities were, however, quick to make it clear that the results of their offensives posed no threat to international navigation and commerce. Instead they accused Saudi Arabia and Israel of attempting to mobilize international opinion against the Sanaa authorities by portraying Yemens control of Bab al-Mandab as an international maritime threat. In separate statements, representatives of the Yemeni armed forces, the Sanaa-based Change and Construction Government and Ansarallah, all emphasized their stated commitment to freedom of navigation through Bab al-Mandab and the Red Sea. They also asserted that Sanaa would continue to recognize Yemens existing international obligations and treaties, including commitments made by previous Yemeni governments. In fact, the maritime traffic remained within its regular range. This MintPress News correspondent was able to witness the free passage of ships through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait during the initial days of the territory being captured, also receiving eyewitness reports that the situation has not changed since. Additionally, maritime data from the MarineTraffic platform, demonstrates that 116 vessels transited the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, from both directions, between September 11, 2026, and Monday morning, September 14. Despite Yemen’s reassurances, Tel Aviv and Riyadh have persisted with their allegations that a threat is being posed to the key international shipping route. Motivating this is the fact that Yemen’s Armed Forces are currently imposing a counter blockade on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea and Israel’s fear that a blockade will be re-imposed upon them in the event of renewed attacks on Lebanon and Gaza. The post Embarrassing Defeat: Yemen’s Resistance Thwarts Greater Israel Plot for Red Sea Dominance appeared first on MintPress News.

[Category: Daily Digest, Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Inside Stories, Investigations, News, Top Story, Israel, Red Sea, Saudi Arabia, Yemen]

— Yemen’s Resistance Thwarts Greater Israel Plot for Red Sea Dominance

 

at 10/14/26 2:02pm

Al- Hodeidah- Yemen – Having failed to defeat Yemen’s Armed Forces and lift their Red Sea blockade in support of Gaza, Tel Aviv began establishing a foothold in neighboring Somaliland as a means of preparing the stage for a regime change operation against the Ansarallah-led government in Sana’a.  This MintPress News’ investigation examines how Yemen’s resistance have thwarted an Israeli plot to secure a platform for Red Sea dominance and control over the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, through establishing a strategic foothold in Somaliland and in strategic islands along Yemen’s western coastline. Tel Aviv sought to use this web of military outposts to launch a regime change operation, only to have been pre-empted by a large-scale Yemeni offensive. The strategic passage, of the Bab el-Mandab Strait, was transformed into a pressure point against Israel after Yemen’s Ansarallah launched a successful maritime blockade in the Red Sea preventing Israeli ships from transiting the water-way; during Israel’s genocide in Gaza. This blockade disrupted Israeli-bound shipping that drove Israel’s Eilat Port into a financial crisis, bankrupting its busiest maritime port and forcing it to suspend operations entirely by July of 2025.  In creating a foothold in Somaliland, Israel sought to expand its strategic encirclement of the two countries that have historically stood up to its colonial plans: Iran and Yemen – while Palestine’s Arab neighbors helped Israel circumvent Yemen’s Red Sea blockade and have built new military alliances through the Abraham Accords.   Israel has spent nearly a decade building its operational and intelligence capabilities by establishing alliances in the Caucasus and Persian Gulf. The Abraham Accords helped accelerate Israel’s intelligence capabilities in the region with the goal to target Iran and Yemen. Israel’s military outpost in Somaliland gives Tel Aviv much more than an intelligence outpost, its military assets will be in close enough proximity to interfere with 70% of Yemen’s commercial food imports and humanitarian aid that reach the country through the Red Sea’s Hodeidah Port. It also allows for Israel to monitor the military movements of the Yemeni resistance, giving them more early warning for drone and ballistic missile fire. They also gain the potential benefit of deploying support for their own offensive naval and air operations, according to the assessment of experts operating within the Yemeni Armed Forces.   Sitting adjacent to the Bab el-Mandeb Straight and less than 80 miles away from Yemen’s coastline, Somaliland became a strategic foothold in the horn of Africa to establish a military and intelligence post to fulfill Israel’s regional expansionist goals. This week, US President Donald Trump described Somaliland as “a total different country” boosting Somaliland’s quest to become Africa’s newest country and Israel’s new military colony to control the Bab el-Mandeb strait.  Since declaring independence from Somalia in 1991, following the collapse of the nation’s central government, Somaliland has failed to gain international recognition. As a result, Somaliland’s separatist leadership has proven itself politically willing to cooperate with any external party that simply recognizes its independence. Israel has exploited this opportunity, exchanging recognition for the establishment of military positions, as well as a number of logistical and intelligence support centers at the Port of Berbera along the Gulf of Aden.  In reaction to emerging reports of Israeli presence on Somalia’s internationally recognised territory, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has stated that Israel’s recognition of the Somaliland region came after the separatist authorities accepted three key Israeli conditions: The establishment of a military base on the Gulf coast, to help in the “resettlement” of Palestinians displaced from Gaza, and joining the Abraham Accords.  Israel has no peaceful intentions in coming to Somalia, and the world, especially Arab and Muslim nations, must view this Israeli move as a serious threat, remarked Somalia’s President, adding that the presence of Israel will be felt by everyone in the region. Mogadishu has vowed to “confront” this project from taking place on its soil, but is yet to take any tangible measures. A high-ranking official within Yemen’s ruling Ansarallah Party informed MintPress News that it considers the acceptance of Somaliland’s leadership to facilitate the ethnically cleansing the people of Gaza transgresses against its own red lines, as well as those of the Arab and Islamic World. When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin announced his official recognition of Somaliland as a state on December 26, 2025,  a joint cooperation agreement was immediately signed, followed by the mutual opening of embassies in occupied Jerusalem as well as Hargeisa.Somaliland’s Abdirahman Abdullah then declared that his separatist movement does not rule out the establishment of an Israeli security presence in the country.  According to a Sana’a government intelligence official that spoke to MintPress News, Israeli officers of African origin are already operating inside Somaliland and are integrating their own military infrastructure with those of the separatist authorities. This includes aircraft hangars, air-defense systems, advanced radars, a command and control room, in addition to logistical support centers, the sources claimed. In June, the Middle East Eye reported that Tel Aviv had deployed a small military force to Somaliland. Citing a senior Somali government official, the report alleges that the force is composed of approximately 50 soldiers and was sent to Somaliland shortly after Israel recognized the breakaway region as a state. MintPress News was informed, by two high-ranking Ansarallah political sources and a military official, that the Israeli threat posed from Somaliland had played a role in prompting the recent offensive to take control of the nation’s Western coastline and islands – including Mayyun (Perim) island that is located in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. These islands had provided the Israeli military and intelligence services with an advantage over the Yemeni Armed Forces, who had been granted access to facilities built and operated by Emirati-backed forces previously stationed there. The Yemeni move, according to the same officials, came as a preemptive step aimed at depriving Israel of advanced positions to the west of Yemen, and establishing new positions from which to confront Israel in Somaliland itself – by taking advantage of the strategic Yemeni islands’ proximity to Somaliland. Yemen’s Sana’a-based Foreign Ministry had previously issued a series of strongly worded warnings against both Israel and the authorities of Somaliland, cautioning them from establishing any military bases or security presence in the region overlooking the Gulf of Aden.   The Strategic Military Importance Of Somaliland For Greater Israel Israel’s military positioning in Somaliland would give it far more than an intelligence post, according to an analysis of the territory`s strategic value, Situated near Yemeni`s western coast-including the city Hodeidah,  Israel’s capture of territory through its use of Somaliland separatists gains Tel Aviv much more than an observation outpost, its military assets will be in close enough proximity to interfere in 70% of Yemen’s commercial food imports and humanitarian aid that reach the country through the Red Sea’s Hodeidah Port. It also allows for Israel to monitor the military movements of the Yemeni resistance, giving them more early warning for drone and ballistic missile fire. They also gain the potential benefit of deploying support for their own offensive naval and air operations, according to the assessment of experts operating within the Yemeni Armed Forces.   Beyond aiding in the surveillance and air defense sphere’s, Israel’s strategic positioning would also enable them to more effectively launch large-scale offensive operations inside Yemen. If their presence expands significantly, they could potentially even impose an air and naval blockade on the country.  The same experts expressed that this power could be harnessed to carry out extensive missions across the entire Horn of Africa, Red Sea, and result in it asserting dominance over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. A fear of this reality being imposed likely played into compelling a broad rejection of Israel’s Somaliland recognition from the African Union Commission, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and various African States. Establishing a foothold in Somaliland has been a long-standing Israeli objective, predating the Ansar Allah movements presence in Yemen. Israel’s first Prime Minister David Ben Gurion had even set the strategic objective of securing access to the Red Sea and finding ways to combat what was then the threat of a blockade over the Straits of Tiran. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz during his meeting with the president of the breakaway Somali region, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, on June 17th: Israel and Somaliland have a long-standing friendship based on shared interests. We have cooperated for many years discreetly in a series of operations that will remain confidential. We are determined to elevate our security cooperation to new levels, for the benefit of both peoples and for the sake of stability in the region”, he added. We are closely monitoring developments in Somalia and the activities of the Israeli enemy in the Gulf of Aden, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Red Sea. We will take the initiative at any time to target any Israeli activity in Somalia, and we will not stand idly by in the face of any Israeli presence there, declared Ansarallah leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi in response to reports of Israel’s intent to deploy military assets to the region. Al-Houthi directly threatened practical steps against the Israeli presence, asserting that we will not wait for the hesitant and complacent regimes. Rather, we will take the initiative whenever the Israeli enemy establishes any presence in Somalia, targeting it with all available means.   Israel Loses Its Foothold In Bab El-Mandeb The military doctrine of the Yemeni Armed Forces, led by Ansar Allah, instructs its personnel to act proactively, instead of waiting to absorb enemy attacks. In the context of its confrontations with Israel, Yemen has emphasized seizing the initiative and preemption. A source from within the Yemeni military informed MintPress New that his nation’s military doctrine is intended, among other objectives, to prevent a repetition of the scenario faced by Iran. On September 3, Yemeni forces, supported by tribal fighters along Yemen’s western coast, launched a military operation aimed at reshaping the military balance along the Red Sea. One of the operation’s publicly stated objectives was to establish control over all areas surrounding the Bab al-Mandab Strait, as well as the strategic island of Mayyun and the Hanish Islands that are located around 100 miles north Bab el-Mandeb. Sultan al-Barakani, the Saudi-appointed head of Yemen’s Riyadh-backed parliament, declared that 35 armed brigades were deployed across the nation’s West coast, while approximately 50,000 fighters were undergoing training. These forces included local recruits, Salafist fighters, and even Saudi military personnel. These preparations formed part of a broader plan for a ground offensive aimed at seizing territory from the Ansarallah led government. MintPress News was informed that this Saudi-led plot was set to be supported by Israeli air operations originating from Somaliland. Saudi-aligned media outlets even promoted the prospect of a decisive campaign, using rhetoric suggesting that Anasarallah would be eliminated through a single overwhelming military operation. Instead of allowing Saudi Arabia to order its proxy forces to launch an offensive, the Yemeni Armed Forces countered with their own advance that resulted in the seizure of approximately 5,400 square kilometers of territory. Yemeni military spokesman, Yahya Saree, later declared that the preemptive operation targeted four coastal districts—Hays, Al-Tuhayta, Al-Khawkhah, and Dhubab – areas then held by forces associated with Tariq Saleh, and those backed by Saudi Arabia and its allies. The operation combined conventional ground advances with coordinated drone and ballistic missile launches. An Ansarallah military planner noted that a key component to this strategy was a series of strikes carried out against command-and-control centers, training sites and ammunition depots – located both at the Al-Wadi’ah border crossing with Saudi Arabia and inside Yemen itself. This effectively disrupted the Saudi-backed forces from resupplying, reinforcing their positions and coordinating along the frontlines. Although the Saudi-backed forces announced a counter-offensive and Riyadh deployed its airforce to their aid, it proved ineffective, as the Yemeni Air Defences managed to shoot down at least 9 drones during this initial seven day period. Among its most strategically significant achievements was the capture of the port of Mokha, accompanied by the release of hundreds of Yemeni detainees from prisons in the city. During interviews conducted by MintPress news with a number of released detainees, the prisoners of war testified to having been subjected to torture by Saudi-backed personnel. The advancing forces also captured substantial quantities of foreign military equipment. According to War media footage accounts reviewed, the equipment included American- and Israeli-origin systems such as drones, air-defense equipment, radar and surveillance systems, communications equipment, electronic-jamming technology, military vehicles, and large quantities of ammunition. MintPress News has viewed evidence indicating American-made Oshkosh Armoured Vehicles and Emirati-manufactured JAIS Mk 2 44 armored vehicles were captured. In addition to this, a large number of medium-machine guns (MMG)s, anti-aircraft weapons, tanks, naval radars, military boats and self-propelled artillery vehicles fell into the hands of Yemen’s Armed Forces. Other kinds of weapons including Kornet and TOW anti-tank guided missile systems were also seized. Further equipment was captured at the following locations/facilities: Communication equipment at the Joint General Command headquarters in Mocha; military equipment and technology at Dhubab airbase and on the Mayyun Island; advanced surveillance systems left behind at the Yakhtal Base, as well as in the Naval Command and Coast Guard Administration Headquarters in Mocha. The Coast Guard Operations Center’s surveillance stations on Zuqar Island and the Greater and Lesser Hanish Islands also meant that Yemen’s forces gained access to modern Radar systems. Sizeable weapons depots were additionally discovered at the Khalid bin Walid Camp, Jabal al-Nar Camp, al-Dhubani Camp, al-Aqd and al-Maghras Camps, Anbarah Camp, and Abu Musa al-Ashari Camp. The significance of Yemen’s successful capture of enemy equipment may well extend beyond that of its immediate military application. The Yemeni Armed Forces and their allies will likely work to reverse engineer some of these systems, meaning domestic variants of the U.S. and Israeli military systems/equipment may become available for production and even modifications that make them more effective. All of this from the seizure of communications devices, surveillance capabilities, electronic warfare capabilities, modern radar technology and air-defense capabilities.   Propaganda To Rally The World Against Ansarallah In Bab El-Mandeb Following the capture of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Mayyun Island, both Israel and Saudi Arabia launched global smear campaigns against Yemen, claiming that international maritime security in the Bab al-Mandab Strait was now under threat. Yemen’s Sana’a based authorities were, however, quick to make it clear that the results of their offensives posed no threat to international navigation and commerce. Instead they accused Saudi Arabia and Israel of attempting to mobilize international opinion against the Sanaa authorities by portraying Yemens control of Bab al-Mandab as an international maritime threat. In separate statements, representatives of the Yemeni armed forces, the Sanaa-based Change and Construction Government and Ansarallah, all emphasized their stated commitment to freedom of navigation through Bab al-Mandab and the Red Sea. They also asserted that Sanaa would continue to recognize Yemens existing international obligations and treaties, including commitments made by previous Yemeni governments. In fact, the maritime traffic remained within its regular range. MintPress News was able to witness the free passage of ships through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait during the initial days of the territory being captured, also receiving eyewitness reports that the situation has not changed since. Additionally, maritime data from the MarineTraffic platform, demonstrates that 116 vessels transited the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, from both directions, between September 11, 2026, and Monday morning, September 14. Despite Yemen’s reassurances, Tel Aviv and Riyadh have persisted with their allegations that a threat is being posed to the key international shipping route. Motivating this is the fact that Yemen’s Armed Forces are currently imposing a counter blockade on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea and Israel’s fear that a blockade will be re-imposed upon them in the event of renewed attacks on Lebanon and Gaza. The post Yemen’s Resistance Thwarts Greater Israel Plot for Red Sea Dominance appeared first on MintPress News.

[Category: Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Foreign Affairs, Investigations, News, Israel, Red Sea, Saudi Arabia, Yemen]

— Israel Prepares For Iran-Lebanon Strikes As Saudi Airspace Closes Under Missile Threats

 

at 10/14/26 9:18am

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu draft plans to launch another attack on Iran – as oil prices continue to rise once again. In this episode of The Target Mint Press News’ Robert Inlakesh looks at the developments that have put a stranglehold on the US in the Persian Gulf and why Yemen has been bombing Saudi airports. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has managed to re-assert its dominance over the Strait of Hormuz, releasing footage demonstrating that it has mined the territory and is striking vessels that are violating its blockade at an unprecedented rate. Video evidence of a ship being struck by a mine has sent shockwaves through the oil market, as the US had previously claimed to have de-mined the strategic water way. Meanwhile, Yemen’s Ansarallah-led government in Sana’a has been delivering enormous blows to Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure. A major international incident stole the headlines this weekend, when on October 10, a Yemeni missile inflicted a mass casualty event at Riyadh’s main international airport. At least 13 people were killed in the Yemeni missile strike, which also injured a further 307. The attack on Terminal 3 of King Khalid International Airport drew condemnation from the UN and World Leaders around the globe. Officials in Riyadh then used the incident in order to lionise their ongoing war effort against Yemen and paint themselves as the victim. In this Monday’s show, Inlakesh takes a critical look at the events as they unfolded and the inverted reality portrayed by the corporate media. The ceasefire between Saudi Arabia and Yemen was broken by Saudi Airstrikes on Sana’a International Airport, a key detail that has been left out of the discussion. On March 26, 2015, Saudi Arabia began launching strikes against Yemen, one of the first targets struck was Sana’a Intl. Airport, the largest airport in the nation’s Capital City. The initial attack on the airport and neighbouring residential area resulted in over 30 civilian deaths. Over the next decade, Saudi fighter jets would go on to strike Yemeni airports over 227 times, none of which received wall-to-wall coverage like the latest event. This edition of The Target looks at the history behind what is unfolding today, as well as the current context. Saudi Arabia decided to launch 1,000 strikes, using 100 aircraft, at the beginning of October, triggering the Yemeni Armed Forces to impose a no-fly zone over Saudi territory. The decision was a move to impose a counter aerial blockade, in response to closure of Yemeni airspace that has been forced upon the nation since 2015, even during a man made famine. As this has all been happening, a group of Israeli students were on a hike near the border of occupied southern Lebanon. One of the Israelis picked up a cluster munition and placed it in their bag, before it exploded, killing at least one and injuring 24 others. Never letting a massacre go to waste, the Israeli media and leadership seized on the opportunity to blame Hezbollah for the event, instead of the decision of teachers to direct students to hike in a war zone. Election season is in full effect, both in Israel and the United States, meaning that the rhetoric and tensions couldn’t possibly be higher, all as Iran and its allies wait with their fingers on the trigger. The post Israel Prepares For Iran-Lebanon Strikes As Saudi Airspace Closes Under Missile Threats appeared first on MintPress News.

[Category: Behind The Headlines, Daily Digest, Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Inside Stories, Investigations, National, News, The Target, Top Story, Videos, Ansarallah, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Middle East, MintPress News, Robert Inlakesh, Saudi Arabia, United States, West Asia, Yemen]

— Books or Bombs? France’s Student Revolt vs. NATO’s Spending Push

 

at 10/9/26 1:36pm

Fund our high schools instead of genocides Photo: Stephane Jouteux For the third week in a row, high school students across France are taking to the streets demanding more investment in their education. They want more teachers, smaller classes, decent school buildings and a public education system that works for poor and working-class students. But their struggle comes at a moment when France faces mounting pressure to cut public spending while dramatically increasing its military budget. The question at the heart of this uprising goes far beyond education: Will France invest in its young people—or in missiles, weapons and war? Books or bombs? What began in the Paris suburbs has spread to more than a thousand schools. On October 6, more than 250,000 people reportedly took to the streets in demonstrations supporting the students. The governments response has only deepened the anger. Instead of addressing students demands, authorities have unleashed riot police, tear gas, grenades and mass arrests. More than 6,500 people have reportedly been arrested since the protests began, most of them minors. Some young protesters have suffered horrific injuries, including a 15-year-old who lost his hand after a police grenade exploded. Amnesty International has condemned what it calls the disproportionate use of force against young people peacefully demanding their right to education. The contrast is striking: Students are asking for teachers and decent schools, while the government deploys riot police against them—and finds billions more for its military. The student movement is unfolding just as NATO is pressuring European governments to massively increase military spending. Under intense pressure from Washington, NATO leaders agreed in 2025 to a staggering new target: 5 percent of each member countrys GDP by 2035. At least 3.5 percent is supposed to go directly to military expenditures, with another 1.5 percent devoted to military-related infrastructure, cybersecurity and resilience. This represents an enormous shift from NATOs previous 2 percent target, which many members already struggled to meet. For countries facing growing deficits, heavy debt and deteriorating public services, such an increase comes at a steep price. France provides a glaring example. The country has nearly $4 trillion in public debt—roughly 119 percent of GDP, one of the highest levels in Europe. To tackle its deficit, the government has proposed approximately $48 billion in spending cuts and tax increases, putting already strained public services under even greater pressure. Yet even as the government demands belt-tightening, its proposed 2027 budget increases military spending by approximately $7.2 billion in a single year, compared with just $1.2 billion more for education. The education budget would also eliminate 1,588 permanent teaching positions. Imagine being a 16-year-old sitting in an overcrowded classroom, with a leaking ceiling and no regular teacher, hearing that your government cannot afford better schools—but can somehow find billions more for weapons. Frances own fiscal watchdog has pointed out that increases in central government spending are being driven largely by rising interest payments, contributions to the European Union and increased military expenditures. NATO officials insist that this massive military buildup is necessary to protect Europe from Russia and other threats. But the notion that Russia is poised to invade France is absurd, and the push for ever-greater military spending raises a fundamental question: What kind of security is the French government actually providing if their schools, hospitals and other public services are left to deteriorate? France is not alone. Students and teachers in Belgium, Spain and Portugal have also taken to the streets over education funding and working conditions, reflecting growing frustration across Europe with governments that claim there is not enough money for basic public services. An entire generation is being asked to accept austerity while Europe embarks on one of its largest military buildups since the Cold War. Political leaders may insist that education and military spending are separate issues. But they compete for the same limited public resources. And some French students are already making that connection themselves. Protest signs have declared money for schools, not war and fund high schools, not genocide, linking their immediate demands to the broader question of what—and whom—the government chooses to fund. These young people are challenging the very definition of security. NATO measures security in tanks, missiles, drones and ammunition. The students are demanding another kind of security: decent schools, equal opportunity, and a society that invests in their future instead of sacrificing it to an endless arms buildup. Their demands should resonate throughout the NATO alliance, including in the United States, where public services are under attack while Trump seeks a staggering 54 percent increase in the military budget. Thats why CODEPINK and allied groups are organizing a Taxpayer Uprising in Washington, D.C., November 10–12, bringing people into the halls of Congress to demand a fundamental reorientation of our national priorities. Instead of funneling ever more tax dollars into war and weapons manufacturers, our government should invest in healthcare, education, affordable housing, green energy and a sustainable future. From the classrooms of France to the halls of Congress, the question is the same: Will our governments invest in life—or in war? Books or bombs? Medea Benjamin is co-founder of Global Exchange and CODEPINK: Women for Peace. She is the co-author, with Nicolas J.S. Davies, of War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict, available from OR Books in November 2022. Other books include, “Inside Iran: The Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran” (2018); “Kingdom of the Unjust: Behind the U.S.-Saudi Connection” (2016); “Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control” (2013); “Don’t Be Afraid Gringo: A Honduran Woman Speaks from the Heart” (1989), and (with Jodie Evans) “Stop the Next War Now” (2005). The post Books or Bombs? France’s Student Revolt vs. NATO’s Spending Push appeared first on MintPress News.

[Category: Foreign Affairs, Investigations, National, News, Opinion & Analysis, France, genocide, Macron, NATO, protest]

— Yemen’s Ansarallah Unveil Strategic Weapons As Israeli-US Backed Offensive Backfires

 

at 10/6/26 2:30pm

Yemen’s Armed Forces have imposed a no-fly zone over Riyadh following a massive assault by Saudi Arabia using 100 aircraft, combined with a shock offensive aimed at capturing Bab el-Mandeb. In this Monday’s edition of The Target, MintPress News’ Robert Inlakesh breaks down the conflict on the ground and why the US-Israeli backed surprise attack is a failure. In the early hours of Monday morning, Saudi Arabia carried out over 1,000 airstrikes across Yemeni territory, in what would soon be declared by the Kingdom’s proxy forces as Operation Yemen’s Dawn. The attempted offensive, which has already collapsed, sought to seize the Western coast of the country from the rule of the Ansarallah-led government based in Sana’a. Forces belonging to the Salafist-dominated Southern Giants Brigades, alongside allied Saudi-backed militias, initiated a series of ambush attacks which succeeded in penetrating the strategic Bab el-Mandeb area. Backed up by the airpower of their allies in Riyadh, they inflicted scores of casualties amongst soldiers belonging to the Yemeni Armed Forces and even filmed themselves committing ramming attacks on fighters who had already surrendered. On the Target Stream, we take a look at the Yemeni retaliatory attacks on Saudi Arabia’s airbases, oil refineries and even the missile fire that has sought to impose a no-fly zone on the Kingdom. Robert Inlakesh also breaks down the conflict in Yemen and the context behind the two warring sides. An enormous amount of propaganda has created a shield behind which the Gulf Monarchies, United States and Israel hide in this war. This includes everything from the spread of sectarian propaganda, unsubstantiated allegations of Yemeni missile attacks on Holy Sites, as well as claims that the Bab el-Mandeb Strait will be closed to international shipping. In reality, only Saudi Arabia has been subjected to a blockade in the Red Sea so far, while the other potential target could be Israel assuming it resumes its genocide in Gaza or launches another major assault on Lebanon. We also look at Yemen’s use of strategic precision-guided ballistic missiles, both long and short range, that are being used to destroy militant convoys and successfully target Saudi ARAMCO facilities. The capture of Bab el-Mandeb and the entire West coast of Yemen collapsed part of Israel’s strategic foothold developed in Red Sea and Horn of Africa, as the Ansarallah-led government forces now control the Mayyun Island where a joint Emirati-Israeli project was uncovered in 2025. In a new joint statement, Pakistan and Turkiye have now declared their intentions to enter the war on Yemen on the side of Saudi Arabia. This includes sending more weapons, fighter jets, air defense systems and troops to aid Riyadh. The recently signed ‘Mecca Pact’ agreement was previously advertised as a defence alliance that could represent a new ‘Sunni Muslim NATO’, yet is now fighting a war against a Muslim country using Israeli targeting data to do so. Inlakesh also analyses the question of regional national sovereignty, using the case of Iraq’s recent detention of its own citizens for driving vehicles over an American flag at a parade. He explores the ways in which the US continue to exert pressure on Baghdad, holding their leadership hostage financially. US imperialism and Israeli expansionism is on the line in Yemen, making it an important and the most active front in the ongoing regional war. It is a battle for national sovereignty, control of strategic water-ways and to end decades of aggression. The post Yemen’s Ansarallah Unveil Strategic Weapons As Israeli-US Backed Offensive Backfires appeared first on MintPress News.

[Category: Behind The Headlines, Daily Digest, Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Inside Stories, Investigations, National, News, The Target, Top Story, Videos, Ansarallah, Israel, Middle East, MintPress News, Robert Inlakesh, Saudi Arabia, United States, West Asia, Yemen]

— Iran Strikes Vital Facilities As Evidence Emerges Of US Invasion Preparations

 

at 10/4/26 11:00am

Oil facilities in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have again been struck by ballistic missiles and drones, while evidence has emerged that the US could be plotting raids into north-eastern Iranian territory. In the latest episode of The Target stream, MintPress News’ Robert Inlakesh looks at the incidents that are being used to justify a renewal of regional war. This Thursday, US President Donald Trump claimed that Iran is likely involved in the controversial Flydubai flight incident, while on the same day the UK government arrested a British-Iranian dual-national in relation to the RAF Fairford incident. Both instances lack any publicly presented evidence to suggest Tehran had anything to do with them, and yet the accusations are already spreading like wildfire in the corporate media. In the case of the Flydubai flight incident, no investigation has concluded a cause and the airliner initially put the emergency landing of the plane down to a fight breaking out between the two co-pilots. However, the Israeli media and government instantly jumped to the conclusion that what occurred was an attempted terrorist hijacking, carried out by an Omani national. On the stream we look into the implausibility of the claim that the Iranian government was somehow involved and what the results of that allegation could be. On September 27, headlines were made around the world as UK counter-terrorism police detained five individuals near RAF Fairford, an airbase in the United Kingdom used by the United States Airforce. Initially the headlines indicated that a major terrorist plot was being foiled and that the threat of potential explosive devices in the area had led to the evacuation of dozens of families from their homes. However, the five individuals who were arrested under the Terrorism Act were quickly granted bail, followed by reports that confirmed no explosives to have been found on the scene. Despite this, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham still decided to point the finger at Iran, a charge that officials in Tehran have vehemently denied. With no clear picture of what actually occurred at RAF Fairford and confirmation that no explosives existed on scene, then came the news that an Iranian national was detained in connection to the incident. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia also announced that the Yemeni Armed Forces had struck a power station located near the city of Madina. Although Sana’a denied it, the claims began emerging that the partially operational power station was supplying power to the Mosque of the Prophet Mohammed; considered by Muslims to be the Second Holiest Site in the world. OSNIT reports also presented evidence for what appears to be a new US military buildup occurring in the Caspian Sea area. Signs that US combat search and rescue teams have been deployed on the Orurja Ada island, combined with reports of US special forces teams having set up positions elsewhere in Turkmenistan, appear to indicate a future possibility of attempted incursions into Iranian territory. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has also been asserting its dominance in the Persian Gulf and firing missiles towards US military bases, as one of Abu Dhabi’s largest on-shore oil facilities goes up in flames. A pumping station connected to Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline was also struck, as Yemeni retaliatory strikes on the Saudi Capital of Riyadh have caused damage to military infrastructure. On the stream, Robert Inlakesh also looks at the Saudi-Israeli alliance against Yemen and the concerted effort to stir sectarian tensions across the region. The post Iran Strikes Vital Facilities As Evidence Emerges Of US Invasion Preparations appeared first on MintPress News.

[Category: Behind The Headlines, Daily Digest, Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Inside Stories, Investigations, National, News, The Target, Top Story, Videos, Ansarallah, Iran, Israel, Middle East, MintPress News, Robert Inlakesh, Saudi Arabia, UAE, United States, West Asia, Yemen]

— The Saudi-Israeli War On Yemen’s Resistance: Intelligence Sharing, Civilian Targets & Sectarian Propaganda

 

at 10/2/26 12:20pm

Scrambling to halt the ongoing offensive of Yemen’s Armed Forces, Israel and Saudi Arabia have strengthened ties through a joint covert campaign aimed at salvaging what remains of their supremacy in the Red Sea region. Tel Aviv and Riyadh’s losses of key military strongholds in Yemen’s Western coast, has ushered in a new era of soft-normalisation. Saudi Arabia has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Yemen, resulting in thousands of casualties since its renewed bombing campaign began this July. It now heavily relies on Israeli targeting intelligence backing in order to conduct dozens of strikes across Yemeni territory on a daily basis, including attacks on civilian market places and residential buildings.  Meanwhile, Israeli officials heaped praise on Riyadh this Wednesday for facilitating the first ever commercial flight between Israel and Saudi, following the Kingdom’s intervention to aid Israeli passengers on-board a Flydubai plane that was forced to undergo an emergency landing.  In contrast, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) initiated the renewal of the Saudi-Yemen war, by bombing the runway of Sana’a International Airport in order to prevent an Iranian civilian jetliner from landing inside the country. This measure was taken to enforce a long-standing aerial blockade on Yemen, while Israeli aircraft freely use Saudi airspace. Riyadh’s pivot to the Israeli orbit entails a covertly coordinated campaign centered around Yemen, bearing regional consequences – from joint intelligence operations, target bank sharing, direct meetings between officials and a calibrated propaganda campaign. In early September, Israel’s national broadcaster Kan News reported that Tel Aviv had begun supplying intelligence to aid Saudi Arabia in building up a target bank to strike inside of Yemen. Neither side has any formal diplomatic ties and yet Israel is already aiding Saudi Arabia in the military sphere — a development that would usually be a major regional scandal, yet the primarily Gulf State funded Arabic-language media has all but ignored it. Come mid-September, only days after the Yemeni Armed Forces had liberated the West Coast of their country from Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) militias, Axios News revealed that US Central Command had organised a private Arab-Israeli military retreat in Germany. At the private retreat, both Israeli and Saudi military officials were able to directly discuss issues concerning Iran and Yemen’s Ansarallah-led government. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman recently visited Cairo, formally meeting Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to discuss issues of trade and foreign affairs. On the sidelines of this trip, CENCTOM officials repeatedly presented a proposal to form a regional command structure and coordination mechanism, that would include Israel, in order to properly confront the Ansarallah-led forces in Yemen. Even more damning is that when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Abu Dhabi on September 27, he didn’t only attend a meeting with Emirati-ruler Mohamed bin Zayed – according to Israeli Channel 14 News, Netanyahu also secretly met with a Saudi delegate. While analysts argued over whether the recently signed ‘Mecca Pact’ – between Riyadh, Islamabad and Ankara – was signalling the beginning of ‘Sunni Muslim NATO’, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has instead drifted towards a covert strategic alliance with Israel instead. Collusion between the two leaderships – which between them rule over all three of the Islamic Holy Sites – has reached historic heights. Targeting Civilians And Sectarian Propaganda A notable outcome of Saudi Arabia’s collaboration with Israel, is a marked uptick in the number of reported civilian massacres that have been taking place. The corporate media’s reporting on such attacks have drawn enormous parallels to the way similar strikes were covered in the Gaza Strip. Take for example a recent strike carried out by Saudi fighter jets in the Taiz governorate, which killed at least seven civilians in a market place and destroyed a food storage site. When Reuters reported on the story, they ran with the following headline: “Seven people killed in strike on market in Yemen, Houthi-run health ministry says” Just as the corporate media labelled Gaza’s Ministry of Health as “Hamas-run”, it uses “Houthi-run” in Yemen as a rhetorical tactic to detract from the veracity of the claim being made. In Gaza, Hamas is indeed the political Party that heads the local government of the territory, technically making this linguistic trick somewhat accurate, despite it being clear cut propaganda. However, in the case of Yemen it isn’t even vaguely accurate, as the political Party that controls the government is called Ansarallah, “the Houthis” are a family from northern Yemen. Saudi Airstrikes also targeted other civilian locations such as residential buildings in the Mokha Port area, recently taken over by the Ansarallah-led government’s forces, killing at least 6. While US Central Command has been cited as arguing that Tel Aviv’s targeting data provided to Riyadh is essential, there has been no evidence that the intelligence provided has led to any material change on the battlefield.  It is not currently possible to verify whether the civilian infrastructure struck by Saudi Arabia’s airforce were targets located by Israeli intelligence gathering efforts or not, it is clear that Israel’s own strikes on Yemen have killed overwhelmingly civilians. Both Israel and Saudi Arabia do indeed have shared interests in Yemen. Both seek the overthrow of the nation’s Sana’a based government. The recent capture of the Bab al-Mandab coastline by the Yemeni Armed Forces threatens both Tel Aviv and Riyadh, as they are the only two nations which Sana’a has reason to impose a blockade on. The Yemeni imposed blockade on Israel, beginning in late 2023, completely bankrupted the southern Israeli Port of Eilat. This measure was taken in support of Gaza and the blockade ended with the implementation of the October 8, 2025 ceasefire. In the case of Saudi Arabia, a blockade has been imposed upon them in the Red Sea as a retaliatory measure against the long-standing Saudi blockade of Yemen. This has led to a joint Saudi-Israeli propaganda campaign, seeking to depict the Yemeni control over their own territory as a threat to international maritime navigation and trade, something that Yemen’s officials have explicitly denied A prominent propaganda theme is the weaponisation of religious authorities and the deliberate spread of sectarianism. Take prominent Saudi Islamic Scholar Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Rayez, a man that previously forbade resistance against Israel and condemned the Palestinian armed struggle, urged what he called “Sunni Muslims” to fight the cursers of the companions [of the Prophet Mohammed]” to “race to the great field of martyrdom” against the Yemeni Armed Forces. Al-Rayez promotes factually inaccurate sectarianism, deeming the Sana’a based government as an evil Shia opposition to a righteous Saudi-backed Sunni force.  Saudi Grand Mufti Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan Al-Fawzan also made a rare public statement on the war against Yemen, framing the issue as a religious obligation for Muslims to fight against the Yemeni Armed Forces. Additionally a top Saudi-linked Pakistani cleric, infamous for praising Osama bin Laden as “a Muslim warrior”, deemed Ansarallah to be “terrorists” and claimed that they are not even Muslims. Across Gulf State owned Arabic-language media there has been a virulently anti-Ansarallah coverage of the war, with various pundits attempting to claim that the Zaydi Muslim sect in Yemen are conspiring with Iran to usher in a Shia Muslim tyranny across West Asia; aimed oppressing the Sunni majority. While Saudi Arabia conspires alongside Israel to strike targets across Yemen and its officials meet with their Israeli counterparts, a concerted propaganda effort attempts to convince the region’s public that Riyadh is the victim; weaponising sectarianism as a means of distracting from its continued pivot towards the Israeli sphere of influence.    Robert Inlakesh is a political analyst, journalist and documentary filmmaker currently based in London, UK. He has reported from and lived in the occupied Palestinian territories and hosts the show ‘Palestine Files’. Director of ‘Steal of the Century: Trump’s Palestine-Israel Catastrophe’. Follow him on Twitter @falasteen47 The post The Saudi-Israeli War On Yemen’s Resistance: Intelligence Sharing, Civilian Targets Sectarian Propaganda appeared first on MintPress News.

[Category: Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Foreign Affairs, News, Ansarallah, Israel, Middle East, Red Sea, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Yemen war]

— Iran Seizes US Submarine As Anti-Ship Missiles Inflict Soldier Casualties

 

at 9/29/26 3:28pm

Damning reports confirm dozens of casualties amongst US navy sailors and marines in Iranian attacks this month, as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) seize another American unmanned submarine in the Strait of Hormuz. Mint Press News’ Robert Inlakesh looks at the latest blows dealt to Washington across West Asia in this Monday’s episode of The Target. Nine US marines and a total of twenty-nine sailors have been confirmed injured as a result of the ongoing war on Iran over the past month. What makes these particular figures so significant is that US Central Command is no longer even bothering to engage in tit-for-tat exchanges with the Islamic Republic in order to uphold their image of strength. On The Target stream we look at the emerging reports that US President Donald Trump’s Ministry of War is set to replace their USS George Washington aircraft carrier strike group with the USS Theodore Roosevelt. This comes following Iranian claims that they launched a missile attack that managed to inflict damage to the USS George Washington, along with an accompanying Destroyer. The Israeli media has also been expressing its concern over the withdrawal of American and NATO alliance forces from Iraqi territory, indicating that the lack of US presence could embolden Iraq’s resistance factions who possess weapons capable of striking Tel Aviv. Meanwhile, Iran has been conducting waves of ballistic missile and drone strikes on Israeli-backed Kurdish militant groups in northern Iraq. According to reports, Tehran has conducted over 1,000 strikes on Israeli and US-backed Kurdish militant groups since early March. Iran’s IRGC also seized a modern US surveillance submarine in the Strait of Hormuz. The REMUS 600 was seized through electronic warfare methods, it is the second unmanned submarine seized this month by the Iranian navy. The first was a DIVE-LD submarine, which was a significant loss for the United States navy as it will now be reversed engineered by Iran’s domestic weapons industry. Yemen’s Armed Forces continue to deliver blows to Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities, conducting routine attacks on military targets located near Riyadh itself, as Saudi-proxy forces continue to suffer major defeats on the battlefield. As a result, the impending capture of the strategically important city of Taiz has resulted in Saudi airstrikes on civilian targets in the city. The main road connecting Taiz City to the Saudi-proxy stronghold in Aden has been cut. Following this development, Riyadh decided to conduct airstrikes targeting a civilian market place inside the city itself, taking out food storage sites. Robert Inlakesh looks at how the corporate media covered this story, drawing parallels with the coverage of Israel’s assaults on civilian targets in Gaza. This edition of The Target also covers developments on the Lebanon front, as well as a dive into the issue of sectarian propaganda, while covering the Israeli media revelations regarding a Saudi official meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu in the United Arab Emirates. We provide the historical context underpinning the rise of sectarian violence across West Asia and how it has been used to achieve US-Israeli led regime change efforts. A new campaign seeking to stir up ethnic and religious animosity is now underway, in an attempt to shield both Tel Aviv and Riyadh from accountability. The post Iran Seizes US Submarine As Anti-Ship Missiles Inflict Soldier Casualties appeared first on MintPress News.

[Category: Behind The Headlines, Daily Digest, Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Inside Stories, National, News, The Target, Top Story, Videos, Ansarallah, Hezbollah, Iran, IRGC, Israel, Middle East, MintPress News, Robert Inlakesh, Saudi Arabia, United States, West Asia, Yemen]

— Iran Strikes Mossad Proxies As Yemen Collapses Saudi-Israeli Plot In Dramatic Fashion

 

at 9/25/26 2:15pm

As US President Donald Trump threatens Iran with annihilation, Iranian missiles and drones have been targeting Israeli Mossad proxies, American bases and destroying tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. Washington’s allies in Riyadh are meanwhile suffering enormous losses due to their war on Yemen, which has collapsed a joint project that sought to inflict regime change. In the latest episode of The Target stream, MintPress News’ Robert Inlakesh takes a look at the silent ballistic missile attacks that are being carried out against US bases in Jordan that are no longer even receiving comment from US Central Command. As President Trump’s rhetoric at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) suggested genocidal intent, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been acting preemptively to take out rising threats. With gas prices continuing to go up, hitting working class people in their pockets, the Trump administration is refusing to end the war on Iran and continues to back up Israel at every turn. The US media, on the other hand, is leaking more damning reports about the stunning military failure in the Persian Gulf, exposing that the Navy noted a total of 8 attempted suicides aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also addressed the General Assembly, speaking to an almost empty room as up to 77 nations delegates walked out upon him taking to the podium. During his speech, he played victim while also holding up a prop pager in reference to the Mossad operation carried out against Hezbollah in Lebanon two years ago. Up to 3,000 people were wounded in what the former head of the CIA, Leon Panetta, labelled an act of terrorism. Beyond that, the Israeli Premiers speech was received as weak. Robert Inlakesh notes that two years ago Netanyahu had ordered the assassination of Hezbollah leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah from the United Nations building, while this time around he decided to complain about popular streamer Hasan Piker. Back in Tel Aviv, the Israeli media have been signalling that their aid in targeting the Yemeni Armed Forces could be a stepping stone towards normalisation with Saudi Arabia. Yet, it hasn’t proven a very successful one. Riyadh’s proxy forces in Yemen continue to take a beating, losing more territory by the day, as the Ansarallah-led government in Sana’a vows to deliver more crushing blows to Saudi infrastructure in retaliation for ongoing air strikes. Israel’s presence on the strategic Mayyun Island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait has officially come to an end, as Yemen keeps a close eye on its military buildups in Somaliland and Socotra Island. Last year, the Israeli leadership were presenting their grand plans for regional hegemony to the world, openly discussing the Greater Israel Project, however, the repeated failures of the US-Israeli alliance in their war against Iran and its allies have left them lashing out irrationally with no clear route to victory. The Target stream analyses this growing shift, the change in power dynamics, the footage coming from the battlefield in Yemen and the desperate propaganda of the US empire’s allies. The post Iran Strikes Mossad Proxies As Yemen Collapses Saudi-Israeli Plot In Dramatic Fashion appeared first on MintPress News.

[Category: Behind The Headlines, Daily Digest, Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Inside Stories, Investigations, National, News, The Target, Top Story, Videos, Ansarallah, Hezbollah, Iran, IRGC, Israel, Jordan, Middle East, MintPress News, Mossad, Robert Inlakesh, Saudi Arabia, United States, West Asia, Yemen]

— Revealed: German “Anti-Semitism Expert” Driving Crackdown on Palestine Solidarity is Former Israeli Spy

 

at 9/25/26 10:34am

A Munich-based “anti-Semitism expert” organizing political action helping restrict pro-Palestine protests across Germany is a former Israeli spy, MintPress can reveal.  Since October 7, 2023, Guy Katz, professor of international management at Munich University of Applied Sciences, has become one of the leading figures in German politics on the subject of Israel and anti-Semitism. Katz has founded numerous organizations purporting to fight anti-Semitism, spoke in parliament, and worked with police to help them crack down on anti-Israel speech. He is, however, reportedly a former spy for Israeli intelligence outfit, the Mossad—something that is never disclosed in the widespread coverage and amplification he receives in German and international media.  MintPress News explores this operation.  Anti-Semitism Kaiser Since October 2023, Guy Katz has emerged as one of the most influential political actors in Germany on the question of Israel/Palestine, founding numerous pressure groups and working with authorities to crush opposition to genocide, all under the guise of fighting anti-Semitism.   Earlier this year, he founded “Anti-Semitism? Not in My Name!” – a cross-party organization aimed at stamping out Jewish hatred across Germany. Katz has managed to enlist every major party in the Bavarian State Parliament, with the exception of the fascist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) Party, who were barred from joining. (This, despite the AfD’s strong support for Israel). The group aims to make philo-Semitism extremely visible and send a message to the whole country. “Many are against anti-Semitism, but too few make their stance visible. This campaign makes taking a stand part of everyday life, Katz explained.  Anti-Semitism Without Me builds upon the work of Dach Gegen Hass (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland Against Hate), an alliance of over 200 organizations, and the Munich branch of Run For Their Lives, a group that organizes marches demanding the release of Israeli prisoners from Gaza, both of which Katz founded or co-founded.  On October 6, 2024, he also planned and led a large rally in solidarity with Israel in Munich, an action that brought 30,000 people together to denounce Hamas and anti-Semitic violence.  Katz’s activism has led to him being invited into the halls of German power. Last year, he addressed the Bavarian parliament, lecturing them on anti-Semitism and telling them explicitly, “Never again is now.” He now works with the police and with universities in Germany, developing training programs to instruct them on how to best eliminate what he identifies as Jew hatred.  In October 2025, he hosted an event in Munich commemorating the second anniversary of the October 7 attacks. There, he interviewed Naftali Bennett, the former Israeli prime minister who has strongly supported the Israeli Defense Forces’ (IDF) actions in Gaza and has participated in numerous war crimes. Katz, however, declared himself “impressed” by the politician.  Katz is constantly quoted in media, both German, Israeli, and also the international press, who universally accept his self-appointed designation as an anti-Semitism expert.  In short, it is difficult to overemphasize how influential he has been in the debate around Israel and the supposed explosion of anti-Semitism in Germany.  Throughout his tireless activism, his message is clear: the primary threat comes not from the fascist right (who, less than a century ago, carried out a genocidal extermination campaign against Jewish people across Europe), but from the left. “I believe that left-wing extremism and Islamist extremism are far more dangerous for us Jews,” he told local newspaper, Jüdische Allgemeine, claiming that the situation for German Jews today is “very similar” to the lead-up to World War Two, thanks to the threat the left poses.  He decried a German court’s ruling not to ban a pro-Palestine march at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, claiming that it was “blatantly anti-Semitic” because it “incites hatred towards Israel,” by engaging in “the original form of anti-Semitism”: alleging that Israel is killing Palestinian babies and stealing organs from their victims.  In this case, however, it is not a blood libel, but an established fact. Israel has a long and well-documented recent history of organ theft, and has killed more than 20,000 Palestinian children in the past three years, over 1,000 of whom were infants under the age of one.  One particular person of the left that Katz has singled out is Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who, in 2025, was abducted by Israeli special forces while trying to deliver lifesaving aid to Gaza.  Katz simultaneously rejects the categorization of Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide while asserting that Hamas has committed a genocide against Christians and intends to carry out another “until all Jews are annihilated.” In a public video, he insists that Israel’s attacks on schools and hospitals are justifiable because Hamas was hiding weapons there, and refers to the people of Gaza (including children) as “so-called innocents” and “so-called civilians.” On the other hand, Katz has singled out President Donald Trump for unique praise, describing him as “the architect of peace” in the Middle East.  Spy Games  Guy Katz moved to Germany in 2004 and has built a successful career, now teaching conflict resolution, management, negotiation, and strategy at Munich University of Applied Sciences. What he does not adequately disclose in his political activism and his media interviews are the details of his pre-German past. That is because Guy Katz is a former Mossad spy.  In a lecture he gave at the University of Nairobi in 2023, before he became nationally known as one of the chief pro-Israel activists in Germany, he reportedly revealed that he is a former secret agent with the infamous spying agency.  During the lecture, he gave details about the adage that “former” spies never truly leave the business of espionage. Katz told those attending, the university wrote on its official website, that Mossad has “learned the art of releasing an agent.” “He stated that in the military and secret service, there is a department that caters for retired security officers,” an admission that raises the question of how much contact former Mossad operatives have with the organization.  This assertion appears to be corroborated by Katz’s profile on Expert Marketplace, a digital booking platform for public speakers. Katz notes that one of his lecture topics is called “Communicating Like a Mossad Agent”—a presentation that is “based on real stories and shows what managers can learn from them.” In other profiles, he is listed as a former IDF intelligence officer, a designation that hints at his possible involvement with controversial group Unit 8200.  The reason this past is problematic is that these organizations have a long history of carrying out espionage, psychological operations, terror attacks, and targeted killings around the world, even in allied countries.  Mossad executed a series of assassinations of Iranian scientists involved in the country’s nuclear energy program, while both it and Unit 8200 have been identified as behind the 2024 Lebanese Pager Attack, an incident near-universally decried as an act of terror that injured thousands of civilians.  Unit 8200, meanwhile, is the centerpiece of Israel’s hi-tech surveillance and digital warfare operation. The elite group handles Israel’s cyberwarefare, hacking, and influence operations. Its “former” agents were, for example, behind the creation and distribution of the notorious Pegasus app. Pegasus is a piece of software that was used to hack into and spy on more than 50,000 prominent individuals worldwide, including journalists, human rights leaders, activists, and politicians (including European heads of state). Pegasus gave the Israeli intelligence services backdoors into the devices of all those affected, allowing them to spy on dozens of countries at once.  It is surely relevant that a member of this sort of organization is leading a pressure campaign aimed at prohibiting pro-Palestine speech in Germany.  Destroying Democracy to Defend a Genocide The German establishment, including all major parties, has offered virtually unqualified endorsement for Israel and its actions in Gaza. This support has included signing a military collaboration and cooperation agreement, and the sale of nearly $1 billion in weapons in the first five months of 2026 alone. The most significant transaction was the delivery of a German-made Dolphin II-class attack submarine, delivered to Tel Aviv in July.  This elite wall-to-wall solidarity is in stark contrast to the general population. A 2025 YouGov survey found widespread revulsion with Israel, with eight times as many Germans holding highly negative views of the country as highly positive ones. In total, only 21% of the public see Israel in a positive light (including only 4% highly positive), with with 65% displaying open opposition (including 32% who strongly dislike it). Another recent poll found that 62% of all voters believe Israel is carrying out a genocide in Gaza. When taking out those who said they did not know or did not answer, nearly four-in-five Germans responded that they considered Israel’s actions genocidal.  Germany has seen widespread pro-Palestine actions across the country, but they have been met with force from authorities. Thousands have been arrested, while images of masked riot police brutalizing non-violent protestors across the country regularly go viral.  The German state has moved to effectively criminalize pro-Palestine speech and protest, under the rubric of Staatsräson, or Reasons of State, a doctrine that claims that commitment to Israeli security is a non-negotiable and unquestionable pillar of the German state. In 2024, in response to the growing wave of unrest, the government passed a law requiring those applying for German citizenship to swear what amounts to a loyalty oath to Israel and Zionism, acknowledging the state’s “right to exist.” More than 9,000 criminal charges were registered at pro-Palestine protests in Berlin alone in the first 18 months after the October 7 attacks. Numerous Palestinian or pro-Palestine groups have been outlawed, as have popular chants, such as “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” The reaction from authorities, arguably the toughest in Europe, has drawn bitter condemnation from the United Nations, and from groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, who have highlighted issues such as state-sanctioned discrimination against Muslims, and soft bans on symbols of resistance, such as keffiyehs.  Israel itself has identified Germany as a key battleground in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls the country’s eighth front: the battle for Western public opinion. To that end, it has spent vast sums targeting the country with German-language messaging extolling Israel, and comparing Hamas to ISIS and other terrorist groups, a 2025 MintPress News investigation found.  Israel and the pro-Israel lobby are trying hard to conflate any opposition to its actions in Gaza, Lebanon, and beyond as akin to terrorism and anti-Semitism. Katz and his campaign are a major part of this. But whether they will succeed in stemming the wave of pro-Palestine sympathy remains to be seen. The post Revealed: German “Anti-Semitism Expert” Driving Crackdown on Palestine Solidarity is Former Israeli Spy appeared first on MintPress News.

[Category: Daily Digest, Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Inside Stories, Front Page: National, Investigations, Nation, National, News, Top Story]

— Iran Launches Surprise Attacks On US Bases As Trump Covers Up Soldier Casualties

 

at 9/23/26 8:06am

Iran’s IRGC has been striking various US targets and an average of two to three tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on a daily basis, as gas prices hit working class Americans where it hurts. On this episode of The Target stream, Mint Press News’ Robert Inlakesh explains how these blows have been compounded by revelations that the Pentagon is concealing its Iran War casualties. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) carried out another ballistic missile attack against what they would later state was a US military base in Jordan, in the latest edition of The Target we cover the story before it was officially announced and put it together with a broader series of strikes on American military targets that are no longer even being acknowledged by US Central Command. Tehran’s preemptive operations are not receiving much attention in the corporate media, despite visual confirmation of them occurring, alongside on the ground reports and later confirmations from Iranian military officials. Combined with the fact that multiple vessels are being targeted in the Strait of Hormuz by the IRGC’s naval forces on a daily basis, this spells a new regional equation. So long as the Iranian attacks are not on a larger scale as to demand a response, the US military is simply pretending as if they are not happening at all. The previously announced equation was that Iran’s civilian infrastructure would be targeted each and every time a tanker is struck in the Persian Gulf. Compounding the US’s declining hegemony and military embarrassments have been reports that the Pentagon has deliberately hid the deaths of a number of American military personnel. According to a bombshell report from the Washington Post, five sources who are familiar with the US’s casualty figures claimed that they knew about four deaths that were not publicly registered by the Pentagon, an additional source said that number could be five. Meanwhile, gas prices are burdening working class Americans who are growing increasingly frustrated with the Trump administration’s mismanagement of the economy. A Reuters/Ipsos Poll, published this Monday, found that only 17% of US citizens say that they are happy with the federal governments management of the economy. Although it has remained largely out of the mainstream spotlight, Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen continues to backfire as it faces new rounds of ballistic missile and drone strikes against their oil infrastructure. The Yemeni Armed Forces continue to liberate territory from Saudi-proxy forces, as airstrikes based upon intelligence granted to Riyadh by officials in Tel Aviv have resulted in a growing number of civilian massacres. Also on the stream, Robert Inlakesh takes an in depth look at the Lebanon front and what its weapons arsenal could mean during the upcoming regional escalation, analysing the Israeli predicament on southern Lebanese occupied lands. Hezbollah had proven it possessed a large range of weapons during its 2024 war with Israel. In 2026, the Party has chosen not to use its strategic arsenal so far, indicating that it is following a carefully calibrated escalation ladder. The post Iran Launches Surprise Attacks On US Bases As Trump Covers Up Soldier Casualties appeared first on MintPress News.

[Category: Behind The Headlines, Daily Digest, Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Inside Stories, Investigations, National, News, The Target, Top Story, Videos, Ansarallah, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Middle East, MintPress News, Robert Inlakesh, United States, US-Israel War on Iran, West Asia, Yemen]

— Robert Kraft: The Billionaire Friend of Netanyahu Pulling The Strings Behind the Macklemore/Ed Sheeran Blow Up

 

at 9/17/26 10:37am

The world of pop culture is ablaze with fury, as billionaire plutocrat Robert Kraft successfully pressured Ed Sheeran into dropping Macklemore from his North American tour over the rapper’s pro-Palestine statements.  The incident has ignited widespread outrage, and blown up in the Israel Lobby’s face, and caused all of his supporting artists to quit in protest, and brought worldwide attention to both Israel’s crimes and its attempts to silence dissent across the world.  But who is Robert Kraft? MintPress exposes the American oligarch’s funding of the pro-Israel Lobby, the network of organizations he has built to shut down pro-Palestine activism, and his extremely close personal, political, and financial relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself.  Netanyahu’s Right-Hand Man “Israel does not have a more loyal friend than Robert Kraft,” Benjamin Netanyahu stated at the 2019 Genesis Prizes, an Israeli government-backed ceremony that honors prominent individuals (such as Kraft) that have advanced Jewish or Israeli interests with a $1 million prize.  Netanyahu is right. The 85-year-old American businessman and owner of the New England Patriots NFL franchise has dedicated his entire life to advancing the Zionist cause. Kraft married his wife in Israel in 1962 and has made well over 100 trips to the country since, including leading dozens of P.R. missions there, bringing a host of celebrities and sports stars with him. Kraft not only maintains a close personal friendship with Netanyahu, he very likely funded his political rise. His name appears on the “Netanyahu’s Millionaires” document – a leaked, handwritten list penned by the prime minister himself, detailing his wealthiest patrons and those he could most steadfastly rely on to bankroll his political career. Ninety-eight percent of Netanyahu’s funding came from abroad.  When it comes to American politics, Kraft is no less influential, using his monetary power to push the Israeli agenda in Washington. In addition to directly funding Donald Trump, he has spent vast sums bankrolling virtually every group constituting the U.S. Israel Lobby, including:  The American Friends of the Israel Museum The American Friends of the Yitzhak Rabin Center The American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA) The Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces The Israel Project The Jewish Agency for Israel The Jewish National Fund StandWithUs Robert Kraft, in other words, is the Israel Lobby. Israel’s Big Money Backer He also personally created the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS), an extremely well-funded group that purports to be an anti-racist non-profit fighting prejudice across the country. Upon closer inspection, however, it becomes clear that the FCAS is simply another pro-Israel group using the language of anti-racism to crush grassroots opposition to Israeli actions abroad.  Firstly, many of its key figures are former Israeli officials or lobbyists. For example, the organization’s Director of Partnerships and Strategy, Clara Schwartz, previously served as a secretary to multiple Israeli Ambassadors to the United States. Meanwhile, Maya Buki Dabby, FCAS’ Chief Philanthropy Officer, is the former director of AIPAC, the principal Israel lobbying institution in the United States. Secondly, the FCAS equates anti-Zionism as in the same bracket as support for or denial of the Holocaust, one of the many reasons why its in-house “antisemitism tracker” notes a massive spike in incidents in recent years.   It is difficult to overstate how well-funded and polished this operation is. In one December 2023 pledge alone, Kraft donated $100 million to the organization. Today, Kraft’s Gillette Stadium – which was to host the Sheeran/Macklemore concert until he personally intervened – is home to an enormous command center where vast numbers of staff track anti-Israel, pro-Palestine sentiment across the world and on social media. Critics have dubbed the institution a “massive Zionist surveillance and propaganda center inside Gillette Stadium.” The FCAS has spent enormous amounts of money on high-profile pro-Israel advertising campaigns, including producing numerous ads played during successive Super Bowls. One 2024 commercial features Clarence B. Jones, the former advisor to Martin Luther King, who drafted his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Jones’ message is that there is a growing tidal wave of racist intolerance in America. Not from the likes of Trump (who Kraft donated $1 million to in 2017), but against Jews. The commercial ends by telling viewers to reject anti-Semitism and visit the FCAS project, StandUpToJewishHate.com.   The next year, it was back with another Super Bowl ad, this time featuring Snoop Dogg bemoaning the rise in “hatred,” which, in context, is a reference to opposition to the State of Israel’s policies in West Asia. Numerous commenters quipped that this was the most embarrassing thing the celebrity rapper has ever done for money.  As their content suggests, the commercials were part of a wider FCAS attempt to target black Americans, who are, according to polls, far less likely to support Israel’s genocide and more likely to side with Palestine than the general population. The FCAS, in their own words, see these efforts as part of their plan to “develop social change initiatives and continuously improve the Black-Jewish alliance.”  Silencing Critics of Apartheid Another way in which Kraft has attempted to shape U.S. politics is by trying to keep pro-Palestine voices out of Congress by funding right-wing Democrats standing against progressives and advocates for justice in Palestine. In 2021, for example, he donated to little-known but staunchly pro-Israel candidate Shontel Brown in her contentious face-off for Ohio’s 11th congressional district against Nina Turner, a democratic socialist, national co-chair of Bernie Sanders’ 2020 election campaign, and an outspoken critic of Israel’s policies. Vast amounts of pro-Israel money flowed into Brown’s campaign, helping her to defeat Turner. In her acceptance speech, Brown praised Israel and later thanked the Jewish community for “help[ing] me get over the finish line.” Kraft has also given money to pro-Israel Democrats, including David Cicilline; Juan Vargas; Ted Deutch; Jake Auchincloss and Ritchie Torres. His actions, donations and public pronouncements have drawn condemnation from some who have followed them. Sports journalist Dave Zirin, for example, wrote that: “He appears to think that any criticism of Israel is inherently antisemitic. For Kraft, it is Jews like myself, rabbis, and Holocaust survivors calling for a ceasefire and a free Palestine that are part of the problem. And Kraft seems to think that opposition to Israel, the IDF, and the AIPAC agenda is antisemitism.” Kraft has been just as ruthless against student opponents of genocide. Amid unprecedented nationwide campus protests for Palestine in 2023 and 2024 (in which estimated 10% of all U.S. students actively participated) the billionaire worked both publicly and privately to crush them.  The epicenter of this movement was Columbia University, where students occupied buildings and set up encampments calling for an end to the college’s complicity in Israeli actions. An angry Kraft sprang into action, publicly announcing that he was cutting the university off from his lavish funding due to its failure to suppress the protests effectively enough. “I am deeply saddened at the virulent hate that continues to grow on campus and throughout our country,” he said in a statement, claiming that Columbia was not protecting its Jewish students. The turning point, Kraft said, was watching a publicity stunt by Shai Davidai, an Israeli-American academic at Columbia, who claimed his access to campus was revoked. Davidai had previously called the student protestors “Nazis” and “terrorists” and called for the National Guard to be set upon the encampment, obliquely referencing the Kent State University Massacre while doing so. Kraft is one of Columbia’s most important donors, giving the institution millions of dollars, including a single $3 million donation to fund the Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life. He also vented his frustration on MSNBC, denouncing students taking part as supporters of terrorism. “It’s horrible to me that a group like Hamas can be respected and people in the United States of America can be carrying flags or supporting them … Hamas is preaching the eradication of all Jewish people from the Earth” he said.  In the end, Kraft got his wish, and the protests were ruthlessly stamped out in actions that made headlines across the world. Hundreds of students were arrested, dozens were expelled, and some of its ringleaders were abducted by ICE and faced deportation.  A Coward Choosing Between Two Different Types of Cowardice Kraft and the Israel Lobby have been able to cut down the flowers, but they have not been able to keep the spring from coming. Nationwide disillusionment with Israel and sympathy with Palestine continues to grow, and has manifested in popular culture, including with big acts like Macklemore, who have spoken out against the ongoing genocide. Tens of thousands of impressionable fans heard the rapper speak up every night.  But, like with the Columbia protests, Kraft (with an estimated net worth of over $15 billion) found a way to use his influence to shut down pro-Palestine activism. He organized his fellow stadium owners into intimidating Sheeran, presenting him with an ultimatum: either drop Macklemore from the tour, or be blocked from performing at their stadiums.  In a statement, Kraft described Macklemore’s actions as “deeply offensive” and insinuated – like he did with the Columbia protestors – that he supports terrorist organizations. The ultimatum was presented as a necessary response to stop anti-Semitism. The fact that many of these same stadiums are currently hosting and promoting the tour of Ye (aka Kanye West), a self-identified Nazi who recently released the song, “Heil Hitler,” casts doubt on this sincerity, however.  Kraft leant in to his personal relationship with Sheeran, who attended and even played at his 2022 wedding.  The English pop star immediately folded, agreeing to throw Macklemore under the tour bus. On Tuesday, he released a bizarre, inaccurate, and much panned statement on Instagram explaining his actions – one that has been widely characterized as a spineless post hoc justification for capitulation. Sheeran’s statement begins with a literal both-sidesing of the genocide. “I am appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The suffering and pain caused on both sides is a human tragedy,” he wrote, suggesting the level of violence and distress is somehow equal.  He then went out of his way to distance himself from Macklemore  – his close friend of 13 years – claiming that the rapper was only appearing with him because “he asked to join my tour last year and I agreed.” He described Macklemore’s activism as mere “shouting,” before adding that, “If we only focus on shouting the loudest, nothing will ever change.” His statement almost hinted at a relief or an approval that Macklemore was gone, noting that his own music was about “bring[ing] people from all backgrounds and cultures together,” and that “those who come to my shows do not expect a political forum.” “I do not use my professional platform for politics,” he concluded.  This, however, is clearly untrue. He filmed the music video for his song, “2Step” in Ukraine, and subsequently released a remix in collaboration with local group, Antytila, whose members are actively serving in the Ukrainian military. He has appeared on stage carrying an enormous Ukrainian flag and raised money for various Ukrainian charities.  The difference between Ukraine and Palestine, of course, is that with the former, virtually the entire Western establishment supports it, rendering it safe and “apolitical.” Sheeran has also publicly endorsed the Labour Party on multiple occasions, slammed the Conservative U.K. government for their handling of Brexit, and urged Congress to pass pro-LGBT legislation.  Furthermore, he has not even been absent on the Israel/Palestine issue, and has allowed himself to be used in official Israeli government propaganda. In September 2024, he met with Noa Argamani, an Israeli captured by Hamas during the October 7 attacks. The meeting, and Sheeran’s smiling face, was posted to the State of Israel’s official social media channels, with no public pushback from the singer.  Sheeran also tried to wash his hands of any agency in the matter, insisting that, “Macklemore coming off the tour was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine. Macklemore’s contract for the tour was with the promoter, not me.” Thus, he presents himself as a powerless bystander in the affair, as if, in his position as the headline act and a global superstar, he could not have stood up for his friend and co-worker if he was inclined to.  Anticipating that some might challenge this, Sheeran presented the act as a fait accompli, and insisted that he was morally obligated to continue, as a service to all the other poor artists on the tour whose livelihoods depended on its continuation. “I would never let down the fans who had made plans, nor would I abandon the touring crew and the other support acts and musicians who rely on me for work and to make a living,” he explained.  This seemingly courageous decision was quickly undermined however, as every single support act – four separate acts plus Sheeran’s own live band – announced in unison that they would be pulling out of the tour in solidarity with Macklemore and the Palestinian people. This, despite the fact that few of them have even 0.1% of the estimated $400 million net worth of Sheeran.  Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed, said Finneas. Meanwhile, Beoga condemned what they described as “the silencing of Macklemore by Zionist lobbies.” Sheeran appeared to try to head off any accusations by personally and publicly absolving himself, concluding that: “I am not complicit. I have my personal views on this devastating conflict. Just because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn’t mean I don’t have them, and it doesn’t mean I don’t care. Nor does it mean I don’t support causes in my own, personal way.” Yet the statements of the support artists all made clear that it was precisely because they felt their inaction would make them complicit in Israel’s crimes, hence their decision to withdraw from the tour.  Standing Up For What Is Right Sheeran’s much-mocked statement stands in stark contrast to Macklemore’s, which has been praised for its graciousness, even describing Sheeran as a “friend” and a “brother,” despite Sheeran’s notable coolness to him, and his decision to betray him. First of all, he states, “I am not a victim. Ed Sheeran is not a victim,” adding: “The victims are the Palestinian people. The men, women and children who have been killed, starved, displaced and forced to live through unimaginable violence. More than 20,000 children have been killed in Gaza alone. People are being killed today, and people will be killed tomorrow. I want to make sure that as I tell this story, we don’t lose sight of that.” Even as he explained Sheeran’s treachery, Macklemore was magnanimous, and made excuses for his behavior. “Ed was in a fucked up position,” he said, noting that “He told me that the words ‘Free Palestine’ and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with [i.e. Kraft].” Indeed, Sheeran comes off across better in Macklemore’s statement than he does his own.  Sheeran told him that he “doesn’t take sides.” Macklemore, however, explained that: “[T]here is no neutral position between the oppressor and the oppressed. When one side has the bombs and bottomless financial and military support from America, refusing to take a side doesn’t leave you in the middle.” The rapper also succinctly explained exactly why pro-Israel billionaires like Kraft fear him and his cultural power so much. “If I kept doing the shows, saying Free Palestine, with Ed implicitly supporting it, the crowd getting loud and showing undeniable support for Palestinian liberation, what artist might speak out next? The stage becomes resistance. Maybe that’s why this time it became so important to silence me.” A Tipping Point For now, Sheeran’s decision to appease Kraft and the Israel Lobby appears to have completely backfired – for both parties. Sheeran has gone viral for the wrong reasons, with dozens of parody songs mocking his actions. Having lost every supporting artist (including his own live band), his tour is in a shambles, and he faces the prospect of having to fill a multi-hour show with nothing but himself and a guitar.  In effect, then, in one fell swoop, he has nuked his own tour, destroyed his credibility and his “good guy” reputation, and stabbed his longtime friend in the back, all to appease an octogenarian Zionist Epstein-adjacent billionaire.  The issue has escaped contagion from the mere political realm and has shot to prominence to become the number one trending story worldwide, with pop stars from across the planet weighing in on Sheeran’s perceived obsequiousness to power. In Ireland, a country Sheeran strongly associates with due to his heritage, the phrase “He’s English” trended on social media – a measure of the widespread rejection the singer is facing. “Ed Sheeran should never feel welcome in Ireland ever again,” ran the headline of one article in The Irish Mirror.  The acts who did withdraw, however, are gaining massive new followings online, while other artists have already been emboldened by the incident to speak up for Palestine on stage.  Kraft, meanwhile, openly played his hand and tried to use his influence as a power play. Never has there been a clearer example that pro-Israel billionaires really do control our media and culture, and attempt to suppress free speech.  And the fact that Ye is performing at many of the same venues Macklemore is banned from makes it more obvious than ever that this has nothing to do with anti-Semitism. In effect, then, Kraft has Streisanded himself in order to stop a few pro-Palestine messages slipping through. He may have been able to suppress college protestors, but he did not count on the pushback from the music community, who have elevated his actions into international headlines.  In an effort to stem the torrent of bad publicity, Kraft announced that he and Sheeran would donate millions to unspecified aid efforts in the Middle East “region.” But without specifying even a destination country for the money, let alone an organization, this was immediately publicly interpreted as another cash transfer to Israel under the guise of helping Palestinians.  Ultimately, what this story underlines is that power operates best when it is hidden in the shadows. Kraft, however, has inadvertently shone a worldwide spotlight on his own operations, on Israel’s crimes, and on how pro-Israel billionaires silence free speech in the U.S. His miscalculation risks becoming a monumental cultural tipping point where pro-Palestine activism goes truly mainstream, and supporting Israel becomes untenable.    Alan Macleod Alan MacLeod is Senior Staff Writer for MintPress News. He completed his PhD in 2017 and has since authored two acclaimed books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent, as well as a number of academic articles. He has also contributed to FAIR.org, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, and Common Dreams. Follow Alan on Twitter for more of his work and commentary: @AlanRMacLeod. The post Robert Kraft: The Billionaire Friend of Netanyahu Pulling The Strings Behind the Macklemore/Ed Sheeran Blow Up appeared first on MintPress News.

[Category: Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Inside Stories, Front Page: National, Investigations, National, News, Top Story]

— Iran Targets US Warships In Shock Clashes Ongoing In Strait Of Hormuz-Saudi Gas Pipeline Eliminated

 

at 9/15/26 3:12pm

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) continue to target US vessels and tankers violating the Strait of Hormuz blockade, as its advanced weapons program has aided its allies in Yemen to become the regions second most feared ballistic missile power. On this episode of The Target Mint Press News’ Robert Inlakesh looks at the latest developments inflicting major blows on the international oil market. After managing to capture the entire West Coast of Yemen last week, the Ansarallah-led government’s forces continue to close in on the strategically important cities of Marib and Taiz, largely considered the stepping stones to a takeover of Aden in the south. If the Yemeni Armed Forces succeed, they could either advance upon or negotiate to seize control of the most vital Port City currently under the control of Saudi Arabia’s proxy forces. The city of Aden, if it falls into the hands of the Ansarallah-led government, will mean the de facto end of the Saudi-Yemen war that has been raging on since 2015. Already, the liberation of all the key islands and territory surrounding the Bab al-Mandab Strait, has spooked the Israeli leadership in Tel Aviv. According to Israeli Hebrew media reports, Tel Aviv has not only been aiding Saudi Arabia with intelligence and targeting data, but is also considering being part of a joint air campaign against the Yemeni Armed Forces. Israeli media pundits and security officials have been repeatedly stressing the need to push Yemen’s Army away from Bab al-Mandab, arguing that their newly acquired ability to close it with such ease could have catastrophic consequences on them. In this Monday’s edition of The Target, we also run through the latest footage surfacing from the battles raging on inside Yemen, including documentation of the capture of Mokha and other coastal cities. Robert Inlakesh runs us through the consequences of the ongoing retaliatory ballistic missile strikes on Saudi Arabia’s military and oil infrastructure. The vital East-West Pipeline has been at least temporarily severed after extensive attacks on at least three separate pumping stations, integral to the pipelines function, one of which was totally destroyed. Without this pipeline, Riyadh is unable to export any gas via the Red Sea. Yemen’s government in Sana’a previously announced a counter-blockade on Saudi ports, which dramatically reduced the export of oil through the Red Sea, now this process of cutting off some 6 million barrels per day of oil exports has been completed. Yet, it is not just Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure that is taking repeated hits, burdening the already struggling global oil market, its air bases are consistently being saturated with drone and missile salvos. According to Citi Research, the projections for the price of oil is that they will rise to roughly $150 a barrel, if the attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz persist. So far, the United States has strayed away from directly participating in Riyadh’s war this time around, however, if US President Donald Trump chooses to back up his Israeli allies further down the line then the Bab al-Mandab Strait could also be closed, triggering an even sharper rise in gas prices. The Target Stream also focuses on the excuses being provided for the current US-backed administration in Damascus that is facing nationwide protests. Demonstrations in Syria have reached a peak that has not been witnessed since the reign of deposed President Bashar al-Assad. Protesters initially reacted to a 40% spike in the price of diesel overnight, yet have escalated the complaints and are now focusing on various other elements of Syria’s ever declining economy. The post Iran Targets US Warships In Shock Clashes Ongoing In Strait Of Hormuz-Saudi Gas Pipeline Eliminated appeared first on MintPress News.

[Category: Behind The Headlines, Daily Digest, Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Foreign Affairs, Front Page: Inside Stories, Investigations, National, News, The Target, Top Story, Videos, Ansarallah, Iran, Israel, Jordan, MintPress News, Robert Inlakesh, United States, US-Israel War on Iran, West Asia, Yemen]

As of 11/8/26 2:26am. Last new 10/24/26 3:53pm.