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Star of David

Trump official tells The Grayzone: CIA's Ratcliffe acts as 'Mossad stenographer' on Iran

Max Blumenthal and Anya Parampil
The Grayzone
Sat, 21 Jun 2025 20:56 UTC
ratcliffe israel agent
© The GrayzoneCIA Director John Ratcliffe
A Trump official tells The Grayzone that Israel's Mossad is using CIA Director John Ratcliffe and US CENTCOM's Gen. Michael Kurilla to influence Trump with cooked intelligence on Iran's nuclear program. Inside the White House, dissenters have been isolated, setting the stage for a regime change war that could cost American lives.

An official in the administration of President Donald Trump has told The Grayzone that CIA Director John Ratcliffe and US CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Kurilla have become vehicles for Israel's Mossad and military as they seek to manipulate the US into attacking Iran. The Trump official referred to Ratcliffe as "Mossad's stenographer."

According to the official, Ratcliffe and Kurilla have pressured Trump to join Israel's war more directly by regurgitating overblown briefings they received from the Israeli military and Mossad director David Barnea - but without informing the president that the intelligence was derived from a foreign third party.
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Attention

USA vs. Iran: the violence gets real. Or does it?

Alex Krainer
Alex Krainer's Substack
Mon, 23 Jun 2025 17:35 UTC
US vs Iran
© Alex Krainer's Substack
On Sunday, 22 June we woke up to the surreal news that US President ordered an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, including Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan. While a few analysts said this was coming imminently (one of them was Lt. Col. Douglas Macgregor), I did not expect that this and said in a recent podcast interview that we might see an attack, but that it could be a fake one, orchestrated for a media blitz while inflicting minimal or no damage to Iran.

I'm not sure whether the attacks were real or fake, but it does appear that the "minimal or no damage" part is, in fact, the case. Former US Marine and UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter tweeted in the immediate aftermath of the attacks that the attack was, "
"An act of theater. Trump's big mouth had boxed him into a corner. Iran wouldn't play his game. So he had to bomb Iran to save face. He bombed two empty facilities that had been previously struck by Israel. And he bounced six bombs off an indestructible facility (Firdos), claiming destruction despite the opposite being the case. That's it. A "contained" strike. A nothing burger."
Later in the day, Ritter gave an interview on Judge Andrew Napolitano's podcast providing more details about what the attacks achieved. Ritter maintains that they had no impact on Iran's uranium enrichment facilities. While US strikes left a few holes in the ground and damaged one exit and one entrance (out of five or six) to Fordow nuclear program facility, they did not destroy the stockpiles of 60% enriched Uranium which can be weaponized in relatively short order.

Rather than disarming Iran, the attacks might tip Iran across the line to go from being nuclear threshold state to being a nuclear state. The full 32-min. interview is below:

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Russian Flag

No justification for attack on Iran - Putin


RT
Mon, 23 Jun 2025 10:00 UTC
Russian President Vladimir Putin.
© Sputnik/Vyacheslav ProkofievRussian President Vladimir Putin.
The Israeli and US strikes against Tehran are "illegitimate" and violate international law, according to the Russian president

Israeli and US hostilities against Iran are groundless and unjustifiable, Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Comment:
From the same source:
Putin meets Iranian FM as Middle East conflict rages:LIVE UPDATES
10:17 GMT
The president noted that he was glad to see Araghchi in Moscow, saying that his visit would allow Russia and Iran "to discuss these pressing issues and jointly think about a way out of the current situation."
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi shake hands before a meeting at the Kremlin
© Sputnik / Sergei KarpukhinRussian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi shake hands before a meeting at the Kremlin
See also this string among the latest news: It may be too early to say exactly where this is going, but Iran is not necessarily a pushover like Iraq, Libya or Syria, as some in Washington, Tel Aviv etc may hope, so we will have to wait an see.

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SOTT Logo Radio

SOTT Focus: NewsReal: Trump's 'Surprise' Strike on Iran: It's NOT About Nukes


Sott.net
Sun, 22 Jun 2025 21:05 UTC
trump bombs iran newsreal
© Sott.net
The wave function of Trump's endless 'dancing' ("maybe tomorrow, maybe in two weeks!") about whether or not the US military would directly strike Iran's nuclear sites has collapsed. But was yesterday's "obliteration of Iran's nuclear program" really "a spectacular success"? Is this the opening act in direct war between the US and Iran? In the meantime, Iran continues sending wave after wave of missiles into Israel...

This week on NewsReal, we look behind the bloviating propaganda and the official narratives to explore the real motives - for both Israel and the US - to "regime change" Iran and "secure the Middle East."


Running Time: 02:13:12

Download: MP3 — 122 MB

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Attention

So, the US just bombed Iran...

Kit Knightly
Off-Guardian
Sun, 22 Jun 2025 18:39 UTC
Iran
© Off-Guardian
Less than an hour ago, President Donald Trump announced that the US Air Force had conducted "targeted strikes" on Iranian nuclear sites.
Don's Post
© Off-Guardian
He's addressing the nation as I type this...

For Iran's part, they are claiming the Fordow nuclear facility was barely damaged and "evacuated months ago".
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Star of David

MAGA's Civil War: Who dares to take on the Israel lobby?

Tarik Cyril Amar
RT
Tue, 17 Jun 2025 13:18 UTC
Bannon
© Andrew Harnik/Getty ImagesSteve Bannon • Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) • February 20, 2025 • Oxon Hill, Maryland
Prominent conservative figures are calling on Donald Trump to stay out of the Israel-Iran war, but is it the rebellion it seems to be?

Steve Bannon - stubborn, irrepressible, and very smart right/far-right public intellectual and once ally, chief strategist, and bestie of US President Donald Trump - is back in the news. And in a way that speaks to much more than the ups and downs, ins and outs of US elite careers.

Because the hill he is fighting on this time is resistance to the US waging another all-around devastating war in the Middle East in the service of Israel and its powerful lobby in America.

Bannon, make no mistake, is not taking a de facto - if still all too limited - stand against Israel because of its apartheid, genocide, and wars of aggression. He ought to, obviously, especially as a man flaunting his Christian belief. (From one sort-of-Roman-Catholic to another, Steve: Our Lord Jesus Christ really didn't like the child killers, and I am pretty sure he would have found the lingerie-camouflage cross-dressers with machine guns rather off-putting, too.)
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Explosion

US has bombed nuclear sites in Iran - Trump


RT
Sat, 21 Jun 2025 23:58 UTC
The bomb
© US Air Force/APUSAF • A GBU-57 • the Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb
The US president has announced a "successful" raid on Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan.

US President Donald Trump has confirmed that American forces carried out a large-scale attack on three Iranian nuclear sites, marking a major escalation in the ongoing conflict between Tehran and Israel.

The announcement, made in the early hours of Sunday morning via Trump's Truth Social platform, stated that the United States had struck Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan — key sites in Iran's nuclear infrastructure.

Trump wrote:
"We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home."
According to US officials, B-2 stealth bombers were used to deliver bunker-busting bombs, while American submarines launched dozens of Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Comment: Reactions from Hindustan Times:
China condemned the US airstrikes through state media, warning Washington may be repeating past strategic mistakes. "History has repeatedly shown that military interventions in the Middle East often produce unintended consequences, including prolonged conflicts and regional destabilization."

Iran strongly condemned the US airstrikes, with foreign minister Abbas Araghchi calling the attacks "outrageous" and warning of far-reaching fallout. "The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences," Araghchi posted on X, describing the strikes as "lawless and criminal" actions. Iran has the right to respond under international law.

Araghchi on Sunday accused the United States and Israel of deliberately sabotaging diplomatic efforts by targeting his country's nuclear facilities, saying both powers had "decided to blow up" negotiations. What conclusion would you draw?"

A Fox News report said that the US dropped six Bunker buster bombs to target Fordow. American stealth bombers, like B-2, and a bunker buster can only destroy the heavily-fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear program buried deep underground.
When to hold and when to fold? Best to not get involved!

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Light Sabers

The Israel-Iran conflict and Trump's game

Lorenzo Maria Pacini
Strategic Culture Foundation
Sat, 21 Jun 2025 00:00 UTC
Trump podium
© public domainUS President Donald Trump
They are playing with fire

Something particularly interesting is happening. The United States of America, led by Trump, is in the midst of a multiple attack by its "allies", this is undeniable. Israel is trying to drag the US into the conflict in every way possible: direct and indirect requests, provocations, accusations, fake news, tensions involving other countries. Everything. But still, nothing.

Trump has used an interesting tactic in recent days: he has accepted every provocation, giving the impression of acquiescence, only to withdraw his statements almost immediately, or write or do something else. In this way, he has given his informers and traitors space and time to reveal themselves, come out into the open and claim victory, without actually achieving it.

In fact, everything has happened: Democratic and Republican senators, magistrates, bloggers and influencers, celebrities, but above all the political leaders of Israel and Europe, especially those of the G7. It is precisely in this latter group - the most powerful - that we can identify the hawks of the Trump administration. The United Kingdom and France immediately expressed their support for Israel and called for preventive intervention by the US, followed by Italy and Germany joining the chorus. The embarrassing statements made are a tangible example of diplomatic stupidity.

Comment: Razor's edge: If Trump is leading a false charge, it won't be a secret for long. Vengeance from a psychopath? Extreme.

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Target

The real national emergency: Endless wars, failing infrastructure, and a dying republic

John and Nisha Whitehead
The Rutherford Institute
Wed, 18 Jun 2025 00:00 UTC
DDEisenhower
© National TodayDwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the USA
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."
— President Dwight D. Eisenhower - April 16, 1953
Seventy years after President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned about the cost of a military-industrial complex, America is still stealing from its own people to fund a global empire.

In 2025 alone, the U.S. has launched airstrikes in Yemen (Operation Rough Rider), bombed Houthi-controlled ports and radar installations (killing scores of civilians), deployed greater numbers of troops and multiple aircraft carriers to the Middle East, and edged closer to direct war with Iran in support of Israel's escalating conflict.

Each of these "new" fronts has been sold to the public as national defense. In truth, they are the latest outposts in a decades-long campaign of empire maintenance — one that lines the pockets of defense contractors while schools crumble, bridges collapse, and veterans sleep on the streets at home.

This isn't about national defense. This is empire maintenance.
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No Entry

Israel has no right to force 'regime change' in Iran - Zakharova


RT
Wed, 18 Jun 2025 19:30 UTC
Zakharova interview
Russian FM spokeswoman Maria Zakharova interview
Western countries lose the moral high ground when they back Israel's actions, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman says.

Israel has no justification for trying to bring about "regime change" in Iran through its bombing campaign, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told RT's Rick Sanchez on Wednesday. West Jerusalem's backers conveniently forget about the legal and moral principles they claim to defend the moment they're called upon to support the Jewish state, she stated.

Israel launched a series of missile attacks against Iran on Friday, claiming that Tehran was on the brink of acquiring nuclear weapons - a goal Tehran has repeatedly denied pursuing. The Islamic Republic responded with a missile barrage of its own, and the two nations have been exchanging strikes ever since.

In response to a question about the ongoing hostilities, Zakharova asked Sanchez:
"What has Iran done wrong? What is it being bombed for? Israel says they don't like the regime in Iran, the political regime. Whether you like a regime or you don't, if it doesn't attack you... you have no right to change that regime."
Iran's nuclear program, which Israel portrays as a source of major concern, is a matter for international law and diplomacy to deal with, the spokeswoman pointed out, adding that any issues linked to it should be resolved by the international community. "It's not a matter of somebody trying to solve this issue on their own," she added.

Comment: From the same interview, see also:

Trump is first US leader in decades to tell Americans the truth - Zakharova

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