Puppet MastersS


Attention

Iran-U.S.: The strategic limbo breakdown

Baboon of Barbaria
© Public Domain
No serious analysis can possibly take into consideration the Epstein Syndicate's mentally retarded blah blah blah about what goes on in the corridors of power in Tehran.

As if they had any informed clue.

Nothing is "fractured" (apart from Baboon of Barbaria's psyche). There are of course different conceptual approaches, and a lively national public debate. But on a high decision level the whole system is strongly unified.

To start with, this is a whole new system, in full transition. At the decision core we have an emerging security-centered Quartet: IRGC chief Ahmad Vahidi; Parliament speaker Ghalibaf; secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Mohammad Zolghadr; and secretary of the Expediency Council, Mohsen Rezaee.

This security-centered imperative coexists with the previous hybrid arrangement, exemplified by the "reformists", which include President Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Araghchi.

Of the 13 members of the Supreme National Security Council, only 2 are "reformists".

And above all is the deciding authority of Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei - traditionally very close to the IRGC.

All that is incomprehensible for Epstein Syndicate propagandists, or for some two-bit Saudi "expert" spinning the fantasy of a "revolutionary coup" used by the IRGC to place Ghalibaf, Pezeshkian, and Araghchi under house arrest.

As much along the diplomatic vector as well as the military vector, Tehran was very clear, over and over again. No negotiating with the Empire of Piracy under a naval blockade - which is, in fact, an act of war. No negotiating while their vessels are being attacked - which is a de facto violation of the ceasefire.

Foreign Minister Araghchi has been straight to the point. So once again: no lifting of the naval blockade, no negotiating.

Iran will not (italics mine) blink. Whatever it takes. The responsibility of destroying the global economy relies entirely on Barbaria.

Bad Guys

After Orban loss, the EU poses an even greater threat to US sovereignty

orban
The former Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán
The defeat of Viktor Orban in Hungary last weekend was celebrated by many who saw the former president as establishing single-party rule in his central European nation. The irony is that this claimed victory for democracy may fuel the establishment of a global governance system that is neither democratic nor accountable to citizens.

The European Union was criticized by many for taking sides in the Hungarian election and for undermining Orban, who asserted national priorities in disputes with the EU. No sooner had Orban conceded defeat than a jubilant European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for the final coup de grace for national identity and sovereignty: the elimination of the ability of nations to stand against EU policies.

Orban was controversial for his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his lack of support for Ukraine. He was also accused of authoritarianism and corruption. I shared in some of those criticisms. However, the unintended consequence of this election could be the removal of a single autocrat in favor of a global bureaucracy.

Comment: More on the "Digital Services Act", the Trojan Horse the EU is trying to sneak into US law


Arrow Up

Populism is not dead yet: Bulgaria's pro-Russia ex-President Radev wins in landslide victory

Radev
© UnknownFormer President Rumen Radev 
Despite Orban's loss in Hungary earlier this month, Europe's populist right is not dead by a longshot. Official results released Monday show former President Rumen Radev's Progressive Bulgaria coalition capturing roughly 44.6-44.7% of the vote in Sunday's snap parliamentary elections, delivering an absolute majority of approximately 130-135 seats in the 240-seat parliament. It marks the first time since 1997 that a single political force in Bulgaria will be able to govern without coalition horse-trading.

Radev, who stepped down from the presidency in January to lead the new party, wasted no time celebrating outside his headquarters. "This is a victory of hope over distrust, a victory of freedom over fear, and finally a victory of morality," he declared, adding that voters had rejected "the arrogance of old parties and didn't bend to their lies and manipulations."

The rout was total for the old guard. GERB, led by veteran ex-Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, was left in the dust at roughly 12-15%, while the pro-European reformist We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB) coalition trailed even further behind. Turnout climbed modestly to around 47%, reflecting voter fatigue after eight elections in five years but still signaling a clear mandate for change amid widespread frustration with corruption, graft, and economic stagnation.

Target

Israeli maps plan to occupy southern Lebanon

map occupation IDF Lebanon
© Israel Defense ForcesIDF Occupation
The Israeli military has published a map outlining what it described as a "forward defense line" in southern Lebanon, despite calls for a full withdrawal following the announcement of a ceasefire.

The map, published days after a ceasefire with Hezbollah took effect, shows a new deployment line several kilometers beyond the Israeli border, encompassing dozens of villages abandoned as the Jewish state's troops invaded its neighbor, destroyed public infrastructure and killing some 3,700 people across the country, according to Lebanese authorities.

Israel and Lebanon agreed on Thursday to a US-brokered ten-day ceasefire to halt more than a month of fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, following the first direct talks between the two sides in decades on April 14.

The deal is aimed at supporting broader US-Iran diplomacy, although Israeli look set to stay in southern Lebanon.

Bomb

War on Iran reshapes the 'War of Connectivity Corridors'

The war on Iran is disrupting the trade, transport, and energy corridors at the heart of Eurasian integration.
War in Iran
© The Cradle
The war of choice on Iran by the US is not only redefining geopolitics but also interfering with, destabilizing, and reorienting what The Cradle described in June 2022 as The War of Economic Connectivity Corridors; arguably the key geoeconomic paradigm of Eurasian integration in the 21st century.

From east to west and north to south, these corridors interlock virtually all major players across Eurasia.

Let's dig deeper into what may be the four most important vectors: the China-driven New Silk Roads/ Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) east-west corridor; the Russia-Iran-India International North South Transportation Corridor (INSTC); the IMEC (India-Middle East Corridor); and the proposed corridors linking Turkiye with Qatar, Syria and Iraq.

China's New Silk Roads/BRI advances through a multiplicity of corridors from Xinjiang to western Eurasia, including the Northern Corridor (via the Trans-Siberian in Russia) and the Middle Corridor (via Kazakhstan and across the Caspian to the Caucasus and Turkiye).
Map of the India-Middle East Corridor (IMEC)
© The CradleMap of the India-Middle East Corridor (IMEC).

Handcuffs

Hungary's Magyar warns Netanyahu of arrest

Peter Magyar
© Sean Gallup / Getty ImagesPeter Magyar
Hungary's incoming prime minister, Peter Magyar, has said he would order the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he enters the country, marking a sharp reversal of predecessor Viktor Orban's policy.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Magyar said he would halt Hungary's withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC), initiated by Orban, and stressed that as a member state Budapest is legally obliged to enforce its arrest warrants. The ICC issued warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in 2024 over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Comment: Netanyahu losing more "friends" in Europe.


Stock Down

Best of the Web: Germany's energy minister admits commitment to renewable energy is ruining the country

Grok rendition of Katherina Reiche charicature
Grok rendition of Katherina Reiche, German Energy Minister
When Simon Wakter, Political Adviser to Sweden's Minister for Energy, posted on X last Wednesday with a simple "Wow, incredible article" and a clapping emoji, he captured the shock rippling through Europe's energy commentariat. The target of his applause was not some fringe sceptic but Germany's own Economy and Energy Minister, Katherina Reiche.

In a guest column for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Reiche delivered a verdict that would have been career-ending heresy only a year ago: "One fact has been concealed for too long: an energy transition that ignores system costs will ruin the country it claims to save." To anyone who has watched Germany's Energiewende — that totemic experiment in decarbonisation-by-decree — unfold like a slow-motion train wreck, Reiche's words land like a thunderclap from the Establishment itself.

Here is a senior CDU Minister in Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Government openly admitting that two decades of Green-inspired fantasy have saddled the continent's industrial powerhouse with hidden costs now running, according to estimates she cites, at €36 billion a year and climbing towards €90 billion. Grid expansions, backup power for intermittent wind and solar and the sheer inefficiency of trying to run a modern economy on the weather: all of it, she says, must stop being airbrushed out of the official narrative. The self-deception, she warns, is over.

Explosion

"Peace at any cost - Israeli style": Why Netanyahu is pushing Trump toward war with Iran

VanceWitkoffKushner
© proigravshieUS VP J.D. Vance • Steve Witkoff • Jared Kushner
"The talks in Pakistan didn't fail by accident.
They were buried by those for whom chaos is as vital as oxygen.
Those who pray for destruction, not creation."
It was Israel that called the shots at the failed talks in Pakistan.

While diplomats in Islamabad were trying to save the region from the brink, a clear signal came from Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem: the war must go on. For the Israeli prime minister, a ceasefire isn't a respite - it's a death sentence. And Donald Trump, surrounded by a family with deep roots in the Zionist movement, appears to have become a pawn in someone else's game, the goal of which is to destroy Iran at any cost to satisfy Netanyahu.

The talks between the U.S. and Iran in Islamabad, which lasted more than 21 hours, have hit a dead end. Vice President J.D. Vance left Pakistan, claiming to have presented a "best and final offer" that Tehran rejected. Iran, in its turn, accuses the U.S. of bad faith. But who is the real beneficiary of this collapse? The answer lies in Tel Aviv.

Comment: A million+ dead, countries destroyed, psychopathy on the rise - versus - Netanyahu's criminal security. No one stays this insulated without 'options'. He only needs one.


Star of David

Israel is racing to expand West Bank settlements before new political realities end its era of impunity

Flags Israeli construction
© Mohammed Nasser/APA ImagesFlags over the evacuated settlement of Sanur, North of Nalus approved for resettlement by Israeli government in 2025
Israel is approving the construction of new West Bank settlements at an unprecedented rate because it knows its window of impunity is closing — especially if Iran emerges intact from the war and the Republicans lose the U.S. midterms.

The Israeli cabinet approved the construction of 34 new West Bank settlements last week, bringing the total number approved by the ruling coalition led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu up to 103. The cabinet decision is the largest batch of new settlements approved in decades, breaking the record set by a previous landmark decision in June 2025, which approved 22 new settlements.

While the latest decision has been overshadowed by the regional conflagrations related to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, its timing indicates that Israel perceives a closing window for its ability to entrench its colonial project in its own backyard — the West Bank — in light of shifting realities that might see Iran emerging from the war intact and in a strengthened position regionally.

Comment: See also:


Books

Best of the Web: The British Ruling Elite As A Subject Of Cultural And International Terrorism

This article examines the ingrained greed and historical ruthlessness of the Anglo-Saxon elites toward other nations and peoples, and substantiates, explicates, and introduces into scholarly usage the new authorial concepts of "British cultural terrorism", "cultural decolonization", and "historical anti-Russianism".

It analyzes British involvement in numerous Ukrainian terrorist attacks and acts of sabotage on Russian territory outside the zone of the special military operation (SMO), as well as the specific features, criminal plans, and international unlawfulness of the British-Ukrainian terrorist alliance that has taken shape to date.

Britain's complicity in such unlawful Ukrainian activity on Russian territory is classified as international terrorism carried out through the sponsorship and organization of the killing of Russian citizens, as well as acts of sabotage and terrorist attacks against military and civilian infrastructure. Relevant practical recommendations and conclusions are formulated.