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DONALD Trump sending long-range weapons to Ukraine could be a game-changer for the war by helping halt Vladimir Putin’s nightly blitzes, experts said.
Trump, who appears to…
IRAN’S President was reportedly injured during an Israeli blitz during the 12-day war last month – before being bundled out of an emergency hatch.
Masoud Pezeshkian was wounded in the leg and forced to flee during a high-profile emergency meeting of the Supreme National Security Council, Iranian state media said.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was injured during an Israeli blitz last month[/caption]
Smoke rises after an Israeli attack on the Iran State Radio and Television (IRIB) building on June 16[/caption]
The attack on June 16 is said to have targeted the entry points of a secret underground facility in the Iranian capital with six missiles.
The devastating attack left the building without power, blocked all its access points and cut off its ventilation system.
But all the top officials there, including Pezeshkian, managed to escape death during the blitz which came on the fourth day of the conflict.
The claims come after the Iranian President accused Israel of trying to assassinate him during the tense conflict last month.
The 12-day war kicked off with Operation Rising Lion, which saw Israel attempting to derail Iran’s nuclear programme by striking Tehran’s enrichment facilities.
During Tel Aviv’s attack on the high-profile meeting, other top officials alongside Pezeshkian included Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the parliamentary speaker, and Mohseni Ejei, a judiciary chief.
Iran’s state media, Fars news agency, also claimed the strike had similarities to the one that eliminated long-term Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut.
The Iranian President told Tucker Carlson last week that he had personally been the target of an Israeli attack.
When asked if he had been the subject of an assassination attempt, he said: “They did try, yes. They acted accordingly, but they failed.
“I was in a meeting. We were discussing the ways to move forward, but thanks to the intelligence by the spies that they had, they tried to bombard the area in which we were holding that meeting.”
But Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz denied the allegations – saying that “regime change” had not been a part of the plan during the blistering conflict last month.
Iranian state media reported the the attack occurred “before noon on Monday, June 16, while a meeting of the Supreme National Security Council was being held”.
The meeting included the “heads of the three branches of government and other senior officials”.
State media added that the meeting was held “in the lower floors of a building in western Tehran”.
“The attackers targeted the building’s entrances and exits by firing six bombs or missiles to block escape routes and cut off air flow,” the report detailed.
Investigations are now ongoing in Iran in order to find out how such a precise attack was possible.
Internal probes will hope to get to the bottom of how Israel came to know the president’s exact movements and the location of the top-secret Supreme National Security Council meeting.
Smoke rises following an Israeli attack in Tehran, Iran[/caption]
A satellite view shows an overview of Fordow underground complex after the US bombings on June 21[/caption]
Israeli Iron Dome air defence system intercepts missiles over Tel Aviv[/caption]
Tehran has arrested more than 700 people in the wake of the war on charges of collaborating with Israel.
It has also attempted to push through a new emergency spy law – which will introduce more severe punishments including the death penalty.
The Supreme National Security Council is seen as Tehran’s number two decision-maker, just behind Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Ayatollah went into deep hiding during the teetering conflict while Israel carried out its advanced air and ground attacks.
The 12-day war began on June 13 when Israel launched Operation Rising Lion – a sophisticated bombing campaign which targeted Iran’s military nuclear sites.
The Israelis also orchestrated Operation Red Wedding – which saw 30 top Iranian military chiefs killed in a near-simultaneous blitz as Tel Aviv sought to root out the country’s military strength entirely.
Iran retaliated by launching daily salvos of ballistic missiles across Israel, but failed to hit any strategic targets.
Iran also launched salvos of missiles back at Israel, pictured[/caption]
Rocket trails above Netanya, Israel amid a barrage of Iranian missiles on June 21[/caption]
Less than a fortnight later, Trump joined the Israeli bombing campaign against Iran with Operation Midnight Hammer.
The US military’s flagship B-2 Spirit stealth bombers dropped more than a dozen 30,000lb GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bombs.
The bunker-buster bombs were used to hit Iran’s Fordow Nuclear Enrichment Plant.
Iran, which vowed to hit US military bases across the Middle East, sought its revenge by launching missiles at Al-Udeid Air Base – America’s biggest military station in the region.
But Tehran seemingly cooked up a fake attack after passing warnings to its Qatari allies, which allowed all US service personnel and aircraft to be moved out of harm’s way.
Trump dubbed the expected response “weak” before announcing that a ceasefire deal had been reached between the Israelis and Iranians.
by Katie Davis, Chief Foreign Reporter (Digital)
TYRANNICAL leaders in Iran have demanded citizens act as undercover informants to turn in anyone who dares oppose the regime, insiders say.
Panicked mullahs have also ordered “telecom cages” be installed around prisons as the regime wages war against its own people.
Political prisoners – largely banished to death row on trumped-up charges – have been subject to extreme torture and a disturbing rate of executions in the face of growing tensions in the Middle East.
Insiders say their treatment is being weaponised to deter opposition.
The fight against repression has loomed large for decades in the rogue state – but the so-called 12-day war last month has made the barbaric Ayatollah more fearful than ever of being toppled.
With Ali Khamenei’s grip weakened by the unprecedented Israeli and US blitz, the incapacitated supreme leader has discharged fresh hell on his own people in a corrupt bid to stifle uprising.
Sources inside Iran told The Sun how a direct alert has been issued to the public, urging them to report any activity linked to resistance groups of the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
Regime loyalists have been implored to act as informants – compiling detailed reports with photos, times, locations, licence plates and facial features of suspected individuals.
DONALD Trump said he is “very disappointed” in Vladimir Putin for “bombing people at night” and has vowed to send sophisticated US weapons to Ukraine.
The …
THE UK has become the “number 1 target for Russian cyberattacks” as Vladimir Putin seeks revenge on Ukraine-backing enemies.
Millions of Brits could be plunged into da…
WESTERN nations must change their attitude to Russia and crush the war machine fuelling Vladimir Putin’s aggression, an ex-army commander warns.
Rogue states such as Iran supply the tyrant with missiles and drones to unleash hell on Ukraine – propping up Russia‘s “not so great” army, US General Ben Hodges told The Sun.
Vladimir Putin is propped up by his allies[/caption]
Russia continues to threaten the West[/caption]
Putin shaking hands with North Korean tyrant Kim Jong-un[/caption]
Now retired, he told The Sun: “If you want to defeat somebody, you have to knock out whatever it is that keeps the other side in the fight.”
He warned that if the West fails to take the threat from bloodthirsty Vlad more seriously, Europe will be dealing with war “forever”.
Russia has continued to rain down misery on Ukraine for more than three years – raising questions over how Moscow hasn’t depleted its ammunition stocks.
It comes as Putin is hammering Ukraine with almost 1,000 kamikaze drones a missiles each day – overwhelming defence systems.
Dozens of innocents are being injured or killed as apartment buildings are mercilessly bombed and civilians terrorised.
Putin ordered his troops over the border in February 2022 and the US military estimated that, without help, Moscow would have run out of firepower by that December.
North Korea is widely believed to have supplied Russia with missiles and shells, while Iran has bolstered Putin’s stockpile with drones and rockets.
China – Moscow‘s biggest and richest ally – is suspected of equipping Vlad with “dual-use” components, which are used to make weapons.
Hodges, who was in charge of American forces in Europe, has urged the West to go after ???????????
He also believes Putin focuses on civilian areas instead of military targets because “the great Russian army and the great Russian air force and the great Russian navy are not so great”.
“I mean they have demonstrated after 11 years they cannot defeat Ukraine,” Hodges added.
“The only thing they can do is murder innocent people. So that’s what they’re doing.
“Hundreds of drones and missiles and rockets every week, which they get from Iran, North Korea and China, because they can’t even produce all that they need anymore.
“So I think we know from history that going after the population almost never works.
“It didn’t work in the Second World War, it didn’t work for us against the Vietnamese, it didn’t work for us against the Taliban.”
Putin arrogantly assumed he could sweep in and seize Kyiv in a matter of days after ordering his troops over the border into Ukraine.
But more than three years on, the red-faced despot has suffered huge losses on the battlefield.
Xi Jinpping attended the Victory Day parade in Moscow[/caption]
Putin shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi[/caption]
More than 10,000 tanks, 22,000 armoured vehicles, 26,000 artillery systems, and over 700 aircraft have been destroyed, officials estimate.
And the casualty numbers are far grimmer.
Western officials have revealed that the Russians have sustained more than 900,000 casualties, with 250,000 dead, since Putin unleashed his illegal war.
Despite this, the megalomaniac has pushed forward – continuing to throw wave after wave of troops into the meatgrinder.
Putin has found his stocks of weapons backfilled by his allies – such as receiving drones from Iran.
And meanwhile, Kim has sent tens of thousands of troops to Russia to serve alongside Vlad’s men.
A small number of Chinese troops have also allegedly been found serving in Ukraine.
But Beijing has strongly denied accusations from Ukraine that they supplying Putin with weapons.
Russia now is planning to try and unleash 1,000 drones per day on Ukraine as the war marches on – much to the fury of the US.
Hodges warned Western nations must instead focus on eliminating the threat from Axis of Evil countries – ultimately diminishing Putin’s capabilities.
The former military chief said it could see Europe grappling with endless bloodshed if not.
He said: “Europe should be more serious and try to crush them, crush that regime, use all of our economic tools and also help Ukraine be successful to defeat Russia.
“The only way Russia ever changes is after defeat. And if they’re not defeated, then after Putin will be another Putin.
“So we’re going to be dealing with this forever unless we get serious about defending everything that we say is important.
“And we should quit being so scared of what the Russians might do. The Russians should be worrying what the hell we’re going to do.”
Iran
Iran last year transferred close-range ballistic missiles to Russia in a move condemned by the UK’s government and allies.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “Iran supplying Russia with ballistic missiles to fuel its illegal invasion of Ukraine is a significant and dangerous escalation.”
Initial claims of Iranian weapons being sent to Russia emerged in late 2022.
US military intelligence at the time indicated Tehran was preparing to supply Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar rockets to Moscow.
Russia’s defence minister Sergei Shoigu visited Iran in September 2023 – and reviewed Tehran’s missile arsenal during the trip.
North Korea
Kim Jong-un vowed to “support” Putin’s “sacred fight” to defend Russia’s security interests when the North Korean tyrant visited Moscow in 2023
He vowed the two countries would “be together in the fight against imperialism”.
North Korea has been accused of supplying missiles and shells to Moscow.
In April, Volodymyr Zelensky said a missile that killed 12 people in Kyiv had been manufactured in North Korea.
The US has imposed sanctions on several entities accused of being linked to arms deals between the two states.
Pyongyang has previously denied having any “arms dealings” with Russia.
China
China has been accused of supplying crucial materials and equipment to at least 20 Russian military factories.
Oleh Ivashchenko, head of Kyiv’s foreign intelligence service, said in April: “There is information that China supplies tooling machines, special chemical products, gunpowder, and components specifically to defence manufacturing industries.
“We have confirmed data on 20 Russian factories.”
Nato leaders jointly accused Beijing of being a “critical enabler” of Russia by providing “massive support to its defence industry”.
They claimed China sends “dual-use” components to Moscow such as computer chips that can be used to make weapons.
Beijing has denied supplying Russia.
Hodges predicts Putin, 72, will stay at the helm of the Kremlin for at least another decade – only taking into account his health.
But at some point, the oligarchs around him – who lost enormous fortunes through war sanctions – could snap and force him out, Hodges said.
He said: “From a health standpoint, Putin’s around for another ten years.
“Usually dictators don’t have a retirement plan because there are so many people that want to kill them. So that’s why they stay in power until the very end.
“So I think we should assume he’s going to be there, if it’s just health, for at least another ten years.
“But if enough people finally got mad about how he was ruining Russia’s economic standing, that would be different.”
by Katie Davis, Chief Foreign Reporter (Digital)
VLADIMIR Putin could be plotting to exploit the crisis in the Middle East to launch an attack on Europe, a Ukrainian government insider has warned.
The cunning tyrant may even attempt to mimic Ukraine‘s elaborate Spiderweb operation that blitzed strategic targets inside Russia.
A Ukrainian source told The Sun: “The West should be prepared that the Spiderweb operation may be reconfigured and deployed by Russia as a hybrid attack on any Nato Eastern flank nation.
“That would be the major Article 5 test that the Alliance has not experienced yet.”
Humiliated Putin was left reeling after Ukraine’s spectacular raid that – after 18 months of planning – inflicted billions of pounds worth of damage, leaving his bomber fleet in tatters.
Daring agents smuggled drones and explosives deep inside the sprawling country before unleashing a coordinated assault on June 1.
More than 100 drones were hidden in trucks across Russia before being deployed to five air bases – thousands of kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
At least 41 of Putin’s prized aircraft were wrecked in the attack – including Tu-95, Tu-22M3, and Tu-160 bombers and A-50 spy planes.
Delivering such a decisive blow has left Ukraine’s enemy scrambling.
But a Ukrainian government insider has warned it would also have left Putin’s cronies eager to learn from the clandestine operation – and look to mimic it.
The source said it could spell disaster if Vlad uses it as a blueprint to launch an attack on a European country.
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