Iranian war and violence news

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Leaked CIA memo reveals true extent of Iran's leverage in firefight: report

Tom Boggioni
May 7, 2026 12:05PM ET

A bombshell CIA memo distributed to administration policymakers the week revealed that Iran is in a far stronger military and economic position than President Trump has publicly claimed — directly contradicting the president's rosy assessments about the state of the war.

According to a Washington Post report, the leaked classified intelligence assessment found that Iran can survive the U.S. naval blockade for at least three to four months before facing severe economic hardship — significantly longer than the White House has suggested.

More critically, the Post is reporting, the CIA determined that Tehran retains substantial ballistic missile capabilities despite weeks of intense U.S. and Israeli bombardment. Iran has maintained approximately 75 percent of its prewar inventories of mobile launchers and about 70 percent of its prewar stockpiles of missiles, according to a U.S. official familiar with the assessment.

https://www.rawstory.com/leaked-iran-memo-on-cia/

[Yuli Ban]

Leaked CIA memo reveals true extent of Iran's leverage in firefight: report

Tom Boggioni
May 7, 2026 12:05PM ET

A bombshell CIA memo distributed to administration policymakers the week revealed that Iran is in a far stronger military and economic position than President Trump has publicly claimed — directly contradicting the president's rosy assessments about the state of the war.

According to a Washington Post report, the leaked classified intelligence assessment found that Iran can survive the U.S. naval blockade for at least three to four months before facing severe economic hardship — significantly longer than the White House has suggested.

More critically, the Post is reporting, the CIA determined that Tehran retains substantial ballistic missile capabilities despite weeks of intense U.S. and Israeli bombardment. Iran has maintained approximately 75 percent of its prewar inventories of mobile launchers and about 70 percent of its prewar stockpiles of missiles, according to a U.S. official familiar with the assessment.

https://www.rawstory.com/leaked-iran-memo-on-cia/

Literally how many people for how many years were saying this?
The ONLY problem Iran had was that their country seemed to be on the verge of collapse

You know how you deal with a country on the verge of collapse?
LET IT COLLAPSE
Somehow America reached deep inside itself and found new profound ways to f*ck this up
We helped Iran
- solve its supreme leader's legitimacy crisis
- solve its supreme leader's succession crisis
- turn the supreme leader into a martyr
- rally the population against YOU instead of the government
- destroy all hesitation to seek nuclear weapons
- prove it really does have leverage to choke the world economy
- show the world how important drones are by humiliating the USA in a direct showdown
- f*ck up regional Gulf economies
- spook Israel into realizing America won't come to save them unconditionally
- turned much of the world still somewhat on America's side against it

Imagine that, imagine after the January massacres that, five months in, AMERICA would be the one humiliated and everyone rallied around Iran instead
How the f*ck do you f*ck that up?
And there's still idiots who think we taught Iran a lesson because we killed more people
Yeah, that's... quite the lesson, alright
"If you piss off America, they'll genocide you and then claim to the world 'See we're the good guys because we killed more of them, also we'll arrest you if you report on how many we lost in our operations'"
Just...
Incredible

[wjfox]

[caltrek]

Explosive Report Reveals the UAE Has Been Secretly Attacking Iran During the War
By Alex Griffing
May 11, 2026

Complete article minus photograph:

(Mediaite) The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that the United Arab Emirates “has carried out military strikes on Iran,” citing “people familiar with the matter.”

The explosive report is the first time since the war began that the UAE has been implicated as an active combatant in the war, joining the U.S., Iran, and Israel as a primary actor.

The UAE has been targeted by Iran with missile and drone strikes throughout the war, with several major impacts in Dubai and on oil infrastructure in the country

“The strikes, which the U.A.E. hasn’t publicly acknowledged, have included an attack on a refinery on Iran’s Lavan Island in the Persian Gulf, the people familiar with the matter said. That attack took place in early April around the time President Trump was announcing a cease-fire in the war after a five-week air campaign and sparked a large fire and knocked much of its capacity off line for months,” added the WSJ.

Read more here: https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/br ... -the-war/

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[caltrek]

Senate Advances Resolution to End Iran War as GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy Flips to Support It
By Frank Thorp V, Brennan Leach and Sahil Kapur
May 19, 2026

Introduction:

(NBC News) WASHINGTON — The Senate voted 50-47 on Tuesday to move forward with a resolution to force President Donald Trump to end the war in Iran, a breakthrough for the Democratic-led effort.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who just lost his primary for renomination over the weekend after he faced opposition from Trump, voted “yes” to advance the measure, the first time he has done so after having repeatedly voted “no.”

“While I support the administration’s efforts to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program, the White House and Pentagon have left Congress in the dark on Operation Epic Fury,” Cassidy said in a statement. “In Louisiana, I’ve heard from people, including President Trump’s supporters, who are concerned about this war. Until the administration provides clarity, no congressional authorization or extension can be justified.”

The other Republicans who crossed party lines to support the procedural motion were Rand Paul of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, all of whom have voted aye before.
…
Every Democrat voted in favor of the war powers resolution apart from John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who has opposed it every time.

Read more here: [url] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congre ... rcna346001

[caltrek]

House Republicans Pull Vote on Iran War Resolution that Appeared to Have Enough Support to Pass
May 2, 2026

Introduction:

(CBS News) House Republicans on Thursday pulled a vote on a measure that would compel President Trump to withdraw from the war with Iran, delaying action on the issue as the Trump administration struggles to maintain congressional backing for the war.

The House had scheduled a vote on a war powers resolution, brought by Democrats, that would rein in Mr. Trump's ability to wage war with Iran without congressional approval. But as it became clear that Republicans would not have the numbers to defeat the bill due to absences, GOP leaders declined to hold a vote on it.

"We had the votes without question and they knew it, and as a result they're playing a political game," said Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, who sponsored the resolution and serves as the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

It was the latest sign of uncertain support in Congress for a war that Mr. Trump launched almost three months ago, though the U.S. and Iran remain in a shaky ceasefire that began in early April.

Read more here: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/house-gop ... on-vote/

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[caltrek]

Republican Infighting Erupts Over Trump’s Emerging Iran Deal
By James West
May 24, 2026

Introduction:

(Mother Jones) Is there a deal? Is there not a deal? The fawning quarters of the right-wing press have spent the weekend so far gushing about how late and hard President Donald Trump is working on a deal to end his war on Iran—even missing his own son’s wedding for “circumstances pertaining to Government.”

But for all that work, come Sunday morning, Trump posted on Truth Social that he will not “rush into a deal” and that “time is on our side.” The not-so-subtle code: There’s no deal just yet.

Just yesterday, Trump posted that “Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly.” But the New York Times reported on Sunday that while both sides have agreed in principle to end the Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, both are still describing the proposed deal differently, and even if Iran committed to giving up its enriched uranium, details about how and when would have to be hammered out later.

So, as I write, a peace deal seems no closer, and as my colleague Anna Merlan documented yesterday, the president is spending an inordinate amount of time counterprogramming his eldest son’s nuptials with his usual blend of ominous AI slop; worse for Trump, for all the trumpeting of a deal, his efforts have now pushed some prominent Republicans to break ranks and publicly accuse him of Iranian appeasement.

Sunday’s delay came amid incoming fire from top allies like former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Trump’s former national security adviser, Gen. Mike Flynn.

Read more here: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2 ... -pompeo/

caltrek’s comment: Although I have not dwelt upon it very much, I have always tended to rank George Bush’s presidency as worse than Trump’s. The basis reason being Bush's orders to invade Iraq. True to form, Trump is about to surpass Bush in that regard in some kind of perverse race to the bottom. We now see unfolding a dispute between fascist hawks and isolationists. Trump finds himself caught in the middle due to a poorly thought-out strategy to deal with Iran. However it is resolved, there will be a big mess to contend with in the aftermath.

[wjfox]

[caltrek]

The Rise of the Global South
By Christopher Hedges
May 29, 2026

Introduction:

(Popular Resistance.org) The humiliating defeat of Israel and the United States in their war on Iran, along with the savagery of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, are ushering in a new world order. This order is one where voices of reason and stability emanate not from the West — which spent tens of billions of dollars sustaining Israel’s genocide — but from the Global South, including China. It is an order where alliances are being rapidly reconfigured to protect countries from a rogue American state that lashes out like a wounded beast, as it spirals toward terminal decline.

The end of the U.S. Empire, led by an impetuous and clueless Donald Trump, is irreversible. The U.S. has lost its sixth war in the Middle East in 25 years. Iran’s power has been enhanced not only because it — along with Oman — controls the Strait of Hormuz — where roughly 25 percent of the world’s seaborne oil and 20 percent of the world’s seaborne liquified natural gas pass through — but because it has delivered a stark message, with its drones and missiles, to U.S. allies and bases in the region, while sending the global economy into a tailspin.

Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — who reportedly lured Trump into the war with Alice-in-Wonderland visions of easy regime change in Iran following the decapitation strikes against the country on February 28, 2026, which included the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other political and military figures, along with 168 school children and their teachers — may strike Iran again. They are desperate. But a renewed bombing of Iran will not work. Iran’s mosaic defense strategy ensures all political and military commanders are easily replaced.

Additional Extract:

This may not be the end of the American Empire, but it is the beginning of the end.

Read more here: https://popularresistance.org/the-rise ... l-south/

[caltrek]

House Votes to Rebuke Trump Over War With Iran
By Scott Wong and Kyle Stewart
June 3, 2026

Introduction:

(NBC) WASHINGTON — The House offered a rare rebuke to President Donald Trump on Wednesday, passing a Democratic-led measure to end his war with Iran over objections from Republican leadership.

It was one of two Democratic-led measures opposed by the White House that advanced in the GOP-led House. Lawmakers also passed a motion that would unlock a vote on sending aid to Ukraine.

The Iran war powers resolution, offered by Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, had been heading for a vote before the House left for its Memorial Day recess May 21. But it was abruptly pulled from the floor when it appeared too many Republicans were absent to defeat it.

On Wednesday, it passed 215-208, with four Republicans joining all Democrats in voting yes: Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Tom Barrett of Michigan and Warren Davidson of Ohio.

The resolution directs Trump to remove U.S. armed forces from hostilities with Iran, unless Congress votes to declare war or authorizes using military force against it. It would not force him to end the conflict, however; it is a symbolic expression of disapproval of the war with Iran.

Read more here: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congr ... na348281