Chris Floyd Tweets of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelsi:
Pelosi is perhaps the most inept, ineffective political leader of our time. I won't attribute it to her age, because I know several people older than her who are sharp, insightful, vigorous and wise. I will, however, attribute it to her wealth, which has separated her from even
Margaret Kimberley observes:
Yesterday, missiles struck Erbil and the short summary? Richard Medhurst explains;
For those who missed the earlier press cycle, here's how it played out then:
That was AP on Saturday night. Here's AP tonight:
Iran has claimed responsibility for a missile barrage that struck early on Sunday near a sprawling US consulate complex in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil, saying it was retaliation for an Israeli strike in Syria that killed two of its Revolutionary Guards.
[. . .]
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on their website that they launched the attack against an Israeli “strategic centre of conspiracy” in Erbil. They did not elaborate, but in a statement said that Israel had itself been on the offensive, citing the strike in Syria.
Let's stay with the Israeli connection for a moment. RUDAW's Aveen Karim reports:
Erbil’s governor on Sunday denied the presence of Israeli bases, calling all claims that the attack conducted earlier in the day on the Kurdish capital targeted Israeli positions “baseless”.
“The topic of Israel has been talked about for a long time, that is baseless, there is no Israeli base in that area,” Governor of Erbil Omed Khoshnaw stated in response to questions asked by Rudaw’s reporter.
The Kurdistan Region’s counter terrorism department confirmed that twelve missiles were targeted at the US consulate building in Erbil from outside the Region and Iraq, hitting different neighborhoods of the city. The department added that the missiles were launched from the east, and that no casualties have been caused by the attack.
Khoshnaw also added that two civilians suffered minor injuries in the attack and that “the missiles did not hit their targets.”
Israle in the KRG? Amos Harel (HARRETZ) offers:
This isn’t the first time the Iranians have claimed there is a secret Israeli base in Irbil. In April 2021, the Iranian media reported that Iran had launched drones and missiles at that same location, near the Irbil airport, and that the attack had wounded Mossad agents.
Foreign media outlets have for years reported that secret Israeli activity was taking place in both Kurdistan and Azerbaijan, both of which border Iran. In principle, this sounds reasonable, since an Israeli presence in those places would greatly reduce the range for Israeli attacks on Iranian targets.
From the April 14th snapshot:
What did or didn't happen in Iraq? That's a news cycle any day but especially today due to claims regarding an alleged Israeli base in Iraq.
Iran's MEHR NEWS AGENCY states:
A facility affiliated with the Israeli regime’s Mossad spy agency had been attacked by "unknown resistance forces" in the north of the country killing, Iraq's Sabereen News quoted sources late on Tuesday.
The Iraqi media said the attack resulted in the death and injury of a “number of Israeli forces,” dealing a “heavy blow” to the regime and its spy agency, Press TV reported.
The sources did not provide further details on the location of the attack and the extent of damage, however, Sabereen said, “Tomorrow, we’ll share some pictures of the operation.”
Israel’s Mossad has long operated in nearby Iraq, including in a 1966 operation to steal a Soviet-built MiG-21 fighter jet for the United States and a plot in the 1970s to assassinate Iraqi nationalist leader Saddam Hussein with a bomb hidden inside a book.
According to unconfirmed reports, a safe house used by the Mossad, Israel’s spy agency, has been attacked in northern Iraq.
"’Unknown resistance forces’ target Mossad safe house in Northern Iraq,” Sabereen News Telegram reported Wednesday morning, adding that several “Israeli spies were killed” and promising to soon share photos of the operation.
The report did not say the city where the safe house was located, and only identified its source as an announcement from “a security source.”
Iraq's ABNA states:
Iraq's Sabereen News, citing security sources, reported late on
Tuesday that a facility affiliated with Israel’s Mossad spy agency had
been attacked by "unknown resistance forces" in the north of the
country.
The Iraqi media said the attack resulted in the death
and injury of a “number of Israeli forces,” dealing a “heavy blow” to
the regime and its spy agency.
The sources fell short of
providing details on the location of the attack and the extent of
damage, however, Sabereen said, “Tomorrow, we’ll share some pictures of
the operation.”
Reacting to the incident, a high-ranking Iraqi
military commander said in an interview with Russian TV network RT that
they had not so far received any news about the attack.
Media outlets in northern Iraq have yet to comment on the attack.
The incident came hours after an Israeli ship was attacked in the Emirati port of Fujairah, causing damage but no casualties.
Israel’s Channel 12 quoted unnamed regime officials as blaming Iran for the ship attack.
The
vessel, called the Hyperion and sailing under the Bahamas flag, was
associated with the Israeli Ray Shipping company, the same company that
owns a vessel hit by an explosion in the Sea of Oman in February.
Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hastily accused at the time Iran of
attacking the ship, with Iran categorically rejecting the charge.
Israeli media said the Tuesday’s attack on Hyperion was likely carried out with either a missile or a drone.
October 10th, elections were held in Iraq; however, all this time later, still no president, still no prime minister. Farhad Alaaldin (RUDAW) reports:
As
political stalemate continues in Baghdad, rumours are swirling around
the leader of the Sadrist movement’s nomination for prime minister. In
recent days, Muqtada al-Sadr has made rounds of phone calls to Iraqi
leaders, including his arch-rival Nouri al-Maliki, to discuss his choice
of potential candidate. Sources suggest he is keen to nominate his
cousin for the post: Iraq's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Mohammad
Jaafar al-Sadr (MJS).
Little is known about him, but MJS is the son of the revered Shiite
leader Sayeed Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr, the founder of the Islamic Dawa
Party, and movements such as the Sadrists and Asaib Ahl al-Haq, who
follow his ideals.
MJS worked at the Ministry of Foreign affairs for some time, and was
elected as a member of parliament in 2010 with the State of Law, led by
Maliki, whereupon he resigned a few months later.
In a rare interview published in Elaph in 2010, MJS discussed his ideals and shared his hopes for Iraq and its future.
The following sites updated:
