There are few differences between the lies told to ignite the war with Iraq and the lies told to ignite a war with Iran. The assessments of our intelligence agencies and international bodies are, as they were during the calls to invade Iraq, airily dismissed for hallucinations.

Chris Hedges: War Deja Vu

Introducing our new columnist Fred Zhang, who brings you his take on the way the Australian media reports and/or mis- and under- reports on China.

Last week, we saw yet another masterclass in how News Corp reduces complex geopolitical realities into blunt instruments of fear.

Fred Zhang

First, The Australian’s Greg Brown pressed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the National Press Club to declare China a national security threat – offering voters a binary where there should be nuance.

This is a report on what is most likely to happen in Iran, as early as this weekend, according to Israeli insiders and American officials I’ve relied upon for decades. It will entail heavy American bombing. I have vetted this report with a longtime US official in Washington, who told me that all will be “under control” if Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei “departs.”

WHAT I HAVE BEEN TOLD IS COMING IN IRAN
The initial battle plan for a new war

BY SEYMOUR HERSH

Self-proclaimed ‘crown prince of Iran’ Reza Pahlavi has called for a “nationwide uprising,” but is a political zero with absolutely no shot at winning over ordinary Iranians, says prominent Tehran-based political analyst and commentator Mohammad Khatibi.

“While he appears to enjoy some support from Israel, it remains unclear how seriously Tel Aviv regards him as a credible alternative. Reza lacks widespread popularity both within Iran and among segments of the diaspora opposition,” Khatibi told Sputnik.

“His reluctance to condemn Israeli aggression against Iran has alienated portions of his support base. Many Iranians perceive him as being subordinate to Netanyahu, and his public comments before the recent conflict drew further criticism — he is often seen as weak,” the observer explained.

The last three and more years have seen the bloodiest war on European soil for the better part of 80 years.

With it has come rhetoric of disturbing belligerence and a military spending spree that has engulfed the whole of Europe.

Ostensibly, the conflict is between Russia and Ukraine. In reality, it has lasted as long as it has, and brought into play such a vast arsenal of destructive firepower, because the stakes are much higher and perhaps less visible than the bilateral dispute.

Joseph Camilleri

I am very pleased to be able to speak at today’s May Day and bring the revolutionary greetings of the Socialist Equality Party in Germany.

This May Day is of the utmost importance and urgency. We oppose the rapid development of war and poisonous nationalism with the perspective of the international unity of the working class and the world socialist revolution. This is at the heart of our campaign for the presidential elections in the US and also here in Germany in our campaign for the European elections.

The return of fascism and war in Germany and the fight for socialism
   BY Christoph Vandreier

President Trump said in a statement released by the White House on Thursday that he will make a decision on whether or not to directly enter the Israel-Iran war by launching airstrikes within two weeks.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt read the statement at a press briefing. “Based on the fact that there is a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place in the near future, I will make my decision of whether or not to go within the next two weeks,” she said.

The US would be making a serious mistake by attacking Iran, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told RT. Direct involvement in the conflict between the Islamic Republic and Israel would only worsen the situation in the region, he warned.

Kremlin comments on possible US strike on Iran
Washington’s military involvement would be the “wrong move,” Dmitry Peskov has told RT

Tensions escalated last week after Israel launched a large-scale bombing campaign against Iran, claiming that the country was close to producing a nuclear bomb. Iran dismissed the accusations and retaliated with waves of drone and missile strikes. The two nations have continued to exchange strikes ever since.

The eruption of war between Israel and Iran is no longer a hypothetical flashpoint—it is a live, unfolding campaign whose implications could shake the foundations of the international order and move the world closer to World War III. 

US applause for Israel’s Iran strikes courts wider disaster
Iran’s ability to absorb attacks underestimated while risks to maritime trade, oil infrastructure and regional stability are immediate

By PHAR KIM BENG

As I wrote for TRNN back in February, mega-billionaire Jeff Bezos is now completing the full ideological take over of the US’s second-most influential newspaper’s opinion section. But, like all good right-wing takeovers, it’s important for those engaging in said right-wing takeover that you not think of it as right-wing, or them as agents of right-wing ideology but, instead, above such petty, small-minded, and worldly matters. They are not only not right-wing—they really, really need you to know they exist above and outside of ideology. 

Israel’s strikes against Iran amount to US military action despite official denials from Washington, US Senator Ted Cruz has suggested. Tehran has accused America of complicity in Israel’s attacks on its nuclear infrastructure.

Israel launched a series of attacks on Iran last Friday, targeting sites linked to its nuclear program and killing scientists and senior military officials. The Israeli authorities described the campaign as “preemptive,” claiming it was aimed at stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Cruz, a Republican senator from Texas, defended the strikes and called for regime change in Tehran during a tense interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson this week.

”We are bombing the crap out of them. Israel is,” the lawmaker said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned Israel’s aggression in Gaza and ongoing attacks on Iran, comparing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler.

Israel began bombing Iran on Friday, claiming Tehran is nearing the completion of a nuclear bomb. Iran dismissed the accusations. The Turkish president said it has the legal right to respond to Israel’s attacks. This is not the first time Erdogan has issued hostile remarks toward West Jerusalem, accusing it of engaging in “banditry and state terrorism.”

Speaking to members of his ruling AK Party in Parliament on Wednesday, Erdogan stated: “The most horrifying photos and videos from World War II pale in comparison to what we’re seeing from Gaza,”claiming that Netanyahu has “long surpassed the tyrant Hitler in the crime of genocide.”

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has confirmed that his agency has no firm evidence of an Iranian nuclear weapons program, debunking the justification used by Israel to launch its aggression last week. Sputnik asked commentators including a renowned Iraq War whistleblower to weigh in why Israel and Washington neocons are so eager to beat the drums of war.

The IAEA chief’s bombshell confirmation that the agency has zero proof to back up Israeli claims is nothing new, repeating what the US intelligence community has been telling Trump for months, international relations analyst Gilbert Doctorow says.

Pandering to the strategic goals of the United States, which puts a target on our nation’s forehead, our Government keeps lying to us. Michael Pascoe with some uncomfortable truths.

First, a little context, a little perspective, before getting to our government blatantly and consistently lying to us:

On January 29, 2002, five months after the 9/11 attacks, George W. Bush declared Iran, Iraq and North Korea to be the “axis of evil”. None of those countries was responsible for 9/11, but the US set about planning to invade Iraq anyway and did so the next year.

On a threatening June evening, America’s army turned 250 and put on a show that revealed more than it intended.

Tanks and missile carriers rolled down Pennsylvania Avenue. Fighter jets flew over the Capitol dome. The President, visibly aged, saluted the display, a general on each side.

Stewart Sweeney