progressglobenews

[progressglobenews]

World Socialist Web Site:

What is the real aim of the war? American imperialism, utilizing its proxy Israel, is seeking direct domination of the vital, resource-rich region and its arterial corridors of the Persian Gulf and Caspian Sea. For the ruling class, this is considered critical not just in itself, but as an essential preparation for a planned conflict with China. In pursuit of this aim, US imperialism is willing to commit any crime. In a post on X, Jacqui Heinrich, an anchor at Fox News, reported that the White House denied “that any options (including tactical nukes) have been taken off the table.” In other words, the United States is actively contemplating the use of nuclear weapons against Iran. American imperialism has never reconciled itself to the loss of Iran as a central client state in the Middle East. From 1953—when the CIA orchestrated a coup against Iran’s elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh—to 1979, the Shah ruled as Washington’s gendarme in the Persian Gulf. The 1979 revolution that overthrew the brutal US-backed dictatorship of the Shah was a major blow to American imperialism. The launching of the “war on terror” by the Bush administration aimed to reverse all of these setbacks through the unleashing of limitless imperialist violence. The Bush administration had a goal of waging, in the words of retired General Wesley Clark, “seven wars in five years,” including regime change in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Iran. Ultimately, the Bush administration was only able to launch wars against Afghanistan and Iraq, which became bloody quagmires for US imperialism. The Obama administration overthrew the Libyan government and launched a regime-change operation in Syria that ultimately led to the overthrow of the al-Assad government in December 2024. Under Biden and Trump, Israel launched a program of mass killing and bombing that wiped out the leadership of Hezbollah in Lebanon. But the greatest prize for US imperialism in the Middle East, the toppling of the Iranian government, is now on the agenda.

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[June 13, 2025]

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Common Dreams:

The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) said Sunday that “death and destruction are mounting on both sides” and called on Trump to “use his leverage over Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the war.” “Absent this intervention, the death toll will rise, and more of each country will be left in ruins,” the group said. “This war is bad for Israel, Iran and the United States — which is likely to be sucked into the vortex unless it takes a decisive stand for peace.” “Israel started this war, and pressure must be on Israel to stop it,” NIAC added. “Iran’s foreign minister has also stated clearly that if Israel’s attacks stop, so will Iranian retaliation. The path is open for Trump to end this bloody conflict. Any delay will lead to more death and suffering, and put diplomatic off-ramps further out of reach.”

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Chris Hedges:

So why go to war with Iran? Why walk away from a nuclear agreement that Iran did not violate? Why demonize a government that is the mortal enemy of the Taliban, along with other Takfiri groups, including al-Qaeda and Islamic State in the Levant (ISIL)? Why further destabilize a region already dangerously volatile? The generals, politicians, intelligence services, neocons, weapons manufacturers, so-called experts, celebrity pundits and Israeli lobbyists are not about to take the blame for two decades of military fiascos. They need a scapegoat. It is Iran. The humiliating defeats in Afghanistan and Iraq, the failed states of Syria and Libya, the proliferation of extremist groups and militias, many of which the U.S. initially trained and armed, along with the continued worldwide terrorist attacks, have to be someone else’s fault. The chaos and instability we unleashed, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan, left Iran as the dominant country in the region. Washington empowered its nemesis. It has no idea how to reverse this other than to attack it.

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The Guardian:

Israel began the assault with a surprise attack on Friday that wiped out the top echelon of Iran’s military command and damaged its nuclear sites, and pledged the campaign would escalate in the coming days. Iran vowed to “open the gates of hell” in retaliation. Trump has lauded Israel’s offensive while denying Iranian allegations that the US has taken part and warning Tehran not to widen its retaliation to include US targets. However, two US officials said on Friday that the US military had helped shoot down Iranian missiles that were headed toward Israel.

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BBC News:

What might happen if an American citizen were killed, say, in Tel Aviv or elsewhere? Donald Trump might find himself forced to act. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long been accused of wanting to drag the US into helping him defeat Iran. Military analysts say only the US has the bombers and bunker-busting bombs that can penetrate the deepest of Iranian nuclear facilities, especially that of Fordow. Trump promised his MAGA constituency he would not start any so-called "forever wars" in the Middle East. But equally many Republicans support both Israel's government and its view that now is the time to seek regime change in Tehran. But if America were to become an active combatant, that would represent a huge escalation with a long, potentially devastating consequential tail.

[progressglobenews]

[May 17, 2025]

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Al Jazeera English:

More than 80 percent of the Gaza Strip is now within the Israeli-militarised zone, under forced displacement orders, or where these overlap, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The UN estimates that nearly 665,000 people have been displaced yet again since Israel broke the ceasefire in February. Israel’s war on Gaza and its population has killed more than 55,290 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health authorities in Gaza, and flattened much of the densely populated Strip, which is home to more than two million people. Most of the population is displaced and malnutrition is widespread.

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El País:

Orwell was well-acquainted with the mechanisms of oppression. He observed them in Europe, fighting with the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War, but he also exercised them: he was born in colonial India, son of a British official of the Opium Department, and worked for five years as an officer of the Imperial Police in Burma. Both experiences awakened in the writer a visceral rejection of authoritarianism and a deep sense of guilt.

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Via CNN

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NBC News:

One Minnesota lawmaker and her husband were fatally shot and a second lawmaker and his spouse were injured in separate "politically motivated" shootings at their homes in eastern Minnesota, officials said Saturday. The suspect, who authorities said had impersonated law enforcement and wore a badge to gain access to the legislators' homes, remained on the run as a large-scale search was ongoing. Gov. Tim Walz said at a news conference that the early-morning attack "appears to be a politically motivated assassination." He identified the slain lawmaker as state Rep. Melissa Hortman of Brooklyn Park and her husband, Mark, while state Sen. John Hoffman of Champlin and his wife, Yvette, were severely injured.

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Common Dreams:

Organizers behind the "No Kings" movement say that actions are planned in some 2,000 cities and towns throughout the country. The actions are a counter to Trump's military parade, as well as his administration's "escalating use of military force in American cities" and GOP efforts to target health insurance coverage for millions, food assistance, and other anti-poverty programs for millions.

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Common Dreams:

Sanders said Israel's Friday bombings and assassination attacks against Iranian targets, including nuclear program facilities, "directly contravened the express wishes of the United States, which was seeking a diplomatic resolution to the long-standing tensions around Iran's nuclear program." While a new round of diplomatic talks between the U.S. and Iran were slated to begin Sunday, said Sanders, "Netanyahu chose instead to launch an attack"—a move seen by critics as an overt effort to sabotage a negotiated agreement.

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Common Dreams:

The No Kings Day actions are just the latest and important public resistance to Trump’s tyrannical actions that have included other nationwide demonstrations and civil disobedience, legal challenges, whistleblowers and leaks, mutual aid, sanctuary networks, state and local government pushback, worker and union actions, and campus resistance. Yet the reality is that Trump and his Project 2025 playbook represent one form of authoritarianism that, while distinct in some respects, intersects with another deeply entrenched form: corporate domination. Unlike Trump’s style of blatant and unapologetic brute force, intimidation, and open defiance of the rule of law, corporate rule has been a slow, legalistic, never ending, and largely invisible seizure of power — not by individuals, but by artificial legal entities with little public accountability.