Iran responded by striking what it said were U.S. assets in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Iraq, and said its aim was now to drive U.S. forces from the vast network of military bases they have occupied for decades across the Middle East.
Archiv: 08-08-2026 de-facto leadership of Iran again sabotages negotiations / attacks civil vessels in Strait of Hormuz / sets impossible conditions / going for endless war
Der Iran wird zu einem Verlierer des Westasienkrieges
(July 19, 2026)
Für den einigermaßen wachen Beobachter erscheint es, als ob Mossad, CIA, MI6 und BND in Teheran an der Macht wären und sich einen ihren üblichen grausamen Scherze erlauben.
CIA was skeptical of Israeli tip about Iranian threat to Trump
Some American officials suspect the Israeli warning fit a pattern of Jerusalem using intelligence to shape US policy, particularly given its deep concerns about Iran and unease over closer US-Turkey ties. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was briefed on the threat and the ruse but reportedly stayed on the larger Air Force One. Speaking to the Post, Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen questioned whether the Israeli information was „independently verifiable,“ calling the episode „a little fantastical.“
Iran‘s new Security Council shake-up reveals growing divisions over US deal
In the mid-1980s, Rezaei became involved in secret contacts with the United States during the Iran-Contra affair, in which Iran received American weapons while proceeds from the arms sales were diverted to support the Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
Former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani once told local media that his nephew, Ali Hashemi, a key intermediary in contacts with the administration of then-US President Ronald Reagan, had informed him and, subsequently, Rezaei about meetings with American officials.
Reopening Strait of Hormuz is a humanitarian imperative
It is worth recalling that the conflict did not begin over disputes about the Strait of Hormuz. As recently as February 28, commercial ships transited the waterway without restriction.
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With the US maintaining the naval blockade during the ceasefire period, Iran responded by stopping and, in several cases, attacking vessels attempting to cross the Strait without its approval. Insurance rates spiked, shipping lines rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope, and transit times increased by up to three weeks.
Wars of this nature benefit no party in the long term, and they rarely reach a logical conclusion. Their primary victims are innocent civilians who have no role in the conflict. Many civilians in Iran and Lebanon have lost their lives directly to strikes.
Inside the growing rift between Iran’s dealmakers and ultraconservatives
It was in this climate that a leaked video of Mohammad-Bagher Kharrazi, the brother-in-law of Masoud Khamenei, the younger brother of Iran’s supreme leader, emerged as part of what critics describe as a broader hard-line campaign.
In the video, Kharrazi claimed that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had “formally and publicly announced” that if Pezeshkian attempts to resign one more time, his resignation would be accepted.
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Soon afterward, however, another audio file surfaced in which Ali Saeedi, a conservative senior figure close to the Khamenei‘s office, claimed that the supreme leader had expressed support for the negotiations and criticised hard-line opposition to diplomacy.
According to Saeedi, Khamenei told one of his brothers: “I have never opposed negotiations, and I still do not. I was the one who authorised the negotiations, and I am not satisfied with the hard-line positions adopted by some people.”
Saeedi also claimed that Khamenei supports Ghalibaf, saying: “He is like [the late Quds Force commander] Haj Qassem Soleimani.”
Iran’s military reshuffle signals more offensive strategy
Khoshcheshm noted the appointments could also herald a major restructuring of Iran’s security and military apparatus, with a greater focus on pre-emptive strikes and more powerful responses to any US attack.
While he does not believe Iran would attack the US “offhand with no reason”, he says the new leadership is preparing Iran to develop its capabilities for pre-emptive strikes and stronger attacks on US military forces and positions in the region.
He described the appointments as creating a “more offensive-minded leadership for Iran’s security establishment across the board”.
Iran‘s Security Reshuffle Exposes Rift Dating Back To Cease-Fire Deal
Rezaei is a commander who holds some of the most closely guarded secrets of the 1980s Iran-Iraq war and the IRGC‘s founding years, and for just as long, he‘s been a favorite target of Iranian political satire. Now, at 71, he‘s back at the center of the Islamic republic‘s security decision-making.
Rezaei traded his uniform for politics in 1997 and ran for president four times, dropping out before the vote in 2005, then losing in 2009, 2013, and 2021, never pulling in more than about 3.9 million votes.
Iran Reshuffles Military Leadership as Khamenei Appoints Six Senior Commanders
The appointments came one day after Khamenei named Major General Mohsen Rezaei as his representative to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and appointed outgoing SNSC secretary Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr as his political adviser.
President Masoud Pezeshkian separately appointed Rezaei as secretary of the SNSC, replacing Zolghadr.
Iran Preparing To Fight A FOREVER WAR
Cenk Uygur and John Iadarola discuss how Trump’s war with Iran is pushing Tehran to dig in for a prolonged conflict.
Surprise strikes signal Iran is digging in for a long war
(August 6, 2026)
In recent weeks, Iran has gone on the offensive, striking commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz and launching a surprise attack on U.S. forces in Jordan. From a distance, these moves look like self-defeating escalation. Why should a badly damaged state, under severe economic pressure, lash out at the U.S. instead of pushing for a ceasefire?
The answer, simply put, is that Iran is digging in for a long war. Whatever Washington‘s intentions, Tehran increasingly interprets sanctions, negotiations, temporary ceasefires and military strikes as different instruments aimed at a single objective: regime change.
As long as this primary objective remains, Iran expects no sanctions relief or meaningful de-escalation. My conversations with Iranian foreign policy analysts suggest that Tehran now believes the war will continue in different forms until the end of Donald Trump‘s presidency.
Der Iran wird zu einem Verlierer des Westasienkrieges
(July 19, 2026)
Irgendeine Gruppe oder Fraktion hat die Staatsführung des Iran übernommen, in deren Interesse nicht der Iran selbst, sondern die Fortführung des Krieges auf unabsehbare Zeit steht. Welche Rolle dabei der Sohn des in der ersten Angriffswelle auf den Iran am 28. Februar ermordeten „Obersten Führers“ („Supreme Leader“) Ali Khamenei, Mojtaba Khamenei spielt, erscheint völlig unklar. Bisher ist er nicht in der Öffentlichkeit aufgetreten. Ausgerechnet über israelische Medien wird gestreut, dies werde so bleiben bis zum unabsehbaren Ende des Krieges. Die formal dem „Obersten Führer“ unterstellten Revolutionsgarden agieren gegen die iranischen Interessen. Gewinner des Krieges sind u.a. Ölmagnate, Kriegsproduzenten und der internationale geheimdienstliche Komplex, nicht zuletzt in der Russischen Föderation, sowie der zum Machterhalt auf Krieg und externe Bedrohung angewiesene Machthaber in Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Dabei ist das Interesse der Kriegsgewinnler auf allen Seiten den Westasienkrieg insgesamt noch auszuweiten.
Iran’s list of conditions ‘a deal-breaker for US’: Expert
Richard Weitz, an international security expert at the NATO Defense College, says the US is highly unlikely to accept Iran’s demand for compensation or any other conditions it has set for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
“President Trump has explicitly excluded that [paying Iran compensation] and it wouldn’t have support in Congress to fund such a proposal,” Weitz told Al Jazeera.
“In fact, this whole list of conditions … Iran has reinserted is going to be a deal-breaker for the White House,” Weitz added.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council issues drastic new demands of the US, as conditions for reopening Hormuz
Iran’s politburo-like body known as the Supreme National Security Council says the Strait of Hormuz will not open until the United States “corrects its behavior,” and issues drastic new demands that could shake up talks on a deal to manage the waterway and traffic on it.
Iran’s state broadcaster publishes the statement by the council’s secretary, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, who is also a commander in the powerful Revolutionary Guard.
Iran appoints new Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council
(August 6, 2026)
Iranian media reported on Thursday that former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Mohsen Rezaei had been appointed secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC).
Vessel struck off coast of Oman: UKMTO
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre has received a report of a vessel being struck about 18 nautical miles (33 km) off the coast of the Omani town of Khasab.
UKMTO cited a “verified source” as saying an “unknown projectile” hit the vessel, causing a fire.
Saudi Arabia strongly condemns Iranian attack on UAE tanker in Strait of Hormuz
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed Saudi Arabia‘s strongest condemnation of the targeting of a UAE tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz. “These unacceptable attacks constitute an assault on the security and safety of maritime navigation and global energy supplies,” the ministry said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.
Saudi Arabia affirmed that Iran‘s continued perpetration of these attacks is a grave violation of international laws and norms, including Security Council Resolution 2817, which guarantees freedom of navigation and safe passage in international waterways.
Qatar condemns Iranian attack on UAE tanker in Hormuz
In a statement, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the attack as a “flagrant violation” of international law and freedom of maritime navigation.
The ministry also rejected what it described as Iran’s use of the Strait of Hormuz as a “bargaining chip” and called for the waterway to be reopened without conditions.
It warned that the continued closure of the waterway threatens the “vital interests” of countries in the region and the global economy.
UAE says ADNOC tanker attacked in Hormuz
Dubai: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday said Iran had targeted a tanker belonging to the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
The foreign ministry in a statement condemned „the hostile Iranian attack that targeted a tanker belonging to ADNOC with a missile while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz, without causing casualties“.