Image is one of many rallies in Iran in support of the government and the leadership.
short summary here, longish summary in spoiler tags below: Western standoff munition stockpiles now substantially depleted, therefore Western aircraft activity directly over Iran increasing (as is footage of attempted and actual hits against them) as the US attempts to transition more to using bombs dropped directly onto targets, Iran is increasingly in the driver’s seat and controlling the conflict, world economy is fucked and yet could still get much worse very soon, if you require a car to live (especially if it’s not electric) and cannot work from home then you have my sincere condolences
longish summary here
While I’ve seen several estimates on the current stockpiles of US and Zionist missiles and interceptors - somewhere in the realm of a third depleted, perhaps even up to half - it seems like we’re reaching the point at which the US does not want to commit even more standoff munitions and is trying their luck against the Iranian air defense network directly.
We have already seen footage of Iran attempting to shoot down, and sometimes actually striking Western fifth generation planes like the F-35, and more footage along those lines is appearing for other plane models (with one side claiming that they evaded interception and the other claiming they hit it, etc etc, propaganda is everywhere, you know the drill). How much the US is willing to test their planes against Iranian air defense is a matter of debate. Strictly speaking, a few fighter jets and bombers shot down would be no catastrophic loss in the grand scheme of things, as the US has hundreds. However, the narrative of such a thing would be quite bad for the US - “You’re telling me an OBLITERATED Iranian military can shoot down some of our most advanced equipment?? What are we gonna do against China?!” - and given Trump’s deranged jingoistic rhetoric aimed to buoy markets, it’s clear that he cares very deeply about narratives. Additionally, with Chinese exports of several critical metals to the US banned, the prospect of replacing these aircraft (and indeed the standoff munitions and the interceptors and the ground radars etc) is looking questionable.
All the while, Iran continues its strikes across the Middle East. Missile and drone strikes are reportedly on the uptick again, demonstrating that Iranian military capabilities have by no means been “destroyed” as Western propaganda claim, though it’s impossible to sure there was ever a significant downtick due to Western censorship and outright fabrications. People around the world are gradually realizing the magnitude of the economic disaster that is occurring and may yet occur. Refineries and factories which deal with oil and gas directly are starting to slow down or stop production, and those who make products downstream of those are starting to follow them like dominoes. Outrage at gas station prices is rising, and many countries are considering limiting civilian driving and implementing work-from-home policies akin to the coronavirus pandemic. And now, threats are being made by Trump against both Kharg Island (where most Iranian oil is shipped from) and the Iranian electrical grid - which is highly decentralized and would require a prolonged bombing campaign to completely take out -and the promised Iranian reprisal would be apocalyptic to the Middle East. It would make oil prices rise to previously unfathomable heights as oil infrastructure turned off and remained off for months, perhaps years, and set in motion one of the world’s greatest humanitarian catastrophes as the desalination necessary for tens of millions of people is shut down. It would also not be a symmetrical problem, as Iran does not rely on desalination for its water supply.
Last week’s thread is here.
The Imperialism Reading Group is here.
Please check out the RedAtlas!
The bulletins site is here. Currently not used.
The RSS feed is here. Also currently not used.
The Zionist Entity's Genocide of Palestine
Sources on the fighting in Palestine against the temporary Zionist entity. In general, CW for footage of battles, explosions, dead people, and so on:
UNRWA reports on the Zionists’ destruction and siege of Gaza and the West Bank.
English-language Palestinian Marxist-Leninist twitter account. Alt here.
English-language twitter account that collates news.
Arab-language twitter account with videos and images of fighting.
English-language (with some Arab retweets) Twitter account based in Lebanon. - Telegram is @IbnRiad.
English-language Palestinian Twitter account which reports on news from the Resistance Axis. - Telegram is @EyesOnSouth.
English-language Twitter account in the same group as the previous two. - Telegram here.
Mirrors of Telegram channels that have been erased by Zionist censorship.
Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Examples of Ukrainian Nazis and fascists
Examples of racism/euro-centrism during the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Sources:
Defense Politics Asia’s youtube channel and their map. Their youtube channel has substantially diminished in quality but the map is still useful.
Moon of Alabama, which tends to have interesting analysis. Avoid the comment section.
Understanding War and the Saker: reactionary sources that have occasional insights on the war.
Alexander Mercouris, who does daily videos on the conflict. While he is a reactionary and surrounds himself with likeminded people, his daily update videos are relatively brainworm-free and good if you don’t want to follow Russian telegram channels to get news. He also co-hosts The Duran, which is more explicitly conservative, racist, sexist, transphobic, anti-communist, etc when guests are invited on, but is just about tolerable when it’s just the two of them if you want a little more analysis.
Simplicius, who publishes on Substack. Like others, his political analysis should be soundly ignored, but his knowledge of weaponry and military strategy is generally quite good.
On the ground: Patrick Lancaster, an independent and very good journalist reporting in the warzone on the separatists’ side.
Unedited videos of Russian/Ukrainian press conferences and speeches.
Pro-Russian Telegram Channels:
Again, CW for anti-LGBT and racist, sexist, etc speech, as well as combat footage.
https://t.me/aleksandr_skif ~ DPR’s former Defense Minister and Colonel in the DPR’s forces. Russian language.
https://t.me/Slavyangrad ~ A few different pro-Russian people gather frequent content for this channel (~100 posts per day), some socialist, but all socially reactionary. If you can only tolerate using one Russian telegram channel, I would recommend this one.
https://t.me/s/levigodman ~ Does daily update posts.
https://t.me/patricklancasternewstoday ~ Patrick Lancaster’s telegram channel.
https://t.me/gonzowarr ~ A big Russian commentator.
https://t.me/rybar ~ One of, if not the, biggest Russian telegram channels focussing on the war out there. Actually quite balanced, maybe even pessimistic about Russia. Produces interesting and useful maps.
https://t.me/epoddubny ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/boris_rozhin ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/mod_russia_en ~ Russian Ministry of Defense. Does daily, if rather bland updates on the number of Ukrainians killed, etc. The figures appear to be approximately accurate; if you want, reduce all numbers by 25% as a ‘propaganda tax’, if you don’t believe them. Does not cover everything, for obvious reasons, and virtually never details Russian losses.
https://t.me/UkraineHumanRightsAbuses ~ Pro-Russian, documents abuses that Ukraine commits.
Pro-Ukraine Telegram Channels:
Almost every Western media outlet.
https://discord.gg/projectowl ~ Pro-Ukrainian OSINT Discord.
https://t.me/ice_inii ~ Alleged Ukrainian account with a rather cynical take on the entire thing.
The spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, in a message to the Arab and Islamic world, said:
“It’s time to establish a security union without the United States and Israel."
“He emphasized in his message that the American and Israeli aggression against Iran reflects a new phase, and that Iran is at the forefront of defending the Islamic nation. He called for not relying on external powers and returning to the teachings of the Quran, stressing that the countries of the region do not need distant states to ensure their security, but rather they should establish a collective security system. He also announced Iran’s readiness to establish a security and military union with the countries of the region without the presence of the United States and the Zionist entity.”
https://t.me/nayaforiraq/64290
full speech
🇮🇷 Iran’s Khatim Al-Anbiya Headquarters sends a new message to the Arab and Muslim people, calling for a security alliance without the US or “israel”:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Merciful.
To my fellow Muslims in the Arab world, the Islamic world has witnessed another Eid this year that is different from previous years. We are witnessing a new wave of crimes by the zionists and Americans against Iran, an important pillar of the Islamic world—a country that has always stood by those defending the Islamic nation against the zionist entity’s aggression, especially regarding the oppressed Palestinian people. This has been proven time and time again through the sacrifices made and the direct confrontations faced in two wars.
However, the time has come to return to our roots. We, the Muslims, must turn to the word of Allah, the Quran: “Do not take them as allies until they emigrate in the cause of Allah. But if they turn away, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them and take not from among them any ally or helper.”
Allah, Glory to Him, has clearly forbidden Muslims from handing over their affairs to the disbelievers and has commanded us not to hinge our hopes on the enemies of Allah and His Messenger. We, as an Islamic nation with deep-rooted civilizational power, a unified world holding onto Islamic principles and the Quran, must stand on our own two feet to ensure our future and the happiness of our coming generations.
O Muslim brothers, we absolutely do not need, in order to guarantee the security of our region, a country thousands of kilometers away from us. We do not need a country that views, according to its own statements, Islamic countries as a milking cow. We do not need a country that makes the security and interests of “israeli” its first and last concern, then sacrifices all other countries for its sake. We do not need a country that views Muslims as worthless beings, and sees nothing in them except what their land stores of wealth, oil, and gas.
What benefit has the U.S. brought you? If you are the ones facing the aggression of the zionist entity, will the Americans ever fire a single shot to defend you? We all Muslims still remember well how fragile and superficial alliances on the one hand, and the lack of a permanent force with strategic depth and armament independence on the other hand, were the reason for the Arabs’ defeat before the occupying entity in the wars of 1967 and 1973.
As for today, Iran, by fulfilling that true promise, and by breaking the illusory image of the invincibility of America and the defeated zionist entity, has achieved the dream that has long haunted Muslims. Hence, the very logic of rationality and politics requires that we strive, in light of the system taking shape in the region, to establish a comprehensive security union. We must unite together to ensure our security and move towards a collective security pact based on Islam and the Quran as a reference, an axis, and a firm foundation.
So how did an alliance between Muslim countries and an arrogant, disbelieving state become easier than the unity of Muslims among themselves? Distancing from the Holy Quran and its teachings is the root of the calamities that have befallen the Islamic world today.
The Islamic Republic of Iran announces its readiness to establish a security and military union in the region, without the presence of the United States of America and the usurping zionist entity. Let us not forget the words of Allah Almighty in His clear Book, as He said: “So do not weaken and do not grieve, and you will be superior if you are [true] believers.”
Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
https://t.me/Palresistmirror/89814
I wonder if Iraq will be first up considering they joined the war on the side of Iran