Is the War with Iran? Who is Trump at war with? How do his strikes in the Middle East challenge the elitist status quo across Europe?
Meanwhile, we are seeing moves and countermoves in preparation for the 2026 midterm elections. This will be the election of a lifetime. Here’s more from the X22 Report.
By all traditional methodology and criteria, Iran is now inert: Naval and air forces eviscerated, missile defenses offline, and an army rendered largely useless, as no one is fighting on the ground. However, tactical success is not necessarily equivalent to strategic victory.
It is hard to think of a single battle lost in Iraq or Afghanistan, yet the United States lacked a plan for strategic resolution in either theater. With this in mind, Iran’s current strategy is as follows: The mullahs can afford to lose their military because, ultimately, without U.S. troops on the ground, the regime will remain intact.
This, and many other factors, begs the question: Where does Trump go from here? asks Victor Davis Hanson on today’s edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.” “In other words, they’re saying as long as we have oil, Kharg Island, and as long as we have these huge oil fields, when you get tired of pounding us into rubble, you’re going go back to the United States. Israel’s going go back and be quiet, and we’re going get all of our oil revenues and we’re going have them. “
And we are going to buy from Russia, North Korea and China missiles, drones, recreate our own drone industry, and we probably have enough fissile material that you didn’t get, and nobody could get. It’s hidden deep in the mountains, that we will make bombs. And this time we’re going to use them because we understand what you will do next time.”
Trump and team have already won the war. Trump let us know this early on. He knew that there would be no problem but he had other agendas to accomplish before he could finish it all up.
He exposed the allies. He forced them to assist in safeguarding oil transports around the Strait of Hormuz. He separated the oil costs. He also destroyed China’s hold on Iran.
This is truly a global realignment. The [Deep State] terror army is destroyed on the east and west. The leverage belongs to Trump at this time. Here’s more from the x22 Report.
President Donald Trump is mulling over an American departure from NATO. This comes after European nations refused to help guard oil tankers carrying loads of exported oil over the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, flanking Iran.
Europe stands to benefit from free-flowing oil, as at least 10 percent of the gas it uses flows through the Persian Gulf. Of course, Asian nations, including Japan, India and Communist China, derive even higher totals of their oil supply through the Persian Gulf.
Meanwhile, Trump is building new support in his fight to defang the Iranians and their terrorist allies. Saudi Arabia is said to be ready to attack Iran after Iran keeps lobbing missiles and drones into Saudi Arabia and neighboring Gulf states.
If Saudi Arabia does so, how many other Gulf states might join them? Will this lead to World War III or will Iran have to seek peace, knowing none of its neighbors will put up any longer with the constant threats of violence and terrorism? Here’s more from Steve Turley.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The NATO forces apparently relented later Thursday, as six nations signed a joint statement saying they will take part in a mission to patrol the Persian Gulf to ensure safe passageway for ships. Signing the agreement: Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan.)
While media attention fixates on Iran, a broader strategic shift is unfolding as great powers act in their own sovereign interests. It highlights President Donald Trump’s statements portraying Vladimir Putin as willing to make a deal and Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the obstacle, along with Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stressing that U.S. objectives in Iran differ from Israel’s.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Ministry explicitly blames Britain for using Storm Shadow missiles in Bryansk and for trying to derail U.S.-led peace efforts, amid Zelenskyy’s threat toward Hungary’s Viktor Orban and European Union condemnation.
Finally, note how Russia and China are abstaining—not vetoing—a United Nations Security Council resolution, condemning Iran’s missile and drone attacks on Gulf states, framing these moves as evidence the old paradigm of permanent conflict is breaking down. Here’s more from Susan Kokinda with Promethean Updates.
Evil is exposing itself at every turn. We look around and see how many of our politicians are crooked as Hell. it goes without saying, most of the leftist Democrats are con artists, working many self-serving scams. But look how many presumed Republicans are proving to be just as dirty and corrupt? It’s good we no longer have Marjorie Traitor Greene in Congress. She belongs on The View. Likewise, the double-talking Thomas Massie should be booted back to the blue grasses of Kentucky.
This is not about religions or party affiliations. We must pray to God to give us the strength and the guidance to smote these creatures and remove as many of them as possible from the halls of government in Washington D.C. We won’t eliminate all of them in one election. We might need two or even three elections to wipe the slate truly clean.
The task before us is formidable, but we can no longer pass the buck or refuse to face these monsters. Iran is also now poised to vanquish its demons and adopt a more peaceful and forward-thinking position in the Middle East. Will change occur overnight? Undoubtedly not. But the process must begin in earnest.
We cannot accept terrorists, We cannot allow the cartels to flourish. The Chinese must end their fentanyl shipments and their pay-offs to dirty politicians. That means now! Pray! Here’s more from And We Know.
Standup comedian Yaqiao Yang does a swift impersonation of President Donald Trump, and addresses how China is going to pay for the new barroom in the White House.
Yang, originally from China, now performs in comedy clubs across the United States, particularly in Texas and Florida. She’s appearing on Laughline TV.
“The US went to war in Iran because Iran made itself a Chinese weapon,” argues policy analyst Zineb Riboua, a research fellow at Hudson Institute’s Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East.
Riboua is the founder of the China in MENA Project, which tracks Chinese influence and expansion across the Middle East and Africa.
Is there a bigger dimension to the Iran war that people are missing?
“We have this tendency to just look at the countries involved, … but there’s a big player, and the big player here is China. … China has been investing immensely in the region in the last two decades, in courting, in coordinating, in cooperating with Gulf countries, with Iran itself, and also with its proxies,” she says.
She is interviewed here on American Thought Leaders.
