Daniel Flesch

Not typically a sign that things are going great.

Ali Larijani’s successor, Hossein Dehghan, holds a PhD in Management. He was one of the students who occupied the US embassy in Tehran. He also commanded the IRGC forces in Lebanon and was among the orchestrators of the 1983 bombing of the US Marine barracks in Beirut. The look on his face says it all.

Joe Kent, who resigned as the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center earlier today, is expected to record a live episode of The Tucker Carlson Show on Wednesday, where he will elaborate on his opposition to the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran, according to multiple outlets.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson publicly criticizes Joe Kent for his letter today announcing his decision to resign from his position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, in which he cited the Iran War and our decision to join despite “no imminent threat posed by Iran” and instead under alleged pressure from Israel. Johnson: “I'm on the Gang of Eight. I got all the briefings. We all understood there was clearly an imminent threat that Iran was very close to the enrichment of nuclear capability and they were building missiles at a pace that no one in the region could keep up with. The Commander-in-Chief and his administration had a very difficult decision to make. I don't know where Joe Kent is getting his information, but he wasn't in those briefings, clearly, because the Secretary of State, the Secretary of War, and everyone, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Caine, they had exquisite intelligence that we understood that this was a serious moment for us. Had the President waited, I am personally convinced that we would have mass casualties of Americans, servicemembers and others, and our installations would have been dramatically damaged.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar: “Ali Larijani had a $10 million prize on his head, we did it for free.”

This is unbelievable. An Israeli flag is projected onto a building in Ekbatan, Tehran, as a message of gratitude. Iranians are risking their lives to communicate their voices over western suppression. Almost didn’t post this because I thought it was AI, but AI says it is not AI.

Goes without saying that the U.S. and Israel are using technology never used before. And that the after-action will lead to even more technological innovation. Partnering with innovative democratic allies to develop, test and field new defense technology is smart policy.

The regime's top brass seems to have decamped to the distant city of Mashhad, as far away from the US bases and carriers—and from Israel—as you can get without actually fleeing to Afghanistan. They have abandoned the capital.