For anyone wondering about the reported earthquake in Qom near Fordow. It looks like a munitions dump/storage facility was hit, setting off powerful secondary explosions. So not an attack on the nuclear facilities at Fordow, and not a nuclear test.

Geolocation of the explosions

🇨🇳 A "highly concerned" response from China, recommending peace talks lol. At least they're not mildly concerned, highly concerned is much more concerned.

From Newsweek:

"China is highly concerned about Israel's attacks on Iran and deeply worried about the potential serious consequences of these actions."

Lin also said Beijing, which has been developing closer ties with Tehran, including a 25-year cooperation agreement, "opposes any violation of Iran's sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity, and opposes actions that escalate tensions and expand the conflict."

"The renewed sharp escalation of the regional situation is not in the interest of any party," he continued.

"China urges all relevant parties to do more to promote regional peace and stability and to avoid further escalation of tensions. China is willing to play a constructive role in helping to de-escalate the situation."

Imma be real with you, chief. I don't think China is going to "save the day" in any scenario short of actual ww3.

EDIT 🇷🇺 Russia is doing the same, but they have a cooperation treaty. No mutual defense treaty, though.

https://thecradle.co/articles-id/31352

Goes to show geopolitics isn't the avengers, you're on your own in the dark forest...

Judging by the videos, the vast majority of the missiles are getting through and landing on their targets

Mexico's Senate president Fernandez Norona displays an 1830 map of Mexico at today's press conference.“We’ll build the wall and we’ll pay for it but we’ll do it with the map of Mexico in 1830.” Mexico’s Senate president Fernandez Norona gives Washington a lesson in history and geography.

• Kawsachun News

Dramatic escalation by Israel

Section 14 of South Pars gas field (jointly owned by Qatar) has been attacked by drones.

The Jam refinery is on fire according to video footage.

https://nitter.poast.org/AryJeay/status/1933916410268328189#m

It seems that IOF middle defense systems have been degraded/depleted to a significant point. Will tho allow Iran and Yemen to use kamikaze drones in future strikes?

Someone check on the admins coz we might accidentally be ddosing the server

Getting real tired of all my predictions about Israeli fascism coming true, getting real sick of being a perpetual Cassandra

Fuckin mindless inertia, like some zombie from the 1950s that just doesn't want to die, 99% of state department chuds don't even realize that the Arab superstate they're scared of wouldn't even initially be a socialist polity, but another complex of vassals like the EU

Empires die because they inherently can't reason outside the perspective of its elites, it's just a colossal shame this dying wreck has to take the entire MENA region down with it

Reports that Netanyahu has fled to Greece. Has this been confirmed?

NYT

Earlier today, Iran’s government advised citizens to take shelter in mosques, schools and subway tunnels. In remarks carried by Iranian news media, cabinet spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said that most services would be staffed remotely, while banks and healthcare centers would continue to operate with reduced staff. “We are in a state of war, a war that has been imposed on us,” Mohajerani said, urging calm during a news briefing.

Israel closes all its embassies around the world. All consular services are suspended and Israel urges its citizens to “seek help from local authorities.”

• Telegram

Iranian national TV showed submarines launching missiles at Israel from ~~underwater~~. We were like holyshit we had these capabilities?!!

Edit: it wasn't entirely submerged.

Thomas Sankara’s mausoleum opens to honor revolutionary leader - AfricaNews

Pritzker Prize-winning architect Francis Kéré designed the memorial in Ouagadougou in tribute to Thomas Sankara, Burkina Faso's revolutionary leader.

The recently opened mausoleum of the father of Burkina Faso’s 1983 Revolution and his 12 aides, assassinated the same year, proudly stands on the site of the Conseil de l’Entente. The mausoleum is over 70 meters high, it’s designed in the shape of an eye, with descending steps representing the 13 fallen martyrs. The site is a bold tribute to the revolution’s triumph over imperialism.

"This mausoleum represents the revolution’s victory over reactionary forces, the triumph of Thomas Sankara’s ideology that was sovereignty-driven over imperialism’s enslaving ambitions. It’s a victory for oppressed peoples against their oppressors. A triumph of the colonized over the colonizers." Serge Bayala Imotep, Civil Society Activist, said.

Built with bricks made of laterite blocks, the memorial is environmentally friendly, representing some of Sankara’s own vision: championing the use of local resources for Burkina Faso’s sustainable development. The country's Prime Minister said it’s more than a building but also a space for collective awakening.

"This is a site for the collective consciousness of Burkinabè, of freedom fighters, and of all those who cherish peace and social justice, and of the sacrifice made by President Thomas Sankara and his aides. This mausoleum also bears witness to a persecuted but enduring integrity." Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo, Prime Minister of Burkina Faso, said.

The site also includes a restaurant, media library, workshops and offices, all linked by a leafy promenade. The space aims to educate, bring people together and provide a contemplative environment to reflect on Sankara's principles of justice and social equity.

Arab states received 12 percent of Israeli arms exports in 2024 amid surge in arms sales

Israeli arms exports hit a record $14.8bn last year, despite calls for arms embargo as Israel faces accusations of genocide

• Middle East Eye, Nadav Rapaport ^5/06/2025^

Iran's leadership reported that:

1. Iran will continue its nuclear research despite the deaths of scientists and attacks on nuclear facilities.

2. Iran has withdrawn from the nuclear deal negotiations with the US and will not negotiate "until further notice."

The Iranian parliament called on the country's leadership to make Iran a nuclear power in terms of possessing nuclear weapons. A logical and understandable demand.

• Telegram

Reading about all the intel Iran got from Israel, if it’s all legit is this the most significant haul from an espionage action since the Rosenbergs (o7), right? I feel like they now have the opportunity to end the Zionist entity once and for all with this. But I also feel they will just sit on it in exchange for being allowed to enrich more uranium and Israel pinky-promising not to kill any more nuclear scientists for a couple more years.

(And yes, I am a card-carrying member of the Nothing Ever Happens gang).

Why is everybody dooming already?

uh uo

i want to laugh at israel getting its ass handed to them but i fear that would bite us in the ass hard if they use a nuke, what's a realistic chance percentage of them being totally batshit enough for them to just press that red button?

Oh maybe there is more coming. Israel just told people to go to shelters again.

I'm listening to the UN Web as I endure illness and the US decided to outright threaten Iran during the speech.

Though it is funny how predictable almost every country is in responses.

Al Jazeera:

Israel shuts down all airports, airspace

The Israeli Civil Aviation Authority announced a complete closure of airspace and airports.

The collapse of the modern air defense system topwar.ru

It turned out that it is possible to deliver carriers point-blank. And there is nothing complicated about it, although many on our side allowed themselves to squeal about the fact that the special services do not catch flies, but all this is completely pointless: blocking roads in such a huge country as Russia or the USA is simply unrealistic. A country where tens of thousands of trucks and wagons go out on the roads every day will never be able to organize total control.

Or as it was in the Irkutsk region. After "Web" there was a lot of noise there too, they started stopping and checking all the trucks, and so what? And, naturally, except for kilometer-long traffic jams - nothing. In three days, all the special services, who were on edge, were exhausted, and in a week it would have been possible to send the next batch of trucks.

Only a very small country can afford total control over transport. So one can dream of an "iron curtain", but dreams are not obliged to come true.

Now let's talk about air defense. More precisely, about the collapse of the entire existing air defense system.

The strategic bombers targeted by Ukraine were protected by defense systems designed to detect and intercept traditional aerial threats. These systems were helpless against swarms of small quadcopters flying at low altitude and launched from hidden positions just a few kilometers from their targets.

Drone operators controlled the drones in real time, directing their weapon on aircraft, and, it is worth noting, they achieved some success. Their work showed the vulnerability of Russian aircraft, regardless of where they were located. But today we are not talking only about Russia.

Hamilton believes (and it's hard to disagree) that this vulnerability extends far beyond Russia. American military installations, from Ramstein Air Base in Germany to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, are equally vulnerable. And what about those important installations located on U.S. soil?

Unfortunately, modern radar systems have a hard time distinguishing small drones from birds or atmospheric interference. America's multimillion-dollar missile defense systems, designed to intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, provide no protection against a $600 quadcopter carrying explosives. It's a paradox, but it's true. Goliath has found another David.

The implications for American security are sobering. More than 350 drone incursions were recorded over U.S. military bases in 2024, and it is not certain that all of them were for entertainment. Events in Russia demonstrate the catastrophic potential of what we might call simple surveillance or amateur curiosity.

The United States has more than 220 operational bases scattered around the world.

From facilities in Africa and the Middle East to major command centers in allied countries, American forces operate from facilities designed for previous generations of military hardware. American aircraft, by the way, like Russian ones, sit on runways protected only by fencing and guards trained to repel attacks by humans, not swarms of drones launched from hidden positions at short range.

The first sign of this was the attack on Tower 22 in Jordan in 2024, which killed three American soldiers. An Iraqi drone shadowed a US aircraft as it prepared to land, then struck the base. That attack involved a single drone targeting a remote outpost. Operation Spider’s Web demonstrated the potential for coordinated drone swarms to attack multiple high-value targets simultaneously.

China is aware of these vulnerabilities and is taking action. Beijing protects its aircraft with more than 3000 hardened shelters, recognizing that the era of unprotected military installations is over.

Maybe all the “drone sightings” across the US last year that made a lot of fanfare was a test run for Spider Web?

Some Tel Aviv images now it's morning

If anyone's wondering how Israel can get such accurate and advanced warning for Iranian ballistic missile attacks, even before the missiles are launched, Israeli sources are saying that they've got access to the CCTV at Iranian sites.

Wtf

India continues to be pathetic even compared to western sphere capitalist countries like Japan

India is damaging relations with countries it has good relations with like Russia and Iran.

Considering the scale of the Iranian counterattack and its clockwork operation, I think Mercouris is right; most of the facilities Israel hit Friday were most likely decoys, following a Iranian strategy that was developed in the Iran-Iraq war

An Israeli strike just targeted a border crossing building in Khuzestan, at the Iraqi border. https://x.com/Seamus_Malek/status/1933367855744995634

Looks like Israel really wants to drag Iraq into this

Judging by the timeline of the True Promise 2 and yesterday's first missile salvo, we should see Iranian missiles airborne in around 1.5-2 hours.

فَلَمْ تَقْتُلُوهُمْ وَلَٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ قَتَلَهُمْ ۚ وَمَا رَمَيْتَ إِذْ رَمَيْتَ وَلَٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ رَمَىٰ ۚ وَلِيُبْلِيَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْهُ بَلَاءً حَسَنًا ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ

And you did not kill them, but it was Allah who killed them. And you threw not, when you threw, but it was Allah who threw that He might test the believers with a good test. Indeed, Allah is Hearing and Knowing.

Surat Al Anfal, 17

Iranian Khordad-3 Air Defense system armed with Sayyad 2C missiles targeted by some sort of man in the loop/operator guided munition. This was the same system that shot down the US RQ-4 Global Hawk drone a few years ago.

Pictures for identification

Again, I'm not posting this because I'm some fed/sicko, I'm just trying to figure out exactly what happened to Iran's air defences. The Khordad-3 is a capable combat proven domestically produced Iranian system, so it's surprising to see it taken out like this.

As for what exactly happened to the Iranian missile cities, Israel did manage to hit some ballistic missiles that were getting ready to launch, which caused some of the secondary explosions.

I'm kind of worried that Israel will use nuclear weapons against Iran when unable to really deal with this onslaught. Despite people feeling a sense of vindication seeing Israel suffer a fraction of the terror they inflicted upon Gaza and the Palestinian people, this is plunging Israel into a sense of desperation and despair, especially since Israel cut off the exits for its population to flee via its airport.

While I do imagine that Israelis with means will be leaving through Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, or Cyprus, the rest of the population won't pressure the government to surrender or stop the war, but to escalate. Israel only knows escalation and there is a risk of nuclear escalation.

Libs are gonna LOVE this hot mic video of Trump saying he wants to be like Kim Jong Un

https://tankie.tube/w/4gHKjc752dmw7Csdn62DX1

Looking at all the footage of the strikes over Tehran, it does look like Israel has air superiority over Tehran and their SEAD/DEAD (suppression/destruction of enemy air defences) operation last night was successful. I was going to a post explaining it earlier today, but with the pace of events I never got round to it.