Iran has accused the United States of committing a “cowardly war crime” by striking near a children’s cancer hospital and compared its actions to Israel’s targeting of healthcare facilities in Gaza.

A doctor at the treatment centre told reporters the blast was “intense” and “so close” that they thought the hospital had been hit.

“This constitutes a cowardly war crime against the most innocent of human beings – children who are bravely fighting for their lives.”

Dr Majid Bou’azar, manager of the hospital, told Al Jazeera the 211 patients “were forced to relocate” because of the strikes.

“These are special patients, including cancer patients, who are hospitalised here … Some of the patients [were] on oxygen and ventilators,” another staff member told Al Jazeera. “Some people had children in their arms, some had IVs in their hands, and some were in wheelchairs.”

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/9044663

cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/65123

A doctor at Shahid Baqaei Hospital in Ahvaz in Iran’s southern Khuzestan province emphasized that the children being treated at the facility when the US military attacked the area on Wednesday were suffering serious illnesses, and had to be urgently evacuated while on ventilators and receiving chemotherapy.

“There have been patients with various illnesses, cancer patients and special illnesses, who are fragile,” the doctor told Al Jazeera. “People are not here by accident, they have particular illnesses. The blast wave was intense. It was so close we said they had hit the hospital, the upper floors of the hospital.”

Hospital director Majid Bouadhar said 211 children had to be urgently taken to nearby facilities after, as Drop Site News reported, “multiple projectiles landed in the immediate surroundings” of the hospital.

The specialized pediatric center “sustained severe shockwaves that shattered windows, triggered intense vibrations, and sparked widespread panic,” reported Drop Site.

Iranians are inspecting the damage from days of US strikes on key cities in the country’s south and west. Residents say attacks have damaged ports and at least one hospital. pic.twitter.com/LDOBmbENDd — Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) July 16, 2026

Esmaeil Baqaei, a spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said in a statement that the “barbaric attack” was “reminiscent of Israel’s atrocities against healthcare facilities, [and] caused severe suffering and anxiety upon the hospitalized children.”

Source

From Truthout via This RSS Feed.

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/9041618

Iran’s top military command unit has warned that it will strike every remaining infrastructure in the region if its infrastructure attacked.

The Khatam al-Anbiya Central Military Headquarters issued a strongly worded statement on Thursday, after US President Donald Trump threatened to expand terrorist American attacks against Iran next week to target civilian infrastructure, including power plants and bridges.

"If the recent empty threats by the US president to have the American military target the infrastructure of the Islamic Republic are carried out, then everything that, due to Iran's restraint, has so far remained intact—that is, all infrastructure throughout the region—will be smashed under the iron blows of the powerful armed forces of the Islamic Republic, to such an extent that no trace of it will remain, as though it had never existed,” the military command’s spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaqari said.

He also slammed the criminal US regime for continuing its lawless actions and efforts to destabilize West Asia.

Zolfaqari further stressed that Iran will never allow the United States—as a foreign, extra-regional country—to interfere in the Strait of Hormuz, which is the Islamic Republic’s “inviolable red line."

"Let the ignorant enemy know: for us, the moment of epic action is not a moment for restraint. What is being carried out by Iran’s armed forces is not an equivalent strike; it is a superior strike. The strikes will be more intense, extensive, and destructive than ever before. The fury of a nation that has never surrendered will burn the aggressor,” he added.

In another development on Thursday, the IRGC’s Public Relations Department said that the force’s Navy had conducted a “devastating strike against the US base in Sheikh Isa, Bahrain.”

The operation completely destroyed the air surveillance and control radar system and the fuel pumping station supplying the enemy’s fighter aircraft, it noted.

The attack came in response to crimes of the child-killing US military in its aerial assaults on coastal bases and several civilian locations, including a children’s cancer hospital and a water production facility serving pilgrims traveling to Iraq’s holy city of Karbala in the border region of Iran’s Ilam Province.

In the past few days, tensions have increased in the Strait of Hormuz, caused by deadly US strikes on Iran in gross violation of last month’s war-ending deal between the two sides.

Iran has declared the strategic waterway closed “until further notice” and at least until “the end of US interference in the region.”

Question: The former director of the CIA, Robert Gates, stated in his memoirs that the American intelligence services began to aid the Mujahiddin in Afghanistan six months before the Soviet intervention. Is this period, you were the national securty advisor to President Carter. You therefore played a key role in this affair. Is this correct?

Brzezinski: Yes. According to the official version of history, CIA aid to the Mujahiddin began during 1980, that is to say, after the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan on December 24, 1979. But the reality, closely guarded until now, is completely otherwise: Indeed, it was July 3, 1979 that President Carter signed the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul. And that very day, I wrote a note to the president in which I explained to him that in my opinion this aid was going to induce a Soviet military intervention [emphasis added throughout].

Q: Despite this risk, you were an advocate of this covert action. But perhaps you yourself desired this Soviet entry into the war and looked for a way to provoke it?

B: It wasn’t quite like that. We didn’t push the Russians to intervene, but we knowingly increased the probability that they would.

Q : When the Soviets justified their intervention by asserting that they intended to fight against secret US involvement in Afghanistan , nobody believed them . However, there was an element of truth in this. You don’t regret any of this today?

B: Regret what? That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Russians into the Afghan trap and you want me to regret it? The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter, essentially: “We now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam war." Indeed, for almost 10 years, Moscow had to carry on a war that was unsustainable for the regime , a conflict that bought about the demoralization and finally the breakup of the Soviet empire.

https://archive.fo/KUO0A

Just a reminder

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/8991894

Article nerds

https://www.jornada.com.mx/noticia/2026/07/09/politica/analizara-scjn-reconocer-a-las-abejas-como-sujetos-de-derechos

Mexico City. The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) will review an unprecedented case in which Mayan communities in the municipality of Hopelchén, Campeche, seek to have bees recognized as subjects of rights—a legal status that would allow their caretakers to go to court to defend them and demand that authorities take action to protect them and prevent their deaths.

The case—an amparo review proceeding (file number 790/2025)—was formally brought before the Supreme Court this Thursday at the proposal of Justices Hugo Aguilar Ortiz (President of the Court) and Irving Espinosa Betanzo; the decision passed with eight votes in favor and one against, cast by Justice María Estela Ríos González.

“It allows us to examine the ancestral relationship between the Mayan community and bees—specifically, whether indigenous communities can act as guardians of nature and, in that capacity, bring legal action on its behalf—as well as to evaluate the standard of state conduct regarding the ecological crisis,” said Justice Espinosa.

Justice Arístides Guerrero García noted that exercising jurisdiction over this case would enable the Court to establish a precedent recognizing the Melipona bee—which is closely linked to the economic and cultural identity of Mayan communities in the municipality of Hopelchén—as a subject of rights or a legal entity deserving of protection within the framework of the comprehensive safeguarding of indigenous peoples, who have maintained a historic relationship with this species.

Grenfell, who worked as a mess hand, or kitchen worker, with the SAS at that time, said she had met a soldier who told her about prisoners being abused.

“I specifically recall him telling me that he would put prisoners on a forklift, raise it up and drive very fast so that they fell off,” she said.

Green, who served in Afghanistan between January and September 2012, told the inquiry he was dismissed as a “Taliban-loving apologist” after raising concerns about the killing of three Afghan farmers by the SAS.

[2026-07-17] SABA

Iraqi media reported on Thursday a large-scale drone attack targeting US troops and anti-Iranian terrorist groups in Erbil and Sulaimaniyah in northern Iraq, they confirmed that following the drone attack and the rising smoke from the US base, ambulances rushed to the scene.

The Iranian Al-Alam TV website, citing Iraqi media, reported that a number of US soldiers were injured or killed, and that ambulances were dispatched. It also noted that security forces affiliated with the Kurdistan Regional Government imposed a security cordon around the targeted area and prohibited any filming.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has defended his decision to dismiss the country’s popular defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, and confirmed reports that relations had broken down between the ministry and the country’s top army leadership.

Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv with the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, Zelenskyy said there had been a “challenging dialogue” between Fedorov – widely seen as a reformist and moderniser – and the military’s commander in chief, Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi.

The growing domestic political crisis overshadowed Starmer’s farewell visit to Kyiv, ahead of his departure on Monday from Downing Street. The two leaders laid wreaths at the Wall of Remembrance before holding one-on-one talks in the garden of the presidential palace, sitting together in a shady corner.

At a joint press conference, Zelenskyy awarded Starmer the Order of Freedom, Ukraine’s highest foreign honour. Starmer, who appeared to be close to tears, gave Zelenskyy a framed Ukrainian flag that had hung above Downing Street in February 2022 as Russian tanks rolled towards Kyiv.

Iraq's prime minister has announced a probe into cross-border smuggling to Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Ali al-Zaidi said he was setting up a "high-level committee" in coordination with the Syrian government to investigate the transport of “advanced weapons” from Iraq through Syria to the Iran-backed group.

Iraq's Joint Operations Command (JOC), which answers directly to the prime minister, said that it would "hold those responsible for any shortcomings accountable, in a manner that ensures the security and stability of the shared border and prevents any attempts to undermine national security."

Earlier on Thursday, the state news agency Sana reported that Syrian security forces had thwarted an attempt to smuggle in a shipment of advanced weapons and missiles through the Syrian-Iraqi borders.

The shipment was intended to be delivered to Hezbollah, according to an interior ministry source cited by Sana.

[2026-07-16] Daily News (Tanzania)

Lula has argued that his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro's 2022 bid to cling to power after election defeat was reminiscent of Trump's in 2020. Image: Ricardo Stuckert/PR

USA: THE US Trade Representative’s office (USTR) has said it will impose a 25% tariff on most imports from Brazil. The charges are set to come into effect in a week, on July 22.

The trade barriers are the first of their kind since the Supreme Court annulled the cornerstone of US President Donald Trump’s prior sweeping tariff regime, famously announced on what Trump dubbed “Liberation Day” in 2025.

It also comes amid friction between the Trump administration and Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva, not least because of Trump’s ties to Brazil’s former right-wing populist president Jair Bolsonaro and his family. Brazil votes in general elections this October.

What US measures are planned against Brazil?

Following an investigation, the USTR argued that Brazil’s trade practices on a range of issues from digital trade to illegal deforestation were unfair. It also singled out Brazil’s instant payment system, Pix, arguing that this disadvantages US credit card companies.

“Extensive negotiations with Brazil over the past year have not resolved these issues, but we remain open to continuing negotiations with Brazil to bring about long-needed changes to the problems identified in this investigation,” the USTR’s Jamieson Greer said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

Greer called safeguarding American economic interests against unfair practices the “bedrock of President Trump’s America First policies.”

The tariffs will apply to most Brazilian imports, including sugar, agricultural machinery, clothing, electrical machinery, paper and steel.

But various products that are in considerable demand among US consumers or businesses are exempt, including beef, coffee, rare earths, energy products, aircraft and aircraft parts, organic honey and pig iron.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the blame lay with Lula and his administration, asserting that they had not negotiated with the US in good faith.

“[Lula’s] economic policies are bad for Americans and bad for Brazilians,” Rubio wrote. “For the past year, Lula has put his own ego ahead of making a deal for the welfare of the Brazilian people, and these tariffs are the price for that.”

How do Trump’s ties to Lula and the Bolsonaros fit in?

Brazil’s President Lula on Thursday called the move a “lamentable milestone” in bilateral ties.

He said there was “no justification” for the “unilateral imposition” of tariffs, and played a somewhat Trumpian card in reverse, alluding to the US’ sizeable trade surplus with Brazil. He said Brazil would seek reciprocal measures via a World Trade Organization dispute mechanism.

Lula also alleged that the move was “part of the plot built with the active collaboration of the Bolsonaro family,” a reference to former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is facing a jail sentence for plotting a coup following his attempts to cling to power after his narrow defeat in 2022’s presidential election.

Trump and Bolsonaro, who for a time fled to Florida when facing prosecution in Brazil, are considered to be close allies. Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, one of Jair’s sons, held talks with Trump in the Oval Office in late May, a few weeks after the last meeting between Trump and Lula.

Presidential hopeful Bolsonaro the younger, however, appealed at a USTR meeting in May not to impose tariffs on Brazil, arguing that this was liable to help Lula’s bid for a record fourth term in office this October.

Why is the Trump administration having to revisit its tariff policies?

The new tariffs are imposed based on investigations into supposed unfair trade practices under Section 301 of the US Trade Act.

This became necessary because of the Supreme Court nullifying the prior wave of tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump’s administration, deeming that they had overstepped his authority.

The USTR has since launched almost 80 investigations of this nature, seemingly as it tries to lay the groundwork to impose replacement barriers to trade. All manner of major and minor powers face such investigations, including China, the EU, India, Japan, South Korea and Mexico. ^___^

MUAHAHAHAHAHA

[2026-07-16] TASS

The newest anti-drone laser system Perun with continuous wave emission for up to 15 minutes is being tested in Russia, a spokesman for the Svarog Research and Production Center told TASS.

"The Perun, the latest laser system for countering all types of UAVs, is currently undergoing trials in Russia. The system is designed to protect stationary objects - military-industrial complex and fuel and energy facilities, transport and critical infrastructure, including ports, etc. The Perun can also be used as part of mobile combat teams," the statement reads. The company specified that the system’s battery power ensures up to 15 minutes of continuous wave emission, and its combat duty time is up to 5 hours. "The system’s striking range is up to 5 km. The system is inexpensive to operate, as the cost of one shot (10 seconds of continuous laser emission) is estimated at 205 rubles," the Svarog Center added.

In its stationary configuration, the Perun is placed in a 20-foot marine container, while its mobile version is mounted on a 5-ton capacity cargo chassis. "The system includes a dual-axis turret and turret control unit, detection and targeting cameras, and a thermal imager. The Perun is equipped with an AI-powered vision and targeting system. The system utilizes neural network and analytical data processing methods for target recognition, classification, and guidance," the center noted.

According to Svarog, the system has proven highly efficient in countering UAVs during field tests. "During testing, the Perun demonstrated high effectiveness in destroying all types of drones--both FPV and fixed-wing ones. Using laser light, the system blinds and destroys drone cameras, batteries, electric motors and propellers, as well as UAV wings," said the company representative.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has effectively seized control of Venezuela's finances, natural resources, and governance from his office in Washington, according to a report conducted by the New York Times.

His expansive grip on the country offers a vivid manifestation of American power in the Trump era, six months after US commandos ~~captured~~ abducted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a midnight raid.

He maintains constant contact with Delcy Rodríguez, the former vice president who now leads the nation on an acting basis with the approval of the United States.

Direct control over public revenues distinguishes Washington's influence in Caracas from other nations beholden to American financial power.

The US Treasury receives the revenue from most Venezuelan exports and disburses it back through the country's banking system.

Rubio and his team set the explicit conditions on what that money can be spent on and by whom.

Democracy for the Arab World Now (Dawn) has called on United Nations member states to impose an immediate arms embargo on the United Arab Emirates, arguing that its aid to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) makes it complicit in atrocities that UN investigations conclude amount to genocide.

The appeal demands that the UN General Assembly convene an emergency session, and comes a week after a UN fact-finding mission for Sudan warned that abuses of humanitarian law and attacks on critical infrastructure unfolding in el-Obeid echo the assault on el-Fasher.

Dawn cites a UN panel of experts that mapped UAE-linked supply corridors funnelling weapons, vehicles, and fuel across the borders of Chad and Libya into Sudan. It additionally cites Amnesty International’s analyses of the RSF's utilisation of UAE-made armoured personnel carriers and UAE re-exports of Chinese Norinco ordnance, including GB50A guided bombs and 155mm AH-4 howitzers.

According to Iran’s state news agency IRNA, the IRGC said in a statement that the region’s energy exports would be “either for everyone or for no one”.

Analysts told Reuters that Iran was signalling it could rely on its Houthi allies in Yemen to close the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the strategic waterway leading to the Red Sea. Such a move could open a new front against Washington and threaten two of the world’s most important energy shipping routes.

The Bab al-Mandab Strait links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and is a key route for Saudi oil exports and a significant share of global maritime trade.

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/63449612

An Israeli news report documents worsening anti-Christian hostility in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Clergy and residents report daily spitting, verbal abuse, and vandalism against churches and symbols. A soldier was recently filmed smashing a Jesus statue in Lebanon. Christians say they feel unsafe, with many considering emigration. The article notes declining US evangelical support for Israel due to these incidents. Authorities issue condemnations but critics say enforcement is lacking.

archive : https://ghostarchive.org/archive/ozk8Z