Iran

Iran says it shot down US-made RQ-11 Raven drone

Spread the love

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

A U.S. Army RQ-11 Raven B [New Jersey National Guard photo by Mark C. Olsen]

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Friday it shot down a US-made RQ-11 Raven reconnaissance drone in the southwestern city of Ramshir in Khuzestan province amid heightened tensions with Washington, Anadolu reports.

In a statement carried by Tasnim News Agency, the IRGC said the AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven was “intercepted and destroyed” by an advanced air defence system operating within Iran’s integrated air defence network.

The statement described the RQ-11 Raven as a lightweight tactical reconnaissance drone manufactured by US company AeroVironment for surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions.

It said the drone is capable of transmitting real-time daytime and nighttime imagery to a ground control station and, with an operational range of about 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) and an endurance of 60 to 90 minutes, is used for target reconnaissance, battlefield monitoring, battle damage assessment and tactical support.

The IRGC said the drone is widely used by the US military and other countries because of its light weight, portability and rapid deployment, describing it as one of the world’s most successful small military drone systems.

The US military did not immediately comment on the Iranian claim.

Tensions between the US and Iran have escalated in recent weeks over the Strait of Hormuz, with the two sides exchanging attacks despite a Pakistan-mediated memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the conflict and reaching a lasting peace agreement.

READ: US to send more refuelling aircraft as Trump weighs wider Iran war: Report

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.

Continue ReadingIran says it shot down US-made RQ-11 Raven drone

Morning Star Editorial: Good riddance to Labour’s worst leader

Spread the love

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/good-riddance-labours-worst-leader

ON FRIDAY Keir Starmer will leave the leadership of the Labour Party, having debased and disgraced the office over his six-year tenure.

Whatever hopes and fears there may be concerning his successor, Andy Burnham, it would be near impossible for the new leader to be as bad as the outgoing one.

Starmer was elected on a fraudulent prospectus, posing as a supporter of Jermey Corbyn with added “competence” when he was no such thing.

He soon revealed himself to be an entrenched rightwinger, who discarded all the policies and commitments on which he had stood for election.

He also discarded the coalition of voters that Corbyn’s leadership had assembled in 2017 and secured even fewer votes in 2024 that Corbynism did at its 2019 nadir.

Instead he handed the party over to the most bitter and malicious rightwingers, thirsting for revenge against the left.

The most authoritarian Labour leader ever, his tenure was marked by expulsions, witch-hunts, the withdrawal of the whip from dissenting MPs and the marginalisation of the membership.

His initial mendacity and deceit shaped everything that happened since, marking him out as untrustworthy and politically incoherent.

His predilection for falsehoods stayed with him to the end. At his last Prime Ministers Questions in the Commons he smeared Labour under Corbyn as having been found “institutionally antisemitic.” No such finding was ever made.

Just two weeks ago he claimed he had inherited a bankrupt party. False again.

Having failed so spectacularly as prime minister, it seems that Starmer can only find consolation in smearing his predecessor, who was everything he is not in terms of principle and conviction.

Nor was he competent. It is now acknowledged that he failed to make any preparations for government, despite it being evident from 2022 at least that a Labour victory was certain.

So he had blundered from U-turn to U-turn, launching attacks on working people only to be forced to retreat under mass pressure.

He has hewed close to Treasury and City orthodoxy in economics while backing Israel’s genocide in Gaza, sabre-rattling against Russia and pandering to Donald Trump.

At home, he has extended authoritarianism by every measure, from proscribing Palestine Action to curbing jury trials to clamping down on the right to protest.

The future of our economy and social provision has been mortgaged to a massive arms build-up.

And, like Boris Johnson before him, Starmer has been up to his neck in sleaze.

In opposition he claimed epic expenses. Then he took free clothing, glasses, accommodation and tickets from millionaire Waheed Alli in an orgy of grifting, even as he was slashing winter fuel benefit for pensioners.

He was finally undone by appointing Peter Mandelson, already known to be a close friend of convicted financier and paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and an intimate of sundry oligarchs, as ambassador to Washington.

A brazenly factional move, it led to the departure of Starmer’s consigliere Morgan McSweeney, without whom he lost whatever capacity to govern that he had to begin with.

The damage he has done to the Labour Party is immense and lasting. Even by David Lammy’s diminished standards to declare this week that Starmer will be remembered as “a giant of the labour movement” was a remarkably stupid encomium.

He will be remembered in fact as Labour’s least successful prime minister since Ramsay MacDonald, who at least had the distinction of being the first, and its most dishonest and undemocratic leader ever.

Starmer was one thing only — a loyal servant of the bourgeois state. When he steps down today, the air is at least a little cleaner in the labour movement.

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/good-riddance-labours-worst-leader I hope that Morning Star will excuse me republishing this in it’s entirety. Morning Star‘s copyright is acknowledged.

Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza's hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer refuses to be outcnuted by Nigel Farage's chasing the racist bigot vote.
Keir Starmer refuses to be outcnuted by Nigel Farage’s chasing the racist bigot vote.
Continue ReadingMorning Star Editorial: Good riddance to Labour’s worst leader

IRGC says Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until US operations stop

Spread the love

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

A view of the vessels passing through Strait of Hormuz following the two-week temporary ceasefire reached between the United States and Iran on the condition that the strait be reopened, seen in Oman on April 08, 2026. [Shadi J. H. Alassar – Anadolu Agency]

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has issued a fresh warning to Washington, saying the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed to shipping and that oil and gas exports from the region will not be allowed to resume as long as what it described as US aggression in the region continues.

In a statement, the IRGC said US military operations and its intervention in international shipping lanes were the main threat to regional stability. It added that continued US attacks would only delay the reopening of the strategic waterway.

OPINION: Chokepoints of power: Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb, and the new corridor wars

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don't need people to join wars after they've already won. He's challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.

Continue ReadingIRGC says Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until US operations stop

Russia says renewed strikes against Iran violate memorandum, undermine nuclear settlement efforts

Spread the love

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, on June 16, 2026. [Mustafa Hatipoğlu – Anadolu Agency]

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday that renewed military strikes against Iran undermine efforts to resolve the dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program, Anadolu reports.

Speaking at a joint news conference after talks with Chadian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Sabre Fadoul in Moscow, Lavrov said the resumption of military action against Iran violated the memorandum signed between Tehran and Washington last month.

The agreement mediated by Pakistan aimed at ending the war that began in February permanently, as well as hold negotiations over the nuclear program. But the US and Iran have exchanged renewed strikes over the past days, and have claimed control of the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for oil and gas shipping that Tehran blocked after US-Israeli strikes.

“The most important thing is that this does not lead to a settlement. It closes the door that, it seemed, had been opened by the memorandum,” he said.

“We view this as a violation of the memorandum. It is regrettable because civilian infrastructure in Iran and civilian facilities in the Gulf countries are suffering. This leads nowhere good.”

Turning to the situation in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, Lavrov said Russia was working to counter “threats posed by Ukraine to freedom of navigation.”

“President Vladimir Putin is working to ensure that all this is stopped,” Lavrov said when asked about reported attacks on vessels in the region.

READ: Iran condemns UK designation of IRGC as ‘terror group’

The Russian foreign minister accused Kyiv of carrying out attacks aimed solely at causing damage.

“This is no longer even piracy. Pirates at least rob and take something for themselves. Here it is neither for themselves nor for anyone else — simply to inflict damage and spread fear. It is pure terrorism,” he said.

He said Ukraine cooperates with everyone willing, including “African extremists seeking to overthrow legitimate governments” and other groups in an effort to harm Russia.

Lavrov said Turkish media had reported new attacks by Ukrainian sea drones against Turkish ships and tankers transporting Turkish cargo, adding that the Blue Stream pipeline supplying gas to Türkiye had also been subjected to repeated “terrorist attacks.”

The minister eassured that Russia would continue supplying food to African countries despite ongoing geopolitical tensions. “We will continue to fulfill all our obligations on food supplies to our African friends, both under commercial contracts and through humanitarian assistance, in accordance with their wishes, as we have done and continue to do,” he said.

READ: US forces strike Iranian naval base with sea drones for first time: CENTCOM

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/

Genocide denying former UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy says that UK is suspending 30 of 350 arms licences to Israel. He also confirms the UK government's support for Israel's Gaza genocide and the UK government and military's active participation in genocide.
Genocide denying UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy says that UK is suspending 30 of 350 arms licences to Israel. He also confirms the UK government’s support for Israel’s Gaza genocide and the UK government and military’s active participation in genocide.
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up

Continue ReadingRussia says renewed strikes against Iran violate memorandum, undermine nuclear settlement efforts

Trump Revives Iran Blockade, Demands 20% Toll for US ‘Guarding’ Strait of Hormuz

Spread the love

Article by Jessica Corbett republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Ships sail near the Strait of Hormuz off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates at Khor Fakkan on July 13, 2026.
 (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)

Critics noted that “20% of the value of any cargo is actually substantially MORE than Iran is seeking to charge ships to transit the strait.

Following fresh US airstrikes against Iran over the weekend, President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States would reimpose a naval blockade on the Mideast country, serve as the “guardian” of the Strait of Hormuz, and charge a 20% toll for cargo ships trying to safely travel on the key trade route.

Trump made the comments while calling in to “Fox & Friends” on Monday morning, as well as on his Truth Social platform.

RECOMMENDED…

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held a meeting in Tehran

Iranian Foreign Minister: Trump ‘Absolutely Right’ About Guarding Strait of Hormuz—But Iran Will Charge ‘Fair’ Price

A US F-35 fighter is seen on a carrier deck

US Resumes ‘Powerful Strikes’ on Iran After Attacks on Strait of Hormuz Shipping

“We’re just gonna hit them very hard, and we’re gonna keep the strait, and we’ll probably run it. We’ll become the guardian of the strait. Maybe we’ll call it the guardian angel of the strait. And we should be reimbursed for that,” Trump said on the Fox News morning show.

“When we do that, we’re gonna be reimbursed, because the other nations are very wealthy. They’re on our side, and we can’t be expected to do that for nothing,” the president said. “Now we’re gonna guard it, and we’re gonna get paid for guarding it—a lot of money.”

Later Monday morning, Trump wrote on Truth that “the Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran. We are reinstating the THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE, so named because it is only stopping Iran’s ships or customers from entering or leaving. All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait.”

“The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as ‘THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,’ but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World,” he added. “The process and formation will begin immediately.”

Bloomberg energy and commodities columnist Javier Blas pointed to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s remarks just a couple of weeks ago that “no country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway.”

Critics and experts were also quick to note that, as immigration attorney Aaron Reichlin-Melnick put on the platform X, “20% of the value of any cargo is actually substantially MORE than Iran is seeking to charge ships to transit the strait.”

Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, quipped that it “seems like Trump just made a pitch for the Iranian toll system. :) Because the Iranians were going to charge $1 million per ship, which would amount to 1-2% of the value of the cargo of an oil tanker. But Trump is going to charge 20%! :)”

In an early Monday blog post, Parsi had written that “for all practical purposes, the US-Iran memorandum of (mis)understanding is over. The dispute over how to manage the Strait of Hormuz in the interim has pushed the two sides back into open war.”

As Parsi explained:

The dispute over the strait turns, at least on the surface, on paragraph 5 of the MOU: whether Iran is responsible for safe passage throughout the strait for the duration of the agreement, or only for the waterway’s northern corridor.

Beneath the surface, however, lies a more fundamental strategic disagreement. Even before the MOU was signed, Tehran believed Washington’s objective was to establish a southern shipping corridor through Omani waters that would gradually erode Iran’s control over the strait. Such a corridor would require Oman’s cooperation, which may explain why Trump at one point threatened to bomb Oman unless it abandoned its proposal for joint management of the strait, with administrative fees collected by Muscat and Tehran.

The corridor would remain operational even if war resumed and Iran sought once again to close the strait. From Tehran’s perspective, Washington used the MOU to strengthen this alternative route, and the US military’s escort of commercial shipping without coordinating with Iran marked a significant step in that direction. If successful, the strategy would deprive Iran of its most important source of leverage—which is precisely why it appeals to Washington.

“This is why Tehran has insisted that all ships transiting the strait—regardless of the corridor they use—coordinate with Iran, consistent with its reading of paragraph 5 of the MOU,” he continued. “Washington, by contrast, argues that the MOU merely assigns Iran responsibility for ensuring the safe passage of commercial vessels, without granting it operational control over all maritime traffic.”

Sina Toossi, a senior nonresident fellow at the Center for International Policy, warned in a statement about Trump’s Monday comments that “if implemented, the announced re-blockade would effectively restart the economic clock that the MOU had temporarily paused. Iran would once again face mounting pressure on its ability to export, store, and monetize oil, while the United States and the global economy would again confront the risks of prolonged disruption to Persian Gulf energy flows.”

“The strategic environment, however, is no longer what it was before the war,” he added. “US strategic petroleum reserves continued to decline during the MOU period and remain at historically low levels, while global inventories also remain tight. As a result, there is less cushion to absorb a prolonged supply disruption than in the previous round of fighting, increasing the risks of sharper energy price spikes, higher inflation, and broader economic disruption.”

This article has been updated with comment from Sina Toossi.

Article by Jessica Corbett republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up
Continue ReadingTrump Revives Iran Blockade, Demands 20% Toll for US ‘Guarding’ Strait of Hormuz