Iran

How much truth is there in Germany’s decision not to supply weapons to Israel?

Spread the love

Original article by Leon Wystrychowski republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Photo: X

Pressure on Germany is mounting from multiple fronts: the resilience of Gaza’s people and fighters, the global solidarity movement, and even Nicaragua’s lawsuit against the German government.

Exactly 22 months after the start of the genocide against the people of Gaza, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced on August 8 that Germany would “no longer approve any exports of military equipment to Israel that could be used in the Gaza Strip” – at least for now.

But many left-wing, pro-Palestinian, and peace activists in Germany remain skeptical.

What weapons are we talking about?

It quickly became clear this was not a blanket halt to German arms shipments to Israel. Weapons intended for military operations in the illegally occupied West Bank, southern Lebanon, and Syria are unaffected. So are arms for aggression against neighboring Arab states, Yemen, and Iran.

Ammunition and air-defense technology are also exempt. While officially labeled “defensive”, these systems are used to intercept rockets and drones from the resistance in Gaza, Iran, Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, and, until late last year, Hezbollah in Lebanon. So in fact they serve not just defense but also to sustain Israel’s broader policy of aggression and genocide.

The ban likely doesn’t apply to equipment for Israel’s navy either – despite its central role in enforcing the illegal blockade of Gaza’s coast. According to a 2024 study by the research group Forensis, German-built ships have also shelled Gaza from the sea. In a move that appeared to underscore this, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems announced on August 8, that it had just secured an export license for more warships and another submarine for Israel. Between 1999 and 2016, Germany delivered five nuclear-capable submarines to the Israeli government.

Arms supplier under pressure

Despite the justified criticism and inconsistency in Germany’s announcement, this partial suspension marks a significant political shift. Immediately after the Gaza genocide began, Germany quickly became Israel’s second-largest arms supplier, behind only the United States. Recently, one-third of Israel’s weapons imports came from Germany – earning the German arms sector hundreds of billions of euros in less than two years.

Merz, a staunch pro-Zionist known for hardline conservative views, open racism, and unabashed neoliberalism, previously sat on the supervisory board of BlackRock and represents the right wing of Germany’s main conservative party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). His decision drew angry reactions not only from the Netanyahu government, Zionist lobby organizations, and the right-wing press in Germany, but also from high-ranking politicians in his own party.

All that shows the mounting pressure Merz and the German government face. That pressure comes from multiple fronts: the resilience of Gaza’s people and fighters, the global solidarity movement – including in Germany – and international actions such as Nicaragua’s lawsuit against the German government.

Leon Wystrychowski is a former member of the Palästina Solidarität Duisburg (Palestine Solidarity Duisburg, PSDU).

Original article by Leon Wystrychowski republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Experiencing issues with this image not appearing. I suspect because it's so critical of Zionist Keir Starmer's support of and complicity in Israel's genocides.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA
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.
Continue ReadingHow much truth is there in Germany’s decision not to supply weapons to Israel?

Iran bars UN nuclear agency chief from entering country, refuses surveillance at nuclear sites

Spread the love

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

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi gives a speech in Vienna, Austria on June 23, 2025. [Aşkın Kıyağan – Anadolu Agency]

Iran’s foreign minister announced Saturday that the country will prohibit Rafael Mariano Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), from entering its territory and will also not allow the agency to install surveillance cameras at nuclear facilities, Anadolu reports.

“We will not allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to install cameras at our nuclear sites, and the agency’s chief will be banned from entering the country,” Abbas Araghchi said in a statement reported by the Iranian national news agency IRNA.

The announcement follows growing tensions between Tehran and the UN nuclear watchdog over monitoring access and transparency in the wake of recent military confrontations with Israel and the US.

READ: IAEA confirms no rise in off-site radiation levels after strikes on Iran nuclear sites

This move follows Iran’s parliament passing legislation on Wednesday to suspend cooperation with the IAEA.

A 12‑day conflict between Israel and Iran erupted on June 13 when Israel launched air strikes on Iranian military, nuclear, and civilian sites, killing at least 606 people and injuring 5,332, according to Iran’s Health Ministry.

Tehran launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes on Israel, killing at least 29 people and wounding more than 3,400, according to figures released by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The conflict came to a halt under a US-sponsored ceasefire that took effect on June 24.

READ: Top Iran diplomat urges Trump to drop ‘disrespectful’ tone to Khamenei

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

Continue ReadingIran bars UN nuclear agency chief from entering country, refuses surveillance at nuclear sites

The Guardian view on annihilation in Gaza: the deaths mount, but the pressure has ebbed

Spread the love

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/27/the-guardian-view-on-annihilation-in-gaza-the-deaths-mount-but-the-pressure-has-ebbed

Israel’s attack on Iran overshadowed the ongoing carnage. Its allies are complicit in the horror; they must instead help to build a future for Palestinians

‘Each day Palestinians continue to be killed while attempting to collect aid for their families from food hubs in Gaza.’ Photograph: Mahmoud Issa/Reuters

“We cannot be asking civilians to go into a combat zone so that then they can be killed with the justification that they are in a combat zone.” It defies belief that the Unicef spokesperson, James Elder, should have needed to spell that out this week. And yet each day Palestinians continue to be killed while attempting to collect aid for their families from food hubs in Gaza, forced to make a lethal choice between risking being shot and letting their families slowly starve. More than 500 have died around the centres since the system was introduced – yet, with attention fixed on Israel’s attacks on Iran, there has been little to spare for recent deaths.

The Israeli military has given shifting accounts of events. But soldiers told the newspaper Haaretz that commanders ordered troops to shoot at crowds that posed no threat. The Israeli prime minister and defence minister attacked the allegations as “blood libels”. Médecins Sans Frontières has accurately described the system as “slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid”. Meanwhile, Israel has closed crossings into the north.

Overall, Gaza’s health ministry says that 56,331 people have died in Israeli attacks since war began. Researchers who assess war casualties suggested this week that, far from being exaggerated, this undercounts the toll. They estimated that violent deaths had reached 75,000 by this January, with another 8,500 excess deaths due to the war. The toll of hunger has yet to be reckoned.

…

While the arms and trade still flow, Israel’s allies are complicit in the destruction of lives in Gaza. They must instead make themselves central to building a future for Palestinians in a state of their own.

Original article at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/27/the-guardian-view-on-annihilation-in-gaza-the-deaths-mount-but-the-pressure-has-ebbed

Keir "I support Zionism without Qualification" Starmer supporting genocide.
Keir “I support Zionism without Qualification” Starmer supporting genocide.
Vote Labour for Genocide.
Vote Labour for Genocide.
UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel's Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don't do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
Continue ReadingThe Guardian view on annihilation in Gaza: the deaths mount, but the pressure has ebbed

Iran Targets Qatar Base Used by US Military in Retaliation for Unprovoked Trump Attack

Spread the love

Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

This United States Air Force photo shows an aerial view of al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar. (Photo: Scott Reed/USAF)

Sources also said Iran launched at least one missile at a U.S. base in Iraq.

Loud explosions were heard over Qatar’s capital Doha Monday as Iran launched missiles targeting a military base in the Gulf nation used by U.S. forces and another American installation in Iraq in retaliation for last week’s illegal and unprovoked bombing of Iranian civilian nuclear strikes ordered by President Donald Trump.

An unnamed Israeli source told Axios that at least 10 missiles were launched toward Qatar and one at Iraq. The attack on Qatar targeted al-Udeid Air Base, located approximately 20 miles outside Doha. More than 8,000 U.S. troops are stationed at al-Udeid, which also hosts Qatari, British, and other forces.

Iranian officials said they launched the same quantity of missiles as the number of bombs used in the U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites on Saturday.

Iran fires ballistic missiles at US military bases in Qatar.Explosions seen over Doha.The US deployed THAAD systems in Qatar in anticipation of Iranian attacks.

[image or embed]
— Adam Schwarz (@adamjschwarz.bsky.social) June 23, 2025 at 9:48 AM

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that “following the blatant military aggression of the criminal regime of the United States of America against the peaceful nuclear facilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the clear violation of international law” IRCG “has targeted the Al-Udeid base in Qatar with a devastating and powerful missile attack.”

An announcement on Iranian state media called the attack “a mighty and successful response by the armed forces of Iran to America’s aggression.”

However, there have not yet been any reports of casualties or damage at al-Udeid or any other U.S. base. There have also not been any reports of U.S. military response.

The New York Times reported that Iran warned the U.S. of the imminent attack. Iran’s apparently symbolic retaliation was similar to Tehran’s response to the 2020 Trump-ordered assassination of IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani and likely meant to give both sides a deescalatory offramp, experts said.

The Qatari Ministry of Defense said the country’s air defenses “successfully intercepted a missile attack targeting al-Udeid Air Base.”

Qatar, which enjoys good relations with Tehran, condemned the Iranian attack and stressed that it “reserves the right” to respond “directly” and “in line with international law.”

Monday’s developments came amid Israel’s ongoing U.S.-backed wars on Iran and Palestine and Iran’s retaliatory missile strikes on Israel.

Responding to the Iranian retaliation, Trita Parsi, executive vice president at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said on X that “there is a scenario, similar to the 2020 strikes against Iraqi bases, in which both sides call it quits after one round of fire.”

“But I find that scenario unstable because of the Israeli element,” he continued. “Israel will continue to strike Iran and vice versa, and as long as that is the case, the Israelis will continue to put relentless pressure on Trump to join the war in various ways.”

“None of this would have happened had Trump rejected the first step that Israel pushed him to take—shifting his red line to ‘zero enrichment,'” Parsi asserted. “That misstep deliberately set up a cascade of events that predictably led to this current war.”

“Trump’s only exit out of this is to discard the Israeli red line of zero-enrichment and return to the American red line of no weaponization,” he added.

Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Continue ReadingIran Targets Qatar Base Used by US Military in Retaliation for Unprovoked Trump Attack

Green Party respond to US strikes on Iran

Spread the love
Green Party Co-leader Adrian Ramsay. Wikipedia CC.
Green Party Co-leader Adrian Ramsay. Wikipedia CC.

Responding to news of US attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay MP said:

“We utterly condemn the reckless attacks on Iran by the United States that can only lead to further dangerous conflict in an already volatile region. There is no international legal basis for this unilateral action that poses a serious threat to international peace and security.

“Our prime minister has shamefully decided to echo the rhetoric of Trump and Netanyahu rather than condemn the indefensible aggression of both Israel and the US. Keir Starmer has further implied that it is justifiable for the Iranian regime to be bombed back to the negotiating table. I fully recognise the brutal nature of the Iranian regime but this unilateral action is no way to build peace and risks making the UK once again complicit in escalating a Middle East crisis.”

Continue ReadingGreen Party respond to US strikes on Iran