This is a thread specifically for the war, not a general megathread (use the pinned /c/genzedong thread for that).
Please keep related news in this thread rather than making separate posts. Remember to include sources and avoid spreading rumours.
🇺🇸🇬🇧🇫🇷🇩🇪🇮🇶🇸🇾In a coordinated and unprecedented move, military forces from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany have withdrawn hundreds of troops and key air defense systems from Erbil International Airport over a 72-hour period. The withdrawal, carried out using heavy transport aircraft such as the C-17 Globemaster and A400M Atlas, has left the Kurdistan Region feeling vulnerable.
Local Kurdish officials in the region were not only unaware of the large-scale withdrawal but also believed the exact opposite: that shipments were coming in of interceptor missiles and new equipment to reinforce their bases. In less than three days, the United States transferred all its remaining Patriot missile systems to Jordan. Britain moved its Rapid Sentry system to Cyprus. Permanent surveillance balloons were removed from the skies over Erbil, and British forces completely left the region, while the United States, France, and Germany retain only a token number of troops there.
Perhaps Nechirvan Barzani, the President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq’s trip to Damascus and meeting with ISIS/Al Qaeda head chopper aka Mohammed Jolani aka Ahmed al Shara’a aka President of Syria, is an attempt to prevent either Iran or the Al Zaidi administration in Iraq from moving to fill the power vacuum left behind.
@SimurghRes
Kurds continue to have the rug pulled from under them. If you ever feel bad for the length of time it took you to understand the nature of imperialism, take solace in the fact that you’re probably ahead of the Kurdish Israel project.
Permanent surveillance balloons were removed from the skies over Erbil
Chinese spy balloon, no weather balloon!!! 💡
Brigadier General Mahdi Jebel Moon, who led the UAE-backed RSF north of West Darfur’s capital El Geneina, was killed during intense fighting in the areas of Hajar Marfain and Bir Saliba.
@SimurghRes
Rest in piss fucker.
—❗️🇸🇦/🇾🇪 NEW: The Yemeni drone strike on Najran International Airport in Saudi Arabia destroyed the main air traffic control radar – France24
@Middle_East_Spectator
~Via The Hormuz Letter on X:
A source close to Iranian officials says Tehran has documented a pattern of oil market manipulation tied to Axios reporting and Trump administration insiders, including evidence of a $9 billion insider trading operation linked to Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.
The documented timeline of the $9 billion insider profit:
Between April and May 2026, a series of highly suspiciously timed trades in oil futures markets preceded major Iran war and deal announcements, each tied to reporting by Axios.
On March 23, approximately $500–580 million in shorts were placed 15 minutes before Trump announced he was postponing strikes on Iran, oil dropped.
On April 7, roughly $950–960 million in shorts were placed hours before Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran, oil fell 15 percent.
On April 17, approximately $760 million in shorts were placed 20 minutes before Iran’s foreign minister announced the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, oil dropped.
On April 21, around $430 million in shorts were placed 15 minutes before Trump extended the ceasefire, oil dropped again.
On May 6, nearly $920 million to $1.7 billion in crude oil shorts were placed approximately 70 minutes before an Axios scoop claimed the U.S. and Iran were near a “14-point agreement.” Oil dropped 12 percent. Traders made an estimated $125 million in profit, while Iran called the May 6 Axios report “the Americans’ wish list,” and completely false.
A senior Iranian official previously told Drop Site News that Iran privately warned VP JD Vance during Switzerland talks that Kushner and Witkoff were “abusing” negotiations, being "more interested in exploiting insider knowledge to profit in financial markets than reaching a deal.
@SimurghRes
❗️IMF launches broad technical assistance program for Syria
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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday it had reached an agreement with Syria on a broad technical assistance program aimed at supporting the country’s economic recovery.
An IMF delegation visited Damascus for five days beginning on 19 July, marking one of its follow-up missions after resuming engagement with Syria last year.
“Given Syria’s large humanitarian and development needs, strong and timely international financial support is still needed,” said Ron van Rooden, the senior IMF official who led the mission.
“Sustainable reintegration of returning refugees and internally displaced people requires support beyond humanitarian assistance, focused also on creating productive employment opportunities, enhancing public service delivery, and restoring housing and infrastructure.”
According to an IMF statement, the delegation held meetings with Syrian Finance Minister Yisr Barnieh, Central Bank Governor Safwat Raslan, and other senior government officials.
(AFP & Al-Arabiya)
https://t.me/thecradlemedia/65611
The rape of Syria continues. Though this time it’s being done by the IMF rather then just Wahabbi barbarians against alawite girls.
Israeli occupation troops clear 10 million tons of rubble in Gaza to ‘erase evidence’ of genocide
Israel is making it impossible for Palestinians to find the remains of thousands of their missing loved ones still buried under the rubble of destroyed homes
They don’t give two shits about “evidence”. They know they are immune in the eyes of the westTM. This is about clearing land in Gaza for settlement, which the article itself acknowledges.
🇮🇶🇮🇶❌🇸🇦— Sheikh Akram al-Kaabi, Secretary-General of the Iraqi Islamic Resistance Movement, Harakat al-Nujaba:
It will become clear to all our brothers that diplomacy with the despicable Wahhabi regime of the House of Saud is futile, for it is a regime with a deviant ideology, behind many of the conspiracies targeting Iraq and its people. Its hands are stained with our blood, from the thousands of car bombs it funded and sent to kill innocent men, women, and children.
There will be no other way but a suitable military response to avenge the blood of our righteous martyrs from the Popular Mobilization Forces, who fell victim to its treachery. What compensation can you offer that equals their sacred blood? What money can bring joy back to their orphans, their bereaved mothers, and their widowed wives?
@SimurghRes
Will they oust the comprador government? Are they a good alternative or also businessmen?
❗️Iran and Oman reach framework understanding on Strait of Hormuz
An Iranian parliamentary spokesperson has announced that a framework for understanding with Oman regarding the Strait of Hormuz has been reached, according to the Iranian news agency IRNA.
“The general framework of the understanding with Oman has been determined, and the final text and details will be announced soon,” he stated. He also noted that final approval must come from higher authorities.
BREAKING | Israeli occupation forces deliberately set fires in Wadi al-Salouqi, in southern Lebanon.
Image: https://t.me/thecradlemedia/65579
❗️Israel burns more than 120 hectares of centuries-old olive groves in southern Lebanon
▪️According to L’Orient-Le Jour, Israeli occupation forces set fire to more than 120 hectares (1,200 dunams) of olive groves and fruit orchards in the occupied border town of Yaroun (Bint Jbeil District), with the blaze burning for over 36 hours.
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▪️Yaroun Municipality Chairman Hafez Ghacham told L’Orient that the fire destroyed centuries-old olive trees, some more than 100 years old, while others were at least 50 years old.
▪️Because the village lies within the area occupied by Israeli forces, residents and firefighters were unable to reach the site, leaving the flames to consume the land unchecked.
▪️Ghacham described the destruction as an assault on Yaroun’s history, identity, and livelihood, saying the olive groves had been passed down through generations and supported dozens of families. He estimated the destroyed land would have produced thousands of cans of olive oil, noting that each dunam yields an average of six cans, with each can worth around $150.
▪️He recalled watching the fields burn “helpless and in tears,” adding that “houses can be rebuilt, but the old olive trees will take decades to return,” while his 84-year-old father told him he was “more saddened by the trees than by the house.”
▪️The municipality said it would submit evidence of the destruction to the United Nations, accusing Israel of targeting not only homes but also the environment, cultural heritage, and agricultural life of southern Lebanon.
https://t.me/thecradlemedia/65580
❗️Wikipedia co-founder claims CIA edited site to serve US interests
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According to co-founder Larry Sanger, the CIA, global governments, and corporate public relations firms have systematically exploited Wikipedia’s anonymity rules to edit articles and weaponize the digital encyclopedia for institutional propaganda.
In a recent interview with Berliner Zeitung, Sanger stated that intelligence agencies have actively altered content, though the full scale of manipulation remains obscured by the platform’s opaque user structure.
Sanger pointed to corporate crisis management groups—such as Wiki-PR and Portland Communications—which have altered entries for foreign governments, sovereign wealth funds, and corporate clients.
He said that institutional capture has allowed perspectives from multinational corporations, the World Bank, and the World Economic Forum to be presented as undisputed facts, while dissident viewpoints are systematically purged by anonymous administrators.
Damn Russian bots!
- libs probably
The ML burden of being right all the time is proven correct, yet again.
WikiFedCIA 🔥
❗️Trump demanded direct talks with Hezbollah but was denied
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US President Donald Trump reached out to Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad in late May to demand a direct conversation with Hezbollah as a fragile ceasefire began to fray. Sources within the Hezbollah network and Lebanese diplomatic circles confirmed to Middle East Eye that the unconventional presidential request caught officials off guard.
While Trump later claimed on social media that he secured a commitment from the group to halt attacks, conflicting reports emerged over whether the ambassador or Hezbollah itself firmly shut down the outreach.
Lebanese authorities reportedly instructed the embassy to disregard the demand to protect the presidency from a politically compromised position. State officials had spent months positioning themselves as the sole representative of Lebanon in international negotiations under US auspices.
Facilitating direct backchannel talks between Washington and the blacklisted movement would have undermined the government authority while bypassing established diplomatic protocols.
Senior security officials added that the latest rebuff followed a series of failed US attempts to open official communication channels with Hezbollah. Intelligence figures operating out of the US embassy in Beirut previously tried utilizing local intermediaries and security figures to establish contact, but all overtures were rejected. The group maintains a strict political policy prohibiting direct engagement with the United States.
—❗️🇸🇦/🇮🇶/🇮🇶 BREAKING: Gas facilities in Saudi Arabia’s Jubail Industrial City were targeted in an attack, per Anadolu News
The attack was likely carried out by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.
@Middle_East_Spectator
https://t.me/Middle_East_Spectator/35794
—❗️🇸🇦/🇾🇪 NEW: In a separate incident, the Ministry of Electricity announces that the Aramco refinery in Jazan caught fire once again
It is unclear if this was an accident or an attack, and who carried it out.
@Middle_East_Spectator
https://t.me/Middle_East_Spectator/35795
—❗️🇸🇦/🇾🇪 BREAKING: The Yemeni Armed Forces have taken responsibility for targeting the Jazan Aramco refinery in Saudi Arabia last night, in response to airspace violations by drones
@Middle_East_Spectator
It’s great to finally see a country standing up against the drone flights by attacking the enemiy’s most important pieces of infrastructure and industry. Hope more countries can learn from Yemen about how to deal with the imperialists.
BREAKING | The Red Sea Coast Guard and Yemeni Navy have successfully rescued the entire crew of an Indian cargo ship after it sank roughly 13 miles off the coast of Hodeidah, Yemen. According to Al Shaab TV, the vessel went down following an attack by a remotely controlled explosive boat.
❗️Gaza beekeepers transform rooftops damaged in Israeli attacks into apiaries
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Palestinian beekeepers in Gaza who lost their livelihoods to Israeli attacks are turning to unconventional methods to revive their industry, moving operations to the rooftops of damaged buildings as security risks and border restrictions block access to agricultural land, according to a report from Anadolu Agency.
Ibrahim al-Dabba, head of the Gaza Strip Beekeepers Cooperative, noted that while the pre-genocide sector supported roughly 10,000 people across 1,000 active apiaries, Israeli bombardments nearly wiped out production and plunged the number of surviving beehives below 500.
Despite the near-total destruction and severe import blocks on essential gear like wooden hives, treatment supplies, and wax foundation sheets, a cooperative recovery plan has helped push the number of hives back to about 3,000.
Dabba himself managed to expand his operations from just three hives to more than 35 on a damaged apartment rooftop in Gaza City’s Tal al-Hawa neighborhood. Despite the immense obstacles and shortages of fuel and wood, Dabba emphasized their resilience, stating, “When we saw the bees clinging to life here, it gave us hope too.”
🇾🇪🇸🇦Major General Abdullah al-Anazi, the commander of the Saudi drone unit, has been killed in Yemen’s Ansarallah strikes.
@SimurghRes
