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Terms have been given. Now the Iranian regime must decide if they want to sue for peace or face the Mother of All Bombs.
No real wiggle room here. pic.twitter.com/ROHYu0F5e9
— Jim Hanson (@JimHansonDC) June 18, 2025
The ratchet keeps tightening on all assets of the Iranian regime. One of their main funding conduits for terror activities has been hit hard with a cyber attack.
Excerpt:
Amid relentless Israeli strikes on Iranian military and government targets, a hacktivist group has taken down the main bank serving the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reportedly cutting off thousands of key regime operatives from access to their personal accounts.
The hacking group “Gonjeshke Darande,” or Predatory Sparrow, which has launched many previous cyberattacks, announced the operation against Bank Sepah on X, and Iranians from Tehran posted videos showing ATMs unable to serve customers.
“We, Gonjeshke Derande, have destroyed all data belonging to Bank Sepah in a cyber operation. Bank Sepah served as a financial arm for bypassing international sanctions and funding terrorism using the Iranian people’s accounts. It financed the regime’s proxy forces, missile programs, and military nuclear projects,” the post on X said.
Read the full article here.
President Trump came back early from the G7 Summit in Canada. There were reports he was planning to ask for a ceasefire. He has made it perfectly clear since then that he is looking for a real end to the Iran nuclear program not a temporary break for the Islamic Republic to regroup.
REPORTER: "What are you looking for here?"@POTUS: "An end. A real end. Not a ceasefire — an end." pic.twitter.com/EESQ7zzhw1
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 17, 2025
The Voice of the Regime Goes Dark
On June 16, Israel executed a strike of profound symbolic and operational significance, targeting the heart of the Iranian regime’s propaganda apparatus: the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) headquarters in Tehran. The attack was not a surprise assault but a deliberate, telegraphed blow. Hours before, the Israeli military issued a public warning, calling on residents of Tehran’s District 3 to evacuate the area housing the sprawling state media complex.
The strike occurred during a live news broadcast. Video from the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network showed anchor Sahar Emami on air when an explosion rocked the studio. Debris and dust filled the room, and the anchor was seen rushing off-camera as the broadcast abruptly cut away. The attack, which reportedly involved at least four bombs, primarily hit the network’s central studio complex, known as the “Glass Building”.
The Israeli military confirmed the strike, stating the facility was used by Iran’s armed forces “to advance military operations under civilian activity”. The resulting fire continued to burn late into the night, and for the first time in 43 years, the regime’s main 21:00 nightly news broadcast was canceled.
The attack on this institution represents a major shift in Israeli strategy, expanding from purely military and nuclear targets to the core institutions of the ruling system. The psychological impact was immediate. In the aftermath, videos emerged from neighborhoods surrounding the IRIB complex showing residents chanting “death to the dictator” and “death to Khamenei” from their windows, celebrating the blow to the regime’s mouthpiece.
Read the whole report and more Iran War facts here.
The opposing forces of isolationism and action are pulling at President Trump. On one hand many of the loudest voices in the MAGA orbit are unhappy the President didn’t stop the Israelis from attacking. Even worse from their perspective he seems to have been involved or at least aware of its imminence. Tucker Carlson joined Steve Bannon on the War Room podcast and aired a number of grievances.
“I actually really love Trump. I think he’s a deeply humane, kind person, but I’m really afraid that my country’s gonna be further weakened by this. I think we’re gonna see the end of the American empire...But it’s also going to end, I believe, Trump’s presidency and effectively end it.”
Carlson had previously criticized American support for Israel’s attacks saying:
“politicians purporting to be America First can’t now credibly turn around and say they had nothing to do with it.”
This prompted a terse reply from President Trump:
“Well, considering that I’m the one that developed ‘America First,’ and considering that the term wasn’t used until I came along, I think I’m the one that decides that,”
The proper role for the U.S. in this conflict is definitely being debated. The President seems inclined to try to bring Iran back to the negotiating table. But it’s hard to imagine how that works out with a large amount of its nuclear programs in rubble and the Israelis suffering civilian casualties from retaliatory strikes.
It’s going to be a hot Summer.
From the Middle East Forum Observer:
On June 13, 2025, Israel launched a broad attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran to eliminate the Iranian nuclear program. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had deferred to President Donald Trump’s reticence for more than four months after their Oval Office meeting in February 2025. Trump demanded time for a good-faith diplomatic effort; Netanyahu acceded. But when the Islamic Republic rejected a proposal for external supply of enriched uranium that would both fuel Iran’s reactors and obviate any autonomous path to nuclear weapons development, Netanyahu ordered the attack.
Read the full article here.