Podcasts about iranian revolutionary guard corps

Today, Martha, Les, Morgan, and Matt break down the major explosion at Iran's Shahid Rajaee port—a key hub for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps that plays a crucial role in supplying proxies and moving sanctionable goods. With at least 40 dead, and early reports linking missile propellant sourced from China to the blast, the incident raises urgent questions about Iran's illicit networks, foreign support, and the growing ties between Tehran, Moscow, and Beijing.Will this explosion reshape Iran's ability to supply its proxies? What are the geopolitical implications? As Iran remains weakened, is now the moment for a more aggressive approach to dismantle its nuclear ambitions, or will Trump return to a JCPOA-style deal?Check out the answers to these questions and more in this episode of Fault Lines.Check out these sources which helped shape our Fellows' conversation: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx251yyvwr3o https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/27/russia-sends-help-to-iran-after-deadly-port-explosionhttps://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-851637https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/26/world/middleeast/us-iran-nuclear-talks.htmlFollow our experts on Twitter: @marthamillerdc@lestermunson@morganlroach@WMattHaydenLike what we're doing here? Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe. And don't forget to follow @masonnatsec on Twitter!We are also on YouTube, and watch today's episode here: https://youtu.be/mau4aw6M94c Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

About 2,000 anti-Israel protesters turned up in downtown Toronto on March 23 for the annual Al-Quds Day march in support of a free Palestine. Ahead of the event, calls to ban these events in cities across Canada were especially loud this year. The rallies—which happen globally—have seen protesters dressed up as suicide bombers, explicit calls for the destruction of Israel, Holocaust distortion, and flags for nationally-banned terrorist organizations, including Hezbollah, Hamas, Samidoun and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. While Toronto police had vowed, days earlier, to beef up their presence at the event and look out for hateful activity, their response has been called a “Band-Aid” approach to address spiking antisemitism in the country. Police did ensure that roughly 25 pro-Israel counter-protesters stood peacefully across the street from the main activity, playing “O Canada” loudly, on repeat, while waving Israeli and Canadian flags. The CJN Daily‘s host Ellin Bessner went to cover the event and clearly heard antisemitic chants of “Go Back to Europe” aimed at the tiny but loud group of Jews. She saw anti-Israel Jews calling Zionism Satanism. And she herself was followed, harassed and chased out of a public city sidewalk and street by anti-Israel protesters when they discovered she worked for a Jewish news organization. Related links Why Jewish groups and some politicians feel the annual Al-Quds marches in Canada need to be banned as hate fests, in The CJN. Why is Canada doing nothing about terror-banned group Samidoun leaders travelling to Beirut for Hezbollah leader's funeral, in The CJN. How to submit your opinion before May 1, 2025 to Toronto city council about how they should police protests outside places of worship, the so called "bubble legislation." Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) Music: Dov Beck-Levine Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)

Col. John Mills, Senior Fellow, Center for Security Policy Colonel John Mills and I visited about this peculiar story about drones operating all over the East Coast of the United States at the moment. The competing stories that we're getting about whether it's a function of hostile powers action or our own government looking for other dangerous examples of enemies and nuclear weapons perhaps in our own country.  We also talked about the penetration of our government agencies by foreign powers, notably the Federal Aviation Administration, for seven years by an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps veteran and a Chinese national who sent 50,000 rounds of US MO and small arms to North Korea. Bill Walton, Host of the Bill Walton Show Bill Walton and I discussed an important problem that is getting altogether too little attention: attacks on the sovereignty of the United States by those who favor world government, including the Biden-Harris administration, and a very exciting initiative of the National Association of Christian Lawmakers to push back against it through resolutions we all hope will be adopted across the country in every state in the Union, asserting states' rights and national sovereignty over world government. Dr. David Wurmser, Senior Analyst for Middle East Affairs   I spoke with Dr. David Wurmser about reports that Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to adopt a ceasefire, including, perhaps, provisions that are absolutely at odds with his long-stated positions. We don't know if this is true, but we explore the implications should it be. We also discussed what's happening elsewhere in the region, in Syria notably, and what it means for not only the people of Syria, including the Druze, the Assidis, and the Kurds, but also the people of Israel and the people of Jordan, and perhaps Saudi Arabia as well.

THE FOUNDER and longtime leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, was eliminated Friday by an Israeli airstrike on a suburb of Beirut. This means that ten of the eleven top military commanders in Hezbollah have been eliminated by Israel, along with the leader of Hamas, within the last two months. Apparently, it does not pay to be on the wrong side of history in a conflict with Israel. A senior commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps was also killed in that strike, and a report from Iran revealed that supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeini has moved to a secure facility, apparently worried that his life might soon be forfeit. We also discuss a new revelation in the ongoing scandal of human trafficking for big business: The United Food and Commercial Workers union charged that a JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley, Colorado has been exploiting workers from Haiti and Benin, alleging dangerous working conditions, substandard wages, unfair treatment, and housing them in deplorable conditions at a local motel. Also: Tensions between Japan and China ramp up as the neocons apparently want to expand Western influence to the Asian Pacific. NOTE: The audio for this week is different because we had to come up with a quick workaround for our usual setup. A word of advice: If you a Mac user working with Adobe products like Audition or Premiere, don't upgrade to Mac OS 15 (Sequoia) until Adobe gets its act together and makes its products compatible with the OS upgrade. Our new book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible! Follow us! X (formerly Twitter): @pidradio | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbert | @gilberthouse_tvTelegram: t.me/gilberthouse | t.me/sharonsroom | t.me/viewfromthebunkerYouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelationFacebook.com/pidradio ——————Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! Our 1,200 square foot pole barn has a new HVAC system, epoxy floor, 100-amp electric service, new windows, insulation, lights, and ceiling fans! If you are so led, you can help out by clicking here: gilberthouse.org/donate. Get our free app! It connects you to this podcast, our weekly Bible studies, and our weekly video programs Unraveling Revelation and A View from the Bunker. The app is available for iOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV. Links to the app stores are at pidradio.com/app. Video on demand of our best teachings! Stream presentations and teachings based on our research at our new video on demand site: gilberthouse.org/video! Check out our online store! GilbertHouse.org/store is a virtual book table with books and DVDs related to our weekly Bible study. Take advantage of our monthly specials! And check out our new line of T-shirts and mugs! Think better, feel better! Our partners at Simply Clean Foods offer freeze-dried, 100% GMO-free food and delicious, vacuum-packed fair trade coffee from Honduras. Find out more at GilbertHouse.org/store/.——————WE'RE GOING BACK TO ISRAEL! Our 2025 tour features special guests Dr. Judd Burton and Doug Van Dorn! We will tour the Holy Land March 25–April 3, 2025, with an optional three-day extension in Jordan. For more information, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel. PLEASE NOTE: Due to security concerns, our Solidarity Mission planned for November 6–13, 2024 has been canceled.

It's four martinis for the price of three today as Jim and Greg unpack the latest details in the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, the prisoner swap with Russia that freed two Americans, the government striking a plea bargain with 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and Donald Trump focusing on Kamala's race instead of her train wreck of a record.First, they enjoy learning how Haniyeh was killed by a bomb planted months earlier and detonated remotely. It seems to point more clearly to an Israeli operation and a massive, embarrassing failure for the Iranian government and especially its terrorist arm, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.Next, they're thrilled to hear Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan are being released by Russia. What reports don't tell us yet is who or what the U.S. is giving Russia in return. And given the Obama-Biden track record on lopsided prisoner swaps, that's an important question.Then, they groan as the U.S. government strikes a plea deal with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other 9/11 conspirators. The agreement removes the possibility of capital punishment for any of them. 9/11 survivors and family members are not happy. And while Jim and Greg understand there's a slight possibility of these terrorists revealing more than they already have, it's hard to imagine anyone more deserving of death then they are.Finally, Jim unloads on Donald Trump for wondering when Kamala Harris decided she was black because he says she spent much of her life identifying with her Indian heritage. Not only does that moment give Harris a chance to go on offense, but it shows Trump getting distracted from going after the endless political liabilities Harris brings into this campaign.

We talk to former CIA agent Mike Baker about the aftermath of the assassination attempt on Trump and whether or not it seems like a government inside job. Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate testified Tuesday on the assassination attempt on Donald Trump. Accountability and firings have been called for, but as of now, the only one out of a job is Kimberly Cheatle. In a statement by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps last night, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated along with one of his bodyguards in Tehran, Iran. This afternoon, Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, reportedly ordered a direct strike on Israel.  Go to TryMiracle.com/NORMAL and use the code NORMAL to claim your FREE THREE-PIECE TOWEL SET and SAVE over 40%.  Guests: Mike Baker, Derek Richards, and Matt McClowry

Canada has labelled the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code. The federal government has faced years of pressure to do so since the downing of flight PS752. And: Statistics Canada releases 20 years of heat-related mortality data as millions swelter under heat warnings. The stats reveal heat led to hundreds of excess deaths. Experts warn it's time to treat heat like a natural disaster, and have a plan for where to go to escape. Plus: It's been a day of glowing praise for the late baseball legend Willie Mays, one of America's most beloved players in the history of the sport. Mays excelled at every aspect of baseball, combining supreme skills with a charismatic personality.

Earlier this month, Israel launched an attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria, killing a Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Israeli government has neither confirmed nor denied the attack, but even in the presence of a denial, this would be a safe bet. Lacking one, it amounts to a confession. This was […] The post SurrealPolitiks S01E054 – Tensions first appeared on SurrealPolitiks.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps cried foul this week after seven of its top officials were killed in an airstrike on Damascus, including its senior-most official in Syria who has ties to Hezbollah. Iran blamed Israel for the attack, warning that its response will be harsh. In this episode, Kasim notes the irony of Tehran's outrage considering the IRGC's decades-long history of mass executions at home and murder of innocent people worldwide. The CUFI Minute is another way to enjoy CUFI's online news and analysis segment, the CUFI Weekly. Featuring host Kasim Hafeez, this microcast is a quick yet in-depth topical segment you can listen to while commuting to work or making your afternoon cup of coffee. We should stand in solidarity against terrorism including when it happens in Israel. In under 10 minutes a week, learn about the history behind many threats facing Israel, the significance of important holidays and anniversaries throughout the year, and what's happening in Israel and the broader Middle East.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps commander responsible for that terrorist group's operations in and from Syria and Lebanon was killed yesterday in a consular building in Damascus. Israel has not taken responsibility, but is presumed to have pulled off the airstrike that killed Mohammad Reza Zahedi and six other jihadists. The UN Security Council will convene this afternoon to denounce that attack on a diplomatic compound. But its use by Iranian terrorists is a fresh reminder of the evil nature of the enemy Israel confronts – as do we. The IRGC and its proxies also routinely use hospitals, schools and mosques as arsenals, headquarters and staging sites for attacks, typically against Israeli civilians.  While Israel strives to minimize casualties among non-combatants, in a war for its very survival, the Jewish State cannot allow its mortal enemies diabolically to use such sites as sanctuaries.  This is Frank Gaffney.

Rachel Maddow warns of 'Trump The Authoritarian' after his big win in Iowa, and then she promptly refuses to play his victory speech on MSNBC without any trace or hint of the irony. Plus, Arizona is allowing grown adults in their underwear and fetish gear to ride the metro with children, and it's not even pride month yet! And finally, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is taking responsibility for bombing northern Iraq near the U.S. consulate there - are we headed for a wider regional war with Tehran in the Middle East?Guests:Andrea Kaye | Radio Host & OAN ContributorBunni Pounds | Founder & President, Christians EngagedDr. Shea Bradley-Farrell | President, Counterpoint InstituteJohn Rossomando | National Security Researcher

Today, we're looking at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau being heckled by a Hamas supporter in Brampton, Ontario, who challenged the PM on the group's terrorist status and likened "Palestinian resistance" to "Ukrainian resistance." Plus, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre took aim at the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps yesterday, continuing to push for the group to be added to the terror list. And finally, nursing homes in Ontario have reinstated mask mandates. Should we expect to see this policy spread elsewhere?

Former Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney and National Review Contributing Editor Andy McCarthy is in for Jim, who will be back on Monday. Today, Andy and Greg cheer the U.S. strikes against Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps sites in Syria following multiple drone attacks against U.S. forces in the region last week. But Andy is very concerned that the Biden administration refuses to get tough with Iran, who is clearly collaborating with Hamas, Russia, and the Chinese. Andy also breaks down the open letter from Sen. Chuck Grassley alleging that dozens of whistleblowers have told him the FBI and Justice Department are refusing to follow up on key evidence of the Biden family corruption and are actively trying to bury it all.Finally, Andy walks us through the incredibly generous deal offered to New York Rep. Jamal Bowman for intentionally pulling a fire alarm to delay a House vote late last month. New video proves Bowman's story to date is false. Andy explains why Bowman should have been charged with disrupting a congressional proceeding and why this sweetheart deal of a $1,000 fine and the charge not staying on his record permanently was done.Please visit our great sponsors:4Patriothttps://4Patriots.com/martiniCatch the deal of the day before it is gone! After Deathhttps://angel.com/threemartinilunchGet your tickets today for After Death, opening October 27th. Rated PG-13HumanN Super Beetshttps://getsuperbeets.comUse promo code SARA for a free 30-day supply of Superbeets Heart Chews and 15% off your first order.

Former Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney and National Review Contributing Editor Andy McCarthy is in for Jim, who will be back on Monday. Today, Andy and Greg cheer the U.S. strikes against Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps sites in Syria following multiple drone attacks against U.S. forces in the region last week. But Andy is very concerned […]

New price data show inflation slowing, raising hopes of economists. Former President Trump takes the Fifth. And the Department of Justice unseals charges against a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, accusing him of plotting to kill former National Security Adviser John Bolton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Israeli Knesset coalition is divided over the approaching annual march through Jerusalem's Old City. Without any evidence cited, the Palestinian so called “probe” into the killing of Abu Akleh says that the IDF deliberately shot her. And the Foreign Ministry Chief says the US needs to explain the leak on the elimination of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps officer.

On COI #255, Kyle Anzalone and Connor Freeman discuss the latest Iran news, military spending in President Joe Biden's massive 2023 budget request, and why the antiwar movement was right about the new Cold War with Russia. Kyle covers Biden's new sanctions imposed on Iran over their ballistic missile program and what this means for a U.S. return to the nuclear deal. Connor talks about Iran's apparent refusal to accept a deal unless the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is removed from the U.S. Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) blacklist. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel this weekend meeting with his Israeli counterpart as well as foreign ministers from Arab states who have “normalized” relations with Tel Aviv per the Abraham Accords. All parties involved used this occasion to promote further military integration aimed at Tehran. Tel Aviv is still doing its best to undermine America's diplomacy with Iran. Kyle covers a series of articles he wrote recently at the Libertarian Institute reporting on the $5.8 trillion 2023 budget request and all the welfare being doled out to the various bureaucracies and the military industrial complex. The Pentagon is receiving $11.2 billion for its cyberwarfare activities, an eight percent increase over last year's budget. Kyle details how additional billions in war spending are being funneled through other bureaucracies like the State Department, including billions in further military aid to Israel, Jordan, and Egypt. The Navy is retiring multiple warships, many of which were built in recent years, and which are riddled with defects, only to “reinvest” the billions they claim to have saved on further maintenance of these useless, costly ships. The military budget is seeing an increase of over $30 billion. Absurdly, the Navy's budget chief talks about this as if he is saving the taxpayers' money. Connor breaks down his latest Libertarian Institute column on why the antiwar movement did not “get it wrong,” but actually opposed all of Washington's policies which in fact led to Russia's war in Ukraine. The apologies should therefore be issued by the neoconservatives and liberal hawks who got us into this mess in the first place. Biden's regime cultivated this war with aggressive policies including during the very days which preceded the invasion. The administration continues to implement policies which make the U.S. a clear belligerent in the conflict, prolong the Ukrainians' suffering, and risk wider war. Odysee Rumble  Donate LBRY Credits bTTEiLoteVdMbLS7YqDVSZyjEY1eMgW7CP Donate Bitcoin 36PP4kT28jjUZcL44dXDonFwrVVDHntsrk Donate Bitcoin Cash Qp6gznu4xm97cj7j9vqepqxcfuctq2exvvqu7aamz6 Patreon Subscribe Star YouTube Facebook  Twitter  MeWe Apple Podcast  Amazon Music Google Podcasts Spotify iHeart Radio Support Our Sponsor Visit Paloma Verde and use code PEACE for 20% off our CBD

Today on Israel's celebrated Jerusalem Day, over 100 rockets have landed inside the Jewish state, including Jerusalem. Islamic Jihad has just posted a video of an attack on an Israeli vehicle using an anti-tank missile. To view, see today's broadcast. Moreover, launched by Hamas, seven rockets have now hit Jerusalem - Israel's capital. Indeed, over the last several hours, as Jews prayed at the Western Wall and celebrated their ancient capital - the holy city of Zion - the only capital city to have ever been mentioned hundreds of times in the Hebrew scriptures, the Torah or the Old Testament, the Jewish people have remained under constant bombardment. In this second video, watch as Jewish citizens continue to pray as violent riots by Muslim Arabs are also transpiring on the Temple Mount. It is Ramadan. Muslim violence against non-Muslims is typically increased during this Islamic holy month. And although Israel has not initiated a single attack, the White House has called on Israel to show restraint. Meanwhile, Christians are also under constant terror and death in the Sinai. See: https://www.raymondibrahim.com/2021/05/10/they-are-burning-us-alive-say-sinais-coptic-christians/ U.S. National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, has called on Israeli to show restraint. However, I suggest that we let the Biden administration know that a better use of their time would be to have multiple conversations with senior PA officials and leaders of the Hamas terror entity to end the attacks against a sovereign nation-state. With the Democrats back in the White House, Israel's security is once more undermined. Moreover, these rocket attacks coming from the Gaza Strip suggest that Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, i.e., Palestinians who terrorize Israel as well as local Christian Arabs, are likely acting as proxies for the Islamic regime of Iran. Hear the Islamic Republic of Iran's latest propaganda as they call for Israel's annihilation in this music video on today's broadcast. . . . Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has responded by making it clear that the terrorist organizations attacking the entrances to Jerusalem with missiles will be met with "great force." He went on to state: "We will not suffer harm to our territory, our capital, our citizens and our soldiers. Whoever attacks us will pay a heavy price." https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/305939 Also today, 13 Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps fast-attack vessels came within 150 yards of U.S. ships. The purpose of which appears to harrass U.S. ships escorting the USS Georgia - a guided missile submarine. It needs to end! Tell the Biden administration it is time to put Iran in its place, not negotiate another nuclear deal that rewards Iran for bad nation-state behavior. See: https://www.facebook.com/TheDeniceGaryShow/videos/807763733498832

FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP HANDED DESTROYER-IN-CHIEF BIDEN A GIFT ON IRAN: Leverage from a position of strength and massive pressure through tough economic sanctions. Using sanctions on Iran's central bank, its energy sector, other institutions and government officials were all part of the Trump administration's work to prevent Iran from having the resources to complete a nuclear bomb, to advance their missile program, including intercontinental ballistic weapons or ICBMs, and from growing the ranks of paid Islamic terrorists who operate through Iranian backed terror groups and militias. Islamic groups on Tehran's payroll such as Hizballah, Al Quds, (Jerusalem Force), one of five (5) branches of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps or IRGC, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, and others in addition to Islamic militia groups, have continued to attack American civilians and military forces when and where they can. Following Biden's election, you could hear an Iraqi Militia Leader on Iranian on official Iranian Press TV make clear that from Iran's perspective the "Iranian Axis is on the rise while the broken doomed American axis is declining." [See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N24gjqAuVnU ] Meanwhile, Joe Biden has chosen to put people on his team that have worked quietly with Iranian officials to blow-up the Trump team's efforts to achieve greater stability in the region by depriving Iran of the money and influence it had under the Obama-Biden team to destabilize the Middle East, attack Israel, and kill American soldiers on the ground around the world. But we just saw Awliya Al Dam, or Guardians of Blood, claim responsibility for killing an American contractor, injuring an American soldier and several American contractors. U.S. and Iraqi officials say smaller organizations like this have been linked to better known Iranian proxies such as Kataib Hizballah - who focus on killing Americans overseas. The Islamic Republic of Iran wants to weaken countries throughout the region to create a situation in which its militia groups can act with impunity. Due to President Trump's sanctions, over the last two years Iran's advancement through proxies was ended - Tehran just could not afford it.... And on Tuesday, Tehran officially suspended its implementation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty Additional Protocol, which gave nuclear inspectors increased access to Iran's nuclear program. This includes the ability to carry out snap inspections at undeclared sites. President Biden and his Secretary of State have said that they will revive the JCPOA, 2015 nuclear deal if Iran comes back into strict compliance with the accords. Let's see how long it takes Biden to walk this back. See: https://www.facebook.com/TheDeniceGaryShow/videos/257838179257819

Last updated : 2021.02.03 The latest news from home and abroad, with a close eye on Northeast Asia and the Korean Peninsula in particular

This week, Executive Vice President John Byrne, and Creative Director Elliot Berman of the AML RightSource staff talk about the announcement from the Department of Justice of the seizure of 27 domain names being used by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps – a designated terrorist organization. The websites were being used to manipulate public opinion in many countries including the United States.

SPECIAL EDITION In 2011, former U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati travelled to Iran to visit his aging grandmother. Shortly before he was scheduled to return to the U.S., he was arrested and taken hostage by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. He was at one time sentenced to death and was finally released on January 26, 2016 after nearly 5 years in an Iranian prison. Amir recently released his memoir titled “Crossfire - Trapped in the US-Iran Covert War”. https://www.amazon.com/Crossfire-Trapped-US-Iran-Covert-War/dp/B088BD98HP Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

In this episode of Security Sunday, your resident nerds tackle the operations of the infamous Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. We break down its mysterious Quds Force, it’s enigmatic former leader Qassem Soleimani, and why he was assassinated by the United States. Find out how the IRGC has been a part of every major conflict in the Middle East, including Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon. This Security Sunday builds on some of the themes from our last standard episode "Maximum Pressure", so be sure to give both a listen!

WHO says ‘coronavirus will be with us for a long time’ and as people stay home, Earth turns wilder and cleaner *)Coronavirus will be with us for a long time – WHO The World Health Organization says the world has 'a long way to go' in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that most countries were still in the early stages of tackling the pandemic. Some countries that thought they had the new coronavirus under control were witnessing a resurgence in cases, he said. *)Trump says US will destroy Iranian gunboats if they ‘harass’ US ships President Trump instructed the US Navy to "shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea". The order came one week after small armed Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps speedboats reportedly swarmed around US Navy and Coast Guard ships in the northern Gulf. While such encounters had only occasionally occurred a few years ago and had since stopped, this incident comes at a time of increased tensions between the two countries. *)Dismissed US vaccines agency chief questions decision The dismissed head of the US vaccine agency has accused President Donald Trump’s administration of unfair treatment. Doctor Rick Bright believes he was demoted on Tuesday for opposing the chloroquine treatment promoted by President Donald Trump. In a statement, he said he was against promoting drugs by companies with political connections. *)Russia’s Wagner used chemical weapon, Libya says Russian private military contractor Wagner had carried out a chemical attack in Libya, Tripoli's interior minister said. Fathi Bashagha said Wagner mercenaries used nerve agent against forces of Libya’s GNA in southern Tripoli. Russia’s Wagner Group is one of the most controversial groups among mercenaries backing warlord Khalifa Haftar in Libya.. And finally… *)As people stay home, Earth turns wilder and cleaner As people across the globe stay home to stop the spread of the new coronavirus, the air has cleaned up, albeit temporarily. Coyotes, pumas and other wildlife on urban streets are becoming video social media staples. Pollution-filled big cities around the globe are seeing a decrease in nitrogen dioxide, smog and tiny particles.

India Rising: Strategic Affairs Conversations with Mohal and Kishor @mohaljoshi @veggiediplomat 2020 has started with a bang with a lot of happenings from around the world. One of the most impactful among them, if not the most, was the United States neutralising General Qassem Soleimani, a Major General in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and also the Commander of Iran's Quds Force. Cover tune: Hand In Hand by Nicolai Heidlas | https://www.nicolai-heidlas.com Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this re:joinder episode, Calvin presents Alex and Sophie with a set of op-eds -- all published in ostensibly liberal magazines -- that retroactively justify President Trump's Jan. 3, 2020 assassination of Qasem Soleimani, major general of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. In our analysis, we expose the presuppositions latent in these articles' narratives of post-9/11 US foreign policy, filling in some missing context about US ground and proxy wars in the Middle East since the second-half of the 20th century. We break down the tactics used in these articles to construct Soleimani as an enemy figure for US & European audiences, part of a broader US strategy of demonizing the government of Iran. We also compare these pieces to discourses about prior US assassination targets such as ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Finally, we consider how American war discourse is shaped by our (lack of) proximity to its material consequences, and consider how this constrains political possibilities in the US.Texts Analyzed in this EpisodeAarabi, K. (Jan. 7, 2020). Suleimani's Killing Could Change the Middle East for the Better. Foreign Policy.Bergen, P. (Jan 3, 2020). The killing of Iran's General Soleimani is hugely significant (opinion). CNN.com.Sadjapour, K. (Jan 9, 2020). “Why the U.S. Assassination of Soleimani Is a Windfall for Iran's Mullahs.” Time.Relevant Works of Rhetorical ScholarshipCap, P. (2013). Legitimisation in Political Discourse: A Cross-Disciplinary Perspective on the Modern US War Rhetoric. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Cloud, D. L. (2004). “To veil the threat of terror”: Afghan women and the in the imagery of the US war on terrorism. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 90(3), 285-306.Engels, J., & Saas, W. O. (2013). On acquiescence and ends-less war: An inquiry into the new war rhetoric. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 99(2), 225-232.Flanagan, J. C. (2004). Woodrow Wilson's" Rhetorical Restructuring": The Transformation of the American Self and the Construction of the German Enemy. Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 7(2), 115-148.Ivie, R. L. (1980). Images of savagery in American justifications for war. Communications Monographs, 47(4), 279-294.Lakoff, G. (1991). Metaphor and war: The metaphor system used to justify war in the Gulf. Peace Research, 25-32.Oddo, J. (2011). War legitimation discourse: Representing ‘Us' and ‘Them' in four US presidential addresses. Discourse & Society, 22(3), 287-314.Oddo, J. (2014). Intertextuality and the 24-hour News Cycle: A Day in the Rhetorical Life of Colin Powell's UN Address. Michigan State University Press.Oddo, J. (2018). The Discourse of Propaganda: Case Studies from the Persian Gulf War and the War on Terror. Penn State Press.Vicaro, M. P. (2016). Deconstitutive rhetoric: The destruction of legal personhood in the Global War on Terrorism. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 102(4), 333-352.Wander, P. (1984). The rhetoric of American foreign policy. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 70(4), 339-361.

See this disturbing televised clip from the Iranian Fars News Agency showing Islamic terrorists assassinating the President of the United States, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.... Hear PHILIP HANEY, Former Founding Member of the Department of Homeland Security, Intel Specialist on Islamic terrorist networks in the United States, and author of See Something, Say Nothing: A Homeland Security Officer Exposes the Government's Submission to Jihad, respond to the implications of this propaganda piece. Then hear what a so-called "conservative" on the Tucker Carlson Show says about Israel while Iran and its terror proxies, groups like Hizballah, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Quds Force, the Islamic Jihad Organization, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, etc., continue to target Americans and American interests around the world. See: https://www.facebook.com/TheDeniceGaryShow/videos/460728884619879/ And please share this broadcast with others and help continue the work of The Denice Gary Show by making your tax deductible contribution to The Middle East Initiative, P.O. Box 82162, Bakersfield, CA 93380 a 501 c 3 educational foundation!

See actual film footage of thousands of Iranians who took to the streets throughout Iran over the weekend after learning that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, had DELIBERATELY SHOT DOWN a CIVILIAN AIRLINER, Ukrainian Flight 752 from Tehran to Kiev, Ukraine's capital city. Hear MAJOR GENERAL PAUL VALLELY, (ret), on what may be the end result of these protests.... And learn what President Trump is doing behind the scenes to encourage protesters who demand freedom from the brutality and barbarity of the Ayatollahs, Iranian protesters who now call for the annihilation of the Islamic Republic of Iran. And get more insight into Attorney General William Barr and the Trump administration's decision to remove nearly two dozen Saudi military students from a training program and send them back to Saudi Arabia following the deadly shooting by a Saudi aviation student at Pensacola Florida navy base last month. See:https://www.facebook.com/TheDeniceGaryShow/videos/2649092281874957/ Share this broadcast with others and help continue the work of The Denice Gary Show by making your tax deductible contribution to The Middle East Initiative, P.O. Box 82162, Bakersfield, CA 93380 a 501 c 3 educational foundation!

Under President Trump's direction, the United States military successfully executed a flawless, precision strike that killed the number-one terrorist the world over, Qassem Soleimani, General of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force - a man who has planned and guided terrorist attacks inside the United States and across six continents. Hear PHILIP HANEY, speak to the importance of this intel operation in strengthening the deterrent against Iran as well as other Islamic terrorist groups. As Secretary of Defense stated and Haney explains, "the game has changed and we're prepared to do what is necessary to defend our personnel, and our interests and our partners in the region." Hear why this counter-terrorism operation is not an act of war, why, and what may be next! See: https://www.facebook.com/TheDeniceGaryShow/videos/1164426993763584/?epa=SEARCH_BOX Share this broadcast with others and help continue the work of The Denice Gary Show by making your tax deductible contribution to The Middle East Initiative, P.O. Box 82162, Bakersfield, CA 93380 a 501 c 3 educational foundation!

In a stunning and devastating airstrike, on January 2nd, the US military killed General Qasem Soleimani, leader of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corp and Quds Force. This special report lays out what we've learned about it and what's next.

PHILIP HANEY, former Department of Homeland Security intelligence official, whistle-blower, author and speaker on breaking news from the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine on money laundering schemes and the $7.4 BILLION funneled to Franklin Templeton Investments with its connections to the U.S. Democratic Party and Obama's national security advisor! And other breaking news on leaked Iranian intelligence documents tying Muslim Brotherhood groups to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, IRGC and their plans to attack Israel and the United States.... Hear and learn more!

Since July of 2018, Iraq has been rocked by mass protests against the corruption and malfeasance of the country’s political elites, and the ability of the state to provide basic services such as electricity and sewage. These protests have taken a violent turn in recent weeks as security forces have killed over 250 people, in … Continue reading "Return to Sender: Lebanon, Iraq and the Political Economy of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Abroad"

Former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci and Yahoo News Contributor Zach Dorfman join co-hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on this episode of Skullduggery. "The Mooch" has been outspoken about Trump's recent flurry of racist tweets and warns the President he may be heading down the wrong path to re-election. Then Dorfman fills us in on what the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is as well as what they are up to around the world with an exclusive story. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

National Security Adviser John Bolton talks to Hugh about the Middle East and Venezuela.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hugh and Duane talk about baseball and show prep, and what will probably lead tomorrow, which is Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declaring the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America applaud the Trump Administration for finally designating the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a “foreign terrorist organization” after the group has for years sponsored and participated in terrorism throughout the Middle East. They also worry that the revolving door of cabinet officials in the Trump administration is causing too much instability as Kirstjen Nielsen resigns as secretary of the Department Homeland Security. And they wonder if former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville has a chance to overcome one of the nation's fiercest college football rivalries and win the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate race in Alabama. 

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, John Kiriakou is joined by Massoud Shadjareh, the founder of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, and Mohammad Marandi, an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of Tehran.Iranian officials this morning vowed “unforgiving revenge” over an attack on a military parade on Saturday that killed 29 people, including the four attackers, and wounded 70. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps blamed “regional supporters of terrorism,” meaning Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both of which denied involvement. US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, meanwhile, said that Iran’s president should look in the mirror before blaming others. And this as Rudy Giuliani addressed the “Iran Uprising Summit” in Manhattan hosted by the bizarre political cult and terrorist organization MEK, a group that counts National Security Advisor John Bolton as one of its allies. Monday’s regular segment Technology Rules with Chris Garaffa is a weekly guide on how monopoly corporations and the national surveillance state are threatening cherished freedoms, civil rights and civil liberties. Web developer and technologist Chris Garaffa joins the show. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was summoned to the White House this morning as rumors swirled that he had either resigned or would be fired. Neither happened, but in Rosenstein’s meeting with White House chief of staff John Kelly, he requested a meeting with the President on Thursday. The speculation now is that he will resign then. John speaks with Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist whose work is at rall.com, and Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of three books—”The Frozen Republic,” “The Velvet Coup,” and “America's Undeclared War.” Federal prosecutors in New York are weighing criminal charges against former Obama White House general counsel Greg Craig amid allegations that he failed to register as a foreign agent in a probe that is linked to the Paul Manafort investigation. Prosecutors are also considering charges against Craig’s law firm, international legal powerhouse Skadden Arps. Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net, joins the show. Moscow will bolster Syria’s air defense following the downing of a Russian plane last week by sending a modern S-300 air defense system to the Syrian army in the next two weeks, according to the Russian defense minister. The decision was made by Russian president Vladimir Putin because of Israeli involvement in the plane’s shoot-down. Mark Sleboda, an international relations and security analyst, joins John. As Senate Republicans push for a quick vote this week on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, Senate Democrats are investigating a new allegation of sexual misconduct against him. Deborah Ramirez, who went to Yale with Kavanaugh, said he exposed himself to her at a party. This is the second allegation against Brett Kavanaugh of sexual harassment or assault. Professor Hannah Dickinson, associate professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and a women’s advocate, joins the show.Monday’s segment “Education for Liberation with Bill Ayers” is where Bill helps us look at the state of education across the country. What’s happening in our schools, colleges, and universities, and what impact does it have on the world around us? John speaks with Bill Ayers, an activist, educator and the author of the book “Demand the Impossible: A Radical Manifesto.”

In Part 2, Beth discusses the creation and activities of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, concerns about Iran's nuclear program during the Bush years, and the negotiation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Recommended Resources: Sunni and Shi'a Terrorism:Differences that Matter JCPOA Fact Sheet See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Joining Audrey for this week's REELTalk - Transgenderism or Gender Dysphoria…do those afflicted with this disorder have a right to serve in our Military…and is this a good idea? Is there a crisis of character in our Military and does this effect our National Security? We'll get answers with Marine MAJ FRED GALVIN! Plus, Are Our Special Operations Forces stretched too far…and if yes, will this serve our national security interests? And the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is claiming victory concerning the anti-Regime protests…is this fact or more Mullah propaganda? Heritage Foundation's Dr. STEVEN BUCCI will be with us to find answers. AND, We now live in a culture where babies are aborted for being the wrong sex…where people afflicted with gender confusion are pushed further into their delusion. Why are those who know what’s right, not standing against this cultural plague? We'll explore this and more with Dove Award nominated recording artist STEVE CAMP! In the words of Benjamin Franklin, "If we do not hang together, we shall surely hang separately." Come hang with us...

In this concluding post of John Carlin’s Lessons from the DOJ, we cover a few emerging threats: cyber as an entry point, hacking for hire and cybersecurity in the IoT era. One of the most notable anecdotes are John’s descriptions of how easy it was to find hacking for hire shops on the dark web. Reviews of the most usable usernames and passwords and most destructive botnets are widely available to shoppers. Also, expect things to get worse before they get better. With the volume of IoT devices now available developed without security by design, we'll need to find a way to mitigate the risks. Transcript Cindy Ng: You may have following our series on John Carlin's work during his tenure as Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Justice Department. He described cyber as an entry point as one of our threats using our latest election process as an example. But now, John has a few more emerging threats to bring to your attention, hacking for hire and cyber security in the IoT era. One of John's striking descriptions is how easy it is to find hacking for hire shops on the dark web. Reviews of the most usable usernames and passwords and the most destructive botnets are widely available to shoppers. Expect things to get worse before they get better. With the volume of IoT devices created without security by design, we'll need to find a way to mitigate the risk. John Carlin: Let me move to emerging threats. We've talked about cyber as an entry part, a way that an attack can start. Even when the cyber event isn't really the critical event in the end, our electoral system and confidence in it wasn't damaged because there was an actual attack on the voting infrastructure, if there's an attack where they steal some information that's relatively easy to steal and then they get to combine with the whole campaign of essentially weaponizing information, and that caused the harm. The other trend we're seeing is the hacking for hire. I really worry about this one. I think over the next five years, what we're seeing is, the dark web now, it's so easy to use, well, I don't recommend this necessarily, but when you go on it, you see sophisticated sales bazaars that look as customer-friendly as Amazon. And when I say that I mean it literally looks like Amazon. I went on one site and it's complete with customer reviews, like, "I gave him four stars, he's always been very reliable, and 15% of the stolen user names and passwords that he gives me work, which is a very high rate." Another one will be like, "This crook's botnet has always been really good at doing denial-of-service attacks, five stars!" So that's the way it looks right now on the dark web, and that's because they're making just so much, so much money they can invest in an infrastructure and it starts to look as corporate as our private companies. What I worry about, is because those tools are for rent, use the botnet example, you know, one of the cases that we did was the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps attack on the financial sector. They hit 46 different financial institutions with the distributed denial-of-service attack, taking advantage of a huge botnet of hundreds and hundreds of thousands of compromised computers. They'd knocked financial institutions, who have a lot of resources offline, effected hundreds of thousands of customers, cost tens of millions of dollars. Right now, on the dark web, you can rent the use of an already made botnet. So the criminal group creates the botnet, they're not the ones who necessarily use it. Right now they tend to rent it to other criminal groups who will do things like GameOver Zeus, a case that we did, you know, they'll use it for profit, they'll use it for things like injecting malware that will lead to ransomware or injecting malware for a version of extortion, essentially, where they were turning on people's video cameras and taking naked pictures, and then charging money, or all the other criminal purposes you can put a botnet to. But it doesn't take much imagination to see how a nation stayed or a terrorist group could just rent what the criminal groups are doing to cause an attack on your companies. In terms of emerging threats, you're certainly tracking the Internet of Things era. I mean, you think about how far behind we are given where the threat is just because we moved very, very quickly from putting everything we value, from analog to digital space, connecting it to the internet over a 25-year period roughly. We're now on the verge of an even more transformative evolution, where we put not just information, but all the devices that we need from everything, from the pacemakers in our heart, the original versions that were rolled out, actually this is still an issue, for good medical reasons they wanted to be able to track in real-time information coming out of people's hearts, but they rolled it out un-encrypted, because they just don't think about it when it comes to the Internet of Things. They were testing whether it worked, which it did, but they weren't testing whether it would work where they had security by design, if a bad guy, a crook, a terrorist, or a spy wanted to exploit them. Drones in the sky, they were rolled out, same problem, rolled out originally not encrypted commercial drone. So, again, a 12-year-old could kill someone by taking advantage of the early pacemakers, they could with drones as well. And then the automobiles on our roads, forgetting the self-driving vehicle already, estimates are 70% of the cars on the road by 2020 are essentially gonna be computers on wheels. One of the big cases we dealt with was the proof of concept hack where someone got in through the entertainment system through the steering and braking system, then led to 1.4 million car recall of Jeep Cherokees. So that's the smart device used to cause new types of harm, from car accidents, to drones in the sky, to killing people on pacemakers. But we also just have the sheer volume, it's exponentially increasing and we saw the denial-of-service attack that we've all been warning about for a period of time take place this October, knocked down essentially internet connectivity for a short period of time. Because there were just so many devices, from video cameras, etc., that are default being rolled out and can be abused. So, hopefully there will be regulatory public policy focus to try to fix that. In the interim though, my bottom line is, things are gonna get worse before they get better on the threat side, which is why we need to focus on the risk side. We won't spend too much time on what government's been doing. We've talked about some of it a little bit already, but this is...the idea is, we need to, one, bring deterrents to bare, make the bad guys feel pain. Because as long as they're getting away completely cost-free, offense is gonna continue to vastly outstrip defense. Number two, we gotta figure out a way to share information better with the private sector. And I think you're hopefully seeing some of that now, where government agencies, FBI, Justice, Secret Service are incentivized to try to figure out ways to increase information sharing for information that, for many, many years now, has been kept only on the classified side of the house. And that's a whole new approach for government, and it just in its early steps. But, we've been moving too slowly given where the threat is, we need to do more, faster. You know, just a couple weeks ago they heard the Director of the FBI said, "Okay, they came after us in 2016 in the Presidential election, but I'm telling you they're gonna do it again in 2020," and the head of National Security Agency agreed. That's in just one sphere, so I think we're definitely in a trend now where we need to move faster in government. What's law enforcement doing? They're increasing the cooperation. They're doing this new approach on attribution. When I was there, we issued towards towards the end a new presidential policy directive that tried to clarify who's in charge of threat, assets, intel support to make it easier. That said, if any of you guys actually looked at the attachment on that, it had something like 15 different phone numbers that you're supposed to call in the event of an incident. And so, right now, what you need to do is think ahead on your crisis and risk mitigation plan, and know by name and by face who you'd call law enforcement by having an incident response plan that you test when the worst happens. And there's reasons...I'm not saying in every case do it, but there are reasons to do it, and it can increase the intelligence you get back. It's a hedge against risk, if what you thought was a low level act, like a criminal act, the Ferizi example, turns out to be a terrorist, at least you notified somebody. You also want to pick a door, and this requires sometime getting assistance, you want to pick the right door in government, that ideally minimizes the regulatory risk to your company, depending on what space that you're in, that the information that you provide them, as a victim, isn't used against you to say that you didn't meet some standard of care. Even if...with the shift of administration, I know generally there's a talk about trying to decrease regulations under this administration, but when it comes to cyber, everyone's so concerned about where the risk is, that for a period of time I think we're gonna continue to see a spike, that'll hopefully level off at some point as each of the regulators tries to figure out a way they can move into this space. So, what can you do? One, most importantly, treat this as an inevitability. You know there's no wall high enough, deep enough to keep the dedicated adversary out, and that means changing the mindset. So, where...just like many other areas, this is a risk management, incident response area. Yes, you should focus front end on trying to minimize their ability to get in but you also need to assume that they can, and then plan what's gonna happen when they're in my perimeter. That means knowing what you got, knowing where it is, doing things like assuming they can get into my system. If I have crown jewels, I shouldn't put that in a folder that's called "Crown Jewels," maybe put something else in there that will cause the bad guy to steal the wrong information. Have a loss of efficiency, which is why it's a risk mitigation exercise. I mean, you need to bring the business side in to figure out, how can I, assuming they get in, make it hardest for them to damage what need but most to get back to business. Sony, despite all the public attention, their share price was up that spring, and that's because they knew exactly who and how to call someone in the government. They actually had a good internal corporate process in place in terms of who was responsible for handling the crisis and crisis communication. Second, assuming again that there are sophisticated adversaries that get more sophisticated, they can get in if they want to, you need to have a system that's constantly monitoring internally, what's going on from a risk standpoint, because the faster you can catch what's going on inside your system, the faster you can have plan to either kick them out, remediate it, or if you know the data is already lost, start having a plan to figure out how you can respond to it, whether it's anything from intellectual property, to salacious emails inside your system. And that way, you quickly identify and correct anomalies, reduce the loss of information. Implement access controls, can't hit this hard enough. This is true in government as well, by the way, along with the private sector. The default was just it's just easier to give everybody access. And I think people, when it came very highly regulated types of information, maybe literally, if you know, you had source code, key intellectual property, people knew to try to limit that. But all that other type of sensitive peripheral information, pricing discussions, etc., my experience, a majority of companies don't implement internally controls as to who has access and doesn't, and part of the reason for that is because it's too complicated for the business side so they don't pay attention to doing it, and you can limit access to sensitive information and others. Then you can focus your resources, for those who have access, on how they can use it, and really focus on training them and target your training efforts to those who have the access to the highest risk information. Multi-factor authentication, of course, is becoming standard. What else can you do? Segmenting your network. Many of the worst incidents we have are because of the networks were essentially flat and we watch bad guys cruise around the network. Supply chain risk, large majority, Target, Home Depot, etc., a different version of the supply chain but the same idea. Once you get your better practices in place, the risk can sometimes be down the supply chain or with a 3rd party vendor, but it's your brand that suffers in the event of a breach. Train employees. We talked about how access controls can help you target that training. And then have an incident response plan and exercise it. Some of them will be, you'll go in and there will be an incident response plan, but it's like hundreds of pages, and in an actual incident, nobody's going to look at it. So it needs to be simple enough that people can use, accessible both on the IT, technical side of the house, and the business side of the house, and then exercise, which is, you start spotting issues that really are more corporate governance issues inside the company as you try to do table top exercises. And we've talked a lot about building relationships with law enforcement, and the idea is know by name and by face pre-crisis who it is that you trust in law enforcement, have that conversation with them. This is easier to do if you're a Fortune 500 company to get their attention. If you're smaller, you may have to do it in groups or through an association, but have a sense of who it is that'd you call, and then you need to understand who in your organization will make that call.

Jay Solomon is a reporter for the Wall Street Journal and the author of The Iran Wars: Spy Games, Bank Battles, and the Secret Deals That Reshaped the Middle East. In Episode 6 of the PME podcast, the history of the conflict between the U.S. and Iran is covered along with the events and negotiations that led to the nuclear agreement of July 2015. Mr. Solomon talks about how pressure was exerted on Iran to bring them to negotiate, and observes how the model of economic sanctions might be used against countries like North Korea. The interview also highlights the complexity of foreign policy in the Middle East. Mr. Solomon also talks about Iran’s use of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and their Quds force to achieve their strategic objectives.   Key Takeaways:  The U.S. historically supported Iran as an ally in the region against the Soviet Union. Iran is a Shiite dominated country. They view themselves as the historical great power in the region upholding the legacy of the Persian Empire. The Islamic Revolution of 1979 changed U.S. foreign policy overnight. An ally was swiftly replaced with a foe, whose leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, called America “the great Satan.”  To counter the U.S., Iran allies with enemies of America to include Sunni groups and secular regimes. Their strategic objectives include spreading the Islamic revolution to other countries to include Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and Palestinian territories. On November 4, 1979, Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. For the next 444 days, 52 Americans were held hostage in Iran. President Carter authorized Operation Eagle Claw, which was an attempt to free the hostages with a military rescue. However, a vicious sandstorm caused the rescue effort to fail before the helicopters could reach Tehran. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps was established to protect the revolution at home, but they also use the Quds force to export the revolution abroad. The Quds force, which comes from the word al-Quds meaning “Jerusalem”, is led by Major General Qasem Soleimani The Quds force has mobilized “tens of thousands of fighters in Syria” and continues to actively support Hezbollah and Hamas. Shortly after the Iranian Revolution, Saddam Hussein invaded Iran on September 22, 1980. Saddam saw Iran in a weakened military position, and sought to reclaim disputed territory with oil reserves. What followed was a bloody eight-year war in which Iraq eventually used deadly chemical weapons against Iran.  After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, there appeared to be a slight window in which rapprochement between Iran and the U.S. might have happened. However, with fundamentally misaligned strategic interests, this window quickly closed. The U.S. invasion of Iraq evolved quickly into a proxy battle in which Iran sought to use the Quds force to assert their influence. They funded Shiite based militias and supported businesses and politicians that supported their interests. Part of the U.S. rationale for an invasion dated back to the thinking that Iraq might be a Shiite ally used to counter Iran. This thesis was developed in a book by David Wurmser called Tyranny’s Ally. The Quds force under Sulemani continues to aggressively fund Shiite militias. The Quds force is used to serve Iran’s military and political objectives throughout the Middle East. The development of Iran’s nuclear program dated back to the 1950s, and was initially supported by the United States. However, as of 2002, reports surfaced that Iran had covertly worked to develop their nuclear program without UN knowledge. Iran’s nuclear program accelerated under hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad after his election 2005.       In 2006, the U.S. responded to Iran’s nuclear program with tough sanctions targeting companies that did business with Iran. The goal was to cut Iran off from the international banking system and by 2012 this goal was largely achieved. Another attempt to counter Iran’s nuclear program included the use of malware (aka the “Stuxnet” virus), which caused Iranian centrifuges to spin out of control. In response, Iran developed their own cyber weapons capabilities. When President Obama took office, he shifted the strategic focus to direct engagement with Iran. He indicated clearly that the U.S. did not want regime change in Iran. However, his policy included many initial hurdles to include Iran’s “Green” movement. Additionally, military action was not used against Syria. Mr. Solomon suggests that restraint against Syria was to prevent Iran from walking away from nuclear negotiations.  In November 2013, an interim agreement was concluded and led to the final nuclear agreement in July 2015. U.S. diplomats scaled back on initial “redlines” to include no enrichment, no missiles, no arms exportation. In ten years after the agreement, Iran will be able to have an industrial scale program to produce as much fissile material as they want. Mr. Solomon says that Iran’s negotiators knew the US political system better than U.S. diplomats understood the Iranian political system. For example, Javad Zarif was a “very smooth, western educated diplomat,” who worked directly with Secretary of State John Kerry.  Twice since the 2015 agreement, Iran has nearly breached the terms of the deal. In one case the U.S. bought heavy water used to create plutonium from Iran. Russia bought the heavy water in the second instance.  As the Middle East continues to be mired in conflict, the IRGC retains significant influence. The U.S. must calculate the IRGC and Iran’s proxies with any action taken in the region. Can the Iran sanctions model work against North Korea? China is the most important decider of North Korea’s economic fate. Can cybertechnology be used against North Korea? Is it possible to disrupt North Korean supply chains that support their missile development?  For more information: Check out www.professionalmilitaryeducation.com for links to articles, videos, and additional resources. Be sure to follow Mr. Solomon on Twitter @wsjsolomon and check out the book, The Iran Wars: Spy Games, Bank Battles, and the Secret Deals That Reshaped the Middle East HELP SPREAD THE WORD! If you like this interview, and want to hear others, subscribe in iTunes. Support the show with written reviews, share on social media, and through word of mouth. For any requests for additional shows or guests, e-mail me: tim@professionalmilitaryeducation.com   Thanks for listening!