AlHouthi4President

(A de facto world war is one in which war is continuous, global, undeclared, and administered through economic, informational, clandestine warfare and contained military force, as well as proxy mechanisms, rather than formal military declarations of war. It is asymmetrical, hybrid, and maintains Western Judeo-Christian civilizational hegemony, with the United States as the chief hegemonic officer. By “Western Judeo-Christian,” I am denoting a European empire-building alliance among specific Western formations of Christianity and Judaism. It does not refer to all Christians or all Jews, but to a particular civilizational project and alliance.)

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/44384861

The Israeli army committed a massacre in the heart of Beirut early on 12 March, targeting a group of displaced Lebanese civilians with a drone and killing eight in the Ramlet al-Bayda beach area.

A drone fired three missiles near the promenade where people walk along, and where scores of families displaced from various parts of the country have set up tents.

At least eight people were killed, and 31 were wounded by the attack, which coincided with two deadly airstrikes on the Aramoun area on the outskirts of Beirut, and several other attacks on Beirut’s southern suburb that were heard across the city.

Cover image:

Sayed Abdul-Malik al Houthi, leader of the Yemeni Revolution stands behind his martyred brother Hussein al Houthi, who was killed by American bombs two decades ago.

Sayed Mojtaba Khamenei, leader of the Islamic Revolution stands behind his martyred father Ali Khamenei who was killed by American bombs a week ago.

Lots of fake news and speculation about Sayed Mojtaba Khamenei, the new Leader of Iran. I figured Id share some informative takes that stood out to me.

Is ISIS 2.0 re-emerging in Syria with tacit Western approval? In this explosive Deep Dive Perspective interview, war journalist Marwa Osman exposes the chaotic reality on the ground, arguing that the US has once again "dropped the Kurds" to further a destabilization agenda.

Marwa Osman is a journalist, political commentator, and university lecturer based in Lebanon. She specializes in Middle Eastern affairs, the Axis of Resistance, and the geopolitics of the Levant.

From the release of ISIS prisoners to the expansion of Israel into Syrian territory, Marwa breaks down the complex web of alliances between Turkey, the US, and local militias. We analyze whether the region is facing a new wave of terror designed to fracture the Axis of Resistance and serve the "Greater Israel" project.

Is Syria being partitioned for oil and gas? What role does Erdogan truly play behind the rhetoric? This episode dissects the geopolitics of the Levant, the suffering of the people, and the resilience of those rebuilding amidst the rubble.

In response to some self-described Leftist calling Hamas a "Capitalist Theocratic Fascist" Ms Kates writes:

There have already been many responses to this nonsense, and @Mujamma Haraket long ago wrote the definitive English-language expose of the "propped up by the zionist entity" line of attack, but it's worth considering the framework of many of our responses, coming from the left. Obviously, a great deal of this sort of mischaracterization of the resistance is being done with bad faith, or as a form of conscious or subconscious psychological warfare to advance the interests of imperialism and zionism.

That is, it seeks to split the de facto alliance between the international revolutionary and even broad left, and the resistance and revolutionary forces in the Arab and Iranian region -- in West Asia -- today, which are led by liberation movements with an Islamic identity.

To be clear, these comments are not meant to cast aspersion on the history, present or future of the Arab or regional revolutionary left, which has contributed greatly to the development of the struggle in Palestine & throughout the region, both theoretically and militarily. However, many international leftists, revolutionaries or Marxists have justified their support for the resistance of, for example, Hamas, by citing the support that exists from Palestinian revolutionary or other leftist parties, rather than the movement's own history & analysis.

While this is a valid supplementary argument, and one that speaks to the commitment of national liberation movements to seeking anti-colonial national unity in all the colors of the Palestinian flag, it cannot be the lodestar of a revolutionary alliance with the resistance. The effects of overreliance on adherence to the positions of those who identify themselves as leftists or communists in a country is seen in the relatively weak levels of support, action & mobilizing currently, particularly in the imperial core, with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

This problem is attributable at a far greater scale to alignment with imperialism and refusal to support full-scale national projects that confront it head-on, or the effects of "State Department Socialism", but the former is a major tool of political warfare to block action.

Now, at this time, when many are aware of exactly how this form of reliance on self-identified leftist or communist forces as the (de)legitimizer of movements & states has been deeply damaging re: Iran, we must not replicate it for Palestine, Lebanon or the region as a whole.

For example, the Lebanese Communist Party issued a statement on March 3 that while correctly denouncing the Zionist invasion and assault on Lebanon, ALSO opposed Hezbollah's military response to over 15 months of fake ceasefire, weakening the front of the resistance.

The proper analysis of events in Lebanon is not to rely upon the statements of the LCP, despite its valiant history in the resistance in the 1970s and 1980s, the bravery and commitment of its fighters and prisoners through those years, or the good work done by many members today. It is essential for any revolutionary and anti-imperialist force today to support Hezbollah because it is, materially, one of the greatest anti-imperialist movements globally, in direct confrontation with imperialism & Zionism, dedicated to organizing & uplifting the oppressed.

The statements and perspectives of self-identified Lebanese leftist parties or individuals are only a sideline to the reality of Hezbollah's actual role in Lebanon & the world as a vanguard anti-imperialist, liberationist & internationalist movement.

Similarly, in relation to Palestine, there are a broad array of forces that identify themselves as leftists, and they are distinctly different from one another, including, of course, the Popular and Democratic Fronts, but also many include Hizb al-Shaab or even FIDA, or others. These parties clearly do not share common lines in many cases, although they will also issue joint statements as "five left factions" from time to time. They have widely varying levels of involvement & complicity with the "Palestinian Authority".

The Popular Front is most widely recognized as a revolutionary Palestinian left faction (although the Democratic Front also participated in a significant military form in Gaza throughout Al-Aqsa Flood), and it has maintained a strong alliance w/other, larger resistance forces. At the same time, in 2007, the Front called upon Hamas to return the security buildings & offices to PA president Abu Mazen, after Hamas thwarted the attempted coup directed not only by Fateh but by US advisors. Those 2007 actions, taken of strict necessity, are what paved the road for Gaza's underground development and the military advancement of its resistance (while of course Gaza had been a centre of military resistance for decades).

On many occasions, various Palestinian left factions, including the Front, criticized Hamas, or the Gaza government, here or there, for, essentially, not allowing the PA to direct the future of major institutions in Gaza. In some cases, leftist parties actually criticized Hamas for its developmentist policies in Gaza, such as taxing merchants on imports in order to promote local produce, focusing on tunnel development, or refusing to allow the PA to continue to direct institutions in Gaza. These positions have changed over time. Organizations and parties are dynamic institutions, & change in relation to one another & developments in the world. Palestinian left parties pushed hard to prevent an "alternative to the PLO," despite the disaster that bears the name today.

Again, the purpose of the above is not to make the point about how Hamas, in all of these cases, was right, and the leftist organizations were wrong, but that an anti-imperialist, revolutionary analysis & alliance should base itself on reality, not mere reference -- especially in the context whereby many have little to no meaningful contact with these organization and/or may not have a clear understanding of how positions and policies are developed in relation to political alliances, rather than class or political principle.

For example, "trade unions" that Hamas was accused of "repressing" in one such post (and surely, if one goes back to the late 2000s, early 2010s, one will find statements from left factions making some such allegation) are simply Fateh organizations that act on behalf of the PA.

They do not represent the Palestinian working class, and have played a devastating role in the movement to organize Palestinian workers. The ranks of Hamas and Islamic Jihad are filled by the working classes & popular masses of Palestine, rooted in the refugee camps & villages.

Again, the alliance between the Islamic and left resistance and revolutionary forces in Palestine, today, is strong (although there are plenty of self-described leftist organizations that are not involved in such frameworks, and are attached to the PA as a project).

But if, in the future, this is not the case, it is critical that internationalists and anti-imperialists that seek to play a meaningful role as part of a global camp of the resistance are prepared to develop their relationships based on the reality of the vanguard movements today. The errors made in relation to understanding the Islamic Republic of Iran and its anti-imperialist role in the region, its approach to development, and its political system must not be repeated elsewhere, & not in Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq or elsewhere in this region.

https://farsi.rouhollah.ir/library/sahifeh-imam-khomeini/vol/18/title/111

https://t.me/thecradlemedia/52713

❗️US troops report commanders framing Iran war as ‘God’s plan’

As first reported by independent journalist Jonathan Larsen, a US combat-unit commander told non-commissioned officers that the war on Iran is part of “God’s divine plan,” allegedly claiming President Donald Trump was “anointed by Jesus” to ignite Armageddon. The complaint, filed with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, is one of more than 110 logged within 48 hours from over 40 units across at least 30 installations. Complainants, including Christians, a Muslim, and a Jew, have requested anonymity to avoid retaliation. The Pentagon has yet to respond.

According to MRFF President Mikey Weinstein, service members report “unrestricted euphoria” among segments of the chain of command portraying the assault on Iran as biblically sanctioned and tied to end-times prophecy in the Book of Revelation. One NCO wrote that such rhetoric is eroding morale and violating constitutional oaths, particularly for troops in Ready-Support status who could be deployed at any moment.

The controversy unfolds as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth expands overt evangelical programming within the Pentagon, including prayer sessions and Bible studies aligned with staunch pro-Israel theology. Weinstein reports that many US commanders appear particularly enthused by the prospect of an intensely violent confrontation, emphasizing how much bloodshed they believe is necessary to align events with a fundamentalist Christian end-times narrative.

As a non-Muslim and, in general, an opponent of religious states, I firmly support the Islamic Republic of Iran. Let me explain.

The FIRST and most obvious reason to support Iran is that solidarity is due to any independent people under attack by the imperial power. That much, most people understand. Imperialism has always been the great social evil.

SECOND, and fundamental to the first, since the Iranian people chose a revolutionary path based on Islamic principles, we should respect their right to self-determination, whether or not that is a path we would have chosen for ourselves. The right of a people to self-determination is the key human right, before all others, placed in international human rights law (the ICCPR and the ICESCR) by the former colonial states, with grudging acceptance from the former colonial powers.

It is plain from the recent huge rallies in Iran (January 12, 2026 and February 2026) and surveys - the UNDP reported in 2018 that 71% of Iranians trust their national government (almost double the figure for the USA), while University of Maryland polls in 2019 showed 82% support for murdered Iranian anti-terrorist commander Qassem Soleimani and strong majority support for other political leaders - that the great bulk of the Iranian people in Iran support their nation, especially in face of the new waves of US and Israeli aggression.

The Iranian revolution of 1979 expelled the US-backed dictatorship (of the “Shah” or “Emperor” Mohammad Reza Pahlavi) installed by the Anglo-Americans after they overthrew an elected social democratic government in 1953. After decades of political repression, resistance to this despised regime came to be organised mainly through the mosques. As a result, contemporary Iranian self-determination has been attached to Islamic Shia values which stress the need for sacrifice in opposing unjust regimes and tyrants.

Well before I came into contact with the Arab and Muslim world, I had developed my own spiritual understandings and moral reasoning from other cultures (mostly from India and Latin America). I am not at all closed to learning from other cultures, but similarly not open to adopting a new religion; indeed my spiritual path turned me away from many common elements of organised religion. While respecting the Shia tradition of sacrifice and resistance, and conscious of the tremendous examples of Shia leaders like Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Haj Qassem Soleimani, tremendous ambassadors for their nations and their religions, I maintain a deep conviction that no culture has a monopoly on decent human values. Indeed, I was struck by the common features I saw in indigenous communities of the Pacific Islands and in those of the Arab world. That helped convince me that many traditional and decent human values (e.g. hospitality, reciprocity and inclusivity) developed independently in many parts of the world.

The lessons I learned from Islamic scholars in Syria reinforced this view. Seeing that Quranic scholar Muhammad Said Ramadan Al-Bouti was murdered by Western backed Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists in his Damascus mosque, along with 40 of his followers, taught me the great difference between conservative Sunni Muslim scholars and extremists. And on hearing that I was publishing a book on the resistance (Axis of Resistance, 2019), Syria’s former Grand Mufti Sheikh Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun was quick to tell me that resistance (to Imperialism and Zionism) should never be the property of any particular religion; further, that no state should be based on any particular religion. Even though pluralist Syria (when Assad was president) was closely allied to both Hezbollah and Iran, I appreciated his point.

THIRD, the Islamic Republic of Iran has, for the most part, done the right thing by its people. This is not just a matter of opinion. UNDP reports from 1999 and 2018 show that, between 1990 and 2017, Iran was second only to the People’s Republic of China in making outstanding advances in its Human Development Index. Iran’s HDI grew on average 1.21% per year over those 27 years, mainly due to improvements in mass education and maternal and child health. I discussed this in my 2019 book Axis of Resistance (Chapter 14).

Contrary to much of Western propaganda, average living conditions in Iran were very poor in the pre-revolution period. Yet between 1980 and 2017, average life expectancy in Iran rose from 54.1 to 76.2 years. Average years of schooling more than quadrupled, from 2.2 to 9.8 years. According to a 2022 report by the Washington-based World Bank, the expected years of schooling for children in Iran by 2020 was 11.9 years for boys and 11.8 years for girls. Those tremendous advances in education and health laid the basis for the technical and industrial development pursued by successive Iranian governments, away from a simple dependence on energy reserves, which characterises many oil rich countries.

FOURTH, the Islamic Republic of Iran has provided tremendous support to the Palestinian and other independent peoples of the West Asian region, besieged and attacked as they are by imperial powers and the Zionist enemy. No other state or entity has provided the means for these people to defend themselves. Since 1979, Iran’s support for the Palestinian people and their various Resistance groups - falsely derided as “terrorist” by imperial regimes - has been consistent and strong. This support includes cultural events such as International Quds Day, at the end of Ramadan, to remind Muslims to support the oppressed people of Palestine. Indeed, Iran’s firm support for Palestine is the main reason why the nation has been targeted by the Israelis, Washington and their hangers-on. In response to this, Iran has tried to build regional cooperation and regional resistance to foreign occupation.

A Palestinian academic colleague resident in Iran has taken regular measure of Iranian public support for the government’s backing of the Palestinian resistance; he says that support increased after Trump’s January 2020 murder of Qassem Soleimani and again after the Israeli attacks on Iran in June 2025.

In recent years, Washington has tried to roll the clock back, through hybrid wars consisting of incessant propaganda, direct attacks, economic siege, and contracted terrorism. Some of that propaganda has successfully fooled Western populations into supporting yet another “color revolution”, even though it is obviously orchestrated by Washington and the Israelis.

Much of the propaganda has been anti-Islamic, such as the depiction of Iran as anti-woman, through enforcement of the hijab or head scarf dress code for women. I have to admit I am also against a state imposed dress code aimed at women. However, the Western campaign has been dishonest and ignores the reality of women in Iran.

First of all, hijab or modesty is a religious requirement (not the same as a state mandate). Second, the massive Western campaign claiming that in 2022 Iranian police beat to death a young woman - Mahsa Amini - for improper head scarf was completely false and contrary to the public evidence of CCTV and a coroner’s report. Third, while it is true that many young Iranian women do not like the head scarf rule, they have also subverted it, so that the practice in most Iranian cities is that many Muslim women just wear a loose scarf over their shoulders, raising it when they pass a shrine or a mosque. As a result of this practice, Iranian women have probably the most relaxed hijab custom in the Muslim world.

Finally, while Iran’s leader Seyyed Ali Khamenei strongly supports the hijab as a religious requirement, he has also called for tolerance and respect for women with “inadequate hijab”, saying that “those who do not fully observe the hijab should not be accused of being irreligious or against the Revolution … why do you accuse such people? … [who] are covered in different ways … and are shedding tears [at religious and national events] … they are our own children, they are our daughters.”

Nevertheless, it is difficult for any non-Muslim to accept the principle of religious guardianship (Velayat-e Faqih in Iran), which is the foundation of Iran’s hybrid democratic system. Indeed, there are even some important Shia leaders who opposed this doctrine, such as the late Lebanese Marja Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah. Yet as I said above, religious guardianship is not my choice, it is that of the people of Iran. Further, we can often see greater democratic processes at work in Iran than in the Anglo-American world, which is mostly subject to oligarchic rule.

As an independent observer I have to recognise that the Islamic led Iranian Revolution kicked out a foreign power, then the Islamic Republic invested in its people, making massive advances in the health and education of its boys and girls, building a strong and resilient nation and playing the most important regional role in supporting the Palestinian people and the other independent peoples of the region.

Iran’s consistent firm adherence to principle is not a coincidence but rather a result of its strong and mature leadership since the revolution. For the most part, it has been the liberal wing of Iranian politics that has, at times, weakened the nation, in a fruitless pursuit of some crumbs for ingratiating themselves with Western elites. Without Iran’s principled leadership, there would have been greater concessions to that voracious monster that is Anglo-American imperialism and its bastard Zionist child.