Ed

[The Iran Watcher @TheIranWatcher]

The Islamic Republic admits it would sacrifice Imam Mahdi, massacre other Muslims and manipulate the Quran to preserve its grip on power.

A regime analyst stated this openly on state television:

“For the preservation and survival of the system, even the life of the Imam of the Time does not matter. For the survival of the Islamic Republic, we will even rearrange the verses of the Quran, and we will even kill other Muslims.”

This was not a slip or one extremist’s interpretation. It was the Islamic Republic’s founding doctrine stated without its usual religious disguise.

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini declared that preserving the Islamic Republic was more important than preserving any individual, “even the Imam of the Time.”

He later placed the Islamic government above fundamental religious obligations, including prayer, fasting and pilgrimage.

Muslims believe the Quran is the unalterable word of God. By claiming it can manipulate that divine revelation whenever its survival demands it, the Islamic Republic is effectively placing itself above God and His commands.

The hierarchy is clear:

▪️ The regime stands above Imam Mahdi.
▪️ The regime stands above the Quran.
▪️ The regime stands above Muslim lives.

▪️ The regime ultimately places itself above God.
Once preserving the system becomes the highest religious duty, there is no moral or religious limit on what the state can justify.

Scripture can be distorted, lying made obligatory and Muslims and protesters killed, while clerics, negotiators and commanders are branded traitors whenever the regime’s survival is threatened.

This doctrine explains the Islamic Republic’s bloodiest crimes, from the 1988 prison massacres to the violent suppression of Iranians in 2009, 2019, 2022 and its latest mass crackdown that killed over 45,000 people in January 2026.

These were not isolated excesses or betrayals of the regime’s principles.

They were the principles in action.

The Islamic Republic does not preserve itself to defend Islam or Iran. It uses Islam to preserve itself, then discards or rewrites its teachings whenever they threaten its power.

Nothing is sacred to the Islamic Republic except its own survival.

[Visegrád 24 @visegrad24]

Iran threatens missile strikes on Europe if the US resumes attacks

The Islamic regime in Iran has explicitly threatened direct missile strikes on European soil if the United States uses its bases in Europe to attack Iran.

“Any act of sabotage or military aggression by the US and Israel would trigger an Iranian response, with missiles capable of reaching targets in Europe,” said Islamic regime parliament lawmaker Hossein-Ali Haji Deligani.

Islamic regime media named Germany and Italy as primary targets due to their concentration of U.S. bases. A published map highlighted 15 bases across Europe, including RAF Fairford in the UK and Bezmer Air Base in Bulgaria.

IRGC forces also declared that Iran will target critical subsea fiber-optic cables in the Strait of Hormuz to disrupt international internet connectivity.

Defense analysts note that Iran’s actual capacity to strike deep into Western Europe remains highly restricted. Most of its ballistic missiles are limited to a self-declared 2,000 km range, which is enough for parts of Southeastern Europe (Greece, Bulgaria, Romania) but short of Western or Northern Europe.

To hit distant targets like Diego Garcia earlier this year, Iran used heavily stripped-down warheads. Firing a limited payload over well-defended NATO airspace makes a successful deep strike into Europe very unlikely.

The more realistic risk is Iran firing at U.S. bases in Southeastern Europe, missing, and hitting civilian areas, which could trigger a NATO Article 5 response.

Picture: Front cover of the Iranian state-owned newspaper Hamshahri featuring a list of potential IRGC targets in the event of a new war with the US, November 4, 2026.

[The Iran Watcher @TheIranWatcher]

Putin and Russia have repeatedly saved the Islamic Republic from collapse.

Much as they are doing again now, they have historically intervened when the regime and its allies were at their weakest.

The clearest example came in 2015, when Bashar al-Assad’s forces were losing Syria and the Islamic Republic’s intervention was failing to reverse the battlefield.

Assad controlled roughly one-fifth of the country. Rebel advances threatened the Alawite coastal stronghold, Russia’s Mediterranean naval presence and the Islamic Republic’s land corridor to Hezbollah.

The IRGC, Hezbollah and foreign Shia militias had kept Assad alive on the ground, but they lacked the airpower needed to stop his collapse.

Qasem Soleimani travelled to Russia in July 2015 despite a United Nations travel ban. He reportedly met Putin and senior Russian military officials, placed a map of Syria before them and explained how close the regime was to losing its most important Arab ally.

Soleimani offered the arrangement that would transform the war. Russia would provide overwhelming airpower while the Islamic Republic and its proxies supplied the ground forces.

Russia began its air campaign two months later.

The intervention rescued Assad, preserved Russia’s Mediterranean foothold and protected the Islamic Republic’s route to Hezbollah. It also demonstrated a recurring pattern. When the regime’s own military power proved insufficient, Russia supplied the capability needed to prevent a strategic defeat.

Eleven years later, the Islamic Republic is again under severe military, economic and diplomatic pressure, and another senior regime operative has been sent to Putin.

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and the Supreme Leader’s representative, met Putin on November 5 and delivered a message from Mojtaba Khamenei.

Rezaei is now setting the regime’s conditions on the Strait of Hormuz, nuclear negotiations and the post-war security order. His meeting with Putin reportedly addressed regional developments, assistance in ending the conflict and practical economic projects, including a proposed Russian gas pipeline intended to relieve the Islamic Republic’s shortages.

The timing matters.

On the same day, reporting based on leaked Russian defence-industry documents indicated that Russia had arranged to supply the Islamic Republic with 90 helicopter-mounted launchers for advanced guided missiles used extensively in Ukraine.

The relationship also includes negotiations or agreements involving Su-35 fighter aircraft, Yak-130 trainers, missiles and other military systems. The Islamic Republic previously supplied Russia with large numbers of Shahed drones for its war against Ukraine. Russia is now positioned to repay that assistance with weapons, diplomatic protection and economic support.

This is not an alliance built on loyalty. It is an exchange between two isolated systems that help each other survive pressure from the West.

Russia gains drones, energy opportunities, access to the Persian Gulf and a partner capable of disrupting American interests. The Islamic Republic gains military technology, diplomatic cover and an external power willing to prevent its complete strategic isolation.

The 2015 intervention shows why the current Putin-Rezaei meeting cannot be dismissed as ceremonial. Soleimani once went to Russia when Assad was approaching collapse and returned with the airpower that saved the Islamic Republic’s regional project.

Rezaei has now arrived while the Islamic Republic itself is under pressure.

Russia may not fight the regime’s war for it or provide every weapon it requests. Its support remains transactional and limited by Russian interests. But history shows that Putin does not need to rescue the Islamic Republic completely to change the outcome. He only needs to provide enough weapons, money, energy and diplomatic protection to keep it alive.

Russia saved the Islamic Republic’s most important regional ally in 2015. The question now is how far Putin will go to save the Islamic Republic itself.

[Mimir 🇮🇷 @mimirShahrah]

این آقا وزیر مطبوعاتی جرج بوش بوده و ببینید چجوری زده تو دهن جی‌دی ونس ترجمه‌شو میذارم:

آقای معاون رئیس‌جمهور،
اجازه دهید دیدگاه متفاوتی را مطرح کنم.
مشکل، جنگ با ایران نبود؛ مشکل، آتش‌بس بود.
اگر جنگی را آغاز می‌کنید، باید در آن پیروز شوید و آن را به پایان برسانید؛ در غیر این صورت، اصلاً نباید آن را شروع کنید.
این جنگ باید شش ماه پیش به پایان می‌رسید؛ به‌طوری‌که تنگه هرمز کاملاً باز می‌ماند و جریان انتقال نفت برقرار می‌شد. لایه دوم و سوم رهبران ایران باید نابود می‌شدند و ما باید از نیروهای طرفدار غرب حمایت می‌کردیم؛ نیروهایی که می‌توانستند قدرت را در دست بگیرند. ما در آستانه شکل‌گیری خاورمیانه‌ای جدید و صلح‌آمیزتر قرار داشتیم، اما در آخرین لحظه عقب‌نشینی کردیم. این فرصت را داشتیم که نه‌تنها مانع دستیابی ایران به سلاح هسته‌ای شویم، بلکه بزرگ‌ترین حامی تروریسم در جهان را نیز از میان برداریم.
اما در عوض، به آتش‌بسی تن دادیم که پس از آن، ماه‌ها درگیر این پرسش بودیم که آیا کار را تمام خواهیم کرد یا نه. هر روز پیام متفاوتی به گوش می‌رسید و هنوز هم همین‌طور است. آیا جنگ تمام شده؟ آیا قرار است دوباره آغاز شود؟ هیچ‌کس نمی‌داند. همه‌چیز با سردرگمی و بی‌ثباتی همراه است.
در ژوئن ۲۰۲۵، آمریکا در این ماجرا دخالتی نداشت. این مسئله‌ای میان اسرائیل و ایران بود.
هیچ‌کس ایالات متحده را مجبور نکرد که آن زمان یا در فوریه ۲۰۲۶ به ایران حمله کند. این تصمیمی بود که رئیس‌جمهور ترامپ گرفت. از نظر من، تصمیم درستی بود.
اما وقتی این تصمیم گرفته شد، نباید متوقف می‌شدیم تا زمانی که حکومت ایران سقوط کند. بااین‌حال، شما به‌جای ادامه کار، بر سر آتش‌بسی مذاکره کردید که دوام نیاورد، نتیجه‌ای نداشت و ما را در وضعیتی بلاتکلیف و سردرگم رها کرد؛ وضعیتی که در آن قیمت‌ها افزایش یافته و نیروهای نظامی ما همچنان در منطقه مستقر هستند.
درحالی‌که می‌توانستیم اکنون نیروهایمان را به خانه بازگردانده باشیم، نیروی دریایی به پایگاه‌هایش برگشته باشد، حکومتی صلح‌طلب روی کار آمده باشد، اتحادهای جدیدی شکل گرفته باشند و قیمت بنزین به کمتر از ۳ دلار به‌ازای هر گالن رسیده باشد.
خیر، آقای معاون رئیس‌جمهور! مشکل جنگ نیست؛ مشکل همان چیزی است که به‌اصطلاح «آتش‌بس» نامیده می‌شود.

[That 70's kid @DavidWi86729989]

@marklevinshow It's real simple man.

[Aimen Dean @AimenDean]

Whatever drove Americans at the ballot box yesterday, I can practically guarantee how Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei and his fanatical IRGC generals are reading the midterms: as yet another sign that the Hidden Imam, the Mahdi, is personally shielding the Islamic Republic.

To the men ruling Tehran, this war with America and Israel isn’t just geopolitics, it’s a sacred, apocalyptic struggle. In their minds, the Mahdi has been sending one saviour after another. Pakistan’s field marshal, Qatari mediators, Turkish and Egyptian intermediaries, every regional player who stepped in to restrain Trump was seen by hardliners as an unwitting instrument of divine intervention.

And now, the American voter has joined that list.
The bitter irony is that Iran didn’t beat Trump; Trump beat himself through sheer, chaotic incompetence.

Back in January, while the regime was slaughtering thousands of protesters, Trump didn't need to promise those protesters help he had no plan to deliver. He could have hit Tehran with crippling sanctions and waited. He could have spent months preparing the military, building a real coalition, and actually explaining to the American public why stopping a nuclear Iran matters.

Instead, we got a war run like a Truth Social posting spree: erratic, impulsive, delusional and completely detached from reality.

With an attention span that could comfortably fit inside a teaspoon, Trump torpedoed his own leverage. Every time he screamed in all-caps that "Iran is begging for a deal!" or entertainingly paused for another mediator, Tehran realized a fundamental truth: the guy constantly insisting Iran was desperate for a deal was actually the one who desperately needed it.

So they played him like a fiddle. They stalled, watched his war turn politically toxic, and refused to hand him a win in the form of a deal before the midterms. Now, with his domestic agenda crippled for the next two years, the fanatics in Tehran feel completely vindicated. And when religious zealots believe God is actively engineering their enemy’s downfall, they don’t get pragmatic, they get even more vindictive.
That makes the next two months before the new Congress is sworn in truly terrifying.

Trump doesn’t do humiliation well. He’s vindictive, and he’s going to want someone to blame for yesterday's loss. Don't be surprised if he lashes out militarily at Tehran, not for any coherent strategic goal, but purely to avenge his bruised ego and prove he’s still the toughest guy in the room. Factor in Netanyahu, who is fighting for his own political survival and desperate to project strength, and you have the ultimate nightmare scenario.

One leader driven by wounded pride and vengeance. Another by political survival. And a regime drunk on the fanatical belief that it has supernatural immunity! What could possibly go wrong?🤦🏻‍♂️

[yeet @Awk20000]

Hasan confirms Abdul El-Sayed didn't actually throw him under the bus

"Now that the election is over, he didn't throw me under the bus..I can't speak on it anymore than I have so far..he didn't, he literally said, oh I disagree with this statement, I disavow this statement, but also I'm not gonna disavow the man, not gonna disavow the platform. He did the same sh*t Zohran did..do you want me to like openly communicate the quiet part out loud even further?"

"What is he supposed to do? Explain the f'n context behind every single one of my clips out of context if he knows better..that's ridiculous, he's running for Senate as a Muslim who's getting attacked non f'n stop. Of course he's gonna be like, I don't know this guy at all..he did the right thing"

[prettywellarmed @semperfifemale]

The Democrats held an emergency press conference in Michigan. These people said it with their chest out. I couldn’t be more proud of them as an American. The black state Senate candidate couldn’t have said it better. I’m so glad they are recognizing how dangerous Al-Sayed is for America.

[Patriot Dispatches @PDispatch1776]

This is what awaits you after you vote straight ticket Republican tomorrow

[Corey Walker 🇺🇸 @CoreyWriting]

A lot of people are going to be watching the results of the Michigan race very closely, particularly how Jewish residents vote. If Michigan Jews vote for El-Sayed, as this group encourages them to, then there is zero reason for any Democrat to support Israel ever again.

The Democratic base hates Israel and a supermajority believe they have committed "genocide" and most young people hate the government and Israeli people. If a majority of Jews are willing to vote for someone that downplayed a synagogue terrorist attack, said that support for Israel is about "money" and who has expressed sympathy for supporters of antisemitic terrorist groups, then the political calculus becomes very simple: just stop supporting Israel.

The lesson Dems will "learn" is that one can go full anti-Zionist, appease their base, and also still garner a majority of Jewish institutional support because Jewish voters don't prioritize Israel much.

Further, Republicans will "learn" a separate lesson. If Jews support El-Sayed despite everything he has done, they will realize that there is nothing that will win over substantial numbers of Jews to the GOP because they prioritize a spectrum of progressive agenda items more than Israel or combatting antisemitism. Therefore, it makes political sense to soften support for Israel (JD Vance) or even pander to Groypers (Tucker Carlson, James Fishback). Young Republicans are very skeptical of the Israel-US relationship, so there's something to be gained electorally by catering to this demographic, even if it is immoral and gross.

The end result is that many Jews will end up politically sidelined and irrelevant in the US, especially as millennials play a bigger part of the electorate in each successive cycle and Boomers die out.

In life, you are treated the way you allow yourself to be treated, and if you reward disrespect you will be disrespected.

[Kathleen Wood @KathleenWoodnys]

The outrage over Haley Stevens is fascinating. Many Democrats have forgotten @BernieSanders’s political history.

In 1974, Bernie didn’t merely refuse to endorse Democrat Patrick Leahy. HE RAN AGAINST HIM FOR THE U.S. SENATE. Sanders received 5,901 votes. Leahy defeated the Republican by just 4,406.

In 1986, Bernie challenged incumbent Democratic Governor Madeleine Kunin. She received only 47% of the vote, leaving the legislature to decide the election.

In 1988, Bernie ran against the Democratic congressional nominee. The Republican WON.

These weren’t last minute endorsements. Bernie put his OWN name on the ballot against Democrats.

Isn’t it a wee bit hypocritical that today, he’s attacking Stevens’s character for exercising political independence?

Stevens endorsed a Republican. Bernie repeatedly competed against Democratic nominees.

Why is defying the Democratic Party a matter of principle when Bernie does it, but a character flaw when someone else does?

[OSZ @OpenSourceZone]

Steve Kornacki: Democrats are way more unpopular than Republicans

“This is different from 2018”

[Tyrone Powers 🇺🇸⚓️ @UNATCOHillaryPC]

What the fuck do you mean NYT only interviewed 43 people in Detroit?

[David Thompson @Dave_in_Fla]

Hot take:

What is going to hurt the Democrats on Tuesday isn't the Haley Stevens endorsement.

It will be their reaction to it.

Notice that Murkowski endorsed the Democrat running for governor in AK, and Republicans pretty much rolled their eyes and moved on.

[Mike Rogers @MikeRogersForMI]

It is wildly insulting that Debbie Dingell and Mallory McMorrow are insinuating that Congresswoman Stevens is mentally ill and that Jason influences her decision making in an unhealthy way.

Congresswoman Stevens should be commended for her courage to stand up to hate and put Michigan first.

[Scott Jennings @ScottJenningsKY]

But there’s more - here’s James Carville: “The Democrats don’t even think you [Stevens] are worth a used condom.” Never seen anything like the anti-woman crash out going on rn. Wow.

[Drew Pavlou 🇦🇺🇺🇸🇫🇷🇺🇦🇹🇼 @DrewPavlou]

Fucking hilarious I never knew this was Abdul El-Sayed’s sister.

[Will Chamberlain @willchamberlain]

Thank you @cenkuygur for blowing up Democrat unity in Michigan! We couldn’t have accomplished anything like this if we tried

[yeet @Awk20000]

Asmongold on the last real threat to the oligarchy

"Bernie Sanders, which is why they disenfranchised him and f'd him over with the Democratic primary..before that, it was with Occupy Wall Street..as a response to that, they effectively poisoned the Democratic Party with identity politics"

[End Wokeness @EndWokeness]

Elissa Slotkin won in Michigan in 2024 by a 0.3% margin (19,006 votes) vs Rogers

Haley Stevens got over 727k votes in the primary

That's why the left is freaking out