Trump's war on Iran a 'catastrophe'
with zero gains, made Tehran
'very strong’: Ex-US jurist
by Alireza Kamandi
May 6th, 4:04pm
(PressTV)
Trump’s military aggression against Iran has been nothing short
of a catastrophe – yielding zero strategic gains while inflaming
domestic inflation, alienating European allies, and elevating
Iran to the ranks of "very, very strong countries," says
an analyst.
Judge Andrew Napolitano, a former New Jersey Superior Court
judge, a syndicated columnist and a political commentator,
made these remarks ---- in an interview with the Press
TV website.
He said the US-Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic of
Iran has yielded no tangible benefits for the United States and
President Donald Trump has failed to achieve his declared
objectives of seizing or degrading Iran’s nuclear
materials and ballistic missile capabilities.
“Instead, Trump has suffered a significant loss of international
credibility and domestic standing. Price inflation for fuel and
food has surged across America, while European allies –
including Germany, France, Spain, and the UK – have
refused to participate in what they view as a
conflict driven by Israeli interests rather
than American national security,”
he said.
The Strait of Hormuz, once a reliably operating, near-
perfection global shipping lane, he said, has
transformed into a “contested battle zone
driving up global oil prices,” adding: that
the war from the American perspective
has been a “disaster.”
“The refusal of key European allies – particularly Germany, France,
Spain, and the UK — to join the so-called 'liberation operation' at
the Strait of Hormuz underscores a fundamental recognition:
this is not their war. These nations have identified the
conflict as stemming from Israeli strategic choices
and President Trump's subservience to Israeli
demands,” Napolitano said.
The noted commentator hastened to add that Europeans gain
nothing from that and Trump has been “politically degraded
by this lack of allied support.”
He said despite “widespread recognition” that Trump’s
unprovoked war against Iran “warrants impeachment
on legal and constitutional grounds,” the current
Republican-controlled Congress remains.....
“unwilling to act.”
“Lawmakers, though privately believing impeachment is justified,
are reportedly .....afraid of the president. However, the political
landscape is expected to shift dramatically by January 2027,
when Democrats are projected to control Congress. At that
point, there will be sufficient political will and courage to
pursue impeachment proceedings”, the former jurist
told the Press TV website.
A significant outcome of the war, he remarked, is Iran's
“emergence as a formidable military power” that has
frustrated both the US and Israel, calling it an
“unprecedented achievement ------- in
modern history.”
Iran, he noted, has entered the league of "very, very strong
countries,” having succeeded through "courage, will, and
ability" in halting the advances .....of two of the world's
most powerful militaries.
Iran's newly announced maritime transit mechanism for the Strait
of Hormuz represents a powerful strategic asset, Napolitano
said, emphasizing ------- that the US is now “powerless to
prevent Iranian control over this critical waterway.”
“If Iran proceeds to impose tolls on shipping traffic -- it will become
fabulously wealthy very soon, further cementing its status among
the world's most powerful nations,” he told the Press TV website,
adding that its leverage could function as a “de facto snapback
mechanism, enabling Tehran to retaliate against any future
sanctions attempts.”
___________________________________________________
Over 400 ex-European officials - urge EU
leaders - to halt West Bank annexation
May 6th, 3:19pm
(PressTV)
Over 400 former European ministers, ambassadors, and officials,
have urged the EU to stop Israel's illegal land expropriation in
the occupied West Bank and halt the regime's controversial
E1 settlement plan.
"The EU and its member states, together with partners, must take
immediate action to deter Israel from further advancing its illegal
annexation of Palestinian land in the West Bank," an open letter
signed by more than 440 figures, including former EU foreign
policy chief Joseph Borrell and former Belgian prime
minister Guy Verhofstadt, read on Wednesday.
The signatories called for targeted sanctions, such as visa
bans and business restrictions --- on "all those engaged in
illegal settlement activity," calling for measures against
those promoting or implementing the E1 scheme.
The E1 project near al-Quds covers around 12 sq kilometres,
with some 3,400 illegal settler units in the West Bank.
The letter said the regime plans to publish an initial tender on
June 1 for the construction of up to 15,000 "illegal settlers,"
urging the EU and its member states ------- to "act now."
The plan has been censured by international leaders, with
the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres's
spokesman, saying it would pose “an existential threat
to an independent Palestinian state, with al-Quds as
its capital.”
According to the United Nations, the expansion of Israeli
settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory has
reached its highest level since at least 2017.
Under international law, all Israeli settlements in the occupied
Palestinian territories are unequivocally illegal. The Fourth
Geneva Convention prohibits an occupying power from
transferring its population into occupied lands --- a
principle Israel continues to defy, with impunity.
The UN has repeatedly said: settlement expansion by the Israeli
regime is a major obstacle to peace, as it fragments Palestinian
land and leaves little contiguous territory for a viable,
independent Palestinian state under a so-called
two-state solution.
___________________________________________________
Israeli attacks on Lebanon kill 7 more
people ------- including paramedics
May 6th, 2:42pm
(PressTV)
Israel has carried out new drone and airstrikes across southern
and eastern Lebanon, leaving at least seven people killed and
six others wounded, including paramedics, despite ------- an
ongoing ceasefire.
On Wednesday, Israeli strikes on the town of Mefdoun killed
two people, while more air raids hit areas between Zawtar
al-Sharqiya and Zawtar al-Gharbiya, Lebanon's National
News Agency reported.
Another strike targeted the home of a municipal council head
in the town of Zellaya in western Bekaa, killing four people
and injuring three others. The toll could rise.. as rescue
operations are ongoing at the site.
In the town of Aadchit in the Nabatieh district, one
person was killed --- in a separate Israeli airstrike.
Meanwhile, an Israeli drone targeted paramedics
in the town of Deir Kifa, injuring three of them.
Israeli fighter jets also carried out strikes on the towns
of Rishknaniyah, Safad al-Battikh, Baraachit and
Qallawiyeh, inflicting severe damage on a
school building in Burj Qallawiyeh.
The Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah
said it had engaged Israeli forces, targeting
a gathering of Israeli soldiers.
Reports said Israeli airstrikes hit parts of the Tyre
district, while Hezbollah responded to the Israeli
attacks in several areas of southern Lebanon.
Israel later issued evacuation threats for residents
in 12 villages in southern Lebanon, warning them
to remain at least 1 kilometre from their homes.
On Tuesday, Israeli troops killed five people
and injured several others in about 60
attacks across Lebanon.
Hezbollah launched military operations against
the Israeli regime on March 2 in response to
its aggression against Iran, its repeated
violations of the 2024 ceasefire, and
its continued occupation of
Lebanese territory.... in
the country's south.
Following the Iran-US ceasefire on April 8, Tel Aviv
was compelled to accept a ceasefire in Lebanon
as well, after Tehran demanded an end to Israeli
attacks on Lebanese soil as one of its primary
conditions........ in the indirect negotiations
with Washington.
The Israeli military, however, quickly resumed its assaults
on southern Lebanon, issuing evacuation threats for
several areas even after the initial ten-day truce
between Tel Aviv and Beirut was extended
for an additional three weeks.
Israeli occupation forces also continue to hold parts of
southern Lebanon, where they have imposed a so-
called "Yellow Line" — a coercive military buffer
resembling the regime's notorious control
measures in the besieged Gaza Strip.
According to Lebanese authorities, at least 2,704 people
have been killed and 8,311 others wounded in Lebanon,
since the Israeli regime launched its renewed offensive
early in March.