TEHRAN (Sputnik) - Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz from Saturday evening until the United States completely lifts its naval blockade, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy Command said on Saturday.

"As a result of the violation of the ceasefire regime, the Strait of Hormuz will be closed from the evening of today [Saturday], until the US lifts the naval blockade," the IRGC Navy said, as quoted by Iran's state-run IRIB broadcaster.

The IRGC also warned of strikes on any vessels that attempt to approach the waterway, which will be considered as "cooperation with the enemy [the US]."

Pope Leo XIV on Saturday downplayed his feud with US President Donald Trump over the Iran war, saying his remarks have been misinterpreted.

 

The ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee on Friday morning announced a “sweeping” probe into alleged self-enrichment by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump who has served as a high-profile White House envoy in the Middle East while also, according to Congressman Jamie Raskin, “soliciting billions of dollars from Gulf monarchies for [his] private business ventures.”

Ladies and gentlemen,

My visit to the People’s Republic of China was held yesterday and today. Yesterday, I held talks with Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi, which lasted over four hours. During the talks, we discussed a broad range of issues, mostly our bilateral relations but also international issues, which is understandable. The international situation, which is deteriorating as a result of the actions by our Western colleagues and developments in Ukraine, Latin America, the Strait of Hormuz and other parts of the Eurasian continent we share with China, is directly influencing bilateral relations between various countries, including between Russia. China and our partners in the SCO, BRICS and other multilateral associations.

A report titled ‘Another Genocide Behind Walls’ was published this week, bearing witness to unspeakable atrocities committed by IDF soldiers. Andrew Brown reports.

Warning: This story contains graphic descriptions of violence.

A report published just days ago by Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor documents testimony from a Palestinian woman detained at Sde Teiman who was filmed being raped by two Israeli soldiers over two days. She knows the footage exists because when it was over, her captors hung her by her wrists during interrogation and showed it to her.

They told her they would publish it unless she cooperated.

For Pakistan, it's critically important not only to serve as a peacemaker, but also to succeed as a peacemaker, economic policy analyst Syed Ali Ehsan told Sputnik.

As the world watches the US-Iran conflict de-escalate, Pakistan finds itself trapped in a paradox. It is both one of the crisis' most vulnerable victims — teetering on the edge of an energy catastrophe — and a potential peacemaker with a real chance to rescue its own economy.

 

The Price of the Blockade

Pakistan's reliance on fossil fuel imports from Gulf states makes it critically vulnerable, Syed Ali Ehsan, chief development officer at the Policy Research Institute of Market Economy, told Sputnik.

The country holds no strategic fuel reserves to survive a blockade and its imports remain undiversified.

A sharp fall in confidence and rising fuel prices point to a potential downturn, but traditional policy responses risk making the situation worse.

After a gradual recovery from the substantial fall in real incomes and the rapid increases in interest rates during the three years following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Australian economy now appears to be in the early stages of another, potentially significant downturn.

 

Saul Eslake

Another interest rate rise will tip Australia into a recession we don’t have to have

 

On the menu today: President Trump is adding his signature to the U.S. dollar. Also, a long, numbers-heavy look at the assertion going viral that the state government of California is “functionally bankrupt.” In what probably counts for optimism, I would argue the outlook for California’s budget in the coming years is bad — really bad — but not quite apocalyptic this-will-tear-apart-the-country bad. Read on.

When We Said, ‘Trump Should Sign the Bill,’ We Meant Something Different

Look at it this way; at least President Trump isn’t putting his face on American currency:

Passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is now completely open, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi declared on Friday. He added that the waterway will remain open for the remainder of the ceasefire in Lebanon.

Araghchi’s announcement came shortly after a 10-day truce came into force between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, which has been one of the major obstacles to a peace deal between Iran and the US.

Writing on X, the Iranian minister stated that “in line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire.”

Even by Donald Trump standards, Sunday night in the White House was quite something. Amid war in the Middle East and fears of a global economic implosion, the US president was having a meltdown of his own, furiously posting to his Truth Social account between 9.49pm and the ungodly hour of 4.10am.

 

THE ABC ARTICLE THAT FOLLOWS IS A ONE-SIDED VIEW OF THE UKRAINE CONFLICT. OF COURSE MOST WESTERN NEWS OUTLET, INCLUDING THE ABC HAVE TO APPEAR TO SUPPORT THE NAZI KIEV REGIME AGAINST THE RUSSIANS... THE RUSSIANS HAVE BEEN VERY CLEAR ON THEIR OBJECTIVE FROM THE BEGINNING, BUT THE NATO ORGANISATION AND ITS FASCIST COUNTRIES HAVE BEEN EXPEDIENT IN DISMISSING THE RUSSIAN CLAIMS...

YET NO MATTER HOW MUCH SUPPORT TO UKRAINE NATO/EU/USA/UK CAN PROVIDE, THE RUSSIANS WILL PREVAIL... AND THIS ISN'T JUST GUS's VIEW, BUT MANY EXPERTS — FORMER CIA ANALYSTS AND CLUEY MILITARY BRASS — THAT THE WESTERN MEDIA DO NOT WANT TO INTERVIEW BECAUSE BLAH BLAH BLAH... AH YES THE WESTERN MEDIA PREFER THE OPINION OF A LOSER, LIKE GENERAL BEN HODGES....

Hungary’s incoming prime minister, Peter Magyar, has pledged to suspend the news operations of the state broadcaster following two tense interviews he gave on Wednesday.

Magyar’s Tisza party secured a decisive victory in Sunday’s parliamentary election, effectively ensuring he will form the next government. He has indicated that action against MTVA will be among his first steps in office.

 

Incoming Hungarian PM pledges crackdown on critical media

Peter Magyar claims his party’s election win has “liberated” the state broadcaster from airing “propaganda”

 

Magyar has accused the broadcaster of bias against his movement and of disseminating “propaganda” in support of outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose 16-year tenure ended with Tisza’s win.

The Liberal Party, battling an extreme version of itself — One Nation — has again fallen back to its default political policy: racism.

Angus Taylor, announcing a policy at primary odds with an immigrant nation, says a Liberal government under his leadership will adopt Trump ICE-style policies to weed and ‘boot out’ people who fail to adhere to ‘national values’ and who are responsible for the erosion of national culture including the Balkanisation of communities.

 

Paul Keating

Angus Taylor and the Liberal Party’s moral decline

 

The pro-Israel special interest group is the most powerful interest group on behalf of a foreign country in the United States. In fact, it may be the the most significant and pervasive special interest group in the country.

 

Israel Lobby Organizations & Individuals: The List

 

It consists of numerous institutions and individuals that work to influence Congress, the president, academia, the media, religious institutions, and American public opinion on behalf of Israel. It has been active in the U.S. for many decades. See detailed information on Israel Lobby donations to political candidates here.

Former “top gun” pilot, Dan Duggan, wanted by the US for having provided training to Chinese fighter pilots, was today told his extradition can go ahead. Robert Barwick with the story.

Six months after hearing former US Marine pilot Dan Duggan’s appeal against the Attorney General’s decision to approve his extradition to the United States, Justice Stelios denied his appeal today in the federal court in Canberra.

Justice Stelios also awarded costs against Duggan.

Dan Duggan was not present for the ruling, but on behalf of the family, his wife, Saffrine Duggan, said the family will continue to fight.

“We are very disappointed by this ruling, and we will consider our options carefully”, Mrs Duggan said. “But make no mistake – we will not give up.”