The Crest

Tag: War

  • The War of Hubris in Iran, By Lasisi Olagunju

    The War of Hubris in Iran, By Lasisi Olagunju

    War in Iran
    War in Iran

    Nigerians when they cry, even the bereaved gets scared. Because they are an impossible people; everything divides them. The Iranian crisis is the latest divider. I see Trump supporters across the Middle Belt and the South. I read anger across parts of Nigeria’s Muslim North. Some who once applauded the brutal, deadly suppression of Shiites in Kaduna (even unleashing street mobs on their corpses) now rage that the arch-enemy has killed a Shiite supreme leader in Iran.

    Hubris sits in the house as ‘Stand Straight,’ while its servant walks the world as ‘The Unbending.’ Imperfect translation of a perfect Yoruba saying. But that is the simple story of America and Iran — of Donald Trump and Ali Khamenei — and the collision of pride that has brought the world to the perilous moment which started on Saturday.
    The war that began on Saturday was unnecessary and avoidable. Pride and prejudice bear much of the blame. Where courtiers and kings are consumed by hubris, war becomes inevitable.
    Fruit and root are inseparable. Modern Iran did not emerge in a vacuum; its identity is deeply rooted in imperial self-importance. Iran’s ancestors believed that they were a special creation; their descendants say they must stand in all places and at all times on their own terms. That explains Iranian policies marked by defiance, pride, and an unbending resolve.
    A little history here. Today’s Iranians descend from a king who once tried to punish the sea.
    King Xerxes’s father, Darius I, was a great king. He died, his son took over and promised himself that he was going to do what his father could not do.
    In 480 BCE, Xerxes prepared to invade Greece with imperial confidence. He cut a canal through the Mount Athos isthmus and ordered pontoon bridges across the body of water called the Hellespont. Ask Geography and the maps. I did: Hellespont is today’s Dardanelles, a narrow strait in north-western Turkey, linking the Aegean to the Black Sea via the Sea of Marmara and the Bosporus. It is the natural boundary between Europe and Asia.
    Xerxes built his bridges and was happy. He boasted that he was invincible and taunted Greece with a waiting defeat. Then the unexpected happened. A storm wrecked the bridges. The historian, Herodotus, wrote that when Xerxes saw what remained of his impregnable bridges, he flew into a rage and famously ordered that the sea be “punished” with 300 lashes and chains. A king lashing at nature itself for defying his will.
    Oxford classicist, E. R. Dodds, defined hubris as “arrogance in word or deed or even thought.” It is that fatal overreach, the belief that power can bend even the elements, that shaped Xerxes’s campaign which ended in shame, defeat and disgrace.
    Hubris, history warns, does not respect time or geography.
    Today, centuries later, the excesses of antiquity reverberate in the geopolitics of a restless region. And this is not just about Iran and its leadership; it is also about the leadership of the US and Israel, its 51st state.
    In June last year, after the 12-day war with Israel, Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said his country emerged victorious over Israel and “delivered a slap to America’s face.” Khamenei said that the US “achieved no gains from this war.” He told the world that America came into the fight because “it felt that if it did not intervene, the (Israeli) regime would be utterly destroyed.” He spoke with his full balls.
    “Have more than you show; speak less than you know” is a famous maxim delivered by the Fool in Shakespeare’s King Lear (Act 1, Scene 4). The character urges restraint, humility, and strategic silence. The Iranian leader did not benefit from that counsel from Shakespeare’s Fool. This past weekend, Iranian state media confirmed that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed in a joint U.S.-Israeli operation.
    May our enemies not catch up with us.
    Iran prepared for war at night but war sauntered in and conquered it in daytime. In the Ayatollah’s death we see a modern echo of the lethal arrogance that has courted ruin before: pride and overreach wreaking the unraveling not just of regimes, but of nations. So, what next? Analysts say that whether Iran stabilises under an interim council and new leadership, or slides into deeper conflict and chaos, will depend on forces far beyond Tehran — and far beyond the ambitions of any one man.
    When the elephant dies, the forest slips into silence. Iran has entered a 40-day period of national mourning. What happened to that country has been described as the most devastating attack on that soil in decades. Across the nation, grief mingles with fear as the country confronts a fraught leadership transition and the looming shadow of further conflict.
    Ambition outran prudence when Xerxes crossed into Greece in 480 BCE. I can say the same of Iran of 2026 and its fight with the United States, a confrontation of pride and peril.
    Old Persia is modern Iran. For centuries the world used the name ‘Persia’, they insisted that their country was Iran. In the twentieth century, Iranians successfully got the country to be known and called Iran — the name their ancestors gave them and which they used for themselves. That shift was more than semantic; it reflected the nation’s long memory and deep sense of identity. Today, that identity is being threshed in an arena of pride, where heavyweights pound each other with deathly blows.
    Khamenei’s three-plus decades in power were marked by internal repression, mass protests violently suppressed, and decades of confrontation with Western powers over Iran’s nuclear programme and regional influence. His leadership was never just about Tehran; it helped shape the geopolitical contest across the Middle East, backing proxy networks and challenging U.S. and Israeli interests. Now, an era has ended.
    It is a war about armament and disarmament. The West, particularly America, the police of the world, said Iran was desperately involved in a nuclear weapon programme. Of course, it cannot be allowed to enter that premier league; only privileged initiates play on that field.
    I have heard questions such as: If others have nuclear weapons, why can’t Iran? That is the rational question that can only be asked in a world competing on a level playing field. It is worse for Iran now that a pretender to Christianity occupies the White House.
    I am alluding to what end-time interpreters call Iran’s role in the final days. Some argue that hardliners are moving from geopolitics into theology, treating apocalyptic texts literally and geopolitically rather than symbolically. They take their lessons from 20th-century writers like Christian Zionist and dispensationalist Hal Lindsey, author of ‘The Late Great Planet Earth’ (1970), and from later U.S. prophecy teachers.
    I asked and was told that scripture and scholars of Ezekiel 38–39 suggest modern Iran (ancient Persia or Elam) will join a coalition, which will include Russia, Sudan and others, in an assault on Israel during the Great Tribulation. And they believe that if they do not move now, the tribulation they dread will be here and now.
    They see Persia’s enduring presence in the region, from Babylonian conquest to the Medo-Persian Empire and through the New Testament era, as reinforcing its prophetic significance. Complicating matters, Iran and its current leadership are mostly Shia Muslim, whose doctrine holds that the Hidden Imam, or Mahdi, will return at the end of time, preceded by major turmoil in the region.
    When a people carry the weight of such spiritually foreboding significance, the possession of nuclear weapons becomes an even more dangerous proposition. Especially in a Trump era ruled by hubris, superstition and conspiracy theories.
    It is a messy affair. As Eric Abrahamson and David Freedman observe in ‘A Perfect Mess’, a little disorder can make systems not weaker but stronger, more adaptable, more resilient, and, paradoxically, more effective. Perhaps Iran, and indeed the world, needs this current madness: the chaos, the overreach, the collisions of ambition and belief, to build a sane world. Maybe (and I mean, maybe) the very disorder we dread is the teacher we cannot ignore.
    The death of the Ayatollah ended an era, but the war is far from over, and may not end soon. History shows these people do not fight, lose and go home — witness the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s. Go further back and the record is just as telling: the Greco-Persian Wars, a series of conflicts between the Greek city-states and the Persian Empire, lasted roughly 50 years, from 499 BCE to 449 BCE.
    The world should brace for a long engagement of missiles, warships, and warplanes, with all the social, political, and economic disruptions that follow. Nigeria, in particular, must remain vigilant.
    Because of who the killers of the Iranian leaders are, I fear complications in areas and regions that shed blood when the victim sheds mere tears. The anger in northern Nigeria is not confined to Nigeria; it echoes across sympathetic corridors stretching from the Sahel to the streets of the Middle East. We need to be very careful. Localising the conflict here will be an ill wind.
    To underscore vigilance and the lesson of caution, I anchor all this on what the mother bird tells her chick: a storm will not kill a bird if it listens to the precautions the storm teaches. An expanded conflict may push humanity toward the very precipice it has long struggled to avoid. It can.
  • Dangote’s oily wars, By Lasisi Olagunju

    Dangote’s oily wars, By Lasisi Olagunju

    Lasisi Olagunju
    Lasisi Olagunju

    In February 2025, Daily Trust quoted him as saying:

    “I’ve been fighting battles all my life and I have not lost one yet.”

    In May 2025, Business Day quoted him as saying: “I have been fighting all my life. And I will win at the end of the day.”

    Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Group, speaks those words each time there is a war to fight. In the last two, three weeks, I have heard him repeat that statement about fighting all life and winning all the time.

    There is a bird in the Yoruba forest called Òrófó. Its mouth is its executioner. If I fought and won all the time, I would not display the trophy all the time.

    Each time I hear people boast about their strength and blessings, I reach for my favourite quote:

    “Travel and tell no one,

    Live a true love story and tell no one,

    Live happily and tell no one,

    People ruin beautiful things.”

    It is one of my priceless quotes; it is from Khalil Gibran, Lebanese-American poet who lived from January 6, 1883 to April 10, 1931. There is a reason why the light travels light; it is because the world is heavy.

    Dangote may be correct in his self-assessment as the unbeaten. He is the lion in Nigeria’s industrial jungle. He fought and won in cement, in sugar, in flour. But did he win the noodles war? When he started his refinery project, I heard people who said we should expect another war in that sector. And that is what we see. But if I were him, I would reflect that even the lion has limits. A lion that fights hyenas, leopards, wild dogs, and hunters all at once will soon learn that its roar and paws are not enough. If I were him, I would know that there is a difference between the unbeaten and the unbeatable. I would know that strength spread too thin becomes weakness. A lion who fights every creature in the forest risks exhaustion. It risks even worse: isolation.

    The wealthy man who fights and wins all wars now has his hands full. At the beginning of his refinery journey, Aliko fought the regulators over approvals and compliance issues; he crossed that river and turned his cannon on depot owners and marketers; this week he is fighting the unions. And now the unions are responding by shutting the valves. PENGASSAN at the weekend ordered a blitzkrieg on Nigeria’s fuel lifeline: it instructed its members to stop all gas supply to Dangote refinery with immediate effect; it ordered crude oil supply valves to the facility shut; it directed loading operations for vessels headed to the refinery suspended. Its grouse was the mass sack of workers there.

    It has been one war after another, a rolling theatre of conflicts that raises the question: can one man, no matter how wealthy, fight every battle and still win the war?

    But the unions are not saints either. Nigerian unions roar justice but feed like hyenas. They thrive in disruption. They fight for rents. A union that turns every quarrel into a weapon or business may one day find that it has destroyed its own leverage.

    Sword that destroyed its sheath is homeless. I do not know what democracy calls pulling the plug on a promising patient. But I know that under the military, those who did what PENGASSAN ordered at the weekend were deemed to have committed grievous crimes. Luckily, we are in a democracy.

    Shortly before the PENGASSAN bombardment, there was the war with DAPPMAN, the depot owners and marketers. Dangote said they demanded ₦1.5 trillion in hidden subsidies each year. He said he would not pay. He said they wanted him to cover coastal charges and logistics. He insisted that his gantry price was fair. He dared them to sue. The marketers replied that Dangote sold cheaper petrol abroad than at home. They called him disruptive. They accused him of undermining competition. So, the drama grows. The lion roars at unions, at traders, at depot owners, and at those he called the mafia in the oil industry. The elephant struggles with its own bulk. But wisdom says no hunter fights every battle.

    I had this hearty discussion with some friends yesterday. They think the unions were unreasonable and exploitative. I agreed with them but asked them to also check what a monopoly in fuel refining and supply does to national security. All monopolies are dangerous.

    I told my friends what a voice told me: If one refinery is the nation’s fuel heart, don’t we know that one strike or sabotage can paralyze the country?

    What if the refinery owner even decide to ‘go on strike’ or produce and refuse to sell?

    When a country’s situation is as it is, will that be said to be sovereignty? That will be fragility disguised as progress. I hope you agree with this.

    No village entrusts its present and future sustenance to one farm, no matter how large. Nigeria does not need monopolies, whether in refineries or in unions. What it needs is balance, competition, and choice.

    Nigeria needs competition, not concentration. It needs many refineries, not one. But where are the investors? Where is the government? Why do we need more than the behemoth in Ibeju-Lekki? Foklorists tell of an elephant. It was the envy of the savannah. Grass bent under its feet. Trees shook at its steps. But when drought came, its size became its curse. Its massive body needed more water than the land could give. Smaller animals survived on little streams. The elephant collapsed under its own weight.

    That is the risk with this lone refinery. It is an elephant mighty and heavy. The body and its demands are a burden to it. Its operational environment is choky. I pity the promoter. He must have found out too late that this terrain is not solid and firm as concrete; not as soft as dough. The refinery ground is crude, oily, slippery, and treacherous.

    Those who know told me that in this business of refinery and refining, tension will remain forever high because margins are thin. In there, refineries buy crude in dollars; they sell fuel in naira. Debts keep breathing in banks while workers hum discontent with the life they live. As investors juggled the figures to stay afloat, at the UNGA, we heard rhetorics that tell the world to accelerate its movement towards clean energy. Clearly, the elephant carries more weight than the land may sustain.

    But what kind of country fears convulsion, or even convulses, because a private company has issues with its stakeholders? Ask around how many refineries Egypt has. Google says Egypt currently has eight operating oil refineries, with a total nameplate capacity of approximately 763,000 barrels per day. And Algeria? Six: five operational, the sixth about to be commissioned. How about small Ghana? I asked Google and this is its final answer: “Ghana currently has two main operational refineries, the state-owned Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) and the Sentuo Oil Refinery… In addition to these two, the nation is also developing the Petroleum Hub Project, a large-scale initiative that includes the construction of three new refineries as part of a three-phase project aiming to significantly reduce Ghana’s reliance on imported refined fuels.” What is Nigeria as a country building? Do not bother to check. If you check, what you will find is 2027.

    Back to the feuding Dangote refinery and its union of workers. Negotiation and bargaining and agreeing (rather than stone-throwing) are key in human transactions. In his ‘Bargaining and War’, R. Harrison Wagner notes that “nearly all wars end not because the (feuding parties) are incapable of further fighting but because they agree to stop.”

    It is sweet to fight and win. But that is where it ends. The one who killed an elephant with his hat enjoyed the fame for just 24 hours. The next day, everyone avoided him. Enough of unhelpful tough talking and disruptions. As I watch the drama of this oily war, I see the two entitled camps unravelling. I see both sides losing ultimately. But their loss will be our loss, a disaster. The country will grind to a halt.

    So, I ask the oily fighters in Lagos to read Khalil Gibran’s ‘The Two Cages’: “In my father’s garden there are two cages. In one is a lion, which my father’s slaves brought from the desert of Ninavah; in the other is a songless sparrow. Every day at dawn, the sparrow calls to the lion, ‘Good morrow to thee, brother prisoner.’”

    There is no winner in this war.

  • Putin As the President’s Medicine, By Azu Ishiekwene

    Putin As the President’s Medicine, By Azu Ishiekwene

    European leaders often portray Russian President Vladimir Putin as a tyrant, a land grabber, and a Russian bear. And following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine War three years ago, the deadliest in Europe since World War II, Putin has gone from being a bad guy in Western European eyes to being something worse: a war criminal.
    Yet, the biggest enigma across many Western capitals is why US President Donald Trump, the leader of the free world, is eager to embody everything that the West despises about Putin. Trump is enamoured with Putin. His admiration for the Russian President was once again evident during their August 15 meeting in Alaska.

    Waiting for Putin

    As Trump waited for Putin on the red carpet, you could almost sense the butterflies up and down his stomach, like a lover waiting for a date. He squinted and pouted nervously. As Putin alighted and approached him, the dam of his affection for the Russian president burst into irresistible applause. Quite remarkable.
    Since his second inauguration in January 2025, Trump has hosted many world leaders in the White House, from British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu and Canada’s Mark Carney to South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa.
    Except in Trump-tionary, the new playbook where uncertainty and bullying have replaced rules and courtesy, the engagements in the White House would qualify more as encounters in the predator’s lair than diplomatic meetings.
    Encounters in the lair
    In February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was pinned to the wall and hammered for dressing improperly at the White House, and daring to offer a different view of the war in his country from that of President Trump.
    Canada was slammed with more trade tariffs after Carney’s visit, and the same, even worse, treatment was meted out to India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit. Where outside the Trump world does a major trading partner get slammed with an additional 25 percent trade tariff, as was the case with India, for buying Russian oil, whereas Putin, the man in the middle of the war, got a reprieve on the eve of the Alaska summit for showing up on his terms?
    During his visit, Ramaphosa was treated to an unsolicited movie of the so-called graves of white South African farmers allegedly stripped of their land – fabrications by the White House.
    But when Putin came, it was different. Not only did Trump wait for him on the tarmac, applauding as the Russian president walked the red carpet to meet him, they both travelled in the Beast, a rare privilege that bypassed a carefully planned last-minute attempt to prevent a one-on-one summit.
    For Putin, the special one, Trump wangled a one-on-one.
    The world waits anxiously to see how the combined effort of seven European leaders will save Trump from himself. Moscow is also watching closely.
    The thing about Putin
    What is it about Putin that fascinates Trump so much? Several articles examining their complex relationship suggest that Trump’s soft spot for Putin dates back nearly 40 years. Referencing a widely quoted statement that “Putin went through a lot of hell with me,” a Le Monde article said Trump’s words “echoed the persistent allegations of collusion between the billionaire and the Kremlin that have intensified since Trump entered politics a decade ago.”
    In a bid to expand the Trump business empire, in the late 1980s, the young billionaire reportedly explored the possibility of building the Trump Tower in Moscow, with unverified reports that he was even recruited as a KGB agent with the code name “Krasnov.”
    In a broadside against US politicians in 1987 that highlighted his interest in Russia, Trump reportedly paid for an advert in The New York Times, saying “The world is laughing at American politicians as we protect ships we don’t own, carrying oil we don’t need, destined for allies who don’t help.”
    Therefore, it is unsurprising that he has treated NATO contemptuously and insisted that the US would not pay for Europe’s security.

    Lovefest

    Almost 20 years ago, when Russia was still grappling with the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union, Trump told CNN that Putin was doing “a great job of fixing the country”, and then in 2013, the billionaire playboy moved heaven and earth yet failed to court the Russian president to attend the Miss Universe Pageant in Moscow.
    Five years later, Trump had his first meeting with Putin in Helsinki, a meeting at which the US president publicly questioned US intelligence agencies, and agreed with Putin that, contrary to what was reported in America, there was no Russian interference in the 2016 elections.
    “I have great confidence in my intelligence,” Trump said after the Helsinki summit, “But I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong…I think the United States has been foolish. We’ve all been foolish.”
    It’s the kind of thing a philandering spouse says, paying no heed to the remotest redeeming grace of the partner they are betraying. But it doesn’t bother Trump. He is happy to trash America and shaft allies to be in Putin’s good books.
    Understanding Trump
    Experts have made several efforts to understand this special, complex relationship. Why does Europe and much of the world walk on eggshells to appease Trump (Starmer recruited King Charles by taking along a special invitation to the US, while Ramaphosa dragged two golfers to the White House) when Putin calls once and Trump answers twice?
    Explanations range from Trump’s personality trait, especially his love of flattery and desire for validation, to his transactional worldview, aversion to conflict with strongmen (think of China’s Xi Jinping), and his scepticism of multilateralism.
    Comparing the Trump-Putin bromance with the relationship between President Richard Nixon and the Chinese President Mao Zedong, or between Ronald Reagan and Russian Mikhail Gorbachev, doesn’t quite explain it.
    ‘Trust but verify’
    While Nixon and Reagan, for example, had personal chemistry with their counterparts from China and Russia, apart from sharing some common goals and being in control of their domestic affairs, Trump’s fascination with Putin appears to be fueled mainly by the strongman’s vanity. Whereas Trump seems to take Putin at face value, Reagan famously described his relationship with Gorbachev as “trust but verify.”
    The August 15 Trump-Putin summit ended exactly as many analysts predicted it would end: Trump dumping the responsibility for ending the war on Zelenskyy’s doorstep. Sensing the looming danger, European leaders are mustering the tact of Talleyrand and the guile of Churchill to keep Trump on a leash, and it all boils down to this: what do “security guarantees” mean for Ukraine – and Russia?
    Notwithstanding his erratic nature, Trump is right about one thing: any security guarantee that demands Russia give up all territory taken so far or leaves a window for Ukraine to return to NATO will be futile. Beyond the Trump-Putin lovefest, Zelenskyy’s brinkmanship, and Europe’s indifference to genuine Russian concerns about being encircled, something must give for peace to take hold.

    Still on the Matter of Bayo Ojulari

    I underestimated the interest in the controversy over the rumoured resignation of the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari. More things came to light after my last week’s article, “What Happened in the Matter of Bayo Ojulari?”
    If, like me, you were wondering why Ojulari can’t easily shake off Abdullahi Bashir Haske, son-in-law of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, there’s a little more to it than Haske’s long-standing business relationship with NNPCL. A source confided that Ojulari once consulted with Mars Production and Exploration Limited, a Haske-owned company. When fate brought them together again in NNPCL, old ties prevailed.
    Another matter is how the current NNPCL structure is stoking internal problems. The company currently has a Group Chief Operating Officer, Rowland Ewubare, but that position doesn’t exist in the PIA.
    The GCOO insists that the Executive Vice Presidents should report to him. They ignore him and report to the GCEO, as Section 59 of the PIA provides, worsening administrative chaos.
    With the delicate, triangular Adamawa power play amongst in-laws – Atiku-Ribadu-Haske – and now, the court freezing the accounts of former NNPCL GCEO Mele Kyari in Jaiz Bank, the whole thing gets curiouser.
    The more you look…

    Ishiekwene is Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP and author of the book Writing for Media and Monetising It.

  • NDLEA, NARTO collaborate on war against drug trafficking

    NDLEA, NARTO collaborate on war against drug trafficking

    Brig. General Marwa and the NATO delegation
    Brig. General Marwa and the NATO delegation

    Leaders of the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) have pledged to work with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to curb the use of truck and passenger vehicles to traffic illicit drugs as part ongoing offensive action against substance abuse and trafficking across Nigeria.

    According to Femi Babafemi, NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, the commitment was made on Thursday, 24th July, 2025 by the National President of NARTO, Alhaji Yusuf Lawal Othman when he led other leaders of the transport union on a courtesy visit to the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) at the Agency’s National Headquarters in Abuja.

    Commending Marwa’s courage, vision, and patriotism in the leadership of the Agency, Othman said “this visit today is not just ceremonial; it is purposeful and timely. It reflects our deep appreciation of NDLEA’s efforts and our readiness as a key stakeholder in the road transport sector to align with your mission.

    “NARTO is acutely aware of the burden we carry. Our truck and passenger vehicles traverse every region of the country, serving as the arteries of commerce and connectivity. However, we also recognize that these same routes are occasionally exploited by criminal elements to traffic illicit substances. We at NARTO are committed to reversing that narrative. We believe that collaboration between our association and the NDLEA is both necessary and urgent, and we are ready to play our part.”

    To achieve the success of the collaboration, Othman proposed “sensitization and training of NARTO drivers and transport operators on identifying and reporting suspicious cargo or behavior; establishment of joint intelligence-sharing mechanisms to monitor drug trafficking routes and tactics; deployment of NDLEA liaison officers at major NARTO parks and depots across the federation, and public awareness campaigns, using our national footprint to educate drivers and passengers on the dangers of drug trafficking and abuse.”

    While reaffirming NARTO’s unwavering stand on the drug scourge, he said “our highways must not be used to harm our nation. We want to see a transport industry that supports security, safety, and the health of our communities.”

    In his response, Marwa assured them of the preparedness of NDLEA to work with NARTO.

    According to him, “I have had good relationship with NARTO since my days in Lagos and I’m glad you’re concerned about the drug problem in Nigeria. We are more than ready to collaborate with at your parks and depots”

    He urged road transport owners to always conduct background checks on drivers they give their vehicles to ensure they are not linked to any drug trafficking syndicate or hooked on illicit substances. This he said will save the transport vehicles owners the risk of losing their vehicles in avoidable crashes or to the government in case they’re caught being used as instruments of illicit drug trafficking.

  • Nigerian Air Force to Acquire 49 Fighter Jets For War Against Insurgency

    Nigerian Air Force to Acquire 49 Fighter Jets For War Against Insurgency

    Hell’s gates seem ready to open wider for insurgents and other non-state actors that have turned Nigeria into a killing field for so long. This is because the Nigerian Air Force is set to expand its aerial fleet and buoy its fire power with the acquisition of 49 state-of-the-art aircraft before the end of 2026

    The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar, delivered the good news on Wednesday at the opening of the 2025 Aircraft Engineering Conference held at the NAF Headquarters in the nation’s capital, Abuja.

    The conference has as theme: “Enhancing Aircraft Serviceability in the NAF through Strong Maintenance Culture and Strategic Partnerships.”

    Air Marshal Abubakar listed the expected additions as including: three CASA 295 transport aircraft, 10 AW-109 Trekker Type B helicopters, 12 AH-1Z attack helicopters, and 24 M-346 fighter aircraft, all of which are high-tech platforms requiring advanced and sophisticated maintenance procedures.

    The proposed acquisition is coming two years after the delivery of 15 brand new aircraft, including: six T-129 ATAK helicopters, two AW-109 Trekker Type A helicopters, three Beechcraft King Air aircraft, and four Diamond 62 reconnaissance planes.

    According to the Chief of Air Staff, “These aircraft are all high-tech platforms that require very sophisticated maintenance activities to operate effectively.”

    Air Marshal Abubakar said it was expedient for NAF personnel to embrace “advanced, innovative, and data-driven aircraft and armament maintenance practices.”

    He observed that the ongoing fleet expansion underscored the need to strengthen engineering capacity and improve maintenance culture to match the demands of a modern air force.

    “In the last two years, the NAF has reached new heights in operational capability. But this progress must be matched by robust support systems to ensure sustained air power delivery in pursuit of national security goals,” the Chief of Air Staff  said.

    Air Marshal Abubakar also revealed that significant investments had been made in logistics, spare parts, and ground support tools to maintain and upgrade existing aircraft and ensure all operable platforms were fully serviceable by the fourth quarter of 2025.

    The Chief of Aircraft Engineering, Air Vice Marshal A.I. Amodu, described aircraft engineering as “the backbone that supports the NAF’s mission and objectives,” adding that the rapidly evolving security environment demanded a proactive and responsive maintenance framework.

    According to him, the conference provided a vital platform to exchange ideas, develop innovative strategies, and reinforce a culture of excellence in aircraft engineering that would directly impact the NAF’s operational readiness and efficiency.

  • Let Tehran, Tel Aviv bleed, Abuja will pay the price, By Lasisi Olagunju

    Let Tehran, Tel Aviv bleed, Abuja will pay the price, By Lasisi Olagunju

    A tree does not fall in the forest and kill someone at home. That proverb may be true one hundred years ago. It has expired; its truth is lost to the ravages of this century’s technology. Check what Iran and Israel are sending to each other from a million kilometres apart. They are pressing buttons, bursting bunkers and cracking skulls. They are felling trees to kill the enemy at home.
    Between Iran and Israel is a land distance of 2,308 kilometres. It takes 14 hours, 30 minutes to fly from Tehran to Tel Aviv. Driving distance from Israel to Nigeria is 6,349 kilometers; total straight line flight distance from Nigeria to Iran is 5,223 kilometers or 2,820 nautical miles. These are what the World Wide Web tell me. Yet, I want to say that we should prepare for the heat of that kitchen of misery.
    What is going on in the Middle East is a war thousands of kilometres away from our country, so why should Nigeria be worried? Heat from distant fires is a grim reality in modern warfare. The shockwaves will soon wash up on our shores; household economies will be in trouble. Collapsing deckings will sink on wayfarers.
    There are no regional wars again. This is a world war, undeclared. Listen to what experts are saying. Ponderously, they tell us that this war is not just about geopolitics. They say it is about budgets, about prices, and about livelihoods. They point at the direct combatants, fighting and bleeding. They add some more elegant lines. They say, as if in elegy, that: Israel bleeds dollars to stay safe; Iran bleeds oil to stay afloat; America bleeds billions to hold the line. And countries like Nigeria, with no direct stake in the conflict, are involuntarily dragged into its economic consequences.
    Those who hold the above views are right. A globalized world has obliterated the local in wars; the canopy is a worldwide foliage of blood and tears. So, as we watch live footages of explosions in Iran and Israel, let it sink in our heads that the financial cost of what is going on is a bell that tolls not just for Tel Aviv and Tehran. Abuja should also brace up. This is also our war.
    In this unfair world, missiles flying in the Middle East means misery in Africa. Except a miracle stops Tehran from burning and Tel Aviv ceases bleeding, poor Abuja is sure going to pay part of the price.
    Already, the war has pushed global crude oil prices by over 10 percent. Oil prices climbed from about $77 to over $86 per barrel on Sunday. Some forty years ago, this would be good news to oil-rich Nigeria. But it is not so today; a dangerous paradox rules our country: We produce and export crude oil; we import refined fuel from those who buy crude from us. A private refinery here even imports crude. Do the maths and be sorry for us.
    The war is spiking global fuel refining costs; shipping costs are rising. Those two items alone will soon impact the price of petrol and diesel on the streets from Lagos to Sokoto. Inflation will worsen, incomes will shrink in value; chants of ebi npa wá will be shrill and widespread; there will be anger on the streets; the people’s belly will rebel; the government will be helpless and in real trouble.
    Check from Al Jazeera to the Wall Street Journal; from Oxford Analytica to Reuters, etc etc; a scary story of costs is coming out of this war. We should be worried because we are involved.
    The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) says US$265 billion is needed globally per year to end hunger. That need is largely ignored by countries that have. Instead, the very powerful are expending billions on this avoidable war. For Israel, daily military expenditure is estimated to between $700 million and $800 million. An interceptor costs $700,000; a single missile costs up to $4 million. In one month, Israel would have burnt $12 billion in bombs and missiles.
    In a multi million dollar operation, America on Sunday bombed nuclear sites in Iran and congratulated itself. The costs in materials didn’t bother it all.
    They will pass the bills to the weak and hike the rate of hunger. Who cares? Before its plunge into the war on Sunday, the United States was already spending billions of dollars on the conflict. It spent on repositioning naval carriers, it spent on enhancing missile defence for allies, it spent on deploying reconnaissance and on logistic support. It has started spending uncommon billions on uncommon bombs bursting Iran.
    Burning billions on wars is nothing to the super powers. They profit from their investments in conflicts. The US fought in and prospered from the First World War. Read John Maurice Clark’s ‘The War’s Aftermath in America’, published in Current History (1916-1940). Whenever and wherever you see that country called America in combat, know that it does so for peace and profit, especially for profit. Read Stuart D. Brandes’ ‘Warhogs: A History of War Profits in America.’ They pull the trigger, the mugus of the world pay the price.
  • Iran-Israel War: Petrol May Cost N1000/litre

    Iran-Israel War: Petrol May Cost N1000/litre

    Pump price of premium motor spirit, PMS, or petrol, surged to between N915 and N925 per litre in most filing stations in Lagos over the weekend as the Iran-Israel conflict escalated.

    Despite his pre-election promise not to drag America into ‘stupid wars’, the United States President, Donald Trump, Saturday, effectively injected his country into the ongoing war between Israel and Iran as the US military sent seven bunker-busters to bomb three nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan in Iran.

    Experts fear that global crude oil prices may cross $80 per barrel this week following the major escalation in tension between the United States and Iran. Predictably, the oil market reacted sharply to the coordinated US-Israeli airstrikes on key Iranian nuclear facilities.

    The attack, which ranks as one of the most consequential choices of Trump’s young second presidency, has significantly ratcheted up tensions in the America, Middle East, and sent shockwaves across the world.

    Trump was upbeat about the strikes which he described as “spectacular military success”, and maintained that the nuclear sites were “totally obliterated.” After the strikes, Trump urged Iran to immediately return to diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.

    Iran, however, declared it would not be cowed or bullied; and vowed retaliation.

    Consequently, the Iranian parliament moved swiftly in an attempt to shut the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic chokepoint that handles nearly a fifth of the world’s oil supply. Iran is the world’s third-largest producer petroleum.

    Though the move would also hurt the Iranian economy badly, it has sent shockwaves across the world’s energy market, with Brent crude trading higher in the early hours and analysts projecting further gains.

    The impact is already being felt back home in Nigeria as petrol prices surged in response to rising crude oil prices and the volatility in the foreign exchange market.

    In Lagos, most filing stations jerked pump price to between N910 and N925 on Sunday, and petroleum marketers feared that the prices may hit N1000 per litre. There also genuine fears that Brent crude may hit the $80 per barrel threshold.

    Indeed, Punch newspaper, quoted the Chief Executive Officer of PetroleumPrice.ng, Mr. Olatide Jeremiah, as saying that private depots were already gearing up to effect a hike in loading cost on Monday.

    “Private depots are likely to increase petrol price to N1,000 in the coming days with the current trend observed in the market,” was quoted as saying. “If by tomorrow morning, crude price increases to $80 or exceeds that threshold, Nigerians would pay N1,000 at depots.

    “The situation means they will take advantage of Nigerians, but we can only hope that Dangote maintains its current price. That is the only way depot owners won’t jack up the price anyhow. The price surge seen last week was basically because Dangote stopped selling for some days. But it has opened up its portal and is now selling at N880 for two million litres. Dangote remains a major determinant of petrol price.”

    The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAM, also strongly believes that the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran would continue to push up crude prices, and prompt a rise in global petrol prices.

    The Punch recalls that on Friday, the Dangote refinery jerked up petrol prices from N825 to N880. In response, MRS Oil Nigeria and other filling stations selling Dangote petrol raised their pump prices to an average of N955 in the South East and North West.

    The newspaper reported that other filling stations have also hiked their prices to between N930 and N960, depending on the location. Lagos has the cheapest rate as MRS and other Dangote partners sold petrol at N925 per litre on Sunday.

    The National Publicity Secretary of IPMAN, Chinedu Ukadike, while speaking with the Punch on Sunday, said there was a nexus between the recent price hike and the instability rocking the global crude market as a direct result of the Israel-Iran crisis and a foreign exchange regime that continues to dance yoyo.

    “There is a crisis between Israel and Iran, and Brent crude has gone up from around $66 to about $77 per barrel,” Ukadike said. He explained that the price of crude in the international market directly impacts the cost of domestic petrol, adding that the volatility in the exchange rate also compounds the challenge.

    “Once the exchange rate goes up, it will affect the price of petroleum products. Once crude oil is also going up, it will also affect it,” he said.

    Ukadike explained that the cost of lifting 50,000 litres of petrol has spiked significantly, exerting serious financial pressure on independent marketers who, in turn, were forced to review their  pricing strategy.

    “Definitely, marketers will also increase to meet that gap. Since the refiner, which is Dangote, has already increased that price,” Ukadike continued in the interview with the Punch. “Some of them that are importers have also increased prices in line with the international market. So, for us, consequently, it will increase the volume of money we use to buy 50,000 litres worth of petrol. It will put pressure on our finances and also make us redirect and review our market strategy.”

    The IPMAN image maker then concluded, warning that petrol could sell for as high as N1,000 per litre, especially in some parts of the North, due to transportation and logistics costs. “In the North, we’ve seen N980, N990, N975. Some places, maybe to the far end, around N1,000,” he said.

    Maintaining that the combination of international market forces and domestic cost burdens is making it difficult for marketers to maintain stable pricing, Ukadike said that petrol refined locally by Dangote could be sold at almost the same price as imported products, largely due to global crude price volatility. Dangote refinery is also sourcing crude oil at international market rates, which he said diminishes the expected price advantage over imports, he explained.

     

     

  • Nations React as America Drops Massive Bunker-buster Bombs on Iran

    Nations React as America Drops Massive Bunker-buster Bombs on Iran

    President of the United States, Donald Trump, swallowed his pre-election promise not to drag America into “stupid wars” when he ordered the military to strike Iran, thereby inserting his country directly into the ongoing Israeli campaign to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme.

    In what experts consider to be a risky gambit to weaken Iran, a longtime foe, the U.S. military struck three nuclear sites in Iran early Sunday. Seven B-2 bombers, one of them flown by a woman, dropped the powerful bunker-buster bombs, each weighing 30,000 pounds, on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Each bomber had two crew members aboard.

    The GBU-57 series MOP (Massive Ordnance Penetrator) is a 30,000-pound (13,600 kg), 20.5-foot-long (6.2 m) precision-guided “bunker buster” bomb developed by Boeing for the United States Air Force (USAF). Composed of a BLU-127 bomb body and precision-guided munition kit, the there are several GBU-57 variants and BLU-127 weights.

    “Operation Midnight Hammer, involved decoys and deception, and met with no Iranian resistance,” according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a news conference. He told journalists that America “does not seek war” with Iran and that the operation was not about regime change.

    Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff concurred, disclosing that the goal of the operation — destroying nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan — had been achieved.

    “Final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction,” Caine said.

    But Secretary of StateMarco Rubio, has warned against Iranian attacks on countries in the region that host American military forces.

    As reported by the Associated Press, AP, the Trump administration, despite Sunday’s attack, has signaled a willingness to renew talks with Iran and avoid a prolonged war.

    President Trump, who had addressed the nation from the White House on Saturday night, allowed his national security team to speak for him the next morning, staying quiet on social media and scheduling no public appearances.

    Th AP recalled that Israel had, on June 13, 2025, launched a surprise barrage of attacks on sites in Iran, with Israeli officials declaring that the strikes were necessary to head off what they claimed was an imminent threat that Iran would build nuclear bombs. Iran has also retaliated with a series of missile and drone strikes in Israel, while Israel has continued to strike sites in Iran.

    Regardless of Sunday’s bunker-busting operations by the US military, not everyone in America is happy about what they thought was Trump’s disregard for the United States Constitution which requires the President to seek congress approval before going to war with any nation.

    Senator Tim Kaine, a Virginian democrat chided the Trump administration for not notifying Congress before the attacks.

    “The United States should not be in an offensive war against Iran without a vote of Congress,” Kaine said. “The Constitution is completely clear on it. And I am so disappointed that the president has acted so prematurely.”

    Kaine said he would force a floor vote in the Senate this week on a resolution that would require a vote ahead of military action against Iran.

    “This is the U.S. jumping into a war of choice at Donald Trump’s urging, without any compelling national security interests for the United States to act in this way, particularly without a debate and vote in Congress,” he added.

     

     

     

  • Israel vs Iran: What is Nigeria’s foreign policy thrust? By Bola BOLAWOLE

    Israel vs Iran: What is Nigeria’s foreign policy thrust? By Bola BOLAWOLE

    [email protected] 0807 552 5533, 0803 251 019

    “Countries have no permanent friends or enemies but permanent interests” – Lord Palmerston, 19th century British Prime Minister.

    I was aghast when I read of Nigeria poking her nose into the scuffle between Israel and Iran. What is our own, as they say, in the long-standing enemity between Jews (Israelis) and Persians (Iranians)? Is our beef ethnic, economic, political, religious, moral high ground or what? Are we being goaded by some interests around President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to take the side of Iran for religious reasons? Or are we just playing busybody and meddlesome interloper?

    What special interest(s) do we have in each of the countries trading missiles that will injure us irreparably, thus forcing us to come out with the statement issued by our government? In other words, what special loss are we likely to suffer that other countries or peoples are not going to suffer, thus putting a heavy burden on us to speak out as forcefully as we have done while many other countries have maintained stoic silence or have sat on the fence; acting neither here nor there?

    The statement by our government blamed Israel for its “preemptive strike” at about a hundred Iranian military facilities, killing top military officers and scientists, including civilians, and inflicting a huge damage whose actual extent is yet to be fully determined. We also preached peace, urged restraint, advised negotiation and warned against escalation of hostilities that may spread beyond the theatres of conflict and consume the entire region as well as other parts of the world.

    The beginning of the statement which condemned Israel for its “preemptive strike” should have been omitted. The other parts of the statement are passable. Now, Israeli leaders will laugh at us as they read the opening part of our statement condemning their action. If I were to help them draft a response, it would be a terse: “Thank you very much, Mr. Busybody and Meddlesome Interloper! We are not like you! You who opened your eyes and watched as Fulani terrorists came from all over the world to turn your entire territory into killer-fields, drenched in blood, before you woke up from your slumber! You are now running from pillar to post when a preemptive strike by you, such as we have taken against Iran, would have saved you all the trouble and irreparable losses still ongoing. Thank you for your advice on the need for restraint and peace. Ever heard the statement: ‘A stitch in time saves nine’ ? That is our own advice to you!”

    There are many of our own people’s wisdom that preach preemptive strikes. One says to avoid that protruding branch of a tree from poking you in the eye, take notice of it (dodge it) from afar. Another says if you know that your eye-balls are sunk deep inside their sockets, start to cry early so that enough tears can quickly well in your eyes for people to notice. One more: You do not wait for the insect called “talubo” to enter your eyes before taking precautionary measures. There is this other one that says you must begin to trim the branches of the “iroko” tree while it is still tame-able; otherwise, once it grows too tall for your reach, the task becomes herculean. Delay is dangerous. Have you forgotten that nursery rhyme: Tick says the clock/Tick-tick/What you have to do/Do quick”!

    Iran is unapologetically, unabashedly, and undeniably a sworn foe of the State of Israel – in the same league with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. They want the destruction of Israel and have sworn NEVER to recognise it; neither as a sovereign and independent state nor its right to exist. And they have their justifications: The way and manner the State of Israel was created in 1948 by the Western Powers on a land the Palestinians believed was theirs and the fact that Israel was also favoured with a disproportionate portion of the land.

    According to Google, “The Jewish State allocated to the Jews, who constituted a third of the population and owned 7% of the land, was to receive 56% of Mandatory Palestine, a slightly larger area to accommodate the increasing number of Jews who would immigrate there”. The portion left for the Palestinians – West Bank and Gaza Strip – was also disjointed. Unable to stomach this “daylight injustce”, as someone had described it, the Palestinians, supported by some Arab/Middle East countries, have fought wars against Israel but with every war, won by Israel, they have lost more territories out of the measly ones they originally got. Not only that, the other Arab/Middle East countries supporting them have also lost territories to Israel. These are called the “occupied territories”.

    Israel has seized portions after portions of what was originally allocated to the Palestinians and has built “settlements” there for its citizens. Resolution after resolution by the UN censoring Israel and ordering it back to its original UN boundaries have been spurned by the Jewish State. Israel’s backbone is the United States, Britain and the other Western Powers that have given the Jewish State military, financial, diplomatic, and moral support. The Achilles’ heel of the Palestinians and their backers is their lack of unity as well as military inferiority to their opponents. With the backing of the superpowers, Israel has also developed into a military power of its own, able to go solo on occasions, even when its backers urge restraint. So, if Israel would not heed the superpowers’ call for restraint, is it Nigeria’s tepid call that amounts to a mere irritation, at best, that it will heed?

    Seeing the hopelessness of their situation, many Arab countries have negotiated peace with Israel; thereby recognising its right to exist as a sovereign and independent state. Some others have not said so openly but have desisted from openly antagonising it. The recent fall of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria has further depleted the ranks of the countries vigorously opposed to Israel. Iran, undeterred, has continued the struggle, reasoning that it must be militarily strong enough not only to withstand Israel but also to stand a chance of achieving her goal against it. The only road to that objective is for it to become a nuclear-power nation. Therefore, Iran has feverishly pursued its nuclear arms project, insisting that it is for peaceful purposes while those opposed to it believe it is not. To Israel and its backers, therefore, to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons is a task that must be done. To Iran on the other hand, to acquire the nuke is also a mission that must be accomplished!

    But, of course, we cannot overlook the original injustice that has made the land of Palestine the theatre of horrendous wars and bloodshed since 1948 and the initial rejection of the UN two-state policy and the right of Israel to exist by the Palestinians and their backers. We cannot but also note the ceaseless violation of international law by Israel and its backers.

    Having said that, international relations are power relations in the real sense of the word. The strong and powerful have their way while the weak suffer what they must, until they, too, are strong enough to upturn the applecart. As Rousseau admonished, “The strong is never strong enough to be always the master unless he transforms strength into right and obedience into duty”. We have seen the rise and fall of empires and yesterday’s superpowers today do folow-follow and yes-sir to the new sheriffs in town. Who says the balance of forces will not change in Palestine or the Middle East in years, decades or centuries to come?

    Gone were the days when Nigeria commanded a powerful and influential voice in the international arena; when we were a very important member of the Non-Aligned Nations (which itself has gone into oblivion); and when we could ask a sitting US president to shut up and stop dictating to African leaders! Gone were the days when Africa was the cornerstone of our foreign policy and we championed the decolonisation efforts in other parts of the continent; when we nationalised British-owned companies and led the fight against apartheid colonialism in southern Africa, earning us the distinguished position of a Frontline State in the battle!

    Gone were the days when we almost single-handedly championed ECOMOG and brought peace to battle-ravaged Liberia and Sierra Leone! Gone were the days of Pax Nigeriana! Gone were the days when African nations catch cold and the international community takes notice anytime we sneeze. Today, minnows like Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso poke their fingers in the eye of the “Giant of Africa” A giant with the feet of clay!

    Economic power feeds military power and, together, both translate into powerful nations with a voice in international affairs. Run-down and decrepit countries like Nigeria are jokers if they jostle for attention or relevance when superpower nations are talking or doing their own thing. The best we can do at the moment is put our head down, like China did, and work our way up without making any useless noise and flexing muscles that we do not possess, which can only draw unwarranted attention to us with dire consequences!!

    * Former editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-chief, BOLAWOLE was also the Managing Director /Editor-in-chief of The Westerner news magazine. He writes the ON THE LORD’S DAY column in the Sunday Tribune and TREASURES column in New Telegraph newspaper on Wednesdays. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television.

  • No Retreat, No Surrender; Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, Tells Trump

    No Retreat, No Surrender; Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, Tells Trump

    Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has rejected the call by the United States for his country to surrender in the face of more Israeli strikes Wednesday. He also warned that any military involvement by the Americans would cause “irreparable damage to them.”

    Khameni’s defiance came as European diplomats prepared to hold talks with Iran on Friday.

    It was the second public appearance by Iran’s Supreme Leader since the Israeli strikes began six days ago came as Israel lifted some restrictions on daily life, suggesting that the missile threat from Iran was easing.

    The Associated Press reports that Khamenei spoke a day after U.S. President Donald Trump demanded in a social media post that Iran surrender without conditions and warned Khamenei that the U.S. knows where he is but has no plans to kill him, “at least not for now.”

    Trump initially distanced himself from Israel’s surprise attack aimed at Iran’s nuclear program, but in recent days he has punctured is self-imposed “peacemaker” image and hinted at greater American involvement. He said America wanted something “much bigger” than a ceasefire. The U.S. has also sent more military aircraft and warships to the region.

    The Associated Press  further reports that Senior European diplomats were set to hold nuclear talks with Iran on Friday in Geneva, according to a European official familiar with the

    The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity to discuss matters freely, said the meeting would include high-ranking diplomats from Germany, France and the United Kingdom, as well as the European Union’s top diplomat.

    There are no plans for American involvement in the talks, although that could change, according to another U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic communications.

    Separately, the U.N. Security Council scheduled a second emergency meeting on the Israel-Iran conflict for Friday at the request of Russia, China and Pakistan. Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to help mediate, suggesting Moscow could help negotiate a settlement allowing Tehran to pursue a peaceful atomic programme while assuaging Israeli security concerns.

    “In my view, a solution could be found,” Putin said Wednesday at a session with journalists.

    In a video address to Israelis, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed appreciation for Trump’s support in the conflict, calling him “a great friend of Israel” and praising U.S. help defending Israel’s skies.

    “We speak constantly, including last night,” he said Wednesday. “We had a very warm conversation.”

    ‘The Iranian nation is not one to surrender’

    Khamenei dismissed the “threatening and absurd statements” by Trump.

    “Wise individuals who know Iran, its people and its history never speak to this nation with the language of threats, because the Iranian nation is not one to surrender,” he said in a low-resolution video.

    “Americans should know that any military involvement by the U.S. will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage to them.”

    Iran released Khamenei’s statement before the video was aired, perhaps as a security measure. His location is not known, and it was impossible to discern from the tight shot, which showed only beige curtains, an Iranian flag and a portrait of Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Khamenei’s immediate predecessor, who died in 1989.

    An Iranian diplomat had warned earlier Wednesday that U.S. intervention would risk “all-out war.”

    Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei did not elaborate, but thousands of American troops are based in nearby countries within range of Iran’s weapons. The U.S. has threatened a massive response to any attack.

    Another Iranian official said the country would keep enriching uranium for peaceful purposes, apparently ruling out Trump’s demands that Iran give up its disputed nuclear program.

    Meanwhile, Iranian state TV reported late Wednesday that it was under a cyberattack by Israel.

    Social media users reported that the regular broadcast on state TV was briefly interrupted and replaced with an anti-government video urging people to take to the streets. After the normal broadcast resumed, a message on the screen said, “If you see an irrelevant message on the screen, it’s due to a cyber attack by the Zionist regime.”

    Strikes in and around Tehran

    Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin told a news conference Wednesday that Israel launched three waves of aerial attacks in the last 24 hours, deploying dozens of warplanes to strike over 60 targets in Tehran and western Iran.

    Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military struck the headquarters of Iran’s internal security forces, without specifying the agency or location. The strike marks a shift toward targeting Iran’s domestic security apparatus, which has long cracked down on dissent and suppressed protests.

    Iran’s police force acknowledged the strike hours later, saying that Israel hit its central command buildings in Tehran and wounded some officers, without saying how many.

    In addition, the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said, Israel hit two centrifuge-production facilities in and near Tehran.

    The Israeli military said it began a new round of airstrikes Thursday in Tehran and other areas of Iran, without elaborating.

    Israel’s air campaign has struck several nuclear and military sites, killing top Generals and nuclear scientists. A Washington-based Iranian human rights group said at least 639 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 1,300 wounded.

    In retaliation, Iran has fired some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones, killing at least 24 people in Israel and wounding hundreds. Some have hit apartment buildings in central Israel, causing heavy damage.

    Israeli military officials said their defenses intercepted 10 missiles overnight and several more Wednesday evening as Iran’s retaliatory barrages diminished. Air-raid sirens forced Israelis to run for shelter. There were no reports of injuries.

    Iran has fired fewer missiles as the conflict has worn on. It has not explained the decline, but Israel has targeted launchers and other infrastructure related to the missiles.

    Some U.S. diplomats and their families at the U.S. Embassy in Israel were evacuated Wednesday, according to two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe sensitive diplomatic movements. A number of diplomats left on a government plane shortly before U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee announced that the embassy was making evacuation plans for private American citizens, the officials said.

    By Wednesday, Israel eased some of the restrictions that it had imposed on civilians when Iran launched its retaliatory attack, allowing gatherings of up to 30 people and letting workplaces reopen as long as there is a shelter nearby.

    Casualties mount in Iran

    The Washington-based group Human Rights Activists said it had identified 263 of those killed in Israeli strikes as civilians and 154 as security personnel.

    The group, which also provided detailed casualty figures during 2022 protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, crosschecks local reports against a network of sources it has developed in Iran.

    Iran has not published regular death tolls during the conflict and has minimized casualties in the past. Its last update, issued Monday, put the toll at 224 people killed and 1,277 others wounded.

     

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