The Best Laid Plans of Iranian Succession : Confusion and Chaos

"The martyrdom of the Supreme Leader at the  hands of Israel and the criminal America was a great disaster for our country."

"With the power of God, we will continue the path of the Imam, the path of the dear leader, and the path of all those who seek justice in the world with power." 

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian

 

"Irrespective of what the guidelines say and what the politics may have been, it was always going to be improvisational."

"Under the circumstances of an existential conflict, the succession process is going to be very much dictated by the context of the moment."

Suzanne Maloney, vice-president, Brookings Institution

 

"The structure of the Islamic Revolution has been designed in such a way that after the martyrdom of any commander, at any rank or level, qualified and capable individuals immediately replace them."

Fars News Agency

 

"The succession process is not key in the short term because they're going to try and fight on."

"Firing off missiles does not require a supreme leader." 

Alex Vatanka, Iran analyst, Middle East Institute

Plumes of smoke from two simultaneous strikes rise over Tehran on Monday. (Mohsen Ganji/The Associated Press)

 

The first step in a process of succession in the aftermath of confirmation  of the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei resulting from an Israeli aerial attack on his compound containing the Ayatollah's offices, was announced. That a commission of three experts as called for in Iran's constitution, would meet to select the next supreme leader. Unfortunately, while the experts and others around them were in close consultation the building they were in was bombed to smithereens.

 

Evidently, before that happened, the decision was promulgated. Although Ayatollah Khamenei was said to have spurned the idea of  succession, even though rumour had it that he was grooming his oldest son to succeed him, the panel of experts had decided on elevating that son to the now-empty position of Grand Ayatollah. That, despite that the son did not have the required scholarship credentials to obtain that role. 

 

Iran International reports the Assembly of Experts has elected Ali Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as his father’s successor.

 

According to President Pezeshkian, an interim leadership council was struck to begin the process of overseeing the country locked in war with the  attack of its government institutions by the combined military forces of the United States and Israel. Moreover, it was latterly reported that the building housing the deliberating council was bombed: "Following the decapitation of 88 Members of the Islamic Supreme Council, which was set to choose the Ayatollah regime's next "Supreme Leader"; Mossad announced: "It doesn't matter who is chosen today; his fate has been decreed. Only the Iranian nation will choose their future leader."

 

Following the U.S.-Israeli attack that began on Saturday, Iran retaliated by firing waves of missiles and drones at Israel and targeted U.S. allies in the region. Here, boys watch as a tall smoke plume billows following an explosion in the Fujairah industrial zone in the U.A.E. (Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images)

 

With the elimination of many contenders and in the current regime instability various rivals and factions are certain to emerge, each claiming their right to assume wartime power in the face of questionable support from the country'[s military establishment. The solution to which may be a decision to retain the temporary council, but then the fact is the temporary council is now rather unavailable, given that blast that destroyed the building they were meeting in. 

 

Even though Mojtaba Khamenei was widely expected to be favoured as his father's successor, Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei resisted the transfer of the supreme position along hereditary lines. Such a move would smack too greatly of the ruling system of the Pahlavi dynasty, when the Shah was replaced by the Islamic Republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic. 

 

In Iran the supreme leader is a high-placed religious figure considered to be a representative of God, while also being the head of state. During the 37 years that Ali Khamenei served, he expanded his power and the scope of his rule over the civilian government which itself was elected under a quasi-democratic rule. As such the Grand Ayatollah had the power to wield final decision-making on all manner of regime initiatives, even as he also consulted.

 

What the Iranian Shiite regime -- or what is left of it -- has failed to take into account is its future presence in the Middle East where it has succeeded through its violently hostile actions toward its Sunni Arab neighbours by sending endless streams of missiles and deadly drones into their territory, attacking both oil extraction sites and civilian infrastructure and in so doing inciting deadly enmity from those same neighbours, is the future consequences. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and others will never now countenance a continuation of the Islamic Republic. 

 

The U.S. and Israel launched a new wave of attacks on Iran on Tuesday, as the conflict entered its fourth day. Here, plumes of smoke rise following reported explosions in Tehran early Tuesday. (Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images)

 

 

The New-Old Iranian At-War Governing Council

"We had prepared for such moments and have plans in place for all scenarios, even for the time after the martyrdom of revered Imam Khamenei."

"You'll see that after the leadership council is formed, the power and integrity of officials, defensive forces and the people will be beyond imagination."

Mohammad Bagher Galibaf, parliamentary speaker, Iran 

 

"We are ready in our country."

"We are not looking for war, and we won't start the war. But if they force it on us, we will respond."

Ali Larijani, 67, head, Iranian Supreme National Security Council 

In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei leads an Eid al-Fitr prayer marking the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 31, 2025. Photo by Uncredited /AP

 

Well, 'they' did proceed to 'force it' on the Islamic Republic of Iran. The United States and Israel in a tandem of determination, after failed nuclear talks and in the wake of massive, prolonged popular protests by Iranians fed up with the economic plight they found themselves in as a result of sanctions imposed on Iran for its intransigence over international demands that it forego its nuclear programs, where the regime's brutal crackdown on protesters led to thousands killed, tens of thousands injured and arrested, the decision was finally made to attack the regime's nuclear development sites, its IRGC weapons depots, ballistic missile launchers and leading government figures.

 

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead, as are many of the leading military and security figures of the Islamic Republic. Before his death, the Grand Ayatollah left instructions with trusted aids how they must proceed in a continuation of the Islamic Republic after his death. The Muslim holy month of Ramadan 2026 saw the aerial invasion of Iran by American and Israeli fighter jets targeting the regime's infrastructure, its military, its government figures, after a massive buildup of American military assets at sea and in the air. A joint, well-planned agreement between Israel, whom Iran has repeatedly threatened to destroy and the U.S., whose military assets Iran has repeatedly targeted with its proxy terrorists.

 

Provisional Leadership Council, Sky News

 

 Facing the threat of strikes and dealing with nationwide protests in January, Ayatollah Khamenei assigned Ali Larijani, Iran's foremost national security official, to take the reins of government. He chose Mr. Larijani, and not the current president of the country, Masoud Pezeshkian to be tasked. President Pezeshkian, a former heart surgeon turned politician and considered a moderate, would then report directly to Mr. Larijani. Larijani is a veteran politician, currently head of the Supreme National Security Council, formerly commander of the Revolutionary Guards Corps.

 

Mr. Larijani had been tasked with crushing the January protests throughout the country that demanded the ouster of the regime and the end of Islamic rule. The lethal force that was unleashed under his command was in fact a reflection of the government itself, prepared to kill as many protesters as was deemed necessary to convince Iranians that the government was unmoved by the passion of their protests other than to continue the regime's resolve to crush dissent.

 

It has been Mr. Larijani who has been front and central in liaising with Russia, Qatar and Oman while supervising the nuclear negotiations underway with Washington. He has been at the helm of planning Iran's response to the expected strike by the United States in view of the American forces being amassed in the region. Alongside Larijani, a handful of other close political and military associates of Ayatollah Khamenei were tasked to ensure that the Islamic Republic would survive any assassination attempts on the regime's leadership including that of the Ayatollah himself.

 

Four layers of succession were assigned by Ayatollah Khamenei for each of the military command and government roles of critical importance to the longevity of the regime. All those named to leadership roles were themselves in turn to name up to an additional four replacements with responsibilities delegated to a circle of confidants for decision-making, in the event that communications were disrupted or the death of the Ayatollah. All of the country's armed forces were placed on the highest state of alert in preparation for fierce resistance. 

 

Sky News

 

A three-person temporary leadership council has been formed to govern the country and temporarily assume the duties of supreme leader, in line with Islamic Republic law. Mr. Larijani tops the list to manage the country, followed by Brigadier General Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a former Guards commander and current speaker of Parliament, designated as the de facto deputy to Khamenei, to command the armed forces during conflict. President Pezeshkian has been sidelined.

 

None of the men in this tight little circle of command and control would be considered with any favour by the angry people of Iran, given their accusations of financial corruption, and complicity in violations of human rights, inclusive of the recent slaughter of thousands of unarmed protesters over a three-day period in early January. 

 

Penalizing Abraham Accord Signees

"During the past two years, Iran and Israel have traded missile and air strikes three times, and by now, war between them is old news. War between Iran and the Gulf Arab states of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, however, is something new. According to reports, Iran fired missiles at all of them this morning. This video appears to show an attack on Juffair, the area of Bahrain that hosts the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet. Similar attacks were reported in the other countries, all of which host American bases or other strategic interests."

"All these countries, with the possible exception of the U.A.E., have been at various times torn about whether to treat Iran like a bad neighbor who must be tolerated, or a bad neighbor whose house needs to be burned down with the neighbor in it."

"These countries once wondered whether Iran could be appeased and contained. Now they do not."

Graeme Wood, The Atlantic 

 

"Everyone is very scared [as the situation continues to deteriorate]."

"There is footage of missile interceptions all over the city."

"I am packing a suitcase just in case … not that we can leave, because airspace is closed."

"It is the thing we have all been frightened about happening, and now it has."

Dubai resident  

Dubai turns into a ghost town as Iranian strikes rattle the city.  Nearly empty highways are seen in Dubai on Sunday.   Caroline Faraj/CNN

 

Iran, as the only non-Arab Muslim state in the Middle East, has long sought to reassert itself in the image of ancient Persia where the Shi'ite theocracy recalls a time when Persia was once the ruling hegemon in the Middle East during the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550–330 BC) when its royal families oversaw a vast influential territory. Today, Iranians still celebrate the empire of Cyrus The Great, a warrior and statesman. In Israel he is remembered as the great king who was instrumental in freeing Israelites from their captive state and allowed them to return to Israel to rebuild the Temple of Solomon destroyed by the Assyrians.

 

The majority Sunni Muslim states in the Middle East have always lived uneasily alongside Iran, since 1979's Islamic Revolution that brought Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to power in Iran with the exile of the former Shah Pahlavi. The revolution that turned Iranians from a proud free people to a people shackled by strictly enforced Sharia law, taking Iranians socially back to the Medieval era, curtailing their liberties as the regime began to export its version of Islam and formed, trained and armed non-state terrorist militias to do its bidding on the international stage and within the Middle East.

 

Tehran had its ambitions to wrest Mecca from the control of the Saudis, a point of extreme tension between the two countries, both competing as well to be recognized as the ultimate power in the Middle East. Most of the Sunni states had amicable trade linked to oil extraction with the West and particularly the United States, as did the former Shah of Iran. Under the theocratic regime that Tehran ruled, relations from the onset of the revolution were antagonistic to the United States, the Iranian mullahs characterizing the U.S. as the 'great Satan' and Israel which they regarded as a U.S. appendage, the 'little Satan'. Its intention was to destroy them both.

 

Hit-and-run attacks against both accomplished through the medium of Iran's proxy terrorist groups became the regime's mode of conduct toward both Israel and the United States. But it was not until it became apparent that Iran was diligently working on a devoted nuclear program -- all the while promising it would destroy Israel -- that attention was fixed on its actions. In the failure of Western nations to persuade Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions alongside the IRGC's development of ever further-reaching and more powerful ballistic missiles amidst threats they could eventually reach the U.S. seaboard, tensions continued to grow.

Explosions from the interception of an Iranian projectile are seen in the sky over Dubai on March 1, 2026. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP via Getty Images)

 

On the last day of February 2026 a second joint action shared by the United States and Israel targeted Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile sites with the intention of completely destroying them, following the mistaken belief that their earlier June 2025 attacks had accomplished that goal. In the wake of mass demonstrations of Iranians against their theocratic leadership stifling life in the country for ordinary people, and the resulting regime response that killed thousands, wounded many more and imprisoned tens of thousands, Israel and the United States, following a massive buildup of military might at sea and in the air, attacked Iran.  

"The regime has not capitulated in the least. At least not yet. They are fighting back and so what we’re watching is this sort of test of wills."

"[The] Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed the Kingdom’s full solidarity with the countries concerned and its firm support for them, stating that it would mobilize all its capabilities to assist them in any measures they undertake."

"[The UAE emphasized that the country’s security is] indivisible [from its Gulf neighbors] and that any infringement on the sovereignty of any state constitutes a direct threat to the security and stability of the entire region." 

"[It’s interesting to see the countries] banding together with the United States." 

"The Emiratis and the Saudis are now speaking the same language. They have been at odds with one another over the last several weeks, they are issuing statements of support for one another as Iranian missiles and drones are getting shot across the region."

Jonathan Schanzer, executive director, Foundation for Defense of Democracies  

The Islamic Republican Guard Corps at the direction of Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, laid plans to attack their Sunni Arab neighbours whom they accused of collaborating with the United States. Accordingly, even with the death of Khamenei, along with that of the head of the IRGC and many other military leaders, the plan was advanced into kinetic action, with hundreds of missiles and drones attacking not only Israel, but U.S. military assets in countries like Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain and Oman.

 

By the third day of the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran, four people were killed and 100 wounded in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Qatar.  Iran has burnt all its bridges. Arab states that would have no hand in attacking the Islamic Republic despite their fears of its aggressive intentions now turn their eye in a well-earned jaundiced direction toward the real and immediate threat Iran now poses to their own security and that of their civilian populations. A situation that could very well end up with a coalition of Arab nations moving their own militaries against Iran. 

 

And  ultimately, Iranians would be freed from the theocratic restraints of a government leadership that destroyed too many Iranian lives to be permitted to live on without penalty itself.

 

Smoke rises after Iran carried out a missile strike on the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. (Reuters)

"For the first time in history, all the GCC states were targeted by the same actor within 24 hours. Their long-standing nightmare scenario has happened."

"Although in case of a US attack to Iran, this was an expected action from Tehran, but the scope has shocked both the Gulf political elite and public."

"[By hitting civilian infrastructure, whether intentionally or not, in the Gulf Cooperation Council capitals], Iran has crossed a dangerous line. The aim may have been to raise tensions in the Gulf to pressure the US, but this calculus may also backfire. It risks pushing the GCC states closer to the US camp in this war."

Sinem Cengiz, researcher, Qatar University’s Gulf Studies Center/non-resident fellow at Gulf International Forum 

 

A Gender-Affirming Witch Hunt With $$$$ Consequences

"Transpeople are, by definition, people 'whose gender identity does not align with the sex assigned to them at birth'. If a person elects not to 'believe' that gender identity is separate from sex assigned at birth, then they do not 'believe in transpeople."

"This is a form of existential denial."

"[Neufeld] engaged in a high-profile public campaign against SOGI 1 2 3 and the values underlying it [in]  social media posts, as well as in statements made in Board meetings, rallies and interviews."

"[Neufeld called SOGI 1 2 3 a] weapon of propaganda [which threatened] traditional family values [and instructed children about the] absurd theory [that] gender is not biologically determined, but a social construct."

"This 'lie', [he warned], alienates children from their parents and primes them for sexual abuse." 

British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal 

Former Chilliwack, B.C., school trustee has been ordered to pay $750,000 to LGBTQ teachers in the school district for injury to their dignity, feelings and self-respect. (Chilliwack School District)

 

A long-time member of the Chilliwack, B.C. school board, 62-year-old Barry Neufeld, was ordered by the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal to pay compensation of $750,000 to the LGBTQ members of the Chilliwack Teachers' Association who had brought their complaint against the man to the tribunal, on the basis that he had infringed upon their rights and derided their beliefs, while campaigning against schoolchildren being formally exposed through curricula to LGBTQ propaganda. 

 

In claiming that it was balancing the rights of free expression against hate and discrimination, the tribunal paved the way it pursued in defaming and depriving a responsible, mature man with an academic background in human relations of  his own human rights and his right to express his opinion through free speech, leading to an extraordinarily heavy financial burden imposed upon him, to the satisfaction of those  his views had so dreadfully offended. But there are those on the B.C. school board who have taken offence at the outcome. 

"[The decision to resign as trustee was] effective immediately [the Neufeld ruling from the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal has placed a chill on public discourse]. I can no longer do my job. All democratically-elected officials must feel comfortable to speak their mind without worrying about accusations of workplace discrimination."
"Since I no longer feel safe in expressing myself on the board in legitimate ways, the only proper course is to resign."

Laurie Throness, Chilliwack School Board trustee 

According to the tribunal's ruling, merely denying the existence of transpeople transcends hate speech. It has the effect of being "speech which denies the authentic existence of trans and gender diverse people [which] bears a hallmark of hate against them". Mr. Neufeld earned a degree in adolescent psychology. He has worked as a corrections, probation and restorative justice facilitation officer. Has worked with sex offenders, and was an elected trustee of the Chilliwack Board of Education. In that latter function his statements were clearly opposed to gender identity and the effect the ideology would have on children. 

 

The government of British Columbia had amended its human rights code in 2015 to include "gender identity or expression" as protected grounds from discrimination. The Ministry of Education went on to direct its schools and boards of education to take due cognizance in updating their codes of conduct to address he issue of bullying based on sexual orientation and gender identity under the nomenclature of SOGI 1 2 3. The ruling found Mr. Neufeld guilty of  24 instances of discrimination.

 

The BC Human Rights Tribunal is a kangaroo court run by a woke activist judiciary. Harman Banghu, MLA for Langley-Abbotsford, B.C. X  Pictured, Barry Neufeld

 

Accusing LGBTQ groups of portraying themselves as victims, while delineating a new 'caste system', Mr. Neufeld urged people to reject the "powerful" LGBTQ "lobby group", and spoke of genderfluid as "delusional thinking". He had exposed lesbian, gays and transpeople, according to the tribunal, to hatred and contempt. Views so toxic and harmful the tribunal warned: "We caution the reader that this decision reproduces Mr. Neufeld's discriminatory statements. Reading them may be difficult for some readers".  

 

As for warning of dangers in "gender affirming medical treatment" for children (such as puberty blockers,  hormones or surgery) this too represented a shocking betrayal of the needs of gender-aversive children; quoting Mr. Neufeld's vile statement: "Allowing children to choose their gender is nothing short of child abuse". Obviously in need of a penalty that would deter any other social Neanderthal from repeating such slanders so very harmful to the LGBTQ community. 

"He spreads alarm and misinformation about gender affirming recognition and care for trans kids, especially in public schools."

"Contrary to Mr. Neufeld's view, gender affirming recognition and care for trans and gender diverse children is life saving."

"[To even say that there is a] gender ideology [to be debated is discriminatory]."

B.C. Human Rights Tribunal 

B.C. Human Rights Tribunal / file photo Vancouver Sun

 

The Incomparable Israel-India Alliance

"It is a privilege and an honour for me to stand before this distinguished House. I do so as the Prime Minister of India, and as a representative of one ancient civilization addressing another."

"I bring with me the greetings of 1.4 billion Indians, and a message of friendship, respect, and partnership."

"India has also endured the pain of terrorism. We feel your pain. We share your grief. India stands with Israel, firmly with full conviction, in this moment and beyond."

"Like you, we have a consistent and uncompromising policy of zero tolerance for terrorism, with no double standards."

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi 

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, in Jerusalem on February 25, 2026. (Photo by ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP via Getty Images)

 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi just concluded his second visit to Israel. His first took place in 2017, becoming the first prime minister of India to visit Israel. He spoke of the acknowledgement of much in common, historically, culturally and politically between the two nations. In speaking of India's high alert over terrorism, addressing the Knesset, it is clear that Islamist terrorism that has kept Israel on guard since 1948, is the very menace that India too has faced, and from that very same year-before, when Pakistan divided from India and a mass exchange of population took place through partition.

 

The Partition offer made by the United Nations between Israel and those calling themselves Palestinians failed to conclude with two states side-by-side, when Israel gratefully and ebulliently took up the offer and the Arab Palestinians rejected it. That rejection has continued with each offer Israel has made through negotiations where concessions were never enough for the Palestinians demanding the ultimate concession of  Israel's dissolution and the land 'from the river to the sea' turned over to the Palestinians; land historically and ancestrally Judean. 

 

India and Pakistan continue to confront one another over the disputed border of Kashmir. India aspires to live in peace with its combative neighbour, while knowing that there will be eruptions of violence emanating from Pakistan into India. Internally, India hosts the third largest Muslim population globally as citizens, about 14 percent of its population. Distrust between the fractious nature of Muslim vs Hindu can flare at any time. India with its vast population base and huge ethnic/religious/ideological groups must also grapple with threats from its Sikh population that promotes a geographic schism in the Punjab called Kalistan. 

 

But it was a fundamentalist Islamist Pakistani group that launched a massive attack on India's financial hub in south Mumbai that brought home the extremist hatred of religious domination through jihad when a dozen coordinated attacks in 2008 shut the city down for three days while Indian security forces battled with murderous armed terrorists shooting and setting off explosives in a catastrophic scene of pandemonium and bloodshed, where in total 175 civilians, security personnel, and nine attackers, were killed. Bodies of many of the dead hostages showed signs of torture or disfigurement. 

 

Thursday, Nov. 27, 2008, fire engulfs a part of the Taj Hotel in Mumbai, India. Teams of gunmen stormed luxury hotels, a popular restaurant, hospitals and a crowded train station in coordinated attacks across India’s financial capital,taking Westerners hostage and leaving parts of the city under siege. The terror lasted for three day which killed 195 people. (AP Photo/Gautam Singh)

"[India honours the ancient Jewish communities of India]: the Bene Israel of Maharashtra, the Cochini Jews of Keralam, The Baghdadi Jews of Kolkata and Mumbai, and the Bnei Menashe of the North East have enriched India."

"In my home state, Gujarat, there is a school set up by a Bene Israeli family -- Mister and Missus Best. It is an excellent school, and of course, it is called the Best School!"

Prime Minister Modi  

Cochin Jews, c. 1900.

 

India is forced to arm itself in readiness for the prospect of defending itself against further violence from Pakistan. Like Israel, India is also a nuclear power ... as is Pakistan. Pakistan battles its own insurgent Islamists as it happens, as well as preparing itself for conflict with Afghanistan where skirmishes have already taken place between the two through accusations by Pakistan that Afghanistan is giving haven to Pakistan's Taliban that threaten Islamabad. The irony being that Pakistan had sheltered and its Intelligence Services had trained the Afghanistan Taliban.

 

According to the Stockholm International Research Institute, 34 percent of Israel's total arms exports between 2020 and 2024, valued at roughly $20.5 billion have gone to India. Israel supplies India with "missiles, seekers, radars, sensors, electronic warfare suites, UAV technologies, and a host of force multipliers." 

 

India represents one of the few geographies where persistent antisemitism has not made its way into the culture; Jews have lived safely in India for centuries; unlike the Jewish experience throughout Europe where diaspora Jews have lived for millennia. In India no pogroms threatened the security of Jews living there, no expulsions took place, nor state-institutionalized persecution. Much less ghettos imposed upon Jewish-Indian enclaves.  

 

Times of Israel

"Israel is often called the 'startup nation'." 

"Our aspirational spirit aligns naturally with Israel's innovation ecosystem. I see a lot of synergies in areas such as quantum technologies, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence."

"We are also working with Israel on creating cross-border financial linkages using our Digital Public Infrastructure." 

Prime Minister Modi 

Bluster: Meet Hyperbole = Impasse

"They've already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas, and they're working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America."

"They were warned to make no future attempts to rebuild their weapons program, and in particular nuclear weapons, yet they continue."

"They're starting it all over."

U.S. President Donald Trump

 

"[Trump and his administration is conducting a] disinformation and misinformation campaign [against Iran]."

"Whatever they're alleging in regards to Iran's nuclear program, Iran's ballistic missiles, and the number of casualties during January's unrest is simply the repetition of 'big lies'."

Iranian Foreign Minister spokesman Esmail Baghaei 

Thousands were reportedly killed in the demonstrations. (Photo by Contributor/Getty Images)

 

Should negotiations between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran fail, the threat by the Trump administration that an attack is imminent could become reality. In the face of that impending -- yet to be discarded -- reality, the U.S. has assembled its largest aircraft and warships deployment in decades in the Middle East, part of the plan to convince Tehran to forego its nuclear ambitions. Expecting to convince the mullahs that the time is right; its violent reaction to the people of Iran assembling in huge protests against the strictures of the theocratic regime held to have weakened it, in the wake of the June attack by Israel and the U.S. against the nation's nuclear installations.

 

The protests were the largest in Iran's history and were met with a brutal government crackdown.

Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto/Getty Images

 

Planet Labs PBC shot satellite photographs, analyzed by The Association Press that appear to indicate that U.S. naval vessels typically docked in Bahrain, home of the U.S. navy's 5th Fleet, have been deployed in their entirety out to sea; scattered ostensibly to protect them and the thousands of U.S. navy personnel against a possible attack launched by Iran as a retaliatory strike should the U.S. make good on its warning that a strike is imminent.

 

Additional sanctions were imposed by the Trump administration on individuals and companies said to be enabling Iran's ballistic missile program, drone production and illicit oil sales. The satellite photos show Iran has been rebuilding its missile-production sites and carrying out reconstruction at the three nuclear sites attacked in June's U.S. strikes.  Iran, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, had been enriching uranium to 60 percent purity up to the June attack; attaining a degree of purity that is but a short technical step from 90 percent weapons-grade enrichment.

 

Over 7,000 dead Iranian protesters in the government crackdown occasioned President Trump to warn Tehran of American intent to put a stop to the massacre. That number was supplied by the Human Rights Activist News Agency in the U.S. which believes the actual figure of those killed by the regime to be much higher. There are some internal sources in the country claiming that up to 30,000 Iranians might have been killed, and many more injured and imprisoned in the protest crackdowns. 

 

US military builds up the largest force of warships and aircraft in the Middle East in decades   Associated Press

"If you choose the table of diplomacy  a diplomacy in which the dignity of the Iranian nation and mutual interests are respected -- we will also be at that table."

"But if  you decide to repeat past experiences through deception, lies, flawed analysis and false information, and launch an attack in the midst of negotiations, you will undoubtedly taste the firm blow of the Iranian nation and the country's defensive forces."

Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Parliamentary Speaker, Tehran 

 

 

Canada, Straining to Accommodate A Huge Influx of Migrants, Refugees, Asylum Seekers

"Under the Liberals,the Interim Federal Health Program [IFHP], the program that provides benefits to asylum claimants, has morphed well beyond its initial intent of providing care to a small number of legitimate refugees who are fleeing to Canada from war zones into a massive boondoggle that provides care to bogus asylum claimants."

"The Liberals are proposing to set up a costly bureaucracy that would still force Canadian taxpayers to foot the bill for 70 percent of the premium health-care costs that failed asylum claimants incur." 

Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner, Opposition immigration critic  

Conservative member of Parliament Michelle Rempel Garner asks a question during question period in the House of Commons (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

 

A report published this month by the Parliamentary Budget Office broke down rising costs of the IFHP. The program has risen from $226 million in 2019 to $1 billion in 2025. The cost is projected to climb to over $1.5 billion by 2030. The number of beneficiaries, according to the PBO, will continue to grow and to expand to over 680,000 eligible beneficiaries in 2029-30. 

 

Coverage  under the program begins with basic and supplemental health care of which the basic coverage is inclusive of hospital services, services from medical doctors, registered nurses and other licensed health care providers along with ambulance services and lab and diagnostic services (including blood tests and ultrasounds). Psychologists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and speech language therapists, as well as assistive devices such as prosthetics, mobility aids and hearing aids, home care and long-term care, urgent dental care and limited vision care, medical supplies and equipment, represent the supplemental portion. On top of which is prescription drug coverage. 

 

All of which represent a pretty exhaustive parade of medical services for people who have never paid into the Canadian tax system that supports these social services. Among whom are those whose claims for migrant or refugee status have been refused, most of whom are either to be deported or are expected to leave the country of their own volition. Again, many among them exhaust all avenues of appeal, which can take years to get through the system. While in Canada they are entitled to claim social services.

 

Canadians welcome Syrian refugees to Toronto. (Photo: stacey_newman/iStock.com)

 

This, at a time when Canadian hospitals are stretched beyond their limits to provide elementary care to Canadian citizens, where wait times at emergency clinics can stretch to 12 hours before a physician can examine people awaiting care after triage investigation instructs them to take a seat in crowded emergency facilities until they can be accommodated. In a health care system where waiting for surgery that can be life-saving can stretch out into months while health conditions continue to fester and become more aggravated.

 

MP Rempel Garner brought forward a motion to restrict health care benefits to failed asylum claimants. Her motion calls on the federal government to find savings through reviewing the program, to restrict federal benefits received by rejected asylum claimants to emergency life-saving health care only, to provide an annual report to Parliament of the IFHP program and pass policies to expel foreign nations immediately who are convicted of serious crimes while in Canada. 

 

 

"We want to still protect those refugees and those people that are claiming the help and need from Canada that legitimately deserves to be protected including the children. We will continue to do that", responded federal Immigration Minister Lena Diab. Leading Rempel Garner to state that the government sits back awaiting failed refugees to respond to deportation orders, many of whose sole source of income in Canada is social welfare.

 

According to data by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Canada's refugee backlog stands at 299,960 from January. Wait times for processing of refugee and migrant claims can vary, depending on the complexity of each case, taking anywhere from months to years for completion. During that time, points out Rempel Garner, applicants can claim various types of benefits. The open question remains the status of rejected asylum claimants who appeal decisions, extending to a much longer process of determination.

 

Retroactive from 2020 the Liberal government has changed refugee rules through its borders bill to make refugee claims ineligible if they are made one year or more after the day of  entry to Canada. The new rule would render some 19,000 to 50,000 asylum claims filed between June and October 2025 ineligible.