International
Iran warns that it will hit Israel’s energy industry if it attacks it
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard warned this Friday that it will hit Israel’s energy industry if it is attacked by that country, which in turn has promised revenge for the Iranian missile bombing on Tuesday night.
“If the Zionist regime makes a mistake, we will attack all its energy sources, stations, refineries and gas fields,” said the deputy commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Brigadier General Ali Fadavi, in statements collected by media such as Dideban.
“The Zionist regime has only three power plants and a few refineries, but Iran is a huge country,” Fadavi said.
The threats of the elite Iranian military corps occur amid speculation about the possible Israeli retaliation against Iran and the oil sector is one of the possible targets for the economic damage it would cause it, according to Israeli media.
The attack against Israel was “the least of punishments”
Tehran (EFE).- The supreme leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, said on Friday that the attack against Israel was “the least of the punishments for the Israeli aggression.”
Khamenei today led a collective prayer in tribute to the murdered leader of the Lebanese militia Hezbollah Hassan Nasrala, in which he assured that “the brilliant action of our armed forces a couple of nights ago was completely legal and legitimate,” in reference to the 200-missile attack on Tuesday night against Israel.
“What our military forces did was the least of the punishments for the aggression of the Israeli regime,” Iran’s highest political and religious authority said at the mosque of Imam Jomeiní in Tehran, where thousands of faithful gathered.
“Every blow to the Zionist regime is a service to all humanity,” he said.
Call for Islamic unity and criticism of the United States
The religious remarked that “every nation has the right to defend its country and territory against the aggressor.”
In this sense, he called on the Muslim world to unite before the enemy, “whose policy is divide and you will defeat.”
“The policy of the Koran is that Muslim nations must be united,” while stressing that the “enemy of Iran is the enemy of Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Syria and Yemen.”
Khamenei reiterated that Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 was legitimate.
“The Al-Aqsa storm was a legal and international measure and a legitimate right of the Palestinians,” who in their opinion have “the right to face any enemy who has destroyed their home and their life.”
And in reference to the murders of Nasrala and an Iranian general a week ago in Beirut, he warned that “Hezbulah and his heroic leader and martyr are the essence of Lebanon’s historical virtues and identity.”
He also pointed to the United States as guilty of tensions in the Middle East.
“The United States seeks control of the region’s resources through the Israeli regime,” he said.
First collective prayer in 4 years
After the speech, the Iranian supreme leader proceeded to direct his first collective Friday prayer since 2020, when he did so after the death of Qasem Soleimani, former general at the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Quds Force, murdered by the US in Iraq.
Tuesday’s bombing was the second Iranian missile attack against Israel, since last April it attacked its territory for the first time with another series of missile and drone bombings in response to the death of seven soldiers at the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
After the attack, Israel has assured that it will respond, to which Iran has in turn said that it will reply more strongly.
International
Paraguay summons Brazilian ambassador over Itaipú espionage scandal
Paraguay summoned the Brazilian ambassador in Asunción on Tuesday to demand “explanations” and called its own representative in Brasília for consultations following Brazil’s acknowledgment of an espionage operation. The Brazilian government, led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, attributed the operation to the previous administration.
The surveillance effort aimed to uncover Paraguay’s position in now-suspended negotiations with Brazil regarding the pricing of electricity from the binational Itaipú hydroelectric plant, according to reports in the Brazilian press.
The Brazilian government “categorically denied any involvement in the intelligence operation,” stating in a Foreign Ministry communiqué on Monday that the espionage was carried out under former President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration (2019-2023).
“The operation was authorized by the previous government in June 2022 and was annulled by the interim director of the (state intelligence agency) ABIN on March 27, 2023, as soon as the current administration became aware of it,” Brazil’s government asserted.
Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez announced that Brazilian Ambassador José Antonio Marcondes de Carvalho was summoned “to provide detailed explanations” regarding the operation. Additionally, Paraguay recalled its diplomatic representative in Brasília “to report on aspects related to the intelligence activity conducted by Brazil regarding Paraguay’s government affairs.”
International
Elon Musk to step down as government advisor, per Trump insiders
President Donald Trump has informed his inner circle that Elon Musk will be stepping down from his role as a government advisor, according to a report by Politico today.
Citing three individuals close to Trump, Politico states that the president is pleased with Musk’s leadership at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he has implemented significant budget cuts. However, both have agreed that it is time for Musk to return to his businesses and support Trump from a different position outside the government.
A senior administration official told Politico that Musk will likely maintain an informal advisory role and continue to be an occasional visitor to the White House. Another source warned that anyone thinking Musk will completely disappear from Trump’s circle is “deluding themselves.”
According to the sources, this transition is expected to coincide with the end of Musk’s tenure as a “special government employee,” a temporary status that exempts him from certain ethics and conflict-of-interest regulations. This 130-day period is set to expire in late May or early June.
International
Milei vows to make Argentina so strong that Falkland Islanders “choose” to join
Argentine President Javier Milei reaffirmed his country’s claim over the Falkland Islands (known as the Islas Malvinas in Argentina) and praised the role of the nation’s armed forces during a ceremony marking the “Veterans and Fallen Soldiers of the Malvinas War Day,” commemorating 43 years since the 1982 conflict with the United Kingdom.
Argentina continues to assert sovereignty over the islands, arguing that Britain unlawfully seized them in 1833.
“If sovereignty over the Malvinas is the issue, we have always made it clear that the most important vote is the one cast with one’s feet. We hope that one day, the Malvinas residents will choose to vote with their feet and join us,” Milei stated.
“That is why we aim to become a global power—so much so that they would prefer to be Argentine, making deterrence or persuasion unnecessary. This is why we have embarked on a path of liberation, working to make Argentina the freest country in the world and once again the nation with the highest GDP per capita on the planet,” he added.
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