—❗️🇮🇱/🇵🇸 NEW: Heavy Israeli airstrikes against Rafah, Gaza Strip

@Middle_East_Spectator

— 🇺🇸/🇻🇪/🇵🇸/🇮🇷 WATCH: Rep. Maria Salazar (R-FL) says Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is giving uranium to Hamas and Iran.

@Middle_East_Spectator

— 🇺🇸/🇮🇱 WATCH: Tucker Carlson labels Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as 'the main enemy of Western civilization.'

@Middle_East_Spectator

— 🇺🇸/🇮🇱 NEW: Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered American diplomats in Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand to pressure their host governments to 'restrict most immigration,' with one of the main points being 'the prevalence of radical Islam among certain migrant populations, which has caused an increase in antisemitism.'

@Middle_East_Spectator

— 🇳🇦 NEW: Adolf Hitler has won the municipality elections in northern Namibia for the 5th time in a row

Adolf Hitler Uunona has represented Ompundja in the Oshana region since 2004 as a member of the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO).

@Middle_East_Spectator

— 🇻🇦/🇹🇷 NEW: Pope Leo XIV has arrived in Ankara, Turkey, for his first official pontifical visit

Later today, he will be arriving in Constantinople, and Beirut next week.

@Middle_East_Spectator

—❗️🇮🇷 BREAKING: Tonight, an important speech to the nation by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khamenei

@Middle_East_Spectator

Unusual timing.

Announcement also very sudden.

It's Thursday evening, prime time for Iranian TV, as it is the night before Friday (weekend).

—❗️🇮🇷 Iranian media: 'The Supreme Leader will address the Iranian nation, about the current state of the country, regional developments, and the world'

@Middle_East_Spectator

Speech starts in 30 minutes.

—❗️🇮🇷 NEW: IRIAF F-5 jets active over western Iran near Kermanshah and Khorramabad

@Middle_East_Spectator

Speech has started.

— 🇮🇷 Ayatollah Khamenei: In the name of God Almighty, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful

@Middle_East_Spectator

— 🇮🇷 Khamenei: 'I will mention a few points about the Basij (Iranian paramilitary volunteers), then I will turn my attention to regional issues and the world.'

— 🇮🇷 Khamenei: 'The Basij is a valuable national movement, and we are all indebted to them'

— 🇮🇷 Khamenei: 'Today, on the streets of Europe and America, youths chant slogans in support of Palestine and the resistance'

Talking more about the Basij for now, because it was Basij day.

— 🇮🇷 Khamenei: 'Our country, which is one of the primary victims of the global arrogance (US, Israel etc.) needs the Basij and popular forces more than anyone'

— 🇮🇷 Khamenei: 'The concept of resistance was founded in Iran, and has since become global and will continue to spread and intensify'

— 🇮🇷 Khamenei: 'In the 12-Day War, the Iranian nation defeated both America and the Zionist regime, who conspired together. They were beaten, and returned empty-handed'

— 🇮🇷 Khamenei: 'The war against Iran, which they had been wanting for over 20 years, failed to achieve its objectives'