🇺🇸🇮🇱⚡️- House Speaker Johnson announced yesterday that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu will address a joint session of Congress.

🇺🇸🇨🇳⚡️- The USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group has been deployed to the Philippine Sea to counter China's "punishment exercise" around Taiwan.

🇺🇸🇻🇦⚡️- The woman who attempted to desecrate Holy Communion has since posted about the incident.

🇮🇱🇵🇸⚡️- Israeli munition dropped on a Palestinian refugee camp in Rafah

🇨🇳🇹🇼⚡- The Chinese army has announced the end of the military exercises around Taiwan, citing them as "successful".

🇮🇱🇸🇾⚡️- Israeli drones targeted Hezbollah vehicles in Syria

🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡- Russian forces advanced over 3,500 meters overnight, capturing the Northern half of Berestovoe (Lugansk direction). Making it one of the single largest advancements in a while.

🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡- Russian forces have captured Ivanovka (Kharkov-Kupyansk direction) – Both sides have now confirmed.

🇺🇸🇮🇱⚡️- A segment of the United States' floating pier at Gaza broke apart and drifted into the Mediterranean, before washing up on a shore near Ashdod.

🇷🇺⚡- "The President has said more than once that, in the opinion of the military, there is no such need for mobilization, so no,” – Dmitry Peskov, Russian Presidential Press Secretary, when asked whether there were plans for a second mobilization.

🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡- A missile strike in Kharkov, Ukraine, targeting supermarket "Epitsentr". It has been confirmed it was hit with a KAB-500 bomb. Ukraine alleged Russia targeted the market on purpose.

There were over 300/400 people at the store, with as many 200+ potentially killed. So far, the death count has reached 11.

🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡- "A large number of people are missing," – Ihor Terekhov, Ukrainian Mayor of Kharkov City.

🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡- Russian sources claim 'Epetsentr' was being used to store military equipment, and a drone warfare team operated from there too.

🇺🇦⚡- During a soccer game in Ukraine, between 'Dynamo Kyiv' against 'Mynai', people held a banner with "Free Derek Chauvin".

🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡- Ukraine has moved 7 new brigades to the Kharkov region, a Ukrainian counter offensive is widely anticipated.

🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡- Ukraine's counterattack has allegedly already begun in the area. Scenes from Volchans'k today (Northern Kharkov direction) – from the pro-Ukrainian Russian group, Russian Voluntary Corps.

Russian sources also report fierce fighting around Liptsy (Northern Kharkov).

🇵🇸🇮🇱⚡- An entire battalion of Israeli Defense Force was eliminated, most killed, with one captured – Claimed by Abu Obayda, al-Qassam Brigades Spokesperson.

🇸🇰⚡- The health of Slovakian Prime Minister, Robert Fico, has vastly improved, confirmed by the hospital at which he is being treated at.

🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡️- 10 Tu-95M airborne, headed towards Ukraine

🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡- Russian forces have captured Berestovoe (Lugansk direction) – Confirmed by Ukrainian sources now, Russia claimed control several hours ago.

The second town to fall to the Russians in the past 24 hours.

— 🇮🇷 Iran's Presidential Election is in 34 days, here's what you need to know:

The political scene in Iran is extremely complicated, but when simplified, it basically consists of two main flanks: Conservatives and Moderates.

The Conservatives are politicians that fit squarely in the camp of the revolution. They stand 100% behind Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, and they are generally considered more loyal to the revolution's original values. They put emphasis on keeping Iran an Islamic, strong and independent nation, with a foreign policy that could be dubbed 'Iran-first', trying not to rely on outside powers. Most politicians who belong in this camp opposed the 2015 Nuclear Deal with the US, for example.

The Moderates, or sometimes called 'Reformists', take a more liberal approach to interpreting the values of the Islamic Revolution. They are still ostensibly in favour of the Islamic Republic and its ideals, but wish to modernize and reorganize the country in a way that they feel fits the current era. Most of them support less strict rules on Hijab, returning to negotiations with the United States, and neoliberal market economics.

Some Moderate candidates are secretly anti-Islamic Republic, but hide behind their close relations with genuine pro-IR people to conceal their true views. They know they cannot voice their opposition publicly, because no one would vote for them, and they would get disqualified.

Iran's last Moderate President, Hassan Rouhani (President from 2013-2021) caused a major decline in economic development. By forming the Nuclear Deal with the U.S. in 2015, he put the Iranian economy at the mercy of foreign powers and investments. Khamenei, who was against the Nuclear Deal from the start, warned that the United States would never keep their end of the agreement.

In 2017, he was proven right, and the U.S. unilaterally pulled out of the Iran Nuclear Deal, despite Iran's compliance, which was backed up by the IAEA. Inflation in Iran skyrocketed, and the economy experienced its worst state in 45 years.

All of this led to the Conservative President Ebrahim Raeesi winning a 72% landslide victory in the 2021 election. Turnout hit a record low, because reformists had lost faith in their candidates due to past failures to deliver on their election promises. As a result, the vast majority of those who voted were hardline IR supporters.

If President Raeesi ran for office again in 2025, he would most likely have won a second term. But due to his unforeseen martyrdom, others will have to stand up. Until now, we don't know the candidates, but I fully expect the Conservatives to win another landslide victory, as the Reformist voter base has become idle, and I doubt they will put up any meaningful candidates, unless they decide to put forward Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister from 2013-2021, who enjoys considerable support among Moderates.

Lastly, the dynamics of Iranian politics have changed quite a lot. Back in the 2000's and 2010's, if someone was anti-Islamic Republic, they would simply vote for a Reformist / Moderate candidate, to show their opposition to the regime. This was dangerous, because they actually had a way of changing the country's direction. Unlike what some people think, the President in Iran matters a lot.

Now, the people who are anti-IR simply don't vote at all, or cast blank protest votes, because they say 'all Iranian politicians are the same'. This is extremely dumb, they are shooting themselves in the foot, because if they all united to vote for a Reformist they could shake the country up pretty bad. But it is good for the Islamic Republic and its supporters, so I am quite happy they reached this conclusion, that they excluded themselves from the democratic process.

Conclusion: Anti-IR Iranians likely won't vote at all, a small number of them will vote for the Moderate candidate, but the Conservative candidate will likely win another landslide victory like Raeesi in 2021, due to overwhelming participation of the pro-IR and religious masses.

@Middle_East_Spectator