Iran War. . . USA Up 2-0 in the First Period

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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Iran to execute first woman over anti-regime protests
Bita Hemmati’s husband was also sentenced to death, along with two other men

Author of the article:Denette Wilford
Published Apr 15, 2026 • Last updated 21 hours ago • 2 minute read

Bita Hemmati is the first woman to be sentenced to death in Iran over anti-regime protests earlier this year.
Bita Hemmati is the first woman to be sentenced to death in Iran over anti-regime protests earlier this year. Photo by National Council of Resistance of Iran
Iran is set to execute four people accused of participating in anti-government protests earlier this year.


One of the demonstrators is Bita Hemmati, who is the first woman due to be hanged following the protests that broke out across the country in January.


Hemmati has been accused of numerous charges, including using explosives and weapons, throwing objects such as concrete blocks and bottles, and “harming stationed forces on-site,” according to a news release from the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).

The regime’s judiciary also listed “participating in protest gatherings,” “sending content with the aim of undermining security” and “chanting protest slogans” in line with “disrupting national security” and in connection with “hostile groups” as her crimes.

Hemmati’s husband Mohammadreza Majid Asl was also sentenced to death, along with two other men, Behrouz Zamaninezhad and Kourosh Zamaninezhad, both of whom lived in the same apartment building as the couple.

A fifth defendant in the case, Amir Hemmati, identified as a “relative” of the couple, was sentenced to five years of discretionary imprisonment on the charge of “assembly and collusion against national security,” and another eight months behind bars for “propaganda against the regime.”


Forced confessions?
A source close to the family said the five were arrested in the same raid in Tehran, accused by Iran’s government of “operational action for the hostile government of the United States and hostile groups,” according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

The agency claimed the five were “subjected to pressure” during their interrogations, noting concerns of possible forced confessions.

An execution date has not been released.

“The Iranian Resistance once again calls on the United Nations, relevant international bodies, and human rights defenders to take immediate action to save the lives of prisoners sentenced to death, especially political prisoners and those detained during the uprising,” the NCRI said in a statement.


What triggered protests?
The protests in Iran were sparked by a series of strikes by shopkeepers and market merchants in the Iranian capital in late December, which spread in the ensuing days across the city as residents, students and other groups joined forces in one of the largest protest movements Tehran has seen in recent years.


Thousands were either killed or injured, and tens of thousands more were arrested or detained as part of the regime’s crackdown.

Iranian authorities executed at least 1,639 people in 2025, the highest number since 1989, according to a joint report from Iran Human Rights and Together Against the Death Penalty.

That amounts to an average of more than four executions a day, France 24 reported.

The group warned that the regime risked killing even more people this year following the protests in January and the war against the United States and Israel.

The report noted that if the Islamic republic “survives the current crisis, there is a serious risk that executions will be used even more extensively as a tool of oppression and repression.”
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Only the first??? Is she Mossad?

Do those numbers posted include all the Mossad operators nabbed since the 12 Day War? 100 last June and a couple hundred in the latest subversion?
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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President Trump said the U.S. “might” hold discussions with Iran this weekend. “We’re very close to making a deal,” he told reporters outside the White House. He said he wasn't sure the current two-week cease-fire in the war would need to be extended.
Earlier, Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, said at a Pentagon briefing that the U.S. had expanded its blockade of Iran to “all ships, regardless of nationality” and would pursue them beyond the Middle East. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, at the same briefing, said the blockade would continue as long as necessary?

Until now, the measure that went into effect Monday had covered only ships sailing to and from Iranian ports. Ships sanctioned by the U.S. will be subject to boarding, search and seizure, according to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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President Trump said the U.S. “might” hold discussions with Iran this weekend. “We’re very close to making a deal,” he told reporters outside the White House. He said he wasn't sure the current two-week cease-fire in the war would need to be extended.
Earlier, Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, said at a Pentagon briefing that the U.S. had expanded its blockade of Iran to “all ships, regardless of nationality” and would pursue them beyond the Middle East. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, at the same briefing, said the blockade would continue as long as necessary?

Until now, the measure that went into effect Monday had covered only ships sailing to and from Iranian ports. Ships sanctioned by the U.S. will be subject to boarding, search and seizure, according to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.
Oh good. P0lenty of time for 20 seacans of manpads and FPV drones to be flown in from China.
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
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President Donald Trump said a deal to end the war in Iran could be reached soon, so the same thing he’s been saying for six or seven weeks, although the timing remained unclear, while U.S. allies were gathering on Friday to discuss reopening the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping route.

France and Britain will chair a meeting on Friday of around 40 countries aimed at signalling to the U.S. that some of its closest allies are ready to help restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, but only once hostilities cease, so the same thing they’ve been saying for the last month.
"We're going to see what happens. But I think we're very close to making a deal with Iran," Trump told reporters, adding if an agreement was reached and signed in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, he may go there for the occasion. However, Iranian sources told Reuters some "gaps remained to be resolved" before reaching a preliminary deal…& that’s consistent with what they’ve been saying for the last week.
In Islamabad, the venue of last weekend's talks, troops were seen along routes leading into the capital on Friday, but roads were still open and the government had not issued orders for businesses to shut down, as they did prior to the last meeting, so….?

A Pakistani source involved in mediating between the U.S. and Iran said on Friday there was progress in backdoor diplomacy and that an upcoming meeting between the two sides “could” result in the signing of ‌a memorandum of ⁠understanding, followed by a comprehensive deal within 60 days.
Trump told reporters outside the White House on Thursday that Iran had agreed to "give us ⁠back the nuclear dust", but Iran's state media outlet Mizan disputed that claim on Friday, highlighting ongoing differences.

No negotiation regarding the "transfer of Iran's highly enriched uranium to America had ever taken place, and naturally there is no agreement on this matter either", it said, citing sources.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is examining a series ‌of trades in oil futures placed shortly before major shifts in President Donald Trump's Iran war policy, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

"I want to be crystal clear: to anyone who engages in fraud, ⁠manipulation, or insider trading in any of our markets: we will find you, and you will face the full force of the law," The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael Selig said in the remarks seen by Reuters.

Michael Selig is a political ally of Donald Trump, having been personally nominated by him in October 2025 to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to advance a pro-crypto and deregulatory agenda. Confirmed in December 2025, Selig is considered a key regulatory figure in the Trump administration's efforts to foster digital asset expansion.

The CFTC probe is focused on trading of oil futures contracts on platforms belonging to CME Group (CME.O) and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE.N), with investigators examining at least two instances of oil trades made on March 23 and April 7, the source said.

Investors placed an approximately $950 million bet on oil prices just hours before the U.S. and Iran announced ‌a ceasefire ⁠last week. There was similarly well-timed trading in the oil market on March 23.

The White House has warned staff against improperly leveraging their positions to place bets in futures markets amid the ongoing war in Iran.
A Reuters review of trading ahead of major Trump administration decisions on tariffs, Venezuela and Iran that led to significant market moves showed at least four instances where legal experts said it appeared investors knew what would happen shortly before it ⁠did. Many of these trades fall within the CFTC's jurisdiction.
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
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President Trump said the U.S.’s naval blockade on Iranian ports would “remain in full force” after Iran’s foreign minister said the Strait of Hormuz is “completely open” to commercial vessels, prompting uncertainty for shippers in the region.
Oil plunged and stocks jumped after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s announcement on X.

The comments came as a newly struck cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon appeared to be holding on its first day. The 10-day truce began at midnight local time after weeks of fighting between the Israeli military and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
???
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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Straight Hormones
And a flex…
But one day ago…
But that was sooo yesterday…
Iran had announced the reopening of the vital waterway on Friday, though there had been limited initial movement while shipping companies assessed the changes.

President Donald Trump said an American blockade of Iranian ports would continue until a peace deal is reached, prompting Iran’s parliament speaker to warn that the vital waterway would “not remain open” unless the U.S. lifted its blockade.

“The Americans, with their repeated breaches of commitments well documented in their record continue acts of piracy and maritime theft under the so-called blockade,” the Iranian military spokesperson said on Saturday. Iran’s navy (that supposedly no longer exists) said Saturday that the strait will remain under Iranian military control as long as the U.S. blockade remains in place.

“Any breach of commitments by America will receive an appropriate response,” the Navy Command of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars News agency.

“As long as the passage of vessels from Iran and to Iran is threatened, the status of the Strait of Hormuz will remain as it was before,” it added.
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(YouTube & Red Light, Green Light 🔴🟢 | DJ Raphi)
 
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Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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Two Indian-flagged vessels carrying crude oil were on Saturday attacked while ‌attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, India's Ministry of External Affairs confirmed in a statement.

Sad thing is…just from the headline. You can’t automatically determine who the attacker was….but Tehran's ⁠ambassador to New Delhi, Mohammad Fathali, was called in for a meeting with India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri during which Misri conveyed India's deep concern at the ‌shooting ⁠incident involving two Indian-flagged ships in the Strait of Hormuz, so I’m assuming it was the IRGC.

Misri urged the ambassador to ⁠convey India's views to the authorities in Iran and resume ⁠at the earliest the process of facilitating India-bound ⁠ships across the Strait, etc…
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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U.S. President Donald Trump accused Iran on Sunday of a "total violation" of the two countries' ceasefire for firing on ships near the Strait of Hormuz, and renewed a threat to wipe out Iran's bridges and power plants unless it accepted his terms.

Trump said his envoys would arrive in Pakistan on Monday evening, prepared to hold more talks. He told ABC News that Vance would not attend Monday's talks in Pakistan due to security concerns. If Vance does not attend, the delegation is expected to be led by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who have been labelled as "complete incompetents" due to their background in real estate rather than foreign policy.

"We’re offering a very ‌fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran," he posted on social media. "NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!?”
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So….so with both sides declaring victory, and with neither side willing to capitulate to the other…here we are for round next. These were not Islamagood talks.
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Iran, which has blocked off the strait to ships apart from its own since the United States and Israel attacked on February 28, announced on Friday it would reopen the strait.
And a flex…
But it reversed that decision a day later after Trump refused to halt a U.S. blockade of Iranian shipping. Iran holds de facto military control, having positioned forces, including the IRGC, to monitor and disrupt shipping, effectively imposing its own rules on transit, demanding the U.S. remove naval blockades of its ports, threatening to maintain high restrictions on shipping in the Strait until its conditions are met.
Both sides claim to have won and both side sides are waiting for the other to capitulate, so…
Even if Iran does fully open Hormuz – without conditioning passage on tolls or other payments – its ability to control the key geopolitical chokepoint is more clear now than ever. A president has been set.
U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that a “whole civilization will die tonight” while also stating Iran still has time to capitulate ahead of a deadline set for 8 p.m. EST tonight.
The above is sooo almost (but not quite) two weeks ago…but the two week truce thing is almost up so it’s quite predictable. What happens next though is much less so. "Iran decided to fire bullets yesterday in the Strait of Hormuz — A Total Violation of our Ceasefire Agreement!" Trump wrote in Sunday morning's post. "That wasn’t nice, was it?"🙄. America declared they would still blockade the blockade of the strait that Iran (temporarily) unblockaded, sort of…?
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The region is nothing if not hypocritical.
Still, despite ⁠Trump's new threats to renew bombing, his announcement that U.S. officials were returning to Pakistan was the first official confirmation that talks would resume. A first round of talks held a week ago had ended with no breakthrough.

Iran's chief negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said the two sides remained far apart on nuclear issues and the strait, the two main sticking points.
Now in its eighth week, the war started February 28th (this chapter of it anyway) has created the most severe shock to global energy supplies in history, sending oil prices surging because of the de facto closure of the strait, which before the war carried one-fifth of the world's oil shipments.

The U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet (based in Bahrain) attempts to ensure "freedom of navigation," while still blockading Iranian shipping and ports, resulting in a tense, shared power dynamic where Iran can disrupt traffic while the U.S. tries to secure it.

The Trump administration claimed it did not forecast Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz by arguing that they received "private" assurances the waterway would remain open and by downplaying the probability of such an action, claiming that initial strikes would sufficiently cripple the regime, officials told CNN and The Times. Despite long-standing, pre-existing contingency plans for such a scenario, officials reportedly did not fully anticipate the effectiveness of Iran's response, sources told CNN and The Times.
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Trump said on Friday that a naval blockade of Iranian ports would continue until a peace deal was agreed between the two countries. A two-week ceasefire currently in effect is due to expire on 22 April, so the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy warned in a statement on Saturday that "no vessel is to move from its anchorage in the Persian Gulf or the Sea of Oman".
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Makes you wonder who bought a Brazilian$$$ in oil futures on Friday before the market’s closed for the weekend?
 
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Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
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But certain people are making truckloads of money by knowing in advance what is about to happen. That was the real plan from the beginning.
Well, that’s pretty cynical, but probably very accurate. I concur with your assessment of the situation…but whom are these ‘certain people’ and are they untouchable like many of those in the Epstein Files?
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(YouTube & Insider Trading Fears After Suspicious Market Moves Before Trump Statement)
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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Regina, Saskatchewan
Trump said his envoys would arrive in Pakistan on Monday evening, prepared to hold more talks. He told ABC News that Vance would not attend Monday's talks in Pakistan due to security concerns.
The United States said it forcibly seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that tried to get around a naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, the first such interception since the blockade of Iranian ports began last week because peace talks the very next day.
If Vance does not attend, the delegation is expected to be led by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who have been labelled as "complete incompetents" due to their background in real estate rather than foreign policy.
The news threw into question President Donald Trump 's earlier announcement that U.S. negotiators would head to Pakistan on Monday for another round of talks with Iran. A fragile ceasefire is set to expire by Wednesday, and Washington and Tehran remain in a standoff over the strait.
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Trump on social media said a U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer in the Gulf of Oman warned the ship, the Touska, to stop and then “stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom." U.S. Marines had custody of the U.S.-sanctioned vessel and were “seeing what’s on board!” Hopefully not Nitrogen Fertilizer ‘cuz Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, ect…😳
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There was no immediate Iran comment. The U.S. Central Command said the destroyer had issued “repeated warnings over a six-hour period.” Iranian state media suggest the talks won't take place. There was no comment from Iranian officials on Trump's announcement of the talks.
Minutes after the ship seizure was announced, Iranian state media reported on Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s phone conversation with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier Sunday. Pezeshkian alleged bullying and unreasonable behavior by the United States, the reports said, and warned that U.S. actions have led to increased suspicion about the possibility that the U.S. will repeat previous patterns and “betray diplomacy.”
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Separately, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar spoke by phone with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Pakistan did not confirm a second round of talks, but authorities began tightening security in Islamabad. A regional official involved in the efforts said mediators were finalizing preparations and U.S. advance security teams were on the ground. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss preparations with the media.

The White House said Vice President JD Vance, who led the first round of historic face-to-face talks over 21 hours last weekend, would lead the U.S. delegation to Pakistan with real estate envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner?
Trump said his envoys would arrive in Pakistan on Monday evening, prepared to hold more talks. He told ABC News that Vance would not attend Monday's talks in Pakistan due to security concerns.
Trump's announcement on talks repeated his threats against Iranian infrastructure that have drawn widespread criticism and warnings of war crimes. If Iran doesn't agree to the U.S.-proposed deal, "the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran,” he wrote.
"We’re offering a very ‌fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran," he posted on social media. "NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!?”
Well, at least that’s sort of consistent with the last time he threatened that, then backpedaled on it, and now is backpedaling on that previous backpedaling…but it’s Sunday & not Tuesday, so…???

Anyway, Iran says transits of the Strait of Hormuz are ‘impossible’ Ships remained unable to transit the critical waterway amid threats from Iran and the U.S. blockade of ships heading to and from Iranian ports. Hundreds of vessels were waiting at each end for clearance.
Iran on Saturday said it had received new proposals from the United States. While Iran’s chief negotiator, parliament speaker Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf, said in an interview aired on state television late Saturday that “there will be no retreat in the field of diplomacy,” he acknowledged a wide gap remained between the sides.

Since most supplies to U.S. military bases in the Gulf region come through the strait, “Iran is determined to maintain oversight and control over traffic through the strait until the war fully ends,” Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said late Saturday. That means Iran-designated routes, payment of fees and issuance of transit certificates.
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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Regina, Saskatchewan
Trump's announcement on talks repeated his threats against Iranian infrastructure that have drawn widespread criticism and warnings of war crimes. If Iran doesn't agree to the U.S.-proposed deal, "the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran,” he wrote.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Washington has shown it was "not serious" about pursuing the diplomatic process and Tehran would not change its clearly stated demands, adding that it did not believe in deadlines or ultimatums when safeguarding national interests.

Trump earlier warned that the U.S. would destroy every bridge and power plant in Iran if it rejected his terms, continuing a recent pattern of such threats.

Iran has said that if the United States were to attack its civilian infrastructure, it would strike power stations and desalination plants in its Gulf Arab neighbours.
They’re close to a deal to end the Iran war. They’re not. The Strait of Hormuz is open. It’s not. The uranium required to create a nuclear weapon is about to be shipped out of Iran. It’s not.

The two sides that have opposed each other in the war are issuing opposite assessments of the negotiations that are either moving toward a broad settlement or are not – and could be followed by higher-level meetings in Pakistan as soon as Monday night that might bring a conclusive end to the weeks-long crisis but might not.