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Satellite Photos Show Iran Expanding Missile Production

A satellite photo shows suspected tunnel expansion (in the upper-right quadrant of the picture) at Shahid Modarres Garrison, near Tehran, Iran, in this handout image obtained by Reuters on July 5, 2024. Photo: Planet Labs PBC/Handout via REUTERS

Recent satellite imagery shows major expansions at two key Iranian ballistic missile facilities that two American researchers assessed are for boosting missile production, a conclusion confirmed by three senior Iranian officials.

The enlargement of the sites follows an October 2022 deal in which Iran agreed to provide missiles to Russia, which has been seeking them for its war against Ukraine. Tehran also supplies missiles to Yemen’s Houthi rebels and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, both Islamist terrorist groups and members of the Iran-backed Axis of Resistance against Israel, according to US officials.

Images taken by commercial satellite firm Planet Labs of the Modarres military base in March and the Khojir missile production complex in April show more than 30 new buildings at the two sites, both of which are located near Tehran.

The images, reviewed by Reuters, show many of the structures are surrounded by large dirt berms. Such earthworks are associated with missile production and are designed to stop a blast in one building from detonating highly combustible materials in nearby structures, said Jeffrey Lewis of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.

The expansions began at Khojir in August last year and at Modarres in October, Lewis said, based on images of the sites.

Iran‘s arsenal is already the largest in the Middle East, estimated at more than 3,000 missiles, including models designed to carry conventional and nuclear warheads, experts say.

Three Iranian officials, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly, confirmed that Modarres and Khojir are being expanded to boost production of conventional ballistic missiles.

“Why shouldn’t we?” said one official.

A second Iranian official said some of the new buildings would also allow a doubling of drone manufacturing. Drones and missile components would be sold to Russia, drones would be provided to the Houthis and missiles to Hezbollah, the source added.

Reuters was unable independently to confirm the Iranian officials’ comments.

Iran‘s mission to the United Nations did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on the expansion of the complexes. Tehran has previously denied providing drones and missiles to Russia and the Houthis. Hezbollah’s media office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam said a boost in Iran‘s weapons manufacturing would not have any impact in Yemen because the Houthis develop and manufacture aircraft independent of Iran.

Lewis analyzed the Planet Labs imagery with Decker Eveleth, an associate research analyst at CNA, a Washington think tank, as part of a Middlebury project that monitors Iranian missile infrastructure.

“We know that Russia is on the hunt for low-cost missile capabilities, and it has gone to Iran and North Korea,” said Lewis.

Moscow and Pyongyang have denied the transfer of North Korean missiles to Russia. The Russian embassy in Washington and North Korea’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to requests for comment for this story.

The two US researchers said in separate interviews that it was not clear from the photos what kinds of missiles would be produced at the new facilities, which still appeared to be under construction.

Any increase in Tehran’s missile or drone production would be concerning to the United States, which has said that Iranian drones help sustain Russia’s assault on Ukrainian cities, and to Israel as it fends off attacks from Iran-backed groups, including Hezbollah.

The US Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment on the researchers’ analysis.

A US National Security Council spokesperson declined to confirm their assessment, adding that the United States has implemented various measures, including sanctions, intended to constrain Iranian missile and drone production and exports.

Reuters in February reported that Iran had sent surface-to-surface ballistic missiles to Russia for use against Ukraine. Iran denied providing the weapons. Washington said it could not confirm the transfers but it assumed Tehran intended to provide missiles to Moscow.

NEW BUILDINGS, DIRT BERMS

Shahid Modarres and Khojir are overseen by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an internationally designated terrorist group and the elite paramilitary organization that plays a central role in Iran‘s missile and nuclear programs. It controls large segments of the Iranian economy and answers directly to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The complexes have long been associated with the development and production of Iran‘s short- and medium-range ballistic missiles and rockets for the country’s space program.

On Nov. 12, 2011, a massive explosion destroyed a large swath of Shadid Modarres associated with solid fuel missiles, killing 17 IRGC officers. They included Gen. Hassan Moqaddam, regarded by Iran as the “architect” of its ballistic missile program.

Construction at Shahid Modarres, which began again after the 2011 explosion, accelerated last year, the second Iranian official said.

“I think the Iranians may have chosen not to berm the buildings [before the explosion] because they didn’t want to draw attention to them,” said Lewis. “They learned the hard way.”

Eveleth and Lewis said the sites’ long history with Iran‘s missile program — Shahid Modarres is considered by some experts as its birthplace — and the numerous dirt berms support their assessment that Tehran is expanding ballistic missile production.

“When we see where you basically have an entire production line that is bermed like that, that’s usually missiles,” said Eveleth.

The post Satellite Photos Show Iran Expanding Missile Production first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Kanye West Releases Track List for New Album ‘WW3’ Featuring Songs About Hitler After Dressing In Full KKK Outfit

Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, dressed in a full black leather KKK outfit during his interview with DJ Akademiks that was shared on YouTube on March 31, 2025. Photo: Screenshot

Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, shared on Thursday the track list for a new album titled “WW3” and it includes songs with titles that reference Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

The seventh track on the album is titled “Heil Hitler,” which is the greeting praising Hitler that given as part of the Nazi salute, while the eighth song is titled “Hitler Ye and Jesus.” The “Runaway” rapper, 47, has previously made comparisons between himself and Jesus, and said in an interview this week with DJ Akademiks:”I’m the closest thing to God on Earth and I act just like how God acts.” The musician and Yeezy creator has also repeatedly praised Hitler in interviews and on social media. In February, he wrote on X, “Hitler was sooooo fresh. Me loving Hitler is old news,” as well as ““Im a Nazi” and “I am God Jesus Hitler Ye Like I told you.”

Early Thursday morning, Ye posted on his X account a photo of a paper that features the names of the 11 songs on “WW3.” Also on the paper is a drawing of two black swastikas, which was the symbol of Hitler’s Nazi Party and is still used by white supremacists and extremists. There is also a song on the album titled “Bianca,” after his estranged wife Bianca Censori. In the song, which he revealed on a livestream with DJ Akademiks, the rapper give details about the Australian architect leaving him because of his recently unhinged and antisemitic social media posts. It’s been reported since mid-February that Censori left Ye and wants to divorce him because of his disturbing antics, which included selling a shirt with a swastika on it.

“She’s having a panic attack and she is not liking the way that I tweeted,” Ye raps in the song about Censori. “Until Bianca’s back I stay up all night I’m not going to sleep / I really don’t know where she’s at.”

The track list for Ye’s album “WW3.” Photo: X/Screenshot

Ye also shared on X the cover art for “WW3.” It features a man and a woman in red and white Ku Klux Klan robes. According to the music website Genuis, the photo was originally taken during a KKK wedding in a barn in Tennessee in July 2015, but was edited by Ye so that the man’s skin color is Black. The real like couple’s dog is also edited out of the image.

Ye – who has four children with his ex-wife Kim Kardashian – did an interview with DJ Akademiks earlier this week and when greeting the disc jockey at the start of their conversation, he wrote a necklace that featured an oversized, diamond encrusted swastika. Ye later changed into a black leather Ku Klux Klan outfit for the reminder of the interview. He said he wanted to wear the KKK ensemble the day before out in public but was worried “they would put me in the hospital for my outfit.”

Ye released last week on YouTube a song titled “WW3” in which he addresses his antisemitic comments on X and calls for him to be removed from the social media platform because of his hateful remarks. He also denies similarities to Hitler. “They tellin’ me that I’m a bully/I’m antisemitic, fully/They sayin’ I’m actin’ like Hitler/But how am I actin’ like Hitler?/When I am a f–king ni–a,” Ye raps in the song. “They tellin’ me, ‘Get up off of Twitter’ … Rockin’ swastikas ’cause all my ni–as Nazis/Readin’ ‘Mein Kampf,’ two chapters ‘fore I go to sleep.”

The post Kanye West Releases Track List for New Album ‘WW3’ Featuring Songs About Hitler After Dressing In Full KKK Outfit first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Berlin and Tel Aviv Partner as Twin Cities to Help Combat Antisemitism, ‘Protect Jewish Life’ in German Capital

Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner, left, and Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai shake hands for a photo taken during Wegner’s visit to Israel in February 2024. Photo: Senate Chancellery Berlin.

The capital of Germany will form a city partnership with Tel Aviv in an agreement that will be officially signed during Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai’s visit to Berlin next month.

Berlin made an announcement about the agreement on Friday ahead of Huldai’s trip to the city on May 5. Berlin already has 18 twin city partnerships, including with Brussels, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Jakarta, Kyiv, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Mexico City, Moscow, Paris, Beijing, Prague, Tashkent, Tokyo, Warsaw and Windhuk.

“In recent years, there have been many efforts, including from my predecessors, to conclude a partnership between Berlin and an Israeli city,” said Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner in a released statement. “I am very pleased that after extremely trusting and intensive discussions with my counterpart from Tel Aviv, Mayor Ron Huldai, and representatives of the Israeli city, it has now been possible to agree on a twinning between Berlin and Tel Aviv. We can now deepen the long-standing and cordial connection between the two metropolises and fill it with even more life.”

Wegner noted the similarities between the two cities and added that through their partnership, Berlin and Tel Aviv will together tackle the rise of antisemitism. He highlighted how Berlin played a monumental role in the Holocaust, saying it was the city “where the Shoah was planned and enforced,” and said it has “a special responsibility and obligation towards Israel and to protect Jewish life in Berlin.”

“Especially in these challenging times, we set an example for diversity, cohesion and humanity,” Wegner stated.

Berlin’s state parliament unanimously approved a motion to establish a twin city partnership with Tel Aviv on March 28. The motion was jointly introduced by the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).

Wegner, who is a member of CDU, was elected as the mayor of Berlin on April 27, 2023. He visited Israel in February 2024 for a solidarity visit, and was praised by Huldai for his “strong support of Israel” and  “moving” commitment to helping to bring home the hostages abducted by Hamas terrorists from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

The post Berlin and Tel Aviv Partner as Twin Cities to Help Combat Antisemitism, ‘Protect Jewish Life’ in German Capital first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Now is The Time to Destroy the Iranian Threat

The new Chief of the General Staff, Major General Eyal Zamir, visits the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem’s Old City, March 5, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

JNS.orgThe Islamic Republic is actively working toward obtaining nuclear capability, Israel is planning an attack strategy, and the United States, finally, under President Donald Trump, is demonstrating it may be willing to use military force to stop the Iranian regime.

This week, the head of US Central Command, Gen. Michael Kurilla, visited Israel for talks with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on regional security issues, the US military said in a statement on Thursday.

Blaise Misztal, vice president for policy at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), told JNS Iran “must not be allowed to possess the weapons with which to carry out its homicidal agenda: its terrorist proxies must be degraded; its influence around the region rolled back; its nuclear facilities and ballistic missile and drone factories either shuttered or destroyed.”

To this end, the US has now taken the crucial step of placing the military option front and center to pressure Iran into folding.

The Pentagon has reportedly ordered the relocation of at least two Patriot surface-to-air missile batteries and a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-ballistic missile defense system from Asia to the Middle East.

There are also reports of a massive number of US military cargo flights traveling to the Middle East, with dozens of C-17s and several C-5s arriving at Isa Airbase in Bahrain as well as other bases near the Persian Gulf. Planes are also being delivered to Al Udeid Airbase in Qatar and Djibouti International Airport near Yemen.

The relocation of critical air-defenses such as THAAD and the repositioning of the USS Carl Vinson and its Carrier Strike Group to the Middle East, as well as the deployment of at least six B-2 “Spirit” Long-Range Strategic Stealth Bombers recently to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, suggest that the United States may be preparing for a major conflict soon with Iran.

However, Yossi Mansharof, an expert on Iran and Shi’ite political Islam at the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy, has a different view. He told JNS that ending Iran’s nuclear program through military action is “not something the Trump administration is currently aiming for.”

Trump appears to want to exhaust all diplomatic avenues before turning to the military option—or authorizing Israel to do so.

Trump wants Tehran to negotiate and, according to Mansharof, “seeks to bring Iran to a point where the regime understands that the nuclear program not only fails to advance its goals but actually endangers it and Iran’s national security.”

It would be “appropriate” for Trump to set a time limit for the negotiations “in order to give them credibility and compel the Iranian side to take him seriously,” Mansharof said.

That being said, according to Mansharof, “Trump has made it clear that if Iran does not respond to his offer to negotiate, the US itself will attack Iran.”

He added that Trump “would support an Israeli strike against Iran and might even order the US military to join the Israeli attack and carry it out jointly—if he concludes that Tehran is unwilling to make sufficient concessions or is not showing seriousness in the negotiations.”

Mansharof also told JNS he believes Trump wants to make Iran understand that “continuing the current course—progress in the nuclear program, regional entrenchment, sponsoring Iran’s proxy network and developing the missile program—will harm the regime,” and therefore, it would be “in Iran’s own interest to reach an agreement with the US in these three areas.”

According to Misztal, however, the Trump administration “has not explicitly expressed its willingness to back an Israeli strike.”

“However,” he added, “the president’s general support for Israel and recent, increasingly bellicose warnings to Iran suggest that he is far more likely than any of his predecessors to not stop the Jewish state from doing whatever it feels is necessary to defend itself against the threat of a nuclear Iran.”

The threat is clear: Iran is aggressively advancing its belligerent agenda, disrupting the region as it pursues nuclear capabilities.

The IAEA report confirms what we already know

The Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) recently analyzed the International Atomic Energy Agency’s quarterly report, dated Feb. 26 and titled “Verification and monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of United Nations Security Council resolution 2231 (2015),” including Iran’s compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

In what should be highly concerning, the findings show that Iran “can convert its current stock of 60 percent enriched uranium into 174 kg [384 pounds] of weapon-grade uranium (WGU) in three weeks at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP), enough for 7 nuclear weapons, taken as 25 kg [55 pounds] of WGU per weapon.”

Perhaps more worrying is that Iran “could produce its first quantity of 25 kg of WGU in Fordow in less than one week,” according to the findings.

Shockingly, the ISIS analysis notes that Iran’s “total stocks of enriched uranium and its centrifuge capacity at Fordow and the Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) combined are sufficient to make enough WGU for over ten nuclear weapons in one month and 12-13 in two months.”

In addition, as in several past Iran Non-Proliferation Treaty safeguards reports, the IAEA has been unable to obtain clear answers from Iran regarding the presence of “undeclared nuclear material and/or activities at four sites—Lavisan-Shian, Varamin, Marivan, and Turquzabad.”

The ISIS analysis highlights the IAEA’s “significantly reduced ability to monitor Iran’s complex and growing nuclear program.”

In short, the IAEA report confirms what we already know: Iran is on the march toward nuclearization and the IAEA lacks a clear picture of Iran’s activities.

Iran is developing its ballistic missile program

One could argue that Iran might be enriching uranium but has yet to further develop its nuclear payload delivery system.

But a March 16, 2025, report in The Maritime Executive magazine noted that MV Jairan, owned by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and the second of two Iranian cargo vessels that are believed to have loaded sodium perchlorate in China, was recently documented passing through the Straits of Malacca en route to Bandar Abbas.

“Sodium perchlorate is the primary feedstock for making ammonium perchlorate, used by Iranian solid-fueled ballistic missiles,” according to the report.

The ship is believed to have been carrying enough sodium perchlorate to refine sufficient ammonium perchlorate to fuel approximately 250 medium-range missiles of the types used by Iran to attack Israel in Operations True Promise-1 and 2—on April 13 and Oct. 1, 2024, respectively.

Current Iranian ballistic projectiles that use ammonium perchlorate include medium-range Kheibar Shekan and Fattah-1 missiles, and the shorter-range Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar missiles.

Regional concerns over striking Iran

If the US and/or Israel do ultimately strike Iran, Mansharof believes the Sunni states in the region “will respond with concern, fearing they might become targets of an Iranian retaliatory strike.”

Iran’s proxies in Gaza, Lebanon and Yemen—now severely weakened—“will limit Iran’s ability to respond to an attack, but it still has the potential to be dangerous,” Mansharof said.

In his view, “guarantees from the Trump administration are necessary” to ensure that the US will safeguard the security of regional Sunni states.

According to Misztal, “the regional response will almost certainly be determined by the effectiveness of any strike on Iran and the forcefulness of the United States in deterring an Iranian retaliation.”

He suggested that “it is possible to imagine another situation like we saw on April 13, 2024: the United States together with international and regional forces acting in concert to warn and defend Israel from Iranian retaliation.”

Now is the time to destroy the Iranian nuclear threat

According to Mansharof, “now is the time to address the Iranian issue at its root. Israel and the U.S. should jointly develop a comprehensive strategy against the Iranian threat in its various components.”

If Tehran is weakened, according to Mansharof, “in both Iraq and Lebanon, voices calling for reconciliation with Israel—currently suppressed by Iran’s proxy network—would gain strength. Without Iran, Saudi Arabia would have no barrier preventing it from joining the Abraham Accords, and the circle of peace in the region would expand significantly.”

Neutralizing the Iranian threat “would also benefit European national security, according to Mansharof. “The same applies to Africa, where Iran promotes ‘Shi’itization,’ particularly in Nigeria, where it supports the local Islamic movement.”

Mansharof told JNS that weakening Iran “would significantly advance global stability, as there is no continent today where Iran does not operate in some form.”

Misztal told JNS that “after decades of both the United States and Israel vowing to prevent a nuclear Iran, actually doing so would have dramatically beneficial repercussions around the world.”

He seemed to agree with Mansharof, saying that “in the Middle East, it would usher in the potential for a new, peaceful and cooperative region by lifting the Iranian threat that has held the region hostage for at least the last decade, reestablishing Israel as a regional superpower not to be trifled with, and re-opening the path to normalization with Saudi Arabia and others.”

The post Now is The Time to Destroy the Iranian Threat first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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