RSS
The Mullahs’ Psychological Gamble: A Mind Game Against Israel and Iranians
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with a group of students in Tehran, Iran, Nov. 2, 2022. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
In this era of pronounced geopolitical volatility, the Middle Eastern theatre is poised at a juncture full of apprehension and indeterminacy. Now, a discernible escalation in psychological warfare is underway, spearheaded by Iran’s theocratic elite, who appear resolute in their quest to amplify regional discord.
The populations of Iran and Israel find themselves ensnared in this maelstrom. Within Iran, a palpable tension pervades, as citizens — encumbered by the specter of imminent conflict — grapple with an overarching fear of their collective destiny. Central to this crisis are the clerical overseers of Iran, whose machinations have not only imperiled regional equilibrium, but have also flirted with catastrophe.
The Iranian leadership’s tripartite strategy of missile deployments, the instigation of surrogate militant entities, and the orchestration of a vehement informational offensive, betrays a regime more preoccupied with the preservation of its facade than the attainment of authentic triumphs. Such maneuvers, indicative of a regime ostracized and denounced on the global stage, betray a desperate adherence to power.
The tumult is exacerbated by the intricate ballet of international relations. Notwithstanding the erstwhile Soviet dominion over Iran’s military stratagem, Tehran’s prevailing motive remains the perpetuation of the clerical hegemony, an intent that the United States appears to reciprocate ambiguously. Across successive administrations, the US has exhibited hesitance towards advocating for a regime transition, preferring instead to navigate a precarious liaison with a government that has sustained a legacy of terror and subjugation for more than four decades. Such US inertia has only served to embolden the clerical regime, thereby aggravating regional volatility.
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s ideological crusade, anchored in the doctrines of Khomeinism, represents an existential menace to Israel — but also to the very fabric of global peace and equilibrium. Iran appears poised to strike Israel directly, putting not only the Jewish State, but the entire world in danger of a growing conflict.
The exodus of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi signified the dawn of a period in Iran characterized by tumult and conflict. Through its unyielding quest for conflict and disorder, the clerical regime not only alienates itself internationally but also imperils Iran’s future.
However, in the event of an Israeli reprisal, it remains unknown if the Iranian citizenry would rally behind their government, particularly given the regime’s notorious history of domestic oppression — which is starkly divergent from the democratic and peaceful aspirations of the majority.
Yet, as the shadow of conflict between Israel, Iran, and the West becomes increasingly palpable, the global collective remains fragmented on the issue of Islamic militancy, unlike the unity that dismantled apartheid and communism.
Iran, seemingly heedless of the dire consequences, appears intent on intensifying tensions. In this somber narrative, the clerical regime emerges as the architect of its own undoing, clinging to authority through a campaign of intimidation and subjugation, even as its actions seed the eventual collapse.
As we bear witness to this unfolding calamity, one truth persists: the indomitable spirit of the Iranian people, undeterred by decades of despotism. Their quest for liberation stands as a beacon of hope in a region overshadowed by conflict. It is this undying spirit that ultimately heralds a future not delineated by the whims of tyrants, but by the collective aspiration of a populace yearning for tranquility, stability, and prosperity.
Erfan Fard is a counterterrorism analyst and Middle East Studies researcher based in Washington, DC. Twitter@EQFARD.
The post The Mullahs’ Psychological Gamble: A Mind Game Against Israel and Iranians first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
RSS
Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
RSS
Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.