'The Apache scam'; Iran takes the initiative - THE ASIA PIVOT - 10-Jun-2026

Israel Crosses Iran's Redline in a Mission to Prevent Trump From Signing a Peace Deal with Iran

Nine days after Iran warned the West, Israel in particular, that any further attacks on Beirut would result in Iran retaliating against Israel, Israel hit the Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh. The attack on Sunday afternoon sent plumes of smoke rising over the suburb, with strikes targeting two apartments in two buildings. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced the attack in the Dahiyeh district, saying it was in retaliation for an earlier Hezbollah strike on Israel. At least two people were killed and 11 wounded in the strike on the densely populated civilian neighborhood, according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency.

Iran, as promised, wasted little time in responding and launched 20 missiles in five waves at Israel. Donald Trump called Bibi Netanyahu, telling him to hold off in retaliating against Iran because he anticipated signing a peace deal with Iran. Trump also reportedly told Netanyahu that if Israel decided to retaliate the Israelis would not have US support. What did Netanyahu do? He launched a retaliatory strike using 11 missiles against Iran.

Iranian Drone Took Down American Apache Helicopter (claims US)

A United States military investigation found that an Iranian drone struck the American AH-64 Apache attack helicopter that crashed near the Strait of Hormuz on June 8, Axios reported, citing a senior American official.

Irans armed forces dealt heavy blows to US bases, assets after savage attacks: Foreign ministry

Iran's armed forces have dealt a heavy blow to US bases and assets in the region that were the origin of American aggression against Iran, the Foreign Ministry says.

The escalation began in the early morning hours of Wednesday, the ministry said, when the US carried out "savage attacks" on areas in southern Iran under the pretext that one of its Apache helicopters had crashed over the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday night.

'Operation Nasr': IRGC pounds Israel's Nevatim, Tel Nof strategic air bases

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has announced the launch of "Operation Nasr" (Victory), targeting Israel's strategic Nevatim and Tel Nof airbases in retaliation for missile strikes on Iranian radar sites.

IRGC downs MQ-9 near Strait of Hormuz as Iran responds to US aggression

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says it shot down an American MQ-9 drone near the Strait of Hormuz amid intensifying military clashes triggered by US aggression and repeated violations of a ceasefire.

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The downing came as Iran powerfully responded to American attack on Iranian assets near the Strait of Hormuz following the crash of a US Army Apache helicopter.

Separately, Arab media outlets reported fresh explosions in Bahrain, with local sources saying that as many as 16 blasts were heard following the Iranian attacks.

Earlier in the day, the US Navy's Fifth Fleet came under Iranian missile and drone attack. Iran also launched drone and missile strikes against US military facilities in Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait in the early hours of Wednesday.

A informed Iranian military source said that initial assessments of satellite imagery and intelligence from field sources indicate significant success in an operation carried out in the early morning hours.

Based on preliminary collected data, 70% of the planned targets in the operation were successfully hit, the source added.

In a statement, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) claimed targeting Iranian air-defense positions, surveillance radar installations, and command facilities near the Strait of Hormuz.

As Iran responded in force, the CENTCOM said it had "completed self-defense strikes".

Battle of the Missiles - The Apache Scam

A truly bizarre series of events off the coast of Iran today that in my opinion were entirely provoked, if not staged, by the US. It started with multiple news reports that a US Army Apache helicopter had been shot down in the Persian Gulf but the two pilots emerged unscathed. [...] The US claims that Iran shot it down, but Iran insists it did no such thing.

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While Pakistani sources who have access to the status and substance of the negotiations remain optimistic that a deal will be struck, I remain very skeptical.

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I think that today's US attack on Iran was an effort to scuttle the negotiations.

12bytes: The 'downing', or perhaps 'ditching' of the Apache may have been a false-flag. Iran proudly announces its victories and they didn't do that here.

US staged false‑flag drone strike on Kuwait airport to sell anti‑drone systems: Iran FM spox

Iran's Foreign Ministry says the United States orchestrated a false‑flag drone attack on Kuwait International Airport to create a pretext for selling nearly $2 billion worth of American counter‑drone systems to Kuwait.

Iran Strikes Jordan, Kuwait, And Bahrain In Response To U.S. Attack (Videos)

The United States launched extensive strikes against Iran over the night of June 9 and 10, with the Islamic Republic responding by attacking three American bases in the Middle East.

In a statement, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said that the strikes were carried "at the Commander in Chief's direction in response to yesterday's downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter."

Iranian air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites located close to the Strait of Hormuz were targeted with precision munitions from U.S. Air Force and Navy fighter jets, the command added, describing the military operation as a "proportional response to recent attacks on U.S. forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters."

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In the following hours, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced in separate statements that it had struck F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jet shelters and a command-and-control center at Al-Azraq Air Base in Jordan, unidentified targets at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, and the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain. Ballistic missiles and one-way attack drones were used.

The guards also announced that it had shot down an American MQ-9 Reaper close to the Strait of Hormuz using a "modern air defense system."

Satellite imagery shows damage at Israeli airbase after Iranian missile strike

Satellite images have revealed apparent damage at the Israeli military's Ramat David Airbase in northern Israeli occupied territories following an Iranian ballistic missile attack launched in retaliation for Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs.

Iran's New Policy Could Be a Middle East Game Changer

Iran says it will no longer wait for threats, declaring new strategic regional defense doctrine, so says Sadeq Larijani. Larijani is a prominent Iranian Shia cleric, conservative politician, and senior regime figure. [...]

As the current head of Iran's Expediency Discernment Council, chairman Larijani announced that Tehran's intervention in support of Lebanon constitutes a formal declaration of a new strategic doctrine. Under the terms of this doctrine, attacks on any component of the Resistance Axis (Hezbollah and the Palestinians) will trigger an Iranian response that extends beyond geographical boundaries and reshapes regional equations.

Larijani explained that Iran has entered a new phase in which it no longer waits for threats to emerge before acting to preserve its regional position, but instead will take the initiative. He also warned that any expansion of the conflict or attack on critical Iranian infrastructure would be met with a comprehensive and deterrent response.

This introduces a new, dynamic variable into the calculus of the Levant. This marks the first time since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979 that Iran has committed itself to taking military action on behalf of Hezbollah and the Lebanese people, and the Palestinians.

Israel Intensifies the Killing in Gaza as the World Looks Away

As the world has turned its attention to the wars on Iran and Lebanon, and with a "ceasefire" in Gaza entering its ninth month, the ongoing genocide is steadily becoming more acute.

May was the deadliest month in 2026 for Palestinians in Gaza, with at least 119 killed, including 19 children, according to a report last week by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights citing Gaza Health Ministry figures, which noted an "escalation in mass killings and assassinations that the Israeli occupation forces continue to perpetrate against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip."

And the killing is ramping up. At least 46 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in the first nine days of June alone, according to a daily tally of Health Ministry figures, including several children.

Putin Ignores EU Demand For Russian Surrender; Russia Confirms Kiev Troops Surrounded; Iran US War - YouTube

The Iran ceasefire is collapsing: Alexander Mercouris reports from Russia as the United States resumes missile strikes following the alleged Iranian shootdown of a US Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz, with oil prices surging and the risk of all out conflict growing by the hour. Mercouris finds an economy that sanctions have failed to break, while on the front lines in Ukraine, Russian forces have encircled a Ukrainian battalion in Konstantinovka using the same methodical cauldron tactics that delivered Pokrovsk and Mirnograd. The Duran breaks down why the European ceasefire proposal amounts to a Russian capitulation demand that Moscow has already flatly rejected, and asks: how much longer can the collective West sustain these illusions before the cost becomes catastrophic?

• 00:00:00 Introduction from Russia, Conference Setting
• 00:01:02 Iran Update: US Missile Strikes Resume After Apache Incident
• 00:02:26 Analysis: Did Iran Shoot Down the Apache Helicopter
• 00:03:54 US Failure to Achieve Air Superiority Over Iran
• 00:05:32 Trump Orders New Strikes: Ceasefire in Freefall
• 00:06:34 Lebanon Update: Hezbollah Pushes Back Against Israeli Forces
• 00:09:41 Persian Gulf Stalemate: Oil Prices Surge, Global Recession Risk
• 00:10:30 Observations From Russia: Economy, Roads and Daily Life
• 00:15:22 EU Ceasefire Push: The Same Unacceptable Proposals Repeated
• 00:19:38 Trump, Zelensky and the Collapse of the Fantastical Peace Plan
• 00:24:07 Russia Rejects EU Talks: Ambassador Nebenzia Confirms Standstill
• 00:26:57 Zelensky Guardian Interview: The Myth of Russian Isolation
• 00:30:10 Front Lines: Konstantinovka Garrison Surrounded
• 00:33:38 The Russian Method: How Cities Are Captured Without Costly Assaults
• 00:35:05 EU Sanctions Package 21: Analysis and Effectiveness

Who Really Controls US Foreign Policy & What They Gain By Convincing You Otherwise... - YouTube

• The US is controlled by US-based corporations Americans themselves fund daily by buying their goods and services;
• These corporations are lead, chaired, and owned by majority white nominally "Christian" men, or in other words, Westerners - not ethnic or religious minorities like "Jews;"
• These corporations also make up the vast majority of lobbying money spent annually in the United States with organizations like AIPAC making up LESS than 1% of all US lobbying;
• It is stated US policy to scapegoat Israel amid the US war on Iran, a policy that has been promoted by the mainstream media, the algorithms of US-based social media platforms, and even the US administration itself;

DIA names Israel top intelligence threat - and Congress ignores it

Russian Army Paves Wave To Heart Of Konstantinovka

In several directions, Russian units continued their offensive operations. In the Sumy region, assault groups from the "North" military grouping have advanced in dozens of sectors and have launched strikes on Ukrainian forces' positions near the border. In the Kharkiv region, fighting continues on the outskirts of the logistics hub Kazachya Lopan and in the forests south of Volchansk. In Konstantinovka, Russian forces have taken control of the remains of the chemical plant and are advancing toward the area where Ukrainian drone operators are concentrated. Meanwhile, on the Krasny Liman front, Russian infantry entered the Tsentralny microdistrict. On the Kupyansk front, Russian forces are consolidating in urban areas, despite Ukrainian claims of full control. The political dimension is also intensifying. Alice Weidel, co-chair of the German party Alternative for Germany, has called on Ukraine to pay reparations for the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines.