Free Republic

Iran's massive missile and drone barrage targeting Israel over the weekend is similar to Russian tactics used in frequent strikes on Ukraine, according to a new assessment, after Iran launched its first-ever direct strike from its own territory into Israel. "Iran's use of drones and missiles shows how Iran is learning from the Russians to develop increasingly dangerous and effective strike packages against Israel," the U.S. think tank, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on Saturday. Russia has launched thousands of missile and drone strikes on Ukraine in nearly 26 months of all-out war in the country....

China sent a delegation to Qatar to meet with the head of the jihadist terrorist organization Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, the Foreign Ministry revealed on Tuesday, reportedly telling him that Beijing is “keen on relations” with the genocidal group. The encounter is the first of its kind between the Chinese government and Hamas since October 7, when the terrorists executed an unprecedented siege of Israel that resulted in an estimated 1,200 deaths, the abduction of an estimated 250 people, and a spree of torture, gang rape, and the desecration of the dead. The “al-Aqsa flood,” as Hamas terrorists refer to the...

The growing ties between Tehran and Moscow come as Iran has increased its military activity against Israel through attacks by its proxy groups: Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. Russia is deepening its ties with global forces of destabilization, chiefly Iran, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, told the General Assembly on Monday. Erdan's comments came ahead of the parley Moscow is holding this week with Palestinian factions, including Hamas. “This week, Russia will be hosting a Hamas delegation in Moscow! And not for the first time!” Erdan told the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, which...

Russia will develop ties with North Korea in all areas building on agreements between their leaders in September, the Kremlin said on Monday, as their foreign ministers were set to meet in Moscow. North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui arrived on Sunday on a rare visit to Moscow for talks with her counterpart Sergei Lavrov as the two countries deepen economic, political, and military ties, the North's state news agency KCNA said. As Russia's international isolation has grown over its war in Ukraine, analysts say Moscow has seen increasing value in its ties with North Korea. For North Korea's...

A long courtship President Vladimir Putin repeatedly invited Hamas’ political and military leadership back to the Russian capital. Hamas officials and commanders secured high-level meetings with then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and Russia’s special envoy for the Middle East, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, among others. Bogdanov’s role in the link between Russia-Hamas is central. He has been in charge of the relationship on a day-to-day basis for many years, regularly meeting its leaders in Moscow and Qatar. Bogdanov has also been entrusted by Putin to undertake sensitive diplomatic missions with China, among other major actors, to...

Russia has been condemned for rolling out the red carpet in Moscow for senior leaders of Hamas and Iran — which one alarmed expert called proof President Vladimir Putin is forming a new “axis of terror against the West.” Russian Foreign Ministry officials met with Hamas leaders Bassem Naeem and Mousa Abu Marzouk in Moscow on Thursday, just weeks after their terror group stormed Israel and slaughtered at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians. The terrorist leaders posed with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, Putin’s special envoy in the Middle East — who also met Thursday with Iran’s Deputy Foreign...

Russia and Iran are firming up bilateral relations in a 'trusting' atmosphere, Russia's foreign ministry said early on Tuesday after its chief, Sergei Lavrov, was received by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during a visit to Tehran. "In a traditionally trusting atmosphere, current aspects of the bilateral agenda were substantively discussed with an emphasis on further building up the entire complex of multifaceted Russian-Iranian partnership," the foreign ministry said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

(see the video) "After we win this war...we will make sure that Ukraine wins...Russia will pay the price..."

Palestinian group Hamas early Saturday hailed Russia’s rejection of an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip. “We appreciate Russian President Vladimir Putin’s position on the ongoing aggression against our people and his rejection of the Gaza siege, cutting off relief supplies, and targeting safe civilians there,” Hamas said in a statement. The group also welcomed Russian efforts “to stop the barbaric and systematic aggression against our Palestinian people in Gaza.” Putin warned on Friday that civilian casualties will be "absolutely unacceptable" in case of an Israeli ground operation in the Gaza Strip.