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Russia reportedly proposed supplying Iran with thousands of sophisticated drones capable of bypassing electronic jamming systems, along with operational training intended for use against American forces in the Middle East, according to a confidential intelligence document reviewed by The Economist.

The report suggests that Moscow may have considered expanding its support for Tehran beyond intelligence cooperation into more direct military assistance that could pose a serious threat to U.S. and allied assets in the Gulf region.

According to The Economist, Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency drafted a detailed 10-page proposal offering Iran 5,000 short-range fiber-optic drones, additional longer-range drones guided through satellite systems, and specialized training programs for drone operators.

The publication said the proposal included maps and operational diagrams highlighting strategic coastal regions and islands near the Strait of Hormuz.

Although there is no evidence confirming the proposal was ultimately implemented, intelligence officials in the region reportedly described the document as authentic and consistent with the increasingly close military relationship between Moscow and Tehran.

The revelations come amid growing concerns over the expanding alliance among Russia, Iran, and other anti-Western actors operating throughout the region.

Unlike traditional drones controlled through radio frequencies, fiber-optic drones are guided using ultra-thin cables trailing behind them, making them extremely resistant to electronic interference and jamming attempts. The technology has become a major component of the war in Ukraine, where Russian forces have reportedly used the systems with significant success.

The drones are capable of conducting precise attacks from distances exceeding 25 miles while providing operators with enhanced video feeds and remaining extremely difficult to detect electronically.

The report further stated that Russia proposed providing Iran with longer-range drones equipped with Starlink satellite terminals, technology Moscow has allegedly employed in Ukraine to bypass or target enemy air-defense systems.

According to The Economist, the proposal acknowledged that Starlink access in the Middle East could eventually be restricted or disabled, but argued the drones could still generate “disorder” among American military forces before such limitations took effect.

The document also reportedly included plans to recruit drone operators from among Iranian students studying in Russia, as well as Tajik nationals and members of Syria’s Alawite minority associated with the former Assad regime.

According to the report, the GRU assessed that American amphibious units and landing craft would be especially vulnerable to large-scale drone swarm attacks because of their relatively slow movement.

The proposal was reportedly written during the early stages of the conflict, when Russian and Iranian officials feared President Donald Trump might authorize ground operations against Iran, including a possible attempt to seize Kharg Island, one of Tehran’s most strategically important oil export terminals.

Even while recognizing the strain placed on Russia’s military resources by the war in Ukraine, the GRU reportedly argued that limited and deniable assistance to Iran could complicate any future American military operation without provoking a direct military confrontation between Washington and Moscow.

{Matzav.com}

Mahmoud Al-Habbash, a senior adviser to Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas, delivered an unusually harsh public condemnation of Hamas, accusing the terror group of placing its grip on power above the welfare and lives of Gaza civilians.

During an appearance on Al-Arabiya’s Mazeej Podcast on April 29, Al-Habbash sharply criticized Hamas’s behavior throughout the ongoing war. His comments were translated and published by the Middle East Media Research Institute.

“I am worried that Hamas’s top priority is to continue to rule Gaza, even over the skulls of children. I am worried that this is the case,” he said.

When asked whether there was evidence supporting that accusation, Al-Habbash pointed to what he described as Hamas’s continued abuse and intimidation of Gaza residents even amid widespread destruction and humanitarian suffering.

“Of course. Everything in Gaza indicates this. To this day, Hamas persecutes people, shoots people, beats people up, collects taxes from people, extorts money from people, arrests people and forces them to pay money… To this day! 70,000-100,000 martyrs, 200,000-300,000 injured people, and 80% of Gaza destroyed, and nobody [in Hamas] cares.”

Al-Habbash also blamed the October 7 Hamas massacre in southern Israel for triggering the devastation that followed in Gaza. Referring to the attack, he described the date itself as cursed.

“It is the accursed October 7 that brought us to this point.”

The senior Palestinian Authority official further argued that Hamas’s creation as an armed faction in Gaza helped pave the way for the rise of competing militant groups and the broader instability that has plagued the territory for years.

“The first militia that was formed in the Gaza Strip was Hamas. Therefore, it is only natural that there will be opposing militias and groups.”

Al-Habbash has previously called for a united Palestinian position demanding that Hamas relinquish control of Gaza.

At the same time, despite his recent criticism of Hamas, Al-Habbash has repeatedly made inflammatory statements against Israel over the years.

In 2017, he denounced Israeli security measures implemented after a terror attack on the Har Habayis, claiming the actions violated international agreements regarding Yerushalayim and its holy sites.

That same year, during a sermon attended by Abbas, Al-Habbash warned the United States against relocating its embassy from Tel Aviv to Yerushalayim, saying such a move would amount to a “declaration of war.”

In 2018, he compared Israeli restrictions surrounding access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque to tactics used by the Nazis.

Four years later, after Abbas accused Israel of carrying out “50 holocausts” against Palestinian Arabs, Al-Habbash defended the remarks and claimed that “all the leaders of the [Israeli] occupation joined together in attacking Abbas, because he is defending his people and he wants to remind the world of the massacres against them.”

In May 2024, Al-Habbash also warned that attacks similar to October 7 could happen again if the Palestinian issue is not resolved according to what he described as international legitimacy and United Nations resolutions.

“If the Palestinian cause will not be justly, comprehensively, and permanently resolved, at least on the basis of international legitimacy, at least on the basis of the UN resolutions, then October 7 can repeat itself 100 times, and perhaps even more seriously.”

{Matzav.com}

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In this episode, Rabbi Reinman discusses the continuing war with the Greeks and the diplomatic maneuvers of the Maccabees.

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 Chapter Forty-Four: Enemies and Allies

Even as the Maccabees cleansed and purified the Bais Hamikdash, the decrees of Antiochus banning the practice of Judaism remained in place. Before embarking on his campaign against the Parthians, Antiochus had not seen fit to fulfill his promise to rescind them. Perhaps he wanted to keep his options open until the results of the campaign became clear. They became clear quickly enough. Antiochus died, and the Parthians soundly defeated the Syrian army. Nonetheless, as long as the Jewish people were in control of their own land, the decrees were irrelevant.

Instability in the Seleucid Empire gave Judea a short period of respite. After the death of Antiochus IV, his ten-year-old son Antiochus V inherited the throne. Lysias, one of the generals who had fought against the Maccabees, was appointed regent. There were other pretenders to the throne, and Lysias had his hands full protecting the life of the young Antiochus and preserving the throne for him.

In 163 b.c.e., Lysias returned to Judea with a massive army of 20,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry and dozens of war elephants. The Maccabee forces were defeated. Judah’s brother Elazar mistakenly thought he saw Lysias in a tower atop a huge elephant. He ran under it and plunged his  sword into its belly. The elephant collapsed on top of Elazar and killed him. The rest of the Maccabees did not fare much better. They withdrew in defeat and barricaded themselves in Jerusalem.

The Greeks besieged Jerusalem, but shortly afterward, Lysias received word that Philip, a rival for the throne, was attempting to seize power in the capital of Antioch. Alarmed, he informed Yehuda that, by his power as royal regent, he was rescinding the restrictions on Jewish religious practice. Then he took most of his army and hurried home. After returning to Antioch, Lysias ordered the execution of Menelaus, the extreme Hellenizer who had bought the office of Kohein Gadol from Antiochus IV, even though he was not a Kohein, and tyrannized the Hasidim. In effect, Lysias was granting the Jewish rebels the religious victory they were seeking in the hopes that Judea would thus be pacified, that it would remain a tax-paying part of the Seleucid Empire …..

Read full chapter and earlier chapters at www.rabbireinman.com.

{Matzav.com}

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A sharply worded post published by Tuvia Smotrich, brother of Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, succeeded in putting into words a fear that has been quietly circulating within Israel’s right-wing camp for quite some time: the possibility that the chareidi parties, after the current crisis surrounding the draft law, may seriously begin considering cooperation with the left.

Smotrich warned of a scenario in which the chareidim would receive exemptions from military service, financial benefits, and continued autonomy regarding core curriculum studies, while in exchange allowing the left to advance diplomatic, judicial, and cultural policies far removed from traditional right-wing positions.

That concern deserves serious attention. But precisely for that reason, the full truth also needs to be acknowledged: the chareidim would not align with the left because of ideological affection for the left. They have not suddenly adopted left-wing values, joined the leftist camp, or forgotten the long political and cultural battles they fought against it for decades. If such a shift ever occurs, it would emerge not from ideological enthusiasm but from political frustration — after years in which the right grew accustomed to receiving chareidi support while repeatedly struggling to deliver on promises when it mattered most.

For years, leaders in Bibi Netanyahu’s Likud party, the Religious Zionist camp, and much of the broader right viewed the chareidi public as an automatic political partner. The chareidim would vote. The chareidim would help secure a governing majority. The chareidim would absorb public backlash. But when decisive moments arrived regarding the issues most important to them, they were often told to wait patiently, to show restraint, to understand the pressures of the courts, the military establishment, the media, and public opinion polls. Political loyalty, however, cannot remain one-sided forever.

The draft issue is not merely another coalition dispute or budgetary disagreement. For the chareidi public, the status of yeshiva students is a foundational question tied directly to the identity and survival of the Torah world. One may disagree with the chareidi position or criticize it, but it is unrealistic to expect chareidim to continue guaranteeing right-wing governments while parts of that same right increasingly speak about them as though they are a political burden to be embarrassed by.

That is precisely where the right’s greatest weakness lies. On one hand, the right demands unwavering loyalty from the chareidim and constantly reminds them that no right-wing government can survive without them. On the other hand, when the political cost arrives, many on the right recoil from media criticism, legal pressure, polling concerns, and opposition within parts of the Religious Zionist and Likud camps. The result is an impossible situation: the chareidim are expected to put the right in power, but they are not always given the feeling that the right is prepared to fight for them when necessary.

For that reason, Tuvia Smotrich’s warning should not be viewed solely as a threat about possible “betrayal” by the chareidim. It should also be understood as an internal indictment of a right-wing camp that does not always understand its own partners. If the chareidim eventually conclude that the left can provide clearer results on the draft issue while the right continues offering slogans without solutions, responsibility for that shift would not rest only with the chareidim. It would also fall on those who demanded their loyalty for years without always returning that loyalty with meaningful commitment.

The chareidi public is not searching for a home on the left. It does not naturally belong there, does not feel culturally comfortable there, and does not share many of the values promoted by that camp. But politics is not built solely on ideological identity; it is also built on practical results. If the right wants to preserve its alliance with the chareidim, it must stop treating them as guaranteed votes and begin treating them as partners whose concerns deserve respect, understanding, and protection.

The chareidim are not permanently owned by the right. They remained loyal for many years because the alliance was rooted in shared traditional, political, and cultural interests. But even natural alliances can weaken when one side feels it provides the majority, absorbs the criticism, and ultimately finds itself standing alone against the system. Political camps that fail to defend their partners should not be surprised when those partners begin searching for another address.

{Matzav.com}

A secret late-night meeting intended to explore a possible arrangement surrounding Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s trial reportedly devolved into a tense and emotional confrontation between Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Netanyahu ally Yaakov Berdugo.

According to a report by Channel 12 News, the meeting took place in an apartment in Shoham and lasted approximately two and a half hours. The discussion reportedly included shouting matches, banging on the table, and sharp exchanges over the possibility of a presidential pardon for Netanyahu and the political fallout surrounding the ongoing legal proceedings.

The report said Berdugo urged Herzog to move forward with a pardon for Netanyahu and told him: “Give a pardon, stop being a coward.” Herzog reportedly responded: “How can I give Netanyahu a pardon when he hasn’t even submitted a request?”

During the meeting, Herzog reportedly expressed frustration over criticism directed at him from across Israel’s political spectrum.

“You don’t understand that everyone hates me now, and partly because of you?” Herzog allegedly told Berdugo. “The left thinks I’m going to grant a pardon no matter what, I’m already considered suspect there, and you keep inciting the right against me nonstop on your program. What you brought us was not a request, and it has no chance of passing.”

Berdugo reportedly continued pressing Herzog, arguing that such a move was necessary to help heal divisions within Israeli society. At one point, he also raised concerns about the international and diplomatic consequences of continued political turmoil.

“Stop being afraid. Think about what will happen when you come to greet President Trump after he lands in Israel, and he doesn’t even shake your hand or say hello to you? Will that feel pleasant for you?” Berdugo reportedly told the president.

According to the report, the meeting was arranged after Berdugo launched a series of harsh media attacks against Herzog. The purpose of the discussion was reportedly to examine whether a plea agreement in Netanyahu’s trial could be advanced, but the atmosphere quickly turned into a fierce political and personal dispute.

Despite the tense exchange, Herzog later publicly called for efforts to advance a plea arrangement in Netanyahu’s legal cases. According to the report, the president told Berdugo at the end of the meeting that he intended to take active steps to move the process forward and even suggested bringing the relevant parties to the President’s Residence in an effort to quickly reach agreements.

As previously reported Thursday, Herzog and Berdugo held a secret nighttime meeting in an apartment in Shoham. Following the discussion, Herzog reportedly informed Berdugo that he planned to actively promote a plea agreement in Netanyahu’s trial and proposed inviting all relevant parties to the President’s Residence to attempt to finalize understandings.

The President’s Residence issued a statement afterward saying: “The president will meet with any party and do everything in his power to lower the flames within Israeli society. The president is determined to bring about a dialogue of agreements regarding Prime Minister Netanyahu’s cases.”

{Matzav.com}

White House border czar Tom Homan said federal immigration agents may occasionally detain American citizens for short periods during enforcement operations if officers suspect they are connected to immigration violations, while emphasizing that citizens are not deported once their identities are verified.

Speaking outside the White House about ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, Homan defended ICE procedures and said temporary detentions can happen during fast-moving investigations.

“We deport people that are going to be deportable,” Homan said, according to The Hill. “We arrest people that will be deportable based on suspicion.”

Homan acknowledged that some American citizens may briefly end up in custody while officers attempt to determine who they are during field operations.

“Have U.S. citizens ever been shortly detained based on suspicion? I’m sure. I’m sure,” he said.

The remarks come as immigrant advocacy organizations and civil liberties groups continue raising concerns about ICE tactics, especially during major raids and enforcement sweeps targeting undocumented immigrants and individuals facing deportation orders.

Earlier this year, Rep. Pramila Jayapal accused the Department of Homeland Security of infringing on the rights of American citizens through detention practices.

“DHS is supposed to be protecting our residents and upholding constitutional protections, but you’ve turned that on the head,” Jayapal told then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a March 4 hearing. “You have actually turned the United States government against its own residents.”

Homan insisted that ICE officers release people once authorities determine they are not subject to immigration enforcement.

“If ICE officers determine that someone is not the guy we’re looking for, you are released,” Homan said. “But we don’t deport U.S. citizens.”

Homan has emerged as one of the most visible defenders of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies and has repeatedly advocated for tougher border enforcement and expanded interior immigration operations.

The Trump administration has pledged to sharply increase deportation efforts and boost arrests of undocumented immigrants across the country, arguing that stricter enforcement is necessary for public safety and border security.

Immigrant-rights organizations, however, have warned that broader enforcement actions increase the risk of mistaken detentions and racial profiling.

Federal immigration law generally requires officers to establish probable cause before making immigration-related arrests, although agents are permitted to briefly detain individuals for questioning while confirming identity and immigration status during enforcement operations.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have largely repaired their once-strained relationship following the bruising 2024 Republican presidential primary, even as tensions remain between DeSantis and some of Trump’s closest advisers, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

With DeSantis approaching the end of his second gubernatorial term next January, speculation is growing about his next political step. The Florida governor has not ruled out another White House bid in 2028, while rumors have also circulated about a possible role in the Trump administration, including a potential appointment as attorney general.

According to the Journal, some allies of DeSantis have even floated the possibility of him eventually being nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court if another vacancy opens on the bench.

“Who knows? Like, you never know,” he said during a roundtable interview at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles on May 4 when asked about a future presidential run.

“Who took a state that had more Democrats than Republicans by 300,000 when he got elected, and now has 1.5 million more Republicans? Who had a state that had a trillion-dollar economy and now has $1.8 trillion? Who has a state that had some school choice, now universal? A 50-year low in the crime rate?

“So, we’ve got a good story to tell,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis launched a campaign for president during the 2024 election cycle but withdrew after finishing well behind Trump in the Iowa caucuses.

Following the heated primary battle, however, relations between the two Republicans improved significantly. Trump has publicly referred to DeSantis as a friend and said the two men have “blood that seems to match pretty well.”

Despite the reconciliation between Trump and DeSantis, the governor’s relationship with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles reportedly remains badly damaged following a political split dating back to 2019.

Wiles, a veteran Republican strategist in Florida, had overseen DeSantis’ successful 2018 gubernatorial campaign. Their relationship later collapsed after DeSantis removed her from his political operation amid disputes tied to media leaks and negative stories concerning his administration.

Longtime Trump ally Roger Stone has also continued criticizing DeSantis, reportedly describing him as someone who cannot be trusted politically.

According to the Journal, Trump recently told an associate that he personally likes DeSantis and believes the governor has delivered politically for him in Florida.

Florida state Rep. Juan Carlos Porras characterized DeSantis’ recent activity as “political theater for a possible 2028 presidential run.”

DeSantis acknowledged to the newspaper that political fortunes can quickly shift, saying politics “is fickle” and that “things change.”