Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Escalates Threats…US on High Alert

The funeral of Maj.Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, in his hometown of Isfahan, Iran (TASNIM)
The funeral of Maj.Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, in his hometown of Isfahan, Iran (TASNIM)
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Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Escalates Threats…US on High Alert

The funeral of Maj.Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, in his hometown of Isfahan, Iran (TASNIM)
The funeral of Maj.Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, in his hometown of Isfahan, Iran (TASNIM)

Iran continues to threaten retaliation against Israel for the attack on the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus, where top leaders of the Revolutionary Guard were meeting.

This escalation underscores Israel’s ongoing conflict with its regional adversaries.

Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, Iran’s joint chief of staff, vowed that Israel’s attack, resulting in the death of the Revolutionary Guard commander in Lebanon and Syria, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, and six others, “will not go unanswered.”

He emphasized that Iran will respond at the right time and with maximum damage, making Israel regret its actions.

Bagheri reiterated during Zahedi’s funeral that retaliation against Israel is a popular demand.

He claimed that the attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus was suicidal for Israel and predicted that the incident would hasten Israel’s downfall.

Bagheri asserted that the end of Israel is near and echoed Iranian skepticism about the Holocaust.

He also talked about the links between the Quds Force, the foreign arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, and groups like Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad. He claimed that a recent operation revealed only a fraction of their activities.

Bagheri stated that Israel is stuck in the Gaza conflict with no way out, emphasizing that around 1000 fighters were involved in a surprise attack on Israel, dealing a severe blow that cannot be fixed.

He referred to Zahedi as a close aide to Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike. Zahedi’s recent death makes him one of the most significant Iranian military figures targeted since Soleimani’s demise.

Iran blamed Israel for the attack in Damascus, while Israel hasn't responded.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei promised retaliation, and President Ebrahim Raisi vowed a response, saying such actions won’t go unpunished.

On Friday, Revolutionary Guard Chief Commander Gen. Hossein Salami warned that Israel “cannot escape the consequences” of the Damascus strike.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, aligned with Iran, stated on Friday that Iran's response is “inevitable.”

While Israel hasn't admitted to its role in the strike, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh stated on Tuesday that the United States wasn't involved in an Israeli airstrike on the Iranian embassy compound.

Amid rising threats from Iran, a US official said on Friday that the country is on high alert, preparing for a potential Iranian attack targeting Israeli or American assets in response to the embassy compound attack in Syria.

US and Israeli intelligence believe Iran plans to retaliate using drones and missiles to target an Israeli embassy. They suggest Iran's response could come before the end of Ramadan, according to CBS News.

CNN reported the possibility of an attack in the coming days. A US official mentioned that both the US and Israel expect Iran's retaliation is “inevitable.”



Germany's Merz Heads for Delicate Talks with Trump

Friedrich Merz, left, wants to maintain good ties with what he has called Germany's 'indispensable' ally, despite Donald Trump's disruptive 'America First' policies. Ludovic MARIN, SAUL LOEB / POOL/AFP/File
Friedrich Merz, left, wants to maintain good ties with what he has called Germany's 'indispensable' ally, despite Donald Trump's disruptive 'America First' policies. Ludovic MARIN, SAUL LOEB / POOL/AFP/File
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Germany's Merz Heads for Delicate Talks with Trump

Friedrich Merz, left, wants to maintain good ties with what he has called Germany's 'indispensable' ally, despite Donald Trump's disruptive 'America First' policies. Ludovic MARIN, SAUL LOEB / POOL/AFP/File
Friedrich Merz, left, wants to maintain good ties with what he has called Germany's 'indispensable' ally, despite Donald Trump's disruptive 'America First' policies. Ludovic MARIN, SAUL LOEB / POOL/AFP/File

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to meet with US President Donald Trump on Thursday, hoping to build a personal relationship despite discord over Ukraine and the threat of a trade war.

A month into his job, the conservative Merz, 69, is a staunch transatlanticist at pains to maintain good ties with what he considers post-war Germany's "indispensable" ally, despite Trump's unyielding "America First" stance, said AFP.

Merz will hope that his pledges to sharply increase Germany's NATO defense spending will please Trump, and that he can find common ground on confronting Russia after the mercurial US president voiced growing frustration with President Vladimir Putin.

On Trump's threat to hammer the European Union with sharply higher tariffs, Merz, leader of the bloc's biggest economy, has argued that it must be self-confident in its negotiations with Washington, saying that "we're not supplicants".

Despite the tensions, Merz said he was "looking forward" to his first face-to-face meeting with Trump.

"Our alliance with America was, is, and remains of paramount importance for the security, freedom, and prosperity of Europe," he posted on X late Wednesday.

His office has also voiced confidence that Merz will be spared the kind of public dressing down Trump delivered in the Oval Office to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa.

Merz is looking ahead to his first in-person meeting with Trump "with great calmness and joy", his spokesman Stefan Kornelius said, pointing to their "very good relationship" so far.

"Germany is the third-largest economy in the world, and we have a lot to offer as an economic partner of the USA," Kornelius said.

"At the same time, a very constructive and positive relationship with America is very important to us, for our own economy and for the security of Germany and Europe."

The two leaders -- both with business backgrounds and keen golf players -- are on first-name terms after several phone calls, Kornelius said, and Merz now has Trump's cellphone number on speed dial.

Defense and trade

Merz has been given the honor of staying at Blair House, the presidential guest residence on Pennsylvania Avenue across from the White House.

Merz has even felt comfortable enough to have a little fun at Trump's expense, recently telling a TV interviewer that his every second or third word was "great".

Whatever the personal chemistry, the policy issues are potentially explosive.

Trump launched his roller-coaster series of trade policy shifts in April, with the threat of 50-percent US tariffs on European goods looming.

Merz, who has sat on many corporate boards, is "very experienced in business, too -- the world from which Donald Trump comes," his chancellery chief of staff, Thorsten Frei, told the Funke media group.

On the Ukraine war, where Germany strongly backs Kyiv, Merz will hope to convince Trump to heighten pressure on Putin through new sanctions to persuade him to agree to a ceasefire.

Trump, 78, has recently expressed frustration with Putin, calling him "crazy", but without announcing concrete new measures.

Merz's visit comes ahead of a G7 summit in Canada on June 15-17 and a NATO meeting in The Hague at the end of the month.

Merz has said Germany is willing to follow a plan to raise defense spending to 3.5 percent of GDP over coming years, with another 1.5 percent dedicated to security-related infrastructure.

'Calm and reasonable'

Another potential flashpoint issue looms -- the vocal support Trump and some in his administration have given to the far-right and anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which came second in February elections.

US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and former Trump adviser Elon Musk have all weighed in in support of the AfD, which in Germany is shunned by all other political parties.

When Germany's domestic intelligence service recently designated the AfD a "right-wing extremist" group, Rubio denounced the step as "tyranny in disguise".

Merz slammed what he labelled "absurd observations" from Washington and said he "would like to encourage the American government... to largely stay out of" German domestic politics.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has also openly criticized Trump, saying this week that he frequently made statements "that seem directed against the fundamental foundations of our coexistence".