Assal Rad, DAWN Fellow and Scholar of modern Middle East history.

Editorial Note: This article contains videos from thought leaders ALBB has been following since the 2023 genocide of Palestinians. It also includes commentary from other accounts who published those videos.

Find videos from Afghan War Veteran Greg Stoker, American journalist Ana Kasparian of Young Turks, journalists Ahmed Eldin and Samira Mohyeddin, Former UN Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter, economist Jeffrey Sachs, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Iranian Leftist News Creator Ariana Jasmine, New York based Iranian glassblower glassqueenz, Ciara Moez, AnalystNews, BTNewsroom, ClassWarNews, The Andrey_x, The Drey Dossier, and foolish anchors on NBC.

The U.S. and Israeli led attack on Iran finally happened. On a Saturday morning. Consistent with other extra brutal attacks we saw Israel carry out on Palestinians during the escalated and publicized time of their genocide of Palestinians. It was always the weekend, when we were away at bouncy houses or birthday parties. Those of us who were watching would check socials and see teenagers being melted alive in tents outside of hospitals from white phosphorous.

More than a few of you have said: “Well, I feel safe and protected, so this form of war is necessary and I don’t mind and everyone hates us so we might as well.”

Got it. Well. It’s pretty clear why everybody hates us. It’s because when you go in and attack a country unprovoked, especially a country who has no nuclear weapon, and try to manhandle it to behave as you want, you will get resistance and response. The only ones benefiting from this are those employed in the weapons manufacturing industry here in the states who are making and shipping this stuff out, as it’s job security, and the top smidge percent who rides this out in the stock market and profits that way.

Saturday’s Attack Was religious, Says CNN’s Israeli Reporter

Turns out that it wasn’t brunch Israel and the U.S. wanted to bomb to. It was religious reference. Bombs began falling at 8am Tehran time. CNN’s Israeli reporter Tal Shallev reported her observation of the timing, saying: “The timing of the US and Israeli attack on Iran bears symbolic meaning in Judaism, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referenced the upcoming holiday of Purim in his first statement: ‘2,500 years ago, in ancient Persia, a tyrant rose against us with the very same goal, to utterly destroy our people,’ Netanyahu said of the story, which takes place in what is now Iran. ‘Today as well, on Purim, the lot has fallen, and in the end this evil regime will fall too.’”

The reporter continued: “The passage from the book of Deuteronomy commands the ancient Israelites to remember an unprovoked attack by the nation of Amalek, located in modern-day Sinai and southern Israel, and to eradicate the memory of Amalek once the Israelites are settled in their land.

“The passage is read publicly before Purim to fulfill what Jews consider the mitzvah – or commandment – of remembering Amalek as Israel’s achetypical enemy. Amalek is often referenced as an historical enemy of the Jewish people, and Netanyahu invoked it shortly after the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.”

ALBB wants to stress that this logic does not speak for all Jews. But usually speaks for Zionists.

Right Away, U.s. and Israel Targeted A Girl’s School, Killing Over 100 civilians so far

We saw during the two years of the genocide, Israel targets schools, hospitals and other protected places. In August 2025, Aljezeera reported that Israel killed an average of 28 children per day in Palestine, for a known total of at least 18,000 dead children since the start of the genocide. Palestinian children are often targeted and kidnapped by Israeli military and held in Israeli prisons, often without charges.

Since the release of the Epstein Files in America, there has emerged reignighted speculation of killing - and eating - children. The targeted killing of Iranian children on Saturday is on brand with all of this. Reported by ArtNet: “Epstein’s assistant, Sarah Kellen sent an email in July 2011 asking an employee named Rich Barnett to ‘Fedex the painting he had made of the Massacre of the Innocents to the ranch [in New Mexico]. It’s the large 9’x9′ canvas that we had rolled out for him to see in the entry way where they are killing babies.’”

Journalist Ahmed Eldin responded to the news of the killing of the Iranian school girls the day it happened:

In his Instagram caption, Ahmed reported: “At least 85 children were reportedly killed after a joint U.S.–Israeli strike hit a elementary school in Minab, Iran.

“Washington and Tel Aviv call it ‘preemptive.’ They say they’re targeting the regime, not civilians. But a classroom is not a missile launcher.

“Just days earlier, Oman’s foreign minister indicated Tehran had accepted major U.S. demands in nuclear negotiations. When ceasefire talks advanced in Doha last year, Israel carried out a strike there during active negotiations. Now diplomacy appears to move — and bombs fall again.

“That is a pattern.

“We’ve heard the language of ‘preemption’ before — in Iraq in 2003. The region is still living with the consequences.

“Children, schools, and civilians are protected under international law. If they become acceptable targets under the banner of regime change and deterrence, no one is safer.

“You can believe the talking points.

“Or you can look at the rubble.”

The video of the Iranian man holding the girl’s arm was published by the journalist Samira Mohyeddin.

Was The Bombing For Regime Change? These Anti-Imperialists, Weapons Inspector And Economist Say No

Greg Stoker is a veteran from America’s invasion of Afghanistan, which he repeatedly says is an incorrectly and misleadingly named “War on Terror” for American propaganda. He is a fourth generation veteran, and the co-host of the podcast Colonial Outcasts.

Greg says: “From the Imperial Perspective this is NOT a regime change operation, it is a Balkanization Operation since regime change is not possible at this time. Down with the empire.”

Rising Pilgrim published the American journalist Ana Kasparian from The Young Turks, and wrote this: “🔴 The Iraq War remains one of the most sobering chapters in modern American military history, marked by a profound human cost. Between the initial invasion in 2003 and the formal conclusion of major operations, the United States suffered 4,492 military fatalities, with an additional 32,222 service members wounded in action. These figures, however, only tell part of the story; they do not fully account for the thousands of veterans who returned with ‘invisible wounds,’ such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), or the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians who lost their lives. The conflict served as a stark reminder that while ‘Mission Accomplished’ can be declared on a carrier deck, the reality of asymmetric warfare and nation-building is often a decade-long endeavor with no clear exit strategy.

”Avoiding a similar entanglement with Iran requires a shift from reactionary interventionism toward strategic diplomacy and realistic containment. Critics of military escalation argue that Iran is a significantly more formidable opponent than 2003-era Iraq, boasting a larger population, more rugged geography, and a sophisticated network of regional proxies. A kinetic conflict would likely destabilize the global energy market and ignite a theater-wide war that the U.S. public has little appetite for. Rather than repeating the "intelligence failures" and "regime change" rhetoric that defined the Iraq era, the U.S. must prioritize multilateral agreements and economic leverage. Learning from the past means recognizing that a war started with ease is rarely finished with the same simplicity.

Former UN Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter delivered this message: “Iranian Missiles Give Them Fighting Chance To Hit Israel And Outlast Trump’s Political Will”

AnalystNews said this, when publishing the opinion of the economist Jeffrey Sachs: “The United States has started a brazen and unprovoked war of aggression against Iran because Israel told it to, according to American economist Jeffrey Sachs: ‘It may be because of what's in the Epstein files ... it may be blackmail, it may be corruption ... but it is not about America's interests.’"

New York City’s Mayor Zohran Mamdani thought the attack a dangerous idea, when asked by Iranian Leftist News Creator Ariana Jasmine. She also gave a mini-breakdown of the situation.

Complicity Of U.S. Media

Part of why ALBB publishes anti-imperialist global news is because as a kid during the Iraq War, that always felt so wrong and unnecessary. Now with a means to express, publishing and amplifying can happen. Beacon is threaded with several diasporas, so we cater to those readers as well.

Through Palestinian coverage, the complicity of the U.S. media became very obvious, irresponsible and damaging to the world. Therefore, this local outlet is publishing the information also, since there is a void.

BTNewsroom published this naive, entitled and ridiculous question from NBC anchors to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi when asking why U.S. bases were targeted in retaliation: Iran’s Foreign Minister answered calmly: “We are under attack from the U.S. This is obvious. This is a very simple fact." He went on to explain why they have the right to defend themselves.

When asked by the NBC anchors how strikes on U.S. bases could be “justified,” the Iranian Foreign Minister had to explain what is obvious to most, which is that Iran has the right to defend itself.

Below is a look at vintage CNN with Dana Bash and Wolf Blitzer, published by ClassWarNews, who said: “For context, Wolf Blitzer was a former AIPAC researcher and used to be the editor of two magazines run by AIPAC’s founder that took hard-line pro-Israel stances like supporting Israeli settlements in the occupied territories.

“Dana Bash was on the Board of Trustees for the pro-Zionist Jewish Women International organization. And was married to CIA Chief of Staff / Department of Defense Chief of Staff, Jeremy Bash.

“It isn't that their corporate overlords have to censor them and tell them what to say. Its that if they didn't believe the things they believed then they wouldn't have been hired in the first place.”

What Some Iranians Are Saying

Upon learning that the Supreme Leader was dead, this local-ish New York based glass blower who has been featured on ALBB before demonstrated her feelings in burning hot glass.

Meanwhile, In Palestine:

The Andrey.X reported: “EYES ON THE WEST BANK

An (incomplete) list of settler and IDF attacks in the past two days, since the beginning of the Israel-Iran war:

In Duma (Nablus) the settlers launched an attack, armed with pepper spray and sticks, injuring several Palestinians and solidarity activists; the IDF arrived on the scene, arrested four Palestinians including a 10 year old child, and a journalist.
In Qusra (Nablus) the settlers raided the village and assaulted Palestinians, the next day after nearly killing two human rights activists there.
In Qwawais (Masafer Yatta), settlers opened fire on Palestinian children while they were gathering wild plants on the hills.
In Sfai (Masafer Yatta), settlers shot a Palestinian with live ammunition; then the IDF invaded and arrested Palestinians.
In Taybe (Ramallah) settlers and army stole two Palestinian horses.
In al-Farsiya (Jordan Valley) settlers stoned a house and threw a tear gas grenade into the house in the middle of the night.
All over the West Bank the IDF shut down checkpoints, leaving entire communities cut off from the outside world