Iran Feature: How a US Neo-Con Pundit Is Helping Tehran's Propaganda

James KirchickJames Kirchick is a columnist for the tabloid New York Daily News and a loud voice on Twitter. His articles and his Twitter feed are often distinguished by invective directed at misguided, mischievous, or malicious "liberals" who supposedly criticise Israel and appease evil States like Iran.

So it was with more than a tinge of surprise and then amusement that I read in Fars on Saturday, "US Politician Describes Iran, Hamas as Best Friends in Middle East":

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The Latest from Iran (28 November): Supreme Leader Declares, "We're Winning"

1835 GMT: Gaza Watch. Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has said that, more than a week after he made his request to enter Gaza, he is still awaiting an answer from Egyptian authorities.

Salehi saild he had spoken by phone and in person with Egypt’s Foreign Minister.

1505 GMT: Economy Watch. Kalemeh reports that 2400 workers of the Saveh Pipe Rolling Plant and other factories in northwestern Iran have been on strike since Sunday over six months of unpaid wages.

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The Latest from Iran (26 November): Noting the Crackdown on Dissidents

See also The Latest from Iran (25 November): Larijani's Diplomatic Push on Gaza and Syria

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2025 GMT: Oil Watch. Gholamreza Mesbahi Moqaddam, an influential member of Parliament's Economy Committee, has said the State budget for the next Iranian year may assume exports of only 1 million barrels of oil a day, less than half the level of 2011.

"Apparently, the government wants to decrease the 1392 (March 2013-March 2014) state budget's reliance on oil exports to one million barrels a day," Mesbahi Moqaddam said.

Industry data indicated that Iranian exports fell as low as 860,000 barrels per day this summer before rebounding in October to 1.3 million bpd. Last year the Islamic Republic shipped 2.2 million bpd.

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Gaza Live Coverage: Israel Rejects Ceasefire and Maintains Assault

Tel Aviv bus struck by an explosion today

See also Gaza Audio Feature: Before the Ceasefire --- Scott Lucas with Monocle 24
EA Video Analysis: The 4 Biggest Losers of the Gaza War...So Far
Why Netanyahu's Rejection of A Ceasefire is Bad News for the US"
Gaza Feature: The Names of Those Killed
Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Damascus Shakes as Assad Regime Wobbles
Monday's Gaza Live Coverage: Israel Chooses Air Assault Over Ground Invasion...For Now

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2005 GMT: Chris McGreal of The Guardian reports the scene from Gaza City:

On a street running along the Gaza City waterfront, three young men --- one armed --- were celebrating. They waved at a man driving by blowing his horn. Above their heads a loudspeaker on a mosque repeated over and over: Allahu Akbar.

Part of the celebration is relief that, hopefully, the eight days and nights of bombing and shelling are now at an end and people can sleep safely. Or sleep at all.

But there is also a mood of victory.

"Israel begged for a ceasefire because it could not stop our rockets," said Adel Mansour, who was without a gun. "They bombed us, they killed our women and children, but they could not stop the resistance. So they had to surrender and agree to stop the assassinations. They learned we cannot be defeated by their bombs."

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Israel-Palestine Live Coverage: 30 Killed in Gaza's Bloodiest Day

2152 GMT: The Guardian reports:

Two teenage brothers have been killed and an unknown number wounded in an Israeli strike on a home near the Rafah border crossing, according to local reports. The names of the dead were given as Ahmad al-Nasasra, 17, and Mohammed al-Nasasra, 15.

This matches other social media reports we've seen, including this picture which was posted on Facebook:

Ahmad and his brother Muhammed AL-Nasasra were murdered...An Israeli missile leveled a home in Rafah

2132 GMT: Amnesty International has called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council "to impose an international arms embargo on Israel, Hamas, and Palestinian armed groups in Gaza".

Speaking about the current crisis, Amnesty International’s MENA Deputy Director Ann Harrison also said that the NGO has "serious concerns" that Palestinians are being killed by "indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks by Israeli forces.

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