TV News LIES

Hezbollah’s drone capabilities are limiting 80 percent of Israeli assaults on southern Lebanon, according to a report by Israel’s public broadcaster Kan.

On Monday, Kan reported that the Israeli military had estimated that drones fired by Hezbollah had severely restricted Israeli troop movements in Lebanon, and contributed to battlefield losses.

The report stated that anti-drone systems were being distributed to only a limited number of Israeli troops due to supply shortages, and that some military operations were not being carried out in daylight hours over fears of drone attacks. 

These drones have increasingly become a problem for Israel’s government, which has reportedly created a specialist task force, composed of military, defence and civilian experts, to develop systems to counter the threat. 

Israeli military intelligence sources told Kan that Hezbollah had moved away from a command and control structure, and was now operating guerrilla-style warfare.

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Amid ongoing disruptions to maritime shipping in the Middle East due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Somali pirates are demanding a $10 million ransom for the release of an oil tanker recently hijacked off the coast of Yemen, multiple security officials tell Drop Site News.

The oil tanker MT Eureka was sailing with the flag of the West African nation of Togo when it was seized by pirates at 5:00 a.m on May 2 near the port of Qana in Yemen in the Gulf of Aden. The hijacking was the second within a ten-day stretch, following the hijacking of another ship, the HONOUR 25, by pirates on April 22.

The seven hijackers steered the MT Eureka towards Somali waters, anchoring near the fishing town of Murcanyo at the tip of the Horn of Africa near the Yemeni island of Socotra, according to three security officials from the semi-autonomous Somali region of Puntland.

Once anchored, more armed gunmen boarded the tanker, according to security officials who spoke with Drop Site. The officials estimate that there are roughly 30 pirates currently holding the oil tanker and its crew hostage. A total of 12 crew members are also on board—including eight Egyptians, according to a statement about the hijacking from Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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President Donald Trump declined Iran's response to his peace framework to end hostilities in the war, calling it "totally unacceptable" in a May 10 social media post.

"I have just read the response from Iran’s so-called 'Representatives.' I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Iran responded early in the morning of May 10 to Trump's proposal to stop fighting and begin peace talks on an array of contentious issues, according to reporting from Iran's IRNA news agency. Iran's proposal included a demand for compensation for war damages and an emphasis on Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, state media said.

No details on Iran‘s response were immediately available, and the White House did not respond to a request for comment. U.S. IRNA has reported that Iran sent its reply to Trump’s proposal to Pakistan, which is mediating.

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A federal judge in North Carolina conditionally agreed to cancel former FBI Director James Comey’s upcoming court appearance on charges of threatening President Trump at his request and with the government’s support.

Comey asked to call off the hearing because he already made an initial appearance in Alexandria, Va., last week over the allegations. He said that federal criminal procedure rules provide “for an initial appearance in the singular.”

U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, said she would cancel the initial appearance if Comey files a waiver for the hearing in the district by Friday. She said the hearing would proceed as scheduled if no waiver is filed.

In Comey’s initial request, his attorneys said he would be willing to execute any necessary waiver “to give the Court additional comfort if the Court so desires.”

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The Pentagon said the U.S. military launched "self-defense strikes" on Iranian targets Thursday after "unprovoked" attacks from the Islamic republic on U.S. Navy vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

No U.S. assets were struck by Iranian attacks, but U.S. forces hit Iranian military facilities behind the attacks, U.S. Central Command, the arm of the U.S. military overseeing operations in the Middle East, said in a statement. The agency added it does not want to see an "escalation" of the fighting. 

"U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) eliminated inbound threats and targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking U.S. forces," the statement said. "CENTCOM does not seek escalation but remains positioned and ready to protect American forces."

Iranian state media reported the U.S. struck Iranian ports on Qeshm Island and the city of Bandar Abbas. The two sites are located near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran says they launched attacks on U.S. Navy assets after American forces tried to seize an Iranian oil tanker. U.S. forces on Wednesday struck an Iranian oil tanker, disabling the vessel.

The White House and Pentagon did not respond to requests for information. The apparent resumption of hostilities comes as President Donald Trump says progress is being made in negotiations as Tehran reviews a U.S. framework for peace talks.

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The US military fired on an Iranian-flagged oil tanker on Wednesday, shortly after Donald Trump issued a fresh ultimatum to Tehran, telling it to accept a deal to end the war or face a new wave of US bombing “at a much higher level and intensity than it was before”.

The US fighter fired several rounds and “disabled the tanker’s rudder” as it attempted to breach the US’s blockade of Iranian ports, US Central Command said in a social media post.

The attack came after the US president’s social media announcement – the latest in a rapid series of dramatic and often contradictory changes in policy amid unconfirmed reports of progress in stalled negotiations between Tehran and Washington.

“Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is perhaps a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end,” the US president posted on his Truth Social platform, referring to the military operation he launched with Israel against Iran in February.

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