Tea at Trianon: Iran and Russia

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Iran and Russia

From Gregg Jarrett:

The Washington Post reported Sunday that U.S. and allied security officials revealed Iran has agreed to sell Russia “Iranian-made surface-to-surface missiles.” They are intended “for use against Ukrainian cities and troop positions.”

In August, reports surfaced that Russia was buying remotely piloted aircraft from Iran, including the Mohajer-6 and the Shahed-series drones. Russian cargo flights reportedly picked up the first order of drones in late August, according to The Washington Post. Additionally, it is rumored that Iranians allegedly are training Russian soldiers to use them in.
“They teach the Russians how to use kamikaze drones, and directly monitor the launch of drones on Ukrainian civilian targets, including strikes on Mykolaiv and Odesa,” the Ukrainian National Resistance Center said on Wednesday. Officials say the latest round of sales marks “the first time an Iran-to-Russia missiles sale has gone forward since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.”
The Post states intelligence reports show “that Russia, per a deal struck on Sept. 18, will buy the Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar short-range ballistic missiles, which are capable of hitting targets at 300 and 700 kilometers, respectively. The reports hold that Iran is already preparing the first shipment of missiles.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian denied that Iran has provided drones or weapons to Russia. “We believe that arming either side will prolong the war, and we do not think that war is the right way – not in Ukraine, not in Yemen, not in Syria, not in Afghanistan,” said Amir-Abdollahian, according to Israel’s Maariv news. (Read more.)