Hands off Iran!

Iran substitute 'The US'.

when are "we" going after the saudis anyway? i mean, that really actually is where al-quaeda is from, and it's a dictatorship with a bad human rights record, what am i missing here?

And they did such a good job when they tried that with the EU.
Hey, Brain! What are we going to do today? - The same thing we do every day, Pinky.

1. 'Iran's... government... poses a big problem for the United States and should be replaced, lawmakers said Sunday.'

2. South Korea's government poses a big problem for North Korea and should be replaced, Kim Jong-il said Sunday.

3. Britain is a 'failed state' living in the shadow of the US and would be better administered from Berlin, said Chancellor Schroeder yesterday.

4. The government of Greenland is out of touch with the wishes of the people and will be replaced at the next general election, said the people of Greenland.

That's right, it's 4 which is hopelessly idealistic and out of touch with present realities.

if anything the white house line in that slate article is MORE muted and LESS firebreathing, esp.given the scale of the victory being claimed in iraq (ie it actually — slightly — reflects acknowledgment of the difficulties ahead) (ok perhaps that's reading a lot into "that's hard", but the fact that they've stepped back from "we can now do anything" is a step AWAY from yr worst case, isn't it?)

What's so disheartening is that even the Democratic position is so far right:

'Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., a Democratic presidential hopeful who strongly backed the Iraq war, said "regime change" is the answer in Iran. He said he was not suggesting U.S. military action because of the pro-American attitudes of many Iranians.'

Which seems to imply that the fact that Iranians are not 100% anti-American is the only thing keeping the tanks from rolling into Teheran.

? I'm not spotting your connection, especially since that involved a sitting Democratic president.

The U.S. tiptoes around the Saudis because they have oil.

(Insert Louie Armstrong song chorus here, with extreme sarcasm.)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35772-2003May24.html

"It worked so well in Latin America":

In an interview in February with the Los Angeles Times, Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage drew a distinction between the confrontational approach the administration had taken with Iraq and North Korea and the approach it had adopted with Iran. "The axis of evil was a valid comment, [but] I would note there's one dramatic difference between Iran and the other two axes of evil, and that would be its democracy. [And] you approach a democracy differently," Armitage said.

At one of the meetings, in early January, the United States signaled that it would target the Iraq-based camps of the Mujaheddin-e Khalq (MEK), or People's Mujaheddin, a major group opposing the Iranian government.

The MEK soon became caught up in the policy struggle between the State Department and the Pentagon.

After the camps were bombed, the U.S. military arranged a cease-fire with the group, infuriating the Iranians. Some Pentagon officials, impressed by the military discipline and equipment of the thousands of MEK troops, began to envision them as a potential military force for use against Tehran, much like the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan.

But the MEK is also listed as a terrorist organization by the State Department. Under pressure from State, the White House earlier this month ordered the Pentagon to disarm the MEK troops -- a decision that was secretly conveyed by U.S. officials to Iranian representatives at a meeting in Geneva on May 3.

The MEK is considered a terrorist organisation by the (merely conservative) State department and a group of Northern-Alliance-like freedom fighters by the (ultra-hawk) Pentagon. Their camps are bombed during the Iraq war, but then a truce is made with them. But this infuriates the Iran government and pushes the Iranian state ever-faster towards nuclear armament (because it's clear that's the only way not to be invaded, see N. Korea).

Meanwhile the White House orders the Pentagon to disarm the MEK (perhaps to start their make-over into legitimate democracy campaigners in Iran), effectively splitting the group into two factions: 'politicians' who seek legitimacy and 'guerillas' with a bloody agenda. (Like the IRA, and like the GOP.) Nine days later the Saudi Arabian suicide bombings happen -- and the implication is that it's a splinter group involving the MEK guerillas who didn't believe in becoming a tool for US overt/covert operations against Tehran.

there's some complicated conspiracy theory that somehow involves Bush I and Reagan in some ploy to prevent the release of the hostages before the 1980 election. I cannot remember how credible it is.

Momus - the statement that Joe Lieberman represents the "Democratic position" is either ignorant or disingenuous.

oh yeah, for sure, this place is a fuckin' hotbed of hezbollah supporters.

moron.

would anyone go with?

no hard feelins JB or nothin', my whole issue was with keyth's condescension toward an honest & tenable position (NB NOT "terrorism is OK" but "their rage isn't hard to understand")

as far as I am concerned, regime change is not the way to do this. regime change lately seems to involve a total breakdown of civil structure and infrastructure, which seems to lead to things like looting, epidemics, hunger, long lines at the grocery, gas station and hospital, etc. i do not think this is the way to help the people of Iran.

"Should this said multinational body be concerned with Iran's development of nuclear facilities?"

there is such a body. it's called the IAEA, and it's inspectors are in Iran right now. of course, our administration seems not to think highly of multilateral inspections (much preferring ex-post-facto investigation for murky reasons).

"What if there was conclusive evidence a group of terrorists was operating with in Iran and that group had killed thousands of people in several different countries? "

at what level in the organization? certainly i doubt there are any terrorists in iran that have personally killed thousands of people in several different countries. do you invade a democratic nation of millions because of fifty fugitives?

"At what point does a country forfeit its sovereignty?"

at what point did my elected officials forfeit their sanity?

dude you play too much counterstrike. do you also think colin powell is on a ninja mission deep in arab territory?

I don't know that there's anyway to change the power structure of a country peacefully. It seems like in these situations, things are going to get worse before they get better regardless of outside intervention.

at what level in the organization? certainly i doubt there are any terrorists in iran that have personally killed thousands of people in several different countries. do you invade a democratic nation of millions because of fifty fugitives?

Personally killed, I don't care about (personally). If there are people supporting or heading the Al-Q cause, I consider them terrorists. And if there is evidence that the state is not doing everything in its power to take out said terrorists, then yes, I do think you consider going in. Those are all huge if's however.

Anyway I was just trying to gauge if in addition to all the criticism thrown at the Bush admin, if anyone could present alternative approaches. (I honestly can't figure out how the left responds to any international politics other then 'do nothing.')

So it's safe to assume you support regime change in Saudi Arabia. Oh, wait.

And it's extremely difficult to tell exactly how much the 'democratic process' can do; most levers of power and the judiciary ultimately come under the theocratic thumb.

Stop waiting, I do. And again, "but what about Saudi Arabia" and "but what about Israel" and "but what about North Korea" doesn't solve anything anywhere.

Well, no, it doesn't "solve" anything, but it does point out that the issues being presented as pivotal are actually tangential at best.

A bit glib, John. I've always thought the chances were pretty unlikely myself, but if we're only just going to argue this thing from the point of "The US did what needed doing and we must brook no argument/The US is running rampantly ridiculous on all fronts everywhere and we must brook no argument," then why are any of us trying to talk about this at all?

1) the presence and development of iraq's wmd programs was overstated (ie. the cia was right)

2) hussein, like anyone in a war it knows it can't win, thought he could fight to a stalemate - that if gulf war I took three months it wasn't completely unfeasible to believe gulf war II could be stretched to eight months, a year, by which point international and domestic pressure on bushco woulda/mighta forced talks. launching wmds would squander any highground iraq could hope to claim, eliminate any would-be mediators, strengthen american resolve. the key was to turn gulf war II into enough of a mess that the us (and esp. the uk) would want a way out without squandering any wronged party positionings.

Yes, by then maybe communications were way short of perfect, but the idea that no messages would have got through to any of these stockpiles of chemical or biological weapons is a fantasy world. And while I can imagine that some soldiers might have balked at unleashing such things within their own borders, if that had been the explanation for their non-use you can be sure that someone would have sold their location by now.

The story we were given in advance was that the west had concrete intelligence, up to and including detailed satellite photos, proving there were WMDs. How can we not even find these places?

James, do you really not find these arguments very weak and implausible? Do you not think it's possible that these weapons didn't actually exist?

News comes on as I type this: Rumsfeld says the WMDs may never be found, but they were there honest.

well, bnw, my grandfather advocates this approach. he has lived through something like five iranian governments, and is now a u.s. citizen and university professor.

of course, in his world, the negative term "do nothing" becomes a positive stance: "adopt an anticolonial position". there is a school of thinking that says outside interference always creates future power vacuums (said school of thinking also says that americans will never spend the money and effort they did on post-wwii germany and japan on us sorry towelheads).

finally, his school of thinking refuses to see "international politics" as "immediate international crisis".

uh, since y'know Turkey's vote against allowing US troops in was pretty big front-page news, it was pretty fucking obvious that they were gonna attack from Kuwait seeing as Iran/Syria were not in the "Coalition of the Willing" and S.A. wanted their help to be as little as possible. Duh.

For a start by not sabre rattling. Everytime a member of the bush junta opens his mouth about Iran it stregnthens the hand of the theocrats and the conservatives in Iran. Any attempt to destabilise Iran, which is what's being proposed, will cause the conservative forces to clamp down and for a lot of iranians to seek stability with those conservative theocrats who have been providing that relative stability since the revolution. The US needs to try the same kind of diplomatic raprochment that the UK and other european nations have been trying.

normal and sensible relations between democratic nations

But to be cynical, as neither the US nor Iran can be described as having normal and sensible relations with each other -- nor are either apparently democratic the way you would want them to be -- then how do you propose we get on that slow long road in the first place?

Remind me never to ask J0hn for racehorse tips.

What might help would be a slow normalisation of relations. If real progress is made along the road map (a faint hope but still a hope) then maybe Iran will be able to retreat from Lebabnon and cut its funding of terrorist groups active in Lebanon and palestine, claiming at least some form of victory. The biggest traditional stumbling block to normalising relations between the two nations.

Once again the US is playing the Al Qaida card. There is again little evindece of any link between Iran and Al Q. Al Quaida being supicious of Shia Muslims, however US moves could drive the extreme elements of the Iranian regime into common cause with Al Quaida.

I think the US was very unwise to name Iran as part of the 'Axis of Evil'. I realise that America has a lot to be angry with Iran about but most of that happened the best part of 20 years ago.

But in this situation if the US government can't say anything constructive about Iran they should shut up and get back to worrying about Iraq, Afghanistan and North Korea.

One should always remember that Iran is the most democratic state between India and Isreal. And the only moslem democracy west of Bangladesh.

It's no paradise but there's a whole host of countries with far less representative systems. Countries like Iran need to be nurtured into better practices and if the US isn't prepared to do so it ought to shut up.

I totally agree with this statement, btw:

"Countries like Iran need to be nurtured into better practices and if the US isn't prepared to do so it ought to shut up."

Too bad, too. As far as weeding out the bad elements of the Iranian governement, I do not see what could be effective other than actual threat of military force. Which a hands-on fellow like me reckons as entirely appropriate since the governemnt there is supporting terrorists -- dissenting voices or no, that is essentially the waging of war against us.

oh i dunno ... i think that Antonin Scalia and Clarence Uncle Thomas (both bonafide religious fanatics) wouldn't be totally out of place on the Iranian Supreme Islamic Council.

As for supporting terroists, they support Hezbollah, but as yet they don't appear to be, as a goverment, suppporting Al Quaida. I don't doubt that, there are some pretty high up people in the Iranina system supporting AL Quaida, but the same is true of Saudi Arabia and the Sudan. These elements are most likely not part of the government, but key opposition figures or members or people around the Supreme Islamic Council. SO the best thing to do is to support the reformist government and the people who voted for them against the forces of conservatism and reaction (be they Islamic fundamentalist in the middle east, or christian fundamentralists in washington)

The tensions between the two sides in Iran have been simmering and in many cases exploding for years, well before what happened in Iraq, and many instances of political repression and reaction can be documented high and low throughout Iran from well before the war, and if you like before 9/11. You are creating a vast oversimplification here, this is not some sea change in the last three months, and I'm honestly surprised you're advancing this argument.

"arr!"

http://www.simpsonit-nurkka.net/kuvat/captain.gif

(sorry, that was for oops' benefit. carry on)

... not that Bushco is above blurring the lines between sunnis and shiites if it were to suit their needs, of course

read: colin and condi go head-to-head with the axis of evil!

the problem with not rattling your saber ...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7409288.stm

Maybe we should invade Iran - the invasion of Iraq has done wonders for religious minorities there.

sure wish someone had a big enough sabre to catch dubya's attention.

Yes, well, the irony of course that repeatedly threatening other nations' security often leads those nations to crack down on domestic dissent. Which can then be used as justification for further sabre-rattling when it gets picked up by Western media outlets...

That argument might hold water if state-sanctioned persecution of Baha'i followers hadn't been ongoing in Persia/Iran for the past 150 years. This has nothing to do with anything the West is doing and everything to do with the lack of religious freedom in Iran.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/07/10/world/ledemissiles2.jpg
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/07/10/world/ledemissiles1.jpg

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/in-an-iranian-image-a-missile-too-many/index.html?hp

Ahaha.

They probably used Gimp (not Photoshop) anyway…you can hide a weapons development plant, but you can’t get away from Adobe that easily.

I am sorry but these images look completely difgferent. What are you even talking about?

— Posted by jim

http://blog.wired.com/defense/images/2008/07/11/iranmissiles.jpg

When was the last time someone said the words 'sabre rattling' on US news? I don't hear it a lot here. But then I only watch channel 4 news and occasionally channel 5 for the laughs.

sterling stuff from momus upthread

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/julian-borger-global-security-blog/2010/feb/22/iran-nuclear-weapons

See, this is what happens when your invasion schedule breaks alphabetical order.

hm. well, fareed zakaria also has an interesting article on the general subject.

lol momus.

was the Jeffrey Goldberg thing in the atlantic (short version: 2011) discussed on another thread?

uhm i don't think so

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/print/2010/09/the-point-of-no-return/8186/

totally ruined my lunch

cool will read lat

-er

"The trick in Iran is this: The good guys are trying to bring some reform; the bad guys control the levers of power. Sorting the two apart and then isolating the bad guys and taking the levers of power away from them is what's got to happen," said Goss, R-Fla., on CBS' "Face the Nation."
Iran substitute 'The US'.

― Momus (Momus), Tuesday, May 27, 2003 11:09 AM (7 years ago) Bookmark

woah

was the Jeffrey Goldberg thing in the atlantic (short version: 2011) discussed on another thread?

― caek, Wednesday, September 15, 2010 12:47 PM (9 minutes ago) Bookmark

feel like there's an article every year saying it's totally gonna happen next year

in fact we have a thread on the very topic:

Iran in 2006

*shrug*

ha, well, perhaps. that link doesn't work any more. do you remember whether it was israel or the US and whether it was invasion or air strikes that time?

maybe this is old news - i'm out of the loop - and maybe opposition from the israeli left and, apparently, the military will talk them down. it's kind of glossed over in the article. but the urgency/unanimity of israel's strategy [via deep background] was striking.

pretty much the only thing that doesn't ruin my lunch about the whole iran situation is how their biggest enemy (worse than the jews) is the bbc.

i read a sunday times article saying israel was totally going to bomb iran a few months ago

but also, more recently, that the current peace talks are done on the basis that america will 'do something' about iran

i think the link said israel [via f16s]

It would appear, then, that Israel is pretty much planning on bombing Iran within two years...I wonder what Chimp will do on that occasion.

― don weiner (don weiner), Tuesday, December 6, 2005 1:52 AM (4 years ago) Bookmark

ha, guess i'm out of the loop.

still, momus, eh? what a prick.

it's grim, if you look at the direction iran seemed to be taking 15 years ago

it should be a source of wonder to people that we haven't had a nuclear war yet

this basically how i break it down to an extent:

http://www.theonion.com/articles/smart-qualified-people-behind-the-scenes-keeping-a,17954/

Haha, I love that.

maybe this is dumb of me but i basically dont trust anything goldberg writes about the middle east

not to mention i tend to think irans nuclear capabilities are usually overstated

also depending on how these peace talks go a lot could change in israel and in "the region" over the next couple years

not to mention i tend to think irans nuclear capabilities are usually overstated

― max, Wednesday, September 15, 2010 5:20 PM (43 seconds ago) Bookmark

any reason?

all them freelance inspekshuns' he's been doing?

haha does "gut feeling" count? i mean we certainly know that iran itself constantly overstates its own capabilities (not just the photoshopped missiles but the "ambassador of death"... but more importantly iran is still letting iaea inspectors in, and they say that all of the nuclear stuff (technical term) is sill going to the legitimate power generating stuff. i mean, i think theyre years away at best from even a first generation nuke and thats dangerous but still unreliable, etc. i guess it depends on whos "stating" irans nuke capabills but... provided the UN is still doing its job (and i guess the US who is sabotaging this shit behind the scenes) i dont see them being a real nuclear threat for a while.

and anyway i think we can all agree that actually bombing iran is wayyy more nutty and dangerous an option that continuing w/ diplomatic pressure, sanctions, etc., in the hopes that they will give up or see some new leaders

the thing is, i think everyone (including israel's political and military leaders) DOES agree on that, up to a point.

idk, after last summer, holding out for new leaders to emerge/get out of jail/the cemetery seems a bit too hopeful

'give up' is maybe more likely

but if ne1 is going to help make that a reality, it has to be the US, right? genuinely intractable problem where there aren't any 'good' options -- sure bombing, as goldberg says, would have dire consequences. iran becoming a nuclear power -- which it will -- will have dire consequences (even if it doesn't use them, it emboldens iran elsewhere, and will lead to other countries in the region nuking up).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRLON3ddZIw

a lot can change in a year! and in five years, psh, who knows! i agree that youre more likely to see an iranian state come to believe that remaining nuke-free is better for its interests than nuking up.

as for iran getting nukes leading to other countries in the region doing so--i doubt it. israels had nukes for decades and i dont see egypt or syria or whoever going for it. NK is a program, but SK doesnt. i mean which other countries in the region have the resources and the interest in doing so?

resources - dunno
interest - all of them

you get a bomb you're Big Dick Man and nobody fucks w you. fuck, pakistan can even harbor osama bin laden and remain a "crucial ally in the war on terror"

every tinpot dictator country wants nukes, that's a given. it's the means and the resources that are the issue, and nobody else in the area has these besides Iran.

a lot can change in a year! and in five years, psh, who knows!

ok, but military and political chiefs are unlikely to conduct affairs on this basis

i agree that youre more likely to see an iranian state come to believe that remaining nuke-free is better for its interests than nuking up.

idk. genuinely idk.

as for iran getting nukes leading to other countries in the region doing so--i doubt it. israels had nukes for decades and i dont see egypt or syria or whoever going for it.

um... syria kind of did go for it! whereas egypt has been in a very costly kinda alliance with israel for three decades. you might be right, but i suppose this is a matter of trusting goldberg's unnamed sources lol.

NK is a program, but SK doesnt.

SK is under the US umbrella id have thought

i mean which other countries in the region have the resources and the interest in doing so?

― max, Wednesday, September 15, 2010 5:58 PM (7 seconds ago) Bookmark

saudi arabia

why does saudi arabia want nukes! theyre already a US ally--just like SK and japan

i mean im being a little disingenuous here

why does saudi arabia want nukes!

to deter other folks with nukes

this is how it begins!

why does saudi want shit-tonnes of US military hardware?

i mean maybe some power bases in SA "want" nukes? just as im sure some in SK "want" nukes? my real take on all of this is *shrug*

i believe that iran desperately wants a nuke and that theyd be pretty scary and dangerous if "they" had one (tho this raises the question of who exactly in iran "has" the nuke). i also believe that israel is (justifiably) scared shitless of the possibility. i just dont think iran is going to get very much closer to one within the 2-year timeframe laid out by goldberg. nor do i think theyre really all that dumb to bomb iran. im way more scared of pakistan starting ww3 than i am of iran starting it.

thats more a "idk" *shrug* thank a "who cares" *shrug*

tho theres a little bit of "who cares" there

pakistan has similar 'they' issues to iran

it's ok for bloggers to shrug but on the other hand, powerful people will be taking meaningful steps, and it would be good if the public discourse wasn't so completely fucking lunatic atm

yeah pakistan has much worse "they" issues id think

never heard of goldberg max, does he have a history?

haha yeah you could say that

basically he (writing in the new yorker) and the NYT's judy miller were the two journalists making the biggest case for invading iraq back in 2002/03--well really making the case that saddam had WMDs, which he, of course, didnt

lol I assumed everyone was aware of goldberg's unbelievably shitty track record

he and Judy Miller and Wolfowitz and Perle and Kristol should all be shot imho

a former ilx poster has called him "100% wrong on the single most important journalistic issue of the last decade"

i could not have named a single US journalist in 2002 fwiw, no reflection on goldberg's record

i dont think most americans could have either

the atlantics "steez" now seems to be employing a combination of interesting, insightful, or at the very least likable bloggers and then also complete and utter embarrassments like goldberg and megan mcardle

yeah, i mean i was obviously anticipating that because of wmd-free iraq, people are unlikely to believe in the iranian nuclear programme

whaddayagonnado

lol just did a lil background reading on goldberg [via wikipedia]

seems like he was a useful conduit for the bad guys

cockburn levels some pretty incisive arguments against him

I should note that Goldberg once served in Israel's armed forces, which may or may not be a guide to his political agenda.

oh, burn indeed

but nah srsly, hmmmmmmm

for all that, i think iran is trying to get nuclear weapons, and that the iraq adventure sort of empowered/pissed off iran

"sort of" is an understatement. they now have both countries on either side of them occupied by their biggest enemy.

the bbc?

lol

tbf they hate bp more than the bbc

According to James, Ahmadinejad provided a glimpse into his thinking when Joe Scarborough asked him if he would consider it an act of war if the U.S. allowed Israeli warplanes to overfly Iraq on their way to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities. "Do you think anyone will attack Iran to begin with?" Ahmadinejad asked. "I really don't think so. The Zionist regime is a very small entity on the map, even to the point that it doesn't really factor into our equation." He continued -- in a way that clarifies for me his fundamental misunderstanding of just about everything -- "The United States has never entered a serious war, and has never been victorious." And, in what James reports was his most ominous statement, Ahmadinejad said, "The United States doesn't understand what war looks like. When a war starts, it knows no limits."

Quoted from (gasp!) Goldberg: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2010/09/ahmadinejad-when-a-war-starts-it-knows-no-limits/63312/

Ahmadinejad is kinda a moron, huh?

the iraq adventure sort of empowered/pissed off iran

The influence it now exerts in an Iraq that no longer brutally represses its Shi'ia majority has expanded. A paranoid regime in a country which has been fucked by the US (and the UK) before, surrounded by two conflicts on either side of it, is likely to feel a little nervous. Ask the Germans (or the Poles) what they felt like, fighting two-front wars on opposite sides of their national territory.

to be fair, iran had 'conflicts on either side of it' in the 1980s too, yes?

it's realpolitikal fact that iran is more active now than a decade ago, owing to the 'destabilization' (a term im trying to use neutrally) of the middle east by the iraq war, but the other stuff is kinda w/e

As the distinguished Iranian scholar Kaveh Ehsani has recently observed, these sanctions and a fortiori the pending military strike, have contributed massively to thwarting the current democratic movement in Iran that has been rising since the presidential election of June 2009. This threat to the democratic uprising in Iran, and by extension to the Arab Spring, is entirely to the advantage of Israel: The last thing that the Jewish garrison state wants in the region is a succession of free and democratic states, which will ipso facto only expose the settler colony for what it is.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/02/20122208387572989.html

Not sure I buy this theory

The first half is right. The second half is silly.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-minister-welcomes-report-of-huge-blast-at-iran-nuclear-plant/

avi otm

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/17/british-spys-account-sheds-light-on-role-in-1953-iranian-coup

shameless

Guy seems like a real peach

Have we talked about these protests here.

A potentially significant strike is brewing among oil workers in Iran. Workers walked off the job today in Asaluyeh, a port on the Persian Gulf and the site of the world's largest natural gas field. The strike is in support of protests for Mahsa Amini.pic.twitter.com/xue4SmM09a

— Séamus Malekafzali (@Seamus_Malek) October 10, 2022

seems like we should be talking about this more... it ain't slowing down, and it ain't going away

Pretty inspiring

One wishes it got more coverage, but the language barrier and the fact that it’s happening in a place where most westerners don’t care about the actual people doesn’t help things

It's getting to that place where the more the authorities crack down, the more kids rise up.. but it's becoming a bloodbath and I think it will continue to be one

From protester to fighter: Fleeing Iran’s brutal crackdown to take up arms over the border

Condolences to Iran 🕯️🇮🇷🚁

— Don Hughes (@getfiscal) May 20, 2024

Parody account.

In an effort to circumvent sanctions, the state fostered a new class of trusted middlemen, composed largely of relatives of officials who, operating through shadow companies, sold oil to Chinese buyers in exchange for dollars. Instead of remitting the proceeds to the state, these inside dealers have hoarded them in real estate across Dubai, Turkey, and Malaysia. The bulk of Iran’s exports—around 80 percent, or roughly $40 billion—are now controlled by oligarchs in the form of large state-linked enterprises in the petrochemical, oil, and mining sectors. According to official statements, $18 billion in export earnings failed to return to the country in the past year alone.

https://www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/online-only/irans-three-body-problem/

If we may be so bold, we offer a few recommendations to our comrades across the left outside Iran. To those of you living in imperial centers, or for whom the Palestinian struggle rightly constitutes the primary horizon of anti-imperialist politics: We understand that your analysis of Iran is mediated by geopolitics. But do not try to derive a political program for populations inside Iran that, in practice, translates into support for the Iranian state. You would not support a hypothetical liberalized Pinochetist Chile and its killing machine merely because it opposed Washington; you should not do so for the Islamic Republic, either.

are people actually doing that though?

Looks Iranians in Iran will not get a Democratic say on their future anytime soon, whatever people in the West think, write or say.

And Now For Something Completely Different.

The USS Gerald Ford had to request an emergency dock in Greece, begging for toilets because its shit system exploded. pic.twitter.com/7OaniVAw2D

— Chris Hutchinson (@ChrisHu34451470) February 24, 2026

at least the people of Iran can lol at the state of dying US empire's *deadly armada* as USS Gerald R. Ford is stinking up the Mediterranean. They can't build the missiles or planes up to the Chinese standard of innovation, so they are literally weaponizing shit!

600 toilets divided into 10 zones. Each zone controlled by a single valve connected to a high pressure system. If the valve fails, all the toilets in that zone go down. The crew moral is such that technicians are now finding foreign objects like clothing inside the system. pic.twitter.com/f6ibuGOxIC

— Hey, Dave! (@davegreenidge57) February 23, 2026

AYFKM

NEW: Top Democrats are working behind the scenes to stop a vote on the Khanna-Massie Iran war powers resolution – a vote that would force every member of Congress to go on the record over Trump’s potential regime change war. https://t.co/M3Ac18aRUl

— aída chávez (@aidachavez) February 24, 2026

Just now: Thick smoke over Jomhouri Street in Tehran. pic.twitter.com/igqLBGJf9f

— Alireza Akbari (@itsalireza_akb) February 28, 2026

Israel launches preventative attack on Iran

*preventative attack* wow, absolutely fuck Israel forever obv.

🚨 BREAKING: Houthi movement announces the closure of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea and warns that they will target U.S. and Israeli ships.

— The Middle East (@A_M_R_M1) February 28, 2026

hopefully this is correct

BREAKING: Explosions in jufair Bahrain — area where US naval base and 5th fleet headquarters is located.

CONFIRMED: Iranian missiles attacked:

• Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar
• Al Salem Base in Kuwait
• Al Dhafra Air Base in the UAE
• the US 5th Fleet Base in Bahrain

hopefully this is correct, warmongering, unprovoked attacks should be answered accordingly. From footage of two of these I've seen they seem more like warning shots than outright destruction, smoke rising but it doesn't seem like outright destruction.

this must be the first time in the modern era that 4 US overseas bases hit in 1 hour.

it be incredible if they start hitting the US fleet in the Persian Gulf. Like fucking Kevin Keegan gif time.

Iranian missiles are being intersected and dropped on Jordanians.
This is a home in Irbid, north Jordan. https://t.co/OChLdS0lqD

— Dr Rahmeh Aladwan (@doctor_rahmeh) February 28, 2026

A direct strike on a girls’ elementary school in Hormozgan Province in Iran by Israel, resulting in the deaths of five students so far.
They love bombing schools and killing children, that’s all they ever do.

— Omar Hamad | عُـمَـرْ 𓂆 (@OmarHamadD) February 28, 2026

fucking evil scumbags

The Epstein regime has murdered 24 girls at their elementary school in Minab city. pic.twitter.com/oYg4Fm3MVq

— Seyed Mohammad Marandi (@s_m_marandi) February 28, 2026

this is operation "Epic Fury" ? smh

Just woke up and read that as “Epic Furry”

Eric Fury, Tyson's grandad.

more like Epstein Fury

Nailed it.

We are a rogue nation. Whee!

Monstrous. And illegal under the Constitution haha like anyone cares about that.

I have seen footage of some radar infrastructure in the US Navy base in Bahrain getting destroyed by an Iranian drone. It wasn't a very fast drone, so they are not even trying to evade air defences with the faster ones they've got because it looks like there wasn't any functional air defences there at all.

Dubai getting hit is quite big news, not quite a safe tax-dosging haven any more. My brother lives there and I haven't from him for a while!

The Mossad/Unit 8200 installation at Glilot, north of Tel Aviv, has been destroyed.

with all the usual caveats when major shit is happening in real time

pic.twitter.com/dFsrWkOBMg

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) February 28, 2026

Sardar Jabari, advisor to the Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC:

“Trump should understand this clearly: what we launched today were our last-stock missiles. What comes next are systems and weapons he has never seen before.”

The US and Israel are unlikely to win this war, not only because Iran’s response has already proven qualitatively different from previous confrontations, but because their stated strategic objectives are so maximalist that to call this an existential war doesn't do it it justice.…

— Amal Saad (@amalsaad_lb) February 28, 2026

the dramatic overreach here of demanding the complete capitulation of Iran is hopefully going to give the US more than just a bloody nose, they need to be taught a lesson and they need to be humiliated.

Hopefully Iran don't keep it up for long enough that we end up with a meatgrinder scenario depriving us of the fragile peace we learn for.

yearn for*

That Amal Salad post in full.

The US and Israel are unlikely to win this war, not only because Iran’s response has already proven qualitatively different from previous confrontations, but because their stated strategic objectives are so maximalist that to call this an existential war doesn't do it it justice. What they have launched is a state-annihilating campaign, and that ambition sets a strategic bar too high to conceivably achieve.
Trump has openly called for regime change and the complete demilitarization of Iran, not merely the dismantling of its nuclear program, but the elimination of its missile program, that is, its defensive capabilities. Israeli officials, meanwhile, are declaring that
"We are attacking the entire Iranian political and military leadership — past, present and future". This type of language suggests that what they are demanding even transcends surrender within a new Epstein-genocidal order, whereby Iran could continue to exist as a state. What they are calling for isn't just for Iran to stop being an Islamic revolutionary republic, but for Iran to stop being a state altogether and, by denying it the capability to defend itself, to ever reconstitute itself as a state in the future.
Iran today is not just asserting its right to defend itself, or even its right to defend Palestine and sustain the resistance project as a whole, but the right of all states and peoples to control their territories and freely determine their destinies.

We will see..

*Saad lol autocorrect

luckily for the rest of the world the US capacity for waging war is not matched by their war production capacity. Apparently they haven't even restocked what was burnt up in the last Israel/Iran war.

"Epstein-genocidal"?

that's an appropriate moniker for the US and this fellow is a respected scholar

or as the Columbian prez put it " a clan of paedophiles"

Begun, the Epstein War has

that's what everyone is calling it, I hear

I'm going to get some live war reportage from my brother in Dubai later. if he hasn't been blown to smithereens!

Seeing on x contradictory reports on a girls Iranian elementary school being mistakenly hit either by the Israelis or by Iran itself via a faulty missile

NY Times says US and Israel are trying to take out Iranian leaders and middle launchers now. Earlier NY Times article said Iran has set up a long list of administrative leaders to take over in succession in case they are attacked

NY Times was also reporting that Israel hasn’t restocked from the last go-round

NY Times is a garbage source when the host country is doing war crimes is all I'm saying

what are the best sources?

Iranian people (some ex-pats some still living there) various people with middle east reporting pedigree that isn't all pro-western shit on twitter idk anything but US fucking legacy media

I saw that the Reuters story relied on and quoted NY Times. I get your point . I also looking at random stuff on x and Bluesky as well while taking into account that all these sources may have their own agenda

Screenshots shared with WIRED Middle East show messages urging Iranian military personnel to surrender their weapons with the promise of amnesty. It also urged army personnel to join “the forces of liberation” and to “defend your brothers”

Wired Magazine on Bluesky

so 51 schoolgirls killed by a US/Israel strike and you choose to believe or amplify some dubious report that it was a friendly fire accident? Even if it was, the blood is still on the hands of US/Israel, they still committed the war crime. I don't see the relevance of the reportage other than just muddying noise.

But have you considered that those were actually 51 human shields

63 human shields now :(

UK, Germany and France all acting like good vassals and condemning Iran for their strikes against an unprovoked attack. There is no international law post-Gaza, I accept this. It doesn't make it any more palatable, these leaders deserve nothing but contempt.

I agree with you . Sorry for my phrasing. I just think it’s good to be aware of the dubious spin put out there by some . I agree that US and Israel started this war and are responsible for the horrific deaths at the school.

I see that something called Break Through News is sharing on Instagram that it was a US/ Israel middle that hit the school.

They are also reporting on Iran missle launches now against US bases in the area

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVTnf8AE1Kf/?igsh=eHU0bmtzNjF1N2Rt

yeah sorry if I was bit arsey about it, no hard feelings curmudgeon

what are the best sources?

― henry s, Saturday, 28 February 2026 bookmarkflaglink

A twitter account like this one will do a fairly good job aggregating info.

WEEKS AGO. These negotiations were always set up to fail but the level of how much these were a sham and a con job is staggering. https://t.co/viskl0y2RS

— Séamus Malekafzali (@Seamus_Malek) February 28, 2026

yeah drop site has been excellent for Iran reportage as well

Another process critique, no call to stop the latest US and Israeli slaughter. https://t.co/30MuzateMG

— Nima Shirazi (@WideAsleepNima) February 28, 2026

per Al-Jazeera there was apparently a second school hit as well, though far less deadly

there has been footage of strikes in Haifa and Tel Aviv but apparently there is a police state social media blackout in Israel and they don't want any videos of them being hit going out. So much for the bastion of democracy and freedom in the Middle East.

in the footage of Bahrain US base being hit you can hear the people filming it loudly cheering, also there was a report that the Bahrain fire department refused to attend to the burning base.

From a locked twitter acc I follow:

If there's anything we know about Trump it's that he prefers high intensity but short duration military engagements, "decisive" shows of force that he and everyone else can forget about a few weeks later. Not entirely sure if this is that yet but it has followed the script so far

The problem with even that framing is that he hasn't left himself an out. The bunker-buster bomb was a one-off, you drop the bomb and (allegedly) bust the bunker. Here he's calling for the destruction of the military and the overthrow of the government. Where's the point in that where you say "We've done enough here" and go home? I'm not saying it won't happen, it definitely is his pattern, and he seems to have ruled out a ground invasion. "The bombing will continue until the approval rating goes up"? Or until it goes down too much?

then he gets to use the nukes he loves so much

(remember all the times in the first term he wanted to use nukes to solve some problem, I doubt that has changed and there’s no one left in this administration who isn’t a lunatic)

famously in order to win a war you need to have someone to surrender to

i mean who can surrender to you YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN

He is not wrong.

CHINA:

"The US is a war addict. Throughout its over 240-year history, it has been at war for all but 16 years.

The US has 800 overseas military bases in over 80 countries and regions.

The US is the main cause of international disorder, global turbulence, and regional… pic.twitter.com/0iwS8mqds0

— China pulse 🇨🇳 (@Eng_china5) February 28, 2026

^ a perfect example of where the 100% truth is the best possible propaganda.

Israel saying Khameini is dead.

like Venezuela, do they think there will just be a smooth transition to liberal, multi-party democracy? Or are they fine with a new Shah, a return to monarchy?

this won't be smooth

I mean... he told the Norwegians: you didn't give me the peace prize, so I don't feel so peaceful anymore. He literally said something like that

another pointless decapitation raid, just like Maduro in Venezuela or that drug kingpin in Mexico, or to reach back a bit further, Ghadaffi in Libya. if Khameini is dead it still won't improve anything, only kill thousands and make things worse

Al Jazeera-

Israel closes crossings into Gaza Strip, including Rafah
The Israeli agency tasked with coordinating government activities in Palestinian territories says that among the measures taken in the wake of Israel’s attacks on Iran is “the closure of the crossings into the Gaza Strip, among them the Rafah Crossing, until further notice”.

“The rotation of humanitarian personnel is postponed at this stage”, it said, claiming that the closure of borders will have “no effect” on the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

The number of aid trucks that have entered the Gaza Strip since the so-called “ceasefire” went into effect in October is far below the amount expected, and thousands of Palestinians are urgently awaiting medical evacuation from Gaza for treatment abroad.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2026/2/28/live-israel-launches-attacks-on-iran-multiple-explosions-heard-in-tehran?update=4348259

just weeks after the united states captures maduro in venezuela and then offers up only one coherent reason for doing so - to take control of their oil reserves - they assasinate Khamenei in iran, which just so happens to have the world’s third largest oil reserves

haven’t seen khameni’s death reported anywhere

^ah sorry, i see that reuters is reporting that israeli officials have confirmed it, but no others

pretty sure even if there isa “decapitation” Iran still has a functioning state apparatus to keep on going and appoint a new leader. Different from a personality-based dictatorship like Libya or Iraq with no clear lime of succession or continuity. Numerous US presidents have been assassinated but it didn’t collapse the state, the Vice President just became president.

https://i.ibb.co/jPLFGnGy/Screenshot-2026-02-28-at-1-21-02-PM.png

not to say it isn’t true, and I’m sure that was the mission’s objective so I wouldn’t be surprised if he were dead

According to CNN's web site:

Israel has confirmed that Iran’s supreme leader was killed in strikes on Saturday, according to two Israeli sources familiar with the matter.

One of the sources said Israel had obtained a photo of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s dead body. The second source said an official announcement is being prepared.

Earlier in the evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there are many signs that Khamenei is “no longer with us.”

Meanwhile, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said that Iran’s president and Supreme Leader are “safe and sound.” But Khamenei has not been seen in public or in videos since the strikes began.

i keep looking at the strike on babylon, in iraq, the only strike not inside iran. is there any way to interpret it other than a symbolic strike? with the message of…?

Boring is otm. a lot of people in the west seem to have decided Iran has dictator vibes without actually looking into it

It doesn’t matter whether Khamenei is dead or not. What matters is how insane it is to live in an era where one country can assassinate the heads of other states with total international impunity. The fact that this precedent is now fully normalized is fucking nuts.

— kev joon (@never_oppressed) February 28, 2026

just talking to my brother in Dubai. Beep warning over phone while I was talking to him and his wife freaking out. Stay away from windows warning going out etc. He sent me vids of todays shahed hits from where he was when they happened. Shit deffo got slightly real in Dubai today. He told me he isn't even slightly worried.

According to CNN's web site:

cheers aimless, easily ignorable bullshit by dint of poster and source

Discussion of post-Khamenei succession from last year: https://www.npr.org/2025/07/09/nx-s1-5452287/who-will-lead-iran-once-the-86-year-old-supreme-leader-is-gone

Bottom line is that Iran has spent a lot of time thinking about/preparing for it. As you'd expect, since he is/was 86.

Israel: Sorek desalination plant has been reportedly destroyed by a massive volley of Iranian missiles. Sorek desalination plant is the most massive SWRO plant on the entire planet.

this would be much bigger than assassinating a head of state leadership figure, this would be going into chat shit and really get banged territory.

damn

shit's gettin real, yeah

xps to calz I saw one Dubai drone strike video and it looked pretty intense

This is such a crazy line of questioning.

❓NBC News to Iran’s FM:
“Sir, how can attacking U.S. military bases abroad be justified?”

💬 FM Araghchi:
Because they are attacking us. These US military installations, facilities, bases are being used to attack us. We are under attack. Why don’t you, you know, recognize… pic.twitter.com/aZZNHd8vay

— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) February 28, 2026

Elite levels of brain brokenness

xxp

My brother was there and took a phonecam pic of one of them getting taken out by air defences and then shared an impact vid that he says that was just for him and his expat pals - so don't share it on social media because it could get them into trouble. But it looked like a very fucking remarkably big explosion

yeah I saw it on Bluesky, it hit a big tower building and took out multiple rooms on at least one floor

meanwhile

‪Al Jazeera English‬
✧@aljaze✧✧✧.c✧✧‬
· 7m
Iran's Tasnim and Mehr news agencies report that Khamenei remains 'steadfast and firm in commanding the field'

Dubai footage https://bsky.app/profile/newseye.bsky.social/post/3mfwqfyiajs2u

It is believed that this is the Grand Air Hotel in Bahrain that has been targeted. It is known for frequently hosting senior US military officers because of its location close to the US Fifth Fleet headquarters

oops my bad, Bahrain not Dubai, sorry

yes I saw that one in Bahrain, shahed strike on upper residential block. Don't enlist in fascist imperialist armies, lads

these fucking people behind this despicable action are that intellectually and morally degenerate now, I'm surprised there any apologists left. But yes there is plenty of them still

The plant supplies like 80% of clean water to households in Israel

oh yeah that really is a massive blow

let me get this straight, is depriving civilians of water bad now?

probably need a human rights lawyer here to parse this out

I think the desalination plant strike thing is false. Can't find any credible sources reporting it.

might be who knows, no such thing as "credible sources" during a war - especially an illegal one. And the social media blackout in Israel makes the Chinese wall look amateur.

Talking of salt, large pinches of it are in order over most of what's being reported.

"The first casualty of war is the truth."

Ironically, the origin of this supposed quote is heavily disputed.

the guy widely attributed to that quote was an Mi6 spook, an anti-leftist imperialist grass who was a disgusting human being tbh

Trying to remember how this went in Libya.... Anybody know?

or Syria

any pos arguments here are morally void and straight from satan

as far as i can tell, while iranian leadership are certainly cruel dictators, their military response to the US is within the rules of the UN charter, and the US's actions are not

The UN as a moral arbiter at this point is so fucking meaningless

Libya or Syria is the positive meek neighbouring state model to blessed Israel. A very normal genocide nation state we all are legally obliged to support, otherwise we get called antisemitic

the guy widely attributed to that quote was an Mi6 spook, an anti-leftist imperialist grass who was a disgusting human being tbh

From here - https://quoteinvestigator.com/2020/04/11/casualty/

The earliest close match known to QI appeared in “The San Diego Union” newspaper of California in July 1915 within an article about a speech delivered by Ethel Annakin who was the wife of the British politician Philip Snowden:

“Someone has said that ‘truth is the first casualty of warfare,’” she continued, “and this has been proved by the appalling misconceptions that have been spread broadcast since the war began.”

Never forget

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7s5pT3Rris

U.S. military servicemen film a Patriot air defense system failing to intercept an Iranian missile over Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. pic.twitter.com/VvXCWC1Q6d

— ayden (@squatsons) February 28, 2026

I'm no great military tech understander but 3 of these highly expensive things being launched to stop one thing and completely failing at this task seems highly inefficient

You say that, but you don’t make Patriot missiles for a living.

heh!

i always imagine these things as the atari game missile command except not working

But don't worry, we can totally shoot down ICBMs which move way faster. Definitely gotta keep paying for that

might be who knows, no such thing as "credible sources" during a war - especially an illegal one. And the social media blackout in Israel makes the Chinese wall look amateur.

― calzino, Saturday, February 28, 2026 4:03 PM (three hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Talking of salt, large pinches of it are in order over most of what's being reported.

― Schlub 7 (Tom D.), Saturday, February 28, 2026 4:04 PM (three hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

i know most people still roll their eyes at this idea, but also this is a war being fought during the ai-bullshit-fake era. there is going to be a lot of false information, and creating fake video/audio is very easy now and demonstrably fools enough people to be a major problem. saying this for myself, as well, i’m as susceptible as anyone to it, but we should be particularly attentive to what is verifiable and not just want to be the first person to share something new

it's unbelievable to me that trumpites are really going with the line that these attacks are going to allow "democracy" to take root in iran. after everything that has happened in the middle east since 2003, they still think this will sound plausible.

Just wrote the same thing to my friend.

I know MAGA aren't good at history but this isn't exactly far back

why did they even want to do it prob just getting dog walked by israel saudi various american freaks whove wanted to do it forever

yup, was just thinking that - this admin is really easily manipulated, from Putin to Bibi to even Mamdani, they know what strings to pull.

bits of news leaking out pointing towards it indeed being a bibi joint

america doesnt seem to have a plan past bombing the hell out of the country then hoping something good happens but i bet israel has a plan

they both just hope that bombing iran enough will completely collapse the state & lead to a civil war over the rubble. t

Uh I think blaming it on bibi is too narrow. The ideas represented by him etc etc, ok

But this is a confluence of many things

I am anxious (literally, not in any sort of good way) about what the response will be in the next few days

yeah Iran doesn't seem to be taking this lightly

israel has wanted this for a long time, so have significant parts of the us military establishment

Also the majority of Democrats in Congress and all but maybe four Republicans.

anyone else remember the 1979 Mickey Mouse tshirt?

also, Iran is in group G with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand in the 2026 FIFA soccer/football world cup, with first round matches in LA and Seattle.

well that's embarrassing

Democrats be like "if only he filled out the paperwork and followed process"

My statement on President Trump's decision to strike Iran. pic.twitter.com/11X7V3rnHA

— Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) February 28, 2026

Iranian state TV says Khamenei was killed in the Israeli bombing of his official residence in the opening salvo of the war this morning. He was not in any secure bunker, of the kind he was taken to after the start of the last war in June.

— Séamus Malekafzali (@Seamus_Malek) March 1, 2026

The death toll at the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ primary school in Minab has risen to 148 dead and 95 wounded, Iranian state media reported.

Most of those killed were between the ages of 7 and 12.

US to be no more sooner than you think.

Khamenei had led Iran, either as president or as Supreme Leader, since 1981.

This is the first time, to my knowledge, that any sovereign leader has been killed in a direct military attack by another state since 1979, when the Soviets killed Afghan leader Hafizullah Amin.

— Séamus Malekafzali (@Seamus_Malek) March 1, 2026

Here's hoping

“You can oppose imperialist attacks on Iran AND condemn the theocratic regime”. Well, of course, you can. You can do all kinds of stupid, embarrassing things that will make a sensible person think less of you, it doesn’t mean you should.

— Tom Gann (@Tom_Gann) March 1, 2026

I'd guess that Tom is subtweeting to the weapons grade fucking prick and faux-left arsewipe Owen Jones here.

Apocalyptic scenes leaking from Tel Aviv even though massive censorship is underwaypic.twitter.com/IWDp9H1W4s

— Furkan Gözükara (@FurkanGozukara) February 28, 2026

Things are getting ugly in Pakistan after US soldiers opened fire on civilians, Pakistanis are now demanding from the govt to;

1. Expel the US Consulate
2. Arrest and prosecution of American soldiers who opened fire with death penalty.
3. Expel the whole embassy staff

10 casualties outside the US embassy in Pakistan, and apparently these casualties occurred outside the embassy rather than people who'd broken through the security perimeter.

NEW:

🇺🇸🇮🇷🇰🇼🇨🇳 Satellite imagery released by China shows that Ali Al-Salem Airbase in Kuwait is totally destroyed pic.twitter.com/lRk1DfNAYA

— Megatron (@Megatron_ron) March 1, 2026

good work, keep it up.

BREAKING: Israel Just Targeted The Iranian Red Crescent Headquarters In Tehran

A clear direct assault on medical workers.

More attacks on civilian targets. Which indicates weakness as well as immorality.

these ghouls are so addicted to bombing schools and hospitals

They get away with it so why should they stop?

israel has wanted this for a long time, so have significant parts of the us military establishment

― ufo, Sunday, March 1, 2026 12:19 AM (seven hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Also the majority of Democrats in Congress and all but maybe four Republicans.

― Lady Sovereign (Citizen) (milo z), Sunday, March 1, 2026 12:27 AM (seven hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

israel only one at the table out of these parties, obvs mostly idle speculation at this point and im sure "its more nuanced" but on the other hand this does just seem very aligned with the israeli project

it is interesting to ponder how in this government of podcasters is the traditional influence of american foreign policy ghouls operating are they out of the loop are they still around whispering in ears is anyone listening, these operations in iran and venezuela dont really seem like the work the usual guys with phds, does bear the hallmarks of the the impulsive foolish trump crew tho

They're slowing dying on MSNOW green room sofas.

pray 4 ghouls

def interesting to watch the media do their standard credulous fawning war coverage for an action currently polling at 20%, the falcon and the falconer need to start talking again

War is a force that gives us meaning, or at least clicks

the beauty of missiles in flight and so forth

"My body hurts just thinkin' about it" -- Madonna

Not long ago, Pakistan nominated Trump for a Nobel prize & granted its highest military award to Israel’s favourite U.S. military general. Today, U.S. marines killed 9 Pakistanis inside Pakistan. No level of boot-licking will protect you from an empire that only respects power

— Fiza (@fizakkhann) March 1, 2026

Iran fired so many missiles that US interceptor stocks could run dry within days. Each THAAD costs $15M. We're using them faster than Lockheed can build them. Iran has thousands more missiles and drones in reserve.

I was listening to a podcast last week that suggested that this scenario was very likely.

IRGC are claiming to have hit USS Abraham Lincoln with 4 ballistic missiles

well damn

good luck usa

what's to stop Russia taking out Zelenski now?

these days anybody can get taken out it seems

Or Pakistan taking out Modi. It's party time.

Someone on Al Jazeera was saying that Iran seems to be trying to exhaust Israel’s missile defenses by sending just one or two rockets every hour or so. Thereby draining the interceptor reserve and causing people to run to shelters over and over.

Saudi and Iraq are discussing trying to force the Strait of Hormuz open. This could quickly spiral into a massive regional war in the Middle East. It’s not clear that anyone has control over the situation anymore. 🇮🇶🇸🇦🇮🇷 https://t.co/U2jfigzKuV

— Philip Pilkington (@philippilk) March 1, 2026

whatre they talking about force it open no ships are going to sail through there if theres a country threatening to fire missiles at them

perhaps they just fancy a bit of war. The tankers would be impossible to insure and would likely get blown up!

“You can oppose imperialist attacks on Iran AND condemn the theocratic regime”. Well, of course, you can. You can do all kinds of stupid, embarrassing things that will make a sensible person think less of you, it doesn’t mean you should.

Can somebody explain this perspective? I don't know who Owen Jones is, or Tom Gann for that matter

this next round of inflation’s going to be sweet af

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman made multiple private phone calls to Trump over the past month advocating a U.S. attack, despite his public support for a diplomatic solution, the four people said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, continued his long-running public campaign for U.S. strikes against what he views as an existential enemy of his country.

From Washington Post

xxp

just the need for cowards to condemn Iran when attacking the US illegal warmongering it is completely unnecessary. If you take an anti-imperialist position lots of fucking poltroons will call you a friend of Putin or whatever despot. It's just kowtowing to these cunts in advance because you lack any principles or a backbone.

I was born in 1973 but was too young to remember 1973 levels of inflation!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/02/28/trump-iran-decision-saudi-arabia-israel/

very brave of Netanyahu to scuttle off to Germany while Tel Aviv is getting bombed to rubble.

Iran fired so many missiles that US interceptor stocks could run dry within days. Each THAAD costs $15M. We're using them faster than Lockheed can build them. Iran has thousands more missiles and drones in reserve.

Source? I wanna share this information. Thanks.

just the need for cowards to condemn Iran when attacking the US illegal warmongering it is completely unnecessary

Is it? I get that illegal warmongering is bad , but are you saying that we need to pretend that the Iranian government didn’t just brutally kill thousands of its own people who were protesting a little while ago? And I am not justifying the warmongering.

just the need for cowards to condemn Iran when attacking the US illegal warmongering it is completely unnecessary

Is it? I get that illegal warmongering is bad , but are you saying that we need to pretend that the Iranian government didn’t just brutally kill thousands of its own people who were protesting a little while ago? And I am not justifying the warmongering.

I thought about that position yesterday morning, curmudgeon, and I concluded that there's no reason to even cede the point to the war dogs. We have a legally elected American president brutalizing his own citizens, after all.

this one Alf

Iran fired so many missiles that US interceptor stocks could run dry within days. Each THAAD costs $15M. We're using them faster than Lockheed can build them. Iran has thousands more missles and drones in reserve.https://t.co/SJgfA7kgCB

— gCaptain (@gCaptain) February 28, 2026

this was quote-tweeted by economist and author Phillip Pilkington (who is not very left-wing at all I might add!)

anyway Curmudgeon I'm not going to answer you because I'll just end up being very fucking rude to you and you don't seem like a terrible person.

thanks, calz

the US production rate of THAAD interceptors production is 36 a year I read earlier.

excuse my fucking dyslexic double wording!

oh that account Alf, is an ex merchant marine/ship's captain who seems to know his onions, not a bs account.

Sweet onions are the best imo

first official reports of american casualties rolling in

They knew all the Middle East bases would get murked. If there are casualties where they weren't in bunkers or taking reasonable precautions then they've just been wilfully sacrificed for nothing.

But can we trust these figures coming from the Likud-run health ministry? https://t.co/xBmgUuT0mI

— Hamza Yusuf (@Hamza_a96) March 1, 2026

The reason nobody needs to do throat-clearing about “of course the Iranian regime is bad” is that OF COURSE the Iranian regime is bad. I have personally thought the Iranian regime is bad for all of my politically-aware life, and hardly feel the need to restate an obvious truth in order to say the United States regime is bad and should not be waging a dumb and destructive war.

Very reminiscent of the invasion of Iraq, when people protesting and pointing out all the reasons it was a bad idea were accused of being Saddam apologists. It’s just bad-faith rhetoric that deserves no gesture of agreement.

Now, Iranian semi-state media is confirming that former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been killed in the Israeli-American strikes on Iran. pic.twitter.com/zWiSVCH9uZ

— Ali Hashem علي هاشم (@Alihashem) March 1, 2026

killed for posts rip

Unfortunately the US media is so in the tank that politicians know that they will face weeks of “Why do you love the Ayatollah?” questions if they don’t condemn the regime.

Wow

Pure spite. Ahmadinejad's not been relevant in, what, 15 years?

haa

Luke Smith Morgan slukemorgan.bsky.social‬

Incredible. Kalshi is not paying out "Khamenei out of power by date" contracts because he died.

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:wzomutdimrovy4zhc2cjvyd3/bafkreiblzghb7lfox2asho4dmzxss5qlb3oebshnvt3l64cfqxultjtrka@jpeg

https://bsky.app/profile/slukemorgan.bsky.social/post/3mfyzrihup22u

Pure spite. Ahmadinejad's not been relevant in, what, 15 years?

― The Luda of Suburbia (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 1 March 2026 bookmarkflaglink

Probably far down the list, but this is about erasing any possible replacements.

Iran’s IRGC claims to have struck USS Abraham Lincoln with ballistic missiles. LIE.

CENTCOM confirms that the missiles were launched but missed then target and Abraham Lincoln managed to dodge 4 bullets!

there were reports yesterday of Iranian opposition figures been targeted. Clear out anybody who cares about the future of their country.

suspect they also have people theyre going to try to put in charge via spy stuff

As a bit of this tweet put it.

"Axios quoted a “senior Israeli official” as stating: “The goal is to create all the conditions for the downfall of the Iranian regime. We are targeting the entire Iranian leadership – political and military – past, present, and future.” That’s state collapse, not regime change. I suspect that is not a goal shared at present by Washington, but also one it will increasingly pursue on Israel’s behalf as the war expands."

LINDSEY GRAHAM: Our goal is to make sure Iran cannot become again the largest state sponsor of terrorism.

WELKER: Does the the president have a plan to guarantee that happens?

GRAHAM: No. It's not his job.

weird line for them all to be taking its a bit rich

It's Netanyahu's job.

prob true tbf

JUST IN: Iran is currently destroying the American base in Qatar with a huge number of missiles.

This is the base that housed CENTCOM HQ. pic.twitter.com/ekhyjnqVdg

— Korobochka (コロボ) 🇦🇺✝️ (@cirnosad) March 1, 2026

this appears to be a fresh attack on the US Qatar base.

if america-israel cant get their guy in it all just seems like a recipe for the military to take over

ignore that last one it's bullshit

"BREAKING: Israeli officials say after Iran, Turkey is now seen as the next major threat to their existence."

good to see the belligerents really put the work in to build a coalition of the willing before setting the entire middle east on fire

Fill up your car - and maybe a few trash cans - because gasoline shortages are coming. Then inflation. Then high interest rates. Then a financial crisis. Then… a depression?

It has felt like living through a depression since 2008. Perhaps now we can see what a real one is like. This will probably hurt Europe more than the US. Wouldn't an insane petrol spike be good for the US?

Donald Trump told Fox News on Sunday that 48 leaders have been killed in US and Israeli strikes on Iran.

“It’s moving along. It’s moving along rapidly. This has been this way for 47 years,” he is quoted as saying in an interview with Fox News. “It’s moving along rapidly. Nobody can believe the success we’re having, 48 leaders are gone in one shot. And it’s moving along rapidly.”

Trump also told CNBC’s Joe Kernen that US military operations in Iran are “ahead of schedule.”

This lie sounds like a potential off ramp here. We'll see..

if ever statement summed up the "This is fine" burning house meme!

it has been widely posted that Iran are flatly refusing an offramp. God knows.

the country’s new leadership?

One day after launching strikes on Iran that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and embroiled the region in war, President Trump told me this morning that the country’s new leadership wants to talk with him and that he plans to do so.

“They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them. They should have done it sooner. They should have given what was very practical and easy to do sooner. They waited too long,” Trump told me in a phone call from his Mar-a-Lago club shortly before 9:30 a.m.

https://www.theatlantic.com/national-security/2026/03/trump-iran-attack-negotiations/686201/?gift=nHf7iWmpOKBdlkwz68mfUJqztpZBoSFVb4MKQxlCiDg

https://i.ibb.co/bMM2tsmW/omar.png

haaaa just saw that on bsky, tyvm

it has been widely posted that Iran are flatly refusing an offramp. God knows.

― calzino, Sunday, 1 March 2026 bookmarkflaglink

Perhaps..

Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi:

What happened in Oman was not our choice.

We have already told our Armed Forces to be careful about the targets they choose.

Our military units are now, in fact, independent and somewhat isolated, and they are acting based on general instructions given to them in advance

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HCVuupSWoAAZo-C?format=jpg&name=900x900

my brother took this pic in Dubai yesterday. Going to be some very nervous western rich folks there.

they should target the usa in the world map archipelago

heavy strikes reported in Tehran

we’re gonna install the Shah Jr. aren’t we?

Also, loving how this is day 2 and already at Iraq-war 2006 levels of unpopularity good job guys

‪Al Jazeera English‬
✧@aljaze✧✧✧.c✧✧‬
· 2m
Iranian missile strike on Israel’s Beit Shemesh kills nine people

Zoroastrianism is the natural religion of Persia. Islam was imposed upon it by outsiders. A return to the religion of the Parsis, and an encouragement of the return of the Parsi diaspora is the way forward.

What?

Well, why not?

Round up all those Muslims and put them in re-education camps.

Well, why not?

― Grandpont Genie, Sunday, 1 March 2026 bookmarkflaglink

The British when they partitioned India.

lol wtf GG!

Yes apparently Islam is the problem.

iranians can have a little sacred fire as a treat

It's worked so well in Israel.

we’re gonna install the Shah Jr. aren’t we?

Kinda don’t think “we” are going to be installing anyone.

So crazy for the guy who literally cut short ongoing negotiations to start a war is like, “They should have been willing to talk sooner.”

it is all the way crazy

Zoroastrianism has no centralised dogma, which makes it superior to all three Abrahamic religions, which have imposed all kinds of misery on the populations of countless nations over many centuries. Rather than a focus on an absolute submission to a deity, it presents a cosmic struggle between truth and falsehood, placing humans in an active struggle to create a just world. What's not to like?

feel like we could compromise at one of the minor abrahamic religions bahai faith perhaps, mormonism

what if iran went full druze

Maybe the US can airdrop some Zoroastrian Chick tracts and see if it takes hold.

i want a sky burial

def the way to go

its called a nowtv burial these days

What Reza Pahlavi is attempting to do—by declaring himself Iran's "transitional leader"—is dangerous and will only destabilize the situation further.

Pahlavi has next to no support inside the country, as he is literally the son of the man who was overthrown by the Iranian people…

— Rudy W. Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) March 1, 2026

Rudy Giuliani hasn't got much time for the phoney shah. Which seems kind of surprising.

ok who got ahold of Rudy’s account

guess thats not trumps guy then

What happened to the shah -- his installation and his ouster -- is one of those historical points never, ever mentioned in American media because it would expose the sadism of our covert ops going back to Ike's time.

Iraqi drones are now striking targets inside Jordan, and blasts have been reported across the UAE including Dubai, with parallel detonations hitting Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait.

was reading this and thought maybe "Iraqi" was a typo or is it just that there are pro-Iranian militias in Iraq? God knows. There is such a lot to take in.

Hundreds of people have gathered in the city centre of Glasgow, dancing to music and chanting in celebration after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on Saturday

the only two words I want to use to describe these people are "idiots" and "scumbags".

Jane Fonda calls for regime change in the US at Hands Off Iran rally at LA City Hall

old gal still got it

ha get em

BREAKING: CNN claims the UAE & Saudi Arabia had asked Iran to designate a spot in the Iranian desert to bomb and declare it as a response to Iran’s attacks—which Iran reportedly rejected.

quite hilarious, if true

Hebrew Channel 14:
The Israeli Cabinet is discussing tonight the expansion of the war to new arenas.

Iran has been fighting alone so far. Hezbollah Iraq, Hezbollah Lebanon and the Houthis haven't fired a single missile or drone yet. Which means Iran still holds grade-A escelatory cards.

two possible strands here, the actors who haven't got involved yet and Israel doing everything they can to sabotage any offramps and extend the war against other actors. it seems insane like.

Al Jazeera English aljazeera.com‬

Footage from near the Strait of Hormuz shows a Palau-flagged oil tanker ablaze after what Oman’s maritime security centre said was a hit from an unidentified projectile.

At least three ships have been struck in the area. More than 150 others have dropped anchor to avoid entering the strait.

https://bsky.app/profile/aljazeera.com/post/3mfzdohhwc22l

dropping anchor? I'd be doing a hard reverse!

you know what they say about turning ships around

Iranian drone strike hit an ammunition warehouse at a U.S. base in Erbil, in Iraq.

Secondary explosions and a large fire were observed at the scene. pic.twitter.com/dFufLxejc4

— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 1, 2026

4th of July tribute in Iraq

The yanks are lying about Iran not striking the USS Abraham Lincoln

How do we know? Because they lied about it when Yemen hit the USS Eisenhower. I remember covering this. The captain had posted an old video of the deck, trying to pass it off as recent footage & hide the damage.

— Richard Medhurst (@richimedhurst) March 1, 2026

very interesting take here. Iran claimed the runway of USS Abraham Lincoln was damaged so pilots had to emergency land in Oman and they told Oman you hand those prisoners of war back to the US then you will get banged.

there was an account of lots of USS Einsenhower crew suffering from PTSD and needing counselling because it was the first time they ever experienced being shot at as US military personnel.

poor babies

afaics the June war inflated Trump's hubris to the size of a Macy's parade balloon. there is no apparent plan on the US side apart from "we'll hit them hard, they will make another symbolic response, and everyone's good". Trump has no one who will tell him this was a terrible risk. our intelligence apparatus is under Tulsi Gabbard. the Joint Chiefs may have given him a sober assessment, but he'd never listen to them because as he's said in the past, he believes he knows more than they do.

we already knew we were totally fucked when he won re-election. those chickens have been coming home to roost in numbers that boggle the mind and we all know it will get worse before it gets better. US ilxors should be blowing up every line of communication to their congress people. someone's got to stop this warpig.

It's a good thing congress isn't alive to see this

My congressman I'm afraid does not care what I think about this. He tweeted, "Save me your outrage. Obama bombed 8 countries without Congress approval and Clinton bombed an aspirin factory to cover up his affair." They just dgaf.

Why comply with his request? Give him your outrage anyway.

Yes write him a rude little email. Lol

your insight into US politics knows no limits

it actually makes me sad that you think something like writing a pointless email equates to effective or meaningful action, xyzzz understands US politics much better than you seem to

🇮🇶 US embassy in Baghdad.

Power to the Iraqis. pic.twitter.com/q4tqf26UxM

— Dr Rahmeh Aladwan (@doctor_rahmeh) March 1, 2026

It's seriously looking like US embassy staff in several countries may need get the fuck out of dodge soon

oh I know my congressman personally, we used to poop together. He's very aware of my political views. If he was going to factor me into his equations he would have done so long ago.

you used to poop together?

with poop friends like that who needs Satan?

keep pooping togetherrrrrrrr

united we poop

https://i.ibb.co/4ZRK36Cy/Come-Poop-With-Me.jpg

it actually makes me sad that you think something like writing a pointless email equates to effective or meaningful action

check back with me when you have read what I wrote and understood what the words say rather than what you and xxxyz assume they meant.

"US says 3 service members killed as part of Iran operation"

motherfucker, even Zelensky isn't this shameless with his lying casualties math (oh no actually, he ist tbf)

xp keep begging your Democrats for crumbs

you used to poop together?

We did. The same men's room was closest to each of our offices when he was county mayor, so sometimes we ended up in adjacent stalls. And boy does that guy like to talk on the toilet. Also took phone calls, sometimes played country music on his cell phone.

I’m counting… zero interceptors in this video. Is ammunition already running low? 🇮🇷🇮🇱 https://t.co/kR91Znq1Jr

— Philip Pilkington (@philippilk) March 1, 2026

Some observations and comments on Trump and Israel's war on Iran:

1. Tehran is not looking for a ceasefire and has rejected outreach from Trump. The reason is that they believe they committed a mistake by agreeing to the ceasefire in June - it only enabled the US and Israel to…

— Trita Parsi (@tparsi) March 1, 2026

A mix of voices here, and a lot of pro-Royalist scum

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/01/you-werent-free-iranians-party-in-london-and-manchester-after-strikes-against-regime

xp full thread: https://twitter-thread.com/t/2028191902080876849

I’ve deleted the post about Ahmadinejad. A reliable source close to him told me that three of his bodyguards were killed during the attacks, but his house remained intact and he’s fine. pic.twitter.com/jhgVaMupa8

— Maziar Bahari (@maziarbahari) March 1, 2026

I live in a neighborhood that probably has more persians per capita than anywhere in the world outside of iran and these pahlavist freaks haven’t shut up for 2 days

parachute Reza Pahlavi into the middle of Tehran, see how the hordes flock behind his banner, i think it's worth a shot

oh please bomb the country of my ancestors that I fled, fascist US, because I'm not deranged at all and really do have some legitimate concerns that should be taken very seriously.

Is there a reason we're uncritically posting lots of dubious stuff from twitter?

Cos nobody has bothered to disable embeds despite it being pretty popular with most of us, iirc

you got anything better to post moodles? I can't imagine so tbh

Hey I post stuff from The Guardian too!

xp keep begging your Democrats for crumbs

this technique has a name: characterize and dismiss. your characterization of my idea carries its own dismissal. no one wants to beg for crumbs, therefore trying to influence your congressional representative must be demeaning and foolish. got anything else to add to that?

Moodles just wants this thread to be like the lameass US politics thread. Honestly I'm just to start uncritically tweeting RT, Iran Times, stuff etc just to fuck him off!

Maybe you could stay up without sleeping and posting increasingly conspiratorial stuff relentlessly on here, that’s going really well for you

no actually you just fuck yourself Gyac as well, all you do is attack. I get up early every day. I have been around longer than you and know more about life than you. So I don't really take you seriously as a poster.

Devastating

seriously GO FUCK YOURSELF

Wow, you are a colossal asshole, but please, keep it up

why because when someone attacks me on here I tell them to go fuck themselves? It's the appropriate thread for it tbf.

pro tip: when you tell someone you know more about life than they do, you had better be talking to a child

“Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here. This is the war thread.”

so sorry you consider it an attack to point out that there's been a string of posts shared from an app run by nazis that have ranged from highly questionable to plain false, maybe grow up a little and stop acting like a big crybaby because anyone bothered to question this

xxp

that post was posted in a flash of anger and yes I agree, with a cunt like Aimless for once!

shut the fuck up Moodles, you are just the ultimate boring melt.

I know its a mix of the unverifiable and many of the takes will unravel or be prophetic in the next few days, but there has been perfectly reasonable coverage posted via twitter posts.

Sorry but the thing is still informative.

I don’t mind anger or someone telling me to go fuck myself. I do mind one of my formerly favourite posters going down conspiratorial rabbit holes and this being apparent in a number of threads, and I’m not really sure how one points that out in a nice way (or that it merits it) when the stuff being shared is as poisonous as the stuff in the Ukraine thread. And yes, fuck Twitter embeds.

Msybe it was the dead schoolgirls what swayed him.

UK will allow US to use bases to strike Iranian missile sites, PM says

yes it is. If I was counting on UK legacy media I'd be fucking even more lost right now. There is lots of good scholars, activists, independent journalists on twitter doing a better job than any western state media bullshit.

Calzino I am fine with what you are posting but you are probably gonna be banned for a week if you don't cool with the swearing at posters. Take it from me, I've had a few in my time and it was just me getting into situations in threads like this.

gyac, just go to fucking bed or something jfc. I don't support Zelensky or any other western imperialism. Not exactly a controversial or conspiratorial position amongst much of the left ffs.

nonessential posters advised to flee the thread, further strikes incoming

ban me i don't give a fuck tbh. I 'm starting to think this place is not really a place for me tbh.

Idk anymore needs to be banned here just saying

Idt*

calzino, more people agree with you in this thread than not. I don't understand the attacks. You've also been posting in this thread more than 12 hours, which I've done on other threads and made me a bit barmy after a while.

agreed, as much as I wish things wouldn’t get heated at times— i have definitely been in calz’s place obv— i don’t think anyone needs banning at present.

also it’s hard to not be conspiracy-minded when it seems pretty apparent that there are vast conspiracies happening at top layers of government. in a sense i get what gyac and others are saying, but also think that this is the obvious outcome when western media is entirely in the bag for a bunch of fascist pedophile fucks.

well yeah but I'm not going barmy here. i went out for a 2 mile walk earlier. If I post some shite I'll call it as shite as soon as I see it as shite. And maybe sometimes some shite will slip through. But this is a time of war and i have caveated this in some of my posts ffs

I don’t think calzino needs to be banned either. Just wish he’d spend a lot less time in online rabbit holes. That’s all.

just utter condescending garbage gyac

you need to be quite arrogant and lacking in self-awareness to post such bollox. so check yourself here

I think tensions are high because we're all pissed off about this shit and the constant stream of pain my country is inflicting on the globe with impunity.

Indeed, the lead up to the illegal planned invasion of Iraq was preceded by months of political discussion, hearings and congressional resolutions, as well as the aforementioned anti-war demonstrations. The point isn’t that any of that was effective at stopping the war; the point is that it was still considered necessary. Now, the government doesn’t even feel like it needs to come up with an elaborate pretext, phony intelligence, or the theatre of congressional hearings that would lend the war a faint veneer of quasi-democratic legitimacy. Trump just does things. Indeed, his acts of aggressive unilateralism are often marked by surprise, which requires keeping the public in the dark. This means there is no pantomime of democratic buy-in..

https://www.lilyslynch.com/p/the-us-attack-on-iran-and-the-autocratizing

And lol

https://www.semafor.com/article/03/01/2026/riyadh-becomes-transit-hub-for-worried-rich-fleeing-gulf

I texted my brother in Dubai earlier and got no answer yet!

homemade video of a missile flying by and hitting off in the distance in jerusalem, these weapons are terrifying

https://bsky.app/profile/aliahmadi.bsky.social/post/3mfzpyg267s2p

these weapons are terrifying

yes they are
jfc

it really is the worst timeline

it really is

Hezbollah claims responsibility for launches as Israel begins striking group

Lebanon’s Hezbollah has just claimed responsibility for the projectiles launched from Lebanon to Israel.

The militant group said it launched missiles and drones towards Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, news agencies are reporting.

Israel’s military just said it had begun striking Hezbollah across Lebanon.

sorry, that was a guardian link, to one of those non-stop updating live update threads, hard to link to
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/mar/01/us-israel-war-on-iran-ayatollah-ali-khamenei-i-dead-latest-reports

btw, what are you all using to follow this? i do not have the money to pay for any subscription right now, and live streaming networks sucks, and twitter sucks, and i don’t want to be on bluesky or really any social network to follow news.

what do you all use?

bluesky

1h ago
19.47 EST
More now on the Israeli military saying projectiles fired from Lebanon had triggered air raid sirens in northern Israel – it also said it had had intercepted one of them.

“Following the sirens that sounded in several areas in northern Israel, a projectile that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory was intercepted by the Israeli Air Force, and several projectiles fell in open areas,” the Israeli military posted on Telegram on Monday, cited by the AFP news agency.

Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said on Sunday it had a “duty” to support its backer Iran after Israeli and US strikes.

But the group has not confirmed action since the US and Israel began attacks on Saturday, killing Iran’s supreme leader and sparking a wave of retaliatory drone and missile strikes.

Hezbollah has been weakened from conflict with Israel, which it entered to support Hamas after the Palestinian militant group’s deadly attack on Israel in October 2023 and the subsequent war in the Gaza strip.

Israel and Hezbollah signed a ceasefire agreement in November 2024, although Israel has continued to strike targets it says are linked to the Lebanese group.

Hezbollah did not intervene during a 12-day war between Israel and Iran last June.

lagoon would you please send me a few of your fave bluesky people to follow on this (or anything?) i’m down to use bluesky on a kind of minimal level and just follow a few people rather than trying to keep up with everything

i’m @zachtbd.bsky.social on there i think. sorry to be such a newb but thank you

i dont really follow anyone whos an iran experts but here ill scroll through my feed and dig up some people i like who are prob posting about it

https://bsky.app/profile/privatechand.bsky.social

https://bsky.app/profile/olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social

https://bsky.app/profile/davidkaib.bsky.social

https://bsky.app/profile/patblanchfield.bsky.social

https://bsky.app/profile/slclunk.com

btw, what are you all using to follow this?

This thread. So far it's been informative AND entertaining :D

hate it when that happens

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:5o6k7jvowuyaquloafzn3cfw/bafkreifjdkhmn34zfs4xoz5lohjnbuwgbxzrknjv625mh22glkpgtfat5i@jpeg

OK, let’s do this again but this time make it the Republican primary

xp thanking u lagoon

np

ah very interesting

Netanyahu says Trump fulfilled his dreams: In bombing Iran, Israel now has the "assistance of the United States, my friend, US President Donald Trump, and the US military. This coalition of forces allows us to do what I have yearned to do for 40 years"

https://bsky.app/profile/johnphudson.bsky.social/post/3mfz73fdzqh22

they obviously have no plan, and who cares if they did have a plan? if they had a plan it would the most evil plan. their plan is fuck things up and get some oil, and they know there’s no accountability within the united states

netanyahu and the zionists most certainly have a plan

netanyahu & the current israeli government would be ecstatic if iran's economy collapsed entirely and a million Iranians died from famine, disease and internecine warfare. it's not that I think they'll get their wish, but it is obviously their heart's fervent desire. tbf, Trump and his legions of cult-following toe-suckers would be thrilled with that outcome, too. but they want it for much stupider reasons.

someone on Bluesky posted this wall st journal article

https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/u-s-races-to-accomplish-iran-mission-before-munitions-run-out-c014acbc?st=vw6RjT&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

hmmm

FAFO

xpost curmudgeon do you mind explaining what the article is about? otherwise it’s just a link, one link among so many other links, and in this case, i don’t want to burn my free wsj monthly bullshit whatever, and i don’t feel like doing the archive.ph move or doing some vpn move. can you just give a clue or an excerpt

i admit i’m intrigued by the hmmmmm!!! i too, think, hmmmmm!!

What appear to be CIA sources leaking to Reuters that the regime will not collapse in Tehran. As far as I know, these sorts of leaks have never taken place two days into a major war before. Draw your own conclusions from that. 🇺🇸🇮🇷 pic.twitter.com/68078uig3b

— Philip Pilkington (@philippilk) March 2, 2026

this a new thing for of all us who lived through previous US wars of state annihilation - the US deep state putting up the white flag after 2 days. Crazy times.

what? deep state? white flag? says sources? skeptical of regime change?

dude, i typed and deleted like 4 different things earlier today being like stfu and go home, gyac is going easy on you, your shit is tired, it’s a problem to repeatedly post complete bullshit things without basic verification and then be like “oh derp well that’s the way it is” and keep doing it over and over. i typed this whole thing about understanding how everyone is going through shit, surely you are, there must be something else going on, there is with everyone, it’s a factor but not an excuse, all that shit, then thought, it’s been an hour+, things have changed, whatever. but hey, here you are again, way over your skis, being _pretentious_ : pretending to knowledge you don’t have , and you are confusing way more people than you realize. for every 1 person on this forum there are at least 10 others who read it. people read this bullshit (‘ Ahmadinejad is dead!’) and pass it on to other people, far beyond who you think is reading it. yes, the entire ecosystem of the internet is now a fucking ruin, full of idiots just yelling shit about whatever, but if ilx is ever cool, it’s because we don’t tolerate that shit. goddamn. just take a fucking breather and let people who know what they’re talking about post

and you can also go fuck yourself. You are not exactly someone whose opinions or posting style I value or care for. And that was an unwarranted attack and full of unsubstantiated bullshit, so go fuck yourself again, cunt.

pretending to have knowledge.. lol what a weapon you are.. just really an absolute melter!

z_tbd otm

another poster I studiously avoid reading just stick to posting about the war, dickheads

don't take your bottomless rage out on other ilxors you abusive dickhead

which is exactly the opposite of what I have been doing. Which was telling abusive posters to go fuck themselves.

The US military is low on missile interceptors and will not be able to defend the Gulf States from Iranian drone attacks on US military bases and Mossad stations in the Gulf.

The post below was posted by Admiral Stavridis and then deleted because he realized he just announced… pic.twitter.com/yMWNpnT7wN

— Ignis Rex (@Ignis_Rex) March 1, 2026

is the US having a nervous breakdown? me being pretentious

Lurking is a tiring job when this is the posting

gosh how hard your life must be

These images tell you everything the Pentagon briefings will not. What you are looking at is an Iranian ballistic reentry vehicle escorted by a swarm of penetration aids — decoys engineered to simultaneously exhaust and blind every layer of the defensive stack: Patriot in the… https://t.co/2WH4y1czho pic.twitter.com/AS5c1uhahG

— THE ISLANDER (@IslanderWORLD) March 1, 2026

this is the "weapons not seen yet" promised after the first morning of the war, and shit has got real alright.

war lube

calzino, wtf, you sound just like agitprop for the united states, just flipped on the reverse side. you’re cheering for death, and of course it’s justified for you in so many ways, but from the outside it just seems gross and wrong to me. i am anti-war. i want the missiles to stop flying now. i don’t want any side to win, i want them both to stop. i don’t want violent vengeance.

Equating an attacker and the party defending itself against the attacker is poor moral reasoning IMO.

what is the correct amount of retributive violence against the attacker that will make the defender whole?

the attack is obviously wrong, it is a humiliation already, on its very first days, as a completely unwarranted assault. everyone know what their aim is - to take the oil and make the middle east a resort of israel and the united states.

so no, i’m not equating the attacker with the defender. but i don’t cheer on violence, because FUCK THAT

I'm anti-war to the absolute core, but the US is basically the 4th Reich now. I do communicate with other US people who openly acknowledge this without the levels of angst you get on here. The US side of this messageboard has always been at a liberal-left leaning woke imperialist to centrist Dem-brained position. But seems to be regressing to a more centrist position in recent hours.

"Operation Rolling Thunder is bad but I reject the tactics of the North Vietnamese in launching cowardly surprise attacks on American forces, if they'd just lay down arms maybe LBJ would reconsider things." - liberals, 1968

Is THE ISLANDER a trustworthy source? It kinda reads like QAnon-level wishcasting. The best is yet to come etc.

this is a war thread, don't post about technical war stuff is a curious take.

I'm anti-war to the absolute core, but the US is basically the 4th Reich now.

i get that.

i’m sorry. i understand that.

Well, is that account a trustworthy technical war stuff expert, or a guy saying stuff?

do your own research, and then you can debunk the account if you want. I'm not your fucking butler!

the islander_WORLD is the top source for news

While NATO draws maps and fantasizes about Russian regime change, Russia just tested an unstoppable 100-ton nuclear drone, Poseidon, that can level entire coastlines... and the West has no way to stop it. No pressers. No meaningful response. Just silence.

President Vladimir… pic.twitter.com/6aywVQehCh

— THE ISLANDER (@IslanderWORLD) October 29, 2025

it was posted by hugely popular Anglo-Iranian friend of the UK left Aaron Bastani ftr

I'm anti-war to the absolute core, but the US is basically the 4th Reich now.

i get that.

i’m sorry. i understand that.

^^me going out of my way to try to understand you

do your own research, and then you can debunk the account if you want. I'm not your fucking butler!

― calzino,

damn why do i ever take ONE FUCKING SECOND to try to understand you? just STOP POSTING STUPID BULLSHIT

Value and trustworthiness of sources is fair game IMO, personally doubtful you can get anything of use from podcasters/etc. on Twitter in terms of details.

lots of military posters might not be your kind of people but it doesn't mean you can discount their technical reportage. That's just lazy nonsense

you’re not anyone’s fucking butler, you’re the bird storm shitting all over everything causing confusing and chaos in a place that was already confusing and chaotic, just ADDING to the shit! you’re not the fucking butler!

Idk man there are thousands of accounts on twitter paying Musk $8/month and acting like they know what’s happening in the Middle East. Do you have any reason to believe that guy actually knows what he’s talking about other than it’s what you want to hear? I’m not a fan of the evil death country i live in and hate what’s happening right now, for the record.

if you were the fucking butler you might clean it up, instead you’re shitting on everything, and you’re goddamn right no one’s paying you to do it

I think you need to calm down mr Z.

how about a deal: you calm down too. i’m so, so so so so so so willing to go away. i have other shit to think about. don’t you? how about we both leave here for 3 months

“First footage of strikes on the US Incirlik Air Base in Turkey”

jfc. I won't post the twitter link, but wow and oh fuck .

"people read this bullshit (‘ Ahmadinejad is dead!’) and pass it on to other people, far beyond who you think is reading it."

This was widely reported across The Guardian for hours. Then I saw someone post here he was alive, but The Guardian hadn't changed that.

So is he alive or not?

People say don't post twitter links but the school massacre wasn't reported/acknowledged at the BBC for many hours (or so I read...on Bluesky), and if true...

apparently some of Ahmadinejad's family say he's still alive, but not seen anything official.

I think 3 of his security team were confirmed dead.

Yeah that's what I read later.

Just trying to show its a very fluid situation info wise, media use twitter a lot anyway. Don't see why we shouldn't. That its owned by Musk is your discomfort, not mine or some others here who use it.

xpost curmudgeon do you mind explaining what the article is about? otherwise it’s just a link, one link among so many other links, and in this case, i don’t want to burn my free wsj monthly bullshit whatever, and i don’t feel like doing the archive.ph move or doing some vpn move. can you just give a clue or an excerpt

It's entirely your decision if you want to install a plug-in from a .ru domain but Bypass Paywalls Clean leapfrogs almost all paywalls out there. Works in almost all Firefox branches too (I suggest Waterfox if you don't want any of what Firefox includes) https://gitflic.ru/project/magnolia1234/bypass-paywalls-firefox-clean

xp

twitter is literally the only place I can read posts by my beloved and trusted comrades. whose posts I have been reading for a decade now. It's much more important than ILX to me.

What's the issue with using archive.ph I get almost any firewall bypasses from it.

For me I got tired of the Archive.ph vs. Cloudflare DNS wars and went over to Bypass Paywalls Clean. Easy enough to assign it to a "open page in Waterfox" key command plus I don't have to worry about the link expiring.

Back to the war

From the multitude of explosions and division of the missiles, the latest barrage launched from Iran tonight might include cluster munitions.

That is a war crime. They’re banned under international law.

this is one the best jokes I've seen all week. A Zionist invoking international law.

xp ah right thanks for explaining

the various dubiously sourced posts i've read about the US military "running out" of weapons, or having a base blown up etc activate a part of my brain that yearns for the bully of the world to get a bloody nose and they might still, in a few different ways, but militarily the US is so far ahead of iran, with so many advantages, that these accounts read like wishful thinking to me

the one I linked yesterday is not remotely left-wing or wishful thinking and is ex US military and obsessively is posting about how paltry the production capacity of US military complex is, long before this war even started. I look purposely for right-wing hawk/military accounts to get a different perspective than from my lefty shitposter friends.

You have to be meticulous with these things.