Iran War. . . USA Up 2-0 in the First Period

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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Israel’s decision to target the South Pars gasfield on Wednesday marked a major escalation of the war, heightening fears of significant disruption to international energy supplies.

Iran promptly retaliated with fresh attacks across the region, including on Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities – infuriating the US president.

Donald Trump threatened to “massively blow up” the world’s largest gasfield after Israeli strikes on the Iranian site prompted Tehran to step up attacks on energy facilities across the Middle East.

Oil and European natural gas prices rose sharply, with Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil – up 6% at $114 a barrel. Gas prices jumped 23%. Leading Asian stock markets came under pressure, with the Nikkei 225 falling 3.4% in Japan.

The US “knew nothing” of the Israeli attack on South Pars, Trump claimed on social media on Wednesday night. US media reported earlier that the US was aware of the attack. The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed US officials, that the president approved of it, in a bid to pressure Tehran into unblocking the strait of Hormuz.

Maybe they both did, & didn’t, know about it?
Authorities in Abu Dhabi said it had been forced to shut down operations at its Habshan gas facility and Bab field because of Iranian attacks that it called a “dangerous escalation” of the war.

Ras Laffan in Qatar, the site of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas hub, has now suffered “extensive damage” after strikes by Iran, the state-run QatarEnergy giant said. Early on Thursday, QatarEnergy reported “sizeable fires” and significant damage at several LNG facilities at the hub. The Qatari interior ministry later said that all fires had been contained.

Speaking alongside Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin at the White House, Trump said he has been informed by most Nato allies that they do not want to get involved in the war, a conflict many of them view as illegal.

Trump reserved his harshest criticism for the UK, citing its lack of participation and assistance in the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

While Trump has said some countries are willing to help escort ships through the strait(?), he has yet to publicly identify them.

In heated remarks in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump insisted that "we don't need any help" from Nato.

"But they should've been there," he added.

The US president said the reluctance to send mine-sweeping vessels to the Gulf was "not a big deal", but was "unfair" to the US.
All for a fetish.
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
31,696
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Regina, Saskatchewan
Hematolagnia.
Yikes. Anyway, back to this Iran thing:
(YouTube & Trump: “We would rather not get involved, sir”)

President Trump expressed frustration Monday that some countries have been reluctant to send forces to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the critical oil route that has all but shut down since the war in Iran began late last month. "Numerous countries have told me they're on the way. Some are very enthusiastic about it, and some aren't.

Some are countries that we've helped for many, many years. We've protected them from horrible outside sources, and they weren't that enthusiastic. And the level of enthusiasm matters to me," he said at a White House event. The president declined to say which countries have agreed to help the U.S., saying NATO countries "should be jumping to help us," but added in a mocking voice that he had heard from some world leaders: "We would rather not get involved, sir."

"I've been a big critic of all of the protecting of countries because I know that we'll protect them, and if ever needed, if we ever needed help, they won't be there for us.
(YouTube & NATO and the days after 9/11)
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petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
120,066
14,833
113
Low Earth Orbit
Yikes. Anyway, back to this Iran thing:
(YouTube & Trump: “We would rather not get involved, sir”)

President Trump expressed frustration Monday that some countries have been reluctant to send forces to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the critical oil route that has all but shut down since the war in Iran began late last month. "Numerous countries have told me they're on the way. Some are very enthusiastic about it, and some aren't.

Some are countries that we've helped for many, many years. We've protected them from horrible outside sources, and they weren't that enthusiastic. And the level of enthusiasm matters to me," he said at a White House event. The president declined to say which countries have agreed to help the U.S., saying NATO countries "should be jumping to help us," but added in a mocking voice that he had heard from some world leaders: "We would rather not get involved, sir."

"I've been a big critic of all of the protecting of countries because I know that we'll protect them, and if ever needed, if we ever needed help, they won't be there for us.
(YouTube & NATO and the days after 9/11)
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If it's so easy, why is the most powerful Navy ever staying 700km away? Iran has laundry?
 

Tecumsehsbones

Hall of Fame Member
Mar 18, 2013
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If it's so easy, why is the most powerful Navy ever staying 700km away? Iran has laundry?
Because the Commander in Chief of that Navy has spent the guts of a century actively avoiding real or theoretical knowledge of military and naval realities. He also has no plan for what comes next.

Most likely he'll declare victory and walk away.
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
31,696
11,496
113
Regina, Saskatchewan
The molten fireballs and belching smoke over the Middle East early Thursday signaled a dramatic escalation in the Iran war — and its threat to the global economy.

Israel launched a widespread strike on Iran's world-largest gas field, South Pars, triggering retaliation from Tehran against key energy sites across the Gulf Arab states.

Like the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, these facilities dictate global prices for energy and other goods, which soared early Thursday. Economists are alarmed this disruption could cause a global economic shock triggering price rises and shortages for billions of people.
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With American allies in the Gulf and Europe expressing fury, President Donald Trump said Israel would launch no more attacks on the gas field unless Iran again bombed U.S. partner Qatar. If Tehran did so, he vowed he would “massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field.”

Qatar is livid with Iran but also the United States and Israel, a senior official close to its leaders told NBC News. The Gulf kingdom is angry that a war partly framed as protecting the flows of oil and gas is now setting its vital infrastructure ablaze, the official said.

French President Emmanuel Macron called the escalation "reckless," adding that he hopes "everyone comes to their senses."

In a joint statement, Macron and leaders of the U.K., Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan called for an "immediate comprehensive moratorium on attacks on civilian infrastructure, including oil and gas installations."
The six leaders also expressed their "readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait," and welcomed the "commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning."

The international benchmark of Brent crude oil spiked as high as $119 a barrel early Thursday, and wholesale natural gas prices across Europe jumped by as much as 25%. Both dipped slightly through the morning, though they remained significantly elevated compared to their prewar levels.

U.S. crude oil also rose to more than $100 a barrel, up about 5%. Since the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28, the price of U.S. crude oil has soared by 45%.
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
120,066
14,833
113
Low Earth Orbit
The molten fireballs and belching smoke over the Middle East early Thursday signaled a dramatic escalation in the Iran war — and its threat to the global economy.

Israel launched a widespread strike on Iran's world-largest gas field, South Pars, triggering retaliation from Tehran against key energy sites across the Gulf Arab states.

Like the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, these facilities dictate global prices for energy and other goods, which soared early Thursday. Economists are alarmed this disruption could cause a global economic shock triggering price rises and shortages for billions of people.
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With American allies in the Gulf and Europe expressing fury, President Donald Trump said Israel would launch no more attacks on the gas field unless Iran again bombed U.S. partner Qatar. If Tehran did so, he vowed he would “massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field.”

Qatar is livid with Iran but also the United States and Israel, a senior official close to its leaders told NBC News. The Gulf kingdom is angry that a war partly framed as protecting the flows of oil and gas is now setting its vital infrastructure ablaze, the official said.

French President Emmanuel Macron called the escalation "reckless," adding that he hopes "everyone comes to their senses."

In a joint statement, Macron and leaders of the U.K., Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan called for an "immediate comprehensive moratorium on attacks on civilian infrastructure, including oil and gas installations."
The six leaders also expressed their "readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait," and welcomed the "commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning."

The international benchmark of Brent crude oil spiked as high as $119 a barrel early Thursday, and wholesale natural gas prices across Europe jumped by as much as 25%. Both dipped slightly through the morning, though they remained significantly elevated compared to their prewar levels.

U.S. crude oil also rose to more than $100 a barrel, up about 5%. Since the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28, the price of U.S. crude oil has soared by 45%.
Netanyahu. The world hates that guy.
 
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petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
120,066
14,833
113
Low Earth Orbit
Four Palestinians killed in Iranian missile strike in West Bank (Cuz settlements are being targeted...Free Palestine)
Women mourn at the funeral of the Palestinians killed in the Iranian missile attack in Beit Awwa near Hebron on Thursday.

U.S. and Israel don’t have same objectives in Iran, U.S. national intelligence chief says

As the Iran war approaches the end of its third week, missiles launched from the Islamic Republic killed four Palestinian women in the West Bank and a Thai foreign worker in Israel overnight into Thursday, after Iran launched missiles toward Israel. On Thursday, a man in his 60s was severely wounded in northern Israel following a direct missile hit.

■ A day after Trump said that Washington "knew nothing" in advance about Israel's attack on Iran's South Pars gas field, and that Israel would not attack it again unless ‌Iran attacked Qatar, three Israeli officials told Reuters that the strike was coordinated with the U.S., and that Israel was not surprised by Trump's comments. In a press briefing, U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth vowed that American attacks in Iran on Thursday would "be the largest strike package yet."

■ Sitting alongside Japan's PM in the Oval Office, U.S. President Trump said the war with Iran is "going to be over with pretty soon." On Wednesday, U.S. officials told Reuters that the Trump administration is considering deploying thousands of troops to the Middle East, adding that this would give the president additional options as he weighs expanding operations in the region.

■ At ⁠a hearing ⁠of the U.S. House intelligence committee, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi ‌Gabbard said that the United States and Israel do not have the same objectives in ‌Iran. "We ⁠can see through the operations that the Israeli government ‌has been ⁠focused on disabling ‌the Iranian leadership. The president has stated that his objectives ⁠are to destroy Iran's ballistic missiles launching capability, their ballistic missile production capability, ‌and their navy."

■ Gabbard's former right-hand man, Joe Kent, who resigned over the Iran war while citing "Israel and its American lobby," told far-right pundit Tucker Carlson that the U.S. could have threatened to halt military aid to Israel to prevent it from unilaterally attacking Iran. The interview aired as it was reported that the FBI is probing Kent for leaking classified information in an investigation that predates his resignation.

■ Meanwhile, Dr. Anwar Gargash, a senior political adviser to the president of the UAE, said that Israel's role in the Gulf will expand after the war due to Iran targeting its neighbors. Speaking at an event held by the U.S. research institute The Council on Foreign Relations, Gargash also said that the UAE is ready to join a U.S.-led effort to secure the Strait of Hormuz, adding that responsibility for freedom of navigation in the Gulf also falls on Europe and other countries in the region.

A senior defense official told Haaretz that the regime in Iran is struggling to issue directives to the military leadership and other security bodies given the chaos caused by the bombings and the fact that most senior officials are in hiding, hoping to remain alive. At this stage, according to the official, there is no change in the intelligence assessment that the cracks created by the war will not bring down the regime, writes Amos Harel

IDF chief warned government that Hezbollah was rapidly rearming months before war

Months before the war with Iran began, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir warned the Netanyahu government that Hezbollah was rearming at a faster pace than expected, Haaretz has learned. According to sources, Zamir had said that the speed of the organization's recovery indicated that since Israel's 2024 offensive in Lebanon, "the trend is not toward Hezbollah's disarmament but rather its rehabilitation."

■ At the time, military officials proposed launching a targeted operation against the organization, which Israel's political leadership rejected. Despite Zamir's warning, senior political officials told journalists last week they were "surprised" by Hezbollah's capabilities in the current war.

■ The IDF said that both aerial and ground forces killed more than 20 Hezbollah operatives in the past 24 hours and struck dozens of targets in southern Lebanon. According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, 33 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Thursday, and 1,001 people have been killed since Hezbollah attacked Israel on March 2.

On a visit to the IDF's Central Command on Wednesday, Chief of Staff Zamir once again condemned settler violence in the West Bank, saying that despite being perpetrated by a minority who do not represent the settler population, these attacks "cause extraordinary strategic damage" to Israel. "Anyone who believes these actions contribute to security is mistaken – they are morally and ethically unacceptable," he added.

■ In a post on X, former Israeli PM Naftali Bennett – who in the past chaired the umbrella organization for Israeli settlements in the West Bank – wrote that "we did not establish a Jewish state so that violent gangs would operate within it." Bennett added that "precisely as someone who believes in our right to the land and in the communities there, we must denounce the rioters and eradicate all violence from within our own ranks."
(GOOD MAN!!!)

■ In Gaza, the Rafah border crossing opened for the first time on Thursday since the war began for the evacuation of patients in need of medical treatment and the return of residents. According to figures released by the U.S.-run Civil Military Coordination Center in Kiryat Gat, which monitors the implementation of Trump's Gaza cease-fire deal, the number of aid trucks entering the Strip has fallen by 80 percent since the start of the war on February 28.

■ The Israel Police said it is investigating the killing of a 39-year-old woman who was shot dead overnight into Thursday in her family's residential compound in the central Israeli city of Lod. Her killing raises the number of crime-related deaths in Israel in the first 78 days of 2026 to 72, 66 of them in Arab communities. The annual number of homicides in the country has risen sharply since far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir was appointed National Security Minister in late 2022.

Read more here
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