Iran War. . . USA Up 2-0 in the First Period
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British destroyer HMS Dragon on her way to Cyprus
Starmer orders deployment of Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon and helicopters to defend RAF Akrotiri after the RAF base in the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus came under attack from Hezbollah drones
Starmer orders deployment of Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon and helicopters to defend RAF Akrotiri after the RAF base in the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus came under attack from Hezbollah drones
Right now the difficulty lies in keeping the planes from being moving targets. There is already a sizable number of people that would rather buy Grippons than F35s. Right or wrong, they will use this to further their cause.
Spain has said the US should be mindful of international law and bilateral trade agreements with the European Union, after US President Donald Trump threatened to cut off all trade with the country for refusing to let the US military use its bases for missions linked to strikes on Iran.
“We have the necessary resources to contain the possible impact of the trade embargo by the US,” the Spanish government said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The US must comply with international law and bilateral EU-US trade agreements,” it added. This should almost go in the Tariffs thread ‘cuz I can almost smell those tariffs coming.
“Spain actually said that we can't use their bases, and that's all right,” Trump said. “We could use their base if we want — we could just fly in and use it. Nobody's going to tell us not to use it, but we don't have to. But they were unfriendly, and so I told them, we don't want to.” Sounds like Spain might become an Honourary member of the Western Hemisphere.
Trump Threatens to Cut Off Trade With Spain Over Iran — NOTUS
The president said Spain must increase its NATO spending.
Smart of Spain to wash their hands of this fiasco.(YouTube & U.S. will 'cut off all trade with Spain,' Trump says)
View attachment 33508
Spain has said the US should be mindful of international law and bilateral trade agreements with the European Union, after US President Donald Trump threatened to cut off all trade with the country for refusing to let the US military use its bases for missions linked to strikes on Iran.
“We have the necessary resources to contain the possible impact of the trade embargo by the US,” the Spanish government said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The US must comply with international law and bilateral EU-US trade agreements,” it added. This should almost go in the Tariffs thread ‘cuz I can almost smell those tariffs coming.
“Spain actually said that we can't use their bases, and that's all right,” Trump said. “We could use their base if we want — we could just fly in and use it. Nobody's going to tell us not to use it, but we don't have to. But they were unfriendly, and so I told them, we don't want to.” Sounds like Spain might become an Honourary member of the Western Hemisphere.
Trump Threatens to Cut Off Trade With Spain Over Iran — NOTUS
The president said Spain must increase its NATO spending.apple.news
France too, & now France is sending an aircraft carrier to the Strait of Hormuz to try to keep trade goods flowing.
France Just Entered the Iran War
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Iran closed the strait of Hormuz, a global choke-point for hydrocarbons, attacking several ships that attempted to pass through the narrow waterway.
Brig Gen Ebrahim Jabbari, an adviser to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guards, said continued US-Israeli attacks would bring Iranian reprisals against “all economic centres” in the Middle East.
“We have closed the strait of Hormuz … The price of oil … will soon reach $200. We are saying to the enemy that if it decides to hit our main centres, we will hit all economic centres in the region,” Jabbari was quoted as saying by Iranian news agency Isna.
On Tuesday Trump said the US navy could begin escorting oil tankers through the strait of Hormuz “if necessary”. (???)
Trump has also instructed a federal agency to provide “political risk insurance and guarantees for ALL Maritime Trade” through the Gulf. “No matter what, the United States will ensure the FREE FLOW of ENERGY to the World,” he said. (???)
Middle East attacks intensify as Trump says he rejects Iran’s attempt to talk — Guardian US
US president claims ‘they want to talk. I said: Too Late!’, while Rubio threatens the ‘hardest hits are yet to come’
They'll use the shootdown of three F-15s to bolster the case for Gripens over F-35s?
Makes sense. People ain't real smart.
Fact-Checking Trump’s Justifications for Attacking Iran
The president made unsupported and exaggerated claims in a speech announcing the attack on Iran.
By Linda Qiu
Reporting from Washington
Feb. 28, 2026
President Trump, in announcing a military campaign against Iran early Saturday, asserted he had done so because of “imminent threats” posed by the regime.
He laid out his justifications in an eight-minute video he shared on social media. But three of his key claims — blaming Iran for a terrorist attack in 2000, characterizing its nuclear program as destroyed by previous American strikes, and warning that its weapons could soon reach the United States — were inaccurate.
Here’s a fact-check.
What Was Said
“In 2000, they knew and were probably involved with the attack on the U.S.S. Cole.”
This lacks evidence. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the October 2000 attack on the U.S. destroyer Cole, and American intelligence agencies have concurred. There is no public evidence that Iran was directly responsible for the attack. But for years, U.S. courts have ordered Iran to pay tens of millions of dollars in damages to victims of the attack and their survivors, finding that Iran “facilitated” the attack by providing material and financial support to Al Qaeda.
The F.B.I., on its website detailing the history of the attack, notes that the agency “ultimately determined that members of the Al Qaeda terrorist network planned and carried out the bombing.” It makes no mention of Iran. Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a citizen of Saudi Arabia, is accused of organizing the attack, and is currently awaiting trial at Guantánamo Bay.
A federal judge ruled in 2015 that Iran was complicit, noting that the country’s support for Al Qaeda made it capable of carrying out the attack on Cole and that one of the masterminds most likely traveled through Iran before and after the bombing. (The case was brought by the family of a sailor killed in the attack against Iran and Sudan; neither country responded to the lawsuit.)
In a similar civil case, a federal judge ruled in 2024 that Iran “facilitated the planning and execution of the attack on the Cole” through decades of material support to Al Qaeda.
What Was Said
“That is why, in Operation Midnight Hammer last June, we obliterated the regime’s nuclear program at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.”
This is exaggerated. The United States last June carried out airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities, but government reports and other officials have not gone as far as Mr. Trump’s claims of total destruction.
The New York Times reported in the days after the attack that a preliminary assessment found that the strikes had sealed off the entrances to two of Iran’s facilities but had not collapsed their underground buildings.
John Ratcliffe, the C.I.A. director, said last June that Iran’s nuclear program had been “severely damaged” by the airstrikes. Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told CBS that same month that the strikes caused “severe damage, but it’s not total damage.” And a Pentagon spokesman echoed that language last August, telling reporters that the strikes had “severely degraded” Iran’s capability and set back the program by two years.
The administration, too, took a more muted approach in assessing the damage. In the National Security Strategy, published last November with an introduction by the president, officials stated that the June airstrikes “significantly degraded Iran’s nuclear program.”
What Was Said
“Instead, they attempted to rebuild their nuclear program and to continue developing long-range missiles that can now threaten our very good friends and allies in Europe, our troops stationed overseas and could soon reach the American homeland.”
This lacks evidence. Officials with access to U.S. intelligence told The New York Times this week that “Mr. Trump exaggerated the immediacy of the threat posed to the United States” by Iran’s missiles program. The suggestion that Iran was trying to build a nuclear bomb was also unsupported.
Mr. Trump is correct that the country’s current missile arsenal could reach parts of Europe and U.S. military bases in the Middle East, but experts and official reports doubt that Iran’s missiles could reach the United States. According to a 2025 report from the Defense Intelligence Agency, Iran did not have intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach the United States, though it could develop 60 such weapons by 2035.
There is also little evidence that Iran is trying to build a bomb.
Mr. Grossi told a French news network this week that his agency had not seen evidence that Iran had plans to produce a nuclear weapon.
Officials also told The New York Times this week that Iran had not built new nuclear sites since the June attacks, though recent activity had been detected at existing sites. Nor was there evidence that Iran was trying to dig out its stash of enriched uranium.
“There is no imminent threat,” Daryl G. Kimball, the executive director of the Arms Control Association, wrote in a recent journal article. “Iran is not close to ‘weaponizing’ its nuclear material so as to justify another U.S. attack.”
Reporting was contributed by Mark Mazzetti, Edward Wong, David E. Sanger and Julian E. Barnes.
Linda Qiu is a Times reporter who specializes in fact-checking statements made by politicians and public figures. She has been reporting and fact-checking public figures for nearly a decade.
More on the Assault on Iran
American Service Members: The deaths of six American service members are a sobering detail in a conflict that the Trump administration has said could last for weeks, while officials have warned that more U.S. casualties are expected.
U.S. Recall of Diplomatic Staff: Nonemergency staff and their family members were told to leave several posts as Iran continued to retaliate after U.S. and Israeli strikes.
Missile Headed Toward Turkey Shot Down: A ballistic missile fired from Iran was shot down by NATO air and missile defenses while heading toward Turkish airspace, Turkey’s defense ministry said. The Incirlik air base in southern Turkey hosts American forces but Turkey has said that it will not allow its airspace to be used for attacks on Iran.
Spanish Leader’s Long Feud With Trump: Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has lashed out at the American-Israeli strikes, underlining his refusal to participate even after President Trump threatened Madrid with economic retaliation.
Global Leaders Brace for Fallout: The escalating regional conflict in the Middle East could have far-reaching effects, from higher energy prices to political instability and a potential new wave of refugees.
U.S. Struck Iranian Warship: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a U.S. submarine torpedoed the ship. The Sri Lankan authorities said they had rescued 32 sailors from the crew of 180.
All this bullshit to stop Netanyahu from using nukes.
Is it worth it?
The president made unsupported and exaggerated claims in a speech announcing the attack on Iran.
By Linda Qiu
Reporting from Washington
Feb. 28, 2026
President Trump, in announcing a military campaign against Iran early Saturday, asserted he had done so because of “imminent threats” posed by the regime.
He laid out his justifications in an eight-minute video he shared on social media. But three of his key claims — blaming Iran for a terrorist attack in 2000, characterizing its nuclear program as destroyed by previous American strikes, and warning that its weapons could soon reach the United States — were inaccurate.
Here’s a fact-check.
What Was Said
“In 2000, they knew and were probably involved with the attack on the U.S.S. Cole.”
This lacks evidence. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the October 2000 attack on the U.S. destroyer Cole, and American intelligence agencies have concurred. There is no public evidence that Iran was directly responsible for the attack. But for years, U.S. courts have ordered Iran to pay tens of millions of dollars in damages to victims of the attack and their survivors, finding that Iran “facilitated” the attack by providing material and financial support to Al Qaeda.
The F.B.I., on its website detailing the history of the attack, notes that the agency “ultimately determined that members of the Al Qaeda terrorist network planned and carried out the bombing.” It makes no mention of Iran. Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a citizen of Saudi Arabia, is accused of organizing the attack, and is currently awaiting trial at Guantánamo Bay.
A federal judge ruled in 2015 that Iran was complicit, noting that the country’s support for Al Qaeda made it capable of carrying out the attack on Cole and that one of the masterminds most likely traveled through Iran before and after the bombing. (The case was brought by the family of a sailor killed in the attack against Iran and Sudan; neither country responded to the lawsuit.)
In a similar civil case, a federal judge ruled in 2024 that Iran “facilitated the planning and execution of the attack on the Cole” through decades of material support to Al Qaeda.
What Was Said
“That is why, in Operation Midnight Hammer last June, we obliterated the regime’s nuclear program at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.”
This is exaggerated. The United States last June carried out airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities, but government reports and other officials have not gone as far as Mr. Trump’s claims of total destruction.
The New York Times reported in the days after the attack that a preliminary assessment found that the strikes had sealed off the entrances to two of Iran’s facilities but had not collapsed their underground buildings.
John Ratcliffe, the C.I.A. director, said last June that Iran’s nuclear program had been “severely damaged” by the airstrikes. Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told CBS that same month that the strikes caused “severe damage, but it’s not total damage.” And a Pentagon spokesman echoed that language last August, telling reporters that the strikes had “severely degraded” Iran’s capability and set back the program by two years.
The administration, too, took a more muted approach in assessing the damage. In the National Security Strategy, published last November with an introduction by the president, officials stated that the June airstrikes “significantly degraded Iran’s nuclear program.”
What Was Said
“Instead, they attempted to rebuild their nuclear program and to continue developing long-range missiles that can now threaten our very good friends and allies in Europe, our troops stationed overseas and could soon reach the American homeland.”
This lacks evidence. Officials with access to U.S. intelligence told The New York Times this week that “Mr. Trump exaggerated the immediacy of the threat posed to the United States” by Iran’s missiles program. The suggestion that Iran was trying to build a nuclear bomb was also unsupported.
Mr. Trump is correct that the country’s current missile arsenal could reach parts of Europe and U.S. military bases in the Middle East, but experts and official reports doubt that Iran’s missiles could reach the United States. According to a 2025 report from the Defense Intelligence Agency, Iran did not have intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach the United States, though it could develop 60 such weapons by 2035.
There is also little evidence that Iran is trying to build a bomb.
Mr. Grossi told a French news network this week that his agency had not seen evidence that Iran had plans to produce a nuclear weapon.
Officials also told The New York Times this week that Iran had not built new nuclear sites since the June attacks, though recent activity had been detected at existing sites. Nor was there evidence that Iran was trying to dig out its stash of enriched uranium.
“There is no imminent threat,” Daryl G. Kimball, the executive director of the Arms Control Association, wrote in a recent journal article. “Iran is not close to ‘weaponizing’ its nuclear material so as to justify another U.S. attack.”
Reporting was contributed by Mark Mazzetti, Edward Wong, David E. Sanger and Julian E. Barnes.
Linda Qiu is a Times reporter who specializes in fact-checking statements made by politicians and public figures. She has been reporting and fact-checking public figures for nearly a decade.
More on the Assault on Iran
American Service Members: The deaths of six American service members are a sobering detail in a conflict that the Trump administration has said could last for weeks, while officials have warned that more U.S. casualties are expected.
U.S. Recall of Diplomatic Staff: Nonemergency staff and their family members were told to leave several posts as Iran continued to retaliate after U.S. and Israeli strikes.
Missile Headed Toward Turkey Shot Down: A ballistic missile fired from Iran was shot down by NATO air and missile defenses while heading toward Turkish airspace, Turkey’s defense ministry said. The Incirlik air base in southern Turkey hosts American forces but Turkey has said that it will not allow its airspace to be used for attacks on Iran.
Spanish Leader’s Long Feud With Trump: Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has lashed out at the American-Israeli strikes, underlining his refusal to participate even after President Trump threatened Madrid with economic retaliation.
Global Leaders Brace for Fallout: The escalating regional conflict in the Middle East could have far-reaching effects, from higher energy prices to political instability and a potential new wave of refugees.
U.S. Struck Iranian Warship: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a U.S. submarine torpedoed the ship. The Sri Lankan authorities said they had rescued 32 sailors from the crew of 180.
All this bullshit to stop Netanyahu from using nukes.
Is it worth it?