War with...Iran?

[Sajuuk]

Gee, can't think of any parallels there.

Well, there is a reason I think Iran is our Afghanistan.

 

[ahmerali]

I've never heard this person's name, but...

this seems rather significant. A fairly high-ranking official basically committing political suicide in a sense by saying he can't be subservient to the powers that be who are the perpetrators of the current aggression.

 

[slymenstra hymen]

PETE HEGSETH (FOX & FRIENDS WEEKEND CO-HOST): Thankfully we have a president who now has a long memory, understands the nature of the terrorist Islamic Iranian regime, and knows they trust one thing, strength. That's the one thing they respect. Weakness, they run right over, which they did over Obama. Do they want their economic sites, their military sites, political sites and/or cultural sites targeted? How about their oil and gas? If they don't have energy, they have absolutely nothing. And as you said in your opening, you are perfectly correct, with energy Independence, we don't need them the way we did before.

Source is from 2020.

I wouldn't be surprised this war was all Hegseth, or at least mostly him. He has a much easier time getting in Trumps ear than the leader of a foreign county does.

 

[Embattle]

'WE DON'T NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!': Trump criticises Nato allies
​

More now from Trump, who says in a lengthy post on Truth Social that "most" Nato allies have said "they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation" against Iran.

Trump says he is "not surprised by their action" and that he has always considered Nato "to be a one-way street".

He says: "Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer 'need,' or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea.

"In fact, speaking as President of the United States of America, by far the Most Powerful Country Anywhere in the World, WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!"

The post comes after Trump requested the help of Nato allies to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz - which he does not specifically mention in his post.

In this post, you've all of Trump's qualities that make him unfit to be your president.

 

[fractl]

In this post, you've all of Trump's qualities that make him unfit to be your president.

That’s why I voted against him 3 times, for all the good it did.

 

[N4M8-]

I've never heard this person's name, but...

this seems rather significant. A fairly high-ranking official basically committing political suicide in a sense by saying he can't be subservient to the powers that be who are the perpetrators of the current aggression.

He is loyal enough to claim Dear Leader received bad advice as the fig leaf for the misadventure

 

[DarthSlack]

Source is from 2020.

I wouldn't be surprised this war was all Hegseth, or at least mostly him. He has a much easier time getting in Trumps ear than the leader of a foreign county does.

While I'm sure Hegseth was extremely enthusiastic about this war, starting it is all on Trump and Netanyahu. Netanyahu has lobbied multiple Presidents to invade Iran and now in Trump 2.0 he found someone gullible enough to fall for his con game and ignore decades of intelligence that invading Iran would put us right where we are today.

 

[SuinusLatinus]

He is loyal enough to claim Dear Leader received bad advice as the fig leaf for the misadventure

Good tsar, bad boyars...

 

[wco81]

Main thing I remember about Top Gun is the cheesy singing Cruise did to try to woo the Kelly McGillis character.

Then you found out how real-life Top Gun pilots treated women.

Didn't bother watching the sequel.


In Iran news, the top counterterrorism guy resigned because he insisted that Iran was not a threat to the US.

 

[monsterscraponme]

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026...lled-ali-larijani-irans-top-security-official

Israel claims Iran’s security chief Larijani and Basij commander have been killed. Israel has remained very efficient at killing Iran's leadership. It remain to be see if killing the head(s) really a path to peace. (or whatever goals Israel/USA have).

It'll work eventually.

Peace is a rare item drop from enemies so just gotta keep killing until you get there.

Sad we gave up on the democracy item drop but that's even harder to get.

Rarer still is the Amulet Of Hormuz which grants one the ability to allow unimpeded traffic through the strait.

 

[NewNinetyNine]

The UK concluded that diplomacy was working:

The UK saw no compelling evidence of an imminent threat of a Iranian missile attack on Europe, or of Iran securing a nuclear weapon. This is the first time it has become clear that Britain was so closely involved in the talks, and so had good reason to decide whether diplomatic options had been exhausted and a US attack was necessary.

Instead the UK regarded the attack as unlawful and premature since Powell believed the path remained open to a negotiated solution to the long-running issue of how Iran could reassure the US that it was not seeking a nuclear weapon.
...
UK officials have subsequently explained they were impressed that Iran was prepared for the deal to be permanent and, unlike the 2015 nuclear agreement, would not have cut-off dates, or sunset clauses ending the restrictions on its programme.

Iran had also agreed to down-blend the 400kg stockpile of highly enriched uranium under the supervision of the IAEA inside Iran. It agreed no stockpiles of highly enriched uranium would be built up in the future.

In the final session of the talks, Iran agreed to a three- to-five-year pause on domestic enrichment, but the US in the afternoon session, after consultations with Trump, demanded a 10-year pause. In practice, Iran had no means to enrich domestically because of the bombing of its enrichment plants in 2015.
...
Accounts differ on whether Kushner left the talks giving the impression Trump would welcome what had been agreed, or that the US negotiators knew it would take something massive to persuade Trump that war was not the best option. One diplomat with knowledge of the talks said: “We regarded Witkoff and Kushner as Israeli assets that dragged a president into a war he wants to get out of.”

 

[alterSchwede]

Good tsar, bad boyars...

Wenn das der Führer wüsste

If you've been reading r/LeopardsAteMyFace you've seen that kind of pattern repeatedly about Trump.
Not a good place for a nation to be.

 

[Ananke]

Instead the UK regarded the attack as unlawful and premature since Powell believed the path remained open to a negotiated solution to the long-running issue of how Iran could reassure the US that it was not seeking a nuclear weapon.

They can't, at least not until Trump has passed on to the great fast food chain in the sky. US policy can't be trusted from one week to the next (or one sentence to the next, when his lips are moving), regardless of physical evidence.

 

[Technarch]

They can't, at least not until Trump has passed on to the great fast food chain in the sky.

That's not where he's going...

 

[Macam]

Israel urges Iranians to revolt but privately assesses they’ll be ‘slaughtered’
Israeli officials told U.S. counterparts they hope for an uprising even though it would lead to a massacre, according to a State Department cable reviewed by The Post.

Paywalled, but I think it speaks for itself. Trump himself got thousands of Iranians killed when he did exactly this, and neither Netanyahu nor anyone in their regimes, give two shits about any of the actual people. Just beyond disgusting.

Update: The flailing continues



Link



Link

Strong "You didn't break up with me, I broke up with you!!!" energy

 

[dio82]

He is loyal enough to claim Dear Leader received bad advice as the fig leaf for the misadventure

There are now multiple confirmed briefings and sources where it was laid out why it is a very bad idea. Not reading the print doesn't absolve you of culpability.

 

[Gizmoh]

The UK concluded that diplomacy was working:

Oh man, this quote is the money shot I think

One diplomat with knowledge of the talks said: “We regarded Witkoff and Kushner as Israeli assets that dragged a president into a war he wants to get out of.

 

[wco81]

Elder abuse probably.

Other than the occasional fits of old man yelling at the cloud, they can wear him down and get him to agree.

 

[NoReallyJustSaying]

Trump himself got thousands of Iranians killed when he did exactly this, and neither Netanyahu nor anyone in their regimes, give two shits about any of the actual people. Just beyond disgusting.

These are the same people who are causing at least half a million deaths from disease and hunger by cutting USAID. Why is anyone still surprised that they turn out to not give a single flying fuck about human suffering?

 

[RaceBannon]

Oh man, this quote is the money shot I think

This section was interesting. It shows how far the talks had progressed:

In the final session of the talks, Iran agreed to a three- to-five-year pause on domestic enrichment, but the US in the afternoon session, after consultations with Trump, demanded a 10-year pause.

In practice, Iran had no means to enrich domestically because of the bombing of its enrichment plants in 2015.

Iran had also made an offer of what the mediators described as an economic bonanza, with the US being given the chance to participate in a future civil nuclear programme.

In return, nearly 80% of the economic sanctions on Iran would have been lifted, including assets frozen in Qatar, a demand Iran made in the 2025 talks.

The Oman mediator believed the offer of zero stockpiling of highly enriched uranium was a breakthrough that meant an agreement was within reach.

 

[NoReallyJustSaying]

"One diplomat with knowledge of the talks said: “We regarded Witkoff and Kushner as Israeli assets that dragged a president into a war he wants to get out of."

Imagine being beyond shitty at everything you've ever done, yet nepo-failing upward so hard that you're still at the table to be a bribable stooge in world affairs for several separate (and often conflicting!) disgusting regimes.

Witkoff is an entirely separate level of gross and unqualified to even water the plants at a diplomatic meeting, of course.

 

[Macam]

Oh man, this quote is the money shot I think

There have been numerous reports that Kusnher and Witkoff cratered the negotiations because they are absolute idiots and way out of their depth on the details of nuclear development, to say nothing of the rest of the topics that are involved in negotiations.

I know, it's deeply shocking that a shitty real estate guy and a shitty finance guy were shitty at nuclear geopolitical negotiations. I hope everyone was sitting down when they read that.

"One diplomat with knowledge of the talks said: “We regarded Witkoff and Kushner as Israeli assets that dragged a president into a war he wants to get out of."

Imagine being beyond shitty at everything you've ever done, yet nepo-failing upward so hard that you're still at the table to be a bribable stooge in world affairs for several separate (and often conflicting!) disgusting regimes.

Witkoff is an entirely separate level of gross and unqualified to even water the plants at a diplomatic meeting, of course.

Kushner is still going around soliciting funds from Gulf countries for his "investment fund" while the war is going on. His dad is a convicted felon. Witkoff and his son engage in endless financial self-dealing, including investing in Trump's bribery cryptocurrency, World Liberty Financial. The "Biden crime family" campaign rhetoric is, as always, just self projection of their own crimes.

You'd be hard pressed to find a more corrupt American regime in modern history, and certainly not at this scale or breadth.

 

[goates]

The USS Ford is headed to Souda Bay for a week of repairs due to the laundry fire, so the US will be down one carrier for a week or two.

The smoke damage extended to the berthing, requiring the Navy to take 1,000 mattresses off the future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) in Norfolk, Va., over the weekend to send to Ford, USNI News understands. The Navy has also collected almost 2,000 sweatsuits and other clothing items to distribute to the crew because many sailors are unable to clean their clothes with most of the laundry services out of commission, a source confirmed to USNI News.

“Due to the fire, several berthing spaces and subsequently, more than 100 racks (beds) were lost,” a Pentagon spokesperson told USNI News in a statement. “An immediate plan to acquire replacement cots has already been established. The resiliency and mental grit of our Sailors has enabled USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) to support ongoing operations.”

https://news.usni.org/2026/03/17/uss-gerald-r-ford-headed-to-souda-bay-for-repairs-after-fire

Maybe they could send the destroyer escorts through the Strait of Hormuz in the mean time to show how it's done?

 

[Thank You and Best of Luck!]

In this post, you've all of Trump's qualities that make him unfit to be your president.

Meh. He’s apparently fit to be President. He was elected by the American people and he made it through the Electoral College and he remains unimpeached and unconvicted and unremoved.

There are several official mechanisms to determine a person’s fitness for President of the United States, and they all have and continue to confirm that Donald Trump is perfectly fit to task.

 

[Welcome to Darwin]

Meh. He’s apparently fit to be President. He was elected by the American people and he made it through the Electoral College and he remains unimpeached and unconvicted and unremoved.

There are several official mechanisms to determine a person’s fitness for President of the United States, and they all have and continue to confirm that Donald Trump is perfectly fit to task.

Arguably no President in American history has ever been a better reflection of the country they represent.

 

[N4M8-]

Kushner is still going around soliciting funds from Gulf countries for his "investment fund" while the war is going on. His dad is a convicted felon. Witkoff and his son engage in endless financial self-dealing, including investing in Trump's bribery cryptocurrency, World Liberty Financial. The "Biden crime family" campaign rhetoric is, as always, just self projection of their own crimes.

You'd be hard pressed to find a more corrupt American regime in modern history, and certainly not at this scale or breadth.

Has there ever been a more corrupt or inept administration? As bad as they were, James Buchanan and Andrew Johnson are quaint by comparison.

 

[ramases]

The USS Ford is headed to Souda Bay for a week of repairs due to the laundry fire, so the US will be down one carrier for a week or two.



https://news.usni.org/2026/03/17/uss-gerald-r-ford-headed-to-souda-bay-for-repairs-after-fire

Maybe they could send the destroyer escorts through the Strait of Hormuz in the mean time to show how it's done?

Two things:

First, morale can't be good if this needs to be done in port right now instead of some interrim solution. The same applies to logistics; after all one of the things the US has historically excelled at was the fleet logistics needed for extended-time carrier group deployments.

Second, the US isn't doing this entirely alone. Europe *is" extending significant logistics support to the US in this by most countries quietly allowing them to route their logistics train through European bases. Crete Naval Base is a Greek military facility, the US military is allowed to use it under NATO. If it weren't for Souda Bay the only options outside the CONUS for major work on US supercarriers would be Jebel Ali on the UAE, and that one is just a tiny bit inconvenient right now.

 

[NoReallyJustSaying]

I know, it's deeply shocking that a shitty real estate guy and a shitty finance guy were shitty at nuclear geopolitical negotiations. I hope everyone was sitting down when they read that.

It's not actually funny, but I've been guffawing on how you put that for a few minutes now. You win one (1) Interwebs, dear Sir/Macam.

You'd be hard pressed to find a more corrupt American regime in modern history, and certainly not at this scale or breadth.

The corruption has a long and proud history, these guys are just too fucking stupid to be subtle about it. And I'll take all of that in stride. A billion here, a billion there, it happens. A Halliburton contract here, a Blackwater slush there, it's been going on for ages.

It's the raging sheer goddamned incompetence and stupidity of the people involved that is making my eyes water here. Seriously, imagine a room of seasoned Qatari, KSA, Israeli, EU, Russian etc. diplomats sitting in a room... and Jared fucking Kushner and Sammy fucking Wittkopf walk in.

"FREE BEER" does not even begin to cover it.

Edit: clarified

 

[Gary Patterson]

There have been numerous reports that Kusnher and Witkoff cratered the negotiations because they are absolute idiots and way out of their depth on the details of nuclear development, to say nothing of the rest of the topics that are involved in negotiations.

I thought it was that Kushner was paid handsomely by UAE to represent them. He got a billion or two and they got the removal of their local competitor, Iran.

 

[SedsAtArs]

That's not where he's going...

If there's any sort of karma that's where he's going, to unclog their toilets, clean their floors and deal with their worst customers for eternity.

 

[NoReallyJustSaying]

I thought it was that Kushner was paid handsomely by UAE to represent them. He got a billion or two and they got the removal of their local competitor, Iran.

True enough; as much as the UAE/Qatar/Israel hate each other, they hate Iran more. Not necessarily as adversarial as I was thinking.

 

[NewNinetyNine]

A photo of Iran’s bombed schoolgirl graveyard went around the world. Was it real, or AI?​

A fascinating and unnerving article on AI slop adding uncertainty in the fog of war. Yes the image in real, but prominent AI sites confidently "refute it."

Ask Gemini, the AI service powered by Google, and the answer you receive is no – in fact, Gemini claims the photograph is from two years earlier and more than 2,000km (1,240 miles) away.
...
Seeing the same burial image on social media, others turned to X’s AI assistant Grok to check its veracity. Like Gemini, Grok will breezily assure you the photo is not from Iran at all – although it lands on a different date, disaster and location.
...
The cemetery image, it turns out, is authentic. Researchers have cross referenced the photo of the site with satellite images that confirm its location, and it can be cross-referenced again with dozens more images taken of the same site from slightly different angles, and again with video footage – none of which experts say show signs of tampering or digital manipulation. The “factchecks” by Gemini and Grok are just one example of a tidal wave of AI-generated slop

 

[NoReallyJustSaying]

If there's any sort of karma that's where he's going, to unclog their toilets, clean their floors and deal with their worst customers for eternity.

You mean make them serve on the Gerald Ford?

 

[bjn]

He is loyal enough to claim Dear Leader received bad advice as the fig leaf for the misadventure

The old “bad boyars/good tsar” thing.

Edit: Dammit, ninja’d

 

[NoReallyJustSaying]

A fascinating and unnerving article on AI slop adding uncertainty in the fog of war. Yes the image in real, but prominent AI sites confidently "refute it."

Who could have POSSIBLY predicted that determining AI fakes would become harder and harder? And that the absolute utter worst pants-on-head idiotic way to judge it would be... AI? If only there were a prominent technologist site where experts in the field could anonymously contribute to a proven consensus about this. Maybe this could have happened about 5 years ago, and not a lot having changed fundamentally since then, it should maybe be taken into account as an anonymous verdict of people who know what the fuck they are talking about but are not allowed to speak about openly and frankly?

 

[zenparadox]

There are now multiple confirmed briefings and sources where it was laid out why it is a very bad idea. Not reading the print doesn't absolve you of culpability.

Straight up ignoring good advice even less so.

 

[Zod]

This section was interesting. It shows how far the talks had progressed:

The imminence of a breakthrough is why Netanyahu pushed to go when they did. He cannot afford peace. Peace mean elections that he might lose. He loses, he goes on trial.

 

[Shavano]

Now I'm picturing Trump doing that Gollum scene with looking back at the camera from opposite sides of the tree or whatever...

Ok know I have Trump and Former Trump in my head discussing why we has to bombs the filthy Mullahses, and who exactly has the Precious.

 

[Shavano]

That letter is... something....
https://i.redd.it/ldjqs9479mpg1.jpeg

Openly blaming Israel for conning Trump into attacking Iran AND blaming them for conning Bush into attacking Iraq is going to do wonders to the debates about Israel...

I buy the conning Trump thing. I think Bush had his own stupid reasons for conning America into the Iraq war and I don't think Israel was high on that list.

 

[bthylafh]

Bush was famously an evangelical.