Iranian developments

... (SNIP) Iranian officials - including the president, the foreign minister and others - have unanimously voiced their objection to any talks with the US - be it in a bilateral or a multilateral setting," the Leader stated.

Ayatollah Khamenei said talks with Iran would be possible only if the US returns to a 2015 nuclear deal that it abandoned last year. Under that multilateral accord, Washington had lifted its anti-Iran economic sanctions.

• Enhance air defenses around Saudi cities and oil facilities.
  
• Launch a missile strike at Iranian military facilities.
  
• Launch missiles and airstrikes against a broad range of Iranian targets, including civilian infrastructure.
  
• Conduct an extended air campaign.
  
• “Quarantine” Iran.

ReadyMom wrote:

TRex2 wrote:

BTW: Iran is backed by Russia.
If we go to all out war, they will wreck the US.
By comparison, Iraq was a walk in the park.

   In what way?

rick1 wrote:Saudi Arabia buys 10's of billions of dollars worth of defense from the U.S., I'd like to know why they don't fight their own conflicts?

Anybody have any answers?

TRex2 wrote:

rick1 wrote:Saudi Arabia buys 10's of billions of dollars worth of defense from the U.S., I'd like to know why they don't fight their own conflicts?

Anybody have any answers?

Maybe because they aren't very good at it?

You're a hoot TRex2  

Iran, who has repeatedly denied involvement in the bombings, warned Wednesday that it would "immediately" retaliate against the United States if Tehran is targeted over a crippling weekend attack on Saudi oil facilities.

... there can be no doubt that by any standards, the direct attack on Saudi Arabia was an act of war, and as it was entirely dependent on Iranian weapons procurement and instruction, it is an escalation of the war-by-proxy between Iran and Saudi Arabia in Yemen with an outright act of war by Iran against Saudi Arabia.

ReadyMom wrote:   Hat Tip to John West, over at his Daily Big Threats blog:

Iran’s Act of War
https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/09/irans-act-of-war/

rick1 wrote:Iran threatens an all out war with the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, vows to fight to last American:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iran-warns-us-of-all-out-war-if-attacked/2019/09/19/26c04864-da4c-11e9-a1a5-162b8a9c9ca2_story.html

rick1 wrote:Iran threatens an all out war with the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, vows to fight to last American:https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iran-warns-us-of-all-out-war-if-attacked/2019/09/19/26c04864-da4c-11e9-a1a5-162b8a9c9ca2_story.html

ReadyMom wrote:

rick1 wrote:Iran threatens an all out war with the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, vows to fight to last American:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iran-warns-us-of-all-out-war-if-attacked/2019/09/19/26c04864-da4c-11e9-a1a5-162b8a9c9ca2_story.html

So ... will they consider the increased sanctions on themselves as a threat?

TRex2 wrote:

rick1 wrote:Iran threatens an all out war with the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, vows to fight to last American:https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iran-warns-us-of-all-out-war-if-attacked/2019/09/19/26c04864-da4c-11e9-a1a5-162b8a9c9ca2_story.html

1. I did not see that in the article, and I believe you are misrepresenting what they said.
2. Many are not aware that we have defense interests at stake in this conflict, not the least of which is that Iran must be kept in check, and that means we have a stake in almost all of its neighbors.
3. Never forget that the Washington Post is hostile to Trump and therefore hostile to the defense of our nation.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif was speaking with CNN when he warned the Trump administration that any military strike would result in a prolonged conflict with the Islamic Republic.

“We won’t blink to defend our territory,” Zarif said, adding his military will fight “to the last American soldier”

“I make a very serious statement about defending our country. I am making a very serious statement that we don’t want to engage in a military confrontation,” he added.

TRex2 wrote:My apologies. I misread what rick1 wrote.
If you look back you will see this sequence of words:
and Saudi Arabia, vows to fight to last American
I missed the comma and if you think about it, you will understand what I, mistakenly, thought I saw.
My fault.

we should not underestimate the political and security aspects of these attacks - particularly with respect to Russia.

The situation has increased the value of stable and secure energy supplies, which plays directly into Moscow’s hands.

Given its system of oil and gas pipelines to Europe, and the developing pipeline to China, Russia has established a reputation as a reliable energy supplier. Its ability to protect its vital energy infrastructure, which has not experienced major failures or attacks over the last several decades, bolsters this reputation further.

Moscow simply doesn’t face the same risks as Saudi Arabia in oil production and supply.

Moscow has no interest in augmenting the growing tensions in the Gulf.

"Be careful, a limited aggression will not remain limited. We will pursue any aggressor. We are after punishment and we will continue until the full destruction of any aggressor," the head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp, Major General Hossein Salami, said in remarks broadcast on state TV.

"Whoever wants their land to become the main battlefield, go ahead," he told a news conference in Tehran.

"We will never allow any war to encroach upon Iran's territory.

"We hope that they don't make a strategic mistake", he said, listing past US military "adventures" against Iran.

Saudi Arabia, which has been involved in a five-year war across its southern border in Yemen, has said Iran "unquestionably sponsored" the attacks.

Dave58 wrote:https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/iran-launches-surprise-drill-near-turkey-border/1636691
Just found this I didn't know if it goes here or with Turkey & Syria..
Either way it seems like things are picking up speed  

An Iranian general has warned that Iran’s missile arsenals are aimed at 21 American military bases in the Middle East and the country is prepared for “the greatest war against the greatest enemy.”

In a November 29 speech, at an event in the southern city of Bushehr commemorating 40 years since the establishment of the Basij paramilitary force, Gen. Allahnoor Noorollahi also said that Iran had the ability to raze Haifa and Tel Aviv to the ground.    ---CONTINUED---  

While Iran seems not to want to seriously rock the boat — and emphasizes that all of its JCPOA breaches are immediately reversible — the implications of its violations are becoming more and more serious and could elicit a harsher international reaction. Iran’s actions, including detaining an IAEA inspector, look increasingly hostile. With a stockpile of over 500 kg of LEU, the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) has estimated that Iran’s breakout time has already been reduced from 8-12 months to 6-10.

While Iran tries to justify its JCPOA violations as a response to the US breach of the deal – a narrative that has been largely embraced by the mainstream media, and most international actors – not enough attention has been devoted to other problematic aspects of Iranian behavior that touch on its continued efforts to lay the foundation for a weaponization program. The activities in this regard – including not reconfiguring Fordow, or lying about having purchased additional tubing for the reactor at Arak, before cement was poured into them – are less easily pinpointed than when the specific enrichment limitations set out in the nuclear deal are crossed. Moreover, it is behavior that has not featured in the quarterly reports of the IAEA, and consequently is rarely raised in the media or discussed in the wider debate, although it raises serious concern.

The latest IAEA report on Iran shines light on two additional issues of concern, but provides no details. It reports that the IAEA attended one meeting of the JCPOA Procurement Working Group, but fails to relate to US intelligence regarding Iran’s efforts to procure dual-use goods that could be used in a nuclear weapons program in the 2015-2018 period. Moreover, the report fails to mention anything about its investigation into the Iran nuclear archives – the original Iranian documents detailing its plans for producing five nuclear bombs that Israel extracted from Tehran in January 2018. These documents – which include information about scientists, facilities, and equipment involved in Iran’s military nuclear program that were not known in 2015 – were turned over to the IAEA over a year and a half ago.

For the first time, the latest IAEA report does include reference to uranium particles (natural uranium of “anthropogenic origin”) that were found at an undeclared nuclear site that was revealed by Prime Minister Netanyahu at the UN in September 2018, and from which soil samples were taken earlier this year. This was after the Iranians had emptied the warehouse over the summer of 2018, once they knew Israel had turned over the nuclear archives. According to a report by David Albright and Andrea Stricker, in a recent briefing to journalists, “the Israelis…stated that the uranium’s characteristics and age do not correspond with uranium from any nuclear facility previously disclosed by Iran, implying that there exists or existed an undeclared Iranian uranium conversion facility.”

Dave58 wrote: ...msn...blah blah blah...

As the world turns or These are the days of our lives....
Take your pick.....It helps to keep me motivated  

TRex2 wrote:They stormed it several hours ago,
but I don't think they got in,
and we have sent reinforcements.

rick1 wrote:The news just reported that an additional 100 Marines are on their way to reinforce the Marines that are there and helicopter gunships are now flying over the protestors and are dropping flares (for now).

Roughly 750 soldiers with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division are slated to be wheels up soon headed for Kuwait with an additional 4,000 American troops expected to deploy later this week, a U.S. defense official confirmed to Military Times.

“At the direction of the Commander in Chief, I have authorized the deployment of an infantry battalion from the Immediate Response Force (IRF) of the 82nd Airborne Division to the U.S. Central Command area of operations in response to recent events in Iraq,” Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Tuesday evening in a written statement.

“Approximately 750 soldiers will deploy to the region immediately, and additional forces from the IRF are prepared to deploy over the next several days,” Esper said.

(SNIP) ... Dozens of Iraqi Shiite militiamen and their supporters broke into the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Tuesday, smashing a main door and setting fire to a reception area, angered over deadly U.S. airstrikes targeting the Iran-backed militia. U.S. guards fired tear gas and palls of smoke rose over the grounds.
An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw flames rising from inside the compound and at least three U.S. soldiers on the roof of the main embassy building. There was a fire at the reception area near the compound’s parking lot but it was unclear what had caused it. A man on a loudspeaker urged the mob not to enter the compound, saying: “The message was delivered.”

Security personnel at the US Embassy in Baghdad fired tear gas and rubber bullets at hundreds
of protesters on Wednesday, as demonstrations at the compound entered a second day.

Protesters were seen trying to climb the embassy's exterior walls, an eyewitness -- who asked not to be named for security reasons -- told CNN.

Others said the protesters were hurling rocks at the building and trying to set fire to its walls and to the security booths at the main entrance.

Drinkthekoolaid wrote:

TRex2 wrote:They stormed it several hours ago, but I don't think they got in, and we have sent reinforcements.

But to have the audacity to organize an attempted take over of US territory....  I don't see that going unanswered.

rick1 wrote:There is one thing for sure, President Trump will not be sending pellet loads of cash like O'Bozo did, he'll be sending pellet loads of precious metals (LEAD, tipped with explosives).
And don't count out Israel giving us a little help with that.

Drinkthekoolaid wrote:Iran has all but promised attempting to avenge Soulemeni

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7847923/Iran-promises-crushing-revenge-America-assassination-general-Qasem-Soleimani.html

https://news.yahoo.com/iran-vows-harsh-response-us-064000730.html

It's on.  

If you have a pistol, carry it. Carry extra mags. I would personally avoid crowds and soft targets. Gas up your vehicles and storage cans, have enough food and water at home. Etc.

Iran is going to do something, somewhere.  Not sure if they keep it local in the middle East or attempt to attack us here with sleeper cells.

rick1 wrote:

Drinkthekoolaid wrote:Iran has all but promised attempting to avenge Soulemeni

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7847923/Iran-promises-crushing-revenge-America-assassination-general-Qasem-Soleimani.html

https://news.yahoo.com/iran-vows-harsh-response-us-064000730.html

It's on.  

If you have a pistol, carry it. Carry extra mags. I would personally avoid crowds and soft targets. Gas up your vehicles and storage cans, have enough food and water at home. Etc.

Iran is going to do something, somewhere.  Not sure if they keep it local in the middle East or attempt to attack us here with sleeper cells.

Oh yes, they're up on their toes now, depending what they actually do to get revenge, depends if we make a glass parking lot of them.

The area I live in is too far out in the sticks for them to come and get me, but I'm ready for them.

Forgot to add, I bet little rocket man has his eyeballs on what the U.S. has done and will do.

Cybersecurity professionals across the U.S. expressed a mixture of concern and caution Friday, with many explicitly saying that they are gearing up for potential retaliation from Iran, which has already proven in recent years to be a formidable adversary in the cyber realm.