Chinese Firms Plot Secret Arms Sales to Iran, U.S. Officials Say
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/13/...e_code=1.iFA.n4Bi.hSI1lxvjWsm1&smid=url-share
The U.S. and Israel attack Iran | Peace deal finally on?
- Thread starter rio's upper lip
- Start date
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In the latest edition of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) chats to author, Dan Williamson, about his new book 'If I Hadnt Seen Such Riches' which chronicles our 1990/91 European Cup Winners Cup victory, which is a trip down memory lane for those old enough to remember it and a vital history lesson for those who don't.
Is a proxy war between US and China possible, using Iran as a staging ground?
This is funny. Trump turned up in China with his best paedophiles and Xi sent out the vice president to meet them.
The nefarious Chinese plot to sell things that other people need.
They are simply smarter and faster and I would have zero problems if the "traditional partners" of the US turned to China more.
I don't know why Americans accept this.
Hmm and here I was thinking they wanted to help the Iranian people. Silly me.
Israel must have some top tier blackmail material on Trump to be able to make America their little bitch.
Israel seem determined to embarrass the UAE.
Jumping into something for Israel, even when it is detrimental for American citizens and economy, predates Trump. It has been the American way for decades now.
UAE Tried in Vain to Get Saudis to Coordinate on Iran Response
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-to-get-saudis-to-coordinate-on-iran-response
The West bombing people is altruism.
China selling energy to people is insidious exploitation.
Orientalism is an incredible drug.
When do we think this war will actually end? Or will it linger on and devastate the economy until UAE establishes its own extensive global supply chain post OPEC?
Well, the China summit is over. So if Trump waited for that to pass before making another move, then we could be seeing some moves again. Or maybe he thinks his blockade on Iran is working so far.
NYT reports that Israel had 2 bases in Iraq.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/17/world/europe/israel-iraq-iran-bases.html
Providing political and diplomatic cover, absolutely. Actually going to war like this spending billions in weeks, no. Iraq was all Bush and that neocon groups obsession with Saddam. And I can't think of any event like this. Trump does not just represent a continuation but very much a change and an escalation.
I wouldnt be surprised if the drones came from these bases.
Iraq says it is investigating the circumstances around a drone attack that Saudi Arabia said was launched from Iraqi territory yesterday, Al Jazeera reports.
Iraq’s foreign ministry says in a statement that its air defences had not detected any drones being launched in the country’s airspace. The statement also calls on Saudi Arabia “to cooperate and exchange relevant information” to enhance security and stability.
The ministry reiterates its backing of “the firm position rejecting any targeting of sisterly countries”.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it has struck US and Israeli-backed “counter-revolutionary terrorist groups” operating in northern Iraq, according to Al Jazeera.
The groups were attempting “to smuggle a large consignment of sealed American weapons and ammunition into the country and were struck in Kurdistan Province”, the IRGC’s Hamzeh Sayyed al-Shuhada Command said in a statement shared by Iran’s Fars News Agency.
The command added that “a large quantity of arms and ammunition” was discovered and seized.
This includes 24 Reaper drones.
Bizarre. Absolutely bizarre
If someone cleverer than me could post a proper link, that would be great.
If someone cleverer than me could post a proper link, that would be great.
Attack on Iran this weekend again?
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Cheers Donald, couldn't ask for better fecking timing.
Good luck. I have the same flight booked for November.
Cheers Donald, couldn't ask for better fecking timing.
Saw some images of US military jets being parked at the Israel civilian airport. US ran out of bases ?
These people don’t have any self awareness.
Can you actually explain?
What jets were they? What were they doing? Which airport?
There are over 100 airfields in the Middle east that has is either a US military facility or a shared US military facility. Going to have to be a bit specific.
Fixed for clarity.
Right, so three months in, let me say what most people still won't.
Going in, expectations for Iran were pretty low. Their proxies had taken hits, the country was dealing with massive unrest, under severe sanctions, and the general vibe was that the regime was on its last legs anyway and a few strikes would finish the job.
Turns out that was wrong. Embarrassingly wrong, actually.
Iran has knocked a lot of US regional basing out of action, at least temporarily. The Strait of Hormuz is still very much closed which is a slow rolling disarster for the global economy. And whatever exactly happened to Israel, it clearly wasn't the clean win everyone was being sold at the start.
How did Iran do it? Missiles, mostly. Cheap ones, expensive ones, lots of them. And shooting them down costs a fortune (unlike what @AfonsoAlves was claiming at the beginning of this war). We've literally been pulling interceptors away from allies to keep up. Think about what South Korea makes of that. Japan. Taiwan. Countries we've spent years telling, "Don't worry lads, we've got you." They're watching us empty the cupboards for yet another Middle East war.
Here's what gets me though. I'm not a military man. I don't have a uniform, a security clearance, or a think tank salary. I figured this out sitting in Manhattan 6,000 miles from Tehran, with a Casio calculator and a basic grasp of arithmetic. So what exactly were the generals doing? What were the NATO strategists doing? What were all those very serious people in very serious rooms doing, if a bloke with a ten dollar calculator could see Iran's asymmetric response coming from the other side of the planet? Either they didn't know, which is terrifying. Or they knew and nobody with any power actually cared. I'll leave you to decide which is worse.
Going in, expectations for Iran were pretty low. Their proxies had taken hits, the country was dealing with massive unrest, under severe sanctions, and the general vibe was that the regime was on its last legs anyway and a few strikes would finish the job.
Turns out that was wrong. Embarrassingly wrong, actually.
Iran has knocked a lot of US regional basing out of action, at least temporarily. The Strait of Hormuz is still very much closed which is a slow rolling disarster for the global economy. And whatever exactly happened to Israel, it clearly wasn't the clean win everyone was being sold at the start.
How did Iran do it? Missiles, mostly. Cheap ones, expensive ones, lots of them. And shooting them down costs a fortune (unlike what @AfonsoAlves was claiming at the beginning of this war). We've literally been pulling interceptors away from allies to keep up. Think about what South Korea makes of that. Japan. Taiwan. Countries we've spent years telling, "Don't worry lads, we've got you." They're watching us empty the cupboards for yet another Middle East war.
Here's what gets me though. I'm not a military man. I don't have a uniform, a security clearance, or a think tank salary. I figured this out sitting in Manhattan 6,000 miles from Tehran, with a Casio calculator and a basic grasp of arithmetic. So what exactly were the generals doing? What were the NATO strategists doing? What were all those very serious people in very serious rooms doing, if a bloke with a ten dollar calculator could see Iran's asymmetric response coming from the other side of the planet? Either they didn't know, which is terrifying. Or they knew and nobody with any power actually cared. I'll leave you to decide which is worse.
This would be the most stupid thing to do with Hajj and Eid in 3-4 days. You think Saudi Arabia would allow them to attack Iran during Hajj?
Israel has one major civilian airport, near Tel Aviv, and also a smaller one near Eilat in the south. Both have been occupied for months by American planes, it's well known. I'm not sure which planes exactly, I think some at least were refueling planes.
I don't believe NATO were involved, were they?
Maybe the people brought in by Trump and his servents were, as expected, not very qualified to do their work.
Maybe they didn't the guts to tell the truth to the people in White House, starting with Trump.
Or maybe some of them did, but they were shut out.
Trump claimed a few weeks ago he didn't know Iran might close Hormuz. That the possibility wasn't mentioned. But that doesn't make any sense.
Looks like there is going to be some progress.. reports of a 60 day extension to the ceasefire ...
Some republicans not too happy.
https://aje.news/osen4f?update=4596650
Several Republican senators have responded to signs of progress in US-Iran ceasefire negotiations by calling for more war.
Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally and staunch supporter of Israel, criticised any deal in which Iran is perceived as having a strong position.
“If a deal is struck to end the Iranian conflict because it is believed that the Strait of Hormuz cannot be protected from Iranian terrorism and Iran still possesses the capability to destroy major Gulf oil infrastructure, then Iran will be perceived as being a dominate force requiring a diplomatic solution,” he wrote on X.
“This combination of Iran being perceived as having the ability to terrorize the Strait in perpetuity and the ability the inflict massive damage to Gulf oil infrastructure is a major shift of the balance of power in the region and over time will be a nightmare for Israel,” he added.
Senator Roger Wicker said a rumoured 60-day ceasefire agreement, which has not been confirmed, “would be a disaster”.
“Everything accomplished by Operation Epic Fury would be for naught!” he wrote.
The reaction makes me believe there is a chance of some good news
Some republicans not too happy.
https://aje.news/osen4f?update=4596650
Several Republican senators have responded to signs of progress in US-Iran ceasefire negotiations by calling for more war.
Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally and staunch supporter of Israel, criticised any deal in which Iran is perceived as having a strong position.
“If a deal is struck to end the Iranian conflict because it is believed that the Strait of Hormuz cannot be protected from Iranian terrorism and Iran still possesses the capability to destroy major Gulf oil infrastructure, then Iran will be perceived as being a dominate force requiring a diplomatic solution,” he wrote on X.
“This combination of Iran being perceived as having the ability to terrorize the Strait in perpetuity and the ability the inflict massive damage to Gulf oil infrastructure is a major shift of the balance of power in the region and over time will be a nightmare for Israel,” he added.
Senator Roger Wicker said a rumoured 60-day ceasefire agreement, which has not been confirmed, “would be a disaster”.
“Everything accomplished by Operation Epic Fury would be for naught!” he wrote.
The reaction makes me believe there is a chance of some good news
And here's the Trump post.
Not sure if serious.
Iran have been far and away the biggest loser in all of this. Its leaders have been systematically killed off and their military has been severely degraded. And for all the talk about the Straight of Hormuz, Iran is losing far more by way of their ships not being allowed out than the US or the rest of the world through higher gas prices. The US has also needlessly squandered a large swath of various munitions, which is not insignificant, so I guess you could chalk that it up to pointless self-own on Trump's part.