Israel vs Palestine/Lebanon/Iran/Yemen/Syria: a New Middle East War

[SilentFeathers]

US service member missing after Iran shot down fighter jet has been rescued

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=4w4dDgHapLc

Now we'll see how the media and all the online Trump hating talking head "Experts" spin this in to something bad and negative....

[Ravenlocke]

Posted by Bruce G Charlton (here)

Posted by Rizotto (here)
https://www.tbsnews.net/world/iran-h...-trump-1402586

April 4, 2026 - excerpt:

"In posts on Truth Social, Trump referenced a previous ultimatum, stating, "Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out. 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them. Glory be to GOD! President DONALD J. TRUMP."

Trump invoking 'god' is rather curious. I wonder if Pete Hegseth, or perhaps even Paula White, wrote that post.

Somebody not a Christian and not literate wrote that post, if that is any help.

"God" is generic, and could refer to almost any being (including, for some people among the global establishment: Satan); but during Easter Jesus Christ spontaneously takes centre stage, for a real Christian.

Thank you Bruce for saying that, it is same conclusion that I came to as well.

[Arcturian108]

This Iranian, Armin Navabi, gives a thoughtful discussion of what arming the Iranian people to overthrow the current regime might look like:
Armin Navabi's discussion

[Bill Ryan]

Just for the record, Iranian Fars News reported the events rather differently. It has to be possible that the US military account may be inaccurate... either slightly so, or very much so. (But how can we tell??)

If the US account is entirely accurate, one might suspect with such a propaganda victory as the heroic rescue of a downed airman in hostile territory (and it may indeed have been a heroic rescue), that the airman would be interviewed and hailed as a hero (and again, he might indeed have been quite some hero to have survived on his own until being rescued).

It'll be interesting to see if we're shown his name and photo. And a Fox News interview would be something else. (Should we hold our breaths? Maybe not.)

Here's the Fars News report: (...which, like the US account, may be entirely accurate, entirely false, or mixture of the two)

~~~

• Since Saturday night, search operations to find the American pilot(s) have continued in the 3 provinces: Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Isfahan, and Kohgiluyeh & Boyer-Ahmad.

• Isfahan: Around 2 AM today, Iranians in southern Isfahan reported hearing the sound of an airplane flying, and simultaneously, the sound of drones and helicopters was heard in parts of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad.

• According to local sources, until about 5 AM, several explosions were heard in southern Isfahan. The IRGC & Army then announced in statements the destruction of 2 MQ-9 and Hermes 900 drones, and the Khatam al-Anbiya also reported the destruction of 2 transport planes (C-130 Hercules) and 2 helicopters.

• Some local sources reported that the US attempted to destroy the remains of the crashed aircraft and even the bodies of killed American forces.

• Field sources also report the killing of several American forces by Iran’s armed forces.

• Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad: During the enemy’s early morning attack on a point in Siyah Mountain, a point in Kakan, and the Vozg area of Yasuj city, there were a total of 9 martyrs and 7 wounded.

• Some media linked these attacks to the search operation for the pilot and even claimed that American forces were deployed to rescue the American pilot, but official provincial sources denied these claims.

• The political and security deputy governor of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad told a Fars reporter: No heliborne operations were carried out by the US in last night’s attacks.

[shaberon]

Posted by SilentFeathers (here)
Now we'll see how the media and all the online Trump hating talking head "Experts" spin this in to something bad and negative....

Of course it is. What are they doing there? Something bad and negative.


If it is even real:

In the hours following the Isfahan debacle, US President Donald Trump took to social media to claim that a "daring" and "miraculous" rescue operation had successfully extracted the missing F-15E pilot with no American losses.

Iranian officials responded with immediate statements, mocking the US president's claim.

Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf posted an image of the destroyed C-130 wreckage on his X account, writing with sharp sarcasm: "If the United States gets three more victories like this, it will be utterly ruined."

The IRGC Intelligence Organization highlighted the absence of any photographs or video evidence of the supposedly rescued pilot—a stark contrast to the abundant Iranian imagery of burning American aircraft.

Iranian analysts noted that even if the American narrative were accepted at face value, the cost of the operation had been catastrophic: two C-130 transport planes, two Black Hawk helicopters, and an unknown number of casualties, all for the extraction of a single airman who had been shot down days earlier because American air superiority had already failed.

The Presidential statements can only be understood as "market manipulation", mixed with Censorship.

Planet Labs -- source of images such as Dubai's Jebel Ali Port:





has gone from a four to fourteen-day delay to indefinite.


An Israeli commercial vessel was just destroyed there.


Unusual ship warfare by Hezbollah:

The Islamic Resistance announced on Sunday that its fighters targeted an Israeli warship 68 nautical miles off the Lebanese coast this morning, as the vessel was preparing to launch attacks on Lebanese territory.

In a statement, the Islamic Resistance said the attack was carried out using a naval cruise missile after the target had been under surveillance for several hours, adding that a direct hit was confirmed.

And again:

Among the key targets was a hideout used by American commanders and officers at a location near the Mohammad al-Ahmad naval base in Kuwait.

The site was obliterated by precision strikes using multiple ballistic missiles and attack drones, the IRGC said.

Reports indicate that the heavy concentration of ambulances in the area points to substantial casualties among enemy forces.

The attack, which follows Saturday's strike on a US command centre and training facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has so far killed or injured 25.

Washington University removes the director of its West Asia Center for:

Last July Fani told the Daily UW, a student newspaper, that President Donald Trump’s militaristic foreign policy is not making the world safer.

“If you tell the dozens of children that were killed in Israeli bombardment... in Iran, or the families of the nuclear scientists who were just wiped out, I hardly imagine they would say that the world is a more peaceful place,” he said amid the first round of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran.

Since then, many more Iranian children have been killed by US and Israeli bombing, including more than 100 students who were among around 175 people massacred in the February 28 US missile strike on a girls’ school in Minab.

“The [only] peace this secures is for weapons manufacturers, for oil companies, for drone companies,” Fani said in an implicit rebuke of Trump’s claim to be the “president of peace.”

“It secures peace for them, fills their pockets with money, and makes them fully invincible,” he added. “It’s creating a class of people that are living [on] an alternate planet.”

Wires:


Trump asked US lawmakers to approve a massive $1.5 trillion military budget for 2027, as America faces rising costs from its military aggression against Iran.

After an hour of announcing his resignation, the US Army Chief of Staff issued an unprecedented warning referring to Trump as "a madman [who] will drive the great American military to destruction," as per reports.

Pezeshkian said he discussed with Finland's president Trump's threat to bomb Iran "back to the Stone Ages," describing the US president's rhetoric as a frank acknowledgment of intent to commit a "massive war crime" and calling on the international community to abandon its neutrality.

Austria has rejected Washington's request to utilize Austrian airspace in the war against Iran, distancing itself from "Trump's war." Andi Babler, Vice Chancellor of Austria, posted on X: "We want no connection to Trump's politics of chaos and his war, which will bring us the next energy crisis. Neutrality is a precious asset in our country. No to war."

The Indian oil ministry says the country has purchased its first oil shipment from Iran in seven years without facing any problems in payments amid restrictions on the flow of crude oil from the Persian Gulf resulting from US-Israeli aggression on Iran.

[sdv]

The entire story about the shooting down of and 'rescue' of the two pilots sounds so messy and confusing, which is typical of the court of emperor Trump and the people, including media, serving him. Thanks to Bill and others for finding information from Iranian media to at least give an alternative story. No doubt the Netflix special or Hollywood blockbuster will make heroes of Americans and cartoon villains of the Iranians, and Americans will believe the fictionalized story.

I must admit that I hoped that the downed pilots would be rescued, even though they are the ones who have been dropping bombs that are war crimes, every day. Probably injured, without food and water, destined to become a political football if captured and cartoon heroes if rescued ... we do not defend civilization by treating the enemy as subhuman, no matter what they have done ... they are still human and individuals and at some subconscious level they must have felt very alone and terrified.

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by sdv (here)
The entire story about the shooting down of and 'rescue' of the two pilots sounds so messy and confusing.

Yes, there's more to what happened than meets the eye. The downed airman would have had a PLB (Personal Locator Beacon), relaying to a satellite his exact location within 5 or 10 meters. (I have one of those in my backpack when hiking! They're compact, waterproof, near-indestructibe, and have a battery that lasts 7 years.)

Even if he was moving stealthily at night, his path would have been tracked precisely. What was needed was a helicopter to pull him out of wherever he was, winching him up on a cable like a rescue at sea.

They train on this all the time. They don't even have to land any aircraft anywhere.

So the presence of the 2 C-130s (and why two??) is unexplained, just for one thing. It seems like a major incident that may have far more to it than has been revealed — with mishaps, ambushes or accidents, action taken to handle those and continue the search, more mishaps, ambushes or accidents, and so on until whatever signified the end of the operation.

[Tintin]

CCTV footage from Tel Aviv, perhaps filmed earlier today but there's no time-stamp; but which also certainly appears genuine:

Source: https://x.com/Jvnior/status/2040463821744001278

[bojancan]

In my opinion... any and all who keep following these orders are guilty of war crimes!
Always knew those around Trump... technocrats.. special Thiel... they are complicit in illegal war!!!!


CHAIRMAN of Joint Chiefs TORCHES Trump for WAR CRIMES!!!

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=G9nJRNB5DPc

[shaberon]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
So the presence of the 2 C-130s (and why two??) is unexplained, just for one thing.

Yes, very strange.

Apparently there was the use of an "abandoned airport" (where? in those mountains?) with a US claim they scuttled their own wares:

The New York Times reported that two transport aircraft spiriting taking part in the operation n got stuck on the ground and had to be blown up, with three new planes sent into Iran to take the officer and rescue team out.

The military then blew up the transport planes so they would not fall into Iran’s hands, the newspaper reported, noting that hundreds of special operations soldiers took part in the mission.

"Stuck on the ground" suggests "shot by locals with small arms". Analysis of wreckage shows it to be an MH-6 Little Bird, so, Iranian SAM may have shot something other than C-130. The plausible reason for those is "commandos". It takes one helicopter to do one rescue, but it was accompanied by a mini-invasion I suppose.

[Ravenlocke]

Patrick Henningsen

Trump posts a satanic rant on Easter. What an abomination. A disgrace to his office & the country. It should be obvious now that Trump and his inner circle, his coterie of Israeli assets like Marco Rubio, Miller et al, are in meltdown now. For the good of the nation, and safety of the world - this failing President needs to be removed from office ASAP. The alcoholic Hegseth purged Generals for this reason - to prevent an emergency measure/25th Amendment measure to alleviate this White House train wreck. If anyone in Washington has any integrity left they would be working to find a way to remove this rogue actor & his psychotic cabinet before they drag us all into WWIII. Their loyalty should be to the country, not the octogenarian psychopathic reality TV star masquerading as POTUS….

https://x.com/21WIRE/status/2040805243970331074

[Ravenlocke]

Aaron Maté

Trump confirms that the US (and Israel, by definition) armed anti-government protesters in Iran. This is what the Iranian government responded to in January, just as any other government would have done.

https://x.com/aaronjmate/status/2040804292899094576

[Ravenlocke]

Chris Murphy 🟧


Trump is calling reporters today to tell them he is going to commit mass war crimes next week. GOP leaders need to stop him.

Never mind that blowing up bridges and power plants and killing innocent Iranians won't reopen the Strait.

It's also a clear war crime. 1/ A 🧵on why:

https://x.com/ChrisMurphyCT/status/2040883102226997573

[Ravenlocke]

Scott Ritter

Why all caps?

It doesn’t disguise the inanity of your comments.

Iran is winning.

This war ends on terms dictated by Iran.

Not terms dictated by someone who started this war, concluded it was a mistake, and is trying to bully himself out of the mess he made.

Iran survived so far.

It will survive whatever Trump throws at them.

And give back ten-fold in terms of damage that truly impacts regional and global markets.

https://x.com/RealScottRitter/status...77176900276591

[Ravenlocke]

Free Palestine TV

It seems Hezbollah actually knew what they targeted, and that is why the Zionists are trying to minimize the hit by claiming it was a mistake. This is huge, as this UK warship was crucial to tracking missile and drone fire from the Hezb, and to coordinate the AAs on ships targeting missiles from Iran.

https://x.com/TVFreePalestine/status...67023534596190

[Ravenlocke]

Sputnik

💥 US bombed its own aircraft during rescue mission in Iran — IRGC

💬 “After Iran's fighters completed the encirclement — the contemptible enemy, in order to prevent the disgrace of Trump and preserve the hollow prestige of their army, was forced to heavily bomb their own downed aircraft, equipment, commanders, and soldiers,” a spokesman for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters, the country’s integrated air defense command, said.

According to the statement, multiple US aircraft were “struck and forced into emergency landings south of Isfahan,” including:
🔸 2 C-130 military transport planes
🔸 2 Black Hawk helicopters

📌 The statement by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps described the US operation as “failed,” saying the outcome “cannot be repaired by rhetoric, media warfare, or psychological operations.”

🚨🪖🇺🇸 Why US pilot's rescue op far from 'success'

The Pentagon has a long habit of "disguising and hiding the fact that they have been losing significant numbers to injury or even death of personnel," and it can't be ruled out that losses are written off as contractors, Stockholm University professor Isa Blumi told Sputnik

Saturday's operation can be characterized as a "success" only insofar as its coverage by the corporate media - "owned by the same people pushing for war on Iran" - diverted attention from other crises, including the war's impact on ordinary Americans, Blumi explained

"If there is any success, it is the success of getting people to talk about things other than what is actually happening on the ground," the academic added, noting that based on accounts of US troops with access to information blacked out by the media, the war "is not turning out well" for the coalition

Footage from social media


https://x.com/SputnikInt/status/2040887743065313670

[Ravenlocke]

Megatron

12h
NEW:

🇺🇸🇮🇷A mass grave of American aircraft that were lost last night while trying to rescue the pilot

https://x.com/Megatron_ron/status/2040718648382525645

https://x.com/Megatron_ron/status/2040715417552089113

https://x.com/Megatron_ron/status/2040717858729271409

[Ravenlocke]

DD Geopolitics

🇮🇷 An elderly Bakhtiari man, veteran of 10 months of combat in the Iran-Iraq war, describes the moment he opened fire on enemy aircraft with his rifle:

"I saw two helicopters coming out from that village. Two fighter jets right above them. One circled back this way, I was already armed and ready."

His wife told him not to shoot, thinking they were friendlies. He called the local Basij base to confirm.

"Captain Jalil said: these are enemies — shoot, shoot, open fire!"

https://x.com/DD_Geopolitics/status/2040823887844536736

[Ravenlocke]

Megatron

🇺🇸🇮🇷 U.S. Army aircraft losses to rescue the two crew members of downed F-15E jet over Iran:

Confirmed losses (current tally):
— 1× F-15E Strike Eagle — destroyed
— 2× HH-60 helicopters — damaged
— 1x MH-6 Little Bird — destroyed
— 1× A-10 Thunderbolt II — destroyed
— 2× C-130 Hercules — destroyed
— 1–2× MQ-9 Reapers — destroyed

Possible / unconfirmed damage:
— 1× F-16 Fighting Falcon — emergency squawk
— 1× KC-135 Stratotanker — emergency squawk
— 1× A-10 Thunderbolt II — possible emergency landing (dubious

https://x.com/Megatron_ron/status/2040719167859634443

[Ravenlocke]

Megatron

NEW:

🇺🇸🇮🇷 Iran has recovered the underwear of the American F-15E pilot

https://x.com/Megatron_ron/status/2040782827479032102

Megatron
NEW:

🇮🇷🇺🇸 Iranians hold US flag upside down and collected ammo boxes at aircraft crash site:

“You will be overthrown , like your flag”

https://x.com/Megatron_ron/status/2040784612281168224

https://x.com/Megatron_ron/status/2040786718132228270