🇺🇸🇰🇼🇶🇦🇦🇪🇸🇦🇧🇭🇯🇴⚡️🇮🇷 WATCH: The once-mighty US bases in Kuwait, Qatar, and beyond are now sitting ducks after Iranian strikes.
— CNN investigation
Very interesting reporting from the Western news media CNN. Video in https://t.me/DDGeopolitics/183254
this post was submitted on 27 Apr 2026
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This is a thread specifically for the war, not a general megathread (use the pinned /c/genzedong thread for that).
Please keep related news in this thread rather than making separate posts. Remember to include sources and avoid spreading rumours.
🇱🇧🇮🇱| Hezbollah published footage showing a FPV-strike on a Merkava in Qantara.
The Fiber-Optic FPV pierced trough the Merkava-4 'Cope-Cage' & destroyed it by setting its ammunition on fire.
▶️ Hüseyin Oral, activist onboard the Global Sumud aid flotilla, says he was brutally beaten and robbed of his money by Israeli soldiers while in detention.
Video in https://t.me/presstv/187929
I think the Sumud flotilla is a played out concept and that needs to be seriously reworked or shelved. Its become performative resistance. I think the cost is very high for something that brings few results.
Indeed, I am not really sure what it does beyond the same liberal tactic of "moral superiority", which claims that showing the other side as evil by letting them show their evilness is a very idealist way of fighting for any cause.
'Pentagon is lying': Netanyahu's gamble cost US four times official estimate, Araghchi says
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the Pentagon is lying about the financial toll of the war on Iran, noting that the aggression has directly cost the United States $100 billion so far—four times the official estimate.
Excerpt:
Academic experts paint an even grimmer picture. Professor Linda Bilmes, a public policy expert at the Harvard Kennedy School, projects the Iran war could ultimately cost US taxpayers $1 trillion.
"I am certain we will reach $1 trillion for the Iran war," Bilmes said in an interview, estimating short-term costs at around $2 billion per day during the 40 days of the war.
Bilmes argued the Pentagon's accounting methods mask the true expense, as figures are based on historical inventory values rather than current replacement costs—which are typically far higher.
Long-term expenses include reconstruction of damaged facilities, replenishing military inventory, rebuilding bases in the Persian Gulf, and potential lifetime disability benefits for roughly 55,000 deployed troops exposed to Iran’s retaliatory attacks.
Meanwhile, an online tracker monitoring the war's cost to American taxpayers shows the figure has reached $67 billion.
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2026/05/01/767847/Netanyahu-gamble-cost-America-100-billion-Araghchi)
rebuilding bases in the Persian Gulf,
nope. they don't need to count that cost because its not going to happen
🇺🇸🇮🇷🇷🇺🇨🇳US Claims it will Use "Dark Eagle" Hypersonic Missile on Iran
▪️The "Dark Eagle" hypersonic missile is launched from mobile ground launchers (pictured) and have a range of 2,700 km (some claims say 3,000+km) and is still in development;
▪️The missile is primarily being designed to bypass Chinese defenses (A2AD) INSIDE China amid a future US war of aggression against China;
▪️Deployment to Iran is a test - not a sustainable capability as the US only makes 1 missile per month and in the future only expects to make 2 per month at an estimated 41 million USD per missile and the fact it is still technically under development with only a handful of successful tests conducted;
▪️While there are only a handful of these missiles, if Iran has left itself vulnerable to their use it could cause serious damage to specific facilities - the story of hunting launchers with these missiles does not add up - there is most likely some other target they are seeking to use this against;
▪️The test - just like its use of LUCAS drones - is a two-way street. It gives the US insight into its own weapon capabilities, but also Iran and its Russian and Chinese allies;
▪️As myself and other analysts especially Mark Sleboda have warned about for years, while the US is moving slow, if given enough time and if the multipolar world doesn't organize quick enough, even the slow development of these systems will eventually produce results;
▪️This move adds more evidence to the notion the US is recklessly rushing forward with its plans to reassert global primacy at all costs - not "retreating" or "withdrawing" or "accommodating" or "adjusting" to reality in any shape, form, or way;
Here is the official US Congress overview of the US Army "Dark Eagle" hypersonic missile system: https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF11991
Self defense is when I kill a bunch of kids, and have to defend myself when you try and stop me.
🇧🇭| The Bahraini government has revoked the citizenship of 69 people & their families for their public support of Iran during the war, unsurprisingly all of them are Shia Muslims.
It’s also handing out between 5-10 years of imprisonment for any Bahraini that spoke against the war.
🇺🇸🇨🇳🇷🇺NEW VIDEO: DEEP DIVE: US Senate Hearing Reveals US Foreign Policy, Continued Confrontation with China
Part 1 of 3 - I cover a recent US Senate hearing covering the REAL foreign policy of the US of pursuing global primacy and first and foremost attempting to prevent the rise of China within its own borders and along its own shores.
US Congressional hearings often offer a relatively unfiltered look at US foreign policy and often blatantly reveal what US objectives REALLY are vs. what the the daily political circus says they are - and even reveal what special interests specifically drive this policy.
On YouTube: https://youtu.be/x9ban3AI5oE
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
🇾🇪| According to UKTMO, a bulk carrier, southwest of Yemen, was approached by a black hull carrying 7 armed forces.
No other details.
🇮🇷| Iran is building the Saghez gold extraction plant (by the International Engineering Company of Iran, Iritech) with the aim of producing gold with 99.9% purity.
🇮🇷🇺🇸| Iran sent its latest proposal on the preconditions for negotiations with the US to Pakistani mediators last night, on Thursday — IRNA
The first proposal was rejected by the US a couple of days ago.
✍ Last week, in an "exclusive" report, Mossad-affiliated “Iran International” tried to claim that Saeed Jalili & Ghalibaf had a falling out and that the leadership of the negotiating team was soon to be handed over to Jalili, in order to create a rift within Jalili & Ghalibaf supporters.
This fake propaganda story didn't achieve the desired results, so now they’ve been forced to cook up a new story.
This time, they claim that Ghalibaf—the same person they said was about to be dismissed—and Pezeshkian—the one they claimed had no real power—are going to remove Araghchi from the negotiating team because of its allegiance to the IRGC.
I don’t even know where/how to even express how idiotic and ridiculous this story sounds. I’m not even going to bother you with the facts (e.g. how Ghalibaf himself is IRGC and enjoys popular IRGC support).
Whoever in ‘Israel’ that came up with this absolute NONSENSE does not know even 1% about Iran.
I can’t fathom how anyone would read this and actually believe it.
I’m quite certain their stories aren't even believable or compelling for their own dim-witted audience anymore.
🇮🇷🇺🇸| CNN investigation says some of the US facilities in the region have become unusable after Iranian attacks during the war.
At least 16 US bases in 8 countries were seriously damaged by Iranian attacks.
The targeted sites include key radar, communications, and aircraft systems—high-value assets that are difficult and costly to replace. One congressional aide said assessments range from “fully destroyed” to “repairable but strategically vital.”
The Pentagon estimates war-related costs at up to $25 billion, with some sources placing the figure as high as $50 billion.
🇮🇷The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf:
The enemy has been trying since the first day to end the work of the "Iranian system" within three days by assassinating the leader of the revolution and military commanders, but they failed.
Then they went to destroy the country's offensive system, but over time they saw that our missiles and drones continued to strike.
Then the enemy tried to make Iran another Venezuela and failed again, then they tried to activate separatists from the west of the country, but thanks to God and the efforts of the military and intelligence forces, they were defeated.
The enemy wanted to bring forces into the country and tested this plan in Isfahan, but it turned into a Tabas 2 scandal.
This defeat of the enemy had a socio-political structure and without it, no success could have been achieved. It was the effective and cohesive presence of the people. However, the enemy has entered a new phase and wants to activate economic pressure and sedition within the country through a naval blockade and media campaigns to make us weak or even collapse from within.
Trump publicly divides the country into two groups, extremists and moderates, and then immediately talks about a naval blockade to force Iran to surrender through economic pressures and internal disputes.
The solution to confront the enemy's new plot is only to maintain internal unity.
As someone in the middle of the field, I would like to say to the Iranian people not to worry; we are all responsible and subject to the orders of the leader of the revolution, who is our guardian and the deputy of the Imam of the Age, and the best of this world and the hereafter is in obeying his orders.
🔴 Iran cannot even have uranium for medical uses
🔹Host:
"Witkoff told me that the United States offered Iran that if it abandoned its nuclear program, enriched uranium for medical uses would be provided to them for free."
🔹Trump:
"Well, I wouldn't confirm that. I don't give them anything."
NBC: Trump's visit to China in mid-May will play a role in his decision on Iran.
Well, surely, just like everything else will have. That demented idiot listens to whoever speaks to him last.
Iran killed any delusions of US military domination over China
Not only did today's conflict exacerbate shortages, it also exposed how unprepared we are for a true Great Power war
Full article in:
spoiler
These days, everyone in Washington is talking about U.S. missile stockpiles. The previously niche topic has been thrust onto the front page of major newspapers and is discussed daily on television and radio programming.
And for good reason. After the war in Iran severely depleted U.S. missile reserves, including its most sophisticated air defense and offensive weapons, there are growing questions about the ability of the U.S. military to do what is required to defend U.S. interests, especially in the near-term.
The news gets much worse, however. Not only did the first 40 days of conflict with Iran exacerbate shortages of expensive and exquisite U.S. munitions; they have also shown that the United States is not ready for a major power war.
Though the U.S. military was able to achieve individual tactical successes in Iran, the conflict and its outcome have sharply undercut key principles of U.S. military strategy and raised doubts about the viability of U.S. contingency plans, in particular for a future war in Asia. Moving forward, the United States will need to recalibrate its commitments to better match the realities of modern warfare and the growing limits on U.S. military power.
A war against Iran and one in Asia (over Taiwan for instance) would look different in many ways, especially given that the former is offensive and the latter would most likely be defensive. But there are several notable similarities. First, as in the Middle East, in Asia, the United States would rely heavily on forward bases across the region to launch aircraft and house logistics and combat support capabilities. It would depend on ground-based air defense and a network of radars and sensors to protect those bases and to inform U.S. missile targeting.
Second, in Asia as in Iran, the U.S. military would exploit fighter jets, bombers, and warships using stand-off weapons alongside ground-based missiles to fire at adversary air defenses, radars, and missile launchers. It would also target hostile aircraft and naval vessels including those supporting an amphibious invasion or those setting up a blockade.
Third, in the case of a war over Taiwan, the United States plans to use drones to create a “hellscape” for Chinese forces, preventing their ability to advance through the sea, air, or on the ground. Drones also featured heavily in Iran, with the U.S. military debuting new systems.
The Iran war, fought with a weaker adversary, challenges each of these foundational pillars of the U.S. military strategy for future major power wars, whether against China or otherwise.
Perhaps most importantly, the Iran war casts serious doubt on the utility and viability of U.S. forward bases in a major conflict. After the United States attacked Iran on February 28, U.S. bases across the region were not sources of strength but massive liabilities and easy targets. From the war’s first days, U.S. bases suffered heavy drone and missile attacks and were even reportedly bombed by Iranian fighter jets.
The damage suffered by U.S. bases across the Middle East was staggering. Infrastructure, air defense systems, and ground-based sensors and radars were destroyed. Pricey U.S. aircraft, including refuelers and AWACS early warning jets, were damaged. In fact, bases across the Middle East were so susceptible to adversary attack that U.S. military personnel could no longer operate out of them and were instead forced to work from nearby locations and hotels.
If bases in the Middle East are not defensible, the Pentagon cannot assume that those spread across the Pacific will be either. In fact, many or most may be largely un-usable, especially in the crucial early days of any war.
Another key result in the Middle East that should set off alarm bells across the Pentagon’s senior leadership is Iran’s ability to damage and degrade the sensors and radars that support the U.S. regional air defense network, a military success for Iran that left U.S. bases exposed.
The United States has long relied on ground-based air defense systems to protect U.S. personnel, infrastructure, and assets from adversary missiles. But Iran was able to effectively disable these systems, suggesting that this approach to force protection is entirely insufficient in a world of “precise mass” where even weak adversaries have advanced targeting capabilities. If the U.S. ground-based air defense network could not survive against Iran, it is most certainly inadequate for a war with China.
The U.S. experience against Iran also raises questions about U.S. plans to rely primarily on stand-off weapons to strike Chinese ships and military targets in an Indo-Pacific contingency. Although this strategy evolved as a response to China’s anti-access/air denial capabilities, which will make operating close to the mainland coast impossible, the war in Iran suggests that the stand-off approach may be limited in what it can accomplish.
Although the U.S. military was effective in destroying much of Iran’s air defenses, reports suggest that it was only able to eliminate perhaps 50 percent of the country’s missiles and missile launchers and an even smaller portion of its drone production. Indeed, although Iran’s rate of fire collapsed significantly after the first few days of the war, the United States was never able to fully suppress Iran’s missile fire or stop it from launching drones at U.S. and Gulf state targets. U.S. forces are likely to fare much worse in a campaign to disable China’s missile and drone capabilities, given China’s more advanced air defense and deeper missile arsenal.
Moreover, in this type of contested environment, goals like air superiority and sea control are largely out of reach even for the United States. Although the U.S. military did eventually achieve a degree of air dominance over Iran, this did not eliminate risk to U.S. aircraft. The constraints on U.S. naval power were even more extensive. Not only were U.S. warships forced to operate at a distance from Iranian coasts because of missile and drone threats, but the ability of the U.S. Navy to control the waters off Iran’s coast was limited. The U.S. blockade let through at least as many Iranian ships as it diverted.
In a war in Asia, U.S. warships would face even greater challenges. In a worst case scenario, aircraft carriers and destroyers could be forced to operate beyond the second island chain, reducing their value in a defense of Taiwan or an effort to blockade Chinese ports.
Finally, there is the issue of drones. Iran had the clear advantage here, both in the air and undersea. The United States is far from being competitive in the drone space, let alone ready to create a hellscape for China, one of the industry’s leaders.
The bottom line is that the Iran war has cast a spotlight on the flaws and weaknesses in U.S. military strategy, both in general and specifically as it pertains to contingencies in Asia. The United States has for decades assumed that its forward bases will be defensible and that power projection assets such as bombers, aircraft carriers, and fighter jets will allow the United States to prevail in military contests even far from home.
It has assumed that it can dominate the air and the seas and protect assets on the ground, even close to adversary terrain.
If these things were ever true, they are not anymore. Money and time can fix munitions shortages in the medium term, but they cannot solve these more serious and, in many ways, intractable strategic shortcomings. In an increasingly multipolar world where access to military power has been democratized and the United States has a smaller advantage than in the past, what the United States can achieve with military force will be more limited. U.S. strategic aims and ambitions will need to adjust accordingly.
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/us-military-unprepared-war-china/
🇮🇷| Tweet by Ghalibaf’s admin team. Their tweets are quality work, my appreciation to his social media team.
You might think this trolling is unprofessional. I would’ve agreed 5 years ago, but considering Trump’s social media posts, the best responses are these high IQ posts.
Ummmm what? Is this guy stupid? Well just make each of those states pay for their portion of the wall. Duh?
🇦🇪🇮🇷🇱🇧🇮🇶| NEW: The UAE has banned citizens from travel to Iran, Lebanon and Iraq, and urged those there to leave.
At this very moment, Hundreds of thousands Zionists residing in the occupied territories have received the following message directly from us via WhatsApp:
Netanyahu, the leader of the Epstein cult, is attempting to maintain his position of authority by committing yet another act of careless stupidity. This is a warning to you, the Jewish inhabitants of the occupied territories: Get ready for a barrage of Sayyid Majid missiles if you do not put an end to this stupidity. You will soon be spending weeks in your shelters, so stock up on supplies now.
Once again, Handala has proven that no wall of security or censorship can silence the voice of resistance
Source -> https://xcancel.com/HPRRed/status/2048840024947610056#m
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🇺🇸American officials: A major fire broke out this week on board a destroyer, leading to a power outage and the failure of propulsion systems.
https://t.me/naya_foriraq/74200
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uss-higgins-navy-destroyer-fire-singapore/
Does this make 3 fires now?
Boy, I wonder what could have caused that?
I wonder the same. Hopefully, we get more fires like this in other US military ships.
🇮🇷| Iran's President says US naval blockade is an extension of military operations.
"Continuation of this oppressive approach is intolerable."
The revolutionary Iraqi youth are protesting against the attempt by the American organization TEDx to hold an event at the Technological University in the capital, Baghdad. This organization is of a colonial nature, promoting the American narrative, and includes many individuals involved in the Epstein scandal.
Video in https://t.me/naya_foriraq/74172
🇱🇧A statement issued by Hezbollah on the Israeli enemy's attack on the Global Resistance Fleet:
Hezbollah condemns the Israeli enemy's attempt to attack and detain ships of the Global Resistance Fleet in international waters, in flagrant violation of international law and a crime of piracy added to its dark record of aggressions and violations, which have never been alien to an entity based on crime and aggression and that disregards international laws and norms.
Hezbollah commends the exceptional courage and heroism of the free activists participating in this fleet, who defied the unjust blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip, affirming that the Palestinian cause remains alive in the conscience of those who believe in the values of justice and humanity, no matter how much the terrorist enemy and its global arrogant forces try to marginalize, obliterate, and extinguish it.
Hezbollah, affirming that the Palestinian cause will remain the first cause of humanity and the banner of right shining in the face of falsehood, calls on the international community, with all its institutions, to shoulder its moral, legal, and historical responsibilities, to break out of its state of impotence and silence, and to act immediately to reject the terrorist blockade on the Gaza Strip and stop this humanitarian catastrophe, the shame of which will haunt the entire world for generations to come.
We also call on the countries that still believe in justice and law to take serious and effective action to restore respect for international law and enforce its observance, after some arrogant powers have turned this world into a jungle free from all humanitarian constraints and standards.
🇺🇸🇮🇶 The construction of the American embassy in the capital, Baghdad, has begun with preparations and the deployment of a web-like system of industrial cables, similar to the Russian-Ukrainian war experience, to repel attacks from drones of the type "Quadcopter", which are launched using the "Fiber Optic" system. It is noted that the networks have started to be placed only in sensitive areas within the American embassy compound in the Green Zone to face these risks, which have become the biggest global military challenge in current wars. Iraqi factions used drone technology in the Ramadan war, which prompted American forces to take these measures.
Enemy Information: Two cargo ships and several aircraft carrying 6,500 tons of military equipment from the United States, including thousands of ammunitions and light armored vehicles, arrived in Israel yesterday.
Source -> https://t.me/naya_foriraq/74182
Once again, we have evidence that the US needs to collapse for ISISrael to cease to exist. It is a mistake to view the entity separate from the USA.
Once again, we have evidence that the US needs to collapse for ISISrael to cease to exist.
israel is a proxy just like any other. If it becomes too costly eventually they will drop them. They will do that well before they collapse but it will take more than most proxies because the investment and value is much greater than most proxies.
The Zionist War Minister: We may soon be forced to return to work in Iran to ensure that the regime cannot threaten us for years to come.
🚀Amazon Web Services, the cloud services arm of Amazon: We have decided to suspend all billing operations for customers in the UAE and Bahrain due to our facilities being affected by Iranian strikes. The company's technical teams are working to assess the situation and restore normal operations. This process is complex and it is expected to take several months before services return to normal.
🇮🇷🇺🇸🇮🇱| Footage published on Iranian channels with the description that Iranian security forces installed these inflatable rocket launchers throughout the country and reported them to Mossad-affiliated ‘Iran International’, under the guise of an ordinary citizen.
Many flight sorties and missiles were wasted on these mockups.
Video in @FotrosResistancee
I wish all counterintelligence was this comical.
I want one as a bounce house.
Reminds me of that fake D-Day landing with inflatable tanks the Allies used at Normandy.
Crazy how even in the 21st century you can just make some balloon targets and the fascists will fall for it lmfao.
"to a hammer, everything looks like a nail" but literally
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