Live Thread: Israel, US launch attack on Iran Part 2

[Cyber Liberty]

I thought the Iranian navy was reported to be destroyed as of yesterday.  Is this sinking new today?

An intriguing question.  I'm wondering why Iranian ship(s) are off the coast of Sri Lanka?  That seems pretty far away from the battle.  Were they deserting?

[DCPatriot]

I thought the Iranian navy was reported to be destroyed as of yesterday.  Is this sinking new today?

Believe he was referring to the Iranian Navy being able to defend their Fatherland.  They cannot...without starting a game of Whack-a-Mole.

These ships were in international waters in, or near the Indian Ocean...the latter nearer to Sri Lanka.

[Smokin Joe]

Can a war fought in 1898 be compared with one fought in 2025?

 

Sure. I did it. It was easy.

And, what happened to the 2-3 week estimate from a day or two ago?

We are still well within the 2-3 week envelope.

[bigheadfred]

I can't find a confirmation of that second ship at Sri Lanka being sunk. There was a post claiming it was sheltering in a neutral port.

[Wingnut]

An intriguing question.  I'm wondering why Iranian ship(s) are off the coast of Sri Lanka?  That seems pretty far away from the battle.  Were they deserting?

It was retuning from a joint naval exercise with some other Muzzie country.  Turkey maybe.

[bigheadfred]

https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/2029618318328352932

[Smokin Joe]

I can't find a confirmation of that second ship at Sri Lanka being sunk. There was a post claiming it was sheltering in a neutral port.

As far as I can determine, only one Iranian vessel has been sunk in the Indian Ocean, The IRIS Dena, returning from Naval Exercises near India.

[PeteS in CA]

Gee, Warren being more concerned gives me reassurance that Trump has and is acting appropriately..

God Bless President Trump, Hegseth, Rubio, our military and the Israelis.

Faucahontas worried that Trump succeed.

[Bigun]

I thought the Iranian navy was reported to be destroyed as of yesterday.  Is this sinking new today?

My recollection of what was said is "The Iranian Navy has no presence in the Gulf of Oman or the Strait of Hormuz.

[PeteS in CA]

https://twitter.com/AlexandruC4/status/2029330829814403362

We have Wunderwaffe!

[Wingnut]

We have Wunderwaffe!

to what the "Advisor said....

[PeteS in CA]

Azerbaijan

https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/2029477424367329760

Geeze, what did the Azerbaijanis do, other than bordering Iran? They have less than 50 combat aircraft, more than half of them Su-25s (Soviet analogs to the USAF A-10).

[Sighlass]

Page 29 bookmark... Thanks Bighead for the updates...

[Right_in_Virginia]

Pete Hegseth says US is ‘investigating’ deadly strike on girls’ school in Iran
The Guardian, Mar 4, 2026

Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, offered few details and was evasive when asked about the deadly strike on a girls’ school in Iran, saying only that the US was “investigating” the incident.

Iranian officials say the attack, which happened on Saturday, killed at least 165 students.

“All I can say is we’re investigating that,” Hegseth said when asked about the bombing of the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ school in Minab. “We, of course, never target civilian targets, but we’re taking a look and investigating that".

[...]

On Tuesday, the United Nations human rights office called on what it described as “the forces behind a deadly attack on a girls’ school in Iran” to conduct an investigation and provide information about the incident, though it did not identify who it believed was responsible.


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/04/pete-hegseth-denies-responsibility-iran-school-strike

[Timber Rattler]

Trump calls on Kurds to aid U.S. effort in Iran, offers support

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/03/05/trump-iran-kurds-iraq/

The Trump administration, bracing for more U.S. casualties and considering whether to put troops on the ground in Iran, has begun reaching out to Tehran’s domestic opposition as potential allies to foment an uprising against the regime.


In calls this week to Kurdish minority leaders in Iran and neighboring Iraq, President Donald Trump offered “extensive U.S. aircover” and other backing for anti-regime Iranian Kurds to take over portions of western Iran, according to multiple people familiar with the effort.

“The American request to the Iraqi Kurds is to open the way and not obstruct” Iranian Kurdish groups mobilizing in Iraq, “while also providing logistical support,” said a senior official of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of two major political parties that govern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

“Trump was clear in his call” Sunday to PUK leader Bafel Talabani. “He told us the Kurds must choose a side in this battle — either with America and Israel or with Iran,” said the official, one of several Kurdish and U.S. officials who discussed sensitive matters on the condition of anonymity.

(snip)

A U.S. official cautioned that the extent of Kurdish cooperation with the U.S. remains to be seen, given Washington’s long history of enlisting their aid in various conflicts and then abandoning them.

EXCERPT

So Trump told the Kurds that they are either with the U.S. or the Iranians.  Seems that there is a third, safer option for them...do nothing.

[Right_in_Virginia]

My recollection of what was said is "The Iranian Navy has no presence in the Gulf of Oman or the Strait of Hormuz.

.

@Bigun

This is what confused me ---- from yesterday morning:  Hegseth:    "Decimated. Destroyed. Defeated."

Video:  https://www.foxnews.com/video/6390376156112

[Right_in_Virginia]

Scoop: Trump calls Kurdish leaders in Iran war effort
Axios, Mar 3, 2026

President Trump spoke by phone with Kurdish leaders in Iraq on Sunday to discuss the U.S.-Israel war with Iran and what might come next, three sources with knowledge of the calls told Axios.

Why it matters: The Kurds have thousands of soldiers along the Iran-Iraq border and control strategic areas that could be significant as the war develops. Iraq's Kurds also have close ties to Iran's Kurdish minority.

Zoom in: Trump spoke to leaders from the two main Kurdish factions in Iraq — Masoud Barzani and Bafel Talabani — a day after the Saturday bombing campaign began, two of the sources said.

°. A source with knowledge of the calls said they were "sensitive" and declined to give details on their content.

⬇️⬇️
°. The calls were the culmination of months of behind-the-scenes lobbying by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, another source said. Israel has had close security, military and intelligence ties with the Kurds in Syria, Iraq and Iran for decades.

⬇️⬇️
°. "It is the general view, and certainly Netanyahu's view, that the Kurds are going to come out of the woodwork ... that they're going to rise up," one official said.


The latest: Talabani, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), confirmed on Tuesday that he spoke to Trump about the war with Iran.

° According to a PUK statement Talabani, said in a party meeting on Tuesday that Trump "clarified the objectives of the U.S. in the current war."


⬇️⬇️
Inside the room: Netanyahu, who "has been relentless" in urging strikes on and regime change in Iran, first advocated for the Kurds in a White
House meeting with Trump.

°. "When he first came over and sat with Trump for hours, you would have thought Netanyahu had it all figured out," the official said.

°. "He had the successor planned out. He had the Kurds all figured out: Two sets of Kurdish groups here and there. This many people are going to rise up," the official added.


What they're saying: Asked specifically about Trump's calls with the Kurds, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to discuss specifics.

°. "President Trump has been in contact with many allies and partners in the region throughout the past several days," she told Axios.


More:  https://www.axios.com/2026/03/02/trump-iran-war-kurds-iraq.

[Right_in_Virginia]

So Trump told the Kurds that they are either with the U.S. or the Iranians.  Seems that there is a third, safer option for them...do nothing.

Apparently, the push for the Kurds joining/leading the ground coup is from Netanyahu. See Axios article posted above ⬆️.

[bigheadfred]

https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/2029647429541482693

[mystery-ak]

'Quiet Death': What to know about the American torpedo that sank Iranian warship, killing 87
Torpedo carries a 650-pound high-explosive warhead
By Ashley Carnahan Fox News
Published March 5, 2026 11:42am EST

The sinking of the Iranian warship IRIS Dena by a single Mk 48 torpedo has put renewed focus on the U.S. Navy’s primary undersea weapon, a heavyweight torpedo that first entered operational service in 1972 and has been steadily upgraded for modern naval warfare.

The strike on the IRIS Dena marked the first time since World War II that a U.S. submarine used a torpedo to sink an enemy ship.

"In the Indian Ocean, an American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet Death," War Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a press conference on Wednesday.

The Navy says the Mk 48 has long served as its principal undersea weapon, designed to "defeat all threat surface ships and submarines in all ocean environments."

The Mk 48 is a submarine-launched torpedo that uses information from the launching submarine and its own sensors to find and strike submarines or surface ships.

Physically, the weapon is built for destructive power. According to Navy specifications, the torpedo measures 21 inches in diameter, weighs about 3,744 pounds and carries a 650-pound high-explosive warhead.

According to the Department of the Navy's fiscal year 2025 budget estimates, a single Mk 48 torpedo costs approximately $4.2 million.

more
https://www.foxnews.com/world/quiet-death-what-know-about-american-torpedo-sank-iranian-warship-killing-87

[mystery-ak]

https://twitter.com/mhdksafa/status/2029587956650885379

[MeganC]

I can't find a confirmation of that second ship at Sri Lanka being sunk. There was a post claiming it was sheltering in a neutral port.

The second ship surrendered for internment in Sri Lanka. Which is a reasonable choice for a replenishment ship facing a fast attack sub.

[bigheadfred]

https://twitter.com/koshercockney/status/2029651506660573261

[bigheadfred]

https://twitter.com/Savakzadeh/status/2029631431551393916

[Cyber Liberty]

https://twitter.com/mhdksafa/status/2029587956650885379

Well, Mohamad Safa, take it up with your pals at the International Criminal Court.

[catfish1957]

 

[240B]

https://twitter.com/WallStreetApes/status/2029051278954004740

[bigheadfred]

Mario Nawfal

@MarioNawfal
🚨🇮🇶🇺🇸 Kurdish outlet Rudaw confirms the downed U.S. jet over Basra, Iraq.

Search parties active. Pilot still missing.

Day 8. First American pilot reportedly shot down.

Naya
@officialrnintel

[catfish1957]

Azerbaijan says four injured by Iranian drones, vows to retaliate


Unless this is some kind of CIA false flag, this attack makes NO sense.  Azerbaijan shares a long border with Iran, and has a capable army and its own drones (remember the war with Armenia in 2021?)  The Azerbaijanis are also backed by the Turks.

Wouldn't it be a hoot if IDF/Mossad is manning Iranian weapon deployment stations?

[mystery-ak]

Iran’s Strategy to Defeat America, Shatter the MAGA Movement, and End Trump’s Presidency
Scott Pinsker


Prediction: This war will end with Iran’s mullahs still in control. (At least, the ones that haven’t been killed yet.) Because it has to: We’re hoping the Iranian civilians will rise up and overthrow the government, but they can’t do that until the bombing stops.

Which means that immediately after America and Israel conclude their air strikes, Iran will claim victory because it’s still standing.

Whatever happens next will determine the long-term PR fallout of the Iran War — both in America and worldwide. If the Iranian people rebel, seize control of Tehran, and turn it into a Western democracy, President Donald Trump’s decision will be heralded as one of the bravest, smartest uses of military power in history.

But anything less than that?

There’ll be various degrees of blowback. Already, the hardcore isolationists are disillusioned; the “Peace at Any Price” crowd has left the MAGA coalition and is unlikely to return. As they see it, Trump broke his “no new wars” promise — and the fact that we partnered with Israel, which they view as evil, genocidal warmongers, rubbed (Kosher) salt in the wound.

So the bad news is, they’re already gone.

more
https://pjmedia.com/scott-pinsker/2026/03/05/irans-strategy-to-defeat-america-shatter-the-maga-movement-and-end-trumps-presidency-n4950284

[mystery-ak]

https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2029662945693815080

[PeteS in CA]

https://twitter.com/mhdksafa/status/2029587956650885379

Tehran Timmy sez wut?

Being more than 12 miles from Iran's or any other country's coast means zero. The frigate was a warship. Cruiser Rules, by which a warship sinking another ship's crew after sinking their ship were a pre-20th Century thing. The current laws of war specifically exclude submarines from such obligations.