And so it begins.

[Cleoriff]

The death of Iran's top military commander, Qasem Soleimani, after a US drone strike, prompted days of speculation about what might happen next.

So now we know. In the early hours of Wednesday, Iran fired rockets at two air bases in Iraq that house US troops....One report states they missed, others are claiming they hit the bases. No news yet on any deaths.

I'm sure this is just an opening salvo and sadly there will be more to come.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/07/trump-iran-suleimani-threats-retaliation 

[Anonymous]

Do you know what.. I don’t blame them. You can’t go around randomly assassinating people and not expect recriminations.
I watched a video this morning of a man, presumably Iranian crying saying he loved the US but hated the President. How he didn’t get stoned right there and then is beyond me.. or maybe they actually do like the US!

[sheepdog]

Its easy for Iran to play the victim though I do believe it was a mistake on the Americans to kill their general on foreign soil. But, lets not forget Iran has not exactly been the innocent party over the years and have been provoking incidents to start a conflict that drags in Saudi Arabia via many proxies which is the real power play for dominance.

Given that Iran has way too much to lose if this escalates (first place that gets targeted is the nuclear power plants followed by ports crippling Iran very quickly since they won't be able to export oil), I think this situation will cool down by the end of the week and we'll be back to localised incidents. 

As for the people of Iran, they are not all pro-government and are kept quiet by the secret police rather than speak out. Will the man be seen again is more of the question. 

[Anonymous]

Some great points there @sheepdog but I’m sure an incursion / strike on Iranian soil would’ve seen all hell coming raining down upon us all. You’re right that they do stir up their fair share but then again what country doesn’t?
Not forgetting decades / centuries of pillaging their country (by the UK and other countries) then we armed Iraq in the 80s and tried to stifle their progress ever since!

It’s no wonder they have grievances.

Their strike today seemed to be a show of strength, will & power as opposed to trying to obliterate anyone/thing. I think it shows great restraint from Iran. If only Trump had/could/would do the same.

[Cleoriff]

I don't blame them at all for their retaliation, the attack was unprovoked and many in the US did not agree with it.

However, my concern is for the UK, who Iran perceive as much weaker than the US.

We have already had the tussle at sea with the capture, arrest and impounding of British ships and crew.

We have seen the Iranians burning the Union Jack along with the US flag after the killing of the Irani general. .

So, as far as I'm concerned, we are as much in the firing line, maybe even more so, than the US.

[Bambino]

This is Trump from 2011. Wag the dog.

[Anonymous]

TYT, RoF, TDR & TBC are great sources for all things US politics at the moment!

There are numerous video and tweets of him (such as the above) where Trump states that Obama & HRC would start a war in the Middle East, to stay in power or once in power.

And the trouble with Twitter.. all his tweets now show what he’s up to.. exactly what he stated they would do! (& Obama didn’t do)

[jonsie]

Anyone else finding it suspicious that  a Russian airliner came crashing to earth amidst this bombardment of the US bases?

[Anonymous]

Wasn’t it Ukrainian?

[Bambino]

It was Ukrainian @jonsie, and I think it was just an unfortunate coincidence.