War Iran-United States Military Crisis of 2020 - US Baghdad embassy under siege, rocket fire in US Baghdad green zone, Ukrainian Airlines flight 752 crash, and more!

January 10th:
Exclusive: Informants in Iraq, Syria helped U.S. kill Iran's Soleimani - sources (archive)(post)
Iraqi Shia cleric whose militia killed American troops says crisis is over following Iran strike and Trump speech (archive)(post)
Iraqi PM tells US to decide mechanism for troop withdrawal (archive)(post)
Mike Pence says Congress might 'compromise sources and methods' if fully briefed on the Soleimani strike (archive)(post)
Unidentified planes hit Iraqi militiamen in Syria, killing 8 (archive)(post)
Iraq: The Master Of Mayhem Meets A Missile (archive)(post)
Eliminating Qasem Soleimani was Donald Trump’s Middle East farewell letter (archive)(post)
Iran uses BULLDOZERS to clear debris from plane crash site while accusing US of ‘big lie’ that they shot it down (archive)(post)
Swiss Back Channel Helped Defuse U.S.-Iran Crisis (post)

January 11th:
UKRAINIAN AIRCRAFT WAS BROUGHT DOWN IN IRAN DUE TO 'HUMAN ERROR' (archive)(post)
Iran minister says 'human error' caused by 'US adventurism' led to deadly crash of Ukrainian jetliner (archive)(post)
Ukrainian aircraft was brought down in Iran due to 'human error' (archive)(post)
Trump, at Ohio rally, says Democrats would have leaked Soleimani attack plans (archive)(post)
The Atlantic's David Frum blames Trump for downing of plane in Iran, deaths of 176 (archive)(post)
Associated Press changes ‘shockingly bad’ headline about Soleimani, Ukrainian plane crash after backlash (archive)(post)
GOP Rep. Doug Collins apologizes for saying Democrats are 'in love with terrorists' (archive)(post)
Iran demands West 'show findings' as new video reveals aircraft was struck before fiery crash (archive)(post)
Warren town hall interrupted by angry protester accusing her of ‘siding with terrorists’ (archive)(post)
Trump administration announces new sanctions on Iran (archive)(post)
Prepare For the Worst From Iran Cyber Attacks, As DHS Issues Warning: Experts (archive)(post)
Trump tells Fox News' Laura Ingraham 'four embassies' were targeted in imminent threat from Iran (archive)(post)
Trump tweets support for Iranian protesters as they demand Khamenei quit (archive)(post)
Trump warns Iran against ‘another massacre’ as protests flare over downed jet (archive)(post)

January 12th:
Trump tweet in Farsi 'the most liked Persian tweet' in history of Twitter (archive)(post)
Iraq warned to keep US troops or risk financial blow-WSJ (archive)(post)
Iran arrests UK ambassador in what Britain calls ‘flagrant violation of international law’ (archive)(post)

January 13th:
Trump authorized Soleimani's killing 7 months ago, with conditions (archive)(post)

edit: This is a WIP. All links are posted in the order they appear in the thread, not in chronological order of their publication.


---Original OP before the merge---
Iraqi supporters of Iran-backed militia attack US Embassy
https://apnews.com/75228a8a607a44863b57021ac33264dc (http://archive.vn/ljm9Y)

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA12 minutes ago

BAGHDAD (AP) — Dozens of angry Iraqi Shiite militia supporters broke into the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Tuesday after smashing a main door and setting fire to a reception area, prompting tear gas and sounds of gunfire.

An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw flames rising from inside the compound and at least three U.S. soldiers on the roof of the main building inside embassy. It was not clear what caused the fire at the reception area near the parking lot of the compound. A man on a loudspeaker urged the mob not to enter the compound, saying: “The message was delivered.”

The embassy attack followed deadly U.S. airstrikes on Sunday that killed 25 fighters of the Iran-backed militia in Iraq, the Kataeb Hezbollah. The U.S. military said it was in retaliation for last week’s killing of an American contractor in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base that it had blamed on the militia.

Dozens of protesters marched inside the compound after smashing the gate used by cars to enter the embassy. The protesters, many in militia uniform, stopped in a corridor after about 5 meters (16 feet), and were only about 200 meters away from the main building. Half a dozen U.S. soldiers were seen on the roof of the main building, their guns were pointed at the protesters.

Smoke from the tear gas rose in the area, and at least three of the protesters appeared to have difficulties breathing. It wasn’t immediately known whether the embassy staff had remained inside the main building.

The protesters hanged a poster on the wall: “America is an aggressor.”

Shouting “Down, Down USA,” the crowd tried to push inside the embassy grounds, hurling water and stones over its walls. They raised yellow militia flags and taunted the embassy’s security staff who remained behind the glass windows in the gates’ reception area. They sprayed graffiti on the wall and windows in red in support of the Kataeb Hezbollah militia: “Closed in the name of the resistance.”

Hundreds of angry protesters, some in militia uniforms, set up tents outside the embassy. As tempers rose, the mob set fire to three trailers used by security guards along the embassy wall.

No one was immediately reported hurt in the rampage and security staff had withdrawn to inside the embassy earlier, soon after protesters gathered outside.

The U.S. attack — the largest targeting an Iraqi state-sanctioned militia in recent years — and the subsequent calls by the militia for retaliation, represent a new escalation in the proxy war between the U.S. and Iran playing out in the Middle East.

Tuesday’s attempted embassy storming took place after mourners and supporters held funerals for the militia fighters killed in a Baghdad neighborhood, after which they marched on to the heavily fortified Green Zone and kept walking till they reached the sprawling U.S. Embassy there.

AP journalists then saw the crowd as they tried to scale the walls of the embassy, in what appeared to be an attempt to storm it, shouting “Down, down USA!” and “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday’s strikes send the message that the U.S. will not tolerate actions by Iran that jeopardize American lives.

The Iranian-backed Iraqi militia had vowed Monday to retaliate for the U.S. military strikes. The attack and vows for revenge raised concerns of new attacks that could threaten American interests in the region.

The U.S. attack also outraged both the militias and the Iraqi government, which said it will reconsider its relationship with the U.S.-led coalition — the first time it has said it will do so since an agreement was struck to keep some U.S. troops in the country. It called the attack a “flagrant violation” of its sovereignty.

In a partly televised meeting Monday, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi told Cabinet members that he had tried to stop the U.S. operation “but there was insistence” from American officials.

The U.S. military said “precision defensive strikes” were conducted against five sites of Kataeb Hezbollah, or Hezbollah Brigades in Iraq and Syria. The group, which is a separate force from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, operates under the umbrella of the state-sanctioned militias known collectively as the Popular Mobilization Forces. Many of them are supported by Iran.

.

 

[BONE_Buddy]

Grimly funny:

ELINT News on Twitter

“So technically speaking a katyusha rocket on K-1 base in Kirkuk was more effective than 35 Iranian ballistic missiles? Again I might add this is east days. https://t.co/dZF2kfYgtA”

twitter.com

Baxtiyar Goran on Twitter

“No US military base or consulate was hit in Erbil, capital of the Kurdistan Region — senior KRG official.”

twitter.com

Aleph 🕯️ א on Twitter

“Kawthari, Deputy of #IRGC Tharallah HQ: "The [recent] missile attacks was just our first move" He adds: "We won't let the Americans go" "Trump has to think about his forces and don't deploy them thousands of kilometers away from US, which is in our range"”

twitter.com

Instant News Alerts on Twitter

“JUST IN: Top US officials have now left the White House as Press Secretary confirms President Trump will not be addressing the nation tonight”

twitter.com

FXHedge on Twitter

“Ted Cruz says there might be airstrikes on Iran by U.S forces - WABC”

twitter.com

jane arraf on Twitter

“Rocket attacks near Erbil apparently hit empty fields - inc unexploded rocket near airport. No attack on US consulate according to security officials.”

twitter.com

Christina Ruffini on Twitter

“DEAR EVERYONE: this is your friendly reminder that rockets and missiles are not interchangeable terms. -Rockets are directional (you point the it at the thing and it goes where it was pointed at the time of launch). -Missiles are projectiles that are guided in flight.”

twitter.com

Joyce Karam on Twitter

“BREAKING: NO US Casualties in #Iran’s Attacks in #Iraq. Trump will NOT give address. This is Good News if you’re looking for Deescalation https://t.co/y6aVIbAOpO”

twitter.com

Doge on Twitter

“All 3 officials and Vice President Pence have just left the White House (@kaitlancollins)”

twitter.com

 

[JosephStalin]

Observation...should something actually happen with Iran, we won't be winging it. Rest assured there are a wide variety of operational plans, coordinated and approved, providing a flexible response to an Iranian attack. It is quite possible that some of these operational plans involve other countries, to varying extents, and such plans have been fully coordinated with and approved by these other countries. Actually, we have a shitload of operational plans to deal with contingencies, world-wide. That's why there are so many people at various headquarters within the US military. LOTS of people preparing, coordinating, or updating operational plans on a daily basis.

 

[pull over dat ass too fat]

I hardly consider that a "war" and even then, after defeating the Taliban (not even capturing Osama for fuck's sake), they then set out nation building. That did not work out and we should not have been there for so fucking long nor went in the first place, 9/11 or not. Afghanistan is a graveyard for empires.


I hate war-profiteering, especially by the military-industrial complex. Something like this is something they'll cream all over.

We went to war in Afghanistan. Trying to dodge the official branding of "war" was for convenient bureaucratic reasons. My point was that we peaked in WW2 and believing we're an unstoppable force that can manipulate the future with no repercussions is naive and should have been abandoned with Kissinger.

 

[Fanatical Pragmatist]

Its worrying the way the foreign minister is talking. I can sense the SJWs siding with him as he speaks.

lol Come on man....

That would be such epic troll if he did though.

>tfw anti-intervention trumptards start begging for war

You know for people that sperg so hard about imagined nazis everywhere, you seem to labor under the impression that appeasing Hitler made him want to play nice and not invade his neighbors

 

[dopy]

you guys bought gold, right? right?

 

[Comandante Marcos]

BRING IT ON! -W (too bad he was too drunk to follow through)

The ayatollahs have pretty much painted themselves into a corner. They've been assuring their cultists citizens that eventually the day will come when Allah slays the Great Satan and the 12th Imam arrives and [their twisted version of] Islam reigns, and the crescent flag flies over the ruins of Washington DC. They've been stringing their people along for so fucking long that they never thought they would have to put up or shut up, since no POTUS has called their bluff.

Until Trump.

Now not only do they have to cash that check, but they are dealing with a POTUS who has threatened to make their sacred sites glow in the dark. As far as they know, Trump might be batshit enough to actually do it.

TL;DR:
>"I AM KHAMENEI! YOU KILLED MY GENERAL! PREPARE TO DIE!"
>flings 20 rusty Scuds at an air base, misses by a mile (or 10)
>Trump:


The fact that Tel Aviv is not on fire right now must really make Khamenei nervous as fuck. The bigger threat may be all 12 million people in Tehran saying "what the actual FUCK, is that the best you fucktards can do?" and storming the palace where the ayatollahs live and sawing their heads off. Due to the Iran-Iraq war most Iranians are too young to remember the revolution, neither do they know anybody who does. An adoring crowd one day can become a lynch mob the next, just ask Jesus.

 

[Cosmos]

People voted for Trump because they thought Hillary would start another war and now look where we’re at. He doesn’t give a shit, he’s just trying to stoke the flames in an election year.

If you voted for Trump to prevent another war but still support his actions you’re a fucking idiot.

EDIT: Jesus, you guys are way too eager for more conflict.

 

[Your Weird Fetish]

We went to war in Afghanistan. Trying to dodge the official branding of "war" was for convenient bureaucratic reasons. My point was that we peaked in WW2 and believing we're an unstoppable force that can manipulate the future with no repercussions is naive and should have been abandoned with Kissinger.

We haven't really even tried since Korea. Every war since has been with both arms behind our backs. If we showed the will and sheer bloodthirstiness we had in WW2 we would own the planet literally instead of just figuratively.

 

[Iwasamwillbe]

Hey... is it? The single-minded "America = good guys, Iran = bad guys" perspective throughout the thread seems to be just as thought-terminating, you'd think people would have realized by now that geopolitical conflicts are far more complicated than Harry vs Voldemort

In the Middle East, there are no "good guys" and "bad guys", just a web of competing self-interests with different shades of dark grey.

 

[Huitzilopochtli]

Aircraft Spots on Twitter

“Reminder: Only (2) B-52 bombers are on Diego Garcia. The other (4) have not yet deployed.”

twitter.com

That's potentially 6 GBU-43/B...

 

[HollaGemini]

Twitter

"BREAKING: Iranian missile attack only resulted in Iraqi casualties"

Lmaoooo

Pretty sure thats confirmed now too

Amichai Stein on Twitter

“#BREAKING: Iranian missile attack resulted in casualties among Iraqis only — Pentagon”

twitter.com

 

[Your Weird Fetish]

People voted for Trump because they thought Hillary would start another war and now look where we’re at.

Not at war?

 

[Captain Ahab]

Oh, well. I guess combat boots will be in fashion this year. Good thing I bought some on sale.

 

[HOMO FOR LIFE]

People voted for Trump because they thought Hillary would start another war and now look where we’re at. He doesn’t give a shit, he’s just trying to stoke the flames in an election year.

If you voted for Trump to prevent another war but still support his actions you’re a fucking idiot.

I am sorry is there any war? No? Okay cool

 

[BONE_Buddy]

lol

Doge (Stay 6 ft from me) on Twitter

“#Iran stating all of their missiles hit their targets, and that none were intercepted (NBC News) As expected.”

twitter.com

 

[Your Weird Fetish]

In the Middle East, there are no "good guys" and "bad guys", just a web of competing self-interests with different shades of dark grey.

I read this as self inserts instead of self interests and was wondering where you found Khameini's fanfic.

 

[pull over dat ass too fat]

Jokes on you I've got defense contractors in my family.

Seriously though they profit massively in peace time too. This won't change much for them.

that explains the irrational neocon cocksucking. you're an actual bona fide 30-year-old boomer lmao.

 

[Ledian]

Seriously though they profit massively in peace time too.

I don't think Boeing is doing that well recently but otherwise yes, I know that. It's not exactly monetary profit but also political profit too. Lobbying and more lobbying. One could say this ties into my dislike of lobbyists.

It's a graveyard for Afghanis. They've been conquered and brutalized many a time in history.

Doesn't change the fact that somehow, they keep sticking around and fucking things up for those who try.

We went to war in Afghanistan. Trying to dodge the official branding of "war" was for convenient bureaucratic reasons. My point was that we peaked in WW2 and believing we're an unstoppable force that can manipulate the future with no repercussions is naive and should have been abandoned with Kissinger.

Most of that war we spent sitting around occupying tracts of land, picking off idiots who try to retaliate. That's not war, that's occupation.
And if we went total war, we are an unstoppable force. Do we do that though? No. Doesn't mean we couldn't flatten whole countries if the government wanted to- we just don't. We fight half-assed every time and kow-tow to political, media, and civilian interests.

 

[who dare wins?]

BRING IT ON! -W (too bad he was too drunk to follow through)

The ayatollahs have pretty much painted themselves into a corner. They've been assuring their cultists citizens that eventually the day will come when Allah slays the Great Satan and the 12th Imam arrives and [their twisted version of] Islam reigns, and the crescent flag flies over the ruins of Washington DC. They've been stringing their people along for so fucking long that they never thought they would have to put up or shut up, since no POTUS has called their bluff.

Until Trump.

Now not only do they have to cash that check, but they are dealing with a POTUS who has threatened to make their sacred sites glow in the dark. As far as they know, Trump might be batshit enough to actually do it.

TL;DR:
>"I AM KHAMENEI! YOU KILLED MY GENERAL! PREPARE TO DIE!"
>flings 20 rusty Scuds at an air base, misses by a mile (or 10)
>Trump:


The fact that Tel Aviv is not on fire right now must really make Khamenei nervous as fuck. The bigger threat may be all 12 million people in Tehran saying "what the actual FUCK, is that the best you fucktards can do?" and storming the palace where the ayatollahs live and sawing their heads off. Due to the Iran-Iraq war most Iranians are too young to remember the revolution, neither do they know anybody who does. An adoring crowd one day can become a lynch mob the next, just ask Jesus.

Yeah lol. I'm expecting Iranians to bomb Israel in the coming hours

Also KWWL and other news agencies has confirmed that Iranian fighter jets have entered Iraqi air space

Report: Iranian fighter jets deployed

NBC News Tehran Bureau Chief and correspondent Ali Arouzi on Iranian fighter jets being deployed.

kwwl.com

 

[Superman93]

People voted for Trump because they thought Hillary would start another war and now look where we’re at. He doesn’t give a shit, he’s just trying to stoke the flames in an election year.

If you voted for Trump to prevent another war but still support his actions you’re a fucking idiot.

I just wish he didn't rip up the Iran peace treaty. But what's done is done. Might as well get some entertainment out of it.