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.

.

 

[mr.moon1488]

Earlier in the thread it was posted that Iran sent a complaint to the U.N. security council. It was promptly vetoed by Russia. They stated that Trump's killing of Salami was a proportionate response.

It's late and I'm tired. Search the thread for "Russia" and "U.N. security council. It should pop up.

Russia is pretty much their only major backer. If even they're vetoing them in the security council, Iran might as well just hang it up now before they lose everything.

 

[Judge Holden]

Russia is pretty much their only major backer. If even they're vetoing them in the security council, Iran might as well just hang it up now before they lose everything.

That assumes they are not
a) breathtakingly arrogant as only a third world dictatorship who thinks they are untouchable because "muh strategic location/resources" can be
b) run atleast in part by batshit crazy fundies who genuinely believe that allah will bail them out if shit gets too dicey

If this aint a blip and is a bigger sign that Russia is turning on them, I suspect they are either cutting their losses after the aformentioned iranian clusterfucks at the expense of wider russian interests/friendlier russian puppets, or are hoping they can leverage abandoning Iran into a general "pweese stawp stamping on my economic balls burger-senpai OwO" measure that sees their general strategic prospects improve at the expense of a smaller tactical arena.

Also if the plane explosion really was due to Iran's ineptitude then shit might get real interesting

 

[Secret Asshole]

Iran probably intended to shoot it down. This wasn't an accident.

The Russians did the same thing to an airliner during the very brief Ukrainian Civil Conflict (Its hard to call it a war). Initially it was thought to be done to frame the Ukrainians as bloodthirsty, but it turns out it was a drunk Russian unit that were bored and VERY trigger happy. The Russian unit at least had the excuse that there was an ongoing invasion. It was still idiotic and a massive fuck up as nobody uses anything resembling a passenger plane for war to avoid them being blown the fuck up. What the fuck is Iran's excuse for blowing up a passenger plane in their own airspace?

This is Iran shitting itself. Their military is weak as shit, which is why they can't go toe to toe with anyone in the region. They will undoubtedly cover this hard, but this will only cement Russia and China's distance from Iran's idiocy.

 

[Cheesegirl78]

Oh god. So they shot an Ukrainian plane down with Brits and Canadians. Oh lord. Hopefully this is just an accident and not an attack. If the latter is true...

You know the Brits and Canadians will blame this on Trump.

 

[mr.moon1488]

@Cosmos made a post about this in the other thread and got bombed for it, but I completely agree that we should have no military presence in the old world, especially not the middle east. We should not have bases within 50 miles of every border Iran shares with its neighbors.

A primary concern with Clinton to me was that she had previously stated that she intended to go to war with both Russia and Iran. When the Orange-Man-Russian-Callooshun shit started up I made an active decision I'd rather have someone financially involved in making deals with Russia than some crazy lady who obsessively hated Putin.

I don't care what Iran does. I don't care if Iranians are killed by the Iranian government. I don't care if they bomb Iraq or Afghanistan. I don't care. I don't give a fuck about any of these shithole countries. Fuck off.

While I agree that we, nor any other western nation should have any involvement in the Mideast, it still doesn't change the fact that Iran attacked a US embassy, and had high ranking leadership in another country currently occupied by us. Even Russia doesn't seem to be backing Iran at this point.

Edit:
,and she's not getting ripped because she's against a war, she's getting ripped because she's turning an attack on a US embassy into an "orange man bad" argument. Most of the people who've tied into it with her are fierce anti-interventionists.

 

[Oskar Dirlewanger]

Let's start with facts and logic:

- british people dying is absolutely zero loss
- ukrainian airplanes crashing is absolutely zero loss

So, to conclude, I don't even mind that the CIA downed this plane.

 

[Cynically Insane]

Several outlets are claiming a technical issue caused the crash. But that bitch was on fire a long time. A twitter video shows it. No Canadian media are even reporting anything suspicious and the missile strikes aren't even mentioned. WTF?

Ali Hashem علي هاشم on Twitter

“#Breaking First footage of the Ukrainian airplane while on fire falling near #Tehran https://t.co/kGxnBb7f1q”

twitter.com

 

[verissimus]

Why are we afraid of these people again?

Because the media/thought police say we should.

 

[Varg Did Nothing Wrong]

The Russians did the same thing to an airliner during the very brief Ukrainian Civil Conflict (Its hard to call it a war). Initially it was thought to be done to frame the Ukrainians as bloodthirsty, but it turns out it was a drunk Russian unit that were bored and VERY trigger happy. The Russian unit at least had the excuse that there was an ongoing invasion. It was still idiotic and a massive fuck up as nobody uses anything resembling a passenger plane for war to avoid them being blown the fuck up.

Lol what is this hot take even supposed to mean?

I dare you to look at a radar ping representing a military transport plane like an Antonov 124 and a similarly sized passenger jetliner like a Boeing 747 and be able to tell the difference between them. Radar isn't magic and it doesn't work like the video games. You get a general size reading and the speed of the object and that's it.

 

[Stoneheart]

who flies on an ukrainian Boeing?

 

[verissimus]

Lol what is this hot take even supposed to mean?

I dare you to look at a radar ping representing a military transport plane like an Antonov 124 and a similarly sized passenger jetliner like a Boeing 747 and be able to tell the difference between them. Radar isn't magic and it doesn't work like the video games. You get a general size reading and the speed of the object and that's it.

Because IFF transmitters (or was it transponders) have been a thing since WW2. The point is for all aircraft and ships to give off a specific frequency which friendly forces will detect to differentiate them from all enemy aircraft or ships.

 

[Cedric_Eff]

Because IFF transmitters (or was it transponders) are a thing since WW2. The point is for all aircraft and ships to give off a specific frequency which friendly forces will detect to differentiate them from enemy aircraft.

Didn’t the US have a problem with IFF Transmitters on AEGIS based ships back in the late 80’s? Like that’s how the Iran Air shoot down happened and also the reason why the Captain of the Vincennes was nearly killed?

 

[Ponderous Pillock]

Fat Boy gotta be watching all this VERY closely! And probably shitting kimchi in his drawers.

Thing is, Trump did nearly the exact same brinkmanship shit with Kim. They threatened to hit Guam and the US base there and the US response was basically to pull down their mirrored aviators a bit and demand the Norkies do it. Because the Kims are not crazed lunatics, they backed down and eventually held one hell of an historic meeting.

Doubt Russia will do anything after Iran went crying to the UN and Russia vetoed on them and told them to get fucked.

There's a reason for that. Several. Iran's pissed about funding all sorts of Jihadi activity for ages, poured shitloads into Dagestan and also spat in the Russians faces when they tried playing silly bastards over the price of the T-90 tank so they can add it to their airfix kit like collection of tanks of the 20th and 21st centuries.

They might've had something to do with the Northern Caucasus Emirate bullshit the Russians had to spend a decade curbstomping too.

Alex Ward on Twitter

“A CENTCOM spokesperson confirmed to me that Iran fired 15 missiles: 10 struck Al Asad airbase west of Baghdad, Iraq; one struck Erbil in northern Iraq; and four failed.”

twitter.com

I do hope it was a proper "firey explosion" failure and not a dud firing.

I want to see if Iran even has military weapons capable of what their claims are. I’m betting they are about as threatening as North Korea.

They're less so. North Korea has vaguely competent special forces and spy boats with actual reach and they actually have a nuclear bomb.

I've been dunking on every damn aspect of the Iranian armed forces throughout the entire thread. So to have my shit proven right in the most downright hilarious way over their most "dangerous" weapons system is fucking glorious.

Kaitlan Collins on Twitter

“Sen. Graham says on Fox News he just got off the phone w/ Trump: "Let me say tonight, if you are watching TV in Iran...your fate is in your own hands in terms of the regime's economic viability. You continue this crap you're going to wake up one day out of the oil business."”

twitter.com

I love how Graham's gone from a bit simpering to "I can say this shit and people support me? Fucking finally."

You know I said someone is getting nat 1s on D20s as a joke, but I'm starting to think somehow that could make sense. then again I guess anything makes sense when nothing makes sense.

"You hear an aircraft."

"I roll perception." *clank-clack-clack. "2."

"All you can see is it's very big as an aircraft, in fact you think it might be an American Bomber."

"I fire my missile." *clank-clack-clack. "20! Yes!"

"You hit the aircraft and it goes down in a ball of flames."

"I cheer that God is Great and high five the rest of the group for a job well done."

"The radio screams into life with your commander about how you've just shot a civilian airliner."

"Fuuuuuuuuck."

 

[Varg Did Nothing Wrong]

Because IFF transmitters (or was it transponders) have been a thing since WW2. The point is for all aircraft and ships to give off a specific frequency which friendly forces will detect to differentiate them from all enemy aircraft or ships.

There's a million reasons why a group of Russian/Ukranians/Iranian retards might not have the means or ability to scan all potential IFF frequencies or even know what frequencies mean what.

None of this changes what I said. You have a SAM launcher or a MANPADS and it doesn't tell you if it's looking at an enemy or not.

 

[Dickus Biggus]

@Cosmos made a post about this in the other thread and got bombed for it, but I completely agree that we should have no military presence in the old world, especially not the middle east. We should not have bases within 50 miles of every border Iran shares with its neighbors.

A primary concern with Clinton to me was that she had previously stated that she intended to go to war with both Russia and Iran. When the Orange-Man-Russian-Callooshun shit started up I made an active decision I'd rather have someone financially involved in making deals with Russia than some crazy lady who obsessively hated Putin.

I don't care what Iran does. I don't care if Iranians are killed by the Iranian government. I don't care if they bomb Iraq or Afghanistan. I don't care. I don't give a fuck about any of these shithole countries. Fuck off.

A tad bit funny that you state this while not even living in the USA anymore. But the thing is that how Clinton might had started a war with Iran/Russia is pretty different from what has happen with Trump. Here Iran was a major influence in its attack on an USA embassy, and even now Russia doesn't seem to be interested in helping out Iran.

I do personally agree that American should just become more isolated and just let these places run themselves into the ground or what have you but if that happens then China gets to go nuts with its growth instead of being the slow cancer it is now.

 

[bippu_as_fuck_ls400]

Iran will not give black box from crashed Ukrainian airliner to Boeing: Mehr
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-crash-black-box-idUSKBN1Z71C7 (http://archive.vn/o6qSh)

(Reuters) - Iran will not give the black box of the crashed Ukrainian airliner to planemaker Boeing, the head of Tehran's civil aviation organization was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

Ali Abedzadeh also said it was not clear which country Iran would send the box to so that its data could be analyzed, semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

A Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 crashed earlier on Wednesday, killing all 176 people aboard shortly after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport.

Ukrainian airline involved in Iran crash says plane was one of its best
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-crash-airline-statement-idUSKBN1Z714W (http://archive.vn/mpEIb)

(Reuters) - Ukraine International Airlines said on Wednesday that a Boeing 737-800 involved in a fatal crash in Iran was one of the best planes in its fleet and that its pilots were very experienced.

The assertion, made at an official news conference in Kiev given by four airline officials, followed the crash earlier on Wednesday which killed all 176 people aboard.

Airline officials said there was no sign that anything was wrong before the plane took off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport and that it had last been routinely serviced on Jan. 6.

Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 with the registration UR-PSR lands at Budapest Ferenc Liszt Airport, Hungary May 26, 2018. Picture taken May 26, 2018. Andras Soos/Handout via REUTERS

 

[Happy Fish]

Welp, Iran is a out to have a bad time.

 

[Ponderous Pillock]

Iran will not give black box from crashed Ukrainian airliner to Boeing: Mehr
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-crash-black-box-idUSKBN1Z71C7 (http://archive.vn/o6qSh)

(Reuters) - Iran will not give the black box of the crashed Ukrainian airliner to planemaker Boeing, the head of Tehran's civil aviation organization was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

Ali Abedzadeh also said it was not clear which country Iran would send the box to so that its data could be analyzed, semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

A Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 crashed earlier on Wednesday, killing all 176 people aboard shortly after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport.

Quickest way to confirm they shot it down, and the final broadcast is probably the angry Ukranian Pilot calling Kohmeni Control Tower they're a bunch of cunts.

 

[Null]

A tad bit funny that you state this while not even living in the USA anymore

Yes, it's funny how the #1 nationality to kidnap and ransom is concerned about the US killing random people again.

All these people going "it's fair play man it's just retaliation man they did it first man they backed Hezbollah, a Palestinian organization that makes a good public enemy #1, attacked our embassy in Afghanistan, it's not even war man it's just retaliation" forget that the entirety of our operation in Iraq as it stands is just an international police action and there is literally no reason we can't end up in Iran under the same pretense. Everyone is just assuming Trump is too based and redpilled and in on the #zogplan to do so, never-mind almost all of his grandchildren are Jewish.

 

[mr.moon1488]

Quickest way to confirm they shot it down, and the final broadcast is probably the angry Ukranian Pilot calling Kohmeni Control Tower they're a bunch of cunts.

If it was an engine failure, I could see Iran not wanting to turn it over to Boeing which is a US company, but not allowing the Ukrainians to have access to it, and the investigation is rather telling.