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.

.

 

[Pocket Dragoon]

Work. You mean work! Shoot is when wrestling turns real!

Wrestling metaphors abound; Trump did win the first Battle of the Billionaires, and he hasn't lost any since, along with being in the WWE Hall of Fame.

Funny; as a kid, I always wanted the Hulk as President, who went round & round with the Iron Sheik and kicked his ass in the ring, so I had confidence he could do it irl. But I had to wait a while until clown world gave us an even better face.
I'm not disappointed in this timeline, at all.

 

[Legato]

Hot take: In the long run the world would've been better off not getting rid of Saddam

Same , but for Qadaffi. Libya was much better off with him, except for that lockerbie thing.

 

[Jump]

They've probably destroyed the black box by now. If they haven't then it's guaranteed to be in some dusty locked basement in Tehran indefinitely.

Or they are doing something dumb like trying to tamper with the data that is on them.
They will of course fuck that up too because of how retarded they are.

 

[Keystone]

Or they are doing something dumb like trying to tamper with the data that is on them.
They will of course fuck that up too because of how exceptional they are.

They'll get someone with a heavier accent than your local 7-11 shopkeeper to play the Ukrainian pilots and have hard bass playing in the background for extra authenticity.

I kinda want to hear this now

 

[Stoneheart]

They'll get someone with a heavier accent than your local 7-11 shopkeeper to play the Ukrainian pilots and have hard bass playing in the background for extra authenticity.

"Russian" mercs are not that hard to find, and nobody could tell if its an ukainian accent or a belarussian accent or a Georgian accent. they all sound the same.

 

[Jump]

Well I guess they wont bother to mess with the boxes now. Iran is admitting it was shot down.

A Ukrainian aircraft which crashed earlier this week in Iran had flown close to a sensitive military site and was brought down due to human error, Iranian state TV reported on Saturday.

The responsible parties would be held accountable, the statement read on state TV said.

https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News...t-down-in-Iran-due-to-human-error-Iran-613822

https://www.foxnews.com/world/iran-...down-ukrainian-jetliner-according-to-state-tv

 

[Zap Rowsdower]

They'll get someone with a heavier accent than your local 7-11 shopkeeper to play the Ukrainian pilots and have hard bass playing in the background for extra authenticity.

I kinda want to hear this now

I hear they're flying Jussie Smollett in to help.

 

[theshep]

Ukrainian aircraft was brought down in Iran due to 'human error'

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran announced Saturday that its military ‘unintentionally’ shot down a Ukrainian jetliner, killing all 176 aboard.

The statement came Saturday morning and blamed “human error” for the shootdown.

The jetliner, a Boeing 737 operated by Ukrainian International Airlines, went down on the outskirts of Tehran during takeoff just hours after Iran launched a barrage of missiles at U.S. forces.

Iran had denied for several days that a missile downed the aircraft. But then the U.S. and Canada, citing intelligence, said they believe Iran shot down the aircraft.

The plane, en route to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members from several countries, including 82 Iranians, at least 63 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians, according to officials.

Under pressure, Iran admits it shot down jetliner by mistake

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — In the face of mounting evidence, Iran on Saturday acknowledged that it shot down the Ukrainian jetliner by accident, killing all 176 people aboard. The admission by Iran’s...

apnews.com

Well, that's that then.

 

[It's HK-47]

"A plane went down but it had nothing to do with us! It was an engine failure!"
"Okay, it may have had something to do with us, but we didn't fire a missile at it!"
"Okay, we may have fired a missile at it, but it totally wasn't intentional!"

This is rapidly turning into a fucking Monty Python routine.

 

[Jewelsmakerguy]

Ukrainian aircraft was brought down in Iran due to 'human error'

Under pressure, Iran admits it shot down jetliner by mistake

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — In the face of mounting evidence, Iran on Saturday acknowledged that it shot down the Ukrainian jetliner by accident, killing all 176 people aboard. The admission by Iran’s...

apnews.com

Well, that's that then.

So we can take this as Iran confirming their millitary is run by incompetents then?

 

[theshep]

"A plane went down but it had nothing to do with us! It was an engine failure!"
"Okay, it may have had something to do with us, but we didn't fire a missile at it!"
"Okay, we may have fired a missile at it, but it totally wasn't intentional!"

This is rapidly turning into a fucking Monty Python routine.

My favourite bit was all the Iranians on social media saying it was all a 'western conspiracy'.

 

[frankie muniz found dead]

Ukrainian aircraft was brought down in Iran due to 'human error'

Under pressure, Iran admits it shot down jetliner by mistake

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — In the face of mounting evidence, Iran on Saturday acknowledged that it shot down the Ukrainian jetliner by accident, killing all 176 people aboard. The admission by Iran’s...

apnews.com

Well, that's that then.

who's the poor bastard who bungled this up the day they were supposed to have their valiant retaliation? i wonder how hard khamenei winced that night

that saved us from decades worth of conspiracy theories

 

[Stoneheart]

"A plane went down but it had nothing to do with us! It was an engine failure!"
"Okay, it may have had something to do with us, but we didn't fire a missile at it!"
"Okay, we may have fired a missile at it, but it totally wasn't intentional!"

To be fair, A Boeing going down on its own is the most likely explaination, even if you have footage of a rocket hitting the aircraft.
Boeings are designed by clowns, subervised by monkeys and nobody working for Boeing would fly with one.

 

[Draza]

Makes you wonder what will happen to Iran from being regional power and sponsor to various factions to being a weak and incompetent sick man of the Middle East. I wonder what factions and powers will try to jump on Iran knowing they don't have power to retaliate as they claim.

Most likely will be Turkey as they have been flexing their geopolitical power across the Middle East for some years now. But they like the Iranians are shown to be weak and incompetent on certain issues ( Kurdish problem, weak economy, political corruption, Syria, and Libya).

 

[Niggernerd1]

My favourite bit was all the Iranians on social media saying it was all a 'western conspiracy'.

Iranians aren't too bright. yes the US has done shady shit in the past. but it doesn't mean other countries aren't shady themselves especially the middle eastern ones. my conclusion that Iranians are fucking idiots is supported by the fact they shot down a slow moving commercial airliner moving the opposite direction of their location as opposed to a fast american made death machine headed right towards them

 

[theshep]

Yeah right mate, your fuck up is the fault of the Americans.

Predictable statement.

 

[Ow The Edge]

Ukrainian aircraft was brought down in Iran due to 'human error'

Under pressure, Iran admits it shot down jetliner by mistake

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — In the face of mounting evidence, Iran on Saturday acknowledged that it shot down the Ukrainian jetliner by accident, killing all 176 people aboard. The admission by Iran’s...

apnews.com

Well, that's that then.

A pack of violent inbreds can't tell the different between a passenger plane at their own airport and an incoming attack craft. Color me shocked.

So, is Ukraine going to get some compensation from these folks or what?

 

[#zzz]

Trump has always said he'd retaliate if Americans are killed. I don't know why people thought he was boasting. As much as this has been a mess, I am glad this was the time someone decided to call his bluff on it. Any other country would have been an absolute nightmare.

Perhaps you are right. I don't see Trump doing targetted assassinations if he was carrying out threats. I would see him doing more of a general military strike in order to make a show of force. Assassinations would cause power vacuums and serve to put more unstable extreme people in charge, Further allowing the enemy to radicalize the populace.
But I guess we'll never know for sure.

 

[Ow The Edge]

View attachment 1093359

Yeah right mate, your fuck up is the fault of the Americans.

Predictable statement.

US: *Smokes Salami*
Iran: "Death to America!"
Iran: *Kills 200 Iranians*

 

[pwnest injun]

Hot take: In the long run the world would've been better off not getting rid of Saddam

He got rid of himself when he tried to convince OPEC to switch from the USD to the Euro for their reserve currency.

GHWB leading him on into believing that we would back his action (look the other way) against Kuwait for their diagonal drilling into Iraqi oil fields was where that fuckup begins though. Honestly that whole situation was a UN failure, and so on and so on.

Honestly, what happened with Saddam was he committed the cardinal sin of spending oil money on things to improve his country's economy and people. That's not what oil money is for. You can buy a solid gold AK-47, or buy supercars and crash them into each other, but you better not build a school, or a hospital, or we'll fucking kill you.