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.

.

 

[Otterly]

Shit, you can get a smartphone app with all the commercial flights indicated, which in this case would make life/death difference.

Don’t planes have a transponder running all the time anyway?

 

[Death Grip]

Rate me mad if you must, but why is a nation state allowed to commit mass murder 'because whoopsie, we made a mistake', when any of us plebs accidentally killing someone would at least see us before a court to be tried?

 

[AmpleApricots]

IMHO that's what happens when every side does their foreign politics with loaded guns. People get nervous and press buttons too early.

 

[Gustav Schuchardt]

This is the kind of situation where a little honesty and humility would be less damning than lying and misdirection.

It's because the Iranian regime is used to lying to its own people and getting away with it. Once they try that shit with leaders of other countries who aren't scared of them it all falls apart. It's a bit like Saddam Hussein really. As Kanan Makiya put it he was good at dealing with the politics of his inner circle but completely clueless at dealing with other countries.

Rate me mad if you must, but why is a nation state allowed to commit mass murder 'because whoopsie, we made a mistake', when any of us plebs accidentally killing someone would at least see us before a court to be tried?

Because if you or I commit a crime the police will arrive and arrest us. And if we fight them we'd lose. On the other hand if we were in charge of a country the only way that could happen would be if we were deposed as leaders and hunted down like Saddam was. And then to be honest we're probably screwed anyway. Generally speaking ex heads of state who end up on trial get found guilty of something which is sufficient to lock them up forever, execute them or convince them to kill themselves.

Saddam was guilty as sin but he was put on trial by his enemies and it's not like they really cared about what he was specifically guilty of - they were going to kill him anyway. If you've seen his execution the people doing it changed "Muqtada! Muqtada! Muqtada!" which makes it look like a less than impartial process. The world is an anarchy with no supreme authority or sovereign and that usually means that you can get away with literal murder when you're a head of state but as soon as you lose power you're screwed.

Mind you if the world wasn't an anarchy you'd have the problem of a world government which would also be able to get away with literal murder and there'd be no escape from its authority.

 

[TFT-A9]

Is Iran a national lolcow by now? Is that a thing? Pretty sure it should be.

 

[Trilby]

Gaddaffi has been turned into some benevolent Far=Right Martyr that opposed the Jews and Globalists, and a hero of socialism on the far-left, yet his entire career is basically a sitcom. He had an embarrassing 100% loss in wars (which for a fucking military coup is quite something) he basically neutered his own military so that his standing army (Armed People's on Duty) never went past Battalion level units. His defeat against Egypt is acceptable, but his defeats against Tanzania, Chad x2, and the shit cherry on the sundae, AlQaeda/ISIS/TheFrench alliance. His cheap rip off of the French Foreign Legion (The Islamic Legion) was made up poor bastards from Africa and Paksitan that had been promised work, instead suffered one of the worst desertion rates in any "ELITE" unit in the Cold War, and instead were force fed his Arab Supremacist garbage (Which I'm sure some Black African and Pakis enjoyed). His rip off of the IRGC (Jamahiriya Guard) was basically glorified thugs in nepotistic fashion hand chosen from his tribe, not the romanticized guardians of Islamic socialism. He even had his own son command what was virtually his Praetorian Guard (The Khamis Brigade), so when that unit was taken out in airstrikes, it was over. He had nothing.

Speaking of sitcom, I'm reminded of this again!

 

[RodgerDodger]

Did they also “unintentionally” Bulldoze the crash site, thereby burying or destroying all of the human remains?

 

[big ups liquid richard]

Oh you mean like when USA shoot down Iran Air flight 655 in 1988 ?

Based on your negative ratings for simply stating a matter of fact, apparently its ok when the USA does it.

 

[RodgerDodger]

Don’t planes have a transponder running all the time anyway?

It’s possible to turn it off. But it involves pulling the right breaker. For example the Indonesian Airline plane that disappeared over the Pacific had it’s transponder turned off. When they do that only Military Radars can find them. Civil ATC radar just looks for the transponders.

 

[Noideawhattopick]

Based on your negative ratings for simply stating a matter of fact, apparently its ok when the USA does it.

Who cares about ratings? I rather know of fuckups from whatever side on this much of a scale, than to stay in an echo chamber.
Shooting down a passenger airplane is a gigantic fuckup which should not go unpunished whatsoever. USA paid 61 million in total to the families in 1996. They did not admit legal liability for this incident.
Yeah, they fucked up. And Noone went to prison for it.

One more thing that was comparable with today: tension is sky-high in some moments.

 

[OnMoTi]

Oh you mean like when USA shoot down Iran Air flight 655 in 1988 ?

There was an actual war going on, the ship who fired the missile had just been attacked by Iranians, and the plane itself refused to respond to radio transmissions. In this incident, there was no war, Iran hadn't just been attacked, and the plane was shot down just moments after take off. Trying to compare the two shows you're either ignorant of the facts, or a mudslime apologist who deserves a bullet.

 

[big ups liquid richard]

Who cares about ratings? I rather know of fuckups from whatever side on this much of a scale, than to stay in an echo chamber.
Shooting down a passenger airplane is a gigantic fuckup which should not go unpunished whatsoever. USA paid 61 million in total to the families in 1996. They did not admit legal liability for this incident.
Yeah, they fucked up. And Noone went to prison for it.

One more thing that was comparable with today: tension is sky-high in some moments.

Its weird how people will hold Iran to higher standards than the USA for the same behavior, but we both know they will. USA gets a pass because Iran man bad.

 

[Ow The Edge]

Its weird how people will hold Iran to higher standards than the USA for the same behavior, but we both know they will. USA gets a pass because Iran man bad.

And how many hold the US to higher standards because orange man bad and we can’t expect brown people to obey even a modicum of civilized standards?

 

[big ups liquid richard]

And how many hold the US to higher standards because orange man bad and we can’t expect brown people to obey even a modicum of civilized standards?

In this thread? I haven't really seen any yet. I'm talking about just this thread and as far as Trump mentions, there is only one, and I don't think this guy was serious.

Fuckin Drumph

 

[pwnest injun]

They were just students I suppose, although, this would be the silver bullet to barring Iranian Expats from entering North America, just have to get through the Democratic outrage machine when they flail and screech about the orange man.

Just re-institute Jimmy Carter's Iranian ban word for word.

 

[mindlessobserver]

So after all that fire and fury, Iran ends up killing hundreds of time more of it's own people then America, the Ayatollah instead of being a hero has to defend himself from his own angry citizens and the US gets away with blowing up the head of the quds force with no losses.

The Trump curse is real

 

[TowinKarz]

So after all that fire and fury, Iran ends up killing hundreds of time more of it's own people then America, the Ayatollah instead of being a hero has to defend himself from his own angry citizens and the US gets away with blowing up the head of the quds force with no losses.

The Trump curse is real

It's a real life play on the joke about how the NCAA was so pissed at Michigan's grey-area violations, that they sanctioned Appalachian State.

Iran was so pissed the US made them look like impotent tinpot fools.... that they shot down their own airliner.

Is Iran a national lolcow by now? Is that a thing? Pretty sure it should be.

It has been for years, this latest slump just drops them to the bottom of their ratings tier with all the other backwards, militant, jihadist nations in the ME. After 30 years of clawing at least 2 or so spots up that ladder..... good jerb guys!

Brilliant. I would like to see the Eurofags & Cucknadians meal mouth their way to not supporting these after Iran admits to downing a civilian airliner.

They'll do it with some version of: blah blah blah it's not Iran's fault, the US STARTED IT BY NOT ACCEPTING EMBASSY ATTACKS ARE PART AND PARCEL OF BEING AN IMPERIALIST-COLONIALIST REGIME!

Qadaffi certainly eased up on sniffing his own farts after having to put on a dress and scurry away from his exploding palace. He lost a lot of expensive MiGs and Radar emplacements and transport aircraft on April 15th, 1986. (taxes due, bitch!)


Typically, France was douchey and uncooperative.

I don't know if it's true, an embellishment or apocryphal, but, there's a story that circulates that during the bombing campaign against Qadaffi, an SR-71 flying recon for the op suffered a mechanical problem. Not the kind that says "eject!" but the kind that says "Scrub the mission and RTB in the straightest possible line you can" This line took the plane over some French-controlled airspace and a pair of Mirages intercepted the flight, chastising them for having no prior permission to be in their space, and if they couldn't provide the proper "Diplomatic Pass" information they would be FORCED to land. The SR-71 pilot said "here's my pass" , flipped the Mirages the bird, and opened the throttles leaving them in the dust....

Again, it may be a lie, but tis' a damn funny one that COULD have happened, so enjoy.

 

[Stoneheart]

Then again, that it was a "listening ship" tells me the Russians are updating their sonar profiles. And sometimes, the only way to do that is to get very close under operating conditions.

The reason they do this, is because sound signatures of surface boats can change significantly enough after routine maintenance periods & even small additions..... like a new icemaker or air compressors.

Well, not newsworthy; unless the Russians are providing those same updated sonar profiles to the Iranians.

But why does russia bother? they cant get any ships out of the Baltic and the north north sea is deadly for them. so why even spend on soemthing aimed against western navys?

 

[RodgerDodger]

Oh you mean like when USA shoot down Iran Air flight 655 in 1988 ?

many today bring up that incident without examining the full context. Prior to the Vincenhes incident the USS Stark had been struck by a missile fired by the belligerents in the Iran Iraq war, Iraq in that case, killing 37 US saI lord. The Samuel B Roberts had been crippled by Iranian mines laid in the straights of hormuz, and the US had just crippledthe Iranian Navy in retaliation with Operation Preying Mantis. in that environment the Vincennes was sailing paranoid. It mis identifies the plane as an Iranian F-14 heading for them. It was a stupid costly and tragic mistake.

In many ways this is likely the same. The Iranians assumed they would be under attack as soon as their missiles hit (crashed in the dirt near) American positions in Iraq. Somebody started shooting at shadows. The big questions are why did Iran open the airport to civilian traffic in the face of missile strikes? And why did nobody tell the idiots with the missiles that they had reopened the airport. And then after the fact why did they bulldoze the site destroying the evidence and the victims remains?

The Peasants! They are revolting!

Trump tweets support for Iranian protesters as they demand Khamenei quit

After denials, Tehran admits “disastrous mistake,” saying air defenses were fired in error after Iranian missile strikes on US targets in Iraq

www.jpost.com

Iranian protesters demand Khamenei quit over plane downing
After denials, Tehran admits “disastrous mistake,” saying air defenses were fired in error after Iranian missile strikes on US targets in Iraq
By LEON SVERDLOV
JANUARY 11, 2020 23:00

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
(photo credit: AFP PHOTO / HO / KHAMENEI.IR)

Hundreds of Iranian protesters demanded Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei step down on Saturday after Tehran admitted that its military had mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian plane, killing all 176 people on board.

“Commander-in-chief [Khamenei] resign, resign,” videos posted on Twitter showed hundreds of people chanting in front of Tehran’s Amir Kabir university.

Alireza Azami@Alireza__Azami
https://twitter.com/Alireza__Azami/status/1216003806300905472

Breaking:
People in #Iran have just begun the protest against de regime.
Students of Amirkabir university in Tehran chant slogans against the supreme leader!#IranProtests#IranPlaneCrash



408
9:27 AM - Jan 11, 2020
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This is the first protest since the assassination of IRGC Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani. Last November, hundreds were reportedly killedin protests in multiple cities across the Islamic Republic.


Demonstrators on Saturday ripped up pictures of Soleimani during the protests.

The concealment of the Ukrainian jet downing by the Iranian authorities raised questions among the republic’s citizens, leading to the renewal of the protests.

“They were so careful not to kill any American in their revenge for Soleimani. But they did not close the airport? This shows how much this regime cares for Iranians,” said Iranian citizen Mira Sedaghati.

“This is not human error. This is a crime against humanity,” said exiled Persian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi on Saturday. “He who has irresponsibly empowered his thugs to fire at will at innocents bears full responsibility. #Enough_is_enough. Khamenei and his regime must go.”

Reza Pahlavi

✔@PahlaviReza
https://twitter.com/PahlaviReza/status/1216012280976093185

This is not human error. This is a crime against humanity. He who has irresponsibly empowered his thugs to fire at will at innocents bears full responsibility. #Enough_is_enough. Khamenei and his regime must go. https://twitter.com/PahlaviReza/status/1216009763944833024 …
Reza Pahlavi

✔@PahlaviReza

این #خطای_انسانی نیست؛ جنایت علیه بشریت است؛ و رهبری که فرمان #آتش_به_اختیار می‌دهد، مسوول مستقیم آن. دیگر بس است. خامنه‌ای و‌ رژیمش باید بروند.

6,551
10:01 AM - Jan 11, 2020
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In an earlier tweet, Pahlavi, a self-described advocate for human rights and secular democracy, said that “unfortunately, death has overshadowed our country. A government that cannot handle a funeral has cheapened death,” he said. “Our task is to combat the normalization of death.”

The Iranian regime called the incident a “disastrous mistake,” saying air defenses were fired in error while on alert after Iranian missile strikes on US targets in Iraq.

Iran had denied for days after Wednesday’s crash that it brought down the plane, although a top Revolutionary Guards commander said on Saturday that he had told authorities about the unintentional missile strike the day it happened.

Foreign governments condemned Iran’s action, with Ukraine demanding compensation and a US official calling the downing reckless, although Britain said Tehran’s admission was an important first step and urged a de-escalation in tensions.

Khamenei, until now silent about the crash, said information about the incident should be made public, while top officials and the military issued apologies.

The crash heightened international pressure on Iran after months of friction with the United States and tit-for-tat attacks.

Canada, which had 57 citizens on board, and the US had both said early on that they believed an Iranian missile brought down the aircraft, probably in error.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran deeply regrets this disastrous mistake,” President Hassan Rouhani wrote on Twitter, promising that those responsible would be prosecuted. “My thoughts and prayers go to all the mourning families.”

Experts said mounting international scrutiny would have made it all but impossible to hide signs of a missile strike in any investigation and Iran may have felt a U-turn was better than battling rising criticism abroad and growing grief and anger at home, as many victims were Iranians with dual nationality.

The plane, a Boeing 737-800 en route for Kiev, came down shortly after take-off from Tehran, when Iran was alert for US reprisals after launching rockets at US troops in Iraqi bases.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Iran’s acknowledgment that it shot down the plane was a step in the right direction but he wanted those responsible to be held to account.

Writing on Twitter after speaking to Rouhani, Zelensky demanded that the victims be identified and returned to Ukraine at once. “The perpetrators must be held accountable,” he added.

Zelensky said Rouhani had apologized on behalf of his country.

A senior Trump administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that “Iran’s reckless actions have again had devastating consequences.”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Iran’s admission was “an important first step” and that it was “vital that all leaders now pursue a diplomatic way forward” to avoid conflict.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for “a complete and thorough investigation” with Iran’s full cooperation.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, in a rare step, apologized to the nation and accepted full responsibility.

Senior Guards commander Amirali Hajizadeh said he had informed Iran’s authorities on Wednesday about the unintentional strike, a comment that raised questions about why officials had publicly denied it for so long.

Speaking on state television, he said he wished “I could die” when he heard the news about the incident.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote on Twitter that “human error at time of crisis caused by US adventurism led to disaster,” citing an initial armed forces investigation into the crash.

A military statement said the plane flew close to a sensitive Revolutionary Guards site at a time of high alert. Ukraine said the plane was in a normal flight corridor and Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization said the airliner had not veered off its normal course.

Ukraine International Airlines said Iran should have closed the airport. The carrier said it had received no indication it faced a threat and was cleared for take off.

European airlines should avoid Iranian airspace until further notice, the EU Aviation Safety Agency said, expanding on earlier advice that airlines should not overfly Iran below 25,000 feet.

Analysts said a probe would almost certainly have revealed signs on the smashed fuselage of a missile strike.

“There’s nothing you can do to cover it up or hide it,” said Anthony Brickhouse, an air safety expert at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and former US National Transportation Safety Board investigator. “Evidence is evidence.”

Tzvi Joffre and Reuters contributed to this report.

it seems it has not gone unnoticed by the locals that the IRGC and the Mullah’s went to great lengths to avoid killing any Americans in their “response” while caring not one whit about how many Iranians they (the Ayatolla’s) just happen to kill.

 

[Your Weird Fetish]

Rate me mad if you must, but why is a nation state allowed to commit mass murder 'because whoopsie, we made a mistake', when any of us plebs accidentally killing someone would at least see us before a court to be tried?

Because otherwise there would be no nation states.