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.

.

 

[Honka Honka Burning Love]

Iraq should have never been a country. It should have been 3. But it isn't, so:

That was sort of the point though, Sykes-Picot purposefully re-zoned the middle east so that it was a constant shit show and none of the factions could gain "power" it just backfired in that the entire area has been a shit show ruled by insane despots the entire time and they missed out on the entirety of the past 100 years of advancement.

 

[WutangLee]

Don't conflate leadership with the people.



* The Ottomans inherited the dislike of Shia from (effectively) the Umayyads. Basically any non-Arab muslim ruling class dislike the Shia and their rejection of all the "non-arab" caliphs. Iran/Persia is an exception to this rule because another Arab dynasty force-fed Shia to the region to differentiate it from the Ottomans to the west and the Indian muslims to east.

** Its more accurate to say "non-Shi'ite"

They like to claim it's some 1,400 year old beef, but it was really because Shah Ismail I wanted to fight Ottomans.

 

[Kane Lives]

The initial spark to these was a simple rise in the price of Gasoline. Soleimani killed them for those protests. Then he died, amd more of them were killed by an uncaring government. Then yet more were killed by an incompetant Government. While it puffs itself up, but takes such careful steps to not kill the Americans. The Americans that it always tells the people are the evil cause of all their problems. Yeah Iranians don't like us. They surely have no reason to do so. But they just want to live a simple life of freedome where they can seel their labor, worship as they please and raise their families without being subject to the whims of the theocracy and the politics of the Middle East.

The problem is if the Mullah's fall, what next? Through what path lies liberty and freedom for them? What action doesn't make everything worse. Does take off the Mullah's heads and devolve your nation into a realm of warlords like Lybia? Or square off Regular Military and Police against IRGC and Kuds force. Full on civil war? Is there some Leader they could slip in there to take out the Mullah's leave himself in charge. and be crazy enough to open a dialog with the west? Rhouhani might be able to serve that role. But more likely our olf friend Ahmadinejaad might be the best possibility. The Army would follow him. But you would just be trading a theocratic tyrany for a more pragmatic tyrant.

Given the region's history with democracy, a benevolent tyrant would be the best case scenario.

And to be honest, the best that they deserve. If they want democracy, they'd need to actually build it up indigenously, rather than have it imposed by an outside power.

 

[BONE_Buddy]

I am not going to post the full article, because I can't confirm jack-dick about it, but:

Iraq warned to keep US troops or risk financial blow-WSJ

US officials warn Baghdad Iraq could lose access to critical US-based bank account where oil revenues are held-WSJ.

www.aljazeera.com

Apparently the US has threatened to seize and close Iraq's Federal Reserve based Oil Account, if Iraq forces us out of the country.

Now, this reports comes from Iraqi "Officials " complaining to the Wall Street Journal. So I am not saying that the report is completely false, but It likely has been greatly exaggerated, and truths twisted over backwards.

The lead Hezbollah General, Hassan Nasrallah, is currently giving a speech about the necessity to force the US out and "death to Israel" etc, etc.

Will it amount to anything major, probably not. But if you want to follow the speech, here is a link to a live tweet by tweet thread about it.

David A. Daoud on Twitter

“Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah to give a speech on Sunday, marking the one week commemoration of Qassem Soleimani's and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis' death. https://t.co/6Vv575w9mM”

twitter.com

I won't be posting the full transcript because it is likely unimportant in the grand scheme, and it is over 100 tweets long or something.

 

[soy_king]

That was sort of the point though, Sykes-Picot purposefully re-zoned the middle east so that it was a constant shit show and none of the factions could gain "power" it just backfired in that the entire area has been a shit show ruled by insane despots the entire time and they missed out on the entirety of the past 100 years of advancement.

Sykes Picot was a division of the Ottoman empire based on general interests, and the lines aren't arbitrary. the lines are based solely off of geographic considerations, because the Europeans couldn't give two shits about the locals. It's the same thing with the Pakistan Afghanistan border and the borders in Africa

 

[Ilackcreativity]

Iran arrests UK ambassador in what Britain calls ‘flagrant violation of international law’

A top British official condemned Saturday’s arrest of the U.K. ambassador to Iran during anti-government protests in Tehran, calling the detainment “a flagrant violation of international law.”

www.foxnews.com

archive


By Dom Calicchio | Fox News


A top British official condemned Saturday’s arrest of the U.K. ambassador to Iran during anti-government protests in Tehran, calling the detainment “a flagrant violation of international law.”

Rob Macaire, who has been Britain’s envoy to the Islamic republic since March 2018, was arrested as he stopped at a barber shop for a haircut after attending a vigil for the victims of a Ukrainian jetliner that crashed in Tehran last week, the BBC reported.

Macaire left the vigil after it became a demonstration but was later accused by Iranian authorities of helping to incite the anti-government protest, The Independent of Britain reported.

TRUMP TWEETS SUPPORT OF IRANIAN ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTESTERS AFTER UKRAINIAN PASSENGER PLANE SHOT DOWN

He was released after three hours but the arrest infuriated the British government.

"The arrest of our Ambassador in Tehran without grounds or explanation is a flagrant violation of international law,” British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement.
"The Iranian government is at a cross-roads moment. It can continue its march towards pariah status with all the political and economic isolation that entails, or take steps to deescalate tensions and engage in a diplomatic path forwards.”

A photo of Macaire was posted on Twitter by the Etemad newspaper of Iran after his arrest was reported by the Tasnim news agency, according to the BBC.

Tasnim tweeted that Macaire was detained “for organizing suspicious movements and protests in front of Amir Kabir University but released after hours.” The tweet added that Macaire would be “summoned by the foreign ministry tomorrow morning.”

Rob Macaire has been Britain’s ambassador to Iran since March 2018. (Twitter)
In a Twitter message, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus called Macaire’s arrest a violation of the Vienna Convention, which she said the Iranian regime “has a notorious history of violating.”

“We call on the regime to formally apologize to the UK for violating his rights and to respect the rights of all diplomats,” Ortagus wrote.

Saturday’s anti-government protests in Tehran followed Iran’s admission Friday that its military had “unintentionally” shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet last week, killing all 176 people on board.

Both Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attributed the downing of the jet to “human error” – but the foreign minister added that the error had been caused by “U.S. adventurism” – a likely reference to the American airstrike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad on Jan. 3.

On Saturday, both President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted messages of support for the Iranian citizens who opposed the nation’s government.

“The voice of the Iranian people is clear. They are fed up with the regime’s lies, corruption, ineptitude, and brutality of the IRGC under @khamenei_ir's kleptocracy,” Pompeo wrote.

 

[Pinot Pierrot]

Looks like the Iranian circus have yet to leave town.

Seriously, how many more times is Iran going to accidentally step on everbody's toes except for America's?

 

[Regu]

Iran really wants a war to use to unite it's people it seems. The US should just stick to drone striking government officials with an xbox controller. Judging by the shitstorm killing Soleimani caused, its much more effective than boots on the ground.

 

[Sanshain]

lol Britain will do nothing

 

[Gustav Schuchardt]

مملکته on Twitter

“Today, the crowd in an Iranian university refused to trample US and Israel flag #LoveBeyondFlags. These IR ideologies, like forced hijab, are falling one by one. https://t.co/spxEI9DRv4”

twitter.com

Loading…

archive.is

 

[mindlessobserver]

مملکته on Twitter

“Today, the crowd in an Iranian university refused to trample US and Israel flag #LoveBeyondFlags. These IR ideologies, like forced hijab, are falling one by one. https://t.co/spxEI9DRv4”

twitter.com

https://archive.li/SB6lo

View attachment 1095198

How does trump do it? If you had told me the day we blew that fucker up this would be where we are I would have laughed. Praise the God Emperor.

 

[Regu]

How does trump do it? If you had told me the day we blew that fucker up this would be where we are I would have laughed. Praise the God Emperor.

Easy, he made it clear to the Iranian people that he has issues with their government which they themselves do not like, not the Iranian people. Turns out when the game changes and you are no longer the target of random drone strikes you start to turn on the people that you only tolerated because they protected you from that.

 

[Jewelsmakerguy]

Looks like the Iranian circus have yet to leave town.

Seriously, how many more times is Iran going to accidentally step on everbody's toes except for America's?

Not until the UN finally decides that America was right and they all team up to glass them into dust, obviously.

 

[LetThemEatCake]

The lead Hezbollah General, Hassan Nasrallah, is currently giving a speech about the necessity to force the US out and "death to Israel" etc, etc.

Standard Hezbollah speech then.

 

[AnotherPleb]

Iran really wants a war to use to unite it's people it seems. The US should just stick to drone striking government officials with an xbox controller. Judging by the shitstorm killing Soleimani caused, its much more effective than boots on the ground.

They crave that war like a starving man yearns for food, which is why I love that Trump is choking Iran's ass out with sanctions. They've been playing stupid games for decades, and if they don't like their prizes all I can say is tough shit.

 

[GethN7]

This is what happens when you are running a corrupt regime that can only use terror and inciting shit to distract people from the fact your inciting shit is just a frail smokescreen to distract from your own corruption.

And it's imploding around the same corrupt regime that has pulled that trick so many times everyone is wise to it by now.

 

[mindlessobserver]

Well that's not good. At least they released him. So nothing will be done.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

Macaire left the vigil after it became a demonstration

You can't even criticize the guy for getting involved with political rallies in a shit country.

 

[murdered meat bag]

Hopefully iran just bullies europe and leaves us alone.

 

[Revo]

Who is stupid enough to help the British army , the same army who betrayed Eastern European countries during the establishment of the iron curtain and invaded peaceful countries?