Iran

[dead_pan]

Originally Posted by DogTailRed2

And risk the sub and it's crew? I'm all for firing first.
Interestingly the ship was hit at the stern. Acoustic torp hit the screws perhaps?
Hegseth: U.S. sank Iranian ship with a torpedo

As i said, one assumes there were other US assets in the area which could have sent an ultimatum w/o alerting them to the presence of the sub

[dead_pan]

Originally Posted by DogTailRed2

While all this is ongoing one has to wonder what is happening in Iran now the head has been cut off.

Not only that, with no real prospect of any leadership given Israel's intent to kill any replacements. What is their goal here I wonder - capitulation, a failed state?

[DogTailRed2]

Originally Posted by dead_pan

Not only that, with no real prospect of any leadership given Israel's intent to kill any replacements. What is their goal hegoaI wonder - capitulation, a failed state?

A void to be filled by the faction with the most guns?

[nonsense]

Originally Posted by Falck

The presidential jet B767 of Netanyahu is evacuated to Berlin where it is parked.

Germany is one of the main founders of the ICC
in The Hague.
Netanyahu has an arrest warrent against him by the ICC.

Will there be a risk to put a chain on this Jet?

Falck

The aircraft is an asset of the state of Israel, not a personal asset of Netanyahu.

[WillFlyForCheese]

Originally Posted by ORAC

B-2s active again over Iran last night.

No sign of any tankers launching from the Azores so I wonder if they are now active out of Diego Garcia after Starmer’s U-turn.

There was a caravan of tankers out of Tel Aviv yesterday - and again this morning. Yeti31, Yeti32, (both KC-46A) among others (KC-135R). Going dark just prior to entering Iraqi or Saudi airspace.

[tekowhai]

Being “unsporting” is entirely the point.

Originally Posted by dead_pan

Is there any information circulating on the circumstances of the sinking of the Iranian warship i.e. was it instructed to sail to a particular port & surrender (assuming it was being shadowed by more than the sub)? If not it seems a bit unsporting if the sub just let rip w/o giving them a chance to throw in the towel.

[Lonewolf_50]

Originally Posted by Geriaviator

Did Iran warn before firing missiles at its friendly neighbours?

I think that they had made such a warning through diplomatic channels shortly after the attacks on their nuclear site last summer. (This from memory, based on a foreign affairs article or a WSJ article. It's been a few months. ) I doubt any of the Gulf States were surprised at that aspect of the Iranian response.

Originally Posted by DogTailRed2

A void to be filled by the faction with the most guns?

While I hope not, I suspect that your guess is correct.

[albatross]

Iranian Warship sunk by torpedo between Sri Lanka and Diego Garcia.
It could have caused considerable damage to Diego Garcia if that was the intent.

You Tube

[Bfah]

US sub has sunk an Iranian war ship...

IRIS Dena.(Destroyer type class).

Hegseth confirms sinking of Iranian warship | CNN Politics



Hegseth is saying the ship sunk was the Shaid Soleimani.
Well, it looks like a completely different type of ship than above.

From the video footage as now going around the world, it does look like Dena. I'll try and post a Soleimani.pic.

EDIT: Reports it was hit off Sri Lanka as reports are saying that Sri Lanka rescue services were involved.

[Peter_K]

Originally Posted by Geriaviator

Did Iran warn before firing missiles at its friendly neighbours?

Did US/Israel warn before firing a missile into a Tehran school for girls, which claimed 165 dead and many more wondered?

[Lonewolf_50]

Originally Posted by DogTailRed2

And risk the sub and it's crew? I'm all for firing first.
Interestingly the ship was hit at the stern. Acoustic torp hit the screws perhaps?
Hegseth: U.S. sank Iranian ship with a torpedo

I'll guess they used the standard wire guidance capability, but, depending upon which mod of the Mk 48 was used another homing / terminal guidance feature might have been used.

For albatross: thanks for that vid. Interesting summary of that class of ship.

[Bfah]

[tdracer]

If you're wondering what ever happened to "Bagdad Bob" - apparently he's now working for Iranian propaganda...

Jürgen Nauditt 🇩🇪🇺🇦 on X: "Iranian media decided to showcase their successes against the US—and included scenes of a Soyuz missile hitting the battleship Yamato. The problem is, Soyuz is a space carrier, and the Yamato sank in April 1945. 😉 https://t.co/uhBg0UnopF" / X

[Lonewolf_50]

Originally Posted by Bfah

From the video footage as now going around the world, it does look like Dena.

The video posted on Reuters (through a sub's periscope?) looked a lot like that ship, but I am not sure where Reuters got the video.
Shaid Soleimani is a cool looking ship, and notice the lovely helicopter on the flight deck!

[ORAC]

Slideshow:

https://x.com/sentdefender/status/20...107220855?s=20

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has published stills from today’s targeting of the IRIS Shahid Sayyad Shirazi, a Soleimani-class corvette with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN), off the coast of Bandar Abbas in the Strait of Hormuz.

CENTCOM states that more than 20 ships with the IRGCN and Iranian Navy have been targeted and sunk since the start of Operation Epic Fury.

Photos and video

https://x.com/hey_itsmyturn/status/2...258021379?s=20

[tdracer]

Interesting if true...

EXCLUSIVE: Kurdish forces in Iraq have launched a ground military offensive into Iran against the Islamic regime, an Iranian Kurdish official tells
@i24NEWS_EN

​​​​​​​Yulia Pobegailova on X: "EXCLUSIVE: Kurdish forces in Iraq have launched a ground military offensive into Iran against the Islamic regime, an Iranian Kurdish official tells @i24NEWS_EN. According to the official, thousands of Kurdish fighters began taking combat positions inside Iranian territory on https://t.co/g2EyzB3Ch3" / X

​​​​​​​
.

[fdr]

Originally Posted by BFSGrad

This is the transcript from the video I watched:



Given Hegseth’s imprecise language that was read from prepared remarks, we are left to decide whether he meant any nation’s torpedo or an American torpedo.

For some additional context, the U.S. has conducted numerous SINKEX operations since WW2, usually sinking old decommissioned warships with submarine-launched torpedos.

ARS Belgrano was not a ship? Or doesn't count as it used to be USN before it was turned into a diving attraction. HMS Conqueror used Round 2.0 vintage torpedoes to hint at the implied suggestion to keep skimmers away from the rock. Concubine was of course a nukulaar powered tub too, so not sure which Signal chat the SecWar was reading from.

The Falklands had its shares of horrific moments, and did make a point about the issues of having iron bombs, aluminium superstructure and drivers of sleds with an abundance of testosterone doing some serious harm to the greatest fleet in Portsmouth in 1982. (once upon a time, it was the best fleet north west of Dunkirk... it was once, and it was a long time ago).

[DuncanDoenitz]

Interesting and ironic in equal measure, the reason behind Dena's presence in the Indian Ocean; and it's got nothing to do with escaping from the Gulf.

In February, the Indian Navy conducted an International Fleet Review, an exercise/meet to foster goodwill and cooperation between international navies. Main participant, obviously, India, but representative ships and aircraft from over a dozen countries. Some examples; USS Pinkney (USA), RFS Marshall Shposhnikov (Russia), ROKS Gang Gamchan (S Korea) and of course IRIS Dena.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intern...t_Review_2026#

Checkout the fleet photo; around 40 ships in 7 columns led by INS Vikrant.

My 2 cents on the sportsmanship of its sinking? War or SMO, USA and Israel are shooting at anything Iranian. Iran is shooting at Israeli and US assets, and anything else that isn't openly hostile to them. The Dena is armed with SAMS, Anti-Ship Missiles and torpedoes, and it's in the same ocean as Diego Garcia and a USN carrier group. Not to sink it would be criminally irresponsible.

[Lonewolf_50]

Originally Posted by tdracer

Interesting if true...
.

I just saw the same thing. WTF? Not sure how solid this source is...

Thousands of Kurdish fighters based in Iraq have launched a ground offensive into western Iran, opening a new front in the rapidly escalating conflict following the reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. According to i24NEWS, an official from the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan (CPFIK) confirmed that Kurdish armed groups began coordinated military movements shortly after midnight on Monday, March 2.

The ground military movements by Kurdish forces against Iran have already started since the midnight on March 2,” the CPFIK official told the outlet. The official said fighters affiliated with the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) had already moved into combat positions inside Iranian territory. Thousands of Kurdish fighters are reportedly deployed deep within the Zagros mountain range, particularly around the southern mountains of Mariwan in western Iran.

According to the CPFIK official, Iranian forces evacuated the border city of Mariwan on March 3 and began establishing defensive positions in and around the area. Mariwan, located near the Iraq-Iran border, has historically been a flashpoint between Iranian security forces and Kurdish insurgent groups.

The official said PJAK fighters have now taken up positions around the mountainous terrain south of the city. PJAK operates two-armed wings — the YRK (Protection Units of Eastern Kurdistan) and the HPJ (Women’s Protection Forces). The official described these units as modeled after Kurdish formations operating in Syria.

This would be an escalation, if the reports are credible. Do you think they are operating based on the opportunity, or was there a deal made before the shooting started?
From the same article

The unfolding Kurdish offensive comes as the Trump administration has reportedly been engaging with Iranian opposition groups and Kurdish leaders in Iraq. According to CNN, citing multiple people familiar with the plan, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is working to provide weapons to Kurdish forces in an effort to foment a popular uprising in Iran.
The administration has been in active discussions with Iranian opposition groups and Kurdish leaders in Iraq about providing military support, sources told CNN. Iranian Kurdish armed groups operate primarily in Iraq’s Kurdistan region along the border. Several have issued public statements since the conflict began, urging Iranian military personnel to defect.

On Tuesday, Iran’s IRGC said it targeted Kurdish forces with dozens of drones. CNN also reported that President Donald Trump spoke with Mustafa Hijri, president of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI), according to a senior Iranian Kurdish official. The KDPI was among the groups targeted by the IRGC. Iranian Kurdish opposition forces are expected to participate in a broader ground operation in western Iran in the coming days, a senior Kurdish official told CNN.

“We believe we have a big chance now,” the source said, adding that militias expect U.S. and Israeli support.

Trump also reportedly spoke with Iraqi Kurdish leaders on Sunday regarding U.S. military operations in Iran and coordination moving forward, according to two U.S. officials and another source familiar with the discussions. Any effort to arm Iranian Kurdish groups would require support from Iraqi Kurdish authorities to allow weapons transit and to use Iraqi Kurdistan as a staging ground.

Cynical me says: they've been hung out to dry before in the past 30 years, I wonder why they don't think they'll be hung out to dry again?

[BBadanov]

Originally Posted by DuncanDoenitz

Not to sink it would be criminally irresponsible.

Quite right Admiral . Or Herr Doenitz, if I may.