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Iran Super Thread- Merged

A quick recap on Iranian drone history:

The Iranians began researching some rudimentary UAV's in the mid-1980's.

In 1988 the U.S. attacked the Iranian Navy during "Operation Praying Mantis" as retaliation for mining a U.S. ship. During this operation, the Iranian Navy essentially got whooped losing multiple ships and boats in short order and hundreds of personnel, while U.S. Navy casualties were virtually zero.

Following this defeat, the Iranian strategists realized that there simply was no defeating the U.S. Navy by water.

With this in mind, Iran switched focus investing heavily from that point forward in drones to counter the Americans in the future. Of course the Iranian Navy remained, but more for regional power / adversaries, and without expectations to fight the U.S. Navy.

This is essentially what paved the way for additional drone research funding, and what would ultimately over time lead to production the infamous "Shahed Drone" which is a formidable weapon, as we all know.

When the "Special Military Operation" kicked off and Russia realized the fight was going to be a lot tougher than they initially thought, Russia turned to Iran's Shahed Drone program, and formed a partnership that brought the Shahed Drone into the war against Ukraine, where it's still being used every day.

The Ukrainians have years of experience shooting these down on the cheap, but the drones have a 7-10% success rate when used in swarm style attacks, which is a real problem. No 100% solution seems to exist, so far.

Both Russia and Iran benefitted greatly from the partnership, with Iranian drone operators being suspected of actively participating in the conflict directly helping Russia use the drones against Ukraine's air defence while gaining real experience.

The partnership expanded to the point that Russia created a Shahed Drone factory deep inside the country, in Tartarstan, building them to the original Iranian specifications.

I think there's still a lot of questions on what the solution is to this problem. We'll see in the coming weeks I suppose.
 
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What was the solution to Germany using the V-1 and V-2?

Did strategic bombing destroy those and halt the attacks?

Or.

Did it require boots on the ground and regime change to make it stop.

Similarly, the Kreigsmarine of WW2 - they realized that they couldn't take on the allies in a stand-up fight (Bismark/Hood notwithstanding) and didn't have the ability to do more than U-Boat warfare....which....again....required boots on the ground and regime change to stop.

Are boots on the ground required?

Is regime change required?

Can you bomb an enemy into changing regime without boots on the ground?

Deep thoughts for a Thursday morning.
 
Not sure what you mean by this? Convened what? With whom? And to what purpose?
Brihard seems to be questioning the US's choice to attack Iran because of the results of past conflicts. I suggest the other option was to continue convening, albeit in a sarcastic way, because that is what the last 40+ years have consisted of with Iran to no effective result.
 
No one in the Gulf is shedding a tear for Iran. Most just don’t want to pay the butchers bill.

I’m actually surprised to hear Jordan hasn’t joined the air war as they have some scores to settle in Iran.

Or they are smart enough not to just declare stuff publicly.

Here's hoping they aren't stabbed in the back for the fourth (fifth?) time.

EDIT: Apparently some Kurdish groups are denying that it's happening. Fog of war.

The Kurds have a phrase, "No friends but the mountains."

I have real doubts the Kurds will get involved in a broader uprising. Maybe just securing their own areas. That's about it. And at this point, it looks less like an actual Kurdish insurgency than the Americans and Israelis trying to manifest one by leaking that it's already begun. Maybe they hope to provoke the IRGC into just fighting the Kurds?

I think everyone, everyone, better be praying to whoever their version of God is that Iran doesn’t descend into a Syria fragmentation civil war.

If regime change doesn't seem to be happening, I suspect that fomenting civil war is Plan B. At least for Netanyahu. I am not sure the Americans feel the same way.

Azeri/Kurd/Baloch lots of fun

Those three groups together are 28% of the population. I don't think they have the heft to win a civil war. Unless America wants to maintain a no fly zone over all their areas for another few decades. Then maybe. But what happens when the Turks decide this plan isn't in their interest?
 
Or they are smart enough not to just declare stuff publicly.



The Kurds have a phrase, "No friends but the mountains."

I have real doubts the Kurds will get involved in a broader uprising. Maybe just securing their own areas. That's about it. And at this point, it looks less like an actual Kurdish insurgency than the Americans and Israelis trying to manifest one by leaking that it's already begun. Maybe they hope to provoke the IRGC into just fighting the Kurds?



If regime change doesn't seem to be happening, I suspect that fomenting civil war is Plan B. At least for Netanyahu. I am not sure the Americans feel the same way.



Those three groups together are 28% of the population. I don't think they have the heft to win a civil war. Unless America wants to maintain a no fly zone over all their areas for another few decades. Then maybe. But what happens when the Turks decide this plan isn't in their interest?
are they fighting the rest of Iran or the IRGC?
Turks are going to be in a bad situation countering Azeris IMO if it comes to that just to spite some Kurds
at some point Turkeys going to have to find a solution to their Kurdish issues too
Baloch spills into Pakistan like i said fun
 
If regime change doesn't seem to be happening, I suspect that fomenting civil war is Plan B. At least for Netanyahu. I am not sure the Americans feel the same way.



Those three groups together are 28% of the population. I don't think they have the heft to win a civil war. Unless America wants to maintain a no fly zone over all their areas for another few decades. Then maybe. But what happens when the Turks decide this plan isn't in their interest?
1) I don't believe that this US Admin has even begun to think about Plan B, let alone C or D. Bibi would love nothing more than to have chaos expand in the area, it helps solidify US attention, involvement, support, weapons and money for years and years to come.

2) Those 3 ethnic groups all live along the periphery border areas of Iran, the 3 of them don't even link up geographically to be able to support each other if they even wanted to. If the Azeri's get involved and unrest spreads to their home country, the airline companies will be screaming bloody murder. The thin strip of air space currently available to them now to fly from Europe to Asia is already an issue, removing Azeri airspace would crush that available route. Couple that with an ongoing no fly through Iranian air space and its game over.

3) Another point is the Gulf States - its a very narrow piece of water from Iran over to them. If any quantity of Iranians start to make that crossing to the Gulf States on a consistent basis that will more than likely upset those apple carts, full stop. They are NOT built in a way to accept any number of refugees. How many Syrians did they accept over the last 15yrs? How many Palestinians?
 
1) I don't believe that this US Admin has even begun to think about Plan B, let alone C or D. Bibi would love nothing more than to have chaos expand in the area, it helps solidify US attention, involvement, support, weapons and money for years and years to come.

Is it more likely the professionals in the US military provided the US Administration with a very comprehensive options analysis with follow on assumptions and plans? Following that the deciders make the decision and accept the requisite risks associated?

Or are you truly stuck in this space where everyone down there are bumbling fools not thinking about 5 min after?

I suggest this has been in planning and prep for a long time. Just tracking the intelligence and assembling the target packages would have been massive and an ongoing flow.
 
We would offer them nothing of any value, that's just a fact.
Still, the nits are being picked about "participation" - even with just exchange officers in the mix.
From the article:
1772727073658.png
I guess "participation" is in the eye of the beholder. Watkins appears to be a freelance writer/researcher/plane-ship tracker, so in spite of his relative cred tracking some stuff, gotta wonder about his credentials re: "knowing" the inside of The Machine enough to know "who" "knew" "what" "when".
 
Is it more likely the professionals in the US military provided the US Administration with a very comprehensive options analysis with follow on assumptions and plans? Following that the deciders make the decision and accept the requisite risks associated?
Depending on what you mean by "follow on," based on the words from the SecWar himself, as quoted in an info-machine transcript, there's at least a suggestion that the bit in yellow may not have been emphasized as much as in the past (highlights mine - source):
... No stupid rules of engagement, no nation-building quagmire, no democracy building exercise, no politically correct wars. We fight to win, and we don't waste time or lives ...
Happy to be proven wrong seeing what happens after the kinetic phase is done - and it IS early days in that respect.
 
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Is it more likely the professionals in the US military provided the US Administration with a very comprehensive options analysis with follow on assumptions and plans? Following that the deciders make the decision and accept the requisite risks associated?

Or are you truly stuck in this space where everyone down there are bumbling fools not thinking about 5 min after?

I suggest this has been in planning and prep for a long time. Just tracking the intelligence and assembling the target packages would have been massive and an ongoing flow.
All of this could apply to any other war you have railed against on multiple occasions. The difference it seems for you is that this time it is Trump.
 
It's not my verbiage. It's the US government verbiage - and if it means nothing, then don't use it.

Call it want you want its a violent conflict.

When a US destroyer sailing out of Norfolk on a training exercise blows up on a mine (left there innocently by a small fishing vessel proceeding to sea without being noticed) next week, killing a few hundred sailors, remember that they were a legitimate target.

As I said previously that's a legitimate target. People in the Navy have to wrap their heads around the fact we are first and foremost a war fighting organization. Everything else is secondary.

1772729427801.png

From your perspective, how should he have answered this question?

What did Jean Chretien say when the US wanted us to go into Iraq ? What did he say about Canadian Gov support for the invasion of Iraq ?

Just Say No Stephen Colbert GIF by The Late Show With Stephen Colbert


Canada Carney GIF
 
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From not having enough ammunition in 2022 to this, a sight to see.

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