[EurasianTimes] In what could only be termed as a geopolitical coup, the first freight train from China rolled into Iran this week. Flying in the face of the US sanctions aimed at crippling Tehran’s oil trade and isolating Beijing, the rail line will not only boost trade between the two countries, but would also undermine America’s influence in the region.
Killing train traffic is an old problem, solved definitively during World War II.
The project has its genesis in the USD 400 billion economic agreement inked between China and Iran in 2021 as part of Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative. It is a testament to the China-Iran nexus that is getting stronger after strategically trapping the US Navy in the Red Sea. The new rail route shortens the delivery times for Iranian oil exports and helps China evade the Malacca Strait choke point.
With no US military presence along the rail line, Tehran can export oil and import goods from Beijing without Washington’s prying eyes.
In what could only be termed as a geopolitical coup, the first freight train from China rolled into Iran this week. Flying in the face of the US sanctions aimed at crippling Tehran’s oil trade and isolating Beijing, the rail line will not only boost trade between the two countries, but would also undermine America’s influence in the region.
The project has its genesis in the USD 400 billion economic agreement inked between China and Iran in 2021 as part of Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative. It is a testament to the China-Iran nexus that is getting stronger after strategically trapping the US Navy in the Red Sea. The new rail route shortens the delivery times for Iranian oil exports and helps China evade the Malacca Strait choke point.
With no US military presence along the rail line, Tehran can export oil and import goods from Beijing without Washington’s prying eyes.
By integrating Iran into its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China lays the groundwork for deeper political and economic ties that can translate into strategic leverage over an entire region that has traditionally been a US sphere of influence.
Both Beijing and Tehran share a strategic view to undermine US global hegemony, and both have encountered tensions, sanctions, and pressures originating from Washington.
A relatively strong and independent Iran in the Persian Gulf would help China safeguard its interests in the region, while also securing energy sources and establishing its footprint in the Middle East.
The cargo train arrived at Iran’s largest Aprin dry port, near Tehran, from Xi’an province in China. The rail route between the two countries would cut down delivery time from 30-40 days by sea to just 15 days by land. The Iran-China freight train will travel from Iran to China, passing through Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, and then from China to Iran.
#6
One must honestly question whether the author of this article -- or anybody else at EURASIAN TIMES -- is aware of rumors that Iran is being subjected to a pretty serious bombing campaign these past few weeks. /smh
#7
Just rumours, Crazy Freddie. Everyone knows Iran is Allah’s best beloved among the Master Religion — he would never let anything happen to them, right?
#8
A pipeline would've been better for fuels. The train is better for tanks and missiles. And grain, automobiles, cement - Belt and Road stuff.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/06/2026 15:59 Comments ||
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#9
/and targets
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/06/2026 17:17 Comments ||
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#10
Just for comparison: a hundred car freight freight train 200 standard 20 foot cargo containers. Less number of the longer ones, of course. If we stretch to 150 railcars, you get to 300, possibly 500 if they're stacked double high.
The median container ship carries 10,000. The Max sized ship the Chinese love hold 20,000.
There's a reason long range shipping involves ships.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
04/06/2026 17:28 Comments ||
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#11
Two B-1B's dropping a mini arclight onto the train would be more than sufficient.
[BBC] Analysts have warned that the military's use of the platform, which helps personnel plan attacks, leaves little time for "meaningful verification" of its output and could lead to incorrect targets being hit.
But the company's UK and Europe head, Louis Mosley, told the BBC in a wide-ranging interview that while AI platforms like Maven have been "instrumental" to the US management of the Iran war, responsibility for how their output is used must always remain "with the military organisation".
"There's always a human in the loop, so there is always a human that makes the ultimate decision. That's the current set-up."
The Maven Smart System was launched by the Pentagon in 2017 and is designed to speed up military targeting decisions by bringing together masses of data, including a range of intelligence, satellite and drone images.
A study, released in March by the FDD's Center for Cyber and Technology Innovation, found that major AI platforms frequently cite state-aligned media sources when answering questions about global conflicts. According to the report, "state-aligned propaganda appeared in 57 percent of responses."
[Breitbart] The daughter of one of the Iranian regime’s most powerful officials has left the United States and has been barred from reentering after being fired from the medical faculty at Atlanta, Georgia’s Emory University earlier this year.
Dr. Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, whose father, Ali Larijani, served as secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council before being killed in a U.S. airstrike, was removed from her post as an assistant professor at the university in January following a public backlash triggered by the brutal regime’s mass murder of protestors, the California Post reported at the time.
“She and her husband, Seyed Kalantar Motamedi, are no longer in the country and have been barred from reentry. Officials said both were removed as part of a hardline crackdown on individuals linked to anti-American regimes,” the Post reported Saturday.
Her father was considered a close confident of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike with many other top members of the regime as they met the morning of February 28.
More that we don’t need to keep her daddy’s bloodline safe from his war. Let him do the work of protecting his girl somewhere else. She wears the hijab here. When she goes home to visit, she adds a niqab and rears up on her hind legs in praise of the government. No innocent, she.
#7
Not much making sense to you these days it seems.
Posted by: chris ||
04/06/2026 15:55 Comments ||
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#8
#3 So she (and hubby) is being punished for something her father did. Yep, makes sense to me.
Posted by DooDahMan
Punished? If they were executed here, you might, might, have an argument. They're being sent back to their country of origin, "subject to the jurisdiction thereof", so to speak. They should enjoy the loving embrace and drone sounds
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/06/2026 17:30 Comments ||
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Then the IDF has more kabooming to do. Better get a move on, guys.’
[IsraelTimes] Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo acknowledges ‘gap’ between post-2024 expectations and Hezbollah’s current capabilities; top intel officer assesses Iran still has over 1,000 ballistic missiles
The head of the Israel Defense Forces’ Northern Command has acknowledged that the military overestimated the damage done to Hezbollah’s capabilities during the 2024 ground offensive in Leb ...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?... , as evidenced since the terror group returned to attacking Israel in recent weeks amid the fighting with Iran.
Separately, a senior Israeli Air Force intelligence officer assessed that Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... will be able to continue launching ballistic missiles at Israel for as long as the war continues, and estimated that the regime still has more than 1,000 ballistic missiles capable of reaching Israel.
Regarding Hezbollah, Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo met on Tuesday with a group from Misgav Am after one of the northern kibbutz’s residents, 60-year-old Ofer Moskovitz, was mistakenly killed by IDF artillery shelling last month.
In recordings aired by Channel 12 on Saturday evening, Milo could be heard apologizing to the residents, acknowledging that the lethal incident "shouldn’t have happened."
He then admitted that there was a "gap" between the IDF’s assessment of damage caused to Hezbollah’s offensive capabilities during the 2024 ground operation in southern Lebanon, and the force with which the terror group has been striking Israel’s northern communities in recent weeks.
His comments came more than a month after Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, renewed its rocket and drone fire on Israel amid the US-Israeli war with the Islamic Theocratic Republic.
Since then, Hezbollah has been firing hundreds of rockets a day, according to the IDF. The vast majority of the daily rocket fire has been directed at Israeli forces operating in southern Lebanon, with several dozen projectiles crossing the border into Israel.
"There is a gap between how we finished [Operation] ’Northern Arrows’ and what we understood and thought, and how suddenly, we still find Hezbollah [active], Milo said to residents.
"What I’m sure is concerning you all is the steep-trajectory [rocket] fire," he said, moving to reassure them that the terror group had yet to launch rockets in "very, very large amounts," and that most of those they did fire were aimed at IDF troops.
Despite his attempts to calm residents’ nerves, Channel 12 reported that a day after Milo’s meeting, the IDF shifted its assessment of Hezbollah’s current capabilities, understanding the terror group to be stronger still than estimated.
The change came in the wake of the heavy rocket barrages launched by Hezbollah at Israel over the course of the Passover holiday, which began Wednesday evening.
Now, officials reportedly estimate that the terror group has hundreds of launchers and tens of thousands of rockets at its disposal.
Before the outbreak of the war triggered by the October 7 Hamas ..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,... -led attacks in southern Israel, estimates in 2023 put Hezbollah’s arsenal at around 150,000 rockets and missiles.
But the stockpile was widely believed to have been significantly reduced by IDF raids on Hezbollah’s munition storage and production facilities during the year of fighting that ensued after it began attacking Israeli communities and military targets on October 8, 2023.
The group’s ability to smuggle in weapons and parts was also significantly hampered by the loss of Syria as a viable transport route following the overthrow of the Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad The Scourge of Hama... regime in late 2024.
And in 2025, in accordance with the terms of the US-brokered ceasefire, the Lebanese army also began confiscating weapons from Hezbollah as it deployed across southern Lebanon. Just weeks before the new round of fighting began, it declared that the area between the Israeli border and the Litani River had been demilitarized.
But Israel, which at that point was maintaining a troop presence in five key locations in southern Lebanon to defend the border, was skeptical about the Lebanese claim, maintaining that Hezbollah was rearming faster than it could be disarmed.
With this in mind, the IDF had estimated that 70-80 percent of the terror group’s rocket fire capabilities had been destroyed in the months of open warfare against the group in the fall of 2024, and damaged further in regular strikes following a ceasefire in December of that year.
At the start of the renewed fighting last month, the IDF believed Hezbollah still possessed thousands of short-range rockets, along with hundreds of longer-range projectiles — a far cry from the tens of thousands it now allegedly believes the group to have access to.
Since March 2, the IDF has said it has killed some 1,000 Hezbollah operatives, including hundreds of members of the terror group’s elite Radwan Force.
More than 3,500 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon have also been struck, including hundreds of command centers, weapon depots, and rocket and missile launchers, according to the IDF.
In the same period, eleven IDF soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon, two non-combatants were killed by Hezbollah rockets, and Moskovitz was mistakenly killed by Israeli shelling.
IRAN THOUGHT TO STILL HAVE LARGE STOCK OF BALLISTIC MISSILESl
Separately on Saturday, an Israeli Air Force intelligence officer told Channel 12 news that the IDF believes Iran still has more than 1,000 ballistic missiles capable of reaching Israel.
"The Iranians have more than 1,000 missiles that are capable of reaching Israel," said Lt. Col. "Tet," who leads the research on Iran’s missiles and drones in the Air Intelligence Group, the IAF’s intel unit.
At the start of the war, the IDF assessed that Iran had 2,500 ballistic missiles. Iran has since fired over 500 missiles at Israel, as well as hundreds at other countries in the Middle East, and potentially hundreds of missiles were destroyed in strikes.
Missile fire from the Islamic Theocratic Republic on Israel has slowed to around 10-15 missiles a day in recent weeks, down from around 90 on the first day of the war on February 28.
A senior Western official told the New York Times
...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... in a report published Friday that Iran has been firing around 15-30 ballistic missiles across the region each day.
Since the start of the conflict, the military assessed that attacks from Iran would continue as long as the war is active, and the rate of missile fire could even increase.
"In all honesty, I assess it will not reach zero [launches a day]," the officer told Channel 12 news in an interview.
"I think they will continue to launch ballistic missiles. I don’t think it will be significantly more than what we have seen," he said.
On Friday, The New York Times reported that US intelligence has assessed that Iranian personnel are digging out bombed underground missile bunkers and silos from the rubble, bringing them back into service within hours after being struck by the US and Israel.
The report came after CNN ...formerly the Cable News Network, now who know what it might stand for... also cited a US intelligence assessment that around half of Iran’s ballistic missile launchers are still intact despite over a month of US and Israeli strikes across the country.
Of the more than 500 ballistic missiles launched at Israel from Iran since February 28, 12 carrying conventional warheads with hundreds of kilograms of explosives have struck populated areas in Israel, causing extensive damage. There have also been more than 30 incidents of missiles carrying cluster bomb warheads hitting populated areas, with over 200 separate impact sites.
The military has reported an interception rate of 92% against attacks heading for populated areas and key infrastructure.
Sixteen Israeli civilians and foreign nationals have been killed in Israel in Iranian ballistic missile attacks, along with four Paleostinians in the West Bank.
The Israeli Air Force has conducted hundreds of waves of strikes in Iran in the same period, dropping over 13,000 bombs on Iranian regime and military sites, including air defense systems, ballistic missile launchers, weapon production sites, nuclear facilities, and various headquarters.
The IDF has estimated that some 5,000 Iranian soldiers have been killed in Israeli strikes, along with tens of thousands more maimed, many of them members of the internal security forces and Basij paramilitary force.
[Jpost] The overnight rescue of an American F-15 weapons officer deep inside Iranian territory drew on a rarely visible combination of US military search-and-rescue capabilities and intelligence assets. Although officials have not disclosed every detail, the picture that is beginning to emerge shows how intensive training and technology allowed such a complex operation to succeed.
One of the key devices that appears to have helped the survival and recovery of both pilots was Boeing’s Combat Survivor Evader Locator, or CSEL, a secure communications device that can transmit encrypted location and status bursts without exposing their position to enemy forces.
CSEL is a combat search-and-rescue survival radio system used by downed aircrew. Its purpose is to help rescue forces quickly and securely locate, authenticate, and communicate with a survivor without allowing enemy forces to triangulate the survivor’s position.
[Gateway] President Trump has revealed important new details about negotiations behind the scenes and a remarkable revelation.
As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, the second pilot/WSO from the downed F-15 fighter jet on Friday was saved in an on-ground US rescue mission Saturday night, which involved an epic and grueling battle with Iranian forces.
The pilot was successfully rescued and exfiltrated following an intense firefight. He was injured after ejecting himself from the F-15 but is now safe.
Hours after celebrating the F-15 pilot’s rescue and giving more details, Trump took to Truth Social to tease a massive operation that is coming this Tuesday unless Iran finally opens the Strait of Hormuz:
Posted by: Besoeker ||
04/06/2026 06:13 ||
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[Reuters] Iran and the United States have received a plan to end hostilities that could come into effect on Monday and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a source aware of the proposals said on Monday.
A framework to end hostilities has been put together by Pakistan and exchanged with Iran and the U.S. overnight, the source said, outlining a two-tier approach with an immediate ceasefire followed by a comprehensive agreement.
"All elements need to be agreed today," the source said, adding the initial understanding would be structured as a memorandum of understanding finalised electronically through Pakistan, the sole communication channel in the talks.
Axios first reported on Sunday that the United States, Iran and regional mediators were discussing a potential 45-day ceasefire as part of a two-phase deal that could lead to a permanent end to the war, citing U.S., Israeli and regional sources.
The source told Reuters Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, has been in contact "all night long" with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.
Under the proposal, a ceasefire would take effect immediately, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, with 15–20 days to finalise a broader settlement. The deal, tentatively dubbed the "Islamabad Accord," would include a regional framework for the strait, with final in-person talks in Islamabad.
There was no immediate response from U.S. and Iranian officials. Pakistan's foreign office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi declined comment.
Iranian officials have previously told Reuters that Tehran was seeking a permanent ceasefire with guarantees they will not be attacked again by the U.S. and Israel. They have said Iran has received messages from mediators including Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt.
All three want desperately to be seen as valuable to President Trump and players on the international field… or vice versa.
The final agreement is expected to include Iranian commitments not to pursue nuclear weapons
…not worth the paper they’re written on — they’ve made that promise for that relief before, then accelerated their work…
in exchange for sanctions relief and the release of frozen assets, the source said.
Two Pakistani sources said Iran has yet to commit despite intensified civilian and military outreach.
"Iran has not responded yet," one source said, adding proposals backed by Pakistan, China and the United States for a temporary ceasefire have drawn no commitment so far.
There was no immediate response from Chinese officials to requests for comment.
The latest diplomatic push comes amid escalating hostilities that have raised concerns over disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global oil supplies.
U.S. President Donald Trump has in recent days publicly pressed for a rapid end to the conflict, warning of consequences if a ceasefire is not reached within a short timeframe.
The conflict has heightened volatility in energy markets, with traders closely watching any developments that could affect flows through the strait.
Posted by Reuters at 2:55 a.m. EDT. The below was posted by the Times of Israel about 10:30 a.m. EDT:
[IsraelTimes] Sources say draft proposal suggests immediate ceasefire, reopening of crucial waterway, followed by talks; White House official says Trump has not yet signed off on the proposition
Iran indicated on Monday that it would not be prepared to reopen the Strait of Hormuz for anything less than a permanent ceasefire, after it and the United States received a draft proposal calling for a 45-day temporary truce and the immediate reopening of the crucial waterway.
The draft proposal, drawn up by Egyptian, Pak, and Ottoman Turkish mediators, emerged from intense overnight contacts and proposes an immediate ceasefire, followed by negotiations on a broader settlement to be concluded within 15 to 20 days, a source aware of the proposals said earlier on Monday.
The mediating countries are hoping that the 45-day window would provide enough time for talks to reach a permanent ceasefire while avoiding US President Donald Trump ...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party... ’s threat to rain "hell" on Tehran if it did not make a deal by the end of Tuesday from coming to fruition.
The draft proposal was sent to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, two Middle Eastern officials speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered... told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named.
Pakistain’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, was in contact "all night long" with the two of them, as well as with US Vice President JD Vance, a source aware of the proposals told Rooters.
Addressing the reports, a front man for the Iranian foreign ministry said on Monday that the regime had formulated its positions and demands in response to recent proposals, and that it viewed negotiations as "incompatible with ultimatums and threats to commit war crimes," referring to Trump.
The front man, Esmaeil Baghaei, said Tehran has a set of requirements based on its national interests that have already been conveyed via intermediary channels, adding that earlier US demands, such as the 15-point plan it proposed last month, were rejected for being "excessive."
"Iran does not hesitate to clearly express what it considers its legitimate demands and doing so should not be interpreted as a sign of compromise, but rather as a reflection of its confidence in defending its positions," Baghaei said in a presser.
"We have formulated our own responses" and will announce details in due time, he added, in response to an Iranian journalist’s question regarding ongoing ceasefire efforts.
’A NEW GULF ORDER’
A senior Iranian official, meanwhile, told Rooters that the Islamic Theocratic Republic would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz as part of a temporary ceasefire, nor would it accept deadlines or pressure to reach a deal.
Washington was not ready for a permanent ceasefire, the official claimed.
In a post laden with expletives on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, Trump threatened further strikes on Iranian energy and transport infrastructure if Iran failed to make a deal and reopen the Strait by Tuesday.
Iran has allowed only limited traffic through the Strait of Hormuz since the war began on February 28, disrupting the flow of roughly 20 percent of global oil and gas. Even when it does eventually reopen the strait, Iran has said it does not intend for it to operate as it had prior to the outbreak of war with the US and Israel on February 28.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced on Monday that its navy
What navy?
was "completing operational preparations" for a "new Gulf order."
Conditions in the strait "will never return to its former status, especially for the US and Israel," it declared.
CONCERNS OF ESCALATION
The US had not publicly commented on the proposal as of Monday afternoon, but a White House official told Rooters that Trump would address the matter at a presser at 1 p.m. local time (8 p.m. Israel time).
"This is one of many ideas, and (Trump) has not signed off on it. Operation Epic Fury continues," they said, referring to Washington’s name for the joint US-Israeli operation against Iran.
Israel launched its campaign against Iran, alongside the US, to degrade the Iranian regime’s military capabilities, distance threats posed by Iran — including its nuclear and ballistic missile programs — and “create the conditions” for the Iranian people to topple the regime, the military and other Israeli leaders have said.
Axios first reported on Sunday that the US, Iran and regional mediators were discussing a potential 45-day ceasefire as part of a two-phase deal that could lead to a permanent end to the war, citing US, Israeli and regional sources.
In a post laden with expletives on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, Trump threatened further strikes on Iranian energy and transport infrastructure if Iran failed to make a deal and reopen the Strait by Tuesday. Later on Sunday, the president, in a follow-up post, gave a more precise deadline of Wednesday 12 a.m. GMT.
Hours after celebrating the F-15 pilot’s rescue and giving more details, Trump took to Truth Social to tease a massive operation that is coming this Tuesday unless Iran finally opens the Strait of Hormuz:
Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!
Open the Fu**in’ Strait, you crazy b*stards, or you’ll be living in H*ll – WATCH! Praise be to Allah.
Shortly following the Truth Social post, Trump spoke to Fox News’s Trey Yingst and provided new details on negotiations with Iran, including what will happen if there’s no deal.
Trump not only confirmed that he would blow everything up, but would perhaps take over the oil as well.
But the president also appeared optimistic about an agreement, saying it could happen as soon as tomorrow. Moreover, he said the people negotiating for Iran have been given amnesty to continue these talks.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
04/06/2026 05:55 ||
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[Rudaw] Several Iranian Kurdish opposition groups on Sunday denied reports that the United States had armed them during the country’s nationwide anti-government protests, as threats from US President Donald Trump ...The man who was so stupid he beat fourteen professional politicians, a former tech CEO, and a brain surgeon for the Republican nomination in 2016, then beat The Smartest Woman in the World in the general election. Then he beat Kamala while dodging bullets... against Iran continue in the ongoing war.
Mohammed Nazif Qaderi, a bigwig from the opposition Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), told Rudaw that "those statements made are baseless and we haven't received any weapons. The weapons we have are from 47 years ago, and we obtained them on the Islamic Theocratic Republic's battlefield, and we bought some from the market."
"Our policy is not to make demonstrations violent mostly peaceful and use harsh methods, rather we believe we must make our demands in a peaceful and civil manner without weapons," Qaderi said.
The denial comes after Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst said that, following the country’s deadly anti-government protests in January, "President Trump told me the United States sent guns to the Iranian protestors. He told me we sent them a lot of guns. We sent them to the Kurds. And the president says he thinks the Kurds kept them. He went on to say we sent guns to the protestors, a lot of them."
Kako Aliyar, a member of the leadership committee of the Kurdish Iranian opposition party Komala, told Rudaw that "as our own party, no weapons have come to us and we haven't received anything, we're not even aware of the matter. Previously, this matter was never discussed, and we haven't talked to anyone about it."
The war between the US and Israel on one side and Iran on the other, which began on February 28, continues, with Iran restricting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, affecting the global economy. Trump on Sunday wrote on his Truth Social platform that the US could target Iranian power plants and bridges. "Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell," he said. In a follow-up post, he added, "Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time!" without providing further details.
Ahead of the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, Kurdish opposition parties announced a new political alliance to unify efforts against the Islamic Theocratic Republic and advance Kurdish self-determination.
In early March, the parties similarly rejected reports by some international media outlets claiming their forces had crossed into Iran to fight Tehran. Around the same time, a Fox News report cited an unnamed US official alleging that "thousands of Iraqi Kurds" had launched a ground offensive into Iran.
At the time, Trump said that a potential ground offensive by Kurdish forces against the Iranian government would be a "wonderful" idea.
Amjad Hussein Panahi, head of communications for Komala of the Toilers of Kurdistan, also told Rudaw, "We assure you we haven't received a single bullet or weapon from any country or place, and we're not aware of the existence of such a thing; what we have is our own."
Hamno Naqshbandi, a member of the general command of the Kurdistan National Army affiliated with the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), said that "Donald Trump's message is unclear to us. What is there is that we as our army have in no way received weapons from the US or any other country, not even a single bullet."
The alliance brought together six Kurdish parties: the KDPI, the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), the PAK, the Komala of the Toilers of Kurdistan, the Organization of Iranian Kurdistan Struggle (Khabat), and the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan.
[IsraelTimes] US intelligence said to believe Iran retains notable number of missiles and launchers, casts doubt on how close Washington is to goal of destroying Tehran’s ballistic capabilities
Iranian personnel are digging out bombed underground missile bunkers and silos from the rubble, bringing them back into service within hours after being struck by the US and Israel, US intelligence has reportedly assessed.
American intelligence also believes that Tehran has preserved a notable amount of missiles and mobile launchers, and has cast doubt on how close Washington has come to its goal of destroying the Islamic Theocratic Republic’s missile capability, according to US intelligence reports cited by The New York Times
...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... on Friday.
According to the report, Washington can not be certain how many missile launchers have been destroyed because Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... has deployed decoys. While underground bunkers and silos may appear damaged, launchers can be quickly recovered from rubble and used for attacks, the report added.
According to a senior Western official, Iran has been firing some 15-30 ballistic missiles and 50-100 suicide drones a day across the region.
US officials told the Times that Iran wants to conserve as much of its missile launch capabilities as possible, so that it can continue to threaten the region as the conflict drags on, and even when it ends.
The report came after CNN ...formerly the Cable News Network, now who know what it might stand for... also cited a US intelligence assessment that around half of Iran’s ballistic missile launchers are still intact despite over a month of US and Israeli strikes across the country.
Some of the remaining missile launchers are not believed to be accessible at present, due to having been buried under rubble amid the waves of Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s, the CNN report said.
Israel launched its campaign against Iran, alongside the US, to degrade the Iranian regime’s military capabilities, distance threats posed by Iran — including its nuclear and ballistic missile programs — and "create the conditions" for the Iranian people to topple the regime, the military and other Israeli leaders have said.
Public statements by Israel and the US are more optimistic about the successes of the airstrikes, with US President Donald Trump ...The Hero of Butler, Pennsylvania... declaring that operations have neared completion of their core objectives this week.
In response to the CNN report, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly insisted: "Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks are down around 90%, their navy is wiped out, two-thirds of their production facilities are damaged or destroyed, and the United States and Israel have overwhelming air dominance over Iran."
Pentagon front man Sean Parnell said the article was "completely wrong." He said the US was "far ahead of schedule on accomplishing our military objectives," including to "destroy Iran’s missile arsenal."
For its part, Israel said in March that it had destroyed or disabled around 60 percent of Iran’s estimated 470 ballistic missile launchers.
Since the start of the war, Iran has launched more than 500 ballistic missiles at Israel, with the Israel Defense Forces reporting an interception rate of 92% of attacks heading for populated areas and key infrastructure.
In all, 12 missiles carrying conventional warheads with hundreds of kilograms of explosives have struck populated areas in Israel, causing extensive damage. There have also been more than 30 incidents of missiles carrying cluster bomb warheads hitting populated areas, with over 200 separate impact sites.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
04/06/2026 6:20 Comments ||
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#2
Iranian personnel are digging out bombed underground missile bunkers and silos from the rubble, bringing them back into service within hours after being struck by the US and Israel, US intelligence has reportedly assessed.
Time to introduce 'delayed secondary ordinance'.
Won't need many after the first few.
"Whoops, sorry about the diggers.
Guess some of those bombs had faulty fuses."
#3
Whelp, guess I'm not the first to think of that.
The penetrating body, which contained several hundred kilograms of explosives, struck the building and caused its collapse. The warhead did not detonate, and the damage at the site resulted from the structural collapse rather than from an explosion or blast wave.
[IsraeTimes] US president promises ‘hell’ for regime’s ‘crazy bastards’ if they do not immediately allow passage of ships through key waterway, admits US sent guns to anti-regime protesters.
[IsraelTimes] Trump’s talks don’t seem to be going anywhere, leaving the US and Israel readying to hammer Iran’s energy sites, and take fateful decisions on Hormuz and the buried uranium stockpile
[IsraelTimes] Russian state nuclear company announces that it’s evacuating 198 more people from Bushehr after Israeli-US strikes in the area, which reportedly killed a guard at the facility
US-Israeli strikes hit an area near Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant on Saturday, as Russia evacuated more of its technicians after reportedly coordinating with the Israel Defense Forces.
The strike near the Bushehr nuclear plant, which Russia partly constructed and helps operate, killed a guard. Russia’s state nuclear company Rosatom, which identified the guard as an Iranian national, has been evacuating staff from the plant since the Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... war broke out at the end of February.
Quoting a diplomatic official, the Kan public broadcaster reported that senior IDF officials coordinated with senior Russian figures on Saturday’s evacuation of 198 workers, without further elaborating.
Russian news agencies cited Rosatom chief Alexei Likhachev as saying that developments near the plant were unfolding in line with the worst-case scenario.
Rosatom said it had informed Russian President Vladimir Putin ...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances... on the situation surrounding the plant, the TASS news agency cited Likhachev as saying.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi meanwhile warned that continued attacks on the plant on Iran’s southern coast could eventually lead to radioactive fallout that would "end life in GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) capitals, not Tehran."
Bushehr is considerably closer to Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... than it is to the Iranian capital.
Rafael Grossi, head of the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency wrote on X that no increase in radiation levels had been reported at the site, but nonetheless voiced "deep concern" at the strike, which he said was the fourth such incident in recent weeks.
"NPP [nuclear power plant] sites or nearby areas must never be attacked," he said.
Saturday’s strike marked the fourth time that Bushehr has been targeted during the ongoing war.
Its pressurized-water reactor can power hundreds of thousands of homes and other businesses and industries. But it contributes only 1% to 2% of Iran’s total power needs.
Iran has been trying to expand the facility to multiple reactors. In 2019, it began a project that ultimately plans to add two additional reactors to the site, each adding another 1,000 megawatts apiece.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] Iranian missile forces managed to shoot down an F-15E Strike Eagle multirole strike fighter, the US military's workhorse since the Gulf War. So we lost one 30+ year old airplane shot down out of 12,000 combat sorties, then successfully rescued both crewmen in hostile territory under fire, while on the other side of the world we sent astronauts around the moon? Not a bad day’s work.
Although the plane wasn't the first loss during the anti-Iranian campaign, its crash caused the Pentagon and the White House considerable trouble. In part because the United States had to scramble to extract its pilots from deep behind enemy lines, racing against the opposing side's security forces.
Everyone executed just as they’d trained, with help from Israel and local anti-Mullahcracy Iranians. A good time was had by all, except the Mullah’s minions who got themselves killed trying to win the $60,000 reward for capturing the second crewman.
AN EXPENSIVE PLEASURE
Since the beginning of the operation against Iran, the US military has lost 36 vehicles, either destroyed or damaged. Approximately half of these were MQ-9 reconnaissance drones and Chinese Wing Loong 2 drones. These drones are in service with the US's Arab allies and are used in military operations against Iran with their consent, including for monitoring the situation in the Gulf littoral areas.
In addition to various types of UAVs, the list includes several multi-role fighters, at least seven tanker aircraft, four helicopters and several support aircraft.
In total, the first month of "Epic Fury" cost the American military aircraft fleet approximately $2 billion. However, this figure apparently only reflects the cost of repairs to the damaged aircraft.
Replacing the lost aircraft, including the E-3 Sentry AWACS airborne early warning system, which has a base price of over $600 million, will cost the Pentagon even more given the urgency.
That’s ok. Between DOGE efforts and all the other cost saving and fraud busting efforts, we have a lot more money to play with than we did a year ago. Besides, ending the Mullahcracy problem is a lot cheaper than continue the half hearted efforts of the past almost half century.
True, approximately half of the aircraft destroyed were losses "at home."
I have no idea what that means.
Most American aircraft managed to emerge from actual combat engagements without damage.
The shock was even greater after the Iranians were able to “forcefully land” one of the F-15E fighters that had entered the combat zone on April 3.
Being totally civilian, and Passover prep being all-absorbing for a few days, I somehow have missed that.
IRANIAN SLAP
The fighter jet lost over central Iran is the fourth aircraft of this type to be damaged in combat. However, US Central Command (CENTCOM) is not inclined to count the first three, destroyed over Kuwait in early March, as losses, as all were downed by friendly fire from local air defenses and will likely be compensated by the Kuwaiti government in the near future.
According to data provided by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, they are also not reflected in Pentagon statistics.
However, even in the case of the current aircraft, the matter remained in limbo for a long time. After the first rumors of its downing emerged, the Pentagon assured journalists that the news was fake, and research institutes loyal to the US government found "signs of AI manipulation" in the photographs distributed by Tehran.
A little later, CENTCOM adjusted its position, reporting that "technical problems" had occurred on board, but the crew had managed to pull the aircraft to the territory of "one of the allied states." Only by the end of the first day did the Americans reluctantly admit that the incident was the work of Iranian anti-aircraft gunners.
It's noteworthy that, against this backdrop, the Iranians attempted to maximize the already significant media impact. Specifically, representatives of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to have destroyed the "latest modification" of the F-35 fighter jet, which was undergoing "combat testing" in the skies over the Islamic Republic.
However, this information was quickly refuted not only by CENTCOM (whose representatives continued to call the incident a hoax) but also by internet enthusiasts. The latter examined footage from the crash site and concluded that the surviving aircraft components, particularly the outer pylons and tail elements, were not typical of F-35 models.
However, for the American command, this didn't make the story any more pleasant. The downing of the F-15E marked the first loss from actual fire: for the first time, a military aircraft was destroyed not while parked or on patrol (as is the case with UAVs), but while carrying out a combat mission.
But something even worse was that the two fighter jet crew members, although they managed to escape the stricken aircraft, landed deep inside Iranian territory. Therefore, the question of who would reach the victims first—the US rescue team or the Iranian security forces—was a pressing one at the Pentagon.
HUNTING FOR PILOTS
The fates of the downed aircraft's crew members were varied. The pilot ejected first and ended up relatively close to the Iraqi border. Moreover, he was uninjured upon landing, allowing him to quickly find safe shelter and deploy beacons.
The victim was found within hours by an evacuation team and transported to Iraqi Kurdistan, and from there to an American base in the region. His rescue took only a few hours.
Faring far worse was the second pilot, the onboard weapons systems officer. He abandoned the aircraft later and landed in the "treacherous Iranian mountains." According to some reports, not far from a "large Iranian military formation."
To avoid attracting unnecessary attention, the pilot, who had suffered serious injuries during the ejection, walked seven kilometers from the landing site and took refuge in a crevice, where he sat for more than a day, hiding at every sound.
Meanwhile, a serious battle for his persona unfolded. The US and Iran raced to find him and present him to the general public. Admittedly, with diametrically opposed goals.
Both sides recruited hundreds of people, including local residents, to help with the search, and made full use of their available intelligence networks.
Washington was assisted by the Israelis, who monitored the impact area, including from the air, and Tehran was assisted by local tribal elites, whom the central government promised a generous reward for the Yankee, alive or dead.
For the first 16 hours, neither the Iranians nor the Americans knew whether the second crew member was even alive. Due to the risk of premature detection, the officer delayed deploying a radar beacon. And after an advance group of American commandos arrived in the area, he engaged in a firefight with them, mistaking his compatriots for IRGC security forces.
Only ten minutes later the group began to retreat to the evacuation zone.
UNDER HEAVY FIRE
While American special forces were moving on the ground, a separate battle was unfolding in the skies above the search area. The US deployed a significant number of aircraft, both its own and Israeli, to the operation, including providing advance and cover for the evacuation team.
The Iranians seized this opportunity, shifting their artillery fire into the American zone of interest. As a result, the air defenses managed to shoot down an A-10C Thunderbolt II attack aircraft, which veered into Kuwaiti airspace on one engine, where its pilot ejected safely.
In addition, the Iranians managed to damage two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, including with the help of FPV drones, which were forced to change course and fly to Iraq at extremely low altitudes.
After the emergency landing, flight mechanics, in addition to damage from anti-aircraft and drone fire, counted numerous bullet holes in the aircraft's skin: local residents did not hesitate to vent their anger on the departing aircraft, firing at them at least several times with light weapons.
An Israeli C-130 Hercules also sustained light damage, apparently used as a diversionary target in the operation.
DIFFICULTIES OF RETREAT
To evacuate the evacuation team from the combat zone, the US Air Force attempted to use an old Iranian agricultural airstrip approximately 50 km from Isfahan; it was there that the commandos and escort aircraft landed.
Given the terrain, this is at least 600 km from the nearest border, but it is the closest point from which the wounded man and the soldiers involved in his rescue could be safely evacuated.
Furthermore, professional arrogance played a role in the choice of location—based on experience from the Gulf War and the intervention in Iraq, American commandos assumed that the Iranians did not consider airfields suitable for receiving heavy transport aircraft, and would therefore try to catch the evacuation team at larger logistics hubs.
However, they still couldn't leave the area "without noise and dust." Half an hour later, nearby Basij units, called in by local residents, began heading toward the airfield.
A firefight ensued, during which Israeli aircraft, operating in a neighboring area, came to the besieged forces' aid. The militia suffered losses and were forced to retreat to regroup.
However, the aircraft based at the airfield were seriously damaged during the battle. Therefore, rescue forces were forced to call in three additional aircraft and helicopters from nearby bases, and the damaged equipment was destroyed on the spot.
Iranian units, later arriving under armored cover, merely confirmed the destruction of one transport aircraft and one escort helicopter. By that time, the Americans had vanished without a trace.
SCHRÖDINGER'S PILOT
A wonderful heading.
US President Donald Trump called the operation deep behind Iranian lines "professional and brilliant." The Republican was quick to point out that the actual operation took more than two days, during which time US intelligence agencies skillfully fed false information to the media. All this was done to create a false impression among the Iranians about the progress of the search and its outcome.
Commenting on the fate of the rescued officer, Trump only briefly stated that he is currently undergoing treatment in Kuwait and his life is not in danger.
The IRGC command, on the other hand, is merely scoffing at the White House's claims.
Of course. Face must somehow be saved.
The Islamic Republic's leadership claims that Iranian security forces, with the support of local residents, allegedly managed not only to capture one of the pilots but also to cool the ardor of the American commandos attempting to recapture him.
The Iranians called the US search and rescue operation itself "fatal and a failure."
However, both sides are currently playing to the public: neither the IRGC nor the White House—for various reasons—are disclosing the pilots' identities. Nor are they sharing any footage of them.
All the “photographic evidence,” such as the empty ejection seat or the parachute fragments published by the Iranians, is rather circumstantial and does not confirm (but does not completely refute) the triumph of either side.
However, it is entirely possible that Tehran will attempt to play out an information ploy in the near future, passing off a front man as the captured pilot and forcing Washington to publicly justify and deny it.
While this move is unlikely to have a significant impact on the campaign as a whole, it will provide some boost to Iran's strength and stability in the eyes of its regional neighbors. For Tehran, this is no less important than actual victories.
#Iran / #Israel / #USA 🇮🇷🇮🇱🇺🇸: Iranian Forces (#IRGC) have seized undamaged materials from one of the recently destroyed USAF helicopters.
Some of the parts of helicopters, 2.75-inch (70mm) “Hydra 70” Air-To-Ground Rockets, .50 Cal ammunition can be seen among the materials. pic.twitter.com/UH50H7Y8Re
#3
^ Wait. We have an ally who actually provides effective military assistance and doesn't bitch at us incessantly? It's gonna take me a while to get my head around that.
Posted by: Matt ||
04/06/2026 9:19 Comments ||
Top||
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,...
continue in the ongoing war.
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
