BREAKING: Israel Reportedly Believes Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei Has Been Killed

[TBoneTX 49,634]

This is simply too good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bessent Delivers Another Powerful Blow to Iran - Reveals What May Be Their 'Fatal Mistake'

 

[...] Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had another shoe to drop on them.  Bessent announced that, in addition to what they had already done with their "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran since last year, the Trump administration was also launching "Operation Economic Fury," and making use of what might prove to be a "fatal mistake" by the regime to bomb their Gulf neighbors.  [...]

 

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2026/04/15/bessent-delivers-another-powerful-blow-to-iran-n2201332

[Ban Hammer 15,175]

45 minutes ago, TBoneTX said:

This is simply too good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bessent Delivers Another Powerful Blow to Iran - Reveals What May Be Their 'Fatal Mistake'

 

[...] Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had another shoe to drop on them.  Bessent announced that, in addition to what they had already done with their "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran since last year, the Trump administration was also launching "Operation Economic Fury," and making use of what might prove to be a "fatal mistake" by the regime to bomb their Gulf neighbors.  [...]

 

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2026/04/15/bessent-delivers-another-powerful-blow-to-iran-n2201332

they've been getting away with so much for so long, they are like the karen of the middle east and they just got voted off the HOA board.

[TBoneTX 49,634]

 

Trump Officially Renames Strait Of Hormuz The 'Donald J. Trump Strait Of America'

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As part of ongoing ceasefire negotiations with Iran to bring the weeks-long conflict to a close, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the Strait of Hormuz had been officially renamed as the "Donald J. Trump Straight of America."

The strait remained under military blockade as tense negotiations continued, with Trump publicly declaring that the U.S. had taken control of the waterway and christened it with a new title named after his two favorite things — himself and America.

"It is now the greatest strait of all time," Trump said in a post to Truth Social.  [...]

 

https://babylonbee.com/news/trump-officially-renames-strait-of-hormuz-the-strait-of-america

[TBoneTX 49,634]

Interesting.  Comments?

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Trump's Blockade Is Breaking Iran... And European Elites Are Angry

 

In March I published an article titled "Global Energy Crisis Or Iranian Surrender In Five Weeks?" in which I outlined the "worst case" and "best case" scenarios for the war in Iran.  In my best case scenario I argued in favor of a specific plan to end the conflict quickly: A US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, flipping the tables on Iran by blocking or seizing any oil tankers or gas tankers which exit Iranian ports.

Two weeks later, the Trump Administration has implemented this exact strategy.

The effectiveness of the blockade is already apparent; the propaganda bots on social media are scrambling to find a narrative to counter it, but they are failing.  Why?  Because Iran already tried to lock down the strait (which is an international waterway), and any government cheering (or secretly cheering) for Iran's actions is now unable to make a rational argument against the US doing the same thing to Iran.  As I noted in March:

"We constantly hear about international exposure to the Hormuz shutdown, but the media rarely mentions that Iran is the MOST exposed economy of all.  For now, Iranian oil ships continue to pass through the strait and these vessels are Iran's economic lifeline.  Strategic estimates suggest that without the steady passage of these oil tankers, the Iranian economy would completely collapse within five weeks…"

I then summarized what I believed was the simplest solution to end the war:  [...]

 

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/trumps-blockade-breaking-iran-and-european-elites-are-angry

[TBoneTX 49,634]

With all this might we have at our disposal, we can't finish them off.  Not a very convincing use of force after the stellar first four weeks of this expedition.  The leaders, such as they are, show signs of cooperation, then change their minds.  They don't seem to be desperate enough yet.

 

Perhaps we need to:
1. Eliminate every member of the IRGC, wherever they lurk.
2. Destroy all coastline around the Strait to half a mile inland.
3. Blow up all speedboats the instant they're seen.
4. Kill all remaining leaders, whether we're negotiating with them or not.
5. Selectively bomb all Shi'ite mosques with their mullahs in them.
6. Kill everyone who attends pro-regime rallies.  Let Allah sort them out.

A dead terrorist can rarely cause future problems.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Iran's New Supreme Leader Surfaces (Sort of) With a Chilling Message

 

Mojtaba Khamenei, the new supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, still hasn't been seen in public since he was named to his exalted new position.  Reuters reported that "three people close to his inner circle" said that the world's most prominent nepo baby was severely injured in the airstrike that killed his father, suffering disfigurement to his face and reportedly also losing a leg.  Nevertheless, in a new message on Telegram Saturday, the younger Khamenei was full of threats and bravado, and ready to give the Great Satan and Little Satan a whipping they won't soon forget.  [...]

 

https://pjmedia.com/robert-spencer/2026/04/18/irans-new-supreme-leader-surfaces-sort-of-with-a-chilling-message-for-the-us-and-israel-n4951945

[TBoneTX 49,634]

Agreed that two "governments" are fighting for control.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

IRGC Closes Strait Again, Calls Iran's Foreign Minister an 'Idiot,' Fires on Oil Tankers

 

The Iranian government is at war with itself as much as it is at war with America, Israel, and the Gulf states.

 

As I have been writing for days now, there is not one Iranian government in charge, but two, battling it out over who controls the entire country.

 

The IRGC appears to be winning at the moment, which is utterly unsurprising.

 

It's pretty clear that the civilian Iranian government was well on its way to a deal with Trump, and even announced that the Strait of Hormuz was open for business again.  They had announced it to the world on X, and the Iranians had given ships actual clearance to transit the Strait.

 

Then, all of a sudden, the IRGC didn't just close the Strait, but sent boats out to fire on ships that were in the midst of transiting.  [...]

 

https://hotair.com/david-strom/2026/04/18/irgc-closes-strait-again-calls-irans-foreign-minister-an-idiot-n3814049

[Dashinka 26,690]

On 4/19/2026 at 12:04 AM, TBoneTX said:

Agreed that two "governments" are fighting for control.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

IRGC Closes Strait Again, Calls Iran's Foreign Minister an 'Idiot,' Fires on Oil Tankers

 

The Iranian government is at war with itself as much as it is at war with America, Israel, and the Gulf states.

 

As I have been writing for days now, there is not one Iranian government in charge, but two, battling it out over who controls the entire country.

 

The IRGC appears to be winning at the moment, which is utterly unsurprising.

 

It's pretty clear that the civilian Iranian government was well on its way to a deal with Trump, and even announced that the Strait of Hormuz was open for business again.  They had announced it to the world on X, and the Iranians had given ships actual clearance to transit the Strait.

 

Then, all of a sudden, the IRGC didn't just close the Strait, but sent boats out to fire on ships that were in the midst of transiting.  [...]

 

https://hotair.com/david-strom/2026/04/18/irgc-closes-strait-again-calls-irans-foreign-minister-an-idiot-n3814049

Those that control the weapons...

[TBoneTX 49,634]

On 3/22/2026 at 10:01 PM, TBoneTX said:

Pooky is right again:

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Ugly, Cheap, and Deadly:  The A-10 Proves Itself Again Over the Red Sea

The A-10 Warthog never tried to impress anyone with looks.  Good thing, because it couldn't; the plane looks as though it was assembled in a scrapyard during a bar fight.

And when things get serious, it's still one of the first aircraft anybody wants covering them overhead.  Operation Epic Fury just drove the point home again, this time over the Red Sea.  [...]

 

https://pjmedia.com/david-manney/2026/03/22/ugly-cheap-and-deadly-the-a-10-proves-itself-again-over-the-red-sea-n4950943

Happy news!

~~~~~~~~~~~

BRRRRT Lives On:  Air Force Now Extending A-10 Warthog to 2030

 

Every grunt's favorite Cold War leftover piece of close air support, it seems, is getting a few more years of active service.  On Monday, the Secretary of the Air Force announced, with a nod to the Secretary of War, that the great A-10 Thunderbolt II, better known as the Warthog, will have its service life extended until at least 2030.

 

The A-10 is operating with impunity in Iranian airspace right now, and the 'Hog drivers have had great success in hunting down and disassembling the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' annoying little speedboats.  [...]

 

https://redstate.com/wardclark/2026/04/20/brrrrt-lives-on-air-force-now-extending-a-10-warthog-to-2030-n2201493

[TBoneTX 49,634]

Interesting -- comments?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If Iran Won't Deal, Here's What Comes Next

 

[...] a deal is closer than the chaos suggests.  But only if Washington uses the right instruments.

The air campaign produced real results.  Iran's nuclear infrastructure was damaged, its navy destroyed, its proxy network disrupted.  Those are real and significant gains.  The naval blockade announced after last weekend's failed Islamabad talks is cutting off 90 percent of Iran's seaborne trade.  Yet even as the U.S. prepares to board additional Iran-linked dark fleet tankers in international waters, the IRGC's ability to hold out remains intact, because Washington has left two critical financial lifelines largely untouched.

The first is [...]

 

https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2026/04/21/if_iran_wont_deal_heres_what_comes_next_1177866.html

[Dashinka 26,690]

Interesting read.  Of course there are a lot of opinions out there, and who really knows what will happen in the end, but I suspect in some way Iran's hardliners will be quelled.

 

Iran Is Running Out of Time and Options

 

As the negotiations in Islamabad between the U.S. and Iran have yielded no results and the April 22 ceasefire deadline approaches, the U.S. Navy has, as of Monday, April 13, established a blockade of Iran’s ports and coastal waters. Furthermore, as part of the blockade, the U.S. Navy is working to prevent vessels either flying under the Iranian flag or conducting trade with Iran from transiting the Strait or leaving Iranian ports, as demonstrated on Sunday, April 19, when the Touska, an Iranian cargo ship, was fired upon as it attempted to sail through the Strait. The blockade intends to both deter Iran from controlling traffic and enforcing an illegal toll, while simultaneously depriving the IRGC of the economic means of continuing its war effort. As a result, Iran has threatened to target other Gulf ports to pressure the U.S. to relent, and also fired at tankers trying to transit the Strait after it previously said that it would not prevent commercial vessel traffic from transiting the Strait now that there is a ten-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

 

Given how heavily reliant Iran is on the Strait for its economy, going beyond just oil exports, any amount of time that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed to its ships will inflict substantial economic damage upon them, while simultaneously pushing its oil storage facilities to the brink. For the U.S., putting even greater pressure on Iran by blocking its access to the Strait of Hormuz, while working to ensure the security of all other vessels transiting it, may prove decisive in pressuring Iran to capitulate. However, the risk for the U.S. remains that the political will of those who support the current action being taken against Iran will continue to deteriorate the longer it takes and the more costly it becomes, especially at the gas pump. Simply put, it may become a race against the clock, since Iran doesn’t necessarily have to win; it just has to avoid losing.

 

https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2026/04/21/iran_is_running_out_of_time_and_options_1177839.html

[Pooky 4,102]

The Iranians are still acting to block the Strait of Hormuz. An example needs to be made to emphasise to whatever passes as the current Iranian regime that these actions constitute a breach of the ceasefire and that such actions will engender disproportionate consequences.

 

As has been said elsewhere, negotiating with the Iranian regime is a fools game and a ceasefire just provides them time to recuperate. So long as the IRGC remains in any form, Iran will remain a danger.

 

This conflict only ends one way. So end it. ☠️

[Crazy Cat 46,495]

14 minutes ago, Pooky said:

The Iranians are still acting to block the Strait of Hormuz. An example needs to be made to emphasise to whatever passes as the current Iranian regime that these actions constitute a breach of the ceasefire and that such actions will engender disproportionate consequences.

 

As has been said elsewhere, negotiating with the Iranian regime is a fools game and a ceasefire just provides them time to recuperate. So long as the IRGC remains in any form, Iran will remain a danger.

 

This conflict only ends one way. So end it. ☠️

I think it's time to release the Kraken.......get this done.  Start with electric plants.

[Pooky 4,102]

7 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

I think it's time to release the Kraken.......get this done.  Start with electric plants.

No.

 

Make it personal. Eliminate the IRGC, one-by-one if necessary. ☠️