Seen in the News

[Stanley]

HERE'S the latest update from Iran.
The US military confirms a refuelling aircraft went down over western Iraq, while saying neither hostile or friendly fire were to blame. A statement says "rescue efforts are ongoing" after an incident involving two planes, the second of which landed safely. Earlier, Israel said it had launched a new wave of strikes against the Iranian capital Tehran - it has also targeted Hezbollah in Lebanon today. Elsewhere, a statement attributed to Iran's new supreme leader was read out on state-controlled TV - it is his first since assuming power and included a commitment to continue blocking the Strait of Hormuz. Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public since succeeding his father. There is speculation he has been injured or even killed, says BBC Persian. At least three more cargo ships have been attacked in the Gulf, apparently by Iran. Iranian state media say Iranian forces were behind at least one strike. The UN Refugee Agency says 3.2 million people have been displaced inside Iran since Israel and the US launched their attacks on 28 February

[Stanley]

HERE'S the latest on Iran......
President Donald Trump says the US has "totally obliterated" every military target on Iran's Kharg Island, but spared the oil infrastructure. The island accounts for 90% of Iran's oil exports and is an economic lifeline for Tehran, the BBC's Mikey Kay explains. Earlier, two officials told the BBC's partner CBS news that the US is expected to send a marine unit and more warships to the Middle East. Plans have not been confirmed but the unit, which can carry out amphibious raids, is typically made up of up to 5,000 Marines and sailors across several warships. The BBC has approached the US military and the Pentagon for comment - while our diplomatic correspondent says the reports suggest Washington is considering an expanded range of options in its war on Iran. Meanwhile, Iranian outlets publish footage of officials attending pro-establishment rallies in Tehran to mark Quds Day, an annual pro-Palestinian event. Iran and Hezbollah carried out a joint attack on Israel, and Israel has also carried out waves of strikes on Lebanon and Iranian targets. Earlier, the Israeli military dropped leaflets over Beirut, urging residents to rise up against the Iranian-backed armed group - one man tells our reporter he thought it was an air strike

[Stanley]

HERE'S the latest report on Iran.
The US embassy in Baghdad has warned its citizens in Iraq to leave "immediately" after a missile hit the building early on Saturday. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has repeated a call for allies to help secure the Strait of Hormuz - here's why the oil shipping lane matters. The US president earlier posted on Truth Social, urging the UK and other nations to join the US in sending ships to the passage. In a follow-up post, he said countries receiving oil through the strait "must take care" of it. In an interview with NBC, Trump says he is not ready to make a deal with Iran "because the terms are not good enough yet", adding the US may hit Iran's Kharg Island "a few more times just for fun". Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz was only closed to Tehran's "enemies". Strikes are continuing across the Middle East, with a fire still burning at the port of Fujairah in the UAE after it was targeted by a drone attack early on Saturday. In Iran, a man from Tehran says he disagrees with the US's strikes on Kharg Island, where 90% of Iran's crude oil passes through. "At this pace we will end up with a ruined Iran," he tells BBC Persian

[Tizer]

...the US may hit Iran's Kharg Island "a few more times just for fun".

That sums up Trump's attitude to war.

There are lots of news reports saying that an amphibious group of the USS Tripoli and 5000 marines is being sent in to sort out the Hormuz problem. But when will they arrive and where from? The only information I've seen is that they've set out from Australia. If that's so, it won't solve immediate problems!

Meanwhile, back home, Trump is losing supporters due to rising prices, concerns over `forever wars' and his distraction from the main job at home.

[Stanley]

"That sums up Trump's attitude to war."
That was my first thought as well Peter. To him this is all scoring debating points in a negotiation. I doubt if the image of suffering humanity ever enters his head. The man is a disgrace.....

[Whyperion]

...the US may hit Iran's Kharg Island "a few more times just for fun".

That sums up Trump's attitude to war.

There are lots of news reports saying that an amphibious group of the USS Tripoli and 5000 marines is being sent in to sort out the Hormuz problem. But when will they arrive and where from? The only information I've seen is that they've set out from Australia. If that's so, it won't solve immediate problems!

Meanwhile, back home, Trump is losing supporters due to rising prices, concerns over `forever wars' and his distraction from the main job at home.

Apparently from protecting S Korea and Japan

[Stanley]

HERE'S the latest update on Iran......
Israeli military spokesperson Effie Defrin says there are still "thousands" of targets to hit in Iran, hours after strikes were expanded to include areas in western and central Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Tehran has not asked the US "for a ceasefire". In an interview with CBS News, the BBC's US media partner, Araghchi also says Iran doesn't "see any reason why we should talk with [the] Americans, because we were talking with them when they decided to attack us". US President Donald Trump had said on Saturday Iran wanted to make a deal, but that he felt the terms were "not good enough". Meanwhile, Trump has had a phone call with PM Keir Starmer - the UK government says the pair spoke about the "importance of reopening the Strait of Hormuz to end the disruption to global shipping". Trump tells the Financial Times it could be "very bad for the future of Nato" if allies do not help the US open the Strait of Hormuz

[Tizer]

Well said, McFadden and Carter. We should send them to the White House to explain to Trump and his cronies what NATO is about...
`US-Israeli attack on Iran is not a Nato war - UK minister Pat McFadden says' BBC News
More now from BBC Radio 4's Today programme, where Work and Pensions Minister Pat McFadden was speaking a short while ago. He says the Nato defence alliance was not conceived with the "kind of situation that we're seeing in the Middle East" in mind. Nato was founded by 12 countries, including the US and UK, in 1949 and one of its core principles is Article 5, which states that an attack against one country is an attack against all.

As we mentioned in our last post, former Chief of Defence Staff - Gen Sir Nick Carter - has also been on the programme this morning and he says Nato "is not an alliance that was designed for one of the allies to go on a war of choice and then oblige everyone else to follow". Asked whether he agrees, McFadden says Gen Carter is "right" and describes the current conflict as "not a Nato war" but "US-Israeli action". McFadden adds "we're deeply committed to Nato".

[Stanley]

HERE'S the live update on the ME situation.
The United Arab Emirates has closed its airspace following "incoming missile and drone threats from Iran", its defence ministry says. The UAE's civil aviation authority says the closure is temporary - it comes as airlines Etihad and Emirates had just resumed some flights. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump says he's "not happy" with the UK after PM Keir Starmer said it would not be drawn into a "wider war" over Iran. Trump repeats his call for other nations, particularly Nato allies, to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, and says he has been surprised more world leaders were not "eager" to be involved in the key oil shipping route. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says this war "is not a matter for Nato", while Nato says "allies have already stepped up to provide additional security in the Mediterranean". Meanwhile, leaders of the UK, Canada, France, Germany and Italy issued a joint statement, saying a significant Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon would have "devastating humanitarian consequences". Earlier the Israeli military said it had begun "a wide-scale wave of strikes" in the cities of Tehran, Shiraz and Tabriz, with BBC Verify seeing videos of damage in Iran's capital
Opposition to Trump's strategies seems to be strengthening.....

[Big Kev]

He's absolutely bonkers, has now 'spat out his dummy' and seems oblivious to what NATO is actually for...

More now from Trump, who says in a lengthy post on Truth Social that "most" Nato allies have said "they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation" against Iran.

Trump says he is "not surprised by their action" and that he has always considered Nato "to be a one-way street".

He says: "Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer 'need,' or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea.

"In fact, speaking as President of the United States of America, by far the Most Powerful Country Anywhere in the World, WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!"

[Stanley]

HERE'S the latest update.
Donald Trump's top counterterrorism official has resigned over the war in Iran, urging the president to "reverse course". In a letter posted to X, National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent said that Iran posed "no imminent threat" to the US and claimed the administration "started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby". The White House dismissed the letter, saying the president had "compelling evidence" that Iran was going to attack the US first. A US hate monitor accused Kent of "antisemitic tropes". With his departure, Kent is the most high-profile figure within the Trump administration to publicly criticise the US-Israeli attack on Iran.
You're right Kev, he is getting worse. I have always suspected that he was being played by Netanyahu and this resignation seems to bear that out.
I asked bob if he thought I might be right when I said I thought that the situation was coming to a head one way or another and he agrees..

[Tizer]

I have always suspected that he was being played by Netanyahu and this resignation seems to bear that out.

Likewise, I have always suspected that he was being played by Putin. He's been so soft and friendly with Putin that it makes me wonder whether in the time between Trump's two periods in office the two of them kept in contact and Trump fell for some promises of `real estate deals' in Ukraine and Russia if Trump got elected again. Surprise, surprise, he did get elected again - surely not by some Russian funded misinformation?

Meanwhile, in the Middle East Netanyahu detonated the war with Iran before he got any agreement with Trump. So Trump got angry and ordered his military, against all their common sense, to get involved and not let Israel steal the show. Now it's like Trump has pulled the pin out of a hand grenade and doesn't know what to do with it next.

Now Trump's telling everyone that he's sent in the F-15 fighters to drop bunker buster bombs on the Iranian guards positions along the coast of the straits of Hormuz. It was common knowledge that the Revolutionary Guards had burrowed many deep tunnels into the coast there from which they could launch missiles and send out surface and underwater drones to attack the tankers. Trump should have listened to his military people, rather than Netanyahu, and dealt with the tunnels first.

[Stanley]

Peter, I like your analogy of Trump pulling the pin out of a grenade and then not knowing how to manage the consequences. I think that describes the situation exactly.

[Stanley]

HERE'S the latest live up[date on Iran....
There is "extensive damage" from missile attacks on the Ras Laffan industrial site, Qatar's state-owned petroleum company says. Ras Laffan was among the sites listed by Iran in a warning that it would take "decisive action" after its South Pars gas field facilities were reportedly hit by Israeli strikes. Iran's South Pars is part of the world's largest natural gas field, with both Qatar and Iran operating facilities in the area - Israel is yet to comment. Three women in the occupied West Bank were killed after shrapnel from an intercepted missile reportedly fell on a beauty salon. Retaliatory strikes by Iran and its allied militia groups continue across the Middle East - with blasts and drone interceptions reported in Dubai, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Earlier, Israel launched a series of strikes on Lebanon's capital Beirut, as it continues its offensive against Hezbollah. Meanwhile, Iran's Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib has been killed in an overnight strike, the country's president confirms - read more about him
I note in the same post that the Pentagon is seeking more than $200billion from Congress to finance the war. This is a lot of money even for the US.

[Stanley]

I am listening to the news programmes on World Service which are far more revealing about the news coming in..
At the moment the discussion is focussed on questions being asked in Congress about what intelligence Trump had from the CIA and other services that led him to believe that the US had to follow Israel in attacking Iran because Iran was on the ver4ge of having a viable atomic weapon. The problem is that none of the intelligence services is backing Trump.
Remember that one of Trump's election promises to his MAGA base was that he would not let the US get involved in foreign wars.....

[Stanley]

Later, I am sat here listening to Today on BBC R4. They are doing a programme from a very large housing estate at Colchester and the main element of news is the very high levels of poverty, even in those families that have a wage earner.
It's a description of a huge and growing underclass that has no future and the children have no chance at all. Even the schools are poverty stricken and can't guarantee full time education. I look back on my life chances and realise that in today's social conditions I would have been in the same condition because my job wasn't skilled, I was just a wagon driver. I would not get a free ride to University and everything would have been different, for my children as well...
I found it so depressing. We have produced a world that can't support the humans who have to try to survive in it.
Looking forward with quantum computing and AI coming on line the situation can only get worse.....

And as if that wasn't bad enough an official report has come out that brands mixed breeds of dog like Labradoodles and Cockapoos. Some of us knew that and said so but we were ignored. Now we have another problem......
(Oh, and the wholesale price of gas rose 20% this morning when the gas market opened.)

[Tizer]

At the moment the discussion is focussed on questions being asked in Congress about what intelligence Trump had from the CIA and other services that led him to believe that the US had to follow Israel in attacking Iran because Iran was on the ver4ge of having a viable atomic weapon.

Yes, Netanyahu's IDF started early and `bumped' Trump and the US into joining in. So this latest news isn't surprising...
`Trump says US 'knew nothing' about Israel's attack on major Iran gas field' LINK

Trump won't be pleased about this news. It doesn't need the Iranians to put the US's biggest Carrier out of action...
`US aircraft carrier to sail to Crete for repairs after fire on board' LINL
The US Navy's most advanced aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, is preparing to leave the Red Sea for repairs in Crete after a fire on board injured sailors and caused significant damage, US officials have said. It will travel to a US Navy base on the island for pierside repairs, authorities said, after a blaze broke out in the laundry facility last week and took hours to extinguish. The world's largest warship has been beset by problems during its deployment in the Middle East, including an earlier breakdown of its toilet system.

In January, the vessel suffered a malfunction in its toilet system, with US media reporting clogged toilets and long lines for restrooms on the ship. The Navy acknowledged there had been some issues, citing the vessel's leadership as saying "clog incidents are addressed promptly by trained damage control and engineering personnel, with minimal downtime". You know that they say, `in war shit happens'!

[Stanley]

HERE'S the latest update on Iran.
Blasts are heard over Jerusalem as new strikes are reported in the Iranian capital Tehran. Iranian state television has confirmed that four salvos of missiles were fired in quick succession, writes our correspondent in Jerusalem. Elsewhere in the region, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain both say they have intercepted and destroyed drones. An Iranian man in Karaj tells the BBC he fears "nothing will be left of Iran besides burnt land". Iran's foreign minister earlier warned that Tehran would act with "zero restraint" if there were further attacks on its infrastructure. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel "acted alone" in strikes on Iran's South Pars, part of the world's largest natural gas field. He added Trump was not "dragged" into the war with Iran - here's the context. Meanwhile, the price of gas has risen sharply in the UK and Europe following an attack on Qatar's Ras Laffan energy complex, which Qatar's PM calls a "very dangerous escalation by the Iranians"
There is much more on the web. The one thing that I read from what's happening at the moment is that we are looking at escalation with no sign of any restraint. As far as I can see the only winners at the moment are the Israelis......

[Stanley]

HERE'S the latest on Iran....
President Donald Trump says the US is considering "winding down" operations against Iran, but that other nations must guard the Strait of Hormuz. Trump adds that he does not want a ceasefire, saying "you don't do a ceasefire when you are literally obliterating the other side". The US says it will temporarily lift sanctions on Iranian oil stuck at sea, to contain the impact on energy prices. Earlier, the UK approved the use of its bases for the US to launch strikes on Iranian sites that target Hormuz - it's a vital shipping lane for about 20% of the world's oil. Trump says the UK's decision is "very late" - how has the UK's stance shifted?. Iran's foreign minister accuses UK PM Starmer of "putting British lives in danger", adding "Iran will exercise its right to self-defence". Earlier, Trump called Nato allies "cowards" for being reluctant to help the US open Hormuz
With friends like this, who needs enemies?