Warrigal
SF VIP
- Location
- Sydney, Australia
Dated June 24, 2025
United States and Israel attack Iran Early Saturday Morning
- Thread starter Grailhunter57
- Start date
Trade
Well-known Member
Yes. It's Israel and the United States that are the bad actors, not Iran. Iran is acting in self defense. What I don't understand are the people that buy the lie that Iran posed an Imminent danger to the US. I find that to be patently absurd.
Last edited:
I can think of at least 3 countries which are enemies to other countries that fit this description.
RambleTamble
Member
- Location
- U.S.
Iran is widely considered a state sponsor of terrorism and has been officially designated as such by several governments and international bodies for decades.
Official Designations
- United States: The U.S. Department of State designated Iran as a State Sponsor of Terrorism on January 19, 1984. As of March 2026, it remains on the list alongside Cuba, North Korea, and Syria.
- Australia: In November 2025, the Australian Parliament formally listed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a State Sponsor of Terrorism following its involvement in domestic attacks in Australia.
- International Monitoring: The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) maintains Iran on its "blacklist" (Call for Action) due to its failure to implement adequate measures against terrorism financing.
Iran is frequently described by U.S. officials as the "world's leading state sponsor of terrorism". It provides extensive financial, military, and logistical support to numerous groups, often referred to as the "Axis of Resistance":
- Hezbollah (Lebanon): Iran provides hundreds of millions of dollars annually, along with advanced weaponry and training.
- Hamas & Palestinian Islamic Jihad (Gaza): Iran has provided significant funding (estimated at $100M–$350M annually) and was involved in training and planning for the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.
- Houthis (Yemen): Ongoing supply of missiles and drone components used to destabilize the region.
- Al-Qaeda: Despite ideological differences, Iran has been accused of allowing al-Qaeda to operate a "core facilitation pipeline" and harboring senior leaders within its borders.
The Iranian regime has a long history of conducting or planning terrorist acts directly through its own agencies, such as the IRGC Quds Force and the Ministry of Intelligence:
- European Plots: Iranian agents have been convicted or implicated in bomb plots and assassinations of dissidents in countries including Germany (the Mykonos restaurant killings), France, Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands.
- Western Targets: In recent years, U.S. authorities have disrupted Iranian-backed plots to kidnap or assassinate journalists (e.g., Masih Alinejad), human rights advocates, and high-ranking officials, including a plot to assassinate Donald Trump.
- South America: Courts in Argentina found Iran responsible for the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people.
Wombat
Member
- Location
- Wollongong
There is no doubt that Iran is the sponsor of terrorism.
But I cannot see the benefit of this action to the USA, it is obviously a benefit to Israel but what is the benefit to the USA? Has the USA become Israel's lapdog?
Russia and China must be very happy with the current situation, they probably can't believe their luck.
But I cannot see the benefit of this action to the USA, it is obviously a benefit to Israel but what is the benefit to the USA? Has the USA become Israel's lapdog?
Russia and China must be very happy with the current situation, they probably can't believe their luck.
Trade
Well-known Member
Are the U.S. and Israel also designated as such? If not they should be. Their acts of aggression and terrorism certainly warrant it.
Messy
Member
The leadership in Iran is evil and dangerous. An Iranian woman said that that guy they just killed wanted to nuke the West, but I also read that it was planned before 2005 and they planned on attacking Iran so it would retaliate and then come with covid, but they were behind on schedule. Iran wants to destroy Israel and funds Hamas that wants to take over the world. They want to introduce the antichrist if you ask me.
JustDave
Well-known Member
Iran is a threat, but not an eminent threat. On the other hand, are the US and Israel supposed to wait to be nuked, before they retaliate? That's not easy to resolve. We supposedly have intelligence that would tell us if an attack was eminent, but only a few people have access to the intelligence, because spies don't blabber their findings on Utube. So the average citizen must trust their politicians. Now there's another bad idea if I ever heard one.
hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
Footage has now been released of an Iranian strike and sees a huge orange flash in the middle of the water, followed by rapidly spreading flames.
A faint outline of a ship can be made out, lit red by the growing inferno, with clouds of black smoke billowing into the night sky.
The oil fire continues to swell as more of the vessel is set ablaze, with flames reaching hundreds of feet into the air in a short time.
The boat was one of several ships carrying Iraqi oil supplies hit by the country's Middle East neighbour on Wednesday.
The Iranian attack saw one crew member killed and triggered a rapid response from Iraqi authorities.
Officials rushed to the scene to evacuate crews from the ships as flames engulfed the area.
The vessels were working within Iraqi territorial waters at the time of the strike, according to the country's director general of the General Company for Ports, Farhan al-Fartousi.
He said: 'Two foreign tankers carrying Iraqi fuel oil were subjected to unidentified attacks inside territorial waters, causing them to catch fire.'
All oil ports have 'completely stopped operations' in the wake of the attack, Iraqi officials announced, but commercial ports will keep working as normal.
It is the latest act of Iranian aggression in a bid to choke the world oil supply and leverage popular opinion in other countries, as fuel prices soar.
Iran has all but cut off access to the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint in global trade that ordinarily sees around 20 per cent of all oil pass through daily.
A faint outline of a ship can be made out, lit red by the growing inferno, with clouds of black smoke billowing into the night sky.
The oil fire continues to swell as more of the vessel is set ablaze, with flames reaching hundreds of feet into the air in a short time.
The boat was one of several ships carrying Iraqi oil supplies hit by the country's Middle East neighbour on Wednesday.
The Iranian attack saw one crew member killed and triggered a rapid response from Iraqi authorities.
Officials rushed to the scene to evacuate crews from the ships as flames engulfed the area.
The vessels were working within Iraqi territorial waters at the time of the strike, according to the country's director general of the General Company for Ports, Farhan al-Fartousi.
He said: 'Two foreign tankers carrying Iraqi fuel oil were subjected to unidentified attacks inside territorial waters, causing them to catch fire.'
All oil ports have 'completely stopped operations' in the wake of the attack, Iraqi officials announced, but commercial ports will keep working as normal.
It is the latest act of Iranian aggression in a bid to choke the world oil supply and leverage popular opinion in other countries, as fuel prices soar.
Iran has all but cut off access to the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint in global trade that ordinarily sees around 20 per cent of all oil pass through daily.
Trade
Well-known Member
Like we were supposed to trust them about Vietnam? Iraq?, Afghanistan, and now Iran? No thanks. I've seen this movie too many times and I know how it ends.
It is very nice of Matrix to let us write and read about this subject on SF. I like to read articles from around the globe and read about SF opinions and facts regarding this subject.
I am very worried about this war as well as our global quality of life.
I am very worried about this war as well as our global quality of life.
George1959
Well-known Member
In Germany and Austria are some websites that 100 per cent support your opinion and don't get it, why so many people in these countries believe the lie(s).
Trade
Well-known Member
I could not agree with you less. Further dialog between us is pointless.
Trade
Well-known Member
George1959
Well-known Member
I write that they support your opinion and you don't like this. Strange.
But let me tell you that I am not inclined in further discussions with you also.
In this point obviously we agree.
OneEyedDiva
SF VIP
- Location
- New Jersey
Andrew Bustamante, former CIA agent gives his take on why this war was started He also gives insight on how threats are assessed.
"Andrew explained that annually, the CIA and other agencies produce a national threat assessment, which is forwarded to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). The ODNI then consolidates this information into an evaluation of the most pressing dangers facing the US.
This Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community is accessible to the public and, as Andrew pointed out, serves as a resource for Congress members to "fund intelligence operations" in the upcoming year.
Delving deeper, Andrew stated: "Iran very clearly, in that document published in March 2025, is not working on weapons of mass destruction, has no plans to increase or enhance its uranium enrichment, and may be at the early stages of research and development for chemical and biological weapons. That's what it says.
"That was in March 2025. In June 2025, we bomb Iran under the accusation that they are enriching uranium beyond military grade or up to military-grade levels at the Fordow plants in Iran.
"In stark contrast, what we were told as the public contradicted what the ODNI published as an official source document for the national intelligence infrastructure. But that's only one of several documents."
He then highlighted documents from the US Department of War (formerly the Department of Defense) and the White House's national security strategy. He noted that, in terms of publicly available documents, "none of them highlighted Iran" as a national security priority. Full article:
https://www.themirror.com/news/poli...n=continue_reading_button#amp-readmore-target
"Andrew explained that annually, the CIA and other agencies produce a national threat assessment, which is forwarded to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). The ODNI then consolidates this information into an evaluation of the most pressing dangers facing the US.
This Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community is accessible to the public and, as Andrew pointed out, serves as a resource for Congress members to "fund intelligence operations" in the upcoming year.
Delving deeper, Andrew stated: "Iran very clearly, in that document published in March 2025, is not working on weapons of mass destruction, has no plans to increase or enhance its uranium enrichment, and may be at the early stages of research and development for chemical and biological weapons. That's what it says.
"That was in March 2025. In June 2025, we bomb Iran under the accusation that they are enriching uranium beyond military grade or up to military-grade levels at the Fordow plants in Iran.
"In stark contrast, what we were told as the public contradicted what the ODNI published as an official source document for the national intelligence infrastructure. But that's only one of several documents."
He then highlighted documents from the US Department of War (formerly the Department of Defense) and the White House's national security strategy. He noted that, in terms of publicly available documents, "none of them highlighted Iran" as a national security priority. Full article:
https://www.themirror.com/news/poli...n=continue_reading_button#amp-readmore-target
hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
Once a tax-free haven, Dubai has lost its golden image as Iranian bombs rain down on the city
Dubai's international airport has been attacked on multiple occasions and four people were injured after a strike on Wednesday
A British tourist arrested after allegedly filming missiles hitting Dubai is facing two years in prison after being charged with a cybercrime.
The 60-year-old Londoner, who was detained on Monday night, is said to have deleted the video immediately when asked. He insists he did not mean to break the law.
However, he has been charged alongside 20 others over videos and social media posts relating to recent Iranian missile strikes on the UAE, according to campaign group Detained in Dubai.
The official allegation relates to 'broadcasting, publishing, republishing or circulating rumours or provocative propaganda that could disturb public security'.
The offence carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison.
The Dubai government heavily polices social media and responded to the outbreak of war by threatening jail against anyone sharing information that 'results in inciting panic among people'.
Videos of drone and missile strikes were regularly shared on social media in the early days of the conflict, but these have largely disappeared following the official clampdown.
They have been largely replaced by a deluge of glowing posts about Dubai's government from western influencers based in the city, often containing suspiciously similar language.
British tourist 'who filmed Iranian missiles' in Dubai facing prison
Messy
Member
All these influencers who got rich and don't want to pay taxes went to Dubai. That creepy guy who's the boss there, his wife fled and they are so dumb to just go live there for money and luxury. We have these youtube influencer families with small kids who went there and now come back.
Once a tax-free haven, Dubai has lost its golden image as Iranian bombs rain down on the city
Dubai's international airport has been attacked on multiple occasions and four people were injured after a strike on Wednesday
A British tourist arrested after allegedly filming missiles hitting Dubai is facing two years in prison after being charged with a cybercrime.
The 60-year-old Londoner, who was detained on Monday night, is said to have deleted the video immediately when asked. He insists he did not mean to break the law.
However, he has been charged alongside 20 others over videos and social media posts relating to recent Iranian missile strikes on the UAE, according to campaign group Detained in Dubai.
The official allegation relates to 'broadcasting, publishing, republishing or circulating rumours or provocative propaganda that could disturb public security'.
The offence carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison.
The Dubai government heavily polices social media and responded to the outbreak of war by threatening jail against anyone sharing information that 'results in inciting panic among people'.
Videos of drone and missile strikes were regularly shared on social media in the early days of the conflict, but these have largely disappeared following the official clampdown.
They have been largely replaced by a deluge of glowing posts about Dubai's government from western influencers based in the city, often containing suspiciously similar language.
British tourist 'who filmed Iranian missiles' in Dubai facing prison
hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
You may wonder as I am why Iran is attacking Dubai ?
Here's some info....from the Independent
US/Israeli joint strikes on Iran over the weekend have seen war break out in the region once again and the death of Iran’s supreme leader.
Iran has retaliated with volleys of ballistic missiles and drones targeted at Israel, but also several of its Persian Gulf neighbours.
Iran has launched hundreds of missiles and drones across the gulf, at targets in United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, grounding planes as a result.
This is in spite of none of these nations coordinating officially with the US and Israel in their initial operations.
This is a deliberate strategy by the Iranian government, designed to exact early and substantial costs on its neighbours and overall stability in the region.
In spite of Iran’s relative size and military power in the region, the Iranian government is not well liked by its neighbours. At best, Iran is seen as a rival, at worst an adversary.
Saudi Arabia and Iran have spent more than a decade in a proxy war over Yemen.
Iran also claimed historical ownership over Bahrain as recently as December last year.
The rest of the gulf states, namely the UAE, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, have fostered more pragmatic relations with Iran by keeping regular diplomatic channels open and offering to mediate disputes within the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Despite simmering tensions, Iran has never been in a direct military confrontation with any of these states.
Here's some info....from the Independent
US/Israeli joint strikes on Iran over the weekend have seen war break out in the region once again and the death of Iran’s supreme leader.
Iran has retaliated with volleys of ballistic missiles and drones targeted at Israel, but also several of its Persian Gulf neighbours.
Iran has launched hundreds of missiles and drones across the gulf, at targets in United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, grounding planes as a result.
This is in spite of none of these nations coordinating officially with the US and Israel in their initial operations.
This is a deliberate strategy by the Iranian government, designed to exact early and substantial costs on its neighbours and overall stability in the region.
An unpopular neighbour
In spite of Iran’s relative size and military power in the region, the Iranian government is not well liked by its neighbours. At best, Iran is seen as a rival, at worst an adversary.
Saudi Arabia and Iran have spent more than a decade in a proxy war over Yemen.
Iran also claimed historical ownership over Bahrain as recently as December last year.
The rest of the gulf states, namely the UAE, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, have fostered more pragmatic relations with Iran by keeping regular diplomatic channels open and offering to mediate disputes within the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Despite simmering tensions, Iran has never been in a direct military confrontation with any of these states.
hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
So why send the bombs?
Almost all of the gulf states have one important thing in common: they all have security guarantees from the US and host US military bases.Iran sees this as one of the most effective ways it can retaliate for a few reasons. Firstly, these bases are firmly in the range of its most plentiful ballistic missiles.
Bases in the gulf also have significant strategic value to the US. The base struck in Bahrain over the weekend was the headquarters of the US Fifth Navy Fleet.
Al Udeid Airbase, just outside of Doha, the capital of Qatar, was also targeted with Iranian ballistic missiles. Al Udeid is home to US Central Command (US-CENTCOM), coordinating military operations across the region. It’s also home to 10,000 US troops – the most in the area.
However, Iran is aware of how sophisticated US early warning systems are and likely doesn’t expect to significantly damage US infrastructure.
Instead, the strategy is to make the region less stable and ensure all its neighbours feel it. It’s effectively vowing that if operations continue, the relative peace and prosperity the gulf has enjoyed will come to an end.
Iran is hoping its neighbours will see this as a war of choice by the US and Israel, with them being dragged into the hostilities. Gulf states will be forced to either double-down on their alliance with the US or work toward deescalation.
It’s not clear if this strategy will pay off. It’s possible this could lead to even more military pressure on Iran if the gulf states become more involved in operations.
At the same time, the increasingly strained relations between the gulf states and Israel over the last two years would likely make several of them reluctant to get more involved.
It’s also impossible for Iran to keep this strategy up indefinitely. Even though it has the region’s most extensive and varied arsenal of missiles, at some point it will run out of ordnance. Other countries may choose to just wait it out.
hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
Alongside this, Iran has a damaged, but still far-reaching network of independent proxies across the region. Groups in Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon are likely to stay loyal to the Islamic Republic and employ long-term insurgent strategies in its name.
The Lebanese paramilitary group Hezbollah has already fired projectiles into Israel. This has restarted hostilities across the Lebanese border, opening up another front for Israel.
The Strait of Hormuz through which 20 per cent of the world’s oil travels, is another part of the region Iran can weaponise. Already, two oil tankers have been attacked in the strait and the price of Brent Crude has risen 13 per cent.
Put another way, the extent of these attacks are a signal. These are not the same as the calculated deescalatory strikes Iran conducted in 2024 and 2025.
This war is existential for the Islamic Republic. Its strikes across the gulf are designed as a reminder that it will do all it can to drag the entire region into chaos, uncertainty and instability to save itself.
At a minimum, Iran wishes to create political consequences for all involved. The question is whether the regime will survive long enough for these consequences to have an effect.
The Lebanese paramilitary group Hezbollah has already fired projectiles into Israel. This has restarted hostilities across the Lebanese border, opening up another front for Israel.
The Strait of Hormuz through which 20 per cent of the world’s oil travels, is another part of the region Iran can weaponise. Already, two oil tankers have been attacked in the strait and the price of Brent Crude has risen 13 per cent.
Put another way, the extent of these attacks are a signal. These are not the same as the calculated deescalatory strikes Iran conducted in 2024 and 2025.
This war is existential for the Islamic Republic. Its strikes across the gulf are designed as a reminder that it will do all it can to drag the entire region into chaos, uncertainty and instability to save itself.
At a minimum, Iran wishes to create political consequences for all involved. The question is whether the regime will survive long enough for these consequences to have an effect.
hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
well tbf lots of people went there for a better life.. there's virtually no crime in Dubai so it's usually a very safe place for the rich to raise their families in luxury...
The problem is now.. that all these people will want to return to their relative countries ... and there are a quarter of a milion Brits in Dubai.. and we just don't have the space for them to return...
hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
Iran's new Supreme Leader is said to be 'obsessed with the end of days' and is 'more dangerous' than his father, according to his former study partner.
Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is reportedly unafraid of 'killing thousands' and will 'try and control the region' if war breaks out, exiled official Jaber Rajabi has revealed.
Rajabi, a former foreign policy advisor to Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who has lived in exile in the UAE since 2021, studied at a 'religious seminary' with Mojtaba Khamenei in Qom.
He has spoken out to warn that Iran's new Supreme Leader, currently believed to be badly injured in hospital, is more ruthless than his father and a 'better liar'.
Rajabi told the Jerusalem Post: 'Mojtaba will not, from the first day in power, claim to want to take Al-Quds (Jerusalem).
'He is opposite to his father, who gets angry, and it is visible… Mojtaba can lie in a much better way and knows how to play.'
While studying with Mojtaba at The Qom Seminary - the most highly regarded centre for Islamic scholarship in Iran - Rajabi described him as 'obsessed with the end of days' and that he believed 'he himself will have a special part in hastening humanity down that path'.
According to Twelver Shia - the largest branch of Shia Islam studied by Khamenei at Qom - the 12th Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, who is believed to be in hiding, will return at the end of times to establish a period of global justice in which oppression is eradicated.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is 'more dangerous' than his father and a 'better liar' according to his former study partner...
and will not hesitate to 'kill thousands'
Rajabi added that Khamenei had a disregard for human life, saying: 'If he can kill 13,000 of his own people, then he has no problem killing 100,000 in Tel Aviv, because if you don't care about the lives of your own people, why would you care about the lives of others in Tel Aviv?'
The comments come as Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is reportedly in hospital with serious injuries after being blasted in the same strike that killed his father, according to a regime official.
Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, who has not been seen in public or pictured since taking over from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday, was injured in the attack on his father's compound in Tehran on the first day of the war.
Mojtaba, described as a 'wounded veteran' of the war by Iranian state TV, suffered injuries to his legs and is currently in hospital.
'He was also there and he was injured in that bombardment,' Alireza Salarian, Iran's ambassador to Cyprus, told The Guardian.
Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is reportedly unafraid of 'killing thousands' and will 'try and control the region' if war breaks out, exiled official Jaber Rajabi has revealed.
Rajabi, a former foreign policy advisor to Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who has lived in exile in the UAE since 2021, studied at a 'religious seminary' with Mojtaba Khamenei in Qom.
He has spoken out to warn that Iran's new Supreme Leader, currently believed to be badly injured in hospital, is more ruthless than his father and a 'better liar'.
Rajabi told the Jerusalem Post: 'Mojtaba will not, from the first day in power, claim to want to take Al-Quds (Jerusalem).
'He is opposite to his father, who gets angry, and it is visible… Mojtaba can lie in a much better way and knows how to play.'
While studying with Mojtaba at The Qom Seminary - the most highly regarded centre for Islamic scholarship in Iran - Rajabi described him as 'obsessed with the end of days' and that he believed 'he himself will have a special part in hastening humanity down that path'.
According to Twelver Shia - the largest branch of Shia Islam studied by Khamenei at Qom - the 12th Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, who is believed to be in hiding, will return at the end of times to establish a period of global justice in which oppression is eradicated.
and will not hesitate to 'kill thousands'
Rajabi added that Khamenei had a disregard for human life, saying: 'If he can kill 13,000 of his own people, then he has no problem killing 100,000 in Tel Aviv, because if you don't care about the lives of your own people, why would you care about the lives of others in Tel Aviv?'
The comments come as Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is reportedly in hospital with serious injuries after being blasted in the same strike that killed his father, according to a regime official.
Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, who has not been seen in public or pictured since taking over from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday, was injured in the attack on his father's compound in Tehran on the first day of the war.
Mojtaba, described as a 'wounded veteran' of the war by Iranian state TV, suffered injuries to his legs and is currently in hospital.
'He was also there and he was injured in that bombardment,' Alireza Salarian, Iran's ambassador to Cyprus, told The Guardian.
Last edited:
hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
Iranian attack triggers huge blaze at Bahrain’s Muharraq fuel facility
Bahrain's interior ministry has released a video of a huge fire following Iranian attacks at a fuel tank storage facility in Muharraq Governorate, northeast of the country’s capital, Manama.Bahrain said on Wednesday, 11 March, that its military had intercepted over 170 drones and over 100 missiles since Iran started targeting countries across the region, following the U.S. and Israeli attack on Tehran.
The U.N. Security Council voted Wednesday to approve a resolution demanding a halt to Iran’s “egregious attacks” on its Gulf neighbors.
Bahrain is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters.
MACKTEXAS
Well-known Member
When he posted "So the average citizen must trust their politicians," I think it was just sarcasm because the very next sentence said "Now there's another bad idea if I ever heard one."