US and Israel strike Iran. (title edited by MNHQ at request of the OP)

[Twiglets1]

Israel attacked Iran early on Saturday morning, saying it had “launched a pre-emptive strike against Iran to remove threats to the state of Israel,” according to a military spokesman.

Israel closed its airspace and declared a state of emergency, in anticipation of
Iranian drone and missile strikes in response.

Explosions were heard in Tehran on Saturday, Iranian media reported.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/28/israel-launches-attack-on-iran-as-explosions-heard-in-tehran

Return of the sausages I mean hostages 😂

Yes, Starmer gets a lot of stick.
His wife and children are practising Jews, they always have a Friday Night meal, apparently.

Thanks for correcting
I wasnt getting anything from googling
’clarion call for return of the sausages ‘. even momentarily wondered if there had been some sort of meat row

I now can’t believe I googled it 😳

< back to lurking where I belong>

Starmer's probably delighted - it's taken the heat off the by-election palaver.

That I agree on. He dreams of the heady poll bounce with the ‘planes in the air, boots on the ground’ days (which didn’t happen tg) and dressing up in that military kit.

Yes true - good timing for him in that way.

Is there a conspiracy theory about that yet, I wonder.

Iran's air defenses were eliminated in the 12-day war last year, and it has no air force. Flying in daylight is a bit safer for the IDF and makes target acquisition easier.

I'm sure Matt Badlose has one.

Oh I get the theory but it's still fairly unusual...probably fair enough to chuck ALCMs through in daytime but it's rolling a dice a bit more than necessary for crewed ops (so were there any?).

Methinks one reason for striking at that time of day was it might catch people of interest (relatively) out in the open, rather than hunkered down at night.

I see what you did there 😁

I saw it on X 😂

Poor old Richard Tice with his home in Dubai - hope he's safe.

Yep.
His 'statement' was pathetic. Why did he bother? Another 🙄 from me.

You're probably correct about the strikes so far being standoff. I've found references to missile strikes in the coverage, but no confirmation of crewed missions. TWZ.com has the best news aggregation I've found so far. They're reporting the Israel is targeting regime assets and the U.S. is going after military and DIB targets.

I expect that as time goes on and the target list gets worked down, we will see crewed strikes, particularly from USAF heavy bombers.

There are increasing reports that BOTH the Ayatollah and the President of Iran have been killed. Along with 'several' other senior leaders in Iran, including the head of the judiciary.

It's thought they were all killed in one attack that has taken months to prepare (they met what they thought was in secret)

What would you like him to say?

Oh I'm praying that's true and there's a swift end to this.🙏

I can't pretend to understand the whys and wherefores of all of this, but obviously basically grasp that Iran is a problem for both its own people and ME stability.

I find it incredibly surreal following all the coverage, and knowing real people like us will end up being collateral damage, and that posters on here are in the thick of it. I know it comes across as trite and virtue signalling, but I genuinely feel for them and hope for nothing but their safety and that this can be resolved somehow.

This technologically driven world and being able to "see" it all makes me feel a bit like a grubby voyeur. The possibility of AI driven manipulation in the mix is something that adds another layer of uncertainty and danger - while propaganda has always been a feature of conflict, we're in new territory with this, plus the advent of drone warfare etc etc.

I'm in my late 50s, so have muddled through with tech as far as I have to, but feel a bit like Methuselah given the speed of the changes to the world I grew up in. I envy younger generations to a degree, because they've never known a world without it so have no "rose tinted" view of the 80s and early 90s when tech was in its infancy.

I've been having a complete existential crisis on the personal front due to my own chaos for the last 5 years and keep an eye on current events because I want half a heads up on what's going on in the world - which is increasingly connected and interwoven and has faster knock on effects etc.

I'm sorry I have nothing to really bring to the thread, but I needed to get these thoughts out - I am dosed on painkillers for raging sciatica and feel very dismal and uncertain about all of this.

I know we can't do anything except "keep calm and carry on", but Good Lord, if you'd told me in my 20s that the world was heading in this general direction, I'd have thought it was scaremongering of the highest order.

Anyway, thanks for letting me ramble, feel free to ignore and eye roll - I do it to myself so no offence taken.

And I'm not religious, but I am sort of praying right now.

Nothing at all would be my preference. Can't stand him.

I agree with this article

theconversation.com/us-israeli-attack-on-iran-risks-plunging-the-world-into-turmoil-276818

Right. He's the PM and he's just chaired COBRA.
I think it's probably important that he made a statement.

I can relate to what you say @MistressoftheDarkSide probably because we are a similar age.

No eye rolling - I’m “sort of praying” now too.

I don't.

Neither do I.

He didn't actually have anything to say though.
Anyway, we'll have to agree to disagree.