U.S. admits it killed school kids; in denial about damage to U.S. bases; Iran threatens to hit Dimona; NYT rips Putin; Olmert says U.S. war is not for Israel.
Image of the Dimona facility taken by a US Corona spy satellite in 1971 (Mission 1115-2, 29 September 1971, Frame: 52, 53). (CORONA Satellite/Wikimedia Commons)
FRIDAY
3:30 pm EST: The Saudis have intensified direct communications with Iran to try to contain the spreading war in the region, Bloomberg News reported.
2:10 pm EST: The White House now says its war will last four to six weeks, according to Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt. “We are well on our way to controlling Iranian airspace,” and that there are “a number of people who we are looking at to lead Iran.”
12:55 pm EST: The speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Ghalibaf, said on X that Trump “still hasn’t realized the disaster he has brought upon himself and U.S. soldiers” by killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The U.S. “will come to understand that the fate of dear Iran, which is more precious than life, will be determined solely by the proud Iranian nation, not by Epstein’s gang.”
12:30 pm EST: Haaretz reports that the IDF plans to continue bombing Iran “for weeks” to destroy what is says says are up to 200 remaining Iranian missile launchers.
“Ballistic missile launches toward Israel have decreased in scope, the IDF officials said, adding that this may be caused by Tehran struggling to coordinate attacks and fire the missiles,” the newspaper said. “The military officials said 150 attack aircraft entered Iranian airspace more than 2,600 times since the war began.”
11 am EST: The Pentagon must investigate the growing reports of military commanders calling the war against Iran part of a plan to bring about the Biblical end times, said 30 Congressmen in a letter to the Defense Dept.
They wrote:
“Some commanders have reportedly told subordinates that the American and Israeli attacks will hasten the return of Jesus Christ, and have cited passages from the Book of Revelation and instructed officers to tell their troops that current combat operations are all part of God’s divine plan.
“If accurate, these outrageous statements – justifying a war based on interpretations of biblical prophecies, and informing troops that they are risking their lives to advance a specific religious vision – raise not only glaring constitutional concerns, but potential violations of Department of Defense regulations regarding religious neutrality and breaches of professional obligations and standards expected of military leadership.”
10:30 am EST: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the war could bring dire consequences to Europe. “A prolonged continuation of this war would not be in our interest. The same applies to the possible collapse of the Iranian state or proxy conflicts fought on Iranian soil,” Merz said.
9:15 am EST: U.S. military investigators now say American forces were likely responsible for the bombing of a girl’s school in Iran last Saturday, killing at least 150 pupils, Reuters reports.
In a deranged post on social media, Donald Trump writes there “will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER! After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s) … “
9 am EST: Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the U.S. is not fighting a war for Israel. He told a podcaster that Trump “did not pretend to say that he was fighting for us. He said in the most explicit manner: ‘They are American enemies. This is an American war. I’m fighting for America, and I had to do it for America.’ No one saved Israel, or no one got mixed up in a war in order to save Israel.”
If Trump were blackmailed into launching this war, that is what he would be expected to say.
6 am EST: Israel begins ferocious attack on southern Beirut after ordering the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of residents.
5:15 am EST: The Iranian Fars News Agency reported that Iranian missiles had struck a Microsoft data center in the U.A.E. after having earlier hit two Amazon data centers in the U.A.E., which Amazon confirmed. Microsoft has not confirmed the strike on its facilities which reportedly provides cloud services for U.S. and Gulf militaries, apparently making such data centers legitimate military targets.
4:20 am EST: Europeans are edging their way into the war. Despite at first saying Trump’s war is illegal, are now increasing deployment of military assets in the regions. This is supposed to be only to protect their citizens and shipping routes, not to join the attack on Iran. But time will tell. Vassals tend to say one thing and do another.
3 am EST: NYT ridicules Russia for not helping Iran, though it’s not clear just how much assistance Moscow, and Beijing are giving to Tehran.
“Mr. Putin is … grappling with the arrival of a new world of unbridled American power under President Trump, which is checking Russia’s global influence and ripping up Moscow’s playbook for partnerships abroad.”
This is an unadulterated anti-Russian screed from the paper of record:
“Even though Iran came to Russia’s aid with critical drones at the outset of Mr. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine four years ago, Russia has stood aside as the United States and Israel have pummeled Iran’s leadership and military. Moscow has issued little more than condemnatory statements that largely avoid naming Mr. Trump. […]
For years, Mr. Putin supported anti-American authoritarian governments in Iran, Venezuela and Cuba, with little worry that Washington would use its overwhelming military power to kill, capture or push out their leaders. That has now changed, as Mr. Trump has demonstrated a willingness to disregard international norms and engage in foreign adventurism by fully exploiting Washington’s might.”
2:45 am EST: The U.S. is granting a temporary waiver to India to buy oil from Russia after a trade deal supposedly forced India to cut off oil sales from its longtime ally. It was never certain that India ever stopped buying Russian oil as neither Russia nor India ever confirmed it.
2:15 am EST: U.S. interceptor missiles continue to stop Iranian missiles, many get through, which has led to extensive damage to U.S. military facilities across the region. But it seems Washington is in denial despite satellite images are revealing the extent of the damage so far.
“You’re hearing a lot of lies,” said Col. Douglas MacGregor. “The Iranians have inflicted serious damage on our bases in the Persian Gulf, especially radars and command and control systems.”
Meanwhile, the war is a race to see whether Iran’s missiles and drones can outlast Israeli and U.S. interceptors. If the U.S runs out first, it might well be a clear Iranian victory — if Israel doesn’t wheel out its nuclear weapons.
Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, says Iran’s missile barrages have fallen by about 90 percent since last Saturday and drone attacks are down by 83 percent. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the U.S., has no shortage of munitions. “Our stockpiles of defensive and offensive weapons allow us to sustain this campaign as long as we need to,” he said.
MacGregor says Iranian missile and drone attacks may be down because Iran has fewer targets after the damage it has inflicted.
1:45 am EST: Iran threatens Dimona, according to The Times of Israel. “Iran will target the Israeli nuclear site of Dimona if Israel and the US seek regime change in the Islamic Republic, semi-official ISNA news agency reported Wednesday, citing an Iranian military official,” the newspaper reported. Dimona, in the southern Negev desert, is where plutonium is produced and nuclear warheads are fitted but the bombs are believed stored at Sdot Micha Airbase, 25 kilometers west of Jerusalem.
1:30 am EST: Israel is striking mountains at Iraq border to soften the area for C.I.A. and Mossad-armed and trained Kurdish militia to invade Iran from Iraqi territory to begin a civil war aimed at overthrowing the Iranian government.
1 am EST: Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi stuns an NBC News interviewer by telling him that if U.S. ground troops also invade “we are waiting for them.”
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