It has finally begun

[Undefeated]

I was awake last night, reading a book. Around 3:30 AM (near Tehran), I heard the first loud blast. At first, I thought the next-door neighbor was banging something against the ground. I went out into the yard, and then came another sound, and another—several booms in a row. It felt like someone was dropping a massive weight onto the ground. I could feel the vibrations in the walls, and I was getting slightly irritated with the neighbors. I considered everything except the possibility that it could be missile strikes!

There’s no doubt the attacks will continue in the coming nights. Israel knows that the Islamic Republic has no real military response capability, and any retaliatory strikes are mostly for propaganda—to deceive the domestic public. Since this morning, state TV and radio have been focused on women and children who were killed in buildings. The head of one hospital said they had received around 50 bodies, more than 35 of them women and children. It's as if Israeli missiles are going house to house looking for women and children, and somehow avoid hitting men! These bastards are unmatched when it comes to manipulating public opinion.

The Israeli strikes are still ongoing. They've targeted several cities across Iran. They've bombed military commanders, some nuclear scientists, and nuclear facilities. Of course, ordinary civilians who happened to live near these military and nuclear figures were also killed. What's clear is that these Israeli attacks were carried out with Trump’s approval, and the necessary planning and assessments were made long in advance. The top commanders of the IRGC have all been killed.

[WrestlingRasta]

Stay safe

[El Luchador]

10 minutes ago, Undefeated said:

I was awake last night, reading a book. Around 3:30 AM (near Tehran), I heard the first loud blast. At first, I thought the next-door neighbor was banging something against the ground. I went out into the yard, and then came another sound, and another—several booms in a row. It felt like someone was dropping a massive weight onto the ground. I could feel the vibrations in the walls, and I was getting slightly irritated with the neighbors. I considered everything except the possibility that it could be missile strikes!

There’s no doubt the attacks will continue in the coming nights. Israel knows that the Islamic Republic has no real military response capability, and any retaliatory strikes are mostly for propaganda—to deceive the domestic public. Since this morning, state TV and radio have been focused on women and children who were killed in buildings. The head of one hospital said they had received around 50 bodies, more than 35 of them women and children. It's as if Israeli missiles are going house to house looking for women and children, and somehow avoid hitting men! These bastards are unmatched when it comes to manipulating public opinion.

The Israeli strikes are still ongoing. They've targeted several cities across Iran. They've bombed military commanders, some nuclear scientists, and nuclear facilities. Of course, ordinary civilians who happened to live near these military and nuclear figures were also killed. What's clear is that these Israeli attacks were carried out with Trump’s approval, and the necessary planning and assessments were made long in advance. The top commanders of the IRGC have all been killed.

How is it clear that it had Trump's approval? He sounds angry about it, could be an act. Honest question. 

[uncle bernard]

30 minutes ago, Undefeated said:

I was awake last night, reading a book. Around 3:30 AM (near Tehran), I heard the first loud blast. At first, I thought the next-door neighbor was banging something against the ground. I went out into the yard, and then came another sound, and another—several booms in a row. It felt like someone was dropping a massive weight onto the ground. I could feel the vibrations in the walls, and I was getting slightly irritated with the neighbors. I considered everything except the possibility that it could be missile strikes!

There’s no doubt the attacks will continue in the coming nights. Israel knows that the Islamic Republic has no real military response capability, and any retaliatory strikes are mostly for propaganda—to deceive the domestic public. Since this morning, state TV and radio have been focused on women and children who were killed in buildings. The head of one hospital said they had received around 50 bodies, more than 35 of them women and children. It's as if Israeli missiles are going house to house looking for women and children, and somehow avoid hitting men! These bastards are unmatched when it comes to manipulating public opinion.

The Israeli strikes are still ongoing. They've targeted several cities across Iran. They've bombed military commanders, some nuclear scientists, and nuclear facilities. Of course, ordinary civilians who happened to live near these military and nuclear figures were also killed. What's clear is that these Israeli attacks were carried out with Trump’s approval, and the necessary planning and assessments were made long in advance. The top commanders of the IRGC have all been killed.

Stay safe. My prayers are with you.

[Scouts Honor]

glad you are safe.

perhaps it's time to rise up

[jross]

Damn, that is intense and terrifying.  You mentioned before how Iranians are mostly Persians, totally detached from this Israel-Palestine mess.  Is the theocracy losing power?  What’s the Ayatollahs’ endgame that is worth risking all this for? The Iran regime will sacrifice lives to look tough and then give in, is that likely?

 

As a regime critic, what should Iran, Israel, and the U.S. do next?

 

Stay safe out there.

Edited Friday at 01:53 PM by jross

[Undefeated]

Thanks, friends. Unfortunately, this forum loads very slowly for me. I’m not exactly sure what the problem is. It might be that the forum is hosted on a server that restricts access for Iranian users due to U.S. sanctions. Emojis don’t load for me either, so I can’t use them to react to your posts and show my appreciation.

Yes, here in Iran we know that the ayatollahs are extremely deceptive and cowardly, and they avoid real war. But the reason is that they know any real war would inevitably draw the United States into the conflict. In reality, they fear America — not Israel.

Another reason the ayatollahs avoid war is that they do not have the full support of the Iranian people. They face significant opposition inside the country — people like me, for whom today, with the killing of military commanders and regime loyalists, has been one of the best days of our lives. So in the event of a real war, there’s a real chance it could spark a civil war, and that would mean the end of the regime.

On the other hand, Israel wouldn’t have launched such an attack without U.S. backing either, because the Islamic Republic has the potential to strike Israel from several countries. Southern Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and large parts of Iraq are under the control of Iran’s Quds Force, and the ayatollahs could launch attacks from these regions. Israel has little to no influence in these areas (except for southern Lebanon), so in order to prevent such attacks, it relies on U.S. air power, American influence in the region, and especially intelligence provided by U.S. agencies.

It doesn’t really matter whether Trump denies it or confirms it. He’s just as clueless as the ayatollahs in Iran. But like any world leader, he definitely has advisers who tell him exactly what lies to tell.

 

Quote

As a regime critic, what should Iran, Israel, and the U.S. do next?

I think it’s time to get rid of the Ayatollahs once and for all.

As I’m posting this, the sounds of missile impacts are being heard in Tehran—two loud explosions in quick succession. The internet might be completely cut off soon. For now, goodbye—hoping for freedom.

[Undefeated]

Hello friends,
It's 2:30 AM (about twenty minutes ago), and I woke up to the sound of missiles hitting the ground. Several missiles landed in Tehran. Since yesterday, Iran has begun its symbolic attacks on Israel. Some naive people are happy about the Ayatollahs’ attacks on Israel. As usual, the teenagers have fallen for the Islamic Republic’s propaganda. State radio and television are heavily emphasizing the phrase “revenge has been taken.”

[Tripnsweep]

22 minutes ago, Undefeated said:

Hello friends,
It's 2:30 AM (about twenty minutes ago), and I woke up to the sound of missiles hitting the ground. Several missiles landed in Tehran. Since yesterday, Iran has begun its symbolic attacks on Israel. Some naive people are happy about the Ayatollahs’ attacks on Israel. As usual, the teenagers have fallen for the Islamic Republic’s propaganda. State radio and television are heavily emphasizing the phrase “revenge has been taken.”

Do most people in Iran realize the ayatollahs are full of it and the retaliation really did nothing? 

[Caveira]

3 minutes ago, Tripnsweep said:

Do most people in Iran realize the ayatollahs are full of it and the retaliation really did nothing? 

How would you know what the people of Iran know.  That’s pretty myopic boss.  

[El Luchador]

26 minutes ago, Caveira said:

How would you know what the people of Iran know.  That’s pretty myopic boss.  

That was my initial thought, but it was a question.

[ionel]

28 minutes ago, Caveira said:

How would you know what the people of Iran know.  That’s pretty myopic boss.  

 

1 minute ago, El Luchador said:

That was my initial thought, but it was a question.

The greatwhitetripnviking knows all!  Are you new to this here forum?  

[Undefeated]

3 hours ago, Tripnsweep said:

Do most people in Iran realize the ayatollahs are full of it and the retaliation really did nothing? 

People in Iran don’t all think the same — there are a lot of different opinions. But if you divide them into two broad groups, regime supporters and opponents, the opponents are definitely more numerous. The problem is, the supporters have more power because they’re backed by the government.

The Ayatollahs have at least three main tools to fool people:

1. Super powerful media. These past couple of days, they’ve been flooding the news with emotional footage — dead little girls, their dolls buried in rubble, that kind of thing — all set to sad music they’ve had ready for moments like this. They also have hundreds of dramatic songs they pair with clips of attacks on Israel, saying, “We’re avenging the children.”

2. Religion. The Ayatollahs twist the Quran to fit their agenda. They pretend to be devout (they’re really not) to win people over. A lot of Iranians are religious, so this still works on some of them.

3. America’s dumb sanctions. These sanctions mostly hurt regular people, not the regime. They’ve caused serious economic pain, and a lot of Iranians resent the U.S. for that. Many think America and Israel are working together against them. On top of that, the regime blames all of its own failures on the sanctions.

So yeah — it’s way more complicated than it looks from the outside.

[Tripnsweep]

19 minutes ago, Undefeated said:

People in Iran don’t all think the same — there are a lot of different opinions. But if you divide them into two broad groups, regime supporters and opponents, the opponents are definitely more numerous. The problem is, the supporters have more power because they’re backed by the government.

The Ayatollahs have at least three main tools to fool people:

1. Super powerful media. These past couple of days, they’ve been flooding the news with emotional footage — dead little girls, their dolls buried in rubble, that kind of thing — all set to sad music they’ve had ready for moments like this. They also have hundreds of dramatic songs they pair with clips of attacks on Israel, saying, “We’re avenging the children.”

2. Religion. The Ayatollahs twist the Quran to fit their agenda. They pretend to be devout (they’re really not) to win people over. A lot of Iranians are religious, so this still works on some of them.

3. America’s dumb sanctions. These sanctions mostly hurt regular people, not the regime. They’ve caused serious economic pain, and a lot of Iranians resent the U.S. for that. Many think America and Israel are working together against them. On top of that, the regime blames all of its own failures on the sanctions.

So yeah — it’s way more complicated than it looks from the outside.

Sounds about right. When they had the protests, I think it was 2011, a friend of mine had close friends who fled after the revolution and were telling anyone they could most regular Iranian people didn't like the government and wished the ayatollahs would go away. Every Iranian I've met has been cool and they either actively say negative things about the government or don't care much but just wish things were different. I think it's very sad because the people who get impacted most are regular people, not the political elite.