Operation Epic Fury (March 1-9): Joint U.S. & Israel Operation Against Iran
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U.S. Sent B-1 Bombers On Mission ‘Deep Inside Iran’: CENTCOM
March 2: Fox News by U.S. Central Command
The U.S. military deployed B-1 bombers on a mission “deep inside Iran” to attack the nation’s ballistic missile capabilities, U.S. Central Command said Monday. CENTCOM said the mission took place late Sunday night, providing footage of two B-1 bombers being serviced and taking off from an unknown air base.
“Last night, U.S. B-1 bombers struck deep inside Iran to degrade Iranian ballistic missile capabilities,” CENTCOM wrote on X. “As the President stated, ‘we’re going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground,'” it added.
Tom Cotton Reminds Wailing Dems of 200 Years of Military Operations Done Without Congressional Approval
March 2: Red State by Bob Hoge
Teeth-gnashing Democrats have been whining and hitting CNN at every opportunity to criticize Operation Epic Fury, the joint U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran that took out virtually their entire command structure, saying that the mission is illegal and demanding that it stop until Congress can vote on authorizing it.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), however, had some fresh reminders that such operations are nothing new, and in fact, the Dems’ idol, former President Barack Obama, helped bring down Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, and Thomas Jefferson sent the U.S. Navy and Marines to the Mediterranean to take on the Barbary pirates in 1801.
The Constitution gives the power to Trump to do what he did, Cotton said: @SenTomCotton: President Trump has the inherent power under our Constitution and as Commander-in-Chief to use military force to keep our nation safe…Obama toppled Gaddafi in Libya 15 years ago without a vote of Congress…the difference is that @POTUS is attacking a 47-year, implacable enemy.
CENTCOM: Tehran’s Gulf of Oman Fleet Wiped Out — ‘Zero’ Ships Remain
March 2: Breitbart by Joshua Klein
U.S. Central Command declared Monday that Iran’s naval presence in the Gulf of Oman has been reduced to “ZERO,” announcing that every Iranian warship operating in the strategic waterway at the outset of Operation Epic Fury has been destroyed as American forces struck more than 1,250 targets in the first 48 hours of the campaign.
Posting on the third day of operations, United States Central Command wrote on X: “Two days ago, the Iranian regime had 11 ships in the Gulf of Oman, today they have Zero.”
“The Iranian regime has harassed and attacked international shipping in the Gulf of Oman for decades. Those days are over,” the command added. “Freedom of maritime navigation has underpinned American and global economic prosperity for more than 80 years. U.S. forces will continue to defend it.”
Steve Witkoff’s Description of Negotiations with Iran
March 3: Red State by Streiff
According to President Trump’s most trusted negotiator, Steve Witkoff, Iran approached the most recent round of negotiations with the attitude that they were driving the train, and the Trump administration had no choice but to go full-metal Obama and give them what they wanted. In an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity Monday night, Witkoff gave us all a glimpse of what it was like to negotiate with the lineal descendants of Persian rug merchants.
A lot of this we already know, see How Iran Trying to Punk President Trump on a Deal Went Terribly Wrong, and Why No One Should Try It – RedState. Having third-party accounts validated by an interview with the principal. Along the way, we’ll see how many of the Hamas-left and Halal-right voices decrying the strikes are wrong or deliberately misleading.
“Just to give you a little taste of how these three days of negotiations went: three separate times, Jared and I opened up with the Iranian negotiators telling us they had the inalienable right to enrich all of the nuclear fuel they possessed. That’s how they opened up.
“We discussed with them ten years of no enrichment whatsoever, and we would pay for the fuel. It was rejected. They rejected that, which told us at that moment that they had no intention of doing anything other than retaining enrichment for the purpose of weaponizing.”
“Operation Epic Fury” — Over 50,000 U.S. Troops, 200 Jets, Two Aircraft Carriers, B-2 and B-1 Stealth Bombers Deployed and Reinforcements Coming
March 3: Gateway Pundit by Jim Hoft
The United States military has launched one of the largest combat operations in the Middle East in decades, and according to U.S. Central Command leadership, the mission is only just beginning.
In a major operational briefing, U.S. Central Command Commander Admiral Brad Cooper revealed that “Operation Epic Fury” has already unleashed massive American and Israeli firepower against Iran’s military infrastructure just days into the campaign. The operation, ordered by President Donald Trump and the U.S. Secretary of War, aims to cripple Iran’s ability to threaten American forces, allies, and international shipping after nearly 50 years of Iranian aggression and terrorism.
Speaking just four days into the operation, Cooper said the scale of the deployment is historic. “More than 50,000 troops, 200 fighters, two aircraft carriers, and bombers from the United States are participating in this operation—and more capabilities are on the way.” According to CENTCOM, the massive buildup represents the largest U.S. military deployment to the Middle East in a generation.
US Submarine Sinks Iranian Warship by Torpedo, A First Since World War II
March 4: Red State by Rusty Weiss
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced during a Wednesday press briefing that a U.S. Navy submarine fired a single Mark 48 torpedo to sink an Iranian warship. This strike marks the first enemy vessel sunk by a U.S. submarine torpedo since World War II, delivering what he called a “quiet death” to a ship that now lies on the bottom of the ocean.
“An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth told reporters. “Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death. The first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War Two. Like in that war, back when we were still the War Department. We are fighting to win.”
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, who had joined Hegseth at the briefing, said the Iranian ship was “effectively neutralized” in a Navy “fast attack” using a single torpedo.
“The mission is laser-focused,” Hegseth explained. “Obliterate Iran’s missiles and drones, and facilities that produce them, annihilate its Navy and critical security infrastructure, and sever their pathway to nuclear weapons. Iran will never possess a nuclear bomb, not on our watch, not ever.”
The BUFF In Iran: What the Deployment of America’s Oldest Bomber Means
March 4: Red State by Ward Clark
The B-52 Stratofortress bomber, often affectionately referred to as the “Big, Ugly, Fat Fellow,” or BUFF, is an aircraft whose design history begins at the end of World War 2. The first B-52 bombers were delivered to the United States Air Force in the early 1950s, and the newer marks of that magnificent warbird are still flying today. There’s a good reason for the long service of this wonderful warbird; it may not be as slick, as fast, or as fancy as newer aircraft, but if you need a few dozen square miles of countryside destroyed and you need it destroyed right now, the BUFF can get that done.
On Tuesday, U.S. Central Command confirmed on X that an armada of B-52s, nicknamed “Stratosaurus” for its advanced years, was used in a strike against “ballistic missile and commander control posts.”
The B-52H is capable of flying at high subsonic speeds at altitudes of up to 50,000 feet. It can carry nuclear or precision-guided conventional ordnance, and it has a payload of approximately 70,000 pounds of mixed ordnance-bombs, mines and missiles, according to the Air Force.
Israel’s Airlines to Resume Outbound Flights Amid Iran’s Dwindling Missile Capacity
March 6: Breitbart by Dylan Gwinn
In a week that has seen precious little normal activity in Israel, at least one aspect of regular civilian life will begin to return.
Israel’s national airline, El Al, resumed repatriation flights on Thursday morning after nearly a week with no flights since the joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran began last weekend. Air traffic and other aspects of civilian travel and commerce have been tightly restricted or scaled back in several countries in the region, as Iran lashed out at Israel and its other neighbors, with waves of drone and missile attacks that hit residential neighborhoods and apartment buildings throughout the Middle East.
While Israel has begun the process of bringing home citizens who were stranded abroad at the outset of hostilities, Transportation Minister Miri Regev announced that the country is taking the equally important step of planning for the resumption of outbound flights this Sunday.
Russia Now Giving Iran Targeting Data on US Warships and Aircraft
March 6: Red State by Ward Clark
Russia is providing Iran with targeting information to attack American forces in the Middle East, the first indication that another major U.S. adversary is participating — even indirectly — in the war, according to three officials familiar with the intelligence.
The assistance, which has not been previously reported, signals that the rapidly expanding conflict now features one of America’s chief nuclear-armed competitors with exquisite intelligence capabilities.
Since the war began Saturday, Russia has passed Iran the locations of U.S. military assets, including warships and aircraft, said the three officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.
Leavitt Says Iranian Navy ‘Combat Ineffective,’ Explains Trump’s Call For ‘Unconditional Surrender’
March 6: Fox News by Rachel Wolf
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Friday that U.S. forces were “absolutely decimating” the Iranian regime. She revealed during an appearance on Fox News’ “America Reports” that American service members sunk 30 Iranian ships, leaving Tehran’s Navy “combat ineffective.”
Leavitt also noted that Iran’s retaliatory ballistic missile strikes against the U.S. and its allies decreased by 90% since the start of Operation Epic Fury because of the damage done to their ballistic missile weaponry and arsenal capacity.
“Of course, the overall mission in this operation is to ensure that Iran can never again possess a nuclear weapon. That was the real imminent threat that was posed by Iran to the United States and our personnel in the region, and President Trump and the United States military are focused on tackling this threat every single day,” Leavitt said.
On Friday, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to demand an “unconditional surrender” from Iran.
“President Trump means when he says unconditional surrender is when he, as commander in chief of the United States military and the leader of the free world, determines that Iran can no longer pose a threat to the United States of America and to our troops and our personnel in the Middle East,” Leavitt explained.
“When the president determines that Iran no longer poses that threat, that’s when that unconditional surrender will take place. As for the next leader of Iran, the president has said, of course, it’s in the best interest of the United States to have a leader that is no longer chanting ‘Death to America,’ that is no longer conspiring behind our backs and lying to the American people and to our government about perforating a new nuclear weapon, which Iran has been doing for decades,” Leavitt added.
Exiled Crown Prince of Iran Reza Pahlavi Says He Has Accepted the Role as Iran’s Transitional Leader
March 7: Gateway Pundit by Jim Hoft
Crown Prince of Iran Reza Pahlavi says he has agreed to accept the role of Iran’s transitional leader. Reza Pahlavi is the son of the Shah of Iran who fled the country when Ayatollah Khomeneini took control of the Islamic nation. Reza Pahlavi released this statement earlier today:
“The Islamic Republic has launched missiles at the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Jordan, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. It is targeting our Arab neighbors. These violations of their sovereignty are unacceptable, and we condemn them. But this is nothing new. This is who the Islamic Republic has always been, and this is why it must end.
“For nearly five decades, this terrorist regime has sown chaos and bloodshed across our region. It propped up Assad, turning Syria into a graveyard. It planted Hezbollah as a state within a state in Lebanon. It armed the Houthis to destabilize the Arabian Peninsula. It empowered militias in Iraq to undermine Iraqi sovereignty. It attacked the economic hubs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
“None of this has ever been the desire of the Iranian people, but rather that of a regime occupying our country. Now, however, the landscape has fundamentally shifted. Assad is gone. Hezbollah has been decimated. The regime’s military nuclear program has been set back. Its economy is in a freefall. The pillars of this regime’s aggression are crumbling. The Iranian people have paid the price in blood to reach this moment. The regime massacred tens of thousands of my compatriots in just two days, but it didn’t break the people.
“Instead, the regime itself is breaking. Today, his History reminds us of our future potential. Before the revolution, Iran worked closely with Arab leaders, from King Faisal to Sheik Zahid to King Hussein to President Sadat. In Oman, my father helped Sultan Qabuz defend his country against insurgency. We were true partners then. We will be true partners again.
“The Iranian people have called on me to lead the transition after the regime is gone. I have accepted that responsibility. Part of their great mandate to me is to return our nation and our foreign relations to normalcy. I will do exactly that.”
Iran Appoints U.S.-Sanctioned Son to Replace Dad as Supreme Leader
March 9: Breitbart by John Hayward
Iranian state media on Monday confirmed the selection of Mojtaba Khamenei, the 56-year-old son of slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to become the new Supreme Leader. Iran’s terrorist Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) immediately swore fealty to the new dictator and launched another wave of missiles and drones at Israel and the Gulf Arab states to commemorate his ascension.
The previous “supreme leader” was killed in the opening moments of Operation Epic Fury last week along with dozens of other high-ranking Iranian officials. The 86-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was only the second Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, following the leader of the 1979 revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
President Trump Offers Asylum to Iranian Women’s Soccer Team
March 9: Gateway Pundit by Joe Hoft
President Trump has announced he will take in the entire Iranian women’s football team and grant them refuge. They are currently in Australia and the regime in Iran wants them dead for standing up to it.
Here is President Trump’s latest message – Australia is on it: I just spoke to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, of Australia, concerning the Iranian National Women’s Soccer Team. He’s on it! Five have already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way. Some, however, feel they must go back because they are worried about the safety of their families, including threats to those family members if they don’t return. In any event, the Prime Minister is doing a very good job having to do with this rather delicate situation. God bless Australia! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Iran Is the Second Time CNN Teamed with Middle East Dictator to Undermine America
March 9: Breitbart War Commentary by John Nolte
Thus far, CNN is the only Western media outlet allowed into Iran with the permission of Iran’s government, and it’s not difficult to see why. After all, this is not the first time CNN has served at the pleasure of an America-hating, Middle Eastern dictator.
“CNN operates in Iran only with government permission,” reads the occasional CNN disclaimer as the far-left outlet scurries around Iran doing the regime’s bidding. Because if CNN wants to report from Iran, what choice does CNN have other than to do the regime’s bidding?
But here’s the thing…The Iranian government need not make any demands or make any threats to force CNN to undermine the American war effort. The Iranian government already knows CNN is their natural ally in this war.
Mike Hernandez is co-founder of the Citizens Journal–Ventura County’s online news service and writes for CitizensJournal.net and MountainTopMedia.com. He is a former Southern California daily newspaper journalist and religion and news editor, writer of “Prayer Over News Daily” and edits the weekly “Stories Speak Volumes” and other columns. Mr. Hernandez mentors citizen journalists with trainings held every other month (on Saturdays at Shasta Bible College and online) and can be contacted at MikeHernandezMedia.com.