# United States and Israel are bombing Iran {for current/ongoing events, past/future have specific threads} **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump, iran-strikes-2026\ **Created:** [February 28, 2026, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071 "2026-02-28T07:56:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 18
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/342 "2026-03-03T01:24:44Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Who says that? One of the villains in Goldeneye or Goldfinger or another Bond movie ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/343 "2026-03-03T01:26:48Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Are you really sure they did not shoot the planes down on purpose? Really? I suppose it’s entirely possible that Qatar decided to risk the wrath of the United States (under Trump, a notoriously vindictive and hotheaded man) in order to slightly reduce the number of jets the US has access to. Do you find that at all likely though? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/344 "2026-03-03T01:30:23Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > No matter what the truth is, it was extremely unusual for three American warplanes to be shot down within a short time. This fact doesn’t tell me much more than that. It’s possible to infer a few things from the facts as reported. Friendly fire means the weapons engaging the aircraft were US-made. Almost certainly Patriot PAC-3 air defense systems. Pretty capable, especially up against targets that are in its original design intent: full-sized airplanes. (Instead of drones or ballistic missiles.) The aircraft were apparently on patrol over friendly territory, so almost certainly not expecting to be lit up by air-defense radars, especially US-made ones. The IFF failure or other operational miss on the part of the Kuwaiti Air Force’s air defense systems definitely needs to be examined, but I doubt we’ll learn much very soon. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/345 "2026-03-03T01:34:41Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Friendly fire means the weapons engaging the aircraft were US-made. Does Kuwait not have any systems made by anyone else? ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/346 "2026-03-03T01:36:25Z")
Iran has attacked the US Embassy at Riyadh with a UAV. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/347 "2026-03-03T01:36:33Z")
Not after the Gulf War. We kinda captured their market by helping them rebuild. The Iraqis took or destroyed anything that may have been from anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/348 "2026-03-03T01:42:30Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > For anyone who’s still unsure whether the clown Pahlavi has any credibility in the planning for a succession regime: This is probably for the best. ---
**Author:** ![Xocomil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xocomil/32/14927_2.png) [@Xocomil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xocomil)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/349 "2026-03-03T01:50:16Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Friendly fire means the weapons engaging the aircraft were US-made. Not really. It means attacking a friend in an attempt to attack a foe. The origin of the weapons doesn’t make a difference. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/350 "2026-03-03T01:51:53Z")
In this setting, friendly fire is using US-made weapons, since that’s pretty much all Kuwait has. ---
**Author:** ![Xocomil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xocomil/32/14927_2.png) [@Xocomil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xocomil)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/351 "2026-03-03T01:55:39Z")
Yeah but if the planes were intentionally shot down by rogue Kuwaiti forces, that wouldn’t be friendly fire. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/352 "2026-03-03T01:55:57Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > They say once is happenstance. Twice is a coincidence. Three times is enemy action. To lose one plane may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose two looks like carelessness. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/353 "2026-03-03T02:03:37Z")
This wasn’t really “three times”, though. It was all one incident, where the three planes were presumably all flying in formation, and shot down together. It’s not like an AA operator would say “I think those two planes are enemies, but that third one with them might be a friendly”. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/354 "2026-03-03T02:41:30Z")
Is the Qatari AA that much better than anything Iran has, or were the planes basically sitting ducks because they thought they were in friendly skies? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/355 "2026-03-03T03:09:25Z")
I’m guessing the latter. The F-15s would presumably be taking no evasive type action when in friendly skies - no flying nap of the earth, etc. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/356 "2026-03-03T03:12:24Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > In this setting, friendly fire is using US-made weapons, since that’s pretty much all Kuwait has. I may be getting this from old Tom Clancy novels but I am under the impression that Kuwait does not possess the world’s most… skilled military. Lots of very shiny equipment and no one who knows how to use it. Well, they know where the “launch” button is at least. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/357 "2026-03-03T03:35:15Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Is the Qatari AA that much better than anything Iran has, or were the planes basically sitting ducks because they thought they were in friendly skies? Kuwait uses the PATRIOT air defense system, same radars, launchers, and missiles. Top shelf equipment. The F-15s were likely flying an anti-drone mission. Low speed and altitude so the fighters don’t overfly the drones. Being low means even a radar warning in the cockpit is too late. Slow reduces the fighter’s ability to maneuver (it’s designed to go against other fighters and missiles). ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/358 "2026-03-03T03:37:43Z")
We don’t have enough information to assign any blame. Here’s a link to past friendly incidents. > **[Friendly-Fire Incidents Are Nothing New In Modern Air Warfare](https://www.twz.com/air/tragic-friendly-fire-incidents-are-nothing-new-in-modern-air-warfare)** > > The loss of three F-15Es to friendly fire today is far from the first time similar combat accidents have happened in the post Cold War era. The loss of three F-15Es to friendly fire today is far from the first time similar combat accidents have... ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/359 "2026-03-03T03:51:49Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Given the fog of war Remember what Hegsworth said about the fog of war? > [@Cervaise](#): > > For anyone who’s still unsure whether the clown Pahlavi has any credibility in the planning for a succession regime: Why not? Part-time leading seems to be working out well for Rama X. [Spain says bases in its territory cannot be used for attacks against Iran.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/us-aircraft-leave-spain-government-123128612.html) > [@](#): > > MADRID, March 2 (Reuters) - Fifteen U.S. aircraft have left the Rota and Moron military bases in southern Spain since the U.S. ‌and Israel launched weekend attacks on Iran, maps by flight ‌tracking website FlightRadar24 showed on Monday. > > Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said Spain would not ​allow its military bases, which are jointly operated by the U.S. and Spain but under Spanish sovereignty, to be used for attacks on Iran, which Spain has condemned. No linke for this, sorry. The UK’s prime minister has stated the US and UK are working in _collective defense_ now that a British base has been attacked. My question: How soon before a call to NATO involvement is issued? ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/360 "2026-03-03T03:57:06Z")
NATO is not going to get involved. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/361 "2026-03-03T03:59:21Z")
Evidently two NATO members are and one is using the term _collective defense_. But, yes, I, too, doubt NATO itself will get involved. I can see, though, the US president making the call, expecting it to be rejected, and then using that as an excuse for abandoning NATO. If there’s any interest in discussing that scenario, I’d be happy to start a thead. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071.md?page=19)