Monty
September 17, 2026, 3:03am
1835
Trump’s bestie in the House says there’s no Iranian nuclear issue.
The speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, said Wednesday the issue of Iran getting a nuclear weapon is “taken care of” and now they need to get gas prices down. He also simultaneously blamed Democrats and former President Biden for the high prices.
“Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. That was an important objective of American foreign policy for the last half-century,” he said during a press conference where he announced the House would go home until the midterm elections after today. “That’s taken care of, and now we got to get gas prices down. But I want to remind you as well: There’s another big factor of why gas prices are high. This is the result of bad Democrat policy.”
DWMarch
September 17, 2026, 3:12am
1836
(quoted from @Monty ’s link)
Well, “bad Democrat policy” didn’t start the stupid war.
No wonder they’re having so much trouble with the Strait of Hormuz, they can’t even defeat the landmines Biden left for them almost three years ago.
Monty
September 19, 2026, 4:03am
1837
Y’all remember way back in 2020 when a certain chief executive insisted on not report numbers because they “made [him] look bad,” don’t you? Gues what.
At least 22 service members have been killed in the conflict, five U.S. officials familiar with the Pentagon’s internal casualty accounting data told The Washington Post
The estimate accounts for four more than the 18 military fatalities posted on a public government database known as the Defense Casualty Analysis System, according to the Post .
The Independent has reached out to the Pentagon and U.S. Central Command, which conducts military operations in the Middle East, for comment.
A sixth U.S. official who spoke to the Post said 23 troops have died in the Middle East during the war, but noted that not all of the undisclosed fatalities are directly tied to the conflict.
As of Friday, the Pentagon’s database showed seven hostile and seven non-hostile deaths during the U.S. military campaign against Iran, which it has dubbed “Operation Epic Fury.”
An additional four hostile deaths were listed in a separate category called “Overseas Operations” that started on July 7 — around the time when a fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran collapsed .
Monty
September 20, 2026, 10:15am
1838
Urgent Travel Warning for US Citizens
The U.S. State Department issued a new security alert on September 19, 2026.
According to a 5:16 p.m. post from the Department of State on X, a travel warning was issued for the Middle East. “Due to tensions in the Middle East, the security environment remains complex with the potential for unforeseen escalation,” the warning says.
“Americans currently in the Middle East should exercise heightened vigilance and be aware of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions,” the alert adds. Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates have the new security warning on their embassy websites.
The alert links the warning to Iran.
“Iranian-supported Houthis have engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including civilian airports. This military conflict has the potential to escalate rapidly,” warned State.
“Americans outside the Middle East should seriously reconsider travel to and through the region. Those who do travel to or from the region should monitor information about airport and airline operations,” added the alert.
Iran’s let Qatar know about restarting negotiations.
Iran has conveyed a formal set of conditions to Washington through Qatari mediators for ending the war with the United States, the country’s security chief tells Al Jazeera.
“We remain in contact with the mediator Qatar, which has conveyed our conditions to Washington with the aim of ending the war. We are awaiting President [Donald] Trump’s response,” Mohsen Rezaei told Al Jazeera’s Tehran bureau chief, Nour Eddine Edghir, in an exclusive interview on Saturday.
“Our conditions are an end to the war on all fronts, the release of our frozen funds and an end to the naval blockade,” said Rezaei, who took over as secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council about a month ago.
All very reasonable demands.
Conflict which is supposed to already be over by now has cost only 43 billion dolarss, but that’s only by using Hollywood accounting.
WASHINGTON – The war in Iran has cost the U.S. military $43.6 billion as of Sept. 3, according to an update shared with congressional national security committees by U.S. Central Command.
The cost update, which was viewed by USA TODAY, is almost certainly an undercount. It does not include costs to repair buildings at U.S. bases across the Middle East that were damaged or destroyed by Iranian strikes during the war, including the U.S. Navy’s logistics hub in Bahrain.
The Pentagon estimated that it has spent $28.1 billion to replace expended munitions like bombs and air defense interceptors since the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran on Feb. 28. The prolonged conflict in the Middle East has caused a shortage of critical munitions that could leave the U.S. vulnerable in other parts of the world, such as the Indo-Pacific.
Monty
September 21, 2026, 1:52am
1839
Now Trump is deciding if he should commit genocide.
President Donald Trump told Fox News in a Sept. 20 interview that he is “deciding” on the possibility of escalating the U.S. war on Iran .
“My question is, if and when do I blow the entire nation up? They better behave,” said Trump, adding that “very big things” will happen in the war without elaborating on what that would entail.
Trump told Fox News ’ Trey Yingst that he is “open” to meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week.
Trump has repeatedly raised the possibility of major military escalations during the conflict that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, but has not followed through on those proposals.
The Sept. 20 echoes an April threat against Iran when Trump said: “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”
bobot
September 21, 2026, 1:56am
1840
It used to be a big deal all of the other times that a U.S. president said something like that. Nowadays…
Monty
September 21, 2026, 4:48am
1841
Something like that? Any examples, quotes? The current occupant of the Oval Office is in a league of his own there, I think.
dtilque
September 21, 2026, 8:57am
1842
Reagan made a joke during sound check about bombing the Soviet Union. It wasn’t live, but the recording leaked out later.
"We begin bombing in five minutes" is the last sentence of a controversial, off-the-record joke made by the president of the United States, Ronald Reagan, in 1984 during the Cold War. While preparing for a scheduled radio address from his vacation home in California, Reagan joked with those present about outlawing and bombing Russia. The joke was not broadcast live, but was recorded and later leaked to the public. The Soviet Union criticized the joke, as did Reagan's opponent in the 1984 Uni...
Monty
September 21, 2026, 9:21am
1843
Yes, but that was a joke, not intended to be broadcast to the word. The current occupant does not have either of those excuses. (1) He cannot joke, and (2) he wants everything he says spread far and wide because, to him at least, it’s all brilliant.
bobot
September 21, 2026, 12:37pm
1844
Yeah, the sarcasm didn’t come through in my post.
Gift link for Josh Marshall’s analysis of the state of the war including the Houthi escalations with Saudi Arabia:
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/things-fall-apart-in-the-middle-east-the-donald-trump-story/sharetoken/82f7e16e-4214-4f1d-ba96-89173afdde96
In short, starting a war like this with no mission and no plan means the consequences are inherently unpredictable, and the concrete results right now are that the Saudis are effectively blocked from sending out oil on both sides, and the US (Trump personally) refuses to assist them in clearing the Houthi threat. And in the larger sense, the abandonment of the long-term US hegemony in the region is leading in directions no one can predict.
DWMarch
September 21, 2026, 9:46pm
1846
The US made a deal with the Houthis to stay out of it:
I wonder what the Saudis did to piss Trump off.
wguy123
September 21, 2026, 11:06pm
1848
If they pissed him off, why is he trying to sell them F-35s?
Possibly(?) a way for Agent Orange to stealthily give military secrets to Russia and China.
Back in 2023:https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/a-saudi-defense-contractor-courted-russia-and-china-then-its-u-s-business-partners-fled-962527ad
Arms Megadeal Collapsed When China, Russia Links Emerged
Failed talks between RTX and a Saudi defense firm show the kingdom’s difficulties in establishing its own military industry.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia —American defense giant RTX and a Saudi weapons firm were heading toward a multibillion-dollar deal when it was abruptly called off early this year. The reason, say people familiar with the talks, was RTX’s concerns that its Saudi partner’s companies were pursuing business with sanctioned Chinese and Russian entities.
Russia and China can’t believe their luck.
Monty
September 22, 2026, 12:33am
1850
Luck? No, friend; this is all due to skill, their abundance and his lack thereof.
Monty
September 23, 2026, 9:36am
1851
Iran says it is ready to reopen the strait.
NEW YORK, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Iran can reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the United States eases military pressure and lifts its blockade on Iranian ports, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday.
On Sunday, Iran’s military central command said it was informed the US was preparing to restart military operations with the support of regional countries, and warned this would lead to Tehran’s retaliation “without limitations and considerations”.
“The US needs to announce that it wants to resolve the issue diplomatically, make that official, and then agree on a timeline for how the process will move forward”, the senior Iranian official said, adding the Iranian delegation to the United Nations General Assembly is in New York and has full authority to revive diplomacy with the United States.
Monty
September 24, 2026, 2:44am
1852
President Pezeshkian has something to say at the United Nations after the guy who started the war threatened genocide.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Iran’s president said Wednesday that his people have been “victims of terrorism” by the United States, delivering a rare wartime speech at the U.N. General Assembly a day after President Donald Trump said he may “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if a deal isn’t reached soon to end the nearly seven-month war.
The defiant speech by President Masoud Pezeshkian marked a striking instance of a foreign leader addressing the world body while their country is at war with the host nation. While defending his country, Pezeshkian held up large photos of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the more than 150 Iranian schoolchildren killed on the first days of the war.
“We have only defended ourselves. We are not terrorists,” Pezeshkian said at the General Assembly. “Our innocent people have been the targets of cowardly attacks and aggressions imposed upon our country. And we defended ourselves with utmost strength. America and Israel attacked us.”
He added of the United States: “Yes they did hit us, but we did not bend the knee.” Toward the end of his speech, Pezeshkian called out Trump by name.
“It must be understood by Mr. Trump and those who seek to bully us that we are ready for dialogue and diplomacy and negotiations without accepting the language of force,” he said.
The President of Iran doth protest too much, methinks.
What did he say that was false?