Tag: perpetual war

Fourth US Service Member Killed in Action in Iran as Combat Operations Continue

A fourth US service member has died during Operation Epic Fury in Iran as US combat operations continue, US Central Command said on Monday. 

As The Gateway Pundit reported on Sunday, Central Command announced that three service members were killed, and five were “seriously wounded” in retaliatory missile strikes by Iran after US strikes killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday.

“Several others sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions — and are in the process of being returned to duty,” Central Command said.

On Monday, Central Command confirmed an updated death toll, announcing that a fourth troop, “who was seriously wounded during Iran’s initial attacks,” has passed.

“Major combat operations continue, and our response effort is ongoing,” CENTCOM said, noting that the identity of the fallen will be withheld until the family is notified.

TAMPA, Fla. – As of 7:30 am ET, March 2, four U.S. service members have been killed in action. The fourth service member, who was seriously wounded during Iran’s initial attacks, eventually succumbed to their injuries.

Major combat operations continue and our response effort is ongoing.

The identities of the fallen are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin notification.

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Trump’s Contrasting Regime-Change Strategies in Iran and Venezuela

President Donald Trump has made it clear that the new U.S.-Israeli air war against Iran is aimed at nothing less than the overthrow of the country’s clerical regime. Such an ambitious objective should not come as a surprise. Both the powerful Israel lobby and most of the conservative movement in the United States have endorsed the goal of forcible regime change in Tehran since the Islamic revolution overthrew the Shah in 1979. Even a sizable percentage of anti-war liberals have tended to make an exception with respect to policy toward Iran.

The ostensible goal embraced by nearly all of Tehran’s critics has always been to oust the mullahs and bring a secular democratic government to power. In December 2025, prominent conservative organizations, media outlets, and individuals in the United States and Europe voiced emphatic support for anti-regime protests that had erupted in Iranian cities. On January 15, 2026, Trump himself openly threatened to intervene militarily if Iranian security personnel continued to crack down on demonstrators.

Tehran’s adversaries in the United States and other Western countries insist that they want to see a secular, fully democratic government emerge in Iran. Trump’s rhetoric during the initial phases of his new war is consistent with that objective. The administration’s supposed embrace of an ambitious regime-change agenda for democracy in Iran, though, stands in dramatic contrast to Washington’s much more pragmatic conduct in Venezuela. Such a substantive difference raises justifiable uncertainty about the nature and extent of U.S. regime-change goals in Iran, even if the current war proves to be successful militarily.

Although the Trump administration ousted Venezuela’s left-wing dictator Nicolas Maduro in early January 2026, Trump allowed Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, and most other members of the regime to remain in power. That restraint infuriated libertarians and many conservatives in the United States. Most of them wanted to see Washington install in office opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and an outspoken advocate of free markets. Indeed, Machado is the darling of prominent libertarian organizations, especially the Cato Institute.

However, Trump and his policy team seemed perfectly content with continuing an authoritarian socialist regime in Caracas, as long as the leaders were willing to do Washington’s bidding. Policy concessions from Rodriguez’s government with respect to the treatment of the U.S. oil industry and a willingness to display less receptivity to China’s economic penetration of South America came quickly, and the White House appeared to be placated.

The cynical pragmatism of U.S. policy in Venezuela should make U.S. crusaders for Iranian democracy wonder about the sincerity of the Trump administration’s commitment to that value in Iran. There also are major elements in the internal movement opposing the clerical regime who appear to be more than a little unsavory and might be willing to play a role similar to Delcy Rodriguez’s adopted role in her country.

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Three US F-15 Fighter Jets Shot Down in Kuwait

Three U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets crashed in Kuwait after being struck with friendly fire on Sunday.

In a press release, U.S. CENTCOM stated, “At 11:03 p.m. ET, March 1, three U.S. F-15E Strike Eagles flying in support of Operation Epic Fury went down over Kuwait due to an apparent friendly fire incident.”

U.S. CENTCOM added, “The cause of the incident is under investigation.”

Videos of the incident show one of the F-15Es on fire and circling the air as it was free-falling before eventually crashing into the ground.

Per U.S. CENTCOM:

At 11:03 p.m. ET, March 1, three U.S. F-15E Strike Eagles flying in support of Operation Epic Fury went down over Kuwait due to an apparent friendly fire incident.

During active combat—that included attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones — the U.S. Air Force fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses.

All six aircrew ejected safely, have been safely recovered, and are in stable condition. Kuwait has acknowledged this incident, and we are grateful for the efforts of the Kuwaiti defense forces and their support in this ongoing operation.

The cause of the incident is under investigation. Additional information will be released as it becomes available.

CNN reported a bystander could be heard in one of the videos of the jet falling, saying, “The American aircraft was shot down by their own missile. We came here thinking it was an Iranian jet. It turned out to be American. Come on, guys, get in the car. Let’s go.

The aircraft’s pilot appeared to eject before impact and safely landed.

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SCATHING: CBS Contributor and Target of an Iranian Assassination Plot Masih Alinejad SHREDS Radical Rep. Ilhan Omar for Sympathizing with Terrorist Regime

Masih Alinejad, the courageous Iranian-American journalist and current CBS News contributor who has survived multiple Tehran-backed assassination plots, took to X to expose the staggering hypocrisy of “Squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN).

Alinejad, who recently faced her would-be assassins in a New York federal court, did not hold back.

She issued a “letter from an Iranian woman wounded by the regime,” accusing Omar of maintaining a cozy ambiguity toward the Islamic Republic while the regime systematically slaughters its own people.

The heart of Alinejad’s message centered on the tragic story of Sara Saeidi, a 39-year-old mother of two who was executed by the regime while peacefully protesting.

At the time of her death, she was reportedly wearing a sweatshirt that said “MANHATTAN” with an American flag, which some activists claim symbolized her desire for freedom.

Following her death, Iranian authorities allegedly falsified her death certificate, listing the cause of death as a “collision with agricultural machinery” to mask the shooting.

Alinejad’s critique highlights a growing frustration among Iranian dissidents who see far-left U.S. lawmakers as “anti-war” only when it benefits the mullahs in Tehran. She slammed Omar’s “No War With Iran” campaigns as a shield for the regime’s internal massacre of over 30,000 civilians.

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HEROIC: CBS Austin Reporter Caught on Hot Mic Allegedly DEFYING Direct Orders from Higher-Ups to Censor Pro-Trump, Pro-Israel Crowds Following Iran Strikes

A local news reporter in Austin, Texas, was caught on a hot mic allegedly refusing to follow orders from his corporate overlords to bury the truth.

As the world reacts to the decisive joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran, the fake news media apparatus is working overtime to suppress the massive wave of public support for President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu.

But at CBS Austin, the narrative hit a major roadblock in the form of reporter Vinny Martorano.

During the live feed staging, Martorano was seen being handed a phone by a crew member, who appeared to relay a directive from higher-ups regarding how to frame the unfolding demonstration at the Texas Capitol last weekend.

CREW MEMBER: [Hands Martorano a phone, likely showing a directive from the newsroom]

VINNY MARTORANO: What does that mean?

CREW MEMBER: It means they don’t want us to focus on this.

MARTORANO: All right. Well, I am.

Despite the clear orders from his “higher-ups” to deemphasize the pro-American, pro-Israel sentiment, Martorano refused to be a puppet for the radical left’s agenda.

Martorano then delivered a balanced report that acknowledged the reality on the ground.

Martorano told the viewers (presumably in the live shot):

All right. There are a lot of mixed opinions across Austin about the joint attack between the United States and Israel against Iran that happened earlier this morning. Some people like this group behind me are thanking Trump and the United States government for following through with this attack against Iran.

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Trump Lied About Being for Peace – Just Like Every President Before Him

Three years ago, Donald Trump referred to himself as “the candidate who delivers peace.” This weekend, his administration bombed Iran. While it may seem unusual, the historical record suggests otherwise, clearly demonstrating that Trump follows a long line of American politicians who spent a lot of time talking about being against wars only to wage them once elected president.

During the 2000 presidential debates, George W. Bush claimed he wanted a “humble” foreign policy, adding that he doesn’t think US troops “ought to be used for what’s called nation-building.”

By 2003, the Bush administration was at war in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

According to researchers at Brown University, the Iraq War directly caused at least 190,000 deaths and is projected to cost US taxpayers roughly $2.2 trillion when long-term veteran care and related expenses are included.

Bush also oversaw a brutal torture program that included waterboarding, sensory deprivation, auditory overload, and “rectal rehydration”.

In February 2007, Barack Obama told an Illinois crowd that they came to see him speak “because you believe in what this country can be. In the face of war, you believe there can be peace. In the face of despair, you believe there can be hope.” In 2008, he said that events in Iraq “have reminded America of the need to use diplomacy and build international consensus to resolve our problems whenever possible.”

Obama received a Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”

Three days after his inauguration, Obama ordered the CIA’s first Pakistani drone strike, killing at least nine civilians. During his first term, Obama outpaced Bush in the number of drone strikes he authorized, blew up weddings and funerals, bombed Libya, launched cyber attacks and imposed crushing economic sanctions against Iran, while also openly targeting US citizens in Yemen.

In 2013, Obama boasted that “after a decade of grinding war, our brave men and women in uniform are coming home.” And yet, by the time he left office in January 2017, US troops remained in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, Bush-era CIA torture was brushed under the carpet, and the US had bombed at least seven different countries.

In 2016, Donald Trump claimed if he became president, “the era of nation-building will be brought to a very swift and decisive end.”

Less than a week into his first term, Trump oversaw a commando raid in Yemen that resulted in the death of an 8-year-old girl.

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Bloody Scene Unfolds as Security Forces Fire on Armed Militants as They Try to Storm US Consulate in Pakistan

Benghazi 2.0 averted.

As TGP reported earlier, nearly two dozen militants were killed as they tried to storm the US Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, on Sunday.

The militants tried to storm the consulate after the US and Israel killed Iran’s Supreme Leader and 40 other senior Iranian Regime officials.

Security forces fired on hundreds of militants as they set fires and tried to breach the consulate.

A bloody scene unfolded as the Shiite Muslims in Pakistan scattered amid gunfire.

Graphic video posted to social media shows several bloodied militants running for their lives as (US Marines?) unloaded on them.

The Pakistani militants shouted for help as they carried dead bodies away from the barrier of the consulate.

Fox News reported:

At least nine people are dead and more than two dozen injured after violent clashes outside the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan.

Hundreds of protesters stormed the diplomatic compound in a sharp escalation of anti-American demonstrations.

The unrest followed reports that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a joint U.S.-Israeli strike, sparking anger among Shiite Muslims in Pakistan.

Witnesses told The Associated Press that many of the protesters were Shiite Muslims who expressed outrage over Khamenei’s reported death and alleged U.S. involvement. Protesters chanted anti-American and anti-Israel slogans, and attempted to breach the consulate’s perimeter.

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US-Israel war on Iran ‘decided ⁠weeks ago’ under cover of nuclear talks: Report

The unprovoked US-Israeli war against Iran launched on 28 February had “been planned for months, and the ⁠launch date ⁠decided ⁠weeks ago,” even as the US and Iran carried out indirect nuclear negotiations, an Israeli defense official told Reuters.

Washington and Tel Aviv renewed negotiations in February over Iran’s nuclear program. President Trump was under pressure from Israel force Iran to give up uranium enrichment, as well as its ballistic missile program and support for regional resistance forces.

Amid the negotiations, Trump sent an “armada” of US naval ships and warplanes to the region, threatening to launch an attack if officials in Tehran refused to make a deal.

After the latest round of talks on Thursday, a senior US official told Axios the talks were “positive.”

Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi, who mediated the talks, said the talks had shown “significant progress.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also expressed optimism, saying both sides had shown a “clear seriousness” about getting a deal.

However, the US and Israel launched large-scale attacks against Iranian targets early Saturday, suggesting the negotiations had never been serious.

In the wake of the attacks, Omani Foreign Minister Albusaidi said that the negotiations he mediated had been “deliberately undermined.”

Mehran Kamrava, director of the Iranian studies unit at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies and professor at Georgetown University in Qatar, stated that Israel “appears to have launched an attack designed to derail the negotiations.”

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Going to War, Again, for Israel

Once again, America is going to war for Israel. Once again, many will die for the Zionist state, including American service members. Once again, we will stumble blindly into a military fiasco. Once again, we will do the bidding of a foreign power whose interests are not our interests, but whose lobbyists have bought up our political class, including Donald Trump. Once again, we will violate the U.N. charter by attacking a country that does not pose an imminent threat.

This is not our war. This is part of Israel’s demented vision of Greater Israel, of dominating the Middle East. But Israel needs our military, our taxpayer dollars, our weapons to do it. And we have handed them the keys to our formidable arsenal.

The architects of the war with Iran, which the administration feels no need to justify to the American public or the international community, admit it will not be quick.

Sen. Tom Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CBS News on Saturday that the goal is not only to curb Iran’s nuclear program, but “dismantle their terror support network.”

“To do all that is going to take longer than the strikes on their nuclear program last summer,” Cotton said. “We’re probably looking at weeks, not days, of joint efforts by the United States, Israel and our Arab partners, who have also been attacked this morning.”

Israel’s lackeys in the political class, along with their courtiers in the media, including former American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) employee Wolf Blitzer, as well as academia, are shining examples of Israel’s transparent and often illegal meddling in the American political system. Forget Russia. Forget China. No foreign government comes close to exerting Israel’s influence.

Democratic Party leaders are not opposed to attacking Iran — they are opposed to attacking Iran without being consulted. Two dozen Democrats lept to their feet and applauded every time Trump threatened Iran, or lauded Israel, in his State of the Union address. The Biden administration and Democratic Party leadership made no effort to reinstate Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear agreement. It focused instead on sustaining the genocide in Gaza. It cheered Israel’s decapitation of Iranian proxies in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. Kamala Harris in her feckless and tone deaf presidential campaign promised to continue funding the genocide, which alienated many voters, and labeled Iran our most dangerous enemy.

Endless war is a bipartisan project.

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GOP Rep. Tim Burchett Reminds Democrats That Obama Bombed Eight Countries Without Congressional Approval

Republican Congressman Tim Burchett of Tennessee appeared on NewsNation tonight and provided a reminder for all of the Democrats who are suddenly claiming that Trump can’t act on Iran without congressional approval.

Burchett points out that Obama bombed eight different countries without congressional approval.

Democrats think no one remembers anything. When Obama was president, he could pretty much do anything he wanted with zero pushback from his party or the media. He could do no wrong in their eyes.

Partial transcript via Overton News:

BURCHETT: “President Obama bombed 8 countries without Congressional approval.”

“So I think it’s a little disingenuous for the Democrats start saying this is unprecedented and you’ve got the most stable regime, outside of probably the Chinese, in the whole right now.”

“And they’ve killed Americans within recent memory.”

“Is this the revenge tour? Maybe be a little bit. But you poke the bear you get it.”

“Or you poke the bull, you get the horns and the horns.”

“And the horns right now are Donald J. Trump.”

“And he’s letting an enemy of this country know how we feel about them.”

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