Iran building up defenses of Kharg Island to protect against potential US ground attack, sources say | CNN Politics

Gives the markets time to digest the news before they open on Monday. And for the inner circle to assess their most profitable options.

It’s not like seeing an entire MEU trying to sail through the strait would tip anyone off. Unless they’re planning to FedEx their assault ships across Saudi Arabia.

Gotta get the bets in before the market closes strategy

5:01pm eastern time right as the market closes, maybe 7:01pm to wait out the after market trading

The time when everyone starts thinking about the epstein files again

Keeping the soldiers resupplied is going to be difficult. But we will think about that afterwards

Don't even need bombs...can probably just shoot big destructive shells filled with shrapnel.

Literally within artillery range of the Iran coast much less many short range rockets...

As a caveat, perhaps they're going to invade somewhere else but the only places of any actual significance are Kharg island and Iran's mainland. It'd be pointless, but then again America tariffed uninhabited islands *so*... Assuming it is Kharg island -- I *think* it's the Trump WH trying to gain leverage for a peace negotiation. So thinking of it like two players coming to a showdown in a p**** game: Right now Iran is sitting on the hand called "This shit has already ensured your economies are going to suffer or the next several years, just rebuilding all the stuff you blew up. Oil especially, but there's also the helium extraction and a few other things. And until we let go of the strait, we can f*** you with 200+ barrel oil until the sun goes cold. You are, at this very moment, already so economically fucked you dropped your own sanctions on our oil and are *literally giving us money* to pay for our own defense -- a ton of money, because you drove the price of oil through the roof FIRST. You are alone in this attack, and trying to *make* us stop is going to be far, far, far bloodier than the American people will accept". America's hand is "Well, we're not the ones being bombed and we have a very powerful military, but ALSO our economy wasn't doing great, the President is deeply unpopular, this war is already unpopular, and if we're being honest invading you to put a stop to this won't just be bloody, it's likely to shatter a lot of the built up myth of the American military. The way c**** drones are f****** over our insanely expensive interceptor missiles and threatening our big billion dollar warships is a already making us look ready to fight the last war" So the Trump WH has looked at that and thinks "We need a really strong card to add to our hand, so we can negotiate from STRENGTH" and thinks taking Kharg island will do that. They clearly think "If we occupy this island, we're showing Iran we can take territory AND we're holding something vital to their export economy". That could indeed be a strong card -- except for several unfortunate little details. First, as you noted, Kharg island and every soldier we put on it can be bombed from Iran pretty much at will. Second, taking Kharg island would be a bloodbath in of itself. Third, getting there means going through the heavily mined straits full of loitering Iranian drone speedboats -- unless you drop in soldiers by parachute without support from the Navy and Marines which *f****** god would be even bloodier*. These are things in which anyone in DoD or State with more than two brain cells would bring up, but all of those people have been fired or marginalized. This war is being led by an idiot who has never understood consequences and is under the delusion that he's a genius who never fails and is *also senile* and a drunken idiot who thinks he's gonna bring Jesus back by doing this. It's *possible* the US is bluffing and Trump with TACO out, but I dunno. He doesn't really see this war as doing anything but making him money, he's convinced himself it's wildly popular, he loves the idea of being a War President, he clearly thinks ending a war he started will get him a Peace Prize, he's senile and easily led, he thinks solely in terms of *force*, doesn't understand economics, does not value any life but his own, does not value any money but his own.... Also putting their hands into this decision making pot are Christian dominionists, Christian rapturists, Israeli politicians, and of course the tech bros who believe themselves geniuses that should be running the world in tech feudalism even as they just cut off the supply of critical materials FOR that tech, and I would bet *real f****** money* that they're all using chatGPT to make these f****** plans because it's "AI" and "AI" is a *magic thing that is always right*. Honestly, at this point? I'm worried they'll use a f****** nuke.

Create martyrs. I dont think its going to work out for them

No worries, they’re recruiting 40 yr olds now

Those have largely run out now.  DoD has started minting new medals (from 2008 onward IRC).

It's like an umpteenth adventure into Afghanistan, but this time dumber, of risk to the economies of EVERY nation, and with a sitting duck invader more easily, reliably and instantly decimated. They can hope to take nothing. If it's about to go down their prize will be a fuel emergency, a massively polluted Gulf and a battalion disappearing in a great black plume of incinerated organic matter.

Trump thinks if he takes Kharg Island he will have a great card to play and that it will force the Iranians to surrender. Iran know they wont. Trump already TACO flip flopped so much the Iranians are feeling like they have a real chance to break him. Trump will be done in the mid terms when gas keeps going up. Trump will then have to pull some stunt that will hopefully hasten the end of his presidency.

Iran doesn't have to announce they have it rigged to blow. Of course they do. No sappers could possibly detect or defeat the redundancies they would have in place after decades of paranoia and defensive preparation.

It's not a big island. If they defend it, there's a good chance the oil exporting facilities will be damaged or destroyed. Those were already blown up once during the Iraq-Iran war.

They're too busy killing people in Gaza.

What's insane is that they are also loosening sanctions so Iran can sell oil and help the supply. Taking/destroying this island would have the opposite effect. And you could do the same thing with no risk by just seizing the tankers after they leave the Persian gulf! If you want to be particularly shitty you could even sell the oil yourself.

I spent a lot of time there in Battlefield Someone need to tell the U.S Military to watch out for dune buggies and jeeps with C4 stuck to the hood

Its relatively flat and open terrain with next to no sources of fresh water or natural fortifications. Imo, Iran is baiting the US to land and then will use its drones, short range missiles, and long range artillery to pin any forces that do try to take and hold the island and cause as much casualties as possible.

"We did Iwo Jima, we can do this" was really a shocking statement lol Bro....20k wounded and 7k dead in a little over 4 weeks.....Iwo Jima was so bad that the American public was like "Yooooo...wtf, do we really need to be doing this?" that war had an 85% approval polling, and it was shocking to the american people I dont even really have words for that statement tbh

A lot more people live along the Iranian side of the strait of Hormuz. Also Iran has nearly 270 degree coverage of the strait.

You can kill ten of my men for every one I kill of yours. But even at those odds, you will lose and I will win - Ho Chi Minh

Every dead Iranian civilian is an opportunity for the regime to reclaim support from the citizenry. Every dead Iranian soldier is martyr. Every dead American is retribution from Allah. Whatever dissent Iran was experiencing before this war, they'll be able to propaganda away.

Won't work unless Trump basically finds the plug for the internet and yanks it. America is way too connected to hide that shit. They couldn't even hide those bad Doge employee interviews despite trying to yank those. Or Bari Weiss's endless parade of Streisand effect instances.

I mentioned in another comment that someone better warn the military to be on the lookout for dune buggies and jeeps with C4 stuck to the hood, especially by the oil tanks flag lol

People... how many peoples lives are worth these big wigs religion or stock values? The people running our countries dont look at its citizens/military personnel as anything but a numbered tool.

you mean "Suckers and Losers"? Just think about what Putin wants Trump to do, and the deaths of soldiers is easy to see coming soon

Sure but its also a massive loss to the global oil economy. Trump literally is paying Russia and Iran, two nations working together to fight and target America in this, to get some of their oil flowing to relieve oil prices. If trump takes that island... The flow ends and the oil prices keep on rising faster. It hurts Iran yeah, but it also hurts the global situation and America. Its not like Kharg Island is going to keep running its oil while Iran and America are shooting over and on it.

I guess to really answer your question. They fired off thousands of missiles and drones over this whole conflict and the casualties have been minuscule at best.