“US Israel Iran War”

Hello, this is Victor Davis Hanson for the Daily Signal.

We are six months out now from the beginning of the Iran war, if that’s what it is. It’s not a formally declared war. It’s not even like any war we’ve seen in the past.

It began on Feb. 28 with a 38- to 39-day bombing that did enormous damage to Iran. And ever since then, it’s evened out to a tit-for-tat every couple of weeks, negotiations, a memorandum of understanding, but we should remember that it’s not like any war we’ve seen.

For a start, it is essential not to buy into the Iranian regime’s staged display of defiant statements. They all aim to convince the world that nothing has changed and that the regime remains firmly in control. The desired audience is most likely the Iranian people being held hostage and the United States and Israel, to persuade them to abandon a campaign that, in reality, is bringing the country to its knees. Do not buy this act. The regime is fighting for its survival, presumably to outlast either the US midterm elections, or, second best, the term of President Donald J. Trump.

“The main task,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clarified the situation, “is to bring down the terror regime in Iran. We are very close to that. We know that the entire axis will ultimately collapse.”

U.S. officials have linked high-resolution satellite imagery supplied to Iran by Chinese entities to a July missile strike on a U.S. base in Jordan that killed three American troops, the Wall Street Journal reported exclusively on Friday.

The officials did not identify the Chinese entities that provided the imagery and did not allege direct involvement by Beijing. Iran obtained images both before and after the July 17 attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, according to the report.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have attacked four cities in Saudi Arabia, wounding more than 70 people and setting oil installations ablaze in what appeared to be a significant expansion of the Middle East war.

Saudi Arabia said it would retaliate after the overnight strikes – reportedly involving dozens of drones and missiles – that targeted several oil facilities in the country’s south.

The US and Israeli military conflict with Iran, which began on February 28 and does not appear to have come to an end, was a complete failure for both the United States and Israel. If this has not yet been recognized by everyone because the current US administration needs to portray itself as victorious for the midterm elections, it is nevertheless important to see this reality.

Iran’s Islamist regime has not been in power by accident for nearly 50 years. The regime is already laying the groundwork for conditions that will make the world far more perilous after President Donald Trump’s term of office ends.

U.S. Central Command (Centcom) on Saturday conducted strikes on several Iranian crude oil carriers in response to “multiple unprovoked” Iranian attacks on two U.S. Navy warships, according to the military command.

The U.S. military “permanently disabled” three of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s (IRGC) crude oil carriers located near Kharg Island and in the Gulf of Oman. No U.S. service members were harmed during the Iranian attacks, according to Centcom.

🚨 BREAKING: US forces have just DESTROYED 3 Iranian oil tankers after Iran attempted to fire ballistic missiles at 2 U.S. Navy warships, per CENTCOM

A U.S. aircraft carrier and guided missile destroyer were targeted, but were NOT hit, and no Americans were injured

“Let the… pic.twitter.com/ioxnHNnR5V

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) September 5, 2026

The prospect of an imminent agreement to end the conflict between the US and Iran again seems unlikely, with the warring sides exchanging strikes and uncompromising rhetoric.

The attacks come days after the US said it was moving into a new phase – a sweeping economic blockade against Iran and countries which trade with it.

The US aim was to force Iran to negotiate and to stop its attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The key commercial shipping route has been effectively closed since the US and Israel started the conflict in February.

Military superiority rarely decides wars against regimes that measure victory by survival. The Islamic Republic of Iran, since its Islamic Revolution in 1979, has been refining this distinction.

By the first week of April, Iran was losing. Its naval fleet was on the seabed, its aircraft grounded, and American and Israeli aircraft were operating in Iranian skies unopposed. Washington then began granting extensions. Five months later, the Iranian regime is still setting conditions rather than receiving them.

I can’t say I remember all of my high school chemistry and physics education, but I do remember the concept about water boiling. Under normal atmospheric pressure, 212 degrees is the magic temperature for it to begin bubbling off into steam in earnest. But if you can pressurize the container holding the water, doubling its surroundings in atmospheric pressure, you get an additional 36 degrees of heat before boiling begins. That’s why cars and trucks for a very long time have had pressurized cooling systems for engines.

WASHINGTON — A dramatic new video shows US missiles launching into the night sky and raining down on a series of targets in Iran as President Trump touted American might.

Hostilities have flared once again in the six-month war. The latest round of US attacks killed 18 people, including guests at a wedding, according to Iranian media.

U.S. Central Command released the minute-long video along with a statement saying the latest round of strikes has been completed.

CENTCOM:

“US Forces completed a round of airstrikes against Iranian military targets.

Air defense sites, radar systems, maritime assets and facilities, mine laying capabilities, and communications sites were targeted.

The strikes follow recent attempted attacks by the IRGC… pic.twitter.com/80a5NmfA3Q

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) September 1, 2026

After a record 250 days at sea without a port stop, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has docked in Thailand, giving its nearly 5,000 crew members a much-needed break.

The ship is docking close to the beach resort of Pattaya, known for its raucous nightlife and for sex tourism. For the US it also carries strong historical echoes.

When the weary sailors walk into the city’s bars and restaurants, they will literally be treading in the footsteps of the hundreds of thousands of US troops who came here for R&R – rest and relaxation – during the Vietnam War.

For many Iranians, the new US sanctions campaign, called Operation Economic Outcast, seems superfluous given the grim economic situation in their country.

Iranians are facing runaway food inflation, closed petrol stations and a seemingly never-ending depreciation of the nation’s currency caused by a lack of foreign exchange reserves.

Vegetable oil in Iran in August cost 383% more than a year ago. The price of eggs rose by 294%, chicken by 177% and red meat by 148%.

Several U.S. military leaders have advised Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that prolonging large-scale operations against Iran is unsustainable and risks weakening their ability to confront threats elsewhere, including the U.S. homeland, according to people familiar with a recent assessment prepared for the Pentagon chief.

The warnings — detailed for Hegseth by the heads of the Army, Navy and Air Force and the four-star commanders overseeing U.S. operations throughout Europe, Asia and Latin America — appear in the Aug. 14 edition of the Secretary of Defense Orders Book (SDOB), these people said. They described the assessment to The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity because the document is classified.