Bombs Away
A few days ago, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter was alive with rumors that US interests in Erbil were under attack, not by Iran's network of militia inside Iraq, but by the IRGC itself, using ballistic missiles. Not only that, the IRGC quickly claimed the attack through Iranian semi-official state media, delirious netizens imagined.
A quick fact check revealed a couple of notables. First, some of the videos shared by "verified" social media accounts (in the Musk era, blue ve
Still a brazen attack in Erbil, given how close the U.S. base is.
They’ve done it before. The IRGC targeted Erbil on numerous occasions in 2019 and twice in 2022. Not the militia. Iran itself. It really wasn’t all that brazen. This whole thing was for show — a publicity stunt for Iran’s domestic audience. They already had the damn banners printed up. Literally.
That’s crazy they had a banner already printed! I would echo SeaTurtle, I enjoy reading your coverage of the middle east and many other topics– even though I am here for the financial news. My closest friend is Kurdish and has family in Erbil. Because of your coverage I can sometimes educate him on situations happening over there. Thanks for all you do
I mean, I don’t run a print shop in Tehran, but the banners and murals went up pretty much immediately, which suggests to me that the main goal here was to convey to the domestic audience that the regime isn’t helpless in the face of a terror attack on its soil, rather than some larger, strategic military goal.
The fact that you can cover such a complex situation with so many players in 13 understandable and insightful paragraphs is extremely impressive.
I bet you would be good at playing Risk.