What’s going on? Iran, US, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and more

Just doing a big news round up- It seems to me each of the stories are worth reading. Particularly considering the drivel from western media sources

Erbil: This is where the US has been holed up with PKK and associate Kurds for decades. Most people are blissfully unaware of how embedded the US is in that area- I’ve covered it previously, so it’s not a surprise to me

1-Iran: US infrastructure in Erbil destroyed

Iran’s military claimed on Saturday that nearly all US infrastructure in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, had been destroyed.

In remarks carried by the semi-official Fars News Agency, Army spokesperson Mohammad Akrami-Nia said a “massive portion” of American bases across the region had lost their operational capacity. He also asserted that Iranian Kurdish opposition groups based in Erbil could no longer conduct operations.

Erbil has faced repeated drone and missile attacks since fighting between Washington and Tehran recently resumed, targeting sites linked to US forces and interests as well as positions belonging to Iranian Kurdish opposition parties, which Tehran accuses of launching attacks against Iran from the Kurdistan Region. Last week, the US Central Command said a US soldier was killed and another wounded while destroying explosives recovered from an Iranian drone in the Kurdistan Region.

Erbil has faced repeated drone and missile attacks since fighting between Washington and Tehran recently resumed, targeting sites linked to US forces and interests as well as positions belonging to Iranian Kurdish opposition parties, which Tehran accuses of launching attacks against Iran from the Kurdistan Region. Last week, the US Central Command said a US soldier was killed and another wounded while destroying explosives recovered from an Iranian drone in the Kurdistan Region.

Clearly Iran is attempting to prevent the Usrael Kurds from invading Iran… we’ll see how successful this is going to be.

2-Iran War Widow Says ‘Nobody Has Reached Out’ To Explain Husband’s Removal From Death Toll

It seems to me the US is attempting to hide casualties.

Jamiah Gonzalez-Swinton gave a tearful interview after her late husband, Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, vanished from the Pentagon’s public casualty count.

3-IRGC claims heavy US losses across the region

It seems to me Iran has inflicted some major damage to the US assets in the region

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) inflicted extensive damage on US military assets across the Middle East between July 8 and July 22, the group’s spokesman Sardar Mohebi told the semi-official Tasnim News Agency.

In air defense and radar, the IRGC listed seven command-and-control centers, six Patriot air-defense radars, and more than a dozen additional radar and early-warning systems as destroyed. In logistics, Mohebi cited fuel tanks, weapons and parts depots, and maintenance centers for fighter jets and helicopters.

He also claimed strikes on operational infrastructure, including hangars for MQ-9 Reaper drones, HIMARS rocket-launch platforms, Patriot complexes, and missile-launch sites. In the air, fighter aircraft and helicopters were hit on the ground, along with reconnaissance and combat drones, aerial-refueling aircraft, and heavy helicopters.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) has not addressed the Iranian tally. In separate statements over the last weeks, CENTCOM said its own strikes on Iranian coastal targets targeted Iranian military command centers, drone storage facilities, communication networks, coastal surveillance sites, and maritime capabilities.

Full tally: IRGC via Tasnim

• Radar and air defense:
• -7 command-and-control centers
• -3 satellite communication systems
• -6 Patriot air-defense radars
• -3 air and maritime control/monitoring radars
• -8 detection and early-warning radar systems
• -7 air missile-defense radars
• -3 EPS radar systems
• -2 EPS 117 radars
• -5 long-range radars
• -2 air-defense radars
• -1 tactical radar complex
• Support and logistics:
• -6 fighter and helicopter maintenance centers
• -3 support and logistics centers
• -12 fuel tanks
• -17 depots for weapons support and vessel/aircraft parts
• -6 missile bunkers
• Operational infrastructure:
• -6 MQ-9 drone hangars
• -1 F-15 preparation shed
• -1 drone shed containing 8 crated (brand-new) drones
• -2 command centers
• -1 aircraft-carrier refueling platform
• -1 P-8 aircraft hangar
• -4 HIMARS missile platforms
• -5 fighter hangars
• -4 Patriot air-defense complexes
• -6 missile-launch platforms
• -1 fuel pumping station
• -2 signals communications centers
• -1 intelligence data center
• -1 AI center / data-processing center base described as belonging to Amazon
• -1 depot for a “shampad” (glossed in the source as a remotely operated vessel)
• -1 fuel jetty
• -4 fighter shelters
• -6 flight and parking ramps
• Air operations:
• -11 fighter aircraft and helicopters (on the ground)
• -17 reconnaissance and operational drones (8 crated)
• -1 F-15 fighter inside a shelter
• -1 P-8 aircraft
• -1 C-17 transport aircraft
• -8 refueling (tanker) aircraft
• -4 heavy helicopters
• -6 stored missiles

4-As Trump pauses Iran strikes, Israel said to believe he’ll soon be forced to escalate

He won’t be “forced”. Notice the manipulative language used? Trump war on Iran has always been a choice. So, he’ll choose to escalate, because it’s the plan.

After first day of calm in some 2 weeks, Jerusalem sources tell Hebrew media that diplomacy is sure to fail, leaving US president no choice but to order major attack

After the United States refrained from striking Iran overnight Friday-Saturday for the first day in two weeks, Hebrew media reported Saturday that Jerusalem had been prepared for a major escalation in the war over the weekend, which never came. Despite the pause, Israeli leaders still estimate that US President Donald Trump would soon be compelled to step up military action, the reports said.

After the quiet night in Iran, there were also no reports on Saturday of attacks by Iran on its Gulf neighbors, which have been taking place daily as well.

5-Qatar calls for implementation of U.S.–Iran memorandum of understanding

Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani stressed on Saturday the importance of implementing the memorandum of understanding signed between the United States and Iran during talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.

Not going to happen. The US can’t be trusted.

6-Houthi Spokesman Meets Saudi Delegation in Oman as Regional Tensions Escalate

MUSCAT, Oman – A senior Houthi delegation led by spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam has held talks with Saudi officials in Oman, marking a rare diplomatic contact amid rapidly escalating tensions across the Middle East.

The meeting comes just days after the Houthis declared a naval blockade targeting Saudi shipping, raising fears of a wider regional conflict linked to the ongoing U.S.-Iran war.

According to Houthi sources, the talks focused on “advancing regional security and stability.” Neither Saudi Arabia nor Oman has disclosed details of the discussions or announced any agreements.

Oman, which has long served as a key mediator between Riyadh and the Houthis, is seeking to revive diplomatic efforts as hostilities intensify in the Red Sea and around the Strait of Hormuz.

For now, the Muscat meeting is best read as a pressure valve rather than a breakthrough. No agreement has been announced, no ceasefire declared, and the blockade threat remains on the table. But the very fact of the contact a Houthi spokesman and a Saudi delegation in the same city, under Omani auspices, in the middle of an escalation suggests that back-channel diplomacy is still functioning where public posturing has hardened.