Earthquake in the Gulf: Iran war expands to dozen countries in 72 hours

[orangecrush]

Just 72 hours after the U.S. and Israel began bombing Iran, the war has already consumed nearly the entire Middle East, reached the gates of Europe and raised new fears of attacks on American soil.

Why it matters: The sheer geographic scope of the war is staggering — directly involving at least 11 countries, disrupting the global flow of oil and gas, and rattling markets worldwide.

President Trump said Monday that Operation Epic Fury is designed to last four to five weeks. In that window, the conflict has significant room to expand further.

https://www.axios.com/2026/03/02/iran-war-expanding-israel-lebanon-gulf-cyprus

?si=F3X4kZZh8YcRokbN

[msongs]

1. iran has its own liars on the media. they said only bomb us bases hosted by neighbors, NOT

attacking the neighbors themselves. Bush syndrome - if you're not for us you are agin' us

[orangecrush]

2. The CIA had a popularly elected moderate ousted to install the Shah

Who was a murderous thug, as our petrochemical friends were unhappy with Iranians looking out for their own interests instead of theirs.

"In 1953, the CIA launched Operation Ajax (TPAJAX) to overthrow Iran's democratically elected Prime Minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh, and reinstate Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Key figures "dropped" or sent into Iran to lead this covert mission included Kermit Roosevelt Jr., the head of CIA operations in the Middle East, and Brigadier General Norman Schwarzkopf Sr.."

So the Iranians revolted, and ended up with a murderous thug theocracy.

We do not have any moral high ground here whatsoever.

[orangecrush]

3. Speaking of liars

"1953 Coup (Operation Ajax)
In August 1953, Mosaddegh’s government was toppled in a covert operation—codenamed Operation Ajax by the U.S. and Operation Boot by the U.K..
Wikipedia
Wikipedia
+1
Cause: The coup was triggered primarily by Mosaddegh's decision to nationalize Iran's oil industry, which had been under British control through the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (now BP).
Execution: After an initial coup attempt failed on August 15, a second successful effort on August 19 used bribery, orchestrated riots, and paid protesters to undermine his government."


Good ole BP!

[Fiendish Thingy]

4. Which European countries have been attacked?

I didn’t see any reports about that.

[orangecrush]

5. It said "gates of Europe"

[Fiendish Thingy]

6. Which "gates of Europe" have been attacked?

I mean, it’s Axios, but I just thought I’d try to get a little clarity amidst the hyperbole.

[orangecrush]

8. ...

"As of early March 2026, key European nations heavily involved in the, or threatening involvement in the, hostilities against Iran include the UK, France, and Germany (the E3), which have pledged to defend their interests and allies against Iranian actions. These nations are not direct land neighbors to Iran but are deeply integrated with the geopolitical border of Europe and actively involved in the conflict."

"Immediate Neighbors: Countries bordering Iran that are not strictly European but are adjacent to the European geopolitical sphere include Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey."

Google AI

[Fiendish Thingy]

13. I prefer the verified clarity of post #7

To the vague ramblings of Google AI.

[orangecrush]

14. Well

You no longer need be concerned.

Thank you for your time.

[Prairie Gates]

11. Axios is gesticulating stupidly about the drone strike on the British base on Cyprus

Which they are presumably considering the "Gates of Europe."

They're morons and sensationalists, would be the point.

[sarisataka]

7. Cyprus

Iranian-made drone hits British air base in Cyprus

- A drone strike hit a British air base in Cyprus causing limited damage and no casualties, Cypriot and British officials said on Monday, in an ‌escalation entangling an EU member in the conflict surrounding Iran.

The strike, which hit a runway at the ‌British Royal Air Force base of Akrotiri just after midnight, shook the east Mediterranean island, a holiday hotspot and home to thousands of foreign companies. Local ​residents scrambled to seek shelter.

Senior Cypriot officials say the attack was carried out by an Iranian Shahed drone most likely fired by Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah from Lebanon, although the officials have stressed that the base, rather than Cyprus, was the target.

They said it was undetected because it flew at a very low altitude.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/iranian-made-drone-hits-british-121630466.html

[orangecrush]

9. Thanks

[Fiendish Thingy]

12. Thanks - that's the clarity I was seeking. Nt

[Renew Deal]

20. Cyprus

A UK base was hit with a drone

[Melon]

10. Iran wants to involve every neighbor and hurt the economy, so that they pressure the US to stop.

In the past Iran lashed out at Israel trying to rally the Middle East. These days many of the Middle East countries have a working relationship with Israel whereas few support Iran.

[orangecrush]

15. Remember the Iran - Contra scandal?

No one's hands are clean, it seems.

[Melon]

16. We use to sell them weapons. They also used to have universities and not force woman to wear head and face coverings.

Starting in 1979 Irans world changed and there view on America. The contra scandal weapons to Iran at some level was trying to get the return of kidnapped Americans from Iranian extremist.

[orangecrush]

17. Exactly

[AZJonnie]

19. Iran Contra was a scandal because it was 1985-1986. Selling the regime weapons was banned by Congress by then.

And the hostages in play at that point had been kidnapped in Lebanon by Tehran-backed Hezbollah (not necessarily Iranian extremists directly, though certainly there were some of those there at the time).

Then there was the fact that some of the illegal proceeds from the sales were used to clandestinely fund the right-wing extremist Contra rebel group (also banned by Congress) who were working to overthrow the democratically elected, left-wing Sandinistas. How much either 'piece' was truly the main goal has been debated at length and I don't think it's "decided", but most experts seem to come down around 50% for each "purpose" from what I'm seeing.

I'm not sure there's all that much reason to even consider that particular episode as relevant to much going on right now, other than perhaps some theoretical reverse engineering done on those systems may have informed the creation of the weapons systems they're now using