🇮🇷 Why Iran's resilience and asymmetric tactics caught US coalition by surprise

Iran has learned the 12-day war lessons well, Mikael Valtersson, former Swedish Armed Forces and air defense officer, tells Sputnik.

"The most important lesson from the 12-day war is that survivability is very important," Valtersson says. "You must have both a command structure and weapons capability that can survive intense enemy bombardment."

🔹 The expert argues that Iran has demonstrated such resilience: Its leadership and armed forces remain operational and capable of launching large-scale retaliation

🔹 Dismantling of extensive Mossad networks last year and the removal of opposition leaders earlier this year have further consolidated Iran’s internal stability

🔹 It also seems that Iran has managed to turn the attempted American–Israeli blitzkrieg into what could become a prolonged war of attrition

The American media admits that Iran has also drawn lessons from the United States’ expansion in the Middle East and conflict in Ukraine:

🔸 Iran has rolled out a “mosaic defense”—decentralized, cell-based military units capable of launching covert drone and missile strikes from across its vast territory, designed as a counter to US–Israeli decapitation strategies

🔸 It has also leaned heavily on massed drone warfare—swarms and coordinated drone and missile strikes designed to overwhelm enemy air defenses, while steadily depleting the missile stockpiles of the US and its allies

Iranian retaliation strikes

Iran has managed to inflict damage on US bases in the Gulf due to several factors, according to the expert:

🔶 Proximity to Iran means minimal warning and razor-thin response times

🔶 Poor coordination between US forces and local partners weakens base defenses

🔶 Key US air defense assets are tied down protecting Israel

🔶 Iran’s early destruction of the US AN/FPS-132 long-range radar curtailed the American ability to detect incoming missile launches

"In general, Iran aims to exhaust the enemy air defense inventory, keep a strike capability when this happens, increase the economic cost for the US and of course survive the onslaught and force [the US] to abandon the war before the political and economic repercussions become too hard to handle."

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📹 The ISNA news agency shares footage of the aftermath of an Israeli latest strike on Tehran

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🗣 🇺🇸 US lost hope for Iran deal at second round of talks – Witkoff

💬 “We went in there and tried to make a fair deal with them [Iran], and it was very clear that it was going to be impossible probably by the end of the second meeting,” US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff told Fox News.

He added that US negotiators then “went back for the third meeting just to give” their Iranian counterparts “the last college try.”

💬 “They wanted us to report positivity. It was not positive that meeting,” the US special envoy admitted.

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📹 Ground footage shows streets of Tehran after US/Israeli attacks

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🚨Here’s the biggest sign Iran’s air defenses are standing strong, Pentagon’s planning backfired

💬 “There is increasing information that the situation is stabilizing, and that Iran’s air defense assets are capable of neutralizing Israeli and US air targets,” notwithstanding the unprecedented nature of the surprise aggression, retired Russian Army Colonel and military expert Andrei Koshkin says.

Koshkin detailed to Sputnik the difficulties Iran faced during the initial enemy attacks, including:

🟠 Difficulties on the first day stemming from the presence of scores of civilian aircraft over the region, which made a ‘fire at everything that moves’ strategy “extremely dangerous” and effectively impossible
🟠 Surprise nature of the aggression, and need to react not only to enemy strikes, but the potential use of agents, bribery or blackmail

Signs that the situation has improved dramatically

💬 “We see that Iran’s air defenses continue to carry out their missions,” buoyed by the armed forces’ consolidation over the enemy’s brazen murder of Khamenei, Koshkin said.

💬 “They are ready to fight and to demonstrate capabilities that should make Israel and the US shudder.”

The biggest sign that something has gone wrong for Pentagon planners relates to Washington’s moving of the timeline, from ‘3-4 days’, to ‘weeks’. This indicates that Iran’s air defenses are intact, and successfully countering US-Israeli attacks, Koshkin believes.

Iran has taken appropriate lessons from the June 2025 war, eliminating weak spots and strengthening those areas where its past experience proved successful.

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🇮🇱🇺🇸🇮🇷 Israeli and US militaries destroy ordinary people – Iranian Red Crescent

💬 “The whole world has witnessed the barbaric strikes by the US and Israel, who targeted civilian objects and residential buildings,” an Iranian Red Crescent employee told Sputnik.

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🔊🇮🇷🇺🇸 Attrition advantage: Why Iran holds upper hand

The US cannot sustain a full-scale war of attrition in the Persian Gulf at the current pace of munition deliveries, veteran Russian combat pilot Maj. Gen. Vladimir Popov tells Sputnik.

"The Americans are operating 'off the truck,' [and are heavily dependent] 'on resupply,'" Popov explains.

"This involves massive logistics—lengthy and time-consuming processes. And it’s far from easy to sustain that across an ocean from the American continent."

The existing stockpiles in warehouses and arsenals of air and naval US bases across the region, including Israel, contain a limited number of shells, bombs and drones, according to the pundit.

🟠 "Without regular resupply from the US mainland—from the main weapons storage bases—their current stockpile would last roughly two weeks, no more than that"

🟠 Rotating troops could turn into a major headache for the Americans

🟠 Next comes the logistics of maintenance and rear-line support for supplying weapons to the region—extremely costly processes

"I think the advantage will clearly be on Iran’s side," Popov says.

"The calculations might suggest the Americans are in a far worse position than Iran. It’s also worth noting that the Israelis sparked this conflict—and their arsenal is similarly limited and unlikely to last long."

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🚨🇷🇺🇮🇷 Lavrov to Araghchi: Russia ready to contribute to diplomatic resolution of the Iran conflict

What else the Russian MFA said about their phone call:

🟠 Lavrov and Araghchi emphasized that the actions of the US and Israel undermine the fundamental norms of international law and lead to severe consequences

🟠 Lavrov and Araghchi discussed the developments in the region following the unprovoked military aggression by the US and Israel

🟠 The two ministers prioritize measures to ensure safety of civilians, civilian infrastructure in Middle Eastern countries

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🗣 🇨🇳 China calls for immediate ceasefire between the US, Israel, and Iran

China advocates for the immediate cessation of hostilities between the US, Israel, and Iran and will continue to play a constructive role in achieving peace, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

🔊 She also called for the safety of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz to prevent further negative impact on the global economy.

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🔊🇺🇸🇮🇷 US war goals ‘completely unrealistic’, Iran can’t be bombed into regime change: Former NATO insider

💬 “The Israeli-American bombing campaign is by no means sufficient to bring down Iran,” Jacques Hogard, retired colonel of the French Special Forces Task Group under NATO in Kosovo, told Sputnik.

Hogard believes the US and Israel’s objective now is “to disrupt the structures of the state as much as possible, particularly those related to national defense and internal security.”

💬 “By provoking chaos and killing political, military leaders but also civilians, [the campaign’s] aim is to sow terror, demoralize the authorities and the defense and security forces, and push internal opponents, reinforced by agents of the Israeli intelligence services, to seize power. I don't think this can succeed,” the retired officer said.

Even the air war carries major strategic risks for the US, Hogard says, pointing to warnings by Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine, “who cautioned” President Trump that “ammunition shortages will be felt after just a few days of war.”

💬 “Iranian bombings will quickly deplete Israeli and American anti-missile capabilities. Furthermore, the cost of Iranian drones, on the order of a few thousand dollars, is infinitely competitive compared to that of American munitions which costs millions of dollars! The game has only just begun,” Hogard stressed.

Suggesting that the US has fallen into a “trap” set by Israel, the observer warned that kowtowing to Tel Aviv will cost President Trump his approval ratings, his MAGA base, and the upcoming November midterms, which could culminate in his impeachment.

💬 “I don’t see how he can get out of this trap,” Hogard said.

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⚔️ Macron orders Charles de Gaulle carrier to Mediterranean

The French president announces military escalation after two French installations were hit in recent strikes.

"I have given the order for the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier and its escort to travel to the Mediterranean Sea," Macron said in his address.

He added that France has already deployed Rafale jets, missile defense systems, and radars at airports in allied countries.

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📑 Iran's new Supreme leader may be elected after March 6 — reports

The Council of Experts could announce a successor to Ayatollah Khamenei in the coming days, Iranian Fars news agency reported.

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⚔️🇱🇧 IDF strikes 60 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon

The Israeli military announces "broad-scale strikes" across Tyre and Sidon, targeting weapons depots, command centers, missile launchers, and terrorist infrastructure.

"The IDF is operating determinedly against Hezbollah following the terrorist organization's decision to deliberately attack Israel," the statement reads.

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⚔️ Iran shoots down another US F-15 — report

The Islamic Republic Army's air defense systems have downed an additional US fighter jet, Tasnim reported.

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