Iran’s largest warship catches fire and sinks

[Skybird]

Irony.

[vienna]

Starting a betting pool: how long before Iran accuses Israel or the US of the loss...?...




<O>

[Rockstar]

Their other oiler is supposedly on the way to Venezuela. Wonder if it continues or is recalled.

[mapuc]

It could have something to do with the civil war in Yemen The perpetrator in this case would most likely be Saudi-Arabia.

Markus

[Skybird]

I think of Iran's role for arming up Hamas in the Gaza strip, and Israel's recent argument with Hamas.

[Aktungbby]

Like much of Iran’s major military hardware, the Kharg dated back to before Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. The warship, built in Britain and launched in 1977, entered the Iranian navy in 1984 after lengthy negotiations. That aging military equipment has seen fatal accidents as recently as Tuesday, when a malfunction in the ejector seats of an Iranian F-5 dating back to before the revolution killed two pilots while the aircraft was parked in a hangar.

In recent months, the navy launched a slightly larger commercial tanker called the Makran that it converted into serving a similar function as the Kharg.

The sinking of the Kharg marks the latest naval disaster for Iran. In 2020, during an Iranian military training exercise, a missile mistakenly struck a naval vessel near Jask, killing 19 sailors and wounding 15. Also in 2018, an Iranian navy destroyer sank in the Caspian Sea.

Considering they shot down their own airliner with a missile a while back,...I'd hate to see what mistakes they'd make with their nuclear development ambitions

[mapuc]

There are many candidate who could be behind the destruction of this Iranian vessel.

It could also be as simpel as bad or lack of maintenance behind the disaster.

vienna is correct Iran will point fingers whether someone else was behind it or if it was their own fault.

Markus

[Rockstar]

Originally Posted by mapuc

It could have something to do with the civil war in Yemen The perpetrator in this case would most likely be Saudi-Arabia.

Markus

Could also have something to do with internal divisions & strife inside Iran too. Not every in that country is happy living in a militant islamic theocracy.

[Texas Red]

Let’s just hope everything doesn’t go to hell again in the middle east

[FireDragon76]

Originally Posted by Rockstar

Could also have something to do with internal divisions & strife inside Iran too. Not every in that country is happy living in a militant islamic theocracy.

I don't think internal division in Iran is any greater than the US, at least I see no evidence to support that. If anything, the divisions seem to be less so. You've got moderates and conservatives just like you do in any polity, but the moderates and conservatives don't share completely different worldviews. You can't really say the same in the US, which is much more pluralistic and recently has been struggling with that same pluralism.


A lecture by Rick Steves on his trip to Iran, and his impressions of the country:





The documentary is worth seeing, but the lecture is better.


Other things I have read suggest the real operating philosophy behind Iran is not Shia Islamic fundamentalism, which has a relatively pessimistic outlook and some ME commentators have called "stillborn" in inception, but simply Persian nationalism/populism.

[d@rk51d3]

Was reading this morning, that they’ve managed to misplace 3 Kilo class subs previously too.

[FireDragon76]

Originally Posted by mapuc

It could have something to do with the civil war in Yemen The perpetrator in this case would most likely be Saudi-Arabia.

Markus

Or it could just be an accident, which isn't that rare in alot of navies that have high rates of conscription.

Originally Posted by vienna

Israel, Saudis, etc., the "usual suspects", but what about a wild card?; could it be possible the factions in the ME (and other world locations) that have been itching to get a widespread conflict going among the ME nations are using the latest Palestinian/Israeli dust up to foment their own agenda and have been engaging in their own acts of sabotage? There are a lot of fringe, militant groups and militias throughout the ME who have been salivating over a 'final' showdown with Israel and the US...



<O>

I forgot who said this quote, "Never attribute to malice what can't better be explained by stupidity", but that is probably more or less the case. Stuff happens, especially on ships with poorly trained crew.


edit. It's called Hanlon's Razor, apparrently:


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s_razor

[vienna]

...or, as we used to say in IT, before you run a system diagnostic, check to see if the device is actually plugged in/online...




<O>

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by FireDragon76

Or it could just be an accident, which isn't that rare in alot of navies that have high rates of conscription.

That is certainly my take on the matter

[Skybird]

The leaving head of the Israeli mossad recently had an interview where he surprisingly frnakly admitted responsibility of Israel for several "incidents" in and coups against Iran.

After that you see Israel taking out that ship as a perfectly valid and realistic scenario.

In the end it does not matter what where sinks - as long as it is Iranian and sinks I am fine with it. They do not have many supply assets like this. A loss of their biggest such asset seriously is a handicap for their navy's operational ambition.