Besides destroying IRGC infrastructure, the US destroys their lies after Khamenai is also destroyed

The United States didn't pull any punches. It straight-up called out Tehran by name, shredding what CENTCOM describes as outright lies from the Iranian regime in a no-nonsense, point-by-point smackdown posted just hours after the joint U.S.-Israel operation that took out Iran's Supreme Leader.

This fact-check blitz hit right after the coordinated strike that eliminated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a hit that U.S. officials are calling a major takedown in the regime's long-running terror spree and chaos across the region.In a couple of tough posts on X, CENTCOM directly slapped down claims from Iran's UN ambassador and the IRGC, branding them false and accusing Tehran of trying to snow the whole world.

At a UN Security Council session, Iran's ambassador insisted Tehran's retaliation was aimed "solely and exclusively at the bases and assets of the United States. "CENTCOM shot that down hard."

The Iranian Regime is actively targeting civilians and has attacked more than a dozen locations," the command declared, then rattled off the sites it says got hit.Those include: 

Dubai International Airport

Kuwait International Airport

Zayed International Airport in Dubai 

Erbil International Airport in Iraq, 

Fairmont Palm Hotel in Dubai, 

Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai, 

Crowne Plaza Hotel in Bahrain, 

Port of Dubai, 

residential areas in Beit Shemesh, Israel, 

residential areas in Tel Aviv, 

Israel, residential area of Era Views Towers in Bahrain, 

residential areas in Qatar.

This public call-out ramps up the messaging war big time, with Washington accusing Iran of slamming civilian targets while feeding the international community a bunch of garbage.In another whopper, the IRGC claimed it nailed the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier with ballistic missiles. CENTCOM wasn't having it.

"The Lincoln was not hit. The missiles launched didn’t even come close," the command fired back, and media video shows that this is true.

The Lincoln continues to launch aircraft in support of CENTCOM’s relentless campaign to defend the American people by eliminating threats from the Iranian regime.

"These blunt denials drop as the U.S. and Israel keep hammering Iranian military targets in their joint ops, going after air defenses, missile setups, naval forces, you name it. 

By flat-out labeling Tehran's spin as bogus, the U.S. is fighting the info war right alongside the kinetic one, pushing back on Iranian propaganda, steadying allies, and making crystal clear that key American assets are still locked and loaded.

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U.S. positioned for "highly kinetic" war in Middle East

US assets in the Middle East are positioned for a "highly kinetic" war, a former senior Pentagon official warns. Dana Stroul told Fox News Digital that the current force posture stands ready to execute whatever orders President Trump gives.

The U.S. military has built up one of its largest recent deployments in the Middle East, and a former top Pentagon hand says we're now set up for a "highly kinetic" campaign against Iran if things go that way.

Dana Stroul, who now serves as research director at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, dropped this assessment on Sunday as Washington and Tehran gear up for a second round of indirect nuclear talks in Oman.

"The US military is ready for a sustained, highly kinetic campaign should President Trump order it, and also prepared to defend allies and partners in the Middle East from Iran's missiles," Stroul told the outlet.

"The US military can rapidly reposition assets from all over the world and deploy overwhelmingly lethal force in a short period of time to one theater," she said. She added that "no ally or enemy [is] capable of what we have seen from the US in this current buildup." Stroul pointed out how this posture differs from the June 2025 strikes on Iranian-linked nuclear targets. Back then it was limited, highly targeted hits to degrade key facilities without kicking off a wider regional mess. Now the U.S. has ramped up both offensive and defensive muscle.

"Two US aircraft carriers and their accompanying vessels and air wings were stationed in the Middle East last summer during the 12-day war and the US operation Midnight Hammer," she explained.

"The addition of the Ford is really important, it expands US offensive capabilities if we go to war with Iran," she said.

The U.S. has also "increased the number of guided-missile destroyers, fighter aircraft, refuelers, and air defense systems" in the region. Carriers like the USS Gerald R. Ford and USS Abraham Lincoln are carrying serious weight here strategically. The Ford was recently tracked heading east through the Strait of Gibraltar, while the Lincoln is in the Arabian Sea.

"They will both be in the Middle East CENTCOM theater," Stroul explained. She noted there could be "one in the eastern Mediterranean and the other in the Arabian Gulf."

"There would probably be a combination of reasons for that based on availability, readiness, proximity to the Middle East. The Ford was heading home and directed to turn around," she added.Exact destinations stay under wraps for obvious operational security reasons, but just having them there sends a clear message of escalation leverage and deterrence.

This buildup rolls on while indirect diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran keep going, with Oman playing mediator again on Feb. 26.

Stroul says Iran's leadership is juggling brinkmanship and negotiation.

"Iran's leaders are playing a weak hand by combining saber-rattling about their own capabilities, staging preparations and exercises to signal readiness," she claimed.

"They are attempting to slow this down by pursuing negotiations. No one should be under any illusions about the reality of US dominance, Iran is completely outmatched in conventional terms," Stroul said.

Meanwhile, the Ayatollah is somewhere in a hidey-hole with a target on his hairy back.

"Israel dominated Iranian airspace in one day last year, targeted many of Iran's security leaders, took out half of its missile arsenal, and the US significantly set back its nuclear program," Stroul said.

Iran's proxy network, Hezbollah, Shi'ite militias in Iraq, elements in Syria, has taken a beating too after over two years of Israeli operations.

"Iran's long-cultivated network of proxies across the region is degraded after more than two years of Israeli operations, and they declined to enter the war and support Iran's defense last summer," Stroul explained.

"No matter what Iran's leaders say, Iran is not able to rebuild a decades-long project in a few months."

"That said, the US military is in a position to execute whatever orders President Trump gives," she said. "It is not a question of military readiness, but a political decision."

It seems to be more of a question of 'when', than it is a question of 'if'. 

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US Blasts Iranian Drone Out of the Sky, Blocks Attempted IRGC Takeover of Oil Tanker

Tensions with the mullahs in Iran keep ramping up as the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier battle group sits in the region. Protests have been rocking the country over the garbage economy and their iron-fisted rule, and the regime's brutal crackdown has left bodies in the streets. Trump has made it clear he's ready to use military force, just like he did back in June with Operation Midnight Hammer hitting their nuclear sites hard.

On Tuesday the regime cranked things up another notch by trying to board a U.S. oil tanker, while American forces took out a drone with "unclear intent".

"USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) was transiting the Arabian Sea approximately 500 miles from Iran’s southern coast when an Iranian Shahed-139 drone unnecessarily maneuvered toward the ship," a spokesman said.

In the gunboat nonsense, Iran's Revolutionary Guard tried to board the tanker and failed miserably.

British maritime security firm Vanguard Tech said Tuesday that a U.S.-flagged tanker was approached by Iranian gunboats, which threatened to board the vessel, in the Strait of Hormuz, before continuing on its way under military escort. The incident comes amid a tense standoff between the U.S. and Iran, and just days ahead of expected negotiations.

The Stena Imperative was approached by three pairs of small armed boats belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, approximately 16 nautical miles north of Oman's coast, the company said.

The gunboats hailed the tanker by radio, ordering the captain, "to stop the engines and prepare to be boarded," but the ship increased speed and maintained course, the firm added, stressing that it never entered Iranian territorial waters.

"The vessel is now being escorted by a U.S. warship," Vanguard Tech said.

CENTCOM put out the statement:

"Two IRGC boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached M/V Stena Imperative at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker," the CENTCOM spokesman said. "Guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul (DDG 74) was operating in the area and immediately responded to the scene to escort M/V Stena Imperative with defensive air support from the U.S. Air Force. The situation de-escalated as a result, and the U.S.-flagged tanker is proceeding safely."White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt jumped in on the drone shoot-down Tuesday afternoon.

As for POTUS, he remains committed to always pursuing diplomacy first, but in order for diplomacy to work, of course, it takes two to cha-cha.

With the Lincoln battle group now on station, the U.S. is locked and loaded to slap back hard at Iran's harassment games. The big question is whether we'll drop something Maduro-style on them.

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Chinese Spies Busted Snooping on U.S. Navy: Another Day, Another CCP Plot

Well, folks, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is at it again, and this time, they’ve been caught red-handed, pun intended. 

Two Chinese nationals, Yuance Chen and Liren Lai, were nabbed by the FBI for allegedly playing James Bond for Beijing, spying on U.S. Navy personnel and bases while trying to recruit our service members for the CCP’s Ministry of State Security (MSS). Because apparently, the CCP thinks our Navy is just a Craigslist ad for their espionage schemes.

According to a juicy scoop first reported by Fox News, Chen, a Happy Valley, Oregon resident, and Lai, who waltzed into Houston on a tourist visa in April 2025, were arrested last Friday. The Department of Justice (DOJ) says these two were running a covert op for the MSS, China’s main foreign intelligence outfit. Their mission was to gather intel on Navy bases and personnel, recruit potential turncoats, and even orchestrate a shady “dead drop” cash payment. You know, standard spy stuff, straight out of a Tom Clancy novel, minus the charm.

The FBI, with a little help from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS—not the TV show, sadly), swooped in and cuffed the unhappy Chen in Happy Valley and Lai in Houston. 

FBI Director Kash Patel didn’t mince words, telling Fox News Digital, “Today’s arrests reflect the FBI’s unwavering commitment to protecting our national security and safeguarding the integrity of our military.” He added, “The individuals charged were acting on behalf of a hostile foreign intelligence service, part of the Chinese Communist Party’s broader effort to infiltrate and undermine our institutions. Thanks to outstanding coordination with our partners, including NCIS, we disrupted those efforts and sent a clear message: the United States will not tolerate espionage on American soil. Our counterintelligence operations remain focused, vigilant, and relentless.” 

The DOJ’s criminal complaint, filed in the Northern District of California, lays it all bare. The MSS, which apparently moonlights in snooping on civilians when it’s not busy with counterintelligence, recruited Chen through Lai back in 2021. By January 2022, the dynamic duo [aka Frick and Frack] was allegedly in Guangzhou, China, setting up a $10,000 cash-stuffed backpack drop in a Livermore, California day-use locker. Real cloak-and-dagger vibes. They didn’t stop there, either. The pair kept working for the MSS, scoping out Navy personnel who might be tempted to betray their country for a quick buck.

In 2022 and 2023, Chen and Lai took their spy tour to a U.S. Naval installation in Washington State and a Navy recruitment center in San Gabriel, California. At the recruitment center, Chen allegedly played paparazzi, snapping photos of a bulletin board listing Navy recruits’ names, programs, and hometowns—most of which, surprise, were listed as “China.” Those photos, the DOJ claims, were promptly sent to an MSS officer in China. Subtle, guys. Real subtle.

The MSS wasn’t just sitting back sipping tea, or ordering a combo plate either. 

They allegedly gave Chen a playbook: what to say to potential recruits, how much cash the MSS could dangle, preferred Navy job assignments for their targets, and tips to keep Chen from getting caught. 

Spoiler: He got caught. Chen even cozied up to a Navy member on social media, arranging a tour of the USS Abraham Lincoln in San Diego and feeding information about the sailor back to the MSS. Meanwhile, Chen made trips to Guangzhou in April 2024 and March 2025 to huddle with MSS officers and discuss his paycheck for these dirty deeds.

Lai, for his part, claimed he was just an innocent online retailer visiting Houston for a two-week business trip in April 2025. 

Sure, and snakes have hips.

By May 9, Lai was spotted road-tripping from Houston to California and back to Junction, Texas, well past his supposed two-week stay. Nothing screams “tourist” like a multi-state jaunt with a side of espionage soup.

Both Chen and Lai are now staring down charges of acting as unregistered foreign agents, which could land them up to seven years in prison and a $250,000 fine each. 

Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg summed it up nicely: “Hostile foreign intelligence services like the PRC’s Ministry of State Security dedicate years to recruiting individuals and cultivating them as intelligence assets to do their bidding within the United States. Under my leadership, the National Security Division will continue to defend our nation and way of life by rooting out and exposing our adversaries’ clandestine spy networks.” In other words, the CCP’s spy games just got a time-out.

So, there you have it. Another day, another CCP plot to undermine the U.S. military. You’d think they’d get tired of losing at this game, but apparently, Beijing’s got a thing for playing the villain. Stay vigilant, folks. These spies aren’t exactly hiding in plain sight, but they’re trying.

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