Iran said it launched dozens of drones and ballistic missiles towards Israel on Saturday in a major attack following days of acute tension building up in the region and warnings from the US and elsewhere about a wider conflict erupting.
Air attack warning sirens began wailing over Jerusalem just before 2am local time on Sunday after the weapons were fired a few hours earlier from Iran with US and Jordanian military assisting Israel’s air defenses in intercepting the first incoming barrage.
With weapons believed to be still in the air en route to Israel, Iran’s mission to the United Nations posted on X: “Iran’s military action was in response to the Zionist regime’s aggression against our diplomatic premises in Damascus. The matter can be deemed concluded.”
However, it threatened more severe action in the face of further Israeli aggression and warned the US and Jordan specifically not to assist Israel.
Edit: here are links to the NYT and BBC live feeds.
Edit 2: updated summary and archive to reflect article changes.
“Tankie” doesn’t coincide with any distinct political bloc, it’s essentially a buzzword to discredit leftists that are claimed to support authoritarian regimes. But what one might call a tankie in this instance would support Palestine as ‘tankies’ are against the US and their proxies.
Someone who supports Palestine and is against the US is not automatically a Tankie. But if this person at the same time makes excuses for the Russian invasion or argues that Taiwan belongs to China, then they are.
Hypocrisy (lying / arguing in bad faith) is exactly what makes the difference between a leftist and a Tankie.
You are correct, and it is used that way, what I’m saying though is there isn’t a distinct definition, it’s used differently by different groups and so only really serves to muddy discussions and shun ideological outsiders.