If you spent Sunday doomscrolling over whether or not we’ve just entered World War III, then I hope this fun little factoid will encourage you to look on the bright side: At least one of the pilots who bombed Iran was a woman! So while Trump’s reckless decision to attack Iran might be one giant leap toward the annihilation of humanity, it’s one small step for gender equality. Progress!
On Saturday night, the U.S. attacked three Iranian nuclear sites, which Trump ordered without getting approval from Congress. I would have preferred that no one, man or woman, piloted the B-2 bombers, but leave it to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth—who does a great job always—to screw up his statement and call attention to it in the first place.
The detail came to light after Hegseth spoke during a press conference on Sunday, saying, “Our boys in those bombers are on their way home right now.” Both Fox News and the Associated Press confirmed that at least one of the pilots was female. So, while I appreciate the alliteration, Hegseth could have just said “pilots,” or even “warfighters,” which would have been awkward with the U.S. insisting this was not an act of war, but, in general, seems to be one of Hegseth’s favorite terms.
Sunday’s mission involved said pilots dropping 30,000-pound bombs on two underground plants, and sailors launching cruise missiles from a submarine toward another site. (No word yet on the gender breakdown of the sailors.) The mission, named Operation Midnight Hammer, delivered 420,000 pounds of explosives, and while it was meant to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, no one really seems to know how successful or unsuccessful it was. Iran denies there was any significant damage, while Trump wrote on Truth Social that “Monumental Damage” was achieved and “Obliteration is an accurate term!”
Iran has since retaliated by striking the Al Udeid air base in Qatar, the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East; the New York Times reports that Iran gave Qatari officials advance notice in order to minimize casualties. Qatar’s Ministry of Defense said the missiles were intercepted and there were no injuries.
Also on Monday, Israel launched missiles at Iran’s Evin Prison, which holds thousands of dissidents and political prisoners, including journalists and foreign nationals, and is notorious for its torture and human rights violations. Israel said it chose Evin as part of a strategy to hit “regime targets and agencies of government repression.” France’s foreign minister called the strike “unacceptable,” since two French citizens are being held there. As of Monday afternoon, multiple injuries have been reported, but it’s not clear if there have been casualties.
“Deliberately attacking civilian objects is prohibited under international humanitarian law and would amount to a war crime,” Amnesty International said in a statement.
Trump has yet to issue a statement about Iran’s attack on Qatar, but at 2:10 p.m. on Monday, he complained on Truth Social that NBC, CNN, and ABC are reporting that the Iranian sites weren’t fully destroyed, writing, “it never ends with the sleazebags in the Media.” See how he used the gender-neutral “sleazebags”? Hegseth should take note.
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