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Chapter 273 Applying Maximum Pressure! (Third Update!)

Qatar.

At America's Central Theater Command frontline headquarters, Benjamin's finger rested on the edge of the sand table in the joint command center, and he was slowly circling the sand table.

After circling twice, he finally stopped in the direction of the Gulf of Oman. He withdrew his hand from the sand table, crossed his arms, and looked at the Gulf of Oman.

To be more precise, it's about crossing the Gulf of Oman and looking towards Iran to the north of the Gulf of Oman.

After watching for a while, he turned to the young staff officer beside him and asked:

"Has Iran accepted the way out we offered?"

The young staff officer shook his head: "No."

"According to intelligence from the Israeli Mossad, as well as our own intelligence, the situation inside Iran is currently very chaotic."

"Their establishment is prepared to take back those rights of the Revolutionary Guard."

"After all, to some extent, the Revolutionary Guard occupies too many resources in Iran, but these resources are used by the Revolutionary Guard to win people's hearts."

"Not only do they not get any benefits, but they are also easily compared to others."

"Anyone would get angry."

"But the Revolutionary Guard involves their religious leaders, so they are now caught in a dilemma, unable to do either side."

“If a religious leader does not stand up against us and does not advocate attacking us, then his leadership position will suffer a Waterloo.”

"Then their president was caught in the middle, squeezed by people on both sides."

"From my personal point of view, we are not putting enough pressure on you right now. We need to apply more pressure. The spring has not yet reached its limit."

Benjamin nodded in agreement at the young staff officer's words, shifting his gaze from Iran to Afghanistan on his right.

On the sand table, Afghanistan is depicted as a towering mountain range.

When the scaled-down model is reduced to its original size, what appears on the sand table are rows of upright blades, making one shake their head in disbelief.

The flat southern area is desert.

Looking at this land, he shook his head and turned his gaze westward, landing on Iraq on the Mesopotamian plain:

"What about the intelligence on those organizations supported by the Revolutionary Guard?"

After asking the question, Benjamin recalled the announcement Iran had made a couple of days earlier.

Then he recalled his father's assessment of Iran.

Modern Iranians are actually descendants of the Aryans.

Now look at what another group of Aryans who fought alongside them are like now.

You will then understand the origin of all their abstract operations.

Given the choice between being whipped 100 times and eating excrement, they would choose to be whipped 10 times first, find it too painful, and then eat a bite.

He found it too unpalatable and came back to be whipped.

In the end, he was whipped and ate shit.

Win-win!

In retrospect, the old man's assessment of them was very accurate.

The young staff officer held the document in his hand, flipped through it, and his finger found the relevant information among the large amount of text:

"According to intelligence provided by our informants, the Badr organization has dispersed its militia members and sent them to central and northern Iraq, but their exact locations are unknown."

"Then there's the Hezbollah Brigade, which is a force cultivated by the Revolutionary Guard itself; they're like their students."

"But this student is gradually being dispersed to Syria, preparing to receive help from Russia and Syria."

"Finally, there was the Justice League. This organization disbanded very quickly. Almost on the afternoon of the same day that Iran issued its announcement, they changed their location and scattered their members, leaving no trace of them."

"Even while these people were on the run, they didn't forget to eliminate any suspicious individuals."

“Several of our informants were executed by them during the escape because they were exposed.”

"The remaining informants are also unable to obtain any useful intelligence."

"So we don't know where they went."

"In addition, our intelligence personnel have also discovered that the ISI in the north has been very active recently, and it seems that they are taking action."

It's all useless intelligence.

Having mentally assessed the situation, Benjamin nodded his chin towards the sand table depicting Israel:
"What's the situation in Israel?"

Upon hearing his question, the young staff officer flipped through the documents again, found Israel's movements over the past two days, and placed the information in front of Benjamin:
"The bombing of Eilat Port was a blow to the Israeli government's reputation. At the same time, they also had some internal conflicts, so the Israeli government wanted to find a target to divert attention from their domestic problems."

"Iran is unlucky to run into this at this time; you can only say they're just unlucky."

"It can be said that Israel is now united in a rare way, and they are plotting how to destroy Iran."

So, should we help?

"Help?" A strange smile appeared on Benjamin's face, then he turned to the young staff officer and asked:

"The information we collected previously suggests that the Eilat port explosion appears to be related to Saudi Arabia."

“You guys fabricate some information and replace Saudi Arabia with Iran.”

"Then send this document to Israel."

"Let the Israelis decide for themselves."

The young staff officer wrote down the instructions and was about to leave when he heard Benjamin's voice again:

"Contact the 1st Marine Division's forward command in Basra, Mosul Air Base, Al-Salem Air Base, and the 5th Fleet. I need to make operational deployments!"

"Yes, sir!" The young staff officer left with the order, and the relevant communications were re-established in less than 10 minutes.

Looking at the people appearing in front of the camera, Benjamin crossed his arms and said in a deep voice:
"1st Marine Division, pull your 1st Armored Brigade out of the Bashir, cross the river, and make it look like you're going to attack Iran's Khorramsaher."

"Mosul Air Base, your mission is to depart from the base at 1 a.m. every day and fly to Tehran."

"Make a commotion to wake people from their dreams, and then return to port."

“Al-Salem Air Base, depart at 3 a.m., arrive in Tehran, and wake up those who have just gone to sleep again.”

"The 5th Fleet has dispatched two destroyers to guard the two small islands at the entrance to the sea from Bandar Abbas, Iran."

"Whether it's a merchant ship or a passenger ship, it doesn't matter if it's a ship that comes from the port of Abbas."

"Force them all back."

"If they don't move, just bring out the weapons."

"In short, give me a main character who doesn't hit people, but is disgusting."

Listening to his words, the people in the video conference breathed in unison, and finally, they all nodded helplessly, indicating that they would carry out the mission.

Once everything that needed to be said was said, the video conference was over.

After the screen was turned off, Benjamin called his advisor over: "Go and write a draft."

"We condemn Iran for not being free and democratic enough. If they were to align themselves with freedom and democracy at this time, we would withdraw immediately."

Upon hearing such an outrageous request, the young staff officer hesitated for a moment, but still voiced his doubts:
"General, if we're going to retreat immediately, why didn't we stop fighting in the first place?" The young staff officer's words drew Benjamin's attention. After staring at him for a moment, Benjamin asked in a low voice:

"I remember, your name is Parker McCain, right?"

The young staff officer was delighted to have his name mentioned by his superior, but the next second, Benjamin's words caused his smile to vanish completely, and his face turned deathly pale in an instant:
"The McCain family made a lot of money in the Navy, and that's where that money came from."

"You should know this very well too!"

"Moreover, didn't the McCain family, as front men, make a considerable profit from this operation against Iran?"

After saying some trivial things, Benjamin turned around and saw Parker's bloodless face. He nodded with satisfaction.

"good."

"They still have basic fear and shame; they are still human beings."

After finishing his commentary, he sat down on the chair next to him, crossed his legs, and looked at Parker with great interest:

"When the cannons roar, gold flows in."

"What can you do with that little bit of money you're so frugal with?"

"The most profitable thing about war is that it starts and resources are depleted!"

"So, go get to work, okay?"

After the reprimand, Parker turned to prepare his notes, while Benjamin, remaining in the command center, continued to stand at the edge of the sand table, looking at the several countries depicted within. Then, he picked up a stick from the sand table and drew several lines between the four countries: Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and Syria.

"To think that we can form a whole is just wishful thinking."

America acted quickly, or rather, they were prepared from the very beginning.

Benjamin gave the order, and America's Fifth Fleet, deployed in the Gulf of Oman, immediately moved forward. The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Mahan (DDG-72) and the amphibious assault ship USS Nassau (LHA-4), carrying the 5nd Marine Expeditionary Force, broke away from the formation.

One on one.

The Mahan was positioned east of Larak Island, and the Nassau was positioned east of Hormuz Island, both ready to launch an amphibious landing at any time.

With preparations complete for the Strait of Hormuz, the 1st Armored Brigade of the 1st Marine Division in Basra, following orders, set off from the south of Basra and crossed the river from the north.

Armored units were lined up along the border between Iran and Iraq, appearing ready to attack at any moment.

Upon receiving the news, both Mosul and Al-Salem air bases immediately dispatched an air superiority squad to carry out the mission as instructed.

Because it was a disgusting mission, both bases made the same choice without prior agreement.

In addition to the original air superiority squadron, a newly commissioned EA-18G Growler was added.

This is an electronic warfare aircraft upgraded from the F/A-18F Super Hornet platform, primarily used for electronic jamming and radar suppression.

And so, from the two bases, a total of 10 aircraft took off and swaggered across the Iraqi-Iranian border to Tehran, the capital of Iran.

This wasn't really a mission; it was more like giving them a heads-up.

During the Iran-Iraq War, Iran deployed air defense radar in Ahvaz, a city near Iraq.

However, their air defense radar was no different from that of America's EA-18G.

They could only watch the plane fly overhead, but the radar could never lock onto the target.

They could only watch helplessly as the other side advanced northward.

The same situation also occurred in Mahabad, a city in northwestern Iran.

This area is close to the borders of Iraq and Türkiye, and Iran has also deployed air defense radars here to monitor targets in the surrounding area.

But it was no use.

Tehran.

When Defense Secretary Koum received the message relayed up the chain of command, approximately 30 minutes had passed.

Holding the belated intelligence report, he stood by the window, watching the ten fighter jets circling overhead, his face twitching intermittently.

Finally, he tossed the intelligence report onto the table, picked up the still-connected phone, and said to the person on the other end:
"Don't worry about it, if we can't take it, we can't take it."

After saying that, he hung up the phone, made himself a cup of black tea, sat down on the sofa, and leisurely drank his tea.

It's a blessing, not a curse, but it's a curse that cannot be avoided.

Whether we live or die, let's have a cup of tea first.

His office door was pushed open again, and the secretary who had just left reappeared, asking:
"Minister, the Revolutionary Guard Air Defense Command is calling. Should we answer it?"

Upon hearing that it was the defense forces calling, Koum rolled his eyes: "Hang up! Ignore them!"

The secretary left with the orders.

In his office, Koum sat by the floor-to-ceiling window, holding a teacup, watching the planes circling overhead.

Then, they watched the other person leave.

He drank that cup of tea for a long time.

Just as the tea was about to run out, the office door was suddenly pushed open. A burly man who looked to be in his forties, wearing Revolutionary Guard camouflage and gold epaulets with two red stars on his shoulders, rushed up to Koum in a few strides, grabbed him by the collar, and shook him violently.
"Minister Kum, I'd like to know, when enemy warplanes were invading our territory, you actually ordered the air defense units below not to retaliate."

Do you know what kind of behavior this is?

"This is treason!"

"You traitor!"

Koum let the burly man shake him until the man got tired and let go. Only then did Koum leisurely straighten his collar, make himself another cup of tea, and sit on the sofa to drink it.

After taking two sips of black tea, he raised his eyes to look at the person in front of him:
"First of all, Major General Ramsar, in terms of rank, I am the Minister of Defense, which is higher than yours. You should use a respectful title when you see me!"

"Secondly, didn't you guys not fire a single shot either?"

What are you?

"Is he a traitor? Or a pig?"

"you tell me?"

"You have all the S200, Buk, and Tor-M1 air defense systems from Russia. And look at the air defense command of the armed forces."

"They are still using Hawk missiles captured from the Pahlavi dynasty."

"To put it bluntly, that missile is older than you!"

Koum's face darkened for a moment, but after a short while, the gloom vanished, replaced by a genuine laugh:
“You are 42 years old this year. I have seen the production date of that batch of missiles. It was 1965, which is three years older than you.”

"Tell me, how do I fight?"

"Don't talk about so-called upgrades. You know better than me why those so-called upgrades were made."

“There are some things I’ve said to your commander, Mehrabad, and now I’ll repeat them again.”

“You take 40% of Iran’s revenue to arm the Revolutionary Guard, so you must bear that responsibility.”

"If you need, I can convene a meeting with the Ministry of Defense right now to disband the Tehran Air Defense Force under the Ministry of Defense."

"Here's a batch of Hawk missiles that are older than you."

"So, what do you think of this suggestion?"

(End of this chapter)