Dept of War added some new to me details such as gave them 6 hours of warnings before firing the 5" gun.

https://x.com/DOWResponse/stat...972572236321034?s=20

Iranian businesswoman busted at LAX, charged with helping regime sell drones, bombs and ammo

By Ronny Reyes
Published April 19, 2026 | Updated April 19, 2026, 11:32 a.m. ET

A glamorous Iranian businesswoman with a US green card was arrested at the Los Angeles International Airport for allegedly trafficking arms on behalf of Tehran.

Shamim Mafi, 44, of Woodland Hills, was taken into custody on Saturday night and charged with brokering deals for Iranian drones, bombs, and millions of rounds of ammunition bound for Sudan, according to the office of the US Attorney for the Central District of California.

Mafi had allegedly conducted the arms deals while in close contact with Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, which provided instruction and funds for her to open a business in the US to operate out of, according to court records.

“She is charged with a violation of 50 U.S.C. § 1705 for brokering the sale of drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and millions of rounds of ammunition manufactured by Iran and sold to Sudan,” First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said Sunday, announcing the arrest.

Mafi posted glam pics of herself traveling the world — including posing in a $100,000 Mercedes-Benz roadster.

Mafi, who left Iran in 2013 and became a permanent resident of the US in 2016 under the Obama administration, allegedly used an Oman-registered company, Atlas International Business, to broker weapons deals as recently as 2025, according to court records.

Among the sales was a contract for more than $70 million for Iranian-made Mohajer-6 armed drones from Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics.

The drones, along with 55,000 bomb fuses, were transferred in deals with the Sudanese Ministry of Defense, which has been fighting in a bloody civil war since 2023.

Iran has been repeatedly accused of violating a United Nations arms embargo amid the Sudanese civil war, with its drones spotted in use by the government forces.

The civil war has claimed between 61,000 to hundreds of thousands of lives as it enters its fourth year, with the UN’s fact-finding mission identifying the recent mass deaths in Darfur as having the “hallmarks of genocide.”

The conflict has also displaced nearly nine million people, making it one of the worst displacement crises on the planet.

Phone records indicate that Mafi had direct contact with Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) between December 2022 and June 2025.

Prosecutors say Mafi had no legal requisites to oversee such dangerous sales.

Mafi and her company were also accused of purposefully going through channels in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to conduct the sales so as to skirt US detection.

Mafi’s social media accounts show her living the lap of luxury in California and showing off her business trips in Turkey.

Mafi told investigators that she has never been tasked by the MOIS to conduct any activities for Tehran in the US.

A probe into Mafi’s past showed that Tehran had seized properties that she inherited from her father in 2020, with MOIS then directing her to open a business in the US to buy the properties back from the Iranian government, according to the court records.

MOIS had offered to buy for the start-up costs, officials noted.

Mafi had allegedly said that she is “more useful” to MOIS in Iran than in the United States.

The businesswoman was scheduled to fly to Istanbul on Saturday when she was met by law enforcement officers who took her into custody.

Mafi is ultimately accused of violating the Conspiracy to Violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which if convicted of, would lead to a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

The suspect is scheduled to appear at the US District Court in downtown LA on Monday, prosecutors said.

A representative for Mafi could not be immediately reached for comment.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
https://x.com/RapidResponse47/.../2045946573033468351

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That's the best news I've heard since Iran's bullshit agreements to the terms of the temporary ceasefire. I'm guessing the gig is up now, any words from anyone in Iran will be worthless to Trump, unless he wishes to use them for more 4D chess. Iran's level of Hubris is so outrageous it's maddening comical in the worst possible sense.

(Showing my age) I remember the line from the movie "Hombre", where the bad guy comes up the stairway to the shack where Paul Newman is protecting the lives of the stagecoach riders:

When the bad guy gets through with his "negotiations" offer, Newman looks at him and says, "I have a question - how are you gonna get back down that hill?"

I suspect maybe that is what Trump is thinking about the future of the Iranian "negotiators".

Trump Says US Seized an Iranian-Flagged Cargo Ship, Blew Hole in Engine
The ship, called the Touska, attempted to get past a U.S. military blockade that has been in effect since April 13, the president said.

President Donald Trump on Sunday said the U.S. military forcibly seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that attempted to bypass a naval blockade earlier in the day.

In an announcement posted on Truth Social, Trump said the ship, called the Touska, attempted to get past the U.S. military blockade that has been in effect since April 13.

“It did not go well for them,” he wrote.

According to Iranian state media, military officials described the U.S. action as “maritime piracy” and said that “Iran will respond soon.”

The capture of the vessel was made as the Trump administration is working to secure a peace deal with the Iranian regime before a two-week-long ceasefire ends on April 21.

The naval blockade, which is being enforced by U.S. Central Command, targets ships that are entering or exiting Iranian ports and will not impede on the freedom of navigation for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that links the Persian Gulf with the broader ocean.

Trump said that U.S. negotiators will arrive in Pakistan on Monday evening for another set of talks with Iran. Several hours later, Iran had not confirmed it would attend.

The president also threatened to destroy civilian infrastructure in the country if it doesn’t take the deal that the administration is offering. Tehran has said it is preparing its military during the ceasefire.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, said Sunday that the U.S. blockade of Iran’s ports and coastline is an act of aggression that violates the shaky Pakistani-mediated ceasefire between the two countries.

By “deliberately inflicting collective punishment on the Iranian population, it amounts to war crime and crimes against humanity,” Baghaei claimed on social media. His comments were made after the Iranian regime’s renewed military actions directed toward shipping, in response to the U.S. blockade, fully reclosed the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

An Iranian general, Seyed Majid Mousavi, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp’s Aerospace Force, said in comments carried by semi-official state media, that Iran’s armed forces are replenishing drone and missile stockpiles during the ceasefire.

“During the ceasefire period, our speed in updating and refilling missile and drone launch platforms is even greater than before the war,” he claimed.

Before the ceasefire was announced, the United States and Israel repeatedly struck Iranian military targets, including defense production facilities that make missiles and drones, and killed dozens of the country’s top leaders. In response, Iran fired rockets and drones at neighboring Gulf Arab states and Israel while it attacked ships in the region and threatened shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Since the start of the conflict, the price for a barrel of Brent crude oil reached above $100, although it dropped to $90 during the most recent trading period. West Texas Intermediate crude, meanwhile, has dropped to below $84 per barrel. The American Automotive Association reported Sunday that the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline dropped slightly to $4.04 from $4.05 a day before.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/...age&ea_med=section-1

A key difference between President Trump and the Iranian regime is that President Trump can back up the shit he talks.

Can and will. I have no doubt the bombings will resume if an agreement is not reached in the next day and a half. The Iranians calling their country's shots might be slow learners though.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
Dept of War added some new to me details such as gave them 6 hours of warnings before firing the 5" gun.

Were the two shots shown on the video the ones that disabled their propulsion?

From that distance? With just a 5" gun?

quote:

Originally posted by Rawny:

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
Dept of War added some new to me details such as gave them 6 hours of warnings before firing the 5" gun.

Were the two shots shown on the video the ones that disabled their propulsion?

From that distance? With just a 5" gun?

Sounds just like my .357 marlin smacking steel at 100 yards

It's hard to figure which one is more fun. Spanking steel with a Marlin is great fun, but I imagine shooting at a super tanker takes the cake. I bet guys working and firing that system were having a helluva good time. Prob afterward though, you gotta concentrate shooting a 5 inch shells.

quote:

Originally posted by limblessbiff:

quote:

Originally posted by Rawny:

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
Dept of War added some new to me details such as gave them 6 hours of warnings before firing the 5" gun.

Were the two shots shown on the video the ones that disabled their propulsion?

From that distance? With just a 5" gun?

Sounds just like my .357 marlin smacking steel at 100 yards

13 nautical mile effective range lobbing 64 to 70 lb shells.

If you recall, Operation Praying Mantis the IRGC's converted oil platforms got to chew some 5" gun too and USN sunk their platforms. This was after Iran decided to mine the strait of Hormuz and as a result lost half their navy in 8 hours.

Those are basically big ass bullets, is that correct ? Prob penetrators with explosive charge, or maybe a shape charge ? Good freaking lord.

The Mk45 5"/62 gun can fire 16-20 rounds per minute. Probably the projectile used against the Iranian ship was the Mark 80 HE-PD round. It weighs 67.6 lbs. has a 7.75 pound explosive charge, and a muzzle velocity of 2,725 fps.

Some deck-gun porn

quote:

Originally posted by Ranger41:
The Mk45 5"/62 gun can fire 16-20 rounds per minute. Probably the projectile used against the Iranian ship was the Mark 80 HE-PD round. It weighs 67.6 lbs. has a 7.75 pound explosive charge, and a muzzle velocity of 2,725 fps.

473,200 grain projectile with 7,800,899 ft lbs muzzle energy

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:
Some deck-gun porn

Great video

The Navy's 5" "Deck Pecker" is 20% greater than the 105mm/M102, "Flying Fuck You", I am familiar with from my youth.

It says it hates you, without giving a shit, what you think...

And it makes me happy.

Olde Zoomie, sez, "Go Navy!" Hooyah...

Git 'um, Squids!

I rather lift them all day instead of the 155mm rounds.

Someone has to police the brass.

I don't understand the BBC'S use of "redundancies". It seems Iran is experiencing a lack of redundancies:

Iran sees mass redundancies from war with US and Israel
3 hours ago

Iran has been hit by a massive wave of redundancies, both directly and indirectly as a result of the conflict with the US and Israel.

Its Deputy Work and Social Security Minister, Gholamhossein Mohammadi, said two days ago that two million people had lost their jobs because of the war.

The widespread lay-offs are one of the biggest topics of conversation among ordinary Iranians on social media. Employers and government officials euphemistically refer to it as "balancing the workforce".

The impact goes far beyond factories closed down after being hit by air strikes. It also includes other manufacturers, retailers, import and export business, and the digital sector.

"You can see it from the emptiness of the metro," posted one user on X. "You can see it from the abundance of parking spaces near the office," said another. "You can get it from the emptiness of the Hemmat [highway in Tehran]. My one-and-a-half hour journey took only half an hour," came another comment.

The war has also had a negative impact on consumer spending, with many people cutting back to essentials, which has reduced demand in sectors such as tourism, restaurants, and retailers other than groceries.

The Iranian authorities' decision to impose an internet blackout since the war broke out has also hit Iran's relatively thriving tech and digital sectors.

Officials say the decision to shut down the internet was taken for security reasons, suggesting that it is to prevent surveillance, espionage and cyber-attacks. It took the same step during the brutal clampdown of protests earlier this year, which was mainly aimed at restricting protesters' ability to organise and access information.


Back in January, Iran's Information and Communication Technology Minister, Sattar Hashemi, said that every day of internet blackout cost the economy at least 50 trillion rials ($35m; £28m; €32m).

By that count, the 52 days of internet shutdown since the start of the war have cost the Iranian economy more than $1.8bn.

The blackout has particularly hit female earners. Only one in nine working-age women in Iran were in work before the war, official data shows, and hundreds of thousands of women relied on platforms such as Instagram to connect with their customers to sell products.

And even at a time when there is increased demand for news as a result of the conflict, many media outlets have also shed their workers. This includes the Iran Labour News Agency (Ilna) that made all its journalists redundant last week and asked them to work as freelancers.

In late March and early April, the US and Israel hit two of Iran's largest petrochemical plants, in Asaluyeh and Mahshahr, as well as two of the largest steel manufacturers, Mobarakeh Steel and Khuzestan Steel.

While tens of thousands of people lost their jobs directly, hundreds of thousands more work in firms that either supply these key industries or those that rely on them for raw materials.

One example is Iran's huge car manufacturing sector, which is estimated to directly or indirectly employ one million people, with multiple reports of layoffs across its supply chain.

On top of losing domestic supplies, the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has also forced some factories to shut and dismiss their workers.

Why and how is US blockading Iranian ports in Strait of Hormuz?
An executive in a manufacturing firm in the central province of Qom told the BBC that they had to stop production due to lack of materials: "We were hoping that when the war stopped, things would go back to normal. But we cannot even get the material loaded on the ship, as our foreign suppliers are worried that the ship won't be permitted to enter the Iranian waters."

Another social media user has reported that the textile company where their sister-in-law worked has fired 600 out of their 650 personnel, as they cannot import raw material from Australia anymore.

There are reports that some companies are making redundancies with the promise of rehiring people as soon as conditions improve, while others are forcing their employees into taking unpaid leave.

The government has announced a loan scheme for small businesses of 440m rials (less than $300) per worker, which has to be paid back in six months with an interest rate of 18% to 35%, based on how many redundancies they make.

This wave of unemployment across different sectors comes at a time when the official inflation rate passed 50% in March 2026, and many experts believe that it is likely to increase in the coming months.

If the war resumes or Iran remains under strict international sanctions, life could get much harder still for tens of millions of Iranians. Air strikes alone will have devastating consequences, but economic downturn, heightened unemployment and runaway prices could deepen the crisis considerably.