{"id":2602044,"date":"2026-05-13T08:34:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T12:34:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-iran-war-is-piling-up-a-list-of-surprises\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T08:38:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T12:38:54","slug":"the-iran-war-is-piling-up-a-list-of-surprises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-iran-war-is-piling-up-a-list-of-surprises\/","title":{"rendered":"The Iran War Is Piling Up A List Of Surprises"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-iran-war-is-piling-up-a-list-of-surprises%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2602044&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/economist-rejects-uighur-genocide-determination\/\" title=\"\u2018Economist\u2019 Rejects Uighur Genocide Determination\">article argues<\/a> that the Iran war is expanding in scope and scope-revealing details are still emerging. It cites three main developments:  <\/p>\n<p>&#8211; **Israel\u2019s covert footprint in Iraq:** The Wall Street Journal reports Israel built and defended a secret base inside Iraq to support airstrikes against Iran, then allegedly attacked Iraqi troops who approached it.  <\/p>\n<p>&#8211; **More regional participants than previously understood:** Additional reporting says the **UAE** carried out strikes inside Iran (including bombing a refinery) and that **Saudi Arabia** also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/u-s-mq-9-drone-shot-down-by-yemens-houthi-rebels-officials-claim\/\" title=\"Yemen&#039;s Houthi rebels claim responsibility for shooting down U.S. MQ-9 drone.\">conducted retaliatory strikes<\/a>, with participating governments reportedly refusing comment.  <\/p>\n<p>&#8211; **Arms buildup that suggests preparation for renewed fighting:** U.S.State Department arms-sale notifications show Iran\u2019s neighbors purchasing large quantities of weapons in recent months-particularly advanced precision systems for countries including **Qatar**, **the UAE**, **Kuwait**, and **Israel**. The article notes that one sale to Qatar involves **10,<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >000** advanced precision kill weapon system rounds<\/a>,implying expectations of near-term,high-accuracy targeting needs.<\/p>\n<p>It concludes by referencing President Donald Trump\u2019s characterization that the ceasefire is effectively fragile, \u201con life support,\u201d implying a renewed conflict could resume quickly and more broadly than understood.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=m2j_msuGldg\">Bloomberg Podcasts \/ YouTube<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/13\/the-iran-war-is-piling-up-a-list-of-surprises\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=The Iran War Is Piling Up A List Of Surprises&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/13\/the-iran-war-is-piling-up-a-list-of-surprises\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=The Iran War Is Piling Up A List Of Surprises&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/13\/the-iran-war-is-piling-up-a-list-of-surprises\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/13\/the-iran-war-is-piling-up-a-list-of-surprises\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=The Iran War Is Piling Up A List Of Surprises&#038;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/13\/the-iran-war-is-piling-up-a-list-of-surprises\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &#038; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>We keep learning new things about the war with Iran. The new revelations haven\u2019t added up to a clear picture yet, but they suggest the characteristics of a war that\u2019s bigger than we\u2019ve understood it to be.<\/p>\n<p>First, over the weekend, The Wall Street Journal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/world\/middle-east\/israel-built-and-defended-a-secret-iran-war-base-in-iraq-3590851a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> that the Israeli military built a covert base inside Iraq to support its airstrikes against Iran, then attacked Iraqi troops who approached the base to investigate.<\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-802152543\" class=\"d-flex justify-content-center fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 fdrlst__b89e9-entity-placement\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Second, a growing series of reports is showing that the war has involved more belligerents than we knew about. Reports over the weekend <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/the-u-a-e-has-been-secretly-carrying-out-attacks-on-iran-f1745a0d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">revealed<\/a> that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has conducted military strikes inside Iran, bombing a refinery in retaliation for Iranian attacks. Similar reports <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/liveblog_entry\/saudi-arabia-carried-out-multiple-retaliatory-strikes-on-iran-during-war-sources-say\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">followed<\/a> about the Saudi military striking targets inside Iran. No one in any of these countries will discuss the attacks, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/anti-crt-activist-blasts-nbc-news-for-intentionally-misreading-critical-race-theory-activism-pure-propoganda\/\" title=\"Anti-CRT Activist Blasts NBC News For \u2018Intentionally Misreading\u2019 Critical Race Theory Activism: \u2018Pure Propoganda\u2019\">declining comment<\/a> to journalists.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, in what may be a preview of what a renewed war looks like if a tenuous ceasefire breaks down, the U.S. government website that publishes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/arms-sales-congressional-notifications\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">notices of foreign arms sales<\/a> shows a recent buying spree in which Iran\u2019s neighbors are stocking up on weapons. Significant new disclosures in May show major arms sales to Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, and Israel, including the sale of \u201cten thousand (10,000) Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System-II all-up-rounds advanced (single variant)\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/releases\/bureau-of-political-military-affairs\/2026\/05\/qatar-advanced-precision-kill-weapons-system\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">to Qatar<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/releases\/bureau-of-political-military-affairs\/2026\/05\/israel-advanced-precision-kill-weapon-system\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">to Israel<\/a>, and a smaller number of an air-to-air variant <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/releases\/bureau-of-political-military-affairs\/2026\/05\/united-arab-emirates-advanced-precision-kill-weapons-system\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">to the UAE<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p>That system turns unguided rockets <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navair.navy.mil\/product\/APKWS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-praises-fighter-rashida-tlaib-after-tarmac-confrontation-over-israel-admire-your-intellect\/\" title=\"Biden Praises \u2018Fighter\u2019 Rashida Tlaib After Tarmac Confrontation Over Israel: \u2018Admire Your Intellect\u2019\">precision weapons<\/a><\/a>, so the purchase of 10,000 units suggests that the Qataris and Israelis anticipate the near-term need to strike a large list of targets with a high degree of accuracy.<\/p>\n<p>President Donald Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/live\/trump-administration-updates-05-11-2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said yesterday<\/a> that the ceasefire in the Iran War is on \u201clife support.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Chris Bray is a senior correspondent at The Federalist and a former infantry sergeant in the U.S. Army. He has a history PhD from the University of California Los Angeles, not that it did him any good. He also posts on Substack, at &#8220;Tell Me How This Ends,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/chrisbray.substack.com\/\">here<\/a>.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Chris Bray<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/chrisbray\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/ceasefire\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">ceasefire<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Donald Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/foreign-arms-sales\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">foreign arms sales<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/iran\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Iran<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/iran-war\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Iran War<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/iraq\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Iraq<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/military-disclosures\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">military disclosures<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/military-strikes\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">military strikes<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/qatar\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Qatar<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/retaliatory-attacks\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">retaliatory attacks<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/saudi-arabia\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Saudi Arabia<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/secret-base\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">secret base<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/uae\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">UAE<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019re still uncovering new details about the Iran war, and while the picture isn\u2019t clear, recent reports suggest a larger, more complex conflict<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2086,"featured_media":2602045,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/iran-peace-dim-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[79583,32404,4786,3823,32726],"class_list":["post-2602044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-conflict-updates","tag-geopolitics","tag-intelligence","tag-iran","tag-middle-east"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/iran-peace-dim-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2086"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2602044"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2602048,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602044\/revisions\/2602048"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2602045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2602044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2602044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2602044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}