US extends A-10 ‘Warthog’ service to 2030 after use against Iran
The United States will extend the life of the A-10 “Warthog” attack aircraft until 2030, delaying the aging but widely used close air support plane’s planned retirement.
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink announced the decision on social media, saying the move would maintain combat capability while the defense industry increases aircraft production.
The A-10, which first flew in 1976, has faced repeated retirement attempts for more than two decades as the Pentagon sought to replace it with newer aircraft.
The plane has been used in the current conflict with Iran, according to US Central Command.
Pink missiles, pink drones and pink firearms. Women with uncovered hair—braids, ponytails, short bobs—stood beside weapons, waved flags and smiled for cameras in scenes broadcast across Iranian media. Tehran appears willing to try almost anything to preserve power.
Critics say the imagery forms part of a new Islamic Republic campaign that pairs missiles with fashion, war with pop culture and force with softness.
Liora Hendelman-Baavur, author of Creating the Modern Iranian Woman, told Iran International the visuals resemble Japan’s “kawaii” culture — imagery built around cuteness — but applied here to rockets and war.
“I think it is trying to make violence look cute,” Hendelman-Baavur said. “It is trying to appeal to the youth, to Gen Z.”
She said the campaign appears aimed at a generation that has filled streets, campuses and online spaces during years of unrest.
“We hear a lot of very aggressive and violent language coming from officials,” she said.
“And we also see it in many of the posters and murals being displayed in Iran. Violence and missiles — with red as the central color — are meant to show they are invincible and victorious. And on the other hand, we have this very light, pinkish, idyllic way of presenting a different reality … to demonstrate a whole different picture of what is really going on.”
A pink-painted missile bearing Persian script sits on display, turning a weapon of war into a piece of stylized propaganda.
The result, she said, is two messages at once: murals, rockets and threats for one audience; pink colors, uncovered hair and festival scenes for another — a duality.
The campaign comes just over 100 days after one of the deadliest crackdowns in modern history, when at least 36,500 people were killed during the bloodiest days of the uprising on January 8 and 9 alone. The Islamic Republic continues to execute political dissidents linked to the January protests.
Any publicity — even negative — is good
For Iranian pop culture expert Siavash Rokni, the scenes are less about change than circulation.
He called the imagery a public relations stunt meant to fill feeds, group chats, broadcasts and headlines with new pictures after months of funeral processions, executions, arrests and mourning.
“With PR stunts, it doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad — what matters is that it circulates,” Rokni said.
He said many Iranians know the difference between staged images and daily life, but viewers abroad may not.
“What worries me isn’t Iranians — it’s people outside Iran who might see this and think everything is normal. That’s where it becomes dangerous.”
Others say the campaign also keeps state control over women at the center of public life. Even without hijab, women’s faces, hair and bodies remain tools in official messaging.
Retreat — for now — on Islamist ideology
It may also point to pressure inside the system itself.
Arash Azizi, author of What Iranians Want: Women, Life, Freedom, told Iran International the Islamic Republic was founded on the goal of building a uniformly Islamist society. If it now loosens one of its core social codes, he said, that carries meaning beyond style.
“They understand that they have to give up on this Islamist ideology,” Azizi said.
He also rejected claims that the war has produced a broad wave of new support for the state.
“There’s no evidence that tons of people were anti-regime before the war and are pro-regime now,” he said.
For now, the pink paint may soften the image, but it does not erase the prisons, the executions, the graves or the anger that still runs beneath the surface of Iran.
Senate Democrats will force another vote on legislation seeking to limit US involvement in the war with Iran, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said.
“Tomorrow, Senate Democrats will force a fifth vote on our War Powers Resolution,” Schumer wrote on X.
“Senate Republicans cannot sit on the sidelines while our servicemembers are risking their lives on the frontlines. We will continue putting them on the record until the war ends or until enough of them find the courage to vote with us to end this war.”
At least 26 vessels linked to Iran’s so-called “shadow fleet” have bypassed the US naval blockade despite Washington’s claims that it has turned back shipping bound for the country, according to maritime intelligence reported by Lloyd’s List.
The report cited tracking data showing continued tanker movements tied to Iranian trade since the blockade began.
Among them were several oil and gas tankers carrying Iranian energy exports that departed the Gulf region despite the restrictions, Lloyd’s List reported.
Iran has long relied on a network of ageing or lightly regulated vessels, often operating with obscured ownership or tracking data, to move oil in defiance of Western sanctions.
The report suggests that even under heightened military pressure, elements of that shadow fleet continue to operate.
US Central Command has released images showing American forces patrolling near the Iranian-flagged vessel M/V Touska after Marines boarded and seized the ship.
In a post on X on Monday, CENTCOM said US forces searched the vessel’s container cargo after it attempted to violate the US naval blockade.
The photos shared with the post show US personnel and vessels operating around the ship during the operation on April 20.
CENTCOM said the vessel was intercepted and boarded by US Marines before its cargo was inspected at sea.
Iran’s lead negotiator and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tehran will not negotiate under threats and warned it has spent the past two weeks preparing new options on the battlefield.
“By imposing a blockade and violating the ceasefire, Trump wants to turn the negotiating table into a table of surrender or justify renewed warmongering," he posted on X.
"We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and over the past two weeks we have been preparing to reveal new cards on the battlefield.”
