Rocket is already outside working the grill, cleaning the stainless where French Onion Burgers are going to be the focus of the luncheon mission. Inside, Deirdre has Splash and Holly rolling out the breakfast fritters, to accommodate the regular breakfast, and there are a lot of smiles around the Conference Room after a productive holiday prep session.

The Watch, naturally, has other material to deal with before the Long Holiday Weekend kicks off tomorrow.

Overseas, there were more strikes on Iran overnight, part of the continuing argument over Tehran’s latest missile claims—including the road-mobile Kheibar Shekan, the so-called “Castle Breaker.”

We don’t claim this is an authentic image of the new rocket. It is, rather, what the Iranians claim is at least a simulation of the one they are using. If this is something like it, US CENTCOM targeting folks are looking at blowing up systems about the size of the trailer towed by an 18-wheel truck that can be driven just about anywhere accessible by road. That is a complex problem for interdiction.

But the Iranians are unlikely to be able to create many more of them given the current state of their manufacturing. Could Russia or China provide more? It would be a challenge, but certainly not impossible.

Iran says the system gives it a maneuverable warhead and roughly 900 miles of reach. The people doing the striking appear interested in demonstrating that possessing a Castle Breaker and having somewhere safe to launch it are two quite different things.

If you see some of the depictions of range and impact, the 900-miles circle is measured from the center of Iran. Measure it from places in the northwest, like Tabriz, and you suddenly are looking at all sorts of targets in Europe and Asia.

We do not anticipate strikes here in Fairfax today and are going to worry more about rain interfering with the Labor Day celebrations down on the West Patio! But in the meantime, there are 61 days to the mid-terms, and all the timelines have those signals dancing under the gray clouds!

Glad we have a couple oceans in between us and any Castle Breakers, you know?

Meanwhile, Rocket has onions caramelizing.

That seems about right for Labor Day at Socotra House: finish the fritters for breakfast, French Onion Burgers and sausages from the Organic Butcher over on Old Dominion Drive for lunch, and somebody on the other side of the world discovering that the morning Watch never really takes a holiday.

Why would we want to?

Copyright 2026 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com