The only upside I can see to a war with Iran is it cutting off their Shahed drones from the Ukrainian front. It'll be interesting to see how Putin might get involved to keep those UAVs available.
The reasons and caution you’ve expressed against going to war with Iran are all right. However, you said there is a “pretext” for going to war with Iran. How do you know this since you’ve said Trump has not told us what it is? So you seem to be clairvoyant. He did tell us he has repeatedly told Iran they cannot have nuclear weapons and should make a deal but as yet, they haven’t. You also say there were indications Iran was complying with the deal they made before. Really? What were those ? To my knowledge, Iran has never complied with the US no nuclear enrichment agreements. Enrichment and destruction of Israel and the Great Satan (us) are the only goals Iran has ever declared and advanced. In any case, the ramifications, unforeseen consequences and chances of this war turning out for the best for all involved are not good. So let’s pray for a miracle solution that stops this advance in its tracks.
Consider the source. Apparently, not all sources agree. As soon as Obama gave them 6 million dollars in cash, they accelerated their nuclear enrichment build up. If Iran wanted to comply with its 2015 agreement, Trump would not have implemented Midnight Hammer.
Trump canceled their previous agreement in his first term because it was signed by Obama. I think he thought it'd be like killing NAFTA and implementing the USMCA - do the same thing, but call it his.
So you have no idea what our objectives could possibly be in Iran? The only possibility you can seriously entertain is that Trump wants to gin up his poll numbers? And of course he needs to bring in Jeffries and Schumer, AOC and Harris, not to mention Starmer, Macron, and the UN, for their sage and supportive advice?
And then there’s the real world, where the Iranian mullahs fail virtually every test of legitimacy as a government or a world power. There isn’t a better case for regime change anywhere, whether from an internal or external perspective. Can we accomplish it? No one knows, and citing broadly popular regimes like Churchill’s England or even Hitler’s Germany does nothing to advance the discussion.
The point being that we don’t know how weak the mullahs really are, and the Trump administration’s deliberations reflect this. We’re not bumbling in like Bush or bribing bad behavior like Obama. We’re acting like a world power with unprecedented options, but in a very tough situation. And thus far, this administration has given no reason to doubt their deliberations.
The only upside I can see to a war with Iran is it cutting off their Shahed drones from the Ukrainian front. It'll be interesting to see how Putin might get involved to keep those UAVs available.
Taco
The reasons and caution you’ve expressed against going to war with Iran are all right. However, you said there is a “pretext” for going to war with Iran. How do you know this since you’ve said Trump has not told us what it is? So you seem to be clairvoyant. He did tell us he has repeatedly told Iran they cannot have nuclear weapons and should make a deal but as yet, they haven’t. You also say there were indications Iran was complying with the deal they made before. Really? What were those ? To my knowledge, Iran has never complied with the US no nuclear enrichment agreements. Enrichment and destruction of Israel and the Great Satan (us) are the only goals Iran has ever declared and advanced. In any case, the ramifications, unforeseen consequences and chances of this war turning out for the best for all involved are not good. So let’s pray for a miracle solution that stops this advance in its tracks.
This link was in the article.
https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2019-04/news/iaea-says-iran-abiding-nuclear-deal
Consider the source. Apparently, not all sources agree. As soon as Obama gave them 6 million dollars in cash, they accelerated their nuclear enrichment build up. If Iran wanted to comply with its 2015 agreement, Trump would not have implemented Midnight Hammer.
Trump canceled their previous agreement in his first term because it was signed by Obama. I think he thought it'd be like killing NAFTA and implementing the USMCA - do the same thing, but call it his.
Didn't work out so well.
So you have no idea what our objectives could possibly be in Iran? The only possibility you can seriously entertain is that Trump wants to gin up his poll numbers? And of course he needs to bring in Jeffries and Schumer, AOC and Harris, not to mention Starmer, Macron, and the UN, for their sage and supportive advice?
And then there’s the real world, where the Iranian mullahs fail virtually every test of legitimacy as a government or a world power. There isn’t a better case for regime change anywhere, whether from an internal or external perspective. Can we accomplish it? No one knows, and citing broadly popular regimes like Churchill’s England or even Hitler’s Germany does nothing to advance the discussion.
The point being that we don’t know how weak the mullahs really are, and the Trump administration’s deliberations reflect this. We’re not bumbling in like Bush or bribing bad behavior like Obama. We’re acting like a world power with unprecedented options, but in a very tough situation. And thus far, this administration has given no reason to doubt their deliberations.
In Trump's America, bad behavior bribes him.[1]
(With apologies to Yakov Smirnoff.)
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/02/trump-uae-crypto-deal