2026 Israeli–United States strikes on Iran

[Mauro]

For religious fanatics to go to war against a country full of religious fanatics is the height of foolishness

Unfortunately, it's also been historically very common.

 

[Todd Feinman]

Unfortunately, it's also been historically very common.

Yeah.. Thirty Years' War. Just wow.

 

[deirdre]

Actually I would suspect it was done now because Israel expects Trump to be neutered after the Novermber elections.

nah, you only need congress if you want to officially declare war. we can continue to bomb whoever we want if the house and senate flip in November.

 

[fizzBuzz]

Amongst all the noise from media/social media/etc. It seems a major theme with this war/operation is that Iran does not pose a threat to the US, therefore, it's illegal/unconstitutional to do what they're doing. And the US is fighting Israel's war.. again.

My opinion - these situations are always borderline illegal/unconstitutional/immoral and both sides have done this for a long time. Also, as stated by Rubio, prior to the strikes, we had intelligence suggesting Iran would strike us (military bases/embassies in the Middle East) if Israel struck them - and that is considered an immediate threat. Will we ever see this evidence? maybe, maybe not. But I think we can all agree that Iran poses a threat to anyone within their reach, and even more so, its own people. So I don't see this as "Israel's war", though they are probably the biggest player. I see this as the US protecting its interests and ally's interests in the Middle East. Rubio also stated the goal is to take out their missile silos, navy, and uranium enrichment facilities. Regime change is not the goal, according to Rubio. That is up to the people of Iran - hopefully, they take advantage. Some talking heads seem to think this will be another forever war and we'll see boots on the ground in Iran. I really hope this isn't the case.

For reference to Rubio's comments, see @deirdre's post above.

 

[jdog]

Amongst all the noise from media/social media/etc. It seems a major theme with this war/operation is that Iran does not pose a threat to the US, therefore, it's illegal/unconstitutional to do what they're doing. And the US is fighting Israel's war.. again.

My opinion - these situations are always borderline illegal/unconstitutional/immoral and both sides have done this for a long time. Also, as stated by Rubio, prior to the strikes, we had intelligence suggesting Iran would strike us (military bases/embassies in the Middle East) if Israel struck them - and that is considered an immediate threat. Will we ever see this evidence? maybe, maybe not. But I think we can all agree that Iran poses a threat to anyone within their reach, and even more so, its own people. So I don't see this as "Israel's war", though they are probably the biggest player. I see this as the US protecting its interests and ally's interests in the Middle East. Rubio also stated the goal is to take out their missile silos, navy, and uranium enrichment facilities. Regime change is not the goal, according to Rubio. That is up to the people of Iran - hopefully, they take advantage. Some talking heads seem to think this will be another forever war and we'll see boots on the ground in Iran. I really hope this isn't the case.

For reference to Rubio's comments, see @deirdre's post above.

Well, Rubio's presser struck me because his reasons for going to war seem different from the reasons Trump, Hegseth, and Lindsey Graham have articulated.

There are also apparently military commanders telling their troops this is a Christian war and this is all part of God's plan, so don't worry.

 

[RTM]

Does this look like a case that the head of the snake has been cut off and we're hoping there won't be a hydra and the dying body might just limp along and play ball with the West?

 

[fizzBuzz]

Well, Rubio's presser struck me because his reasons for going to war seem different from the reasons Trump, Hegseth, and Lindsey Graham have articulated.

There are also apparently military commanders telling their troops this is a Christian war and this is all part of God's plan, so don't worry.

I'm opposed to religion as much as anyone else here. I also understand that at least some form of religion plays a role in almost every country's political/social landscape. I disagree with most religion-inspired policy, but I feel like I would be overreacting if I got my panties in a wad over some commanders trying to inspire their troops be calling this a "Christian war". This just seems to be searching for reasons to complain. It's as irrelevant and inconsequential as a coach praying with his football team before a game... who cares? Let them be weird...

 

[Mendel]

I don't think you could insure that they will never have a nuclear weapon unless you occupy the country

The record shows that UN weapons inspections have worked well.

 

[Gary C]

Does this look like a case that the head of the snake has been cut off and we're hoping there won't be a hydra and the dying body might just limp along and play ball with the West?

Very possibly. Trump thinks in personalities so he may think he can decapitate Iran as he did Venezuela and things will be fine.

Venezuela had been reduced largely to a kleptocratic cult of personality under Chavez who bequeathed it to Maduro who didn't actually have one. A personality that is. His surviving associates who seem to have done a lot of the day-to-day repression, taxed the drug cartels to allow them to continue doing business, and generally governed/stole from the Venezuelan people have taken a lesson from seeing their boss plucked out the house next door and are scrambling to get off/stay off the US regime's radar. So far so good. By the time people realize this has almost no impact on the $100 billion illegal drug markets, Trump will be gone.

Iran has over three times the population and has been building and grooming security forces around the mullah's particular school of Islam and the strategic use of Israel, the US, and the Saudi royal family as external enemies to build internal cohesion since 1979. Together the Army, the IRGC, and Basij have money, weapons, and a few hundred thousand fighting men available at multiple locations both inside and outside Iran.

The fact of Iran's lackluster response so far suggests that Israel and the US together had a very good picture of the the Iranian's Command and Control systems, likely boosted by what they learned during the June 2025 bombing campaign. Whoever survived the initial decapitation strikes is apparently having difficulty getting the surviving forces moving and performing militarily useful operations to either defend Iran or strike the US or Israel.

The thing is, we saw this in Iraq when the sitting government was picked apart and brushed aside by the US led invasion only to see an array of militant organizations who's only common trait was hating the US presence develop into an intractable security problem. That's how you end up in a quagmire. The Iranian Quds Force and IRGC intelligence services were deeply involved in getting those militias organized and pointed at the US. That's wasn't just a few senior officers you can pick off with a few Tomahawk missiles. Thousand of Iranian personnel were involved and we have to assume that most are still alive and retain the skills they developed fighting US interests twenty years ago.

So the question is, does the Iranian hydra have more potential heads than we have bombs or cruise missiles? One way or another we are going to find out.

My two cents

 

[deirdre]

Does this look like a case that the head of the snake has been cut off and we're hoping there won't be a hydra and the dying body might just limp along and play ball with the West?

thats basically what Trump just said in the Merz press conference posted above.

 

[deirdre]

This just seems to be searching for reasons to complain. It's as irrelevant and inconsequential as a coach praying with his football team before a game... who cares? Let them be weird...

im guessing the angle is more "we arent bombing Iran because they are terrorists who are a threat to us, we are bombing them because we are Islamophobic."