Trump, Netanyahu and Khamenei – three angry old men who could get us all killed
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This was not inevitable. This is a war Israel chose. It could have been prevented. Diplomatic talks were ongoing when the bombers took off for Iran. Israel’s continuing, illegal, unjustified airstrikes are unlikely to achieve their stated aim – permanently ending Tehran’s presumed efforts to build nuclear weapons – and may accelerate it. They must stop now. Likewise, Iran must halt its retaliation immediately and drop its escalatory threats to attack US and UK bases.
This conflict is not limited, as was the case last year, to tit-for-tat exchanges and “precision strikes” on a narrow range of military targets. It’s reached a wholly different level. Potentially nothing is off the table. Civilians are being killed on both sides. Leaders are targets. The rhetoric is out of control. With Israel fighting on several fronts, and Iran’s battered regime backed against a wall, the Middle East is closer than ever to a disastrous conflagration.
Reasons can always be found to go to war. The roots of major conflicts often reach back decades – and this is true of the Israel-Iran vendetta, which dates to the 1979 Islamic revolution. The so-called “shadow war” between the two intensified in recent years. Yet all-out conflict had been avoided, until now. So who is principally to blame for this sudden, unprecedented explosion?
Answer: three angry old men whose behaviour raises serious doubts about their judgment, common sense, motives and even their sanity.
Trust The Guardian to "both-sides" a blatant war of aggression and just completely fail to mention the massive genocide Israel is carrying out.
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No doubt Israel started this iteration but to say that Iran doesn't want war is viewing the regime too favourably. Of course they don't want war on Iranian territory - but they do want to directly sponsor Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, al-Assad (until he fell), and other mostly Shia militias while severely oppressing their own population - especially minorities. Fuck Israel but it's not like Iran comes with peaceful intentions. My parents fled from this regime, and while virtually no Iranian supports Israel's actions or wants war, most of us wouldn't shed a single tear if the entire regime were wiped out.
Iran doesn’t want this war
No doubt Iran has acted in aggressive ways in other places. However it seemed to not have directed its aggression directly at Israel. People keep claiming that Iran would have orchestrated October 7, but if it had, Hezbollah, Houthis and Iranian proxies in Syria and Iraq would have joined in full force. So Iran wasn't interested in a confrontation with Israel in the past years either.
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This was not inevitable. This is a war Israel chose. It could have been prevented. Diplomatic talks were ongoing when the bombers took off for Iran. Israel’s continuing, illegal, unjustified airstrikes are unlikely to achieve their stated aim – permanently ending Tehran’s presumed efforts to build nuclear weapons – and may accelerate it. They must stop now. Likewise, Iran must halt its retaliation immediately and drop its escalatory threats to attack US and UK bases.
This conflict is not limited, as was the case last year, to tit-for-tat exchanges and “precision strikes” on a narrow range of military targets. It’s reached a wholly different level. Potentially nothing is off the table. Civilians are being killed on both sides. Leaders are targets. The rhetoric is out of control. With Israel fighting on several fronts, and Iran’s battered regime backed against a wall, the Middle East is closer than ever to a disastrous conflagration.
Reasons can always be found to go to war. The roots of major conflicts often reach back decades – and this is true of the Israel-Iran vendetta, which dates to the 1979 Islamic revolution. The so-called “shadow war” between the two intensified in recent years. Yet all-out conflict had been avoided, until now. So who is principally to blame for this sudden, unprecedented explosion?
Answer: three angry old men whose behaviour raises serious doubts about their judgment, common sense, motives and even their sanity.
False equivalencies.
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Putin is by far the worst one.
Neither Netanyahu nor Khamenei have the capacity for war the way the other 2 have.
And Putin already has achieved what Trump wants to achieve: being a dictator with full control of the state.
Oh how much the world would improve if all 4 of them suddenly get a bullet between the eyes.
How is Putin worse than Netanyahu? Just compare the children death toll in Palestine vs. Ukraine.
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Iran doesn’t want this war
No doubt Iran has acted in aggressive ways in other places. However it seemed to not have directed its aggression directly at Israel. People keep claiming that Iran would have orchestrated October 7, but if it had, Hezbollah, Houthis and Iranian proxies in Syria and Iraq would have joined in full force. So Iran wasn't interested in a confrontation with Israel in the past years either.
Oh absolutely, this one is on Israel for sure. Just important to note that it's not like the Iranian regime is made up of pacifists
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Khameni didn't want a war
Because they know they'll lose it as things currently stand.
That's why they've been trying to build nukes.
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I think many people learned the wrong lesson from GWB's Iraq War. It was presented as (among other things) a way to stop an enemy of the USA from obtaining nuclear weapons and it was a mistake, so they conclude that using force to stop enemies of the USA from obtaining nuclear weapons is a mistake. However, using force (if necessary) to stop enemies of the USA from obtaining nuclear weapons is a prudent idea and the problem with that Iraq War was that it was not actually fought for that purpose. GWB was the boy who cried wolf but real wolves still exist.
Why should Israel have nuclear weapons but not Iran?
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Illegal, maybe. But... Unjustified? Maybe the author is unaware of Isreal's recent divulgence of Iran's plan to sprint for a nuke while its militant religious zealots in Hamas and Hizbullah are hobbled? Or how openly the mullahs state that they will use it?
Israel has nuclear weapons, its neighbours that it threatens have every right to nuclear weapons. You just want Israel to achieve its expansionist goals with no pushback.
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Illegal, maybe. But... Unjustified? Maybe the author is unaware of Isreal's recent divulgence of Iran's plan to sprint for a nuke while its militant religious zealots in Hamas and Hizbullah are hobbled? Or how openly the mullahs state that they will use it?
Surely nobody has ever lied about the military capability of a country it wanted to attack...
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How is Putin worse than Netanyahu? Just compare the children death toll in Palestine vs. Ukraine.
Don't mistake Ukraine's ability for self-defense as Putin's mercy.
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Because they know they'll lose it as things currently stand.
That's why they've been trying to build nukes.
First of all: It’s not clear that they want nukes. Like, seriously, they have been accused of almost having nukes for thirty years, it’s much more plausible at this point that they are much more interested in the ability to acquire them quickly in case they need them.
But even then: It makes no sense for them to use them aggressively, but it makes an unbelievable amount of sense for them to want them for defensive purposes. Like: They have time and time suffered from western interference, including the extremely bloody Iran-Iraq-war and have a hostile, nazi-run rouge state running a genocide and storing nukes without NPT-approval that is receiving unlimited support from the US in their vicinity.
The fact of the matter is that there is no country on earth that is as justified in pursuing a nuclear deterrent on earth as Iran.
And none of that changes anything about the government being made up from horrible tyrants that are almost as bad (but definitely not actually as bad, let alone worse!) as the one in Israel. They absolutely should be overthrown, but that’s not the job for the genocidal nazis in Israel.
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Israel has nuclear weapons, its neighbours that it threatens have every right to nuclear weapons. You just want Israel to achieve its expansionist goals with no pushback.
Despite having nuclear weapons and not being a party to the NPT, Israel has never threatened to use them.
Unlike Iran and most of its neighbors which threaten to destroy Israel every chance they get.
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Despite having nuclear weapons and not being a party to the NPT, Israel has never threatened to use them.
Unlike Iran and most of its neighbors which threaten to destroy Israel every chance they get.
wrote on last edited by [email protected]Since before its founding it has been engaged in ethnic cleansing, massacres and expansion. Right now it illegally occupies the West Bank, parts of Lebanon and Syria, enforces a brutal siege on the Gaza Strip and is guilty of genocide. You are talking about it as if they are victims and not a violent and racist settler colonial project based on apocalyptic and messianic ideologies.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_Nations_resolutions_concerning_Israel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tantura_massacre
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_occupation_of_the_Golan_Heights
https://www.972mag.com/second-nakba-mainstream-israeli-right/
https://mepei.com/greater-israel-an-ongoing-expansion-plan-for-the-middle-east-and-north-africa/
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No doubt Israel started this iteration but to say that Iran doesn't want war is viewing the regime too favourably. Of course they don't want war on Iranian territory - but they do want to directly sponsor Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, al-Assad (until he fell), and other mostly Shia militias while severely oppressing their own population - especially minorities. Fuck Israel but it's not like Iran comes with peaceful intentions. My parents fled from this regime, and while virtually no Iranian supports Israel's actions or wants war, most of us wouldn't shed a single tear if the entire regime were wiped out.
Did you forget that israel also backed the shah which was also oppressive and killed iranian? The west and it proxy israel always trying to control iranian natural ressources.
Iran provide weapons to resistance groups but do not control their actions. It's not different than the united state selling weapona to it's allies
Iran was forced to intervene in syria because the plan was always to put another regime that will protect israel and not because they love the butcher Assas butchring syrians
You can't claim to not support israel when they are the one right now trying to change the regime right now. How many iranians do you think should die for a regime change that will be replaced by a puppet not chosen by iranians?
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Because they know they'll lose it as things currently stand.
That's why they've been trying to build nukes.
They never tried to build a nuke
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They never tried to build a nuke
Yes, I'm sure a nation with huge oil and gas reserves wants nuclear just to have very expensive energy.
They want nuclear weapons to prevent regime change due to external interference. Russia can't protect them. There's no NATO style protection for Russian allies. I think we're only seeing this now because of how weak Russia is on the global stage.
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Yes, I'm sure a nation with huge oil and gas reserves wants nuclear just to have very expensive energy.
They want nuclear weapons to prevent regime change due to external interference. Russia can't protect them. There's no NATO style protection for Russian allies. I think we're only seeing this now because of how weak Russia is on the global stage.
We heard this dumb argument for decades
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Did you forget that israel also backed the shah which was also oppressive and killed iranian? The west and it proxy israel always trying to control iranian natural ressources.
Iran provide weapons to resistance groups but do not control their actions. It's not different than the united state selling weapona to it's allies
Iran was forced to intervene in syria because the plan was always to put another regime that will protect israel and not because they love the butcher Assas butchring syrians
You can't claim to not support israel when they are the one right now trying to change the regime right now. How many iranians do you think should die for a regime change that will be replaced by a puppet not chosen by iranians?
For me it's about being realistic. Iran is never gonna defeat Israel as long as the Americans support them. You're right that Iran will never flourish because the powers won't ever allow it - Israel, USA, Western Europe, Saudi Arabia, sometimes Turkey.. puppet or not, I'm not gonna support the devil I know just because I can't know what happens in the time after.
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For me it's about being realistic. Iran is never gonna defeat Israel as long as the Americans support them. You're right that Iran will never flourish because the powers won't ever allow it - Israel, USA, Western Europe, Saudi Arabia, sometimes Turkey.. puppet or not, I'm not gonna support the devil I know just because I can't know what happens in the time after.
So do you agree that Israel should stop the war then Iranians themselves decide to overthrow the regime?
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So do you agree that Israel should stop the war then Iranians themselves decide to overthrow the regime?
Of course I do? My only statement is that I wouldn't be sad if a rocket happened to hit Khamenei. Never gonna shed a tear for a tyrant, even if it was my other enemy that caused his downfall.
