Originally Posted by
N39E002
I think that Iran could probably shut down The Red Sea. I think they could probably reduce the world's fertilizer supply by a third, greatly increasing the risk of inflation for food and reducing the food supply. I think Iran could successfully attack desalinization plants in the Middle East potentially making large areas of the Middle East uninhabitable.
Depends how desperate we all get, I suppose. I think we have a long way to go if we don't find a way out. The Iranians are facing an existential threat, and I'm not sure Trump has a way to get out of this without accepting a very ugly deal.
Agreed 100%.
The Iranian regime, like pretty much every other regime in history, has always been about one thing: maintaining its own power. To do so, the regime has ensured not only that 90 million people must live in fear, but that at least a few million of those people have a very vested interest in the regime's continued existence. Not just the generals and high-ranking bureaurats, but the low-level goons in the Basenji (militia force) who have helped turn a once-proud nation into a totalitarian theocracy.
As you say, that regime is now fighting for its very existence; they have no reason to exercise any restraint whatsoever. So when people say "this'll be over in a few weeks" -- I wish I had some of what they were smoking.
(Also, I give it two more weeks before Trumpstein threatens to nuke Tehran.)