Iran’s ‘suicide drones’ have sent shockwaves through the global economy

1630 points by Cantaloupe3000 4 hours ago on reddit | 263 comments

JustHanginInThere | 4 hours ago

Uhhh, they've been doing suicide drones for the last 4 or so years in Ukraine/Russia... The location/targets just changed is all. It's pretty short sighted to think that they wouldn't have eventually been used in this way at these locations, let alone the impact to the global economy.

seasonsbloom | 2 hours ago

Exactly. The Ukraine war has led to fast development of attack drones that will surely be applied by Iran. Some reports are saying it would be difficult for Iran to really close the Strait of Hormuz. But they talk about conventional forces. Drones seem like a wild card here.

greenmark69 | 2 hours ago

They've effectively closed it and they didn't even have to fire a shot.

Insurance firms have declared they won't pay out if a ship is sunk trying to get across.
So no ship is crossing it.

padizzledonk | 2 hours ago

>They've effectively closed it and they didn't even have to fire a shot.

Im fairly sure i heard that a tanker or ship was attacked and a couple people died actually

BigWhiteDog | an hour ago

Yes but there is some dispute over who's tanker and who shot it.

Glum-Supermarket1274 | 43 minutes ago

Some dumb people were cheering this war and saying iran wont do shit or whatever. Iran doesnt have to "win", they can absolutely tanked the world economy by doing this fuck shit. Trump and isreal is going to win but they wont "win". Stupid, stupid thing to do. No winners in war except defense contractor.

Sharticus123 | an hour ago

I imagine mines would also be something they’d use.

Rocketsponge | 52 minutes ago

Drones are far more efficient. Minelaying isn’t an activity you can just spring upon someone. A minelayer ship would be observed loading up mines and would be quickly destroyed before or shortly after it left port. With the drones, the Iranians can run them all up and down the coast to ready launch quickly.

Sure_Assumption7857 | 39 minutes ago

Minelaying super drones, bruh 😎

Trakeen | 57 minutes ago

The us has laser based systems they seem to be good at shooting down balloons and our own drones, maybe they can be applied to other situations

Hike_it_Out52 | 41 minutes ago

Yeah but I’m betting that those drone factories are going to move quickly up the priority list.

ChirrBirry | an hour ago

The rest of the world hasn’t been consuming video content from the war in Ukraine like redditors do. Warfare has change in a major way but the fact of it hasn’t quite landed yet.

JustHanginInThere | 23 minutes ago

They're in for a rude awakening then.

CrayonCobold | 54 minutes ago

>The location/targets just changed is all.

Yes but the location means everything here. Ukraine doesn't have as much geographical significance to the rest of the world compared to the strait of hormuz

As for how people didn't see it coming, I think people are way too confident in thinking that the status quo will be upheld lately, especially economists

RedBaronSportsCards | 56 minutes ago

It's the same effect as 9/11.

Americans were fine with conflict and terrorism in the middle east as long as it was in the middle east. Once it happened in NYC and Washington DC, that changed everything. We are now selfish, short-term thinkers and we follow pathetic imitations of strength and leadership in business and politics.

The terrorists, the ones willing to use the weapons, almost always win.

Celebratedmediocre | 32 minutes ago

We were like that well before 9/11

RedBaronSportsCards | 20 minutes ago

No, it's orders of magnitude worse now than it was before 9/11. Nixon signed the Environmental Protection Act, Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act. Racists and nationalists used to separate themselves from society, now they are put in charge of it.

JustHanginInThere | 16 minutes ago

Operations: Desert Shield/Storm, Just Cause, Urgent Fury, and many other since would beg to differ.

RedBaronSportsCards | 11 minutes ago

Winning a battle isnt winning a war.

Jdobalina | 4 hours ago

Yeah it’s weird when you bomb a large country in the Middle East and they retaliate it tends to cause some ripples in the global economy. It’s almost like we have a global economy that gets shaken up when there is instability! Who would have guessed?

DarkGamer | 4 hours ago

It makes money for the military industrial complex though.

Jdobalina | 4 hours ago

Oh absolutely.

Song-Historical | 3 hours ago

Does it? Sounds like those losers get money either way, they just pretend they're part of a response and pocket most of the money. Can't fight wars or even be good at being evil they're just trashy and corrupt.

BillieBlanus | 20 minutes ago

Well..... the folks that build interceptor missiles are surely working double overtime shifts. Beyond that... *shrug*

bayoubevo | 2 hours ago

Eisenhower rolls over in grave.

Iron-Fist | 2 hours ago

But wouldn't they literally get that money anyway? Like they're guaranteed 3.5% of our GDP every year. Wouldn't "preparing for China" be more lucrative than "poking country with economy 1.5% the size of ours"?

LAkand1 | 2 hours ago

They double dip

Bossanova12345 | an hour ago

And those invested in gold and silver.

AwkwardObjective5360 | an hour ago

Metals have had like 2 good years out of the last 20

Bossanova12345 | an hour ago

Good thing I am in them now, then.

AwkwardObjective5360 | an hour ago

Cool. Just saying. Long term not the best investment.

OnePension8698 | an hour ago

Good for Texas oil prices.

dinosaurkiller | 2 hours ago

No one could have seen this coming after we fired all the intelligence analysts that were smart enough to not declare loyalty to Trump.

m0llusk | 3 hours ago

The last time that Iran was bombed there were no luxury hotels hit in retaliation.

ToddlerPeePee | 3 hours ago

For those not in the loop why hotels were hit by Iran, the US military had evacuated the military bases in preparations of bombing Iran. These US military personnel are living in hotels to be hidden among the civilian population.

Ok-Bug-5271 | 3 hours ago

And since we've been hearing the US and Israel say that bombing schools and hospitals is a-ok because there were some Hamas fighters inside, I'm sure they'll have consistent values and say that Iran was just targeting valid military targets.

GibDirBerlin | 2 hours ago

>These US military personnel are living in hotels to be hidden among the civilian population.

I think it's called using human shields. Or do we only call it that when it's Hamas' doing?

defaultedebt | 2 hours ago

What on earth does this comment have to do with the global economy?

GibDirBerlin | an hour ago

90% of this thread is not about the economy.

defaultedebt | an hour ago

And that is to the detriment of us all. Shows how far derailed this sub has become.

GibDirBerlin | an hour ago

Not putting on blinders is never a detriment. Economy is a giant topic without clear edges, as long as we don't know, what aspects might play a role, there is no harm in discussing it all among people who are interested in economics.

defaultedebt | an hour ago

My view was that we discuss economic news, trends, data, research and newly published papers. From that viewpoint, it seems that talking about who uses human shields and who does not is broadly not relevant to economics, given that the topic refers to oil prices and the economic impact of instability in Gulf nations.

CheapThaRipper | 51 minutes ago

I think there are considerable economic implications for the normalization of attacks on civilian infrastructure and hybrid military sites.

Physics_Unicorn | 3 hours ago

That seems reasonable, but is there a source?

TreatAffectionate453 | an hour ago

The source is that they made it up. The US did evacuate troops in the lead up to the invasion, but there are no sources claiming that they were sent to the hotels Iran targeted.

Actually reporting troop movements in detail would probably be seen as violating national security and would put those soldiers lives at risk.

Square_Level4633 | 2 hours ago

Wasn't a Hilton worker fired after warning of ICE activity at the hotel where she worked?

CustomerOutside8588 | 2 hours ago

Why would ICE be in the middle east?

nimbin14 | 2 hours ago

Why not, think of the numbers!

CustomerOutside8588 | an hour ago

They could deport people to their own countries but not have to transport them anywhere! Think of the savings!

HoneyNutz | 2 hours ago

this comment is super high quality -- such source material, very based, much accuracy. /s

Ardekan | an hour ago

Hiding among civilians is awarcrime btw.

Upbeat-Stage2107 | 2 hours ago

The last time Iran was bombed it was nuclear facilities. This time it was their entire leadership structure, military infrastructure, and nuclear facilities (and maybe a school). Safe to say any rational actor in Iran is likely dead and what’s left is going to be chaos

Icy-Lobster-203 | an hour ago

I suspect that they are just trying to inflict some kind of actual cost onto the countries which are providing some kind of support to the US, to try and get those countries to press Trump and Israel to stop.

Iran does not have much in the way of actual leverage, aside from trying to out last Trump's attention span, or make everyone turn on him.

LoudestHoward | 52 minutes ago

Israel was the one attacking them last time, US just joined in at the end. This time the US is leading the way so strikes against countries with US bases makes sesnse.

DetroitLionsSBChamps | 2 hours ago

Oligarchs love instability

SpezLuvsNazis | 2 hours ago

Turns out having a secretary of defense who’s a white nationalist alcoholic with no relevant experience has consequences, who would have guessed?

Dry-Interaction-1246 | 3 hours ago

This news was already sold Thur and Fri

Myopsiamien | 2 hours ago

Take a look at the Oil price too... Someone is gonna make bank.

All Oil producers outside of the Guld that is...

kidsaregoats | 2 hours ago

Wonder if any of those were recently ‘opened up’ under someone else’s control? Couldn’t be.

BigWhiteDog | an hour ago

A small group of new accounts placed war bets on Polymarket just before this all kicked off I've heard of payouts as high as $1/2 mill

JaStrCoGa | 3 hours ago

Almost like ___ allegedly trying to develop a _____ ______ might have been justified.

roamingandy | 2 hours ago

..and stating repeatedly that they were going to immediately use it to nuke Israel? Having a square with a count-down clock to Israel's destruction.

That doesn't sound much like self-defence. It sounds like ideological war-mongering which meant that the international community could never allow them to develop that bomb.

They could have just kept their mouths shut. Funded a little less terror, and no one would have stopped them. It was what they were proudly proclaimed the purpose of enriching nuclear material, that was the real problem which led to this.

umop_apisdn | an hour ago

> .and stating repeatedly that they were going to immediately use it to nuke Israel?

Except that didn't happen and the oft-stated position of the Ayatollah was that nuclear weapons were forbidden, so I have no idea where you are getting this nonsense from. They were in negotiations over their nuclear program and the previous agreement that - they were upholding - with IAEA inspections was torn up by Trump.

Go on, I challenge you, show me just one single statement from the Iranian leadership saying that they want to get nukes and will immediately use them to destroy Israel. Just one. You claim they have "stated this repeatedly" so it won't be hard, right?? Right?

(I expect crickets here).

Word1_Word2_4Numbers | an hour ago

Even if they ever stated that, it still makes no sense at all tactically.

Iran doesn't always make very good decisions, but they're unlikely to make decisions with are immediately existentially suicidal (unless, of course, they're existentially threatened themselves).

In an economics forum it'd be nice to see analysis that wasn't so obviously the worst Game Theory that one could imagine being passed off as obvious truth.

roamingandy | 8 minutes ago

https://www.israelfactcheck.com/from-rhetoric-to-action-iran-calls-for-israel-s-destruction

kdnlcln | 2 hours ago

This is like an international version of Murc's law (shout-out to whoever posted that yesterday)

Potential_Ice4388 | 3 hours ago

You’re on to something!

pharm4karma | 2 hours ago

I'm convinced this will create more stability in the medium to long term.

Marathon2021 | an hour ago

> Flights are grounded, tourists are stranded, expats who went there to live and work in finance and professional services and other sectors, are having to seek sanctuary. They went to avail themselves of the tax shelter, not the bomb shelter.

Oof. That's a hell of a sentence...

DruidicMagic | 4 hours ago

Why didn't Iran send every drone straight at Israel?

They most assuredly know what building Netanyahu is currently in and Mossad HQ isn't moving around.

Turtleshellfarms | 3 hours ago

Netanyahu is not in the region. He’s kinda like Ted Cruz.

Ivorypetal | 2 hours ago

I felt that 😅

robswins | an hour ago

Source: your ass.

COALATRON | 4 hours ago

I heard someone describe it as horizontal warfare- that if all of the surrounding areas are being directly impacted that the hope is a larger international pressure will try to stop the war. Have no idea if that accurately fits here but seems plausible

DarkGamer | 4 hours ago

It also might piss them off enough to dogpile on Iran.

patrickisnotawesome | 4 hours ago

I think that was already part of the calculation. They understand that they have zero air defense and two of the most formidable Air Force contingents in the world operating in their country with impunity. Adding Saudi fighter jets to the mix won’t really change the tactically desperate position they are in. They really only have asymmetric options

RetardedWabbit | an hour ago

This doesn't make any strategic sense to me. You have the giant of USA military power "carefully" punching over the top of their nearby smaller allies in the region, and Iran swings back at all of those allies underfoot. Seems like the most likely way you can get the USA to step up into/in front of those allies to hit you even harder, with even more global support/approval, rather than getting them to back off.

They must estimate a US invasion is much less likely/possible than I do, or view it as less disastrous than the current state is for the Iranian government.

I've just accepted the USA is addicted to war, and I think going to the desert sucks less than the jungles of South America.

Mango_Punch | 32 minutes ago

The US has like 40k troops in the region. Before the Iraq war the US had 150k troops in Kuwait with about 200k coalition forces (including the US). Iran is about twice the size of Iraq, and seems to have more experience projecting their influence militarily, and a larger amount of non-traditional forces (drones etc).

An escalation to a full invasion would take time and build up. It’s possibly in the cards but yes, seems less likely versus just more bombing, missiles and targeted strikes.

Humble-Cable-840 | 3 hours ago

I dont think so, if they directly strike Iran Iran could easily attack their oil facilities. The UAE, Saudi Arabia Qatar and Kuwait may be willing to soak up quite a bit without retaliating as long as their oil stays operational

protossaccount | 3 hours ago

That’s what it’s doing. If anything it’s opening up airspace to the USA and Israel. Iran’s ‘leadership’ isn’t getting support from allies, everyone just waiting for them to die.

MeeseShoop | 3 hours ago

The countries they attacked already gave full access to their airspace/land/ports to the US. That’s why they were attacked lmao.

protossaccount | 3 hours ago

Stupid choice then. Spreading out the missiles made them easier to intercept.

MeeseShoop | 3 hours ago

Possibly. The US Navy and Israel are harder targets than the military bases and other assets in Qatar, Bahrain, etc. though.

protossaccount | 3 hours ago

I’m not speculating, it’s in the report. Just watch a military analysis.

MeeseShoop | 3 hours ago

What is your point then? Israel and US naval vessels are much harder targets. Even if they focused just on those targets it is likely that they do less damage over all.

Brokenandburnt | 2 hours ago

A military analysis of Iran's best tactical targets are irrelevant in this situation.
The force disparity is to great for Iran to accomplish anything on either the tactical or strategical level.

Shaheds are of no use against the US carrier groups. The radar coverage for detecting aerial threats is way to large out at sea.

The drones would be detected by AWACS over the horizon. Jets would swarm and whittle them down even before the AA bubble.

They also have to small warheads to do any meaningful damage to any warship. A carrier wouldn't even notice them.

Even worse for the Shaheds is that they aren't guided by a radar seeker, relying on GPS and inertial guidance. Ships move. Iran's ballistic missiles have the same problem. Iran's weapons systems are focused on hitting places rather than moving targets.

So their best probability to do any damage at all is to go after the servicemen stationed at US bases in the area, if the men move they'll target their new housing instead.

Asymmetrical warfare is the only strategy they have left, relying on that sooner or later the cost for US and Israel will become to great.

There won't ever be a boots on the ground campaign. Iran is to big and the terrain to hostile, it's basically Afghanistan on steroids. Succession struggle doesn't seem like so probably no civil war. Perhaps a popular uprising will be triggered, but I wouldn't count on it.

It'll probably be status quo but with the second son of Khameni in power.

DidAnyoneElseJustCum | 3 hours ago

That seems to be more what's happening right now but Iran doesn't have a lot of options

TobyOrNotTobyEU | 36 minutes ago

Doesn't matter, they can't win anyways. Their only shot is to threaten a lot of damage on their way to losing.

Middle-Purchase7416 | 23 minutes ago

How much more can you dogpile on Iran? They have no control of their airspace. A few extra F-35s isn't moving the needle here.

Legote | 3 hours ago

The countries in the surrounding areas gave US the permission to go ahead with it. I doubt anybody is going to ask the US to stop it and negotiate a cease fire because they’re being harassed now.

GoogleIsYourFrenemy | 4 hours ago

Iron Dome.

effyouspez | 4 hours ago

That can't handle sustained attacks, on average you fire 3 interceptors per target

Hocus-Pocus-No-Focus | 4 hours ago

That’s for ballistic missiles, not drones,

After_Lie_807 | 3 hours ago

Now they have iron beam laser based interceptions…a lot cheaper for drones and small munitions

GibDirBerlin | 2 hours ago

Wait a second... is that what was meant by Jewish space lasers?

meltbox | 59 minutes ago

Holy shit, did we just THINK MTG was insane? lol

DruidicMagic | 4 hours ago

Is utterly worthless when it comes to wave after wave of drones (and hypersonic missiles).

wathappen | 4 hours ago

Are you the Iranian foreign minister?

jlobes | 4 hours ago

They're not entirely wrong.

Iron Dome's interceptors aren't great at targeting drones because their trajectories aren't predictable. That's why they brought Iron Beam online.

Arrow 4 is an interceptor that's designed to be used against hypersonic threats, but as far as the public knows it is near ready for deployment but not yet active.

After_Lie_807 | 3 hours ago

Iron beam being used for drones…super cheap laser based system

robustofilth | 3 hours ago

What hypersonic missiles. Iran doesn’t have any

topyTheorist | 3 hours ago

Really? so why does Israel has only 10 dead people so far in this war, including zero soldiers?

DM_me_ur_PPSN | an hour ago

Do these drones have a pre-set kill limit?

BigMax | 3 hours ago

Right. They’d get some through probably. But why send everything you have for only a tiny success rate when you can do better elsewhere? They can only “win” by causing enough destruction and chaos that they are allowed to negotiate.

nikolapc | 3 hours ago

Yeah it's easy to wage war against backwater "towelheads"(and US still lost those in the end). These are doctorate level strategists who know what they can and can't do, and how to most effectively use what they got.

Terry_Cruz | an hour ago

3rd base for Tony Stark

OldSchoolNewRules | 38 minutes ago

Iron dome was proven ineffective in the last exchange.

QueefferSutherland | 3 hours ago

Netanyahu fled the country like a little bitch and is hiding in Germany last reported.

Brokenandburnt | 2 hours ago

If Germany really wanted to kick the geopolitical anthill they should arrest Bibi and turn him over to ICC.

Might spark WW3 but I would love to see the expression on Bibi's face.

AwkwardObjective5360 | an hour ago

Given their history there is absolutely NO way Germany would EVER do that.

LeatherDude | an hour ago

They said arrest him, not give him a serial number and gas him.

ToddlerPeePee | 3 hours ago

The Iranian leadership was taken out. Iranian military units are acting based on their own initiatives now.

Masonjaruniversity | 4 hours ago

Netanyahu is apparently holding up in Berlin. There was no safe place to land his aircraft in Israel.

Hyperafro | 3 hours ago

Pulling a Ted “Cancun” Cruz.

Chrono978 | 3 hours ago

Back to Europe, true home land.

thehourglasses | 4 hours ago

He is in Germany.

GibDirBerlin | 2 hours ago

No just his plane (for repairs)

karoxxxxx | 2 hours ago

Nope. Wasnt in Greece last time either. You guys are just desperate.

achtungapril | 3 hours ago

Netanyahu is in Germany

Ok-Temporary-8243 | 3 hours ago

If you want attacks to stop, you need international pressure. Attacking a country you've been indirectly attacking for decades does nothing.

redjacktin | 3 hours ago

He is hiding in Europe you can look it up.

HolyMoleyGuacamoly | 3 hours ago

probably better to shut down shipping as much as you can if you’re looking to do any real damage

Emotional_Goal9525 | 2 hours ago

Hardened target.

Commander6420 | 2 hours ago

Iron dome or not, the real targets would be underground.

ayyy_its_wally | 2 hours ago

They almost certainly don’t know what building Netanyahu is in. I imagine they could hit Mossad HQ though.

bill_gonorrhea | 2 hours ago

It’s kind of like the guy who is hitting you is 270lbs so you start to hit their teen friends in the hopes that there’s enough push back from them they get them to stop hitting you.

watch-nerd | 2 hours ago

Nearby Gulf states are softer targets, sends a broader message of their willingness to cause widespread economic pain in the region.

Jethro_Tell | an hour ago

Benny went to Berlin, which would be a bad place to try to drone bomb.

4electricnomad | an hour ago

Or Trump Inc properties worldwide?

You know, soft targets that Trump would actually care about, unlike US military personnel.

Banshee251 | 56 minutes ago

Because Israel has mature air defenses.

Iran just wanted to kill western civilians.

Butane9000 | 4 hours ago

Because Iran is lashing out at everyone nearby regardless of who the aggressors really are. It's a stupid nice because they've just given credence to everything their opponents have said. That Iran has been a threat to the middle east as a whole.

If they had kept their targets to Israel or US military facilities they'd potentially be winning a propaganda war. But once the started hitting civilian complexes in other nations they painted themselves poorly.

Worse since they lack adequate air defense it's only a matter of time until their missile launching equipment is decimated limiting what they can continue to do offensively. That being said they've started putting pressure on the strait or Hormuz so if they do go through with that threat we're in for some economic turmoil.

JuliusErrrrrring | 3 hours ago

They are targeting the countries that bribed Trump to use American tax dollars to fight this war for them. Not a coincidence that United Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia all hate Iran and have all recently given the Trump family either billions, bought billions in Trump Coin, or a private jet for no apparent reason. This war may be the reason.

Talinn_Makaren | 3 hours ago

God I wish everyone understood this. It's sad how many people don't know he's running a crypto scam for one thing.

dravik | 3 hours ago

Dude, they took a couple pot shots at Cyprus. They are lashing out at everyone.

inco2019 | 3 hours ago

Targeting A British base in Cyprus.

dravik | 3 hours ago

The British who refused to participate in the hostilities and refused permission for the US to launch attacks from their bases.

Attacking the UK and Cyprus is idiotic. They weren't involved and didn't want to be involved. All this does is pull them in as opponents.

JuliusErrrrrring | 3 hours ago

The same Cyprus under control of Trump's dictator friend, Erdogan? The one Trump wants to help with rebuilding Gaza? We also have bases everywhere. To call these indiscriminate is either lazy or biased reporting. They may be desperate. They may not be working. But they certainly aren't indiscriminate. They aren't random pot shots at everyone.

Skunk_Gunk | 4 hours ago

Yeah them lashing out at random targets makes me think they are not prepared able to deal with this. Which isn’t surprising considering the power of Israel/USA. Seems like they are trying to get the other gulf countries to get Israel/US to stand down but I don’t think it will work. If they thought they had a real chance they would be going after actual military targets.

HarshComputing | 4 hours ago

That's what happens when leadership is thoroughly taken out. Anyone who has the experience to make this sort of analysis is dead. The people left behind to take charge feel overwhelmed and make strategic mistakes.

Due_Face5949 | 3 hours ago

Yup, feels like they are pretty much cornered now and lashing out in every direction.

Pleasant-Strike3389 | 2 hours ago

Plenty of time to intercept with choppers and fighters. Israel is the best defended country in the Middle East

robustofilth | 3 hours ago

I think we’ve seen all Iran has to offer in terms of a response. The first 24hrs would have been the most important. So far we’re seeing a lot of bluster.

octahexxer | 3 hours ago

If they get a regime change then yes... If no you can bet terrorist cells will start to move and go active. And I think Trump would welcome that as an excuse to put martial law in effect and postpone elections.

robustofilth | 3 hours ago

Well the ongoing terrorism will become a long term problem if the regime falls. But currently we’re in a direct conflict.

Major_Guess1189 | 3 hours ago

There’s no way they have any terrorist sleeper cells. Iranian secret service is fully infiltrated by Mossad. They can’t even keep their supreme leader alive longer than a day.

Fully incompetent on the international front. All effort has been going to suppressing their own population.

TunesAndKings | 2 hours ago

That’s a major guess

axxegrinder | 3 hours ago

I’m thinking the same. A handful of nutiobs sure, but I’d guess they are as weak as they have ever been. I am just in awe at how easy we are making it look, yeah I know kickass intel and kickass weapons, but this is a straight ass whooping. I’d always thought Irans military was fairly strong.

LeatherDude | an hour ago

During the first Gulf War, Iraq had like the 4th largest, well-equipped military in the world.

We absolutely steamrolled them. There are orders of magnitude between us and most other powers.

robustofilth | 25 minutes ago

Struggled against the insurgency tho. And definitely got worked over by the Taliban.

LeatherDude | 20 minutes ago

Oh for sure. Occupation is orders of magnitude harder than invasion.

Brokenandburnt | 2 hours ago

The same Iran that's still rocking the F-14's the US sold to the Shanin the 70's?

The same Iran who already had half or more of their Russian AA destroyed in June last year?

The same Iran that has been under sanctions of one form or another for close to 50 years?

robswins | an hour ago

I couldn’t believe how low their GDP per capita is when I Googled it today. What a waste.

Vegetable_Bank4981 | an hour ago

This is pretty much verbatim what people were saying in the first few days of the iraq war too. It’s not even incorrect. But look what happened after.

Scamwau1 | 57 minutes ago

>I’d always thought Irans military was fairly strong.

That's what the government and media want people to think, to justify their invasion.

HolyMoleyGuacamoly | 27 minutes ago

exactly. everyone just brainwashed on here

ICLazeru | 2 hours ago

Well...Hamas still exists and Israel has been shooting at them for ages.

Consistent-Soil-1818 | 2 hours ago

The way you said that almost sounds like this wasn't Trump's plan and purpose of this from the start. As if he had any motive other than helping himself one way or another. This is only the second Epstein war, after Venezuela, but more is going to happen before he will want to cancel the election in November.

Sure_Assumption7857 | 36 minutes ago

Ya , but are the terrorists working for Iran or the us. Still not sure.

ngroot | an hour ago

> Trump would welcome that as an excuse to put martial law in effect

Trump has no means to do this.

santagoo | an hour ago

Just like he has no means technically to declare war as that authority rests solely on Congress?

ImaginaryHospital306 | 3 hours ago

Already happened in Austin Texas last night

mermanarchy | 3 hours ago

Come onnn dude. Don't make claims like that until there's evidence to prove it. Running with vibes narratives is dangerous

ImaginaryHospital306 | an hour ago

There is evidence to prove it. He was wearing a sweatshirt that said “Property of Allah” and under that had a shirt with an Iranian flag on it.

St33lbutcher | 3 hours ago

Wow interesting take. What are you basing that on?

robustofilth | 3 hours ago

The waves of attacks and accuracy of attacks is poor and will degrade further as they’re attacked. Iran lacks an economy to support a longer direct conflict.

St33lbutcher | 3 hours ago

So you think its basically over? Some thought the same about Iraq and Ukraine. Iranians proved to be pretty hard-core when Saddam invaded.

robustofilth | 3 hours ago

No I didn’t say that. Read my words it’s easier that way. Iraq was always going to decend into sectarian violence as long term scores surfaced. Ukraine was always going to be a longer conflict as Russia failed so spectacular in the first few weeks. The Iran / Iraq war is of no comparison.

St33lbutcher | 2 hours ago

Geez so hostile and confident lol

Brokenandburnt | an hour ago

Air campaigns has caused 0 regime changes since we invented the aircraft, and lord knows it's not for lack of trying.

Boots on the ground is a non-starter. Iran is big, has a huge population and terrain like Afghanistan on steroids.

Unless there's a successful popular uprising the status quo will persist.
An temporary ruling council is in place while the clergy sorts out the succession. Currently the odds are in favor of the second son of Khameni.

timoperez | an hour ago

They killing everyone even loosely connected with the power structure in Iran right now. By the end of next week two secretaries and a janitor will be running international response from Iran

robustofilth | 2 hours ago

Not hostile at all. I think you’re projecting there buddy.

St33lbutcher | an hour ago

You didnt answer my question and you started with

>> No I didn’t say that. Read my words it’s easier that way.

Thats not a very charitable response

robustofilth | an hour ago

I did answer your question. You don’t seem to read.

St33lbutcher | an hour ago

Oof well thanks for the good faith discussion

Ok-Temporary-8243 | 3 hours ago

Outside of traditional suicide attacks, what else can Iran really do on countries outside of Israel? The Iraqi insurgency was a huge issue but it's not like Iraqi terrorists were bombing us cities, they were opportunistically attacking us soldiers in Iraq

St33lbutcher | 2 hours ago

I mean they dont necessarily need to attack outside the country to weather the storm

Ok-Temporary-8243 | 2 hours ago

We are talking in terms of a response. If you said Iran basically just has to eat it and suck it up, then I'd agree too

St33lbutcher | an hour ago

Well if regime change is actually going to be implemented then it will take boots on the ground in Iran

Ok-Temporary-8243 | an hour ago

Def agree. But I don't know what the actual game plan for iran is with Trump and Israel.

St33lbutcher | an hour ago

Yeah i dont think anyone does. Im not convinced even Trump knows.

reelznfeelz | 38 minutes ago

You could be right. But then again, it's not hard to just constantly harass using cheap drones. See Ukraine vs Russia. I guess Iran will be out of, or unable to launch "real" missiles and drones soon, but I kind of wonder if it's really the last we'll hear about counter-attacks. If I were them, yeah I'd hit hard and fast back, but I'd also make sure this felt as long and painful as possible for the US and Isreal.

tonylouis1337 | 2 hours ago

I wonder about what the next guy in charge will do.

1moreanonaccount | 3 hours ago

And they want us believe Iran was close to developing a nuclear weapon.

Kramerica_CEO | 2 hours ago

Well they told us last June that Irans nuclear capabilities were obliterated. What a beautiful word, obliterated.

robustofilth | 3 hours ago

Not sure how close they were but given the resources they were pouring into the nuclear program it’s unlikely they were trying to do it for power generation and medical reasons. They wanted nuclear weapons.

HolyMoleyGuacamoly | 3 hours ago

per the US and Israel, they’ve been 1 week away for the last 3 decades, very weird

karoxxxxx | 2 hours ago

Not wierd at all. I am 1 week away from buying a motorcycle. For 30 years. But i could anytime.

Thats the policy of Iran, to have the knowledge and technology to have a break-out-time of a few month.

HolyMoleyGuacamoly | 2 hours ago

or you’re just bought into propaganda

BadmiralHarryKim | 2 hours ago

Up until now it's been a game both sides played. Iran doesn't quite go nuclear and US/Israel doesn't try to overthrow the regime. A status quo that served the political interests of both sides.

We are in uncharted waters now.

HolyMoleyGuacamoly | 2 hours ago

they would have been smart to go nuclear. served north korea well. none of this is good for keeping nuclear weapons contained, as every state will be thinking the same thing.

also - who’s controlling all of their current nuclear material, scientists, etc? all in the wind.

just people passing buttons with absolutely no plan and idea what consequences can come from this

BadmiralHarryKim | 2 hours ago

Trump's a reckless idiot.

Kidnapping leaders of enemy states from their capitals. Targeting leaders of near nuclear states for assassination. Trying to overthrow the governments of near nuclear states.

The world is going to be less stable in the years to come.

HolyMoleyGuacamoly | an hour ago

100%

karoxxxxx | 2 hours ago

Why else insist on uranium enrichment? Why else hide centrifuge centers?

HolyMoleyGuacamoly | 2 hours ago

i’m just telling you that the urgency and immediacy that they been feeding everyone for decades is bs. there was a nuclear agreement agreed to, that was ripped up - by the US (which israel loved).

Brokenandburnt | 2 hours ago

Yeah, Iran has had Uranium enriched to 60%+ for ages. The purer the fuel, the faster the remaining enrichment process is.

If they had wanted to they could have finished the enrichment, built a simple gun type bomb in a few months.

But nukes are expensive to maintain. And they would still have needed to invest in a launch vehicle.

The cost in both monetary and political capital has been higher then the expected benefit from completing the program.

1moreanonaccount | 3 hours ago

They have been a week away for 30 years

robustofilth | 3 hours ago

I think that’s just a media headline.

1moreanonaccount | 3 hours ago

Call it what you want it has been the justification for this since I was a child

Danne660 | 40 minutes ago

They choose to be close but not finishing it. They want to be close so they can go nuclear quickly if they choose so but not close enough that they get attacked for having nukes.

1moreanonaccount | 38 minutes ago

Brother, I can’t make out what you just said

ohnoitsme7890 | 2 hours ago

It's a shame they didn't get them, as that's the only thing that would've prevented the US and its allies attacking them constantly

robustofilth | an hour ago

I don’t think a country that has vowed to destroy another state by any means should have such weapons.

HolyMoleyGuacamoly | 29 minutes ago

north korea has vowed to destroy everyone, and yet. countries will learn from this that negotiating with the US is pointless as the next admin will rip it up and attack and the only thing that matters is having nukes.

robustofilth | 21 minutes ago

North Korea hasn’t actually vowed to destroy another state. It’s just rather bellicose in its nature.

HolyMoleyGuacamoly | 18 minutes ago

what!? i just browsed 30 diff articles of “north korea bows to destroy…”

now do they actually say this / mean this? did iran actually mean this / would they do this?depends on the propaganda you want to believe

ohnoitsme7890 | an hour ago

MAD only works for countries that are armed appropriately. The only way to keep countries like the US and Israel from attacking and invading other countries is to make sure they can participate.

voytek707 | 3 hours ago

It has to be true - how will the US and Israel justify their massive “defensive retaliatory response”?

Scamwau1 | 58 minutes ago

Which makes the US assault even less defensible.

roostershoes | 3 hours ago

Yup. The “war” is already over if we got Iranian leadership. US isn’t invading so presumably now we just get a power vacuum and probably more terrorism.

robustofilth | 3 hours ago

Probably.

Fuzzy_Broccoli1655 | an hour ago

This is what will happen. Trump is such a dumbfuck. This will be a worse situation than having the Ayatollah in charge.

FireFoxG | an hour ago

Iraq had no response... and it took the US 20 years and 2+ trillion to realize the epic screw up it was.

The issue is not toppling a regime... it's the 're-education' of the population and nation building that comes after that is the real issue. Its impossible and the last dozen conflicts the US started is proof enough of that.

Nearly every one of the countries we overthrew, even Iran back in the 1940s... led to the same result. South Korea might be the only success... defined by the result and not the rhetoric... and we still technically lost that war.

awr90 | an hour ago

They don’t have anything left, also this is proof yet again Chinese and Russian radar can’t detect US aircraft or cruise missiles

Hike_it_Out52 | 37 minutes ago

That’s a very assuming and borderline arrogant thought. They control several terrorist groups around the globe and are allied with Russia, N Korea and to an extent China. This can get out of hand very quickly. I hate that a bunch of nearly 80 year old men have decided to ruin what was largely a stable world order.

robustofilth | 23 minutes ago

Arrogant thought? Not really. It’s a view on the current direct conflict. The terrorism issue will be around for a lot longer.

Aethelete | 3 hours ago

International war criminal blackmailing a six offender into war, has triggered retaliatory strikes sending shockwaves through the global economy. *Fixed it for you.

RapedByPlushies | 2 hours ago

A "six" offender? Are you a Kiwi or something?

VividEconomist8587 | 2 hours ago

6 a fender

HolyMoleyGuacamoly | 3 hours ago

just forgot “pedophile” - other than that, no notes, great title

bot_comment1234 | 2 hours ago

I vote republican because they're good for the economy and not socialist 🤓

HolyMoleyGuacamoly | 2 hours ago

oh yeah, look at that economy under republicans, every major crash. great work

can’t even define socialist

BearChavez82 | an hour ago

Username checks out.

lkng4now | an hour ago

Ask American farmers how great the economy is for them

Banshee251 | 54 minutes ago

I wasn’t aware you supported regimes who murder their civilians and support child rape and female oppression.

Color me surprised.

MalikTheHalfBee | 34 minutes ago

Their leadership has supposedly been planning for a death to USA war for decades & not only do most of them immediately die, but their military response has been beyond pathetic. Suicide drones haven’t sent shockwaves anywhere.

Ayatollah Assahollah, amitire?

Aethelete | 3 hours ago

International war criminal blackmailing a six offender into war, has triggered retaliatory strikes sending shockwaves through the global economy. *Fixed it for you.

jregovic | 19 minutes ago

Republicans and the US right are already gearing up the propaganda that this is a foreign policy win for the US. All consequences be damned, the immediate effect of having taken out the elder leader of Iran is a win.

The instigators of this war, Project 2025 and the Israeli government, don’t give a damn about global economic consequences, because they can take control of more to press the war effort.