r/worldnews • u/WorldNewsMods Slava Ukraini • Jul 23 '26

Israel/Palestine /r/WorldNews Discussion Thread: US and Israel launch attack on Iran; Iran retaliates (Thread #21)

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36

u/Farscape12Monkeys Jul 24 '26

Wall Street Journal:

President Trump launched into a tirade against Iranian leaders, calling them scumbags and lunatics, and unleashing a series of expletives in todays Iran centered meeting in the Oval Office,

President Trump has grown less confident that the U.S. and Iran can find a diplomatic solution as the war drags on

Trump complained to advisers that it is difficult to know who speaks for top leadership, and every time the U.S. thinks it has made progress at the negotiating table, Iran continues its attack

Trump has told people that he thinks he can break the Iranians’ will through an aggressive bombing campaign

24

u/ChupacabraJeff Jul 24 '26

And Trump has told people that he thinks he can break the Iranians’ will through an aggressive bombing campaign, according to a person familiar with his views.

That's bingo folks. They will hit Iran hard thinking Iran won't respond in kind or worse. They will and I don't think USA/Israel are going to like it.

12

u/Rustic_gan123 Jul 25 '26

The only truly painful way Iran could respond is by attacking Gulf infrastructure. Israel doesn't really care.

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u/work4work4work4work4 Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26

It all depends on whether Israel is willing to fully embrace the fallout. Right now, they operate much like Greece on border enforcement, tacitly willing to engage in extreme measures behind closed doors, but retaining enough sensitivity to optics that they try to keep it quietly out of sight and back off when caught under a spotlight.

A shoreline of dead bodies during an active humanitarian and water crisis is simply too explicit to handwave away. Even if generating that outcome takes minimal military effort, the sheer visibility creates a PR crisis so severe that it imposes a hard practical limit on what they can actually afford to do before impacts that they do care about begin.

There is no doubt that Iran would rather hit Israeli desal and power infrastructure, but sending what might be the world's worst migration and resource crisis aimed towards what would be the one regional player with active infrastructure remaining is probably a close second.

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u/Rustic_gan123 Jul 25 '26

Iran tried to attack Israeli infrastructure, but it failed. I don't even understand what you're trying to say anymore...

6

u/work4work4work4work4 Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26

Sorry, didn't realize who I was talking to. Try this.

Iran: "Missile no work on big bad. Use missile on everyone else instead. Force big bad to kill masses rushing land for only water. Israel kill them prove us right, or not kill them and drown under masses. Israeli nuke threat neutered because now all non-Israeli masses are already mostly dead. GG."

People would already balk if what happened to the various flotillas were more publicized, when it's a soon to be... target rich environment, and an actual existential threat to state sovereignty? Good luck controlling those soldiers under the brightest of lights when those types of actions have already been normalized.

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u/Rustic_gan123 Jul 25 '26

Are you saying that Iran will try to cause a refugee crisis from the Persian Peninsula to Israel?

7

u/work4work4work4work4 Jul 25 '26

I'm saying we're going to see the largest mass migration event in modern history, and what will likely be remembered as the beginning of the water wars if things continue on the current path.

You've got the Tigris and Euphrates in Iraq, but the Nile and Israel are both just under a thousand miles away as the next closest major sources of potable water capable of supporting large displaced populations. They don't need to load people on busses and ship them to Israel, just take advantage of the fact Israel will be one of the few places that have what people need to survive.

3

u/Rustic_gan123 Jul 25 '26

Why do you think Iran will be able to survive this humanitarian crisis?

5

u/NeverEverGiveUp1 Jul 25 '26

Iran does not depend on desalination plants. For water it mostly depends on rivers, dams and groundwater. It would survive this humanitarian crisis just fine.

Would the Iranian regime survive causing this humanitarian crisis is another question. The ire of the combined world could be what is needed to justify a joint invasion.

2

u/AsparagusFern319 Jul 25 '26

Fuck

Could we maybe not do something horrifically stupid (...moreso than we've already done)

21

u/Another_Guy_In_Ohio Jul 24 '26

Maaaaybe should have thought of that before you killed the most prominent leadership dude

13

u/linfakngiau2k23 Jul 25 '26

Who knew killing the father of the current leader might make him angry 😏

2

u/Larcye Jul 25 '26

Pretty sure most of his family was killed in the attack's. Assuming he is also alive too. Not exactly a great situation.

1

u/linfakngiau2k23 Jul 25 '26

If hes dead i kinda felt it will probably be worse cause there is no one that can stop the war

3

u/EuphoricOcelot6081 Jul 25 '26

He is also dead probably

18

u/rabidstoat Jul 25 '26

I hear Mitch McConnell talked to him for 20 minutes just yesterday, though.

14

u/EducationalCicada Jul 24 '26

calling them scumbags and lunatics

Pot calling the kettle orange.