Hands off Iran!

Iran substitute 'The US'.

when are "we" going after the saudis anyway? i mean, that really actually is where al-quaeda is from, and it's a dictatorship with a bad human rights record, what am i missing here?

And they did such a good job when they tried that with the EU.
Hey, Brain! What are we going to do today? - The same thing we do every day, Pinky.

1. 'Iran's... government... poses a big problem for the United States and should be replaced, lawmakers said Sunday.'

2. South Korea's government poses a big problem for North Korea and should be replaced, Kim Jong-il said Sunday.

3. Britain is a 'failed state' living in the shadow of the US and would be better administered from Berlin, said Chancellor Schroeder yesterday.

4. The government of Greenland is out of touch with the wishes of the people and will be replaced at the next general election, said the people of Greenland.

That's right, it's 4 which is hopelessly idealistic and out of touch with present realities.

if anything the white house line in that slate article is MORE muted and LESS firebreathing, esp.given the scale of the victory being claimed in iraq (ie it actually — slightly — reflects acknowledgment of the difficulties ahead) (ok perhaps that's reading a lot into "that's hard", but the fact that they've stepped back from "we can now do anything" is a step AWAY from yr worst case, isn't it?)

What's so disheartening is that even the Democratic position is so far right:

'Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., a Democratic presidential hopeful who strongly backed the Iraq war, said "regime change" is the answer in Iran. He said he was not suggesting U.S. military action because of the pro-American attitudes of many Iranians.'

Which seems to imply that the fact that Iranians are not 100% anti-American is the only thing keeping the tanks from rolling into Teheran.

? I'm not spotting your connection, especially since that involved a sitting Democratic president.

The U.S. tiptoes around the Saudis because they have oil.

(Insert Louie Armstrong song chorus here, with extreme sarcasm.)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35772-2003May24.html

"It worked so well in Latin America":

In an interview in February with the Los Angeles Times, Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage drew a distinction between the confrontational approach the administration had taken with Iraq and North Korea and the approach it had adopted with Iran. "The axis of evil was a valid comment, [but] I would note there's one dramatic difference between Iran and the other two axes of evil, and that would be its democracy. [And] you approach a democracy differently," Armitage said.

At one of the meetings, in early January, the United States signaled that it would target the Iraq-based camps of the Mujaheddin-e Khalq (MEK), or People's Mujaheddin, a major group opposing the Iranian government.

The MEK soon became caught up in the policy struggle between the State Department and the Pentagon.

After the camps were bombed, the U.S. military arranged a cease-fire with the group, infuriating the Iranians. Some Pentagon officials, impressed by the military discipline and equipment of the thousands of MEK troops, began to envision them as a potential military force for use against Tehran, much like the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan.

But the MEK is also listed as a terrorist organization by the State Department. Under pressure from State, the White House earlier this month ordered the Pentagon to disarm the MEK troops -- a decision that was secretly conveyed by U.S. officials to Iranian representatives at a meeting in Geneva on May 3.

The MEK is considered a terrorist organisation by the (merely conservative) State department and a group of Northern-Alliance-like freedom fighters by the (ultra-hawk) Pentagon. Their camps are bombed during the Iraq war, but then a truce is made with them. But this infuriates the Iran government and pushes the Iranian state ever-faster towards nuclear armament (because it's clear that's the only way not to be invaded, see N. Korea).

Meanwhile the White House orders the Pentagon to disarm the MEK (perhaps to start their make-over into legitimate democracy campaigners in Iran), effectively splitting the group into two factions: 'politicians' who seek legitimacy and 'guerillas' with a bloody agenda. (Like the IRA, and like the GOP.) Nine days later the Saudi Arabian suicide bombings happen -- and the implication is that it's a splinter group involving the MEK guerillas who didn't believe in becoming a tool for US overt/covert operations against Tehran.

there's some complicated conspiracy theory that somehow involves Bush I and Reagan in some ploy to prevent the release of the hostages before the 1980 election. I cannot remember how credible it is.

Momus - the statement that Joe Lieberman represents the "Democratic position" is either ignorant or disingenuous.

sort of surprising to me that trump's pre-war approval in israel was only 58%

What get's me is the insane levels of hubris, that ex Mossad spy Jonathan Pollard was talking about how they need to go for Turkey next. I heard another Israeli pol saying the same thing. Like, Turkey is a nuclear armed very large sized, formidable regional power and NATO member and this country that is smaller than Wales and is like: these guys might be a fly in the ointment for our completely fucking insane Greater Israel project, need to take them out, after Iran. They are in a fantasy bubble.

wonder if we’ll ever find out where that ‘Iranian’ missile that got lobbed at diego garcia really came from 🤔

Remaining questions are whether Trump forces Israel to withdraw from Southern Lebanon and whether he quashes any dissent in his cabinet to the deal.

IRGC has threatened retaliatory attacks without warning and "broader in scope" against Israel if they don't stop their military aggression and slaughter in Lebanon.

So many good quotes:

“It’s not our money, it’s their money, and we froze it at a certain point in time,” Trump said of the frozen Iranian assets. “I guess we’re going to have to give it back.”

So many.

Trump: "In war, terrible things happen. Like you mentioned the school gets hit. Other things get hit. Bad things happen in war. War is a nasty place. I see it. I see it better than maybe anybody has ever seen it."

Trump endorses Iran having ballistic missiles: "I'm saying that if other countries have them, it's a little unfair for them not to have some"

"I want to thank Vladimir Putin. I told him I would appreciate if you didn't give (weapons) to Iran. And you know what, for the most part, he didn't.

Trump says that Iran "has to have" ballistic missiles, adding "what am I going to do? Am I going to let Saudi Arabia have missiles but they can't have them?"

Trump on the G7: "We didn't discuss Greenland. I should've discussed Greenland."

y'all call them good quotes but almost every single one of them makes me want to put my fist through the window beside me

Defending the deal, Trump said no US president had ever been as tough on Iran as him, and “there is nothing as smart as the market – and the market loves it”.

Trump said that “the alternative would be a worldwide depression”, arguing that if he had not struck a deal, “the strait [of Hormuz] would never have been opened. They don’t like floating billion-dollar ships up and down the strait when their rockets are flying overhead and there are mines all over the place.”

Funny I heard Iran's military and navy were finished for months. Just a drone or two left.

"This unnamed congressional republican has some real audacity to try to strip the President of his agency to undermine and derail his peace deal."

This sentence is very artful; it's some real Atlantic Theater 'we can make this sentence mean many different things depending on where we put the emphasis'

Tobias Wilson-Bates @phdhurtbrain.bsky.social • 1d

Breaking News: the algae has agreed to accept $300 billion to consider
vacating the reflecting pool

this is all genuinely the funniest possible outcome, Iran gets everything they want, the Israeli government mad 😘

US will restart military action if Iran does not fulfil commitments under signed agreement, Hegseth says
The US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, has been speaking in Brussels after meeting with Nato defence ministers there.

He said the US will restart military action and ⁠reimpose a ⁠blockade ​against Iran if it does not fulfil its commitments ⁠under the agreement signed yesterday.

“The ‌president has pointed out ‌that we will be prepared to recommence if underneath the timeline of these talks, Iran ‌does not do what it says it’s ​going to do,” Hegseth said

Hegseth is hitting the bottle hard this morning.

Wonder if he will be sacked in the next month or so.

"This is why I was wondering whether you had ever observed Donald Trump" is just incredible.

after the strait has been open 6 weeks (which is roughly how long it takes for tankers to resupply global oil. Iran's leverage will be much stronger over the US because their reserves are close to tapped out by all accounts. That's why even Trump has managed to take the L, if he doesn't the gig is up. Hegseth is a christian zionist numbskull who is even managing to make Trump seem a more perceptive and rational actor.

Pounded In The Butt By This Unnamed Congressional Republican

Not sure I want to read Chuck Tingle’s latest

one question answered by this situation is can trump be made to care if hes crashing the global economy and the answer thankfully is yes, he in fact was willing to take a massive L to avoid it

apparently this $300b to iran isnt aid provided by the us but rather foreign investment that may be secured or otherwise encouraged by various governments, apparently one of the problems with the previous agreement under obama is that while sanctions were lifted foreign capital basically behaved as if they had not been because of uncertainty regarding americas future actions (ha) and the complications of dealing with the sanctions that were still in place, so hopefully by providing guarantees the cash will flow

So, this was the war to end this war?

https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-israeli-ultra-hawks-who-feel-betrayed-by-trumps-iran-deal

in which Riklin gets the Chotiner treatment.

LOL

This is why I was wondering whether you had ever observed Donald Trump.

I don’t know what motivated him. You know he is a Gemini? Geminis are not really ones to say the same things a lot. They change their minds. You know Geminis?

Yeah, I’m a Gemini, so don’t be too mean.

I’m a Gemini, too. But not like this. I don’t do it to my friends. I must clarify to you how I am feeling: for three years, we have fought to bring back deterrence. And now he is giving Iran what it wants. I feel sorry for him and for us. He has put us at huge risk. And, if we are being honest, I will tell you this: if you compare the agreement Obama did with Iran to this, what’s the difference? In some ways, Obama was more serious.

But you feel like, at first, when Trump came back to office in 2025, for a while, it was actually better? A year ago, the Gaza war was still going on, there was a total cutoff of humanitarian aid, and Trump was presiding over it all. So you think those were better days?

Right. In the past, it was really better days. Israel changed their borders with their enemies.

You control seventy per cent of Gaza now, too.

It’s more like sixty per cent, but I don’t care. I wish it was seventy. It’s not enough.

Have faith in the future.

Chotiner is just such a brilliant interviewer. Beyond the obvious question, do any of these dolts know what they're getting into when they agree to be interviewed by him, I have to ask: When he delivered a murderous line like, "This is why I was wondering whether you had ever observed Donald Trump", do they think the interview is going well, and will turn out well for them?

chotiner really highlights how poor most political interviews are all hes doing is knowing the basics of the topic and asking follow up questions

Have faith in the future.

Front page of FOX News:

https://i.ibb.co/XrcgR8wL/Screenshot-2026-06-18-104356.png

it does stun me that there are still people capable of feeling disappointed by Donald Trump, people who have based their entire identity around this man but apparently have no idea how he actually works and still think he cares about things bigger than himself. in 10 years he has never expressed a remotely nuanced thought on anything

"I want to thank Vladimir Putin. I told him I would appreciate if you didn't give (weapons) to Iran. And you know what, for the most part, he didn't.

lol... Iran has certainly given a few to Putin

i love the for the most part way to look on the bright side he could have given them more weapons

the idea that putin would honor any request from trump is fucking delusional

the Ukrainian attack on the Moscow oil refinery must have been ok'ed by Trump? Not sure they can do deep strikes without US or UK satellite assistance.

Not sure at this stage... my understanding is that Ukraine has fully realized the unreliability of the U.S. militarily, but Germany might have that same satellite data? Certainly plenty of other European countries are bending over backwards to keep them ahead in the fight

There was a fear that Belarus might be ready to jump in on the Russian side, but Lukashenko has made recent comments that directly contradict this.. but this is for another thread

xp

https://i.postimg.cc/rsvNHS10/bafkreibo5kbpfko4v3z7pxf4qszgxtrcexhpgupdb2ozd33rf4syztev3y.webp

https://i.postimg.cc/NMF8fNbq/bafkreihivfy37tfxgaq4eammblrrpy6vv6iu7jsaajja7calftooim3cpe.webp

sorry those should really be in the Ukraine thread

my favorite interjection from Chotiner

The unpredictable nature of Trump turning on you is what makes it so sad.

True. You are right. In a few months, we have an election, and one of the most important parts of his campaign was going to be his friendship with Trump. Now what is he going to say? It’s a problem.

BREAKING: JD Vance absolutely slams Netanyahu's government:

Over the last three months, two-thirds of the defensive weapons that have protected Israel have been built by American hands and paid for by American tax dollars.

The problem for Israel is not Donald J. Trump, and… pic.twitter.com/knZCKUdvL9

— Clash Report (@clashreport) June 18, 2026

Not sure at this stage... my understanding is that Ukraine has fully realized the unreliability of the U.S. militarily

― Andy the Grasshopper, Thursday, June 18, 2026 1:57 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

yeah ukraine and usa have kind of broken up, theyre still communicating but its not a asking permission situation anymore from what ive read

Really good piece on where we are and how this can all easily come apart.

https://time.com/article/2026/06/19/iran-united-states-agreement-nuclear-program-war-israel-lebanon/

in TIME!

Found the writer via twitter ;-)

you should get to bluesky, they only link the most highly esteemed, highly accredited, triple fact-checked, government approved, sensible adult peer-checked journalists that have ever fucking existed on there

Hormuz closed again?

Holiday

Lol RIP the deal, dead before we could issue a birth certificate

no pressure Israel, but even with a zillion dollar hasbara fund - the whole world will know it's all your fault when there is a global depression.

This is not a rant by a random genocidal lunatic. It's a public post by the national security minister of the Israeli regime.

The genocidal death cult headquartered in Tel Aviv is a threat to all of humanity. It threatens all humans. Its only interest is permanent war. pic.twitter.com/7t5bcpafs0

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) June 19, 2026

revolting

vmic for Ben-Gvir, he sucks

He started the relationship with his current wife when she was 15 years old and he was in his late 20's 🤮

It's obvious to me that for Ben-Gvir is a self-confessed war criminal who will pursue genocide relentlessly until he is locked up in a prison cell.