US/Israel conduct airstrikes on Iran again

Litmus test is whether mid-terms an be "deferred"

The interesting thing about the Chinese shipments is that other gulf states like Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in recent years have established currency swap arrangements with China, so with the US simply no longer able to guarantee their exports they will be forced to come to new security arrangements with Iran.

China gets a 12% discount on the market crude rate from Iran in return for a 15 year structural investment agreement. 12% is a small discount to give for 15 years locked in compared to the current chaotic Trump protectionism which has brought export revenue to zero.

That photo has Israel in blue, countries friendly to Israel in green, other countries in a lighter shade, and a red line indicating something else, I don't see any reference to greater Israel.

They modify their transponder info to have their origin and destination ports to read "Chinese Crew/Chinese Customer" (or similar). They did the same in the Red Sea to ensure the Houthis knew they should be left alone.

Come back to me when of those major attacks on US soil actually succeeds... There has been nothing since 9/11, that's 25 years ago now...

They can cut off the strait as they have other ports east of it.

The Irish sea was once mined from Wexford to south Wales to block off the southern approach while Atlantic trade went via the narrower northern passage between Scotland and NI.

Strategically cutting off the strait while drastic is in defense a good tactic. Hitting Chinese flagged ships and consignments in Iran's eastern ports risk confrontation with China at a time when the US has withdrawn military assets from East Asia.

The USA has waged a war it was unprepared for and without a defined goal.

BTW, there's still no regime change in Venezuela.

This 100%. I can't believe the Americans are not on the streets demanding for a snap election. Or I can believe it. Israel was mishaving for a long time too and I can't believe that government is not over turned.

Funny isn't it the blatant double standards. Now everyone is complaining about oil embargo's and oil tankers being hit, you could not make it up honestly. No doubt people will be moaning when the big Saudi pipeline that stretches across the country carrying 7 million barrels of oil goes up in smoke, that would be very nasty that would.

UK has banned the Al Quds day march tomorrow. Should be interesting to see the turnout around the globe in support of the Palestinian cause in it's decades long struggle against apartheid and oppression.

Too late now, it's either to the last Iranian and the other 240 million Shia or the total end of Western hegemony, with a sprinkling of a global financial meltdown for good measure.

Always best to take a good deal when you get offered it.

Interesting article about Israeli insiders' views on the war. Overall bad news, except that the consensus seems to be that the current phase of hostilities may end soon.

We attacked Iran with no clear plan for regime change, Israeli security sources say | US-Israel war on Iran | The Guardian

If Iran’s new leadership keeps its grip on power, the long-term measure of the success of the conflict may hang on the fate of 440kg of enriched uranium which was buried under a mountain by US strikes last June, former and serving Israeli defence and intelligence sources said. Enough for more than 10 nuclear warheads, Iran could use it to hasten the construction of a weapon if the material remains in the country. “These 440kg of uranium are one of the clearest litmus tests for how this war ends, whether it is a success,” said one former senior Israeli defence and intelligence official who worked on Iran. “We need to be in a position where either this material is out of Iran, or you have a regime where you are confident that it is safeguarded [inside Iran] in a very meaningful way.”

On regime change:-

“It’s wishful thinking,” said one of the intelligence sources. “We used to have a plan how to take out the ballistic missiles, how to deal with the nuclear sites, how to take care of the military industry in Iran. But I never heard that we knew how to do a campaign [of regime change] from the air.“We never knew how to get into the heads of 90 million people. So how would we know how to assess whether they would go to the streets or not? We are hoping they will go.”

On length of current war (nearly over apparently):-

Israel’s priority now is to make Iran and its proxies as weak as possible as soon as possible, even though the war risks spurring longer-term Iranian efforts to develop a nuclear weapon, multiple current and former officials have said…….

“The IDF are on the verge of concluding this campaign. They are not going to say this, because it’s a political directive [when it will end], but from a military point of view they’ve fulfilled almost all the mission,” he said. “Two weeks, and it’s over after that.”

On Israel in the region and internationally:-

Israel’s embrace of military power as the only path to security risks leaving it isolated in the Middle East and, in the longer term, perhaps internationally. “Israel is not willing or able to capitalise on its dramatic military achievements by trying to move to the more political aspect of building new alliances,” another former senior official said. “I am fearful we will still be stuck in this place.”