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Iran vows to destroy Middle East water and energy facilities if US attacks power plants
(www.theguardian.com)
Iran has a right to defend themselves.
this post was submitted on 23 Mar 2026
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Tehran has said it will “irreversibly destroy” essential infrastructure across the Middle East, including vital water systems, if the US follows through on Donald Trump’s threat to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants unless the strait of Hormuz is fully opened within two days.
That's why we shouldn't have taken this tact. When you put a regime that has proven it does not care about civilian lives or human rights into a situation where they have nothing to lose, you are putting innocent lives at risk. Of course Trump and Netanyahu don't care about human lives, either. So the situation is especially dangerous.
Remember the Waco siege in 1993? The Feds tried to raid the compound of David Koresh and the Branch Davidians, because they thought they had illegal weapons. It turned into a stand off that lasted 51 days, and ended with a huge fire and 70 some of the Branch Davidians were killed, including a bunch of kids. No one is 100% sure who started the fire. Some people think an incendiary tear gas canister thrown into the compound by the Feds started the fire. Others think David Koresh and his people deliberately started the fire themselves. But, honestly, it really doesn't matter who started the fire, the Feds shouldn't have put a man like Koresh into a situation like that. By putting a potentially dangerous person into an increasingly no-win situation, where innocent lives were involved, you're putting those innocent lives at serious risk.
The current situation in Iran is similar, but of course on a much larger scale. By pinning the Khamenei regime in a corner, we are putting innocent lives at risk. Some will say, "well, the regime should surrender to save lives." Yes, they should, but they won't. David Koresh should have surrendered to prevent the deaths of those children, but he didn't. You can try to absolve yourself of responsibility for the tragedy, as the Feds did in the Koresh case, by saying, "if they would've just surrendered, those innocent people would still be alive," but that won't bring back the dead.
Some people get so caught up in "defeating the bad guy," that they completely lose sight of the harm they are facilitating. At some point you have to ask yourself, "is this about winning or about saving lives?" Is this about you looking tough and dominant, and not backing down, or is this about protecting innocent people? If it's the former, how many innocent lives are you willing to put at risk to "win" this battle of masculine wills?
Some people get so caught up in “defeating the bad guy,” that they completely lose sight of the harm they are facilitating. At some point you have to ask yourself, “is this about winning or about saving lives?”
I don't think anybody ever believed that the war was about saving lives.
I doubt if Republicans even want to win.
Republicans want to distract people from how Republicans are all defending serial child rapists, and want to drive up the debt in order to destabilize America.
I hadn’t really thought about it in terms of the Waco situation, but by God it really is just like that. These “might makes right” fuckers really have learned nothing.
This is the problem with electing "strongmen" leaders. They care more about winning and looking tough, than they do about carefully navigating a difficult situation.
I hope I won't come off as a combatative redditor-type, but I pretty much dislike the framing sewn into your comment.
When you put a regime that has proven it does not care about civilian lives or human rights into a situation where they have nothing to lose, you are putting innocent lives at risk.
Of course Trump and Netanyahu don't care about human lives, either.
You can put a Hormuz strait between these two lines, ooof. No, full stop, just no. The opinionated tone skewed towards western terrorist states who started it all is unbearable.
At some point you have to ask yourself, "is this about winning or about saving lives?" ... how many innocent lives are you willing to put at risk to "win" this battle of masculine wills?
It is a good general perception of any war, but in this case we know for sure nothing moral was taken into consideration. It is barbarians pillaging land and resources, showing their power. There is no single thought about liberating iranian people from the yore of authoritarian fanatics, but the opposite - both US and Israel would only benefit from having a foe for their forever war, and they put decades of agression into it, that waves back and support their new fascist endeavors.
Your SunTzinian message of letting the foe escape is fitting, because once again the stable state US topped would likely become either more authoritarian or a distributed free for all incubator for civil wars and terror acts. Both radical leaders and western warmonger would feed from that like vampires. They always win when we suffer.
I pretty much dislike the framing sewn into your comment.
That's understandable, because I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to Americans who try to justify the US-Israel attacks in Iran as moral acts done in the name of defeating tyranny. The Iran war is overall unpopular among Americans, but those who do support it do so for this reason. I was hoping I might be able to get a few of them to see that this tactic is counterproductive, especially if they truly care about harm reduction.
But maybe I underestimate how many Americans are just malicious, bloodthirsty barbarians. Of course, by that logic you could be underestimating how many Iranians are equally bloodthirsty. Perhaps the Iranian regime is not just blameless victims of Western pillaging. Anything's possible, I suppose.
This is so thoughtfully and excellently stated. Thank you for sharing that. I fully agree with you.
This is the proposal that should be offered to Iran. Iran will be permitted to pursue its nuclear program as long as it's for peaceful purposes. Iran will be strictly monitored for compliance. Any violation will result in invasion by the US, Europe, and any other nations willing to join in. If Iran agrees to the proposal, all sanctions will be immediately lifted. This proposal saves face for Iran, since its leaders could claim that its nuclear program was always for peaceful purposes. It also saves face for Trump who could claim that all he wanted was for Iran not to have nuclear weapons. The war in Iran is spiraling out of control. This might be the only peaceful way out.
You mean the exact thing they agreed to over 11 years ago and then the US just trampled all over?
The difference is that Trump is discovering that it's difficult to get Iran to submit to his will.
I don't see Iran taking that deal. The US unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA, and all the other signatories went along with that decision. The US started a war with them twice in the past year during active negotiations. The regional hegemon that has been calling for the regime's destruction for decades has been bombing whoever they feel like with impunity.
At this point, Iran would need to either feel completely cornered; or receive sufficient concessions that cannot be easily walked back.
Not only the bombing but Iran faced protests not too long ago. If Iran accepts the deal, there would be no reason for the US and Israel to attack. The lifting of sanctions would quell the unrest.