That’s how necessary (and “necessary”) military actions go. Iran can’t just take it but they aren’t looking to have a whole ass war. So they’re giving a heads up so they can fire some missiles to demonstrate they can and we can shoot them down so nobody dies.
I’m not going to pretend to know what my government is thinking here, the regime does whatever they feel like.
Russia for comparison was trying to conquer Ukraine. Getting to the killing early gave an advantage. For comparison the united states doesnt want boots on the ground attempting to hold iran and iran doesnt want to ship people across the world to try to take the gulf of Mexico or secure the Permian basin.
I don’t seem to get it
Trump was pretty vocal about hitting Iran’s nuclear facilities in advance. So much so that it is suspected that Iran moved all their uranium out of those sites a week before the US struck them. Today’s Iranian strikes on the US military base in Qatar also seem to have been announced and orchestrated with Qatar internally by Iran.
Long story short, it just seems like optics and showmanship on part of old fossils that should not be anywhere near running governments in 2025.
When you see shit like this happening, it’s both sides agreeing to have a show. It’s performative. So what you really need to ask is, who is this show for and why. These old fossils are following orders, we need to figure out who’s giving them.
It’s fairly obviously for rabid, bloodthirsty nationalists in both nations. These leaders build their power on fear and have a constant need to demonstrate social dominance over one another, lest their image as an invincible strong-man show any cracks. In reality they are scared shitless over the possibility of a real war which would threaten their continued rule. So they put on this puppet show so the useful idiots can think of ”hur dur America/Iran stronk, we beat those filthy heathens” with less risk of escalation.
Ukraine and Russia are bombing each other indiscriminately without warning. The US and Iran are giving warnings to evacuate before bombing. Ukraine and Russia are wondering why the US and Iran are giving each other warnings.
There are multiple different implications depending on which side you are on, so it appeals to everyone. On that front this comic is well done. On the flip side, that also means it isn’t saying anything, so it is rage bait.
My interpretation is that Ukraine and Russia are wondering why the hell the US and Iran are treating war as a game.
It’s different objectives. Russia is interested in taking territory and inciting fear. Ukraine is interested in self defense and instilling war fatigue. Both of them need people to feel unsafe and vulnerable, and to actually destroy soldiers and hardware.
The US, on paper, wants to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon. Realistically they want to make a show of force for internal politics.
Neither of those requires radioactive material to be hit by explosives.
Iran needs to show that you can’t bomb them without retaliation. They also need to not anger the country hosting the US military base, and also to not do something that causes the US to strike with significant force.So the US can announce it’s plans and both make a show for internal reasons and also setback any ambition that Iran has towards a weapon.
Iran has to hit something otherwise it’s an unacceptable show of weakness, but hitting actual US territory would be suicide. Nearby bases are a good choice but require coordination with the host nation. “I’m not shooting at your house, I’m shooting at the person in your living room” is a hard sell to make if you want to keep peace with the homeowner and you don’t give them any warning. Additionally, doing too much actual damage to the base can trigger further retaliation, which you want to avoid.Also, the US has a pretty comprehensive surveillance system. It’s difficult to move large amounts of material from a place being watched from space without it being followed, even more so if there are drones involved.
Different objectives call for different tactics. Ukraine and Russia need fear and surprise for theirs, and Iran and the US don’t.
