The global economy is on the verge of a massive energy crisis. That is forcing Trump's hand of which he has many cards. They just aren't worth that much.
Many are making this out as Iran wins bigly. They don't really. Iranian theocracy is having to spin getting their ass whooped. If not for the economic consequences of Hormuz, Iran would be a whipped dog at this point. Iran has promised great reprisals militarily against Israeli and US strikes, but came back with whimpers. But again, a geographic body of water gave them an incredible amount of leverage.
Derec, you seem to think this was so close to victory. Bombs rarely ever take out a government. Ground troops do. And in Iran, the IRGC is everywhere. Trump and the US and Israel were not remotely close to the objective. They barely got to "far away" from the objective. So they shifted goalposts to make this about nuclear weapons to save face.
This is why people like Trump shouldn't be in power. They are too darn stupid.
This is Iran wins bigly. The world has shown it prefers appeasement to dealing with the problem.
I don't see your ass in the military. Removing the Theocracy in Iran will kill tens of thousands of troops, easy.
No, we don't need to invade.
Really?
What is your master plan to remove the Theocracy in Iran without invading?
Bear in mind that bombing the leaders, then their replacements, then
their replacements, was just tried, and has only strengthened the position of the hard-line faction within the Theocracy.
How, exactly, do you think that removing the Theocracy in Iran can be achieved?
Don't.
We can't realistically remove it, but we don't need to.
What we need to do is stop them from being able to hit the Strait. Hit the ports that the ships operate from. Hit the roads in the area.
With what, and from where, and to what effect?
And how many "ports" and "roads" are we discussing here? Iran has a vast coastline, dotted with places from which a small boat might operate, and with places from which a small fire-team armed with man-portable weapons can fire directly on shipping in the gulf and the strait.
Are you planning to destroy every goat-track that overlooks the strait? Every beach, cove, or promentary from which a small boat might be launched?
What about mines? How will you sweep them, and how will you prevent new ones from being laid? How will you protect the vessels doing that?
I don't think you have even begun to grasp the scale of the problem, or the degree of difficulty here.
Which is exactly the mistake Trump made when he started this mess.
But this will also take Iran's oil off the world market for a long time to come. And the world doesn't want that, hence appeasement.
The
world doesn't get a say. This is just the USA (and Israel), vs Iran. Trump didn't ask the world what they though before he started his war; Shit, he didn't even ask the US Congress.
The question remains, despite your effort to move the goalposts: How, exactly, do you think that removing the Theocracy in Iran can be achieved?
All you have done is to move the goalposts to a place where you
still have no hope of scoring. How, exactly, do you think the US could "stop them from being able to hit the Strait"?