09-17-2019, 05:10 AM
pdq wrote:
[quote=Dazed & Confused (Mobile)]
"I don't see why Iran would provoke Israel, Saudi Arabia, or the US when they are all three itching for a fight."
For the same reasons Iran has planted explosives on oil freighters and hijacked another. It's a complicated situation and there are plenty of political anaylists and pundits who will give a number of reasons. An abbreviated version (IMO) are the sanctions placed on Iran after Trump pulled the US out of the agreement. The sanctions are harming the country badly. People aren't starving but it's still pretty bad (inflation, shortages etc.). The Iranian government is now playing a dangerous game to get the sanctions lifted by disrupting the flow of oil through the gulf. From what I have researched the Iranian government feels they can pull these acts off and just deny them. I believe they feel that no country wants to start or go to war in this volatile region. Therefore if they can cause trouble (without retribution) they have a chance to have the sanctions removed. They are banking on peace and the removal of sanctions over risk of a full scale war in the gulf. Basically appease them and they will stop causing trouble. Like I said earlier it's a dangerous game. It's beyond me why the Iranians didn't just wait until the 2020 election in the hope Trump is voted out.
Please keep in mind the above paragraph is abbreviated and there is so much more to this story books have been, can be and will be written. I didn't mention the ongoing feud between Saudi Arabia and Iran or the war in Yemen. Lots going on there, way too much to post here.
D & C
It appears we're cutting and pasting now.
Yes, it was originally a response to a question I had and he nicely responded, which I greatly appreciate. There are some good points in the post and I don't see anything at all wrong with cutting and pasting it elsewhere when it is appropriate.