Darc Requiem said:
Yeah, food and water are naturally scarce in Iran. So I can't imagine them being able to sustain this type of retaliaton for an extended period of time. That said, I'm sure they are well prepared for this situation. They weren't really surprised this. With the constant sable rattling and the strike from last year, Iran was clearly planning for this outcome. So they'd likely are going to be able to hold out longer than if this attack came as a surprise. All that said, I don't know what the potentional "off ramp" would be. As you've stated previously, the UN is utterly inept. Any sort of deal would need some sort of international backing and guarantees. As much as it pains me to say this, the US can't be trusted to negotiate with Iran. The last two times we've struck around, it was in the midst of negotations. Iran won't trust the US and/or Israel to uphold any deal reached and based on prior experience they shouldn't. With the UN being a paper tiger, how is there going to be a resolution. It were any other US President, this isn't a party thing it's a Trump thing, I'd say a chance for deal would be possible. However, Trump is an unstable narcissist. |
Not that scarce:
Unlike some Gulf neighbors who import over 80-90% of their food, Iran is much more self-sufficient, ranking 43rd in the world for food imports despite its population size.
The cultivable area is 10 percent of the country's land area. Each year, 57.5 million tons of agricultural products are produced, and the annual cultivated area covers 12 million hectares.
Some products will go up in price, Wheat and Rice in particular.
As of early March 2026, Iran has banned all exports of food and agricultural products to prevent domestic shortages following an escalation in conflict. Previously, Iran was a major global exporter of pistachios (accounting for ~18% of global output), saffron (accounting for ~90% of global production), dates, tomatoes, and various fresh and dried fruits like apples and watermelons. The ban has immediately disrupted international supply chains.
Water will be the limiting factor which already was a big problem with climate change.
Iran is experiencing an severe, unprecedented "water bankruptcy" and long-term drought, with 80-100% of its renewable water resources withdrawn annually. Decades of mismanagement, over-farming, and excessive dam construction have left reservoirs, particularly around Tehran, at critical lows. Recent military actions (March 2026) have targeted infrastructure, including a desalination plant in Qeshm and other sites, threatening to exacerbate the scarcity.
Anyway starving and bombing all infrastructure in Gaza didn't stop Hamas. Iran is more prepared, big reserves, and fighting an existential war. Iran is also far more prepared and willing to sacrifice than the US economy...
The gulf states are the ones in real trouble, importing nearly all their food and heavily dependent on water desalination. They counted on US' protection, yet it's harming them rather than helping.
