The way people talk about Iranis here is very weird and orientalist

You know that is a hoax right? The virgin thing is a very illiterate and gross way to talk about muslims. 

It wouldn't be the first time.

You know that is PRECISELY what the Quran says?

Read Quran 78:33 for the details...

Developing nukes can't possibly take 15 years, even with some setbacks. Iran must have consciously chosen to not take the final steps. If Iran finally decided to actually pursue nukes, it was because of the strikes last summer, and guess who did that? If there was any urgent threat, it was because of Trump. If this was more of a future thing, e.g. for the time after Khamenei's death, that's another thing, but it was also not urgent.

I say this is Trump wanting to leave a mark, and triggering a regime change in Iran would definitely be one way to leave a mark. Trump is old enough to probably care about his legacy a lot, and his legacy until the start of his second term probably wasn't particularly notable. Before his second term, he would probably have been remembered as the president that stirred up the pot and not much more.

Attacking during Ramadan was also wise, people tend to be more fatigued and easy to overcome.

The Question is: Does Iran really need to replace Khamenei?

I mean, they have a president, and he's still alive. Khamenei was in theory just a religious leader, though he had massive power and influence beyond that. The president could take over the political power from Khamenei and be done with it. The question would probably be more about his succession, as Khamenei had a hand in selecting the persons who were allowed to run in the first place, so this could be widened.

Reza Pahlavi is pretty popular by dissidents of Khamenei both inside and out of Iran - though certainly not with the same powers as his dad had, rather either as a president or a constitutional monarch like those in Europe.

Either would be fine by me: As a constitutional monarch he wouldn't wield much power either way and if he can get elected to the office of president in an open and fair election, then he would have earned the position.

It reportedly was Khamenei that forbid the pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei maintained a long-standing public stance against nuclear weapons, issuing a
fatwa in the early 2000s declaring their development and use "haram" (forbidden). He consistently argued that such weapons contradict Islamic principles and are unnecessary for Iran's security.

True or not, Iran has reportedly been weeks away from Nuclear weapons for decades.

Since at least 1992, Netanyahu has claimed Tehran was only 3–5 years away from producing a nuclear bomb.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed Iran is on the verge of developing nuclear weapons for over three decades, with specific warnings of an imminent, short-term threat—often mentioned as "months" or "weeks"—gaining prominence around 2012
https://news.un.org/en/story/2012/09/421552


Murdering Khamenei opens the door for Iran to actually develop nukes. No doubt his successors have been advising him that nukes are essential for defense. No better proof now.


Anyway it never was about nukes, it's about removing the last opposing force from the ME and weakening Iran-China and Iran-Russia relations. Turning Iran into another unstable Lebanon / Syria / Yemen / Iraq is Netanyahu's dream. Netanyahu already moved the goal posts from nukes to ballistic missiles, any nuclear deal would not have stopped this.


Trump knows he's close to death and has become a rambling fool only about his legacy, from begging for peace prices to leaving his mark on the White House by adding a ballroom, to creating a 'Board of Peace' and getting his son in law to turn Gaza into the 'Riviera of the ME'.

He's certainly leaving a legacy as a thief, war criminal and pedophile, destroying US soft power, the illusion of US democracy and likely the US economy as well. Trump will be remembered as the president that ended US hegemony. Yet for now he still has command of the world most powerful army. A very dangerous combination.

How many more countries will Trump bomb

Based on reported military actions since taking office in January 2025, the Trump administration has engaged in bombing or direct military strikes in at least 6-7 countries, including Iran, Venezuela, Syria, Somalia, Iraq, Yemen, and Nigeria.

Cuba is likely next.

I wonder if the romans had a similar problem with Caesar

waiting for a reply.... lmao.