Ag87H2O said:
I dont' think Trump went into this hungry to take action. But he saw that Iran has been a real threat to this country to varying degrees now for almost fifty years, they refused to negotiate in good faith, they flat out said we will not give up our nuclear ambitions and you can't stop us, and he likely knew that Israel was going to hit them again.
He did what good leaders do. He assessed the situation, weighed the variables, saw the unique opportunity to solve the Iranian/middle east problem, adjusted his plan, and did what he believes was in the best interest of America and took action.
Time will tell, but I think he did the right thing. Is there risk? Absolutely. But it is a once in a century opportunity to change the entire balance of power in the region, take out one of if not the worst enemy on the international stage, and tilt the balance of power in favor of America.
It's sad that many posters here are so warped by their dislike for Trump that they are actually pulling for us to lose.
All of the information made public suggessts Iran DID want to negotiate.
https://www.euronews.com/2026/02/09/iran-offers-to-dilute-enriched-uranium-in-exchange-for-full-sanctions-relief
" Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, said the possibility of diluting 60% enriched uranium "depends on whether all sanctions would be lifted in return", according to the official IRNA news agency."
The framework that Iran was willing to concede to was pretty substantial and was a framework that future negotiations could build off of. Multiple other news sources also claim that diluting to 60% enrichment was on the table. This is a significant concession.
I think it's important to reflect on Iran's geopolitical strategy for a moment. Iran has always used their leverage that they "could" get a nuclear weapon as a bargaining chip. The evidence suggests, in my opinion, that they were not actually aiming for a nuclear weapon - they were aiming leverage. Because the truth is they could easily have gone nuclear for a long time. They've done all the hard parts already. But the problem with the conflict as you've completely undermined Iran's strategy. The next time we hear of nuclear bombs in the context of Iran it will be a nuclear bomb test. Which means nuclear proliferation and militarization across the Middle East is coming.
Even if you view military action as necessary here, I really struggle to see how this plan would ever solve the nuclear Iran problem. Furthermore, I don't see any planning for absolutely obvious response that Iran would shut down the strait and start targeting other Gulf Countries. We didn't fill up the SPR at $60 crude. We didn't move key military assets to the Middle East. And I really think it's incredibly naive to think that there wasn't any space for negotiation. Especially given that just a year ago we bragged that we had completely destroyed Iran's nuclear program. This administration did not make a case to the American people why this was necessary. He didn't make the case to Congress. He didn't make the case to allies that we don't need, but we do need, but we don't need, but you aren't helping. I'm not going to accept blind faith in whatever Trump does as a justification.
And now we're unsanctioning Iranian oil - even in America. Incredible.
This will undermine America's interests globally across many dimensions. It's an acceleration of global trends, but it's making the trend deteriorate at an order of magnitude faster. Nuclear proliferation, escalating conflicts, and a collapse in American global power will make the world a much worse place.
