Even a cursorary look at Iran's military capabilities would reveal that a) they have rathrr advanced tech, so much so that the Americans admitted to copying Iranian drone tech because it's that good and b) they have an insnely extensive tunnel system, far larger than anything the Vietnamese managed. They've got fucking cities down there.

I mean kind of. The problem with this kind of massive ground invasion is where the fuck are they gonna do a troop buildup if they've evacuated all their bases in the Gulf? You can't exactly start massing tens if not hundreds of thousands of troops in Saudi Arabia like they did for Iraq, because they'd all get killed by Iranian missiles. So they have to do it further, but then that begs the question how are they gonna even get them to Iran? Do the troop buildup in Romania and then do a Xenophon-esque march through Anatolia into Persia with hundreds of thousands of American troops?? Their supply lines would implode. It's simply not feasible.

Relatively "quiet" day for America's greatest 21st century boondoggle. Seems like Iran's demands to reopen the strait, as reported in sources wide afield, are fourfold:

Guaranteed lifting of sanctions, withdrawal of US bases, return of frozen assets and development of non-dollar trade are among them. Such approach is based on convergence with Asian powers and determines energy diplomacy under protection of defense power.** The ultimate goal of Iran is to create a new order in the Middle East**, the news agency said. Tehran expects that cooperation in the sphere of economic and security among countries of the region will substitute unilateral actions of the West and will thereby neutralize the US economic pressure completely and structurally, Tasnim reports.

per https://tass.com/world/2102351

IF all four of these come to pass, it's pretty much the end of the American imperium. We're not talking a new order in just the Middle East, it'll be a new global order. Insane we're ever contemplating these demands, but the arrogance of the Epstein Coalition has made it so the above is not the ramblings of madman, they're reasonable concessions extracted by a regional power who understands they can absolutely cripple the global economy. Outside of the removal of US bases, I think they're actually relatively easy things to grant Iran. And the American bases withdraw can be framed as a kind of "strategic retreat" to areas the American empire can defend, like Latin America. But who knows if and when they'll go for it.

US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth "The only thing prohibiting transit in the strait right now is Iran shooting at shipping. It is open to transit should Iran not do that"

??? "Yeah we opened the strait, it's fine, if Iran doesn't do the one thing that's stopping the strait from being open it would be open, so we're winning. Thank you for your attention in this matter."

Trump: We have already figured out the Strait of Hormuz. We have knocked out their Navy. When you knock out the Navy, they can't do what they want to do.

he doesn't know

Like for real has nobody told him that Iran's ability to close the Strait has nothing to with their navy and everything to do with the fact that it's tiny and they have a shit ton of missiles right next to it? Ansarallah does not have a navy and never did, yet the Bab el Mandeb Strait remained closed for like two years. Is this intentionally ridiculous? Does he even know he's lying?

Source: CNN

So the gloves are off, the Gulf is burning, the dream of the UAE as a tourist hub is in shambles, many American troops are likely dead, Trump has been stunned into silence. All we're missing is a carrier kill and some Saudi oil fields burning. What a difference in vibe from the opening of the Twelve Days War.

A reminder that we are now firmly inside the event horizon for war between the US and Iran. As a result, all news is now suspect, oft times used as weapons to decieve or psych out the other side. Tonight there were many reports that US bases in Qatar have been evacuated, but US officials have denied that. True? Doesn't matter. We have no way of knowing if that is intended as a strategy to make Iran be in a heightened state of readiness all weekend but no attack happens and thereby tire them out, if the denial is an attempt to disuade Iran from striking first because they'll kill a lot of Americans and thereby guarentee a giant response, some other combination of feights and plots, I haven't a clue. Just remember that every piece of information we get is being used for something, one way or the other. The dooming on here and elsewhere during the first day or so of the 12 Day War was unbearable. I expect the same this time, but let's keep a clear head everybody.

Yedioth Ahronoth, citing Israeli officials, says that Israel will 'immediately accept' a ceasefire if Iran proposes it.

Right on schedule, the Israelis are now saying they'll accept a ceasefire with Iran if Iran agrees. These strikes were merely the off ramp to allow Israel to exit a disastrous miscalculation. We'll see if Iran gives them the out, or decides to commit and punish the Israelis and Americans while they have they reeling.

Given the mood of the Iranian people, even if the government wanted a ceasefire I don't think they can. The time for talk is long past. Israel finally bit off something they can't chew up.

Wow, I can't believe they build 10,000 new apartments just for show so they can take tourists on tours through all 10,000 empty apartments and that they 100% will not use these to house citizens, crazy that it's all just fake. Just shows you how crazy the North Korea gommunist regime is.

Nothing Ever Happens meets Trump 2.0. Honestly this is beautiful stuff, Trump blowing up the Atlantic alliance because of the Mercator Projection. Gerardus Mercator, welcome to the Resistance.

Just want to point out that whoever the person is that killed the healthcare CEOscum absolutely knew what they were doing. Today is the tree lighting in Rockefeller Center, so there's a fuck ton of tourists out. They knew that the best way to get around the city is on bike, which they used to flee the scene right into Central Park. You can get there way faster on bike than anything else. And they knew that in Central Park, specifically in the forested area of the Ramble, there are few cameras and many places to hide where they could change clothes and then blend back in with the massive crowds hitting the city today. Also apparently used a suppressed pistol, and knew exactly which door the CEO would be coming out of/when to be there. Impressive. I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility that this assassin gets away with this. Trump assassins take notes.

I mean the obvious answer to this nerd is that the world of Dune is distinctly not capitalist. The empire is a feudal institution, planets are personal fiefdoms, and all those in positions of power are not concerned with capital or money so much as they are prestige and power. The spice trade on Arrakis is more similar to something like the Chinese imperial salt monopoly (a state backed monopoly where most of the rents were used to fund the imperial coffers) than resource extraction under capitalism, albeit a Chinese salt monopoly that involved the Chinese colonising a distant land and using it for the sole purpose of salt extraction. The state in Dune is not concerned with capital formation or expansion, the nobles are not concerned, and while there are certainly merchants and traders (as there are in most polities) they are tangential to how the system operates and are not the ones who determine state policy. A "real universe" does not imply that capitalism exists in all places at all times, this guy is just too enmeshed in capitalist realism to understand that the kind of stuff he's saying only makes sense in a capitalist context.