[ChrisGoldstein]

Oops - slip of the tongue - I meant "victory for the freedom loving forces against tyranny".

Isfahan, a key location for Iran's nuclear program, had an "accident" - the most recent in a long series of "accidents" Iran has been having in the past few months.

Big picture: these attacks... sorry... "accidents", rumored to be Israeli in origin, have been ratcheting up in size and intensity, not to mention the death toll is also increasing (the recent ammo dump explosion killed a couple dozen Iranians). Tie this in with the media smear campaign, the phony "assassination plot" conjured up by the FBI, and increased sanctions... Iran is under a lot of pressure.

Needless to say, Iran borders both Afghanistan and Iraq. Iraq in particular has close ties with the Iranian government (thanks Bush). Israel itself could be attacked by Iran indirectly through Hezbollah...

Bottom line: When are the Iranians going to get fed up with all the BS and strike back? And what exactly are they going to do? Both the Americans and the Israelis live in a glass house, we're the ones throwing rocks... there are an any number of ways the Iranians could retaliate.

[peveballery]

Oops - slip of the tongue - I meant "victory for the freedom loving forces against tyranny".

Isfahan, a key location for Iran's nuclear program, had an "accident" - the most recent in a long series of "accidents" Iran has been having in the past few months.

Big picture: these attacks... sorry... "accidents", rumored to be Israeli in origin, have been ratcheting up in size and intensity, not to mention the death toll is also increasing (the recent ammo dump explosion killed a couple dozen Iranians). Tie this in with the media smear campaign, the phony "assassination plot" conjured up by the FBI, and increased sanctions... Iran is under a lot of pressure.

Needless to say, Iran borders both Afghanistan and Iraq. Iraq in particular has close ties with the Iranian government (thanks Bush). Israel itself could be attacked by Iran indirectly through Hezbollah...

Bottom line: When are the Iranians going to get fed up with all the BS and strike back? And what exactly are they going to do? Both the Americans and the Israelis live in a glass house, we're the ones throwing rocks... there are an any number of ways the Iranians could retaliate.

I think we can at least count on good-old-fashioned "pragmatism" to avoid the prospect of dealing with anything direct for the time being. Even Israel by itself still has the capability of retaliating to blatant attacks with overwhelming force in a fairly short period of time if they so desire. What I do think is the source of many of these "accidents" want to appear to have a form of moral high ground if things do escalate beyond a certain point. It's one of the key components of propaganda and war dogma to get the neutral bystanders to remain silent and the not-so-neutral types all the more reason to "retaliate" with all available force. It's tragically humorous how predictable things are.

[Misespimb]

Could just as easily be Wahibist extremists out of Pakistan. They've been bombing Shia Mosques on a semi-regular basis for years, but their activities are kinda considered the norm for the region in western media. Maybe the US and Israel aren't the only ones who don't want Iran to have the big-N?

Reminds me of the OKC bombing. All kinds of people were pointing the finger at Bin Laden until someone at Uhaul woke up and said, "hmm, that truck looks familiar."

[bZEUWO4F]

I find of note that protests of the British embassy have been popping up in Iran, not necessarily indicative of a "culprit" but interesting!

[giDdfezP]

I find of note that protests of the British embassy have been popping up in Iran, not necessarily indicative of a "culprit" but interesting!

The Iranians are pissed because "the UK Treasury imposed sanctions on Iranian banks, accusing them of facilitating the country's nuclear programme"

[GypeFeeshyTes]

The Iranians are pissed because "the UK Treasury imposed sanctions on Iranian banks, accusing them of facilitating the country's nuclear programme"

Not surprising either, this is all turning into quite a fine little mess.

[soSldI4i]

I think we can at least count on good-old-fashioned "pragmatism" to avoid the prospect of dealing with anything direct for the time being. Even Israel by itself still has the capability of retaliating to blatant attacks with overwhelming force in a fairly short period of time if they so desire. What I do think is the source of many of these "accidents" want to appear to have a form of moral high ground if things do escalate beyond a certain point. It's one of the key components of propaganda and war dogma to get the neutral bystanders to remain silent and the not-so-neutral types all the more reason to "retaliate" with all available force. It's tragically humorous how predictable things are.

I agree - but Iran does not need to "blatantly" retaliate. They can covertly screw us over in Afghanistan without being directly involved.

"Oh dear, the Taliban got their hands on some stingers, and are shooting down American helicopters left and right... can't imagine how that happened!"

[payloansday]

I agree - but Iran does not need to "blatantly" retaliate. They can covertly screw us over in Afghanistan without being directly involved.

"Oh dear, the Taliban got their hands on some stingers, and are shooting down American helicopters left and right... can't imagine how that happened!"

Oh I agree completely, but at least all this "Super Secret Spy Stuff" as it were and random acts committed by forces that cannot be obviously linked to government at least leaves a seed of doubt that is comparatively difficult for warmongers to propagandize. As perception means what it does, that can make the difference of years or even decades in staving off a conflict that is otherwise inevitable under our current foreign policy.

[Fertionbratte]

You mean OUR warmongers. You're right that these incidents have almost no impact in the USA, but that doesn't mean they won't worldwide or in Iran specifically. Just because the average American is a blithering idiot completely ignorant of everything that goes on outside our borders, doesn't mean everyone else is.

Every time we blow something up, that gives the Middle Eastern radicals moral superiority, and hurts the moderates who advocate peace.

[viepedorlella]

You mean OUR warmongers. You're right that these incidents have almost no impact in the USA, but that doesn't mean they won't worldwide or in Iran specifically. Just because the average American is a blithering idiot completely ignorant of everything that goes on outside our borders, doesn't mean everyone else is.

Every time we blow something up, that gives the Middle Eastern radicals moral superiority, and hurts the moderates who advocate peace.

Ours, Israels, Britain's, whoever's, the same rules apply to every side.

[portoskins]

Israel has taken credit for the explosion. Big surprise.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...-1226209996774