The Gulf countries are waking up to the reality that they are not safe under the USA umbrella and military bases, which is why they are wary of retaliating against Iran directly, knowing that if the USA loses its clout in the Middle East, they have to contend with Iran themselves. What is worse for them is to retaliate now, not knowing what the future holds.
There is a perceived realization that Iran is not going to disappear tomorrow, not when it has survived the thousands of years of occupation and conflict, and the Gulf countries are not blind and stupid. The USA and Israel can carry on the merry go round of using threats against weaker Arab and Muslim countries in the Middle East, a threat that is degrading. Israel is not on the side of the Arabs and Muslims, nor able to protect them against Iran going forward.
The Gulf countries are weighing the risk and not taking up the coercion to strike Iran directly. I think there has been a repeated attempt to do that by Israel, possibly using false flags to blame Iran and ignite Arab anger.
The die had been cast and the world is entering uncharted territory of high energy prices, if it is true that getting back production by the Middle East countries is going to take years. Everyone is going to bear the consequences of what the USA and Israel did to Iran. Had that not happened, the world would still be moving smoothly without the energy crisis. Iran did not start the crisis. The USA and Israel started it. Yet countries are blaming the Iranians for striking oil installations. Sergei Lavrov asked those journalist during a session regarding the war against Iran and the bombing of the school in Iran. Has any sensible leader of countries and the MSM condemned the act? I can only remember Russia and China doing the sensible thing of condemning.
Anonymous
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Having to move the THAAD batteries from South Korea to the Middle East earlier says a lot about the USA capabilities. It had been propagandized as a shift in posture. Laughable! South Korea paid an arm and a leg to the USA for those THAAD missiles, meant to protect them, from who I do not know. South Korea now needs no protection at all it seems. Fact is stranger than fiction.
What if Iran takes out those THAAD batteries again? What is the USA going to use to protect the Gulf states? Remember that the USA is already starved of rare earth magnets for making new weapons, having to move 20,000 patriot interceptors from Ukraine to Israel during the 12-day war. The shortage of interceptors is evident, even though the propaganda painted a different picture. Will we see a reverse of Ukraine providing weapons to the USA, since Ukraine has already boasted about producing 2,000 drones a day.
If that is the case, why is Ukraine still asking for help from NATO Europe, with Zelenskyy holding a begging bowl everywhere he goes. Strange world indeed.
But when the shit hits the fan and weapons are hard to come by, beggars cannot be choosers, even being the one and only USA, the only global superpower.
Trump doesn't need help, but he is just begging only. Funny thing is if he cannot get help by begging, he will call those he begged as 'cowards'. Even better, when he said that any help from China over the Straits of Hormuz will be great. That is one puzzle that I do not know how to solve for someone professing not needing any help.
Now, why would China want to help to open up the Straits of Hormuz. Chinese vessels carrying oil are still passing the Straits of Hormuz, unmolested. China is not suffering. China and Russia are quietly celebrating the crippling of the USA military bases by the Iranians in the Middle East.
China and Russia are taking notes and learning from the Iranian experience over how to defang a mad dog. First take out the radar installations guiding those patriot missiles and interceptors. With the patriot and THAAD batteries shooting almost blind already, Iran can then take out those military targets and important strategic assets. Any retaliation will be met with equal retaliation, knowing that Iranian missiles can now target infrastructures and any interceptors fired will be exhausting the manufacturing capability of the Military Industrial Complex.
Aircraft carriers are no longer a projection of strength going forward, to enable the USA to launch fighter jets near to enemy strongholds. There is now a genuine fear of aircraft carriers being taken out by anti-ship hypersonic missiles, developed just for this purpose to negate the ability of aircraft carriers to project power.
History is in the making resulting from a war between 20th century aircraft carrier power against no power projection needed by just using hypersonic missiles and drones. Not even needing an expensive air defense force or a naval defense force. So much cheaper, so effective and so detrimental for the invaders.
Oh, not to forget, it also provides learning experience for China regarding it BeiDou effectiveness, plus free testing for Chinese hypersonic missiles and drones. Pakistan and Iran have done China a favor by testing its weapons for friendship's sake.
Iran has only three conditions to end this war. First is that USA and Israel recognize Iran's sovereignty, meaning to develop its nuclear program. Secondly, Iran is now demanding reparations for all the damage caused by the USA and Israeli attacks. Thirdly, and most important is a guarantee that USA and Israel will not carry out another attack.
Now, the third condition is important. How that is to be achieved is unsettling. No global power, Russia or China can guarantee that dealing with two mad dogs. To guarantee Iran's position, it literally means that the USA military must leave the Middle East, otherwise its military assets in that region will still pose another confrontation in time to come. After all, USA bases have been sold to the Gulf countries as a protection against someone and that is all pointed at Iran, which even the blind can see and the deaf can hear.
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