#20. You got it. “Wouldn’t be good theater would it”?
Who do these Iranians think they are, Oliver Stone?
You are assuming I think the theater is to benefit Iran.
Time to ask the really big question:
CUI BONO?
Which countries are overwhelmingly dependent on high crude oil costs?
Russia, Venezuela, Our Dear Friends, the Saudis, and a bunch of Persian Gulf states.
If the Persian Gulf is shut down due to war, the biggest beneficiaries are Saudi and Russia. Venezuela is only a beneficiary on paper, The US is just about the only place that can refine their high sulfur oil, and we are now a net oil exporter and have little interest in buying oil, and the Venezuelan infrastructure has been so damaged by communist rule they couldn't send us much even if we wanted it.
The Persian Gulf states would pretty much be SOL. While they theoretically would benefit from high prices, there is no practical way to get their oil to market without free access through the Straight of Hormuz.
That leaves Our Dear Friends, The Saudis, and Russia as beneficiaries of a US-Iran war.
Smart money follows the money...