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Posted on 05/17/2026 6:28:34 AM PDT by Red Badger
Amid talk that war with Iran may be renewed, President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated Truth Social video that showed him seemingly ordering the destruction of an Iranian naval vessel.
“OK we have it in our sight. Fire – boom!” Trump says in the video as a U.S. destroyer blows an Iranian aircraft out of the sky.
“I’m sure preparations are underway for more escalation,” said Jon Hoffman, a research fellow in defense and foreign policy at the Cato Institute, said, according to the New York Post, which said “intense preparations” are under way to resume fighting.
“Trump has refused to back down from his maximalist demands in negotiations,” he said, while predicting that “Iran won’t negotiate away its leverage.”
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said an escalation plan is in place, if it is needed.
A report in The New York Times said the plans are ready if Trump wants to hit Iran once again.
(Excerpt) Read more at westernjournal.com ...
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It still seems like president Trump is treating the Iranian mullahs like they are somewhat rational. Enough warnings. The Iranians will drag this on forever, because they don’t care about negative impacts, they are part of a death cult.
Bomb them until the beg us to stop, and agree to our terms. Wrap this up.
Big Mo can only count to 30 now. Maybe 20. Not much leverage there.
I don’t think Trump will carry out any more attacks before the midterms. $100 crude is bad enough. $130 after Memorial Day and the driving season would be a disaster.
Maybe it’s a delay tactic?
US consumers are paying about $30/more per barrel and the US uses about 17 million barrels a day.
That’s $510 million/day, the cost of several brand-new tankers filled with oil.
Congress could authorize Trump to use $1 billion to buy tankers stranded in the Gulf, fill them with crude, and have US Navy sailors run them through the Strait (or send them through by remote control or autopilot). A helicopter could be on each tanker in transit in case the crew needs to come off.
These transits could be timed (wind from the south) so spilt oil would wash ashore on Iranian beaches.
The steering might be set so a flaming tanker heads towards Iran.
The tanker insurance market isn’t functioning for the Gulf. Bypass it!
Congress could authorize Trump to have another 60 days if:
1. any US vessel is attacked while passing through the international waters of the Persian Gulf or the waters of Kuwait, Saudia Arabia, the UAE or Oman,
2. an Iranian vessel, missile or torpedo enters the waters or airspace claimed by Kuwait, Saudia Arabia, the UAE or Oman within four miles of a US vessel,
3. an Iranian vessel fails to sail toward Iranian land when signaled by US military flare.
The US tankers are unlikely to be attacked. Does anybody here think Iranian thugs want Trump to have another 60 days to whack them? Trump won’t fall into the negotiation trap twice.
There is a very safe way for Congress to drop oil and gas prices fast.
Let your federal elected officials know about this plan.
> Bomb them until the beg us to stop, and agree to our terms. <
It’s only a rough analogy, but bombing alone did not force Britain to surrender in WW2. And it did not force Nazi Germany to surrender either.
I fear that Trump has set his demands too high here. It’s one thing to destroy Iran’s nuclear sites. It’s quite another to demand all of their nuclear material - that might take infantry units on the ground.
So either Trump scales back his demands, or we drift towards a Vietnam quagmire situation. Neither is a good option.
“a growing backlog of aging tonnage that is expected to head for the breaking yards in the coming years. Included in the backlog are hundreds of tankers operating in the so-called dark fleet”
https://shipbreakingplatform.org/platform-publishes-list-2025/
There are hundreds of tankers of little value available for Strait transit use. These tankers might proceed to India, which is a short trip away. The oil can be shipped on from India as Russian oil has been.
“It still seems like president Trump is treating the Iranian mullahs like they are somewhat rational. Enough warnings. The Iranians will drag this on forever, because they don’t care about negative impacts, they are part of a death cult.“
>>>>>>>>
Well said.
It’s very strange that the US administration still tries to negotiate with the Mullahs, knowing they have refused loud and clear, again and again, to negotiate any kind of solution. We are wasting our time trying to negotiate with a dead wall.
There is only one way. We win militarily and change the regime in Iran.
If we don’t manage to change the regime, we’ll get absolutely nothing in return.
“I fear that Trump has set his demands too high here. It’s one thing to destroy Iran’s nuclear sites. It’s quite another to demand all of their nuclear material - that might take infantry units on the ground.”
Israel has a successful track record of cleansing organization charts.
Total management thug removal!
The 72 virgins may be great cooks, but their puzzle solving and surgical skills are doubtful.
May Iran’s current leadership rest in pieces.
Flying too.
“It’s only a rough analogy, but bombing alone did not force Britain to surrender in WW2. And it did not force Nazi Germany to surrender either.”
Britain came up with radar, and had backing from the US, or they would have fallen to the Nazis. Germany was bombed hard, and if the allies wished to wait, Germany would have imploded.
Iran has no one coming to the rescue. If the Iranian people really are tired of the mullahs, at some point bombing should lead to a real revolt.
Waiting, and negotiating is fruitless and gives the Iranians the hope that they can simply wait this out.
Except that overwhelming force will end any Iranian acyion againt tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and prices will drop. The quickest way back to lower oil/gas prices is over the corpse of the IRGC.
“bombing alone did not force Britain to surrender in WW2”
Bombing did force The Netherlands, France and Japan to surrender.
Bombing is very accurate nowadays.
Israel can take out Iran’s refineries, storage tanks and other oil industry assets by methods used by Ukraine.
“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly stressed that weakening Russia’s oil sector is a key tool for forcing Moscow to negotiate. ‘The most effective sanctions are those that work the fastest – fires at Russia’s refineries, terminals, and fuel depots.’”
https://postpravda.info/en/stories/frontline-stories/russian-oil-refineries-map/
All the Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil are done by drone, often from over 1,000 miles away.
“It’s only a rough analogy...”
Yes, very rough. Those two countries were not holding their population as hostages.
“$100 crude is bad enough. $130 after Memorial Day and the driving season would be a disaster.”
How about no gas at gas stations at all? Israel can make that happen in Iran!
IDT that there is any belief by Trump or his administration that the mullah will negotiate in good faith or otherwise. More likey the goal is to make it clear to the international community and our pervasive America last cohort that America had no other choice but maximum force.
“It’s very strange that the US administration still tries to negotiate with the Mullahs, “
There were never any negotiations. Only terms of surrender.
> Those two countries were not holding their population as hostages. <
Yes, that’s part of the mix.
But on the other hand, the mullahs are a special kind of fanatics. In that, they are much like the Imperial Japanese of WW2. Conventional bombing did not force the Japanese to surrender.
So I can’t see it happening with the mullahs.
But I do see two outs. Trump could scale back his demands a little - art of the deal stuff. Or a popular uprising could overthrow the mullahs.
Now picture a nuke headed missile instead of a couple little ole planes.
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