# Speculation About Trump's Underlying Reasons for Bombing Iran and Other Targets **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** iran-strikes-2026\ **Created:** [March 4, 2026, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speculation-about-trumps-underlying-reasons-for-bombing-iran-and-other-targets/1028209 "2026-03-04T21:58:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speculation-about-trumps-underlying-reasons-for-bombing-iran-and-other-targets/1028209/141 "2026-03-25T18:14:44Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > So what? That’s just rhetoric. It’s not like the US hadn’t been doing the like for many decades about governments they don’t like, even before the theocrats took power in Iran. I’m fine with considering a nation my enemy if they declare themselves to be my enemy, even if I have no previous beef with them. Why not take them at their word? There are a billion reasons not to attack them, but there’s no reason to simply dismiss their words as “just rhetoric”. They are saying that they would at the very least ostracize us if not attack us if they could. The last time we ignored a country like that they attacked Ukraine. Unlike a lot of other countries that declare themselves to be America’s enemy, most Americans couldn’t give two shits about Russia before the Ukraine war started. And they made good on that anti-western rhetoric to justify an unjustifiable invasion. So ignoring death wishes as “just rhetoric” doesn’t seem to have a good track record. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speculation-about-trumps-underlying-reasons-for-bombing-iran-and-other-targets/1028209/142 "2026-03-25T18:21:50Z")
I see your point, but there are a couple of things that rankle me a bit 1. As has been previously explained the phrase is not a “death wish”, that’s an artifact of a too literal translation. 2. Their anger against the U.S. is not unearned, the U.S. did impose a brutal dictatorship on them, so who was the enemy of the other first?. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speculation-about-trumps-underlying-reasons-for-bombing-iran-and-other-targets/1028209/143 "2026-03-25T18:34:31Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > The last time we ignored a country like that they attacked Ukraine. We are the equivalent of “Russia” in this; _we_ attacked _them._ We certainly haven’t ignored them, we’ve been a constant threat to them for decades. _We_ are the problem far more than they are. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speculation-about-trumps-underlying-reasons-for-bombing-iran-and-other-targets/1028209/144 "2026-03-25T18:45:49Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I’m fine with considering a nation my enemy if they declare themselves to be my enemy, even if I have no previous beef with them. Why not take them at their word? What level of response is justified on that scenario, though? If a country declares that they are your enemy, do you increase surveillance on them, increase your defensive posture towards them, or just go ahead and attack? ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speculation-about-trumps-underlying-reasons-for-bombing-iran-and-other-targets/1028209/145 "2026-03-25T18:46:24Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > Their anger against the U.S. is not unearned, the U.S. did impose a brutal dictatorship on them, so who was the enemy of the other first?. The US didn’t impose Mossadegh on the Iranians. Nor the Ayatollahs. And the US didn’t “impose” the Shah on Iran either, the US supported a counter-coup to put the Shah back in power after Mossadegh’s coup, but Mossadegh would have likely lost power anyways. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speculation-about-trumps-underlying-reasons-for-bombing-iran-and-other-targets/1028209/146 "2026-03-25T18:54:00Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > As has been previously explained the phrase is not a “death wish”, that’s an artifact of a too literal translation. In much the same way that people saying “Fuck ICE” aren’t advocating rape. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speculation-about-trumps-underlying-reasons-for-bombing-iran-and-other-targets/1028209/147 "2026-03-25T18:57:12Z")
The U.S. supported a coup that put the Shah on power, the actions of the Shah once in power were brutal, are you seriously telling me that is unjustified for Iranians to feel anger towards the U.S. for its responsability in installing the Shah?. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speculation-about-trumps-underlying-reasons-for-bombing-iran-and-other-targets/1028209/148 "2026-03-25T19:04:17Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > What level of response is justified on that scenario, though? If a country declares that they are your enemy, do you increase surveillance on them, increase your defensive posture towards them, or just go ahead and attack? I’ve already noted that attacking is not warranted in that situation. At the very least, I’d be wary of going there as a tourist because a lot of them occasionally capture tourists to hold hostage. Even in countries that don’t themselves have a track record of doing so. At the very most, I’d be wary of doing deals with them as I would be afraid that they would renege on them to score political points. The only example I can think of is Russia (which is of course, defended by tankies as being justified by the west “encroaching” on them by not turning their backs on Russia’s embattled neighbors.) ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speculation-about-trumps-underlying-reasons-for-bombing-iran-and-other-targets/1028209/149 "2026-03-25T19:05:38Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > At the very most, I’d be wary of doing deals with them as I would be afraid that they would renege on them to score political points. About that… ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speculation-about-trumps-underlying-reasons-for-bombing-iran-and-other-targets/1028209/150 "2026-03-25T19:08:16Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > The U.S. supported a coup that put the Shah on power, You _are_ aware that the guy who was doing the couping whas the Shah’s general who was there because the Shah was in fact already the leader of the country? And that this “coup” was about deposing Mossadegh _after_ he had suspended the constitution and seized dictatorial authority? Yes, the US supported this, because who wouldn’t support kicking out the dictator who just seized power? > [@Frodo](#): > > are you seriously telling me that is unjustified for Iranians to feel anger towards the U.S. for its responsability in installing the Shah?. Not as upset as they should be at Mossadegh, or at the guys who overthrew the Shah and became a hundred times worse. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speculation-about-trumps-underlying-reasons-for-bombing-iran-and-other-targets/1028209/151 "2026-03-25T19:08:45Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > About that… You would _think_ that 4547’s actions would be so obvious that I needn’t mention them, but here we are. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speculation-about-trumps-underlying-reasons-for-bombing-iran-and-other-targets/1028209/152 "2026-03-25T19:12:08Z")
Because it was an internal Iranian matter? Or is the U.S. now the arbiter of who can or cannot be the ruler of Iran? Because, furthermore, the _externally imposed_ regime turned out to be extremely brutal? Try and put yourself in the average Iranian shoes, a foreign power meddles in your country’s internal political life, would you be happy about that?. The regime brought to power thanks to that foreign power turns out to be horrible, would you be grateful to that foreign power?. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speculation-about-trumps-underlying-reasons-for-bombing-iran-and-other-targets/1028209/153 "2026-03-25T19:13:25Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Not as upset as they should be at Mossadegh, or at the guys who overthrew the Shah and became a hundred times worse. Why is a foreign backed coup better than an internal one? are you seriously so blind to other people’s national pride? And I fully expect, in some (hopefully better) new regime in Iran, for people to chant “Death to the Ayatollahs!” or however the current regime gets to be called by that time, that’s neither here nor there. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speculation-about-trumps-underlying-reasons-for-bombing-iran-and-other-targets/1028209/154 "2026-03-25T19:17:06Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > Why is a foreign backed coup better than an internal one? Because the Shah never massacred thirty thousand people in the streets, or have his morality police beat teenage girls to death because they showed some hair. I get that moral relativism is all the rage, but I’m not going to pretend that the Shah’s government was anywhere near the same ballpark as the Ayatollahs are. A foreign backed coup to put someone like the Ayatollahs in power would be much worse than a domestic coup to put someone like the Shah in power, obviously. Whether a coup is “foreign” or not matters a lot less than what government it imposes. And by the way, many Iranians view the Ayatollah regime as foreign as well. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speculation-about-trumps-underlying-reasons-for-bombing-iran-and-other-targets/1028209/155 "2026-03-25T19:18:48Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Because the Shah never massacred thirty thousand people in the streets, or have his morality police beat teenage girls to death because they showed some hair. The CIA-trained SAVAK tortured a great many people. We just don’t care because he was _our_ dictator, and so _his_ torturers were the Good Guys. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speculation-about-trumps-underlying-reasons-for-bombing-iran-and-other-targets/1028209/156 "2026-03-25T19:20:13Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > The CIA-trained SAVAK tortured a great many people. …and the KGB trained Basij tortured many orders of magnitudes more. What’s your point? Should we ignore that fact because they’re opposed to America and “colonialism” and thus the Good Guys? ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speculation-about-trumps-underlying-reasons-for-bombing-iran-and-other-targets/1028209/157 "2026-03-25T19:22:45Z")
We are not comparing the Sha with the current regime, the chants in question started after the fall of the Sha’s regime, when all those things hadn’t happened. In any case, it seems like you don’t understand how galling it can be for a foreign power to instigate a coup in your country, I will stop trying to make you see how somebody can be so incensed by it that they chant “down with $foreign power” regularily. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speculation-about-trumps-underlying-reasons-for-bombing-iran-and-other-targets/1028209/158 "2026-03-25T19:24:34Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > …and the KGB trained Basij tortured many orders of magnitudes more. What’s your point? That this has nothing to do with any concern for human rights. Also, if they actually went after “orders of magnitudes more” than SAVAK, there wouldn’t be any Iranians _left._ ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speculation-about-trumps-underlying-reasons-for-bombing-iran-and-other-targets/1028209/159 "2026-03-25T19:25:28Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > In any case, it seems like you don’t understand how galling it can be for a foreign power to instigate a coup in your country, I will stop trying to make you see how somebody can be so incensed by it that they chant “down with $foreign power” regularily. I have no idea what you’re talking about. I was simply correcting for the record the claim that the US propped up a dictator out of nowhere. No, two dictators were fighting each other and the US had one they favored. I certainly never expressed surprise or confusion about Iranians chanting “Death to America”. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speculation-about-trumps-underlying-reasons-for-bombing-iran-and-other-targets/1028209/160 "2026-03-25T19:29:15Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > And I fully expect, in some (hopefully better) new regime in Iran, for people to chant “Death to the Ayatollahs!” or however the current regime gets to be called by that time, that’s neither here nor there. Alongside “Death to America”. If any Iranians think America is their friend, they are fucking stupid. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speculation-about-trumps-underlying-reasons-for-bombing-iran-and-other-targets/1028209.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speculation-about-trumps-underlying-reasons-for-bombing-iran-and-other-targets/1028209.md?page=9)