# United States and Israel are bombing Iran {for current/ongoing events, past/future have specific threads} **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump, iran-strikes-2026\ **Created:** [February 28, 2026, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071 "2026-02-28T07:56:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 47
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2026, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/926 "2026-03-18T12:17:49Z")
> **[Israel Is Hunting Down Iranian Regime Members in Their Hideouts, One by One](https://www.reddit.com/r/geopolitics/comments/1rwskva/israel_is_hunting_down_iranian_regime_members_in/)** > > 362 points | 94 comments — u/Fricklefrazz Happened upon this article on a Geopolitics subreddit. It is behind a paywall but the reddit posts summarize the situation very well. ---
**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 18, 2026, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/927 "2026-03-18T13:34:24Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Top counterterrorism official Kent resigns over Trump’s Iran war, says Iran posed no imminent threat Interesting development: > > > Joe Kent @joekent16jan19 Is he going on Tucker to deliver some sober geopolitical analysis of the current situation? Or will he go off the deep end and endorse Tuckerite conspiracy theories? I predict the latter - very publically quitting and then running straight to Carlson screams jumpstarting your new career as a grifter - but we shall see. ---
**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 18, 2026, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/928 "2026-03-18T13:35:13Z")
> [@Ellecram](#): > > Happened upon this article on a Geopolitics subreddit. > > It is behind a paywall but the reddit posts summarize the situation very well Reddit is much less strict about reproducing large sections of an article in their entirety than the Straight Dope is, I will say that ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2026, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/929 "2026-03-18T14:18:16Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Or will he go off the deep end and endorse Tuckerite conspiracy theories? From what I’ve read of his prior record and his resignation letter, I’m expecting closer to this, too. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2026, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/930 "2026-03-18T14:21:42Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Traffic is trickling through Strait of Hormuz: Who’s moving through _Summary:_ The main criteria are either “ **who owns the cargo** ” (e.g., letting a ship with liquified gas through, because the gas is owned by the India Shipping Corporation)… …or “ **ownership** or **crew presence** ” of the ship itself (e.g., certain Chinese ships, though more recently these have been blocked or attacked)… …or “ **destination** ,” as broadcast by a radio transponder signal called AIS (“automatic identification system”), which includes this info (though I suppose the ship could lie about their destination), quite like the aircraft equivalent (ADS-B). ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2026, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/931 "2026-03-18T14:43:06Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Googling, it looks like they’d been at sea a long time - [nearing record-breaking](https://maritime-executive.com/article/uss-ford-likely-to-set-post-vietnam-deployment-record-delaying-maintenance), in fact - and piling up a lot of “deferred maintenance”. So it’s quite possible the answer is the system was broken and nobody knew or fixed it if they did. I was re-reading a story yesterday, in which one character observes that humans are generally bad at looking at “Really Big Numbers”, and then just treating them as if they were infinite. And this is what we’re starting to see with Trump and the MAGAs. Sure, the US military is the largest in the world, the largest in history, but it’s not infinite. But they’re treating it as if it were. Missiles are fired at a rate far above what they can replace. Ships are deployed to more and more places, for longer times, even though there are a finite number of them. Venezuela, Cuba, Greenland, Iran, everywhere else. They think they can spend without limit, and it’s starting to bite them in the ass. And their congenital inability to admit error means this will continue until something critical breaks. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2026, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/932 "2026-03-18T15:24:34Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Is he going on Tucker to deliver some sober geopolitical analysis of the current situation? Or will he go off the deep end and endorse Tuckerite conspiracy theories? He is going full antisemite in the disguise of anti-Israel. **[I quoted his Xit](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speculation-for-consequences-to-the-us-for-engaging-in-the-bombing-of-iran-and-other-targets/1028210/203)** in the Speculation on Consequences of the Iran War as an example of the legitimation this war is giving antisemites. Well, giving… they are taking it, that much is clear. They really wanted to, now they feel they finally can. Bad miscalculation by Netanyahu, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2026, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/933 "2026-03-18T15:56:09Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > He is going full antisemite in the disguise of anti-Israel. Given his Nazi-hugging background, I tend to agree. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2026, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/934 "2026-03-18T17:14:58Z")
The ships departing are not using the main channel. Tracking shows them deviating closer to the Iranian shore, actually behind an island. Supposition is that the ships are being checked for cargo and destination by Iran. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2026, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/935 "2026-03-18T23:08:19Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > “ **who owns the cargo** ” > …or “ **ownership** or **crew presence** ” of the ship itself > …or " **destination** Remembering that this is OPEC, not some USA domiciled business operating within the provisions of U.S. antitrust laws with oversight by both the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/936 "2026-03-19T00:05:28Z")
True. I’m sure plenty of shell games go on (hope that’s an apt metaphor). ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/937 "2026-03-19T01:51:03Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Bad miscalculation by Netanyahu, I think. Well, that depends. If it keeps him out of jail, it served its purpose as far as he’s concerned. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/938 "2026-03-19T05:12:23Z")
Trump goes looney about an attack on a Qatari natural gas field: > **[Brian Finucane (@bcfinucane.bsky.social)](https://bsky.app/profile/bcfinucane.bsky.social/post/3mhewjy3hqk2z)** > > Whether or not this factual account is accurate, it seems POTUS is trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube to some extent and forestall further attacks against energy infrastructure. > > (Obviously makes him look weak if Israel did this without... This is what happens when idiots start a war with no mission and no plan. All of this (basically chaos involving Gulf energy and maritime transit) was entirely predictable and this administration had no plan for it. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/939 "2026-03-19T05:25:40Z")
> NO MORE ATTACKS WILL BE MADE BY ISRAEL pertaining to this extremely important and valuable South Pars Field unless Iran unwisely decides to attack a very innocent, in this case, Qatar - In which instance the United States of America, with or without the help or consent of Israel, will massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field at an amount of strength and power that Iran has never seen or witnessed before. Bold of Trump to assume he’s in any position to dictate military policy to Bibi. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/940 "2026-03-19T05:28:09Z")
Pretty much the whole of WWII could have been avoided if Trump had been in charge back then. He could have just directed Japan and Germany not to attack Allied assets and that would have been that. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/941 "2026-03-19T05:53:39Z")
After attacking the Iranian oil facilities yesterday, Israel was very careful to note that it had done so in full coordination with the U.S. You decide who’s lying. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/942 "2026-03-19T06:22:29Z")
[The US to leave Iran “very near future”.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-says-us-leave-iran-182218170.html) > [@](#): > > ‘We’ll be leaving in pretty much the very near future,’ Trump said. > > [US President Donald Trump](https://www.jpost.com/international/article-890064) told reporters on Tuesday that the United States was not ready to leave the military operation in Iran yet, but that “we’ll be leaving in pretty much the very near future.” [Or maybe not.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/exclusive-us-weighs-military-reinforcements-234717074.html) > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON, March 18 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s administration is considering deploying thousands of U.S. troops to reinforce its operation in the Middle East, as the U.S. military prepares for possible next steps in its campaign against Iran, said a U.S. official and three people familiar with the matter. > > The deployments could help provide Trump ‌with additional options as he weighs expanding U.S. operations, with the Iran war well into its third week. > > Those options include securing safe passage for oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a ‌mission that would be accomplished primarily through air and naval forces, the sources said. But securing the Strait could also mean deploying U.S. troops to Iran’s shoreline, said four sources, including two U.S. officials. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/943 "2026-03-19T06:29:00Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > The US to leave Iran “very near future”. In two weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/944 "2026-03-19T06:30:55Z")
I don’t think Trump is even in control of anything now. I suspect it’s all in the hands of … Not sure who. But Trump is probably being left out of the loop entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071/945 "2026-03-19T06:31:39Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I suspect it’s all in the hands of … Not sure who. Stephen Miller would be my guess these days, but that’s getting afield of the topic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071.md?page=46) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/united-states-and-israel-are-bombing-iran-for-current-ongoing-events-past-future-have-specific-threads/1028071.md?page=48)