Seems like a rare dumb move from Iran in this war, IMO. If they really want to kill Trump, they wouldn’t be announcing it. If they don’t, this just helps Trump look tough and dangerous and he’ll relish it.
Think about that last statement. That alone is why the US is now in a forever war. And why? For what purpose? It certainly cannot be because Iran was develping nuclear weapons. The current US president’s actions on negating a treaty to stop such an action shows that. And as far as negotiations go, if your only response to the other party’s position is to start a war and then continue bombing whenever you “feel like” the other party is going to do something, then there’s no chance the other party is going to ever trust you.
This is a forever vanity war and it will last long after the instigator finally departs this mortal coil.
And Iran seems to have had a decent amount of success in another area.
Air Force officials told lawmakers in May that about two dozen MQ-9As had been lost during Operation Epic Fury against Iran. Other reports put the tally closer to 30. Depending on configuration, officials have said a Reaper can cost up to $50 million, and the MQ-9A production line was shut down in 2025.
Although this bit is the real killer for me:
The US has already started moving toward less wallet-destroying drones. Reuters reported in March that the Pentagon debuted the Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System, or LUCAS, in Iran just eight months after its unveiling. That drone costs around $35,000, uses open architecture, and is modeled after Iran’s Shahed designs.
The US is doing so poorly, they’ve started to copy the Iranians’ designs.
Well, yes, that’s sort of my point. Trump thought this would be a weekend of bombing, and Iran would come begging for peace. But now it’s gone on so long, the US is having to seriously reevaluate its tactics and equipment. And they’re looking to the enemy for inspiration. There was a day the US would lead on weapons development, but those days appear to be gone.
I agree on the Trump underestimating the time point, but no matter how much money you spend or how advanced your weapon systems are, in any conflict you’ll end up copying the enemy tactics that work, unless you are even stupider that the current US leadership is, which seems impossible.
Iran has had various foiled plots against both Trump and his predecessors, so it’s more than a little silly to claim that his actions are what ‘made him a target’. Unless you think Iran has access to a time machine.
Let the purges continue! Maybe just round up everyone in the pentagon and send them to camps in remote Montana. It fits with this administration’s modus operandi.
In breaking news, Secretary of Defense Pete Kegsbreath announced the arrest of one Donald J. Trump for leaking classified information to the media. Petey described this individual as a treasonous threat to the nation and demanded his immediate deportation.
"Hegseth said in a video posted on X on Monday, “The unauthorized disclosure of sensitive War Department information has the very real potential to cause exceptionally grave damage to our national security and the operational integrity of our armed forces. To leak sensitive national defense information and secrets betrays the men and women who wear our nation’s uniform.”
Immediately afterwards, he was arrested himself for the same crimes.