Wait a minute, did Iran “unconditionally surrender” when I wasn’t looking? 
They’re mining the Straightdope? Now it’s personal.
Before fighting started, the U.S. and Israel agreed to leave all naval aspects of the war to the United States, on the assumption that the American military knew far more about naval warfare than the IDF and was far more capable in that field. So… yeah.
I am trying to keep my spirits up in a desolate situation, but no, that was not true. I should have perhaps written it Strait Al-Doup to make it less obvious? Anyway, they* would bomb us if they could.
* They being the Islamic Revolutionary Guards, but beware of “our” side too!
So Israel partnered up with a bunch of known ass-clowns and started a war? Sounds like a questionable choice. You sure the current leaders in Israel aren’t also a bunch of known ass-clowns?
Oh, they absolutely are.
But Israelis, in general, worship the United States. As far as we’re concerned, the U.S. can do no wrong. This isn’t the first time we’ve been suckered into assuming they know what they’re doing, and it won’t be the last.
I laughed.
(Hey, we need occasional moments of levity among all this horror.)
Makes you so proud, doesn’t it?
REALLY hard to not feel unfavorably towards people who find this sort of display desirable in their leader.
My wife has a student in one of her classes who is in the reserves and is concerned about getting called up. Does not favor this war, says he regrets having voted for Trump, and as a result, thinks he will not vote for anyone in the future. 
This worship only appears to extend to one US political party, at least AFAICT from this side of the ponds.
A country is more than its political parties. Even when people we’re not crazy about are in power, Israelis still think that America, in general, is awesome.
I mean, I despise Trump myself, but I’m still on your side.
Good to know which side your bread is buttered on.
Doesn’t Iran need the Strait open for shipping? (in order to sell its oil to China.)
If the strait is permanently closed, how will Iran survive economically? Oil sales make up half its GDP.
Just to be clear: you are quoting the article I had translated, not me.
And yes, Iran needs the Strait of Hormuz open for shipping its oil, but if the regime can’t survive, so neither shall the others, it seems to be signaling. It is called nihilism.
Closing the Strait is very logical for the Iranian government - showing they have the power to decimate global trade indefinitely, even while the US is clobbering them, will be a very, very strong deterrent for future attacks against them.
The difference is that Iran’s regime might fall because the Straits are closed, but the rest of the world doesn’t rely on the Straits to nearly the same extent.
Yeah, but right now there is no real danger to the Ayatollah’s regime.
They have suffered damage to a lot of buildings, and maybe lost a few thousand soldiers, but the regime has survived, and still has the ability to kill tens of thousands of their own citizens to stop any rebellion, just like they did 3 months ago.
And they know that Trump will have to quit soon.
Iran will immediately start rebuilding its army, which will take a lot of money, and so the Strait of Hormuz will be vital to Iran, more than to the rest of the world.
I don’t get their logic.
War update:
Some key notes:
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Iran has been trying to target US radar installations in the region in order to degrade missile defense capabilities, but they do not appear to have been successful as interception rates remain high. Iran has suffered tremendous losses when it comes to their missile launchers, leaving them with a severe bottleneck as far as launching further missions.
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Hezbollah’s efforts to join the war have led to them losing their last bits of political support within Lebanon, including their longtime allies the Amal Movement voting to outlaw their military activity.
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US and Israeli strikes continue to target Basij and other security forces, especially in the heavily Kurdish northern part of the country.
As GWB would say, “Mission Accomplished!”™
It’s about deterring the next attack, as well as motivating taco Trump to stop this one.
I agree that both those goals are logical for Iran–(deter the next attack, and force Trump to stop).
And blocking the Strait of Hormuz temporarily is a good way for them to accomplish those goals.
But the link in German says that the block will be permanent because nobody has the technology to clear them.
Iran is going to need a lot of money very soon, and the only way to get it is to sell their oil, using the Strait.
Is the link wrong?
Maybe Iran does have technical abilities to clear the mines (I dunno, using suicide drone boats or something?)