# What if Israel attacks Iran? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 7, 2011, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-israel-attacks-iran/602155 "2011-11-07T11:07:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Goosie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@Goosie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Goosie)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-israel-attacks-iran/602155/21 "2011-11-22T03:26:31Z")
If Israel wanted to attack Iran, wouldn’t they also have to follow up their airstrikes with troops on the ground to make sure that their targets are destroyed? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-israel-attacks-iran/602155/22 "2011-11-22T03:43:00Z")
> [@Goosie](#): > > If Israel wanted to attack Iran, wouldn’t they also have to follow up their airstrikes > with troops on the ground to make sure that their targets are destroyed? Not so far. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-israel-attacks-iran/602155/23 "2011-11-22T03:47:01Z")
Can someone please change the fucking thread title to make it a hypothetical!? ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-israel-attacks-iran/602155/24 "2011-11-22T03:48:56Z")
I believe that if Israelis thought their chances of destroying Iran’s nuclear infrastructure were real, the attack would have already happened. Attacking Iran without destroying that infrastructure in a way that delays reconstruction for at least a decade or more is completely counterproductive. Thus, I expect no attack. ---
**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:** [November 22, 2011, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-israel-attacks-iran/602155/25 "2011-11-22T05:56:03Z")
> [@CitizenPained](#): > > And what I don’t want to think about is what happens if Israel fails. There’s no “if”; barring nukes they can’t do it. We probably can’t either. The Iranians specifically designed their program to resist being destroyed that way; everything is dispersed or in deep bunkers. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-israel-attacks-iran/602155/26 "2011-11-22T07:24:12Z")
> [@11811](#): > > I think you could expect Hezbollah and Hamas to attack Israel even if no states governments do. And that would be different from the current situation how? ---
**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:** [November 22, 2011, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-israel-attacks-iran/602155/27 "2011-11-22T07:56:33Z")
The difference is that right now, they aren’t attacking. Hizballah is essentially a branch of the Iranian military, so they’ll launch everything they have at Israeli cities, just like they did in 2006. Hamas will probably join in just to preserve its street cred. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-israel-attacks-iran/602155/28 "2011-11-22T08:00:00Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Can someone please change the fucking thread title to make it a hypothetical!? Seriously, it is an annoying gotcha. ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-israel-attacks-iran/602155/29 "2011-11-22T08:33:30Z")
Changed title from “Israel attacks Iran” to “What if Israel attacks Iran?” to reflect the hypothetical nature of the question. - Gukumatz, IMHO moderator. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2011, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-israel-attacks-iran/602155/30 "2011-11-22T08:56:38Z")
Iranian tank dudes might react similarly to these Syrian tank dudes’, their last words were: [“gee, is it is just me, or is it hamas than hezbollah in here…”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPDm61cxFBc) ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2011, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-israel-attacks-iran/602155/31 "2011-11-23T01:44:56Z")
Thanks **Gukumatz** , much better for my blood pressure! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-israel-attacks-iran/602155.md?page=1)