"America is standing on Iran's oxygen hose." Topic

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Most of this is a somewhat humorous look at Republican and MAGA politics, but there is this:

I have been saying—in a number of different places, whether here, in interviews, etc—that if Trump settled the war, and got clean out well before the midterms, the war wouldn't be a problem for his base. He campaigned on a rejection of forever wars, and I do believe that his base would really be distressed if he betrayed that commitment, and got us embroiled in one. "Walking away from his promise" would be if this thing turned into Afghanistan. Any attempt at globalist nation building really would divide the base.

But I now believe need to add one additional qualification to all this. I do believe that administration officials need to stop saying just "one or two days" more. That can get old pretty quick, even if you think you understand the strategy being used. But at the same time, the active war-fighting is no longer going on, the war is largely out of the headlines, and America is just standing on Iran's oxygen hose. Time is only Iran's friend if the stand-off becomes a wildly unpopular domestic issue back here in the States, and it does not look as though that is happening. That means that time is not Iran's friend.

What play does Iran have left to them apart from Trump losing the House in the midterms? But that would require the war to become a hot political issue in the States in the months prior, which it does not appear to be doing. The war in Iran has turned into the siege of Iran, and has consequently sidled out of the headlines. So run this thought experiment. What is the Iranian regime's play if Trump retains the House and the Senate?

Trump has been careful -- in his ACTIONS though not in his rhetoric -- to preserve Iran's infrastructure. I think that is both an ethical and a prudential judgement; we want a new Iranian regime, and it needs to have an economy upon which rebuilding can happen. Our enemy is not the Iranian people, who will suffer greatly in an economic collapse. The men with guns will be the last to go hungry.

But if we reach the point that Trump gives up hope of regime change, and if he is forced (politically) to abandon the Iranian conflict, I expect his parting shot will be to collapse the Iranian economy. The mullahs can continue to hate him, in the dark.

5D checkers again? Can we just give it a rest? It's embarrassing.

Feel free to go nap elsewhere.

Feel free to paint a miniature, although that doesn't get you a +1 from your cohorts.

When the Moon is in the Seventh House, and Jupiter aligns with Mars

Iran is playing a pair of 5s about as good as anyone can. The only thing that they have are the fast attack boats, drones, and an unknown quantity of ballistic missiles, which doesn't really give them a lot of options militarily. However, the U.S. seems to have no strategy at this point other than trying to make a deal, which points to some issues as who didn't think that the IGRC would not take control of the Iranian government and refuse to surrender? My only guess is that the U.S. is hoping that things get so bad inside Iran that the regime collapses, but that appears 50/50 at best.

Prince Albert, thank you!!

Better question is what is Trump's play if Iran doesn't cave?
They're already living under sanctions, already being bombed and the regime is on a religious kick so how could they quit?