Ok, so let’s review. Iran had a guy who had led its projection of power via terror for a couple decades. The US had been taking a number of steps in Iran’s neighborhood that indicate the US is both relinquishing power there and disrupting a status quo that has existed since the large scale shooting had died down from Bush Wars II and III. The disruption has yielded a realignment of Turkey toward Russia, more complete devotion to the Likud version of an Israeli state, abandonment of the Palestinian cause seeking justice, fealty to the Saudi hotel/motel investors, reinvigorating Iranian efforts to seek allies that will strengthen it globally and removing arrangements that reduced or even stopped its program to develop nuclear weapons, betrayal of long-time Kurdish allies, surrendering Syria to Russia and back to Assad, and thrown predictability and relatively lowered intensity of action into the hopper labeled “Hope”...among many other blunders.
Episodes in a continuing series of tit-for-tat exploded into a serious escalation by Trump to kill a man who would be the equivalent of, perhaps, the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a member of the JCS, a person with global responsibility for carrying out Iran’s interests via military and paramilitary means. An action such as this would be met with gravest consequences if perpetrated on a member of the JCS.
Trump declares victory, threatens further acts of crimes against humanity. Iran declares war, except not on the American people, but on Trump and Trump’s interests. Lists of his properties (or branding ventures) goes out from an Iranian Foreign Ministry official. A bounty of $80 million is put on his head by another. Iran launches missiles into desert sand adjacent to two centers of US troop concentration. The divided Iranian people are unified in anger, killing off the long-term US strategy of weakening the Shiite regime by enhancing divisions against it.
Trump declares victory again, hopes Iran is going to call it good, but further punishes Iran with more sanctions, harming ordinary Iranians and further unifying the Iranian people. Now the question: why did Iran miss and what happens next? Is this the end of it? Nope. Iran is not calling it good and, by the way, we are on our own as no ally is going to sign up to share dividends with Trump after being crapped on by Trump.
It should be clear that Iran is doing what it said it would do — that it doesn’t hold the American people responsible, just Trump. Dramatically not killing Americans when it was very easy to to so says Iran has its choice of targets and will choose the times and places of attacking that target. Americans will likely die as a result of Trump/Republican blunders and failures of accountability, but there are other scores to settle and aims to pursue.
Why would Iran do this? To do to the US what the US was doing in Iran — inciting division in the society. Surely, the last 3 years have shown the foreign policy advantages of dividing opponent populations.
Now, the real trouble is yet to come for anything branded as “Trump”. That would include Trump branded hotel/motel/diner properties around the globe(which should further reduce revenues already undermined by people avoiding the brand), but also people carrying the brand — his family starting now and the old man starting when he’s out of office. Other than Jarvanka, Melanie and Baron, no other Trumps are anything other than private citizens (at best).
I think if I were a Trump relative, I’d be looking over my shoulder.
If I were Trump, I’d be expecting to lose family members and properties.
As a US citizen, I just want to be rid of Trump and Republicans.