Unfortunately MAD in the classic sense doesn't apply here. Yes if Iran launched a nuke at Israel, or vice versa, and the other had nuclear capabilities, they would destroy each other, but the MAD scenario between the USSR and the United States doesn't really play out here.

The biggest global risk in this case would be that tactical nukes would be back on the menu which would immediately change the face of modern warfare.

I feel like it's been demonstrated that if Israel orders the United States to destroy the world on its behalf, the United States will do it.

So Iran is a special case compared to every other country getting them?

So the reason to make an exception to the Non-Proliferation Treaty just for the giant tyrannical fundamentalist state is, what, because otherwise they might get insecure and anxious?

OK, they never signed up to it, but still.

Are you referring to Israel here, who stole the recipe from their closest 'ally' and has made not one or two but hundreds of nukes outside of the NPT?

Allegedly.

AFAIK the recipe was given to them by the French.

The prior government did sign it and there’s very good reason to hold successor states to the treaties signed before they existed.

What about the agreement to protect Ukraine if they gave up the nuclear weapons?

Trusting the US or any agreement with it would be foolish.

We made an exception for Israel, India, Pakistan, and North Korea.

North Korea left the NPT, Israel never signed it.

the NPT is a joke. the only "authorized" nukes are the ones you can keep

The problem is that these people are religiously unhinged. They are executing Gods will with God on their side.

Ted Cruz is explicitly advocating that Christians are biblically commanded to defend the modern day state of Israel, and that this alone justifies our attack on Iran.

Or just because they tried to assassinate Trump.

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/08/donald-trump-iran-a...

Ted Cruz can blather whatever he wants (and he also footnoted it to say it was only HIS belief), but only Iran has holy-text justification for the destruction of all Jews, mentioned numerous times in authenticated Hadiths (just search them for "The last hour will not come")

Unlike the American evangelicals and the Israeli?

I'll just leave this here: https://youtu.be/5x50rSEEN1w?si=3LKciEH593cv5ish

For more, see https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0083590/

Along the same lines ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJiwovX3mNA ... powerful lyrics

In the past 24 hours alone, all 3 parties in this conflict have attributed their success to God. You genuinely, honestly have to be more specific in your comment because not a single involved participant is a fully secular country.

So, with that being said - which nuclear-obsessive theocracy do you support?

The reason there is a conflict at all is that the Iranian regime believes it is their religious duty to destroy the state of Israel. This is why they arm any group willing and able to attack Israel, and will continue to do so, and they cannot be negotiated with on this because they see it as a religious imperative.

Conversely there is no religious reason for anyone in Israel or the US to attack Iran, independently of the belief that they should defend Israel.

israel's whole existance is based on the idea that they are gods chosen people and god promised them that land, and they must defend it or it dishonors him.

going by project 2025, theres a very significant and influential portion of the american conservative sphere that is pants on head evangelical. and the idea of supporting israel as their christian duty is a huge part of that

lets not pretend this isnt the crusades with nukes. all parties here are operating on barbaric political principles

Didn't israel strike first? How is iran the bad guy here when they got attacked?

That's the entire underpinning of your world view? Bad guy is guy who struck first?

If you consider israel to be the good guy, you should win the Olympics of mental gymnastics.

Sorry if considering anything beyond first guy bad was too cerebral. Maybe ELI3 is needed?

To be fair it's the same god.

Are you referring to Iran or Israel?

one of the scariest parts of the current US administration is that there is a fairly strong evangelical Christian belief that a massive (possibly nuclear) war in Israel is a necessary precursor to the 2nd coming.

That's from Islam. Infact the entire point of ISIS was to manifest this prophecy

Evangelical Christianity shares the same belief. That’s why the red heifer breeding program [0] is supported by US Christian orgs [1].

[0] https://www.timesofisrael.com/red-heifer-temple-institute/

[1] https://cbn.com/news/israel/first-time-after-2000-years-isra...

this describes both jihadis and the chosen people. the whole region is operating on pre enlightenment notions of diplomacy