Ultra religious expansion.

Sadly there's no Babylon this time.

Or else what? You can’t do anything.

Or else they'll eventually alienate a majority of their patron state's voting population, and finally get hemmed in / risk losing your military (and other) funding that their state is dependent on.

Heavens to Betsy please don't be so passive.

We can reverse the whole thing -- lift sancions on Iran, sell them weapons, let them have their bomb and impose embargo on Israel. That should cool tbe delusions of grandeur pretty quick.

I think the alternative he was alluding to was that Iran is the project of ultra-religious hostile expansion. Which of course they would do if they could. Pick your poison - nationalist fanaticism or religious fanaticism.

Obviously neither would be best but that isn't a realistic possibility. I think I'd probably rather Israel conquered the Middle East than Iran.

> Iran is the project of ultra-religious hostile expansion. Which of course they would do if they could.

Would they? I wish we could start making decisions based in reality and not on hypotheticals.

Iran "would" expand (and citation needed) is very different than Israel "is in the process of" expanding, invading, suppressing peoples of different cultures within and without the borders of its state.

> I think I'd probably rather Israel conquered the Middle East than Iran.

I'd rather that whomever pursues a project of Lebensraum (that includes Russia) to be reminded of its place in the world, one way or another.

This is absurd. Iran hasn't done hostile expansion during its entire history as a modern state. Meanwhile the Greater Israel project is being aggressively pursued, with Israel currently (as in today, Wednesday April 8th) ethnically cleansing South Lebanon for indefinite occupation, as well as annexing the West Bank.

But Iran was involved in war abroad, trained militias and send weapons to Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Gaza, Lebanon, .. and also had personal on the ground.

They even try to enforce a death sentence worldwide and allmost succeded against a author who never even has been in Iran for writing a fantasy book (Salmom Rushdi).

It is absurd claiming they are peaceful. None of this justifies what Israel religious and nationalists are doing, but this black and white painting is not what is solving the conflict.