# "Wars in the Middle East" **URL:** \ **Category:** Scuttlebutt\ **Created:** [May 31, 2026, 8:11pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/wars-in-the-middle-east/75897 "2026-05-31T20:11:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Binbag\_the\_Saylore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Binbag\_the\_Saylore](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Binbag_the_Saylore)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 11:52am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/wars-in-the-middle-east/75897/21 "2026-06-19T11:52:40Z")
Another “Treaty of Versailles”… 1871 - French humiliation 1919 - German humiliation 2026 - Trump humiliation ---
**Author:** ![Sand\_Pebble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c2a13f/32.png) [@Sand\_Pebble](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Sand_Pebble)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 12:19pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/wars-in-the-middle-east/75897/22 "2026-06-19T12:19:05Z")
When it comes to the US’s failures in the Middleeast & rest of the world, we’ve done worse. No memorial wall in DC over this one. > **[List of Iranian officials killed during the 2026 Iran war | Confirmed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Iranian_officials_killed_during_the_2026_Iran_war#Confirmed)** > > On 18 March, the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights estimated that 5,300+ members of the Iranian military forces had been killed in the attacks. > Iranian state media declared a period of 40 days of mourning (the Arba'in) and seven days of public holidays in the wake of Ali Khamenei's death, and an Interim Leadership Council was appointed pending the election of a new Supreme Leader. On 7 March, the Assembly of Experts announced Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Ali Khamenei, as the new Supreme Leader. I... Also, when Iran was mowing down innocent protesters by the thousands & rounding them up from their homes to be later killed like dogs, many countries condemned it but not a single one lifted a finger to do anything about it. Perhaps that was the time for the world to intervene in Iran instead of the US & Israel doing it alone later? It does makes unbiased thinking people wonder if that was one of the reasons all of Irans neighbors let the US use their bases to carry out the war on Iran. The US could not have done it without the support of Irans neighboring countries. The US probably couldn’t have done it without Russias & Chinas silent consent either. But about the slaughter of tens of thousands of protesters in Iran. The gloves are off. If that happens again, any country on the planet could assist the protesters & attack Iran without much consequence thanks to the US. Military speaking, sinking all of their large navy ships was a plus too. ---
**Author:** ![tengineer1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@tengineer1](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/tengineer1)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 4:09pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/wars-in-the-middle-east/75897/23 "2026-06-19T16:09:59Z")
For some strange reason the current US administration does not have the same concern over the same thing happening in Ukraine. ---
**Author:** ![seasmaster](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/seasmaster/32/3160_2.png) [@seasmaster](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/seasmaster)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 4:31pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/wars-in-the-middle-east/75897/24 "2026-06-19T16:31:39Z")
To this Nam vet, it appears we’ve either learned nothing, or forgotten. In 1972, while floating in GOT on a WW2 destroyer, we dicked around with BS NFGS missions, until the Easter Offensive by NVN. [Prior to the offensive, the combatants were “negotiating” in Paris.]. With the onset of the NVA’s offensive, Nixon declared “game-on” and the US military went full retard! And we were militarily winning. . . But we stopped for peace talks again. . . and then in December '72, because the NV were stalling, we bombed the fu@k out of them to get them back to the table. The point I’m trying [poorly, I guess] to make is: WTF? This agreement is BS. As Freigherman wrote, they want to be martyrs. I’m good with that! Perhaps we should have given them a cheery “aye-aye”, and greased their martyrish rails to 72 virgins. Because I don’t want my grandchildren to have to deal with them in a decade. I really believe it is not going to end well. I only have to look at the Ukraine/Russia conflict, with the recent drone attacks in Moscow to envision “incoming” on Kiev from Putin; perhaps with uranium. . [again, this should have been resolved in 2022 by Europe & the US standing firm against Putin] Bad shit’s coming. ---
**Author:** ![freighterman1](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/freighterman1/32/11176_2.png) [@freighterman1](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/freighterman1)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 5:51pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/wars-in-the-middle-east/75897/25 "2026-06-19T17:51:37Z")
I’ve said this several times, and I’m only quoting basic military wisdom when I do it: Bombing will not defeat a well-entrenched and motivated enemy. Only ground war will do that. Recent events have proved that adage correct once again. Our senior officers knew this and warned the president. He fired those that did. When the bombing didn’t work–just as experts predicted–he had no choice but to run. Why? It’s not just the body count from invasion, though those would have numbered hundreds of Americans. What would have comes next is also basic military wisdom: Insurgency follows civil war. To hold the ground after the invasion, Americans would have had to battle an insurgency. The Iraq War redux. Only with more American killed, maimed, and burned. Because the Iranians honed their insurgency skills in Iraq, and have improved their insurgency tech since then, in Ukraine. The president was told of all of this by military and foreign service experts and he still chose to start this fiasco. 100% his decision. And here’s the clincher: if he had simply sent the fleet home a month ago, proclaimed WE WON!, and signed nothing, and acted as if it had never happened, **we would have had a better outcome nationally than if he signed this moronic agreement!** ---
**Author:** ![Binbag\_the\_Saylore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Binbag\_the\_Saylore](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Binbag_the_Saylore)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 11:01pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/wars-in-the-middle-east/75897/26 "2026-06-19T23:01:06Z")
![Screenshot_20260620_002536_Bluesky](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/gcaptain_maritime_forum/original/3X/0/5/0521624b8dc37502f595700619fb2884b8f6093b.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Mm923448](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bcef8e/32.png) [@Mm923448](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Mm923448)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 11:22pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/wars-in-the-middle-east/75897/27 "2026-06-19T23:22:33Z")
> [@Sand\_Pebble](#): > > when Iran was mowing down innocent protesters by the thousands & rounding them up from their homes to be later killed like dogs, many countries condemned it but not a single one lifted a finger to do anything about it. The US didnt care about that either, it’s disingenuous to say that was a major factor in us getting involved. And while I feel terrible for the innocent people there, we can’t help them and I’d rather do nothing than do start a conflict that rewards our enemies so handsomely. Say what you will about Trump, and theres a lot to say both good and bad, but he has no business playing at war and now we all have to pay the price for that hubris. He got high on his own supply after Venezuela. ---
**Author:** ![Rock\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4bbf92/32.png) [@Rock\_Hill](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Rock_Hill)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 11:46pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/wars-in-the-middle-east/75897/28 "2026-06-19T23:46:39Z")
So what should we do about Israel rounding up or mowing down civilian protesters, including multiple American citizens? Just ignore it and keep giving Israel whatever it wants? If our primary rationale for bombing Iran is to protect innocent protesters, the fact that we killed a high number of civilians during the bombings feels like we tried to put out a fire with a flamethrower. ---
**Author:** ![Sand\_Pebble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c2a13f/32.png) [@Sand\_Pebble](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Sand_Pebble)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 11:53pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/wars-in-the-middle-east/75897/29 "2026-06-19T23:53:54Z")
> [@Mm923448](#): > > And while I feel terrible for the innocent people there, we can’t help them and I’d rather do nothing than do start a conflict Thumbs up. 👍 I agree. We had no business attacking Iran nor kidnapping the President of Venezuela. I’ve never said anything otherwise. But I just wanted to point out to all the usual suspects who were complaining that this illegal attack on Iran was the worst thing to ever happen until the US did something even worse like stopping it. What type of circular logic is that? I will post again all the top dogs we killed in the Iran-US War of '26 PLUS all their scientists & generals we killed in the other illegal 12-Day War of June 2025. We didn’t give our enemies a sweet heart deal. We killed most of all of their leaders & now dealing with their 2nd string underlings. Look it up, read the links, they’re dead. We killed all their top brass including their demigod. All the Trump haters can call that a lose all they want but the next time a Democrat or Republican Administration sets down to negotiate with all these Iranian Battlefield Promoted leaders will remember how they got their titles. And even though we had no right to start this illegal war, there’s a reason why all of Irans neighbors let us use their bases to carry out this illegal war. Iran sucks. About the comment above about the legitimate suffering people of Ukraine. The reason why most sane military analysts point out why we shouldn’t go to the defense of Ukraine is because Russia has NUCLEAR BOMBS! The same reason the world doesn’t raise a fuss about the suffering Uyghurs in China. China has NUCLEAR BOMBS! The US, Russia & China pretty much can do anything we want militarily because we all have NUCLEAR BOMBS. Do you know who doesn’t have nuclear bombs & won’t for decades to come because of the actions of Israel & the US starting May of '25? That’s Iran. We were wrong but I’m not stubborn enough to deny the benefits. > **[Casualties of the Twelve-Day War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_Twelve-Day_War)** > > During the Twelve-Day War between Iran and Israel, by 28 June 2025, Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRANA), a US-based organization, reported that Israeli strikes killed 1,190 people and wounded over 4,000. Among the fatalities were 436 civilians, 435 military personnel, and 319 individuals whose status could not be confirmed. The Iranian health ministry also stated that more than 4,000 people have been wounded. The Times of Israel reported that Iranian strikes killed 28 Israeli civilian Irani... > **[List of Iranian officials killed during the 2026 Iran war | Confirmed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Iranian_officials_killed_during_the_2026_Iran_war#Confirmed)** > > On 18 March, the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights estimated that 5,300+ members of the Iranian military forces had been killed in the attacks. > Iranian state media declared a period of 40 days of mourning (the Arba'in) and seven days of public holidays in the wake of Ali Khamenei's death, and an Interim Leadership Council was appointed pending the election of a new Supreme Leader. On 7 March, the Assembly of Experts announced Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Ali Khamenei, as the new Supreme Leader. I... ---
**Author:** ![Mm923448](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bcef8e/32.png) [@Mm923448](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Mm923448)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 12:39am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/wars-in-the-middle-east/75897/30 "2026-06-20T00:39:24Z")
I hear ya, however respectfully I disagree. As Americans we have kind of lost sight of this but the Ayatollah was 86. In the US that’s a spring chicken, a politician just hitting their prime, about contemporary age with our president, but to most of the rest of the world, thats a crusty old dinosaur of a leader and we did them a favor by freshening things up. The current regime are insane Islamic fundamentalists, I don’t think they are intimidated or sobered in any way over the means by which they came to power. Hell, many od them are probably hoping for a similar glorious end someday. The old guard is martyred and the new has broken the shackles of moderate control and are now free to unleash radical Islamic hell on the rest of the world. Big L for western hegemony, no other way to spin it. We have made Iran wealthier, more powerful, and closer to nuclear dominance than they ever could have dreamed before this administration. I will give Trump one bit of credit, immediate surrender was probably the best way out of this after he foolishly started it. The alternative would be to carry on like Iraq and Afghanistan and come to this same ending just after 20 years of running young men through the meat grinder only to end up with the same endgame, if not worse. Perhaps he learned something from Putin and George W in that regard, I dont know… I’m trying to find some way to put it in a better light, since he is my president. Getting one over on Iran at this point would require a level of commitment and political capital that simply isn’t available. To root out the regime and truly accomplish our goals, we would need a global coalition of willing allies that we no longer have, and a call for the American people to dig in and prioritize the conflict over all domestic matters, sending another a generation of young men to die in a massive ground war, and that level of resolve among the American people simply doesnt exist at present. Not the kind of conversation I wanted to be having around the corner from the big 250, but at least some of this may be reversible, or at least not as catastrophic as it could have been. Still, apologies to my son who is going to have to be in the generation to deal with a lot of this when he grows up. ---
**Author:** ![Rock\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4bbf92/32.png) [@Rock\_Hill](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Rock_Hill)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 5:16am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/wars-in-the-middle-east/75897/31 "2026-06-20T05:16:27Z")
I’m curious who or what group of people would be arguing that we should send boots on the ground to help Ukraine, or drop bombs on Russia like we did on Iran. While I fully support supporting Ukraine to defend herself against a larger aggressive neighbor, I pray that the U.S. does not get directly involved in anyway unless heaven forbid it spills over to include a fellow NATO country. ---
**Author:** ![tengineer1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@tengineer1](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/tengineer1)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 5:49pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/wars-in-the-middle-east/75897/32 "2026-06-20T17:49:54Z")
As predicted Israel cancelled Trumps so called MOU. Bibi is in charge. ---
**Author:** ![244](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/a3d4f5/32.png) [@244](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/244)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 10:18pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/wars-in-the-middle-east/75897/33 "2026-06-20T22:18:08Z")
You put your left leg in etc ---
**Author:** ![Mm923448](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bcef8e/32.png) [@Mm923448](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Mm923448)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2026, 12:36am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/wars-in-the-middle-east/75897/34 "2026-06-21T00:36:07Z")
I wonder if this was influenced much by him going and blurting out that we have 4 weeks of oil reserves. He really just came out and let the IRGC know that they have us by the balls. Squeeze a little more and they will probably have us sending money and people over to help them develop their nukes. ---
**Author:** ![ombugge](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/ombugge/32/11217_2.png) [@ombugge](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/ombugge)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 7:21pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/wars-in-the-middle-east/75897/35 "2026-06-22T19:21:32Z")
Walking backwards to the 2015 “Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action”?🙂 > [@](#): > > # Vance says Iran agrees to nuclear inspections, as under Obama deal > > Conversations with inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency could occur as soon as Monday, the vice president said, as negotiations continue in Switzerland. > “That is a major milestone for the American people, and the first step in permanently denuclearizing or permanently ending a nuclear weapons program in Iran,” Vance said Monday at a news conference at the Bürgenstock resort in Switzerland. U.S. and Iranian officials are working with mediators from Qatar and Pakistan to turn last week’s fragile ceasefire into a more comprehensive peace agreement. Vance said he would return home soon as technical talks moved forward. > > Iran was already subject to regular inspections as a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and agreed to more intrusive monitoring under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the Obama nuclear deal that Trump frequently condemned. After Trump terminated that agreement in 2018, Iran blocked IAEA access to some sites, while inspections continued at some facilities. > > The ships in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman are no longer enforcing a blockade by interdicting vessels or firing disabling shots, the official said. U.S. undersea drones have also been conducting mine-clearing missions in the Strait of Hormuz for the past few weeks. The U.S. has sent a few surface vessel minesweepers to the region, but they have not been clearing mines in the strait. > > The administration’s ceasefire has faced blowback from right-wing hawks: > “The actual MOU is deeply flawed,” said Mark Dubowitz, chief executive of Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which advocates for hard-line stances against Iran. “The administration needs to stop defending it beyond stating the truth: It’s a stopgap measure to resupply energy markets, lower gas prices, and help Republicans in the midterms.” Source: [https://wapo.st/4vryKx5](https://wapo.st/4vryKx5) (Gift article. No paywall) ---
**Author:** ![ombugge](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/ombugge/32/11217_2.png) [@ombugge](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/ombugge)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 8:15pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/wars-in-the-middle-east/75897/36 "2026-06-22T20:15:33Z")
> **[Trump says Iran ‘will agree’ to allow weapons inspection as part of deal](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2026/6/22/iran-war-live-first-day-of-us-talks-covers-lebanon-hormuz-frozen-assets)** > > US and Iran establish a committee to oversee negotiations and a 'de-confliction cell' to end Israel's war on Lebanon. ---
**Author:** ![Sand\_Pebble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c2a13f/32.png) [@Sand\_Pebble](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Sand_Pebble)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2026, 9:41pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/wars-in-the-middle-east/75897/37 "2026-06-22T21:41:49Z")
To the victor goes the spoils. And… > **[Iran Wins $300 Billion Cash Prize For Placing Second In War](https://babylonbee.com/news/iran-wins-300-billion-cash-prize-for-placing-second-in-war)** > > TEHRAN — The leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran was reportedly overjoyed to learn they had won a grand total of $300 billion for coming second place in the war against the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![Mm923448](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bcef8e/32.png) [@Mm923448](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Mm923448)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 1:53am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/wars-in-the-middle-east/75897/38 "2026-06-23T01:53:06Z")
Let’s not forget that there is also a separate 25 billion dollar payout on top of the 300 billie. Kind of sad that we are paying out so much that 25 billion seems like an easily overlooked minor detail. ---
**Author:** ![freighterman1](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/freighterman1/32/11176_2.png) [@freighterman1](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/freighterman1)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 2:13am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/wars-in-the-middle-east/75897/39 "2026-06-23T02:13:42Z")
From the article below: “…Then there is the economic cost. Moody’s Analytics estimates that the war has cost U.S. consumers and taxpayers [about $132 billion](https://www.npr.org/2026/06/17/nx-s1-5860739/iran-war-cost-oil-military-trade) so far and counting. The largest share of that came through the price at the pump. Gasoline prices peaked at an average of $4.56 a gallon before dropping once it appeared that the two sides might come to an agreement. Fertilizer prices also climbed about 47 percent during the war, indirectly contributing to rising food costs. Persian Gulf countries and the Global South were hit even harder than the United States. As a result of the war, the World Bank downgraded its global forecast for economic growth this year to [2.5 percent](https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/68364e3b-c999-43d2-9d29-1739bd613bd3/content)—the lowest level since the Covid-19 pandemic…” > **[Was It Worth It? The True Cost of Trump’s Iran War | Council on Foreign...](https://www.cfr.org/articles/was-it-worth-it-the-true-cost-of-trumps-iran-war)** > > The war ended with a deal that gives Iran sanctions relief, reconstruction funds, and the ability to charge tolls on the world’s most critical waterway. While the White House may call it a victory, the costs suggest otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Jughead](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/jughead/32/4257_2.png) [@Jughead](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Jughead)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 2:36am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/wars-in-the-middle-east/75897/40 "2026-06-23T02:36:14Z")
> [@Mm923448](#): > > Kind of sad that we are paying out so much that 25 billion seems like an easily overlooked minor detail. Nobody’s paying out anything until conditions are met and maintained. Stop bleating about the money when the important issues are elsewhere. [Previous page](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/wars-in-the-middle-east/75897.md?page=1) [Next page](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/wars-in-the-middle-east/75897.md?page=3)