GWYNNE DYER: Why Trump is walking back on his promise to bomb Iran |
After weeks of demonstrations in Iran, Trump's threats to bomb Iran's theocratic regime are getting old, says Gwynne Dyer
Any day now, the United States will “come to the rescue” of the protesters in the streets of Iran’s cities and American bombers will unleash “hell” on the minions of the theocratic regime — or not, as the case may be.
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It’s nearly three weeks since the demos started on Dec. 29, and Trump’s threats are getting old. His latest exhortation to the protesters, whose will to continue seems to be fraying a bit, told them once again that “Help is on the way!”, but there is no useful way that he can keep his promise. Bombs alone won’t work.
Trump’s bombers cannot eliminate the elite Revolutionary Guard troops and Basij militiamen who are killing the protesters without flattening the cities they all live in together. His high-tech missiles can pick off the regime’s political leadership in their homes, but others will simply replace them.
We saw how smoothly President Ebrahim Raisolsadati was replaced by Masoud Pezeshkian when the former was killed in a helicopter crash in 2024. There are three designated successors to the........