I think this is going to end badly for the Iranian leadership. They have zero support from neighboring states and their actions towards their neighbours have been hostile.
I think Trump was confident going into this because he already shored up support from all the Gulf states. The attack was designed to make Iran retaliate recklessly, further isolating them, and it worked exactly as planned.
Iran could have presented itself as the victim here and gone to the U.N. to seek sanctions. If they had followed that path it would have been difficult for the US and Israel to keep hammering them.
I'm not personally a fan of any nation-state. I'm a fan of the innocent and the meek who are the true victims here.
The joint Israel/US attack on a sovereign state and the calculated murder of it's leader have set a new precedent in darkness for humanity.
There is no meaningful opposition within the US. Trump has set a new (low) standard for future administrations. He was able to pull this off without a "coalition of the willing" and a long slow build up as Bush did before the Iraq invasion. This cuts two ways however: one the one hand the attack required less consensus building than Iraq (bad), but on the other hand there's no indication yet of a boots on the ground invasion (good). I think a land invasion is extremely unlikely. Trump knows that would be a disaster for his legacy as it would inevitably become a quagmire.
The worst aspect of this is the erosion of international law, and the true consequences of that erosion will be felt well into the future.
I note with sadness that Elon Musk has not made a single comment about any of this. My estimation of him has dropped down another notch.
A commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said the Strait of Hormuz is closed and warned that any vessel attempting to pass through will be attacked, according to Iranian state media.
“The strait is closed. If anyone tries to pass, the heroes of the Revolutionary Guard and the regular navy will set those ships ablaze,” Ebrahim Jabari, a senior adviser to the IRGC’s commander-in-chief, said on Monday.
Iran says will attack any ship trying to pass through Strait of Hormuz
Al Jazeera English
Ebrahim Jabari, a senior adviser to the IRGC’s commander-in-chief, reiterates that the Strait of Hormuz is ‘closed’.
This is also relevant in relation to the Gulf States. Looks like Israel wants them to join the war against Iran. What do you reckon?
Link
https://youtube.com/shorts/lhjQ9fMUfxY?si=Nj3e7W2H6FQlA3bGI think, for example that China will be emboldened to move on Taiwan as a result of this new precedent. The US will have no legs to stand on if they try to kick up a stink.