Taking into account that Iran's own oil facilities had been bombed earlier this week and that they had threatened to retaliate if this happens, what Iran does seems indeed fair play.

Before South Pars Iran bombed:

    Ras Laffan LNG complex in Qatar
    Ras Tanura oil refinery in Saudi
    drone attacks on Saudi oil fields
    Ruwais refinery in Abu Dhabi
    Shah gas field in Abu Dhabi
    port of Fujairah
    Bapco oil refinery in Bahrain

Agreed. I don't know whether to call it hypocrisy, delusion, bullshit, etc, but it is reidiculous that when Iran fights back the media and politicians act as if Iran started all this.

Example: the UK got a pat on the back for initially saying no to the US using their territory to launch bombing raids, and then later allowed it for "defensive" missions.

"Defensive"!?!

I'll punch you in the face, you punch me back, then when I punch you again I am only defending myself.

100%. And I say this as a very pro-western person. Countries have the right to retaliate. Iran is using what little leverage they have.

Just to be sure we have your position right: Are you characterizing what Israel did as a retaliation? What specifically were they retaliating against?

Perhaps you're not aware of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_7_attacks

Oh, stow it. Claim on you by the body politic doesn't end because you shove your fingers in your ears, or cover your eyes and go "Not listening! I see nothing!" Welcome to the real world, where grocery and fuel prices will be spiking because one particular group of morons decided to indulge in Nintendo warfare today. If you can't grow up enough to realize that your inaction and inattention drives these people's ability to get away with these things, you are part of the problem. Your luxury to abstain from the body politic is founded on the body politic not being suicidally aligned.

Is a tech forum the place to talk about it? Is there any point at all to segregate communities by topic if politics end up taking over anyway?

My point is that this is not the forum for it, salawat. There are plenty of places where you can feel better by getting angry at people who support a different political sports team, but this isn't it.

Perhaps you would do well to move your binary thought system to a ternary thought system, and realise that people can decide not to support either side of a political or ideological divide.

If you belong to the "if you're not with me, you're against me" then my friend, I'm afraid, you are the problem. You are part of the problem with the world going backwards. You are part of the reason why we don't have peace.

USA and Israel started it. USA does not get to blame the smaller country for a war its leadership wanted.

Second, no, "whatever Ira. Does is justified' is too much a blaket allowance. The Iranian regime does not get absolytion for everythijg just because it is in an illegal war USA started. They are plenty awful on their own.

But yes, similar Iranian infrastructure is targetted by USA and Israel. Not by Quatar.

USA leadership is completely compromised, both democrats and republicans. They're all paid by AIPAC.

> USA and Israel started it.

started current operation: yes. But its Iran who denies Israel right for existence, and funds/supports multiple forces with the same views.

Such confrontation would happen anyway, the question would it happen now, or in 5 years when Iran potentially obtain nuclear weapons.

There are two foundational events that set this conflict in motion:

1). The violent establishment of a settler ethnostate in a Muslim region in 1947 2). The deposition of the Shah in 1953

If you're going to talk about causes you might as well start there.

Muslims grabbed land by force thousand years ago, while killed every one who disagreed.

History is full of violence, I am talking about current time. It is current Iran's choice to not accept Israel existence, in contrast to many other Arabic countries who normalized relationships.

Constantly sending missiles and drones towards civilian buildings in Dubai and Doha is morally bankrupt and unjustifiable. It doesn't matter who UAE & Qatar are aligned with, they were at least a friend to Iran for many years.

At least they’re not bonbing girls schools.

I bet USA and Israel has caused more civilian deaths in this conflict than Iran.

Is what Israel does in Gaza morally bankrupt and unjustifiable?

This isn't whataboutism because I'm not trying to negate your point. Instead, I'm just curious if you apply the same standard to Israel/Gaza or if you think that in that case killing innocent people is justified.