I quoted: “US President Donald Trump informs Tehran US will not attack Islamic Republic.”





A couple of comments here -

1. Your wrong, I took it from an Israeli site, see image and link provided here: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-883496
2. You previously stated that Al Jazeera was an unreliable source. Al Jazeera as I understand it, is banned in Israel
As such I hope you accept I took this headline from Israel (Jerusalem Post), and not from Qatar (Al Jazeera). Applying the notion of trust but verify, i threw the quote into google and added Al Jazeera but it did not pull up anything. Regardless of whether it pulled up something or not, the headline is to an article on an Israeli site.

You have reminded me however to peruse Al Jazeera on the matter, so thats exactly what I will do now.

this is semantics. happy for you to add value to the thread.

This post was edited by ferdia on Jan 15 2026 08:54am

Its a quote from Aljazeera 100%
The fact you took from Israeli news website doesnt mean it from there, al jazeera is banned here but we can still watch it

This post was edited by Many_Names on Jan 15 2026 08:57am

That’s not how sourcing works. A headline published by The Jerusalem Post, written by a JPost journalist, with a supporting article, is by definition a Jerusalem Post headline, regardless of whether other outlets reported similar claims elsewhere - and i just pointed out (not that its relevant) that I can not source this headline on Al Jazeera. Are you suggesting that an Israeli publisher relies on Al Jazeera for its reporting, even while Al Jazeera is banned from operating in Israel? If so, you’ll need to substantiate that.

Otherwise, this is a distraction from the substantive point being discussed — namely, the protests in Iran.

If you are arguing just for the sake of arguing, carry on, otherwise I welcome debate related to the topic - the Iran protests.

This post was edited by ferdia on Jan 15 2026 09:11am

Interesting.

**Summary of the forum thread (“Iran Protests”)**

* The thread begins with a historical overview of Iran: the 1950s oil nationalization, the U.S./UK-backed coup, the Shah’s dictatorship, the 1979 revolution, and Iran’s long-standing distrust of the West. This context is used to explain Iran’s authoritarian system, regional strategy, and hostility toward the U.S. and Israel.

* Discussion centers on **current unrest in Iran (late 2025–early 2026)**. Posters cite reports of widespread protests, heavy repression, and claims of **over 2,500 deaths**, framing the unrest as among the deadliest in recent decades.

* **Causes and responsibility are debated**:

* Some argue the Iranian regime has a long history of violently suppressing its own population and is now weakening.
* Others emphasize **external pressure**: sanctions, alleged Western efforts at regime change, use of Starlink and information warfare, and recent U.S./Israeli strikes on Iranian military and nuclear sites in 2025.

* **Foreign intervention** is a key point of contention:

* Several posters argue the U.S. and Israel are exploiting instability rather than acting on humanitarian grounds.
* Others claim Iran cannot survive without outside help and may rely on allies like **Russia and China**, including technical assistance such as communications jamming.

* There is extended debate over the **ethics and justification of U.S. military actions**, including comparisons to Hiroshima/Nagasaki, with strong disagreement over whether such actions are defensible or comparable to Iran’s situation.

* Another major theme is **Iran’s regional role**:

* Users discuss Iran’s support for proxy groups (Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen, involvement in Syria and Iraq).
* General consensus emerges that Iran is effective at backing militias and insurgencies, less effective at supporting stable state governments, and that this strategy has destabilized parts of the Middle East.

* The thread also includes **side disputes** over media sourcing (Jerusalem Post vs. Al Jazeera), semantics, and tone, but repeatedly returns to the core issue: understanding what is actually happening inside Iran amid protests, repression, sanctions, and geopolitical maneuvering.

**Overall:**
The discussion portrays Iran as an authoritarian state facing severe internal unrest, shaped by decades of foreign intervention and regional conflict. Participants disagree sharply on whether the current crisis is mainly the result of domestic repression or external pressure, and on the legitimacy of U.S./Israeli actions versus Iran’s own conduct at home and abroad.

nice recap! what do you use to do that?

This post was edited by ferdia on Jan 15 2026 11:18am

Iran has a population of about 92 million people. The protests over the last several weeks have had crowds of up to, but not exceeding, 20,000 in cities, and hundreds to a few thousand in rural areas. Essentially, this amounts to roughly 0.1 % of the population actively protesting.

Just to be clear, I’m not detracting from the protests or making excuses — I’m simply looking at the numbers. This is not 10 %, not 1 %, but around 0.1 %. With this in mind, the idea of the government collapsing as a result of these protests is simply not credible.


This post was edited by ferdia on Jan 15 2026 12:30pm

just tidying this up a bit. This thread orginated here - https://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=102073482&f=119&o=15825 from post #15827
there is a separate thread created here - https://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=107641671&f=119

An article on the Israeli news site - The Jerusalem Post - outlined that Mossad is indeed on the streets in Iran inciting protest - https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-883524 which confirms what Iran had claimed. i.e. this is a hostile foreign backed uprising, seeking regime change in Iran.



Here is the Iran Claim:



Here are some headlines from around the world:

BBC - Iran authorities demanding large sums for return of protesters' bodies, BBC told https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g5md1n1yxo
FoxNews - Sometimes military force is ‘vital to achieve national interests’: Sen. Tom Cotton https://www.foxnews.com/video/6387791221112
Tass - Putin, Netanyahu discuss situation surrounding Iran — Kremlin https://tass.com/politics/2072269
al jazeera - Gulf countries gear up diplomacy to stave off US-Iran escalation https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/16/gulf-countries-gear-up-diplomacy-to-stave-off-us-iran-escalation

This post was edited by ferdia on Jan 16 2026 03:54am

On the one hand it is sad and tragic that these people have been oppressed by the towel wearing dictators. On the other I am happy they are finally waking up and ready to reclaim their independence.
And then there is a third voice that tells me just drop a few MOABs then take their oil these are backwards people who are stuck with their endless religious wars. They will just return back where they started and never lear. End their misery

What you’re expressing reflects a fairly common Western narrative that tends to unfold in stages:
– acknowledge that people are oppressed by an authoritarian regime;
– welcome unrest as a sign they may be moving toward Western‑style values;
– conclude that the society itself is fundamentally broken or incapable of change;
– frame ongoing conflict as something inherent to their culture rather than shaped by external forces;
– argue that overwhelming force is the most efficient solution;
– accept mass civilian suffering as an unfortunate but tolerable outcome;
– and, ultimately, justify extracting oil once resistance is neutralized.