Public sentiment is deeply polarized regarding the US-Iran conflict, with a significant majority expressing strong support for Iran and condemnation of US and Israeli actions. While many commenters advocate for peace and highlight the humanitarian crises, there are also voices celebrating military strength. Overall, a severe concern for civilian safety and an urgent call for diplomatic resolutions prevail, amid frustration with ongoing military escalations.

United States

Iran

Israel

(Borrowed) Starter comment:

According to multiple U.S. officials cited by CBS News, Israel is fully prepared to launch a military operation targeting Iran. This readiness comes amid escalating tensions over Iran’s nuclear activities. The United States anticipates potential Iranian retaliation against American assets in neighboring Iraq.

In response, the U.S. State Department has ordered nonessential government personnel to depart from Iraq and authorized voluntary evacuations from Bahrain and Kuwait. President Trump acknowledged the heightened risks in the region, emphasizing that the U.S. will not permit Iran to develop nuclear weapons. Despite these tensions, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is scheduled to meet with Iranian officials for a sixth round of nuclear negotiations in the coming days.

Do you expect Israel to launch air strikes of Iranian nuclear sites?

Should the United States support this campaign?

Do you fear that such a “limited engagement” could spiral into a full blown war?

Majere

Since it isn't a hypothetical McCain administration in 2009, likelihood is low.

ThreeArchLarch

"Given the current situation,"

Can you be more specific? Are you referring to Israel, or what is happening in Los Angeles, or something else?

janetmichaelson

Extremely high, given that it seems the US green light Israel's recent attacks. It is only a matter of time before US forces are engaged. 

Very likely that was the goal all along...the  trump regime needs a distraction, and an excuse to crack down dissent on the home front.

But I would add that war won't be "declared" as the US has not declared war since 1942.

Kara_WTQ

If Iran has a civil war, the US military might get evolved shooting one side or the other.  Although possible I don't think that's very likely to happen.  

WorldTallestEngineer

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Generally speaking, the only country that came close to regime change through bombing without an actual invasion was the US, but it required nuclear weapons and the entire Pacific theatre of WW2. Even then, it was not through a populist uprising but special circumstances pretty unique to Japan. It's far more likely that the aerial bombardment drives increased support for the Iranian government as the populace unites against a foreign aggressor.

Futchkuk

Regime change has been a really elusive goal historically. Sure, at the end of the day you can put enough boots on the ground to force the matter, but even then, it's questionable if that new government has the legitimacy and popularity to sustain itself. 

The current Iranian government has a shelf life. They tacitly acknowledge it every time they make liberal concessions to the population. The fact that protests occur at scale and are not uncommon, and that the regime often listens suggests that the present theocracy will eventually fade away as their legitimacy slowly dies. The youth don't remember the Shah and don't have any real loyalty to the Ayatollah. I'm not saying it's imminent, but I do believe there's a lot of evidence to suggest Iran's present government is eventually going to transition to something else, hopefully a democracy. 

With that said, I actually think a foreign attacker such as Israel does more to cement the regime than destroy it. Nothing brings people together like external threats. The Iranian people don't hate the regime like other dictatorships. It was just becoming less and less relevant. There won't be a violent uprising. There is very little in the way of organized resistance against the Ayatollah. It will take more than just a little destabilization in order for a government change to occur because there's no real movement in Iran already to change the government.

notpoleonbonaparte

Anything's possible. Neither the US nor Israel are going to put troops on the ground in Iran. So it's up to the citizens of Iran to decide of they want a different government.

dravik

I would say it's too early to tell if Israel would be willing to commit the long term resources to create regime change. It would be pretty easy for Israel to turn Iran into a failed state, but that probably ends with Iran's government splintering into multiple terrorist cells that go on to plague Israel for the next century. Leaving a power vacuum behind might not be in Israel's best interest

Look to Saudi Arabia --- if they decide to take advantage of this situation and get directly involved against Iran, their *only* goal would be regime change. Iran's main allies are pretty preoccupied right now. If regime change is even on the table, now would be the time to do it

theyfellforthedecoy

Let's acknowledge at least one major point in history where regime change in Iran was forced by foreigners. This is a starting point for discussing Iran and the disgusting behaviors of Western governments.

&gt;The 1953 Iranian coup was the overthrow of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh on August 19, 1953. This event, orchestrated by the United States' CIA and the British Secret Intelligence Service, aimed to reinstate Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and solidify his autocratic rule. The coup was a response to the nationalization of the Iranian oil industry and fears of communist influence in the region.

Factory-town

Maybe, but short of a full invasion it’s hard to do. Killing leadership just makes martyrs, and Israel is especially bad at not enraging the population further by also targeting civilians.

Even if some more secular government comes about, they would have to be total puppets to not take issue with the nation attacking them and committing a genocide.

Kronzypantz

Putin will ask Trump to let the Russians help install a new government in Iran. I see the US entering this war officially in the next few days. It will happen.

Fast_Assumption_3929

They'll put down mines I'm figuring 200-250 killed or wounded from the 101st and another 10% of paratroopers from the 82nd; all heavily MAGA.  FAFO MAGA FAFO.! My money's in Euros anyway so run up that $1.5T good luck paying it off.

hard-workingamerican

The goal of this operation is all but confirmed to be regime change. US intelligence services have known that the Iranians do not have a nuclear weapon, and were not close to one, but Trump allowed the Israelis to strike Iran on this pretext anyway.

Is regime change a likely outcome? Probably not.  There's a lot of Iraq War neo-con BS that's been rehabilitated and being pumped through the consent-manufacturing machine right now.

1. There is no organized opposition waiting to replace the current regime. In Syria there was a lot of organized opposition to Assad waiting to take power once his government collapsed. That is not so in Iran, so if the Iranian government disappeared what is most likely to happen would be a power vacuum, which would also suit the US and Israel just fine.
2. Trump is telling people to leave the capital and Israel is bombing it. In what way is removing people from the capital conducive to those same people organizing against the government, which is what Bibi has claimed he wants Iranians to do?
3. Bombing a country from the air has never produced a revolution.  It's a truly bizarre logic to believe that killing people with bombs will prod them to overthrow their government, instead of getting angry at the people killing them from the air. Churchill seemed to believe that if the RAF bombed the working-class Berlin neighborhoods that generally opposed Hitler, they would rise up. What actually happened is that that they died. So you are looking at another Iraq War, but on a much bigger scale because Iran is 4x bigger than Iraq.

My amateur opinion is that the US won't achieve its desired regime change without an invasion of Iran if the US wants to be at all serious about this, which I think it does not.  My guess is that Trump and Israel are going to fart around with a lot of airstrikes and then Trump will get disappointed and bored when the awaited regime change does not materialize and the legacy of these actions will probably just be a lot of dead and resentful people.

elmekia_lance

The same people saying this are the same people saying that the people in Iraq will greet us like liberators. That was until we put a 25 year old Koch back libertarian in charge of their economy.

Change happens internally.

Savethecannolis

I'm sure israel wants that, and so does the us, and israel may just have found an american president stupid enough to commit political suicide to do it (or try to) for them.

daniel_smith_555

War should be the two leaders dueling with a gun. Sacrifice yourself.

SinfullySinless

Iron dome has a hard time with longer range ballistics. 

Hopefully this can end as fast as possible with as little death as can be managed.

UnoriginalJ0k3r

So 2 got through out of how many launched? How many dead in Israel?

MangoShadeTree

"Shoot zem, shoot zem both..."

(Points for the movie)

[deleted]

Hey, are those military facilities in densely populated civilian areas? It looks like those missiles are shooting up from the ground from in and around a city. Is Israel using civilians as human shields?

Bubbly-Money-7157

Iran has threatened israel with complete and total annihilation for decades now. All they were waiting for was the ability to create nuclear weapons. That is not propaganda or fake news. Its fact. Israel determined that iran was too close to achieving said goal. Its just as simple as that.

Enough-Silver-915

Flashy-Hotel-3259

In the 70s, the idea of multiple valid perspectives in the culture (brings lots of progressive ideas, like hippy culture) brought enough resentment to cause a violent revolution, which oppresses women to this day (they dropped to the “Law and order” way of thinking). 

It’s confusing how progressives are choosing to side with Iran when it is so anti-progressive. Reminds me of Queers for Palestine.

HotPerformance6137

Russia just lost its source of drones in the Ukraine war.

mrev_art

Let’s say there’s a timeline where Israel didn’t attack Iran. Iran would have nuclear weapons within a month or two. What do you think a nuclear armed Iran would do? Why don’t one of you Iran supporters play that out for me over the next five years or so?

Optimal_Weird1425

This is ridiculous. The planet is burning up and all these middle to late aged men can think about is more war.

second_last_jedi

Thanks chat gpt.

I swear people can’t think for themselves anymore with ai

AccordingMedicine129

Friendly reminder to “progressives” that side with Iran:

On women:

Iran enforces mandatory hijab laws, prosecuting women and girls who do not comply and closing businesses. Women face discrimination in marriage, divorce, and inheritance. Married women require their husband's permission for passports and travel abroad, and husbands can restrict their wives' occupations. Child marriage is permitted, with girls as young as 13 and boys as young as 15 able to marry, and younger with judicial approval. Cases of femicide and "honor killings" occur, but there are no specific laws addressing domestic violence. Women and girls involved in protests, including the 2022 "Woman Life Freedom" uprising, have faced arbitrary detention, torture, and unjust prosecution. Strict anti-abortion laws have been further tightened, limiting access and increasing costs for prenatal screening.

On LGTBQ:

Consensual same-sex sexual relationships are criminalized, with punishments up to the death penalty. LGBTQ+ individuals experience systemic discrimination and violence, including harassment and denial of rights and services. State-endorsed "conversion therapies," considered torture, are used to attempt to change sexual orientation or gender identity, including for children.

nyr00nyg

Fun_Imagination_904

Israel is not going to stop until it has defanged Iran.   And it shouldn’t.  It is not acceptable or safe for Iran to have nuclear capability.  And Iran has already tried to attack a US base in the region with drones, so they are trying to drag us in.  God help them if they drag us into this.  Between the US and Israel, we’ll send Iran back to the Stone Age.

JarHead-Actual-0302

What is the crisis point exactly? Like what point is that?

Ok-Replacement9595

WeakPast1817

\&gt;&gt;the possibility of this turning into a wider war is growing by the hour.&lt;&lt;

I don't see that happening.

Solopist112

Ok_Place_2551

Could of sworn Trump said, there would be no wars on his watch 🤔

Invest_and_ballout

bacachew

It's crazy that the ones who suffer the most are the people who have absolutely nothing to do with it and nothing to gain.

Durivage4

Hey guys I was searching YouTube to find videos and I typed “Israel attacks…” and then sooooo many places came up. Which one is it today?

Visible_Turnover3952

Thought Trump could prevent wars or end them in 24hrs.  If thos were under Biden they would scream weakness to allow this

MuchRoutine1979

DerfDaSmurf

YokedLlama

Sacdragons

So we got assholes on both sides making choices where civilians die because of their poor choices. 

Jolly_Ad2446

Qwazi420

Positive-Low-7447

Are these missiles just blind fire into populated areas? (for clarity I'm asking about missiles fired in both directions)

00gingervitis

Lugubrious-Athlete

jemhadar0

Sorry I feel so out of the loop on this a quick break down or eli5 would be great. I thought Israel and Palestine were fighting ...or they were fighting Humas. Now why are they attacking/being attacked by Iran?

go_go_gadget_travel

So it turns out bombing another country causes war

OpportunityCorrect33

and what is trump doing about this NOTHING AT ALL

Exotic-Control-8821

Bitter-Holiday1311

Yes there is. Gaza is the most densely populated area in the world . So the argument is that Israel is less densely populated than Gaza but that the Israeli government gave permits to civilians to build homes next to military installations so therefore the military is not using them as human shields…they are using themselves as human shields? That argument works much better for Gaza defenses though.  Where are Israel’s nukes, biological and chemical weapons stored?

Effective-Hunt-4602

apeoida

There are two types of people -- people who support Palestine because they want to see people suffer and people who support Palestine because they don't want to see anyone suffer.

Only one of those would mock and jeer "Iran has the right to defend themselves!"

Ok_Calendar_5199

Wild-Ad6025

rhavaa

Can Israel win against Iran? (Without nukes)

Klamangatron

I have had nightmares of stuff like this. Horrifying that some people are truly living it. I hope none of us here ever have to experience it. US needs to stop getting involved in foreign conflicts

Equivalent-Dingo3318

War is bad in any case but Israel how been going buck wild on Palestinians.

FlyByRoll

I mean, spreadsheets are just that. 
Their capabilities appear unrelated to this discourse.

youdubdub

It all needs to collapse before anything gets better sadly

CrotasScrota84

As if Iran will listen to the Israeli after their negotiations in Gaza🤣

Intelligent_Finger27

Pretty sure at some point their leaders gonna throw nukes at each other....


I just feel sad for all the peaceful people and families on both sides : /

BornSlippy420

Choose from options: 

1. Let God sort it out. 

2. Let Allah sort it out. 

3. Let Elohim sort it out. 

4. Let YHWH sort it out.

Creative_Major2266

Iran isn't innocent but the civilians dont deserve this. The world has gone mad

TellEmHisDreamnDaryl

Screams “ we only wanted to bomb you if you couldnt fight back”

Charming_Beyond3639

This would never have happened if Trump were in office.

Darth_Iggy

Maybe there’s a lesson here, don’t start a war

Stocky1978

Iran is targeting civilians. What a wicked nation.

Moonwrath8

Hate begets hate…sad but totally avoidable

Ornery-Ad8372

Really shows how mass media has no direction from upstairs who they want to propagandize us towards hating/loving. 


Imagine if when Russia attacked Ukraine they would run articles like:


RUSSIA vs UKRAINE - The bomb is about to blow! Enjoy these snippets of the destruction

New-Hovercraft-5026

Can anyone explain the logistics of the initial strike done by Israel?

Ok_Piccolo_4483

![gif](giphy|AgPt9udT567spxbSHf)

"Iran attacked Israel"

Mundane-Mirror-6911

Wild that the 12 Israeli killed are mentioned but the hundreds of Iranians killed aren't mentioned

Longjumping-Ad8974

More war, but my Microsoft puts get wiped out

TurretLimitHenry

this is what happens when a bunchbof sick fucks are in power...
*

DeputyBlunderbus

Let us say Iran are sending over their stockpile of all their old missiles that have been sitting in storage for decades…. Just to see where Israel has their anti-missile devices. 
😦
In residential areas it would appear.
😱
It may be an Israeli trap…. But we shall see where they go to next.

Key_Savings_7458

Zealousideal_Code841

I think it's time wars become purely virtual, ooh or like that civilization from guardians of the Galaxy, where Adam warlock comes from

Dense_Candle9573

cashMoney5150

Looks like Gaza. Seems about par for the course around that area. What’s the issue?

elementmg

LegitimateRoof3020

Can someone explain this conflict and why it is happening to me please ?

Lopsided-Emphasis-66

Well Isreal… did you think Iran would just got out for sandwiches after you launched missles on them 🤦🏻‍♂️

Icy-Weird6897

MyNameisMayco

Why does it seem that Israel is always on the attack and in a war with someone?

elleclouds

Why is the footage so bad considering it's 2025 and we have better cameras?

Yendis4750

Standard-Issue-Name

But when they intercept amd blow the missile in the air, doesnt it fall and blow up anyways?

Rlo347

BlackberryNo2348

One question I have is why is the camera quality always shit. I know they have the latest iphone in Israel

Ultralight_Dreams

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/iran/2019-06-04/what-war-iran-would-look a good source to answer your question

Here are 2 lessons from Vietname.

”You know, you never beat us on the battlefield,’ I told my North Vietnamese counterpart during negotiations in Hanoi a week before the fall of Saigon. He pondered that remark a moment and then replied, ‘That may be so, but it is also irrelevant."

Historian James Paterson concluded that “The Unyielding determination of the enemy wore down the American commitment, which proved to be far less resolute.”

And here is a lesson from WW2

Yamamoto, when once asked his opinion on the war, pessimistically said that "the only way for Japan to win the war was to dictate terms in the White House."

There are a few things we can say for sure about any possible war between the USA and Iran.

1 - it will be long 2 - it will be bloody for both sides 3 - it will see fighting across the region if not the world 4 - both sides will claim victory at the end

A war is not only a test of your weapons. It is mainly a test of your will.

Wars are won only when your enemy stops fighting. So either you destroy their will to fight or you destroy their ability to fight.

At the moment Iran lacks the means to destroy the US's ability to fight and the US lacks the will to make the huge sacrifices in both blood and treasure required to destroy Iran's ability to fight.

Both nation's are also protected by geography. The US is half the world away and protected by oceans. Iran's terrain renders large mechanized forces useless and their access to the Russian controlled Caspian sea and Asian steps gives them a means to secure a never ending stream of weapons and materials.

Iran's human resources is also significant with a large population and equally important a very skilled and educated population. Look at this graph.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2015/06/09/the-countries-with-the-most-engineering-graduates-infographic/

If this comes to war it will have a long push a pull period of ups and downs for both sides and after a very long time it will end with the US saying "that's it, I'm out" and Iraq and Saudi Arabia will be changed forever.

cravic

It would be a clusterfuck. Iran's neighbors would take advantage of the chaos to annex and steal as much of Iran as they could. Sunni terrorists from all over the world would flood in for the chance to slaughter Shiites.

911roofer

I think were getting a bit ahead  of ourselves. The USA and Iran butt heads and sabre rattle at least once every 5 years. I don't think anything big will come of this but I'm wrong all the time. 

In the event of a war it would probably be fast and one sided. Iran isn't a very popular country. Their main allies Russia, Syria, and China are unlikely to come to their aid. Russia's economy is the size of Spain and they've  already spent a good amount of money supporting Syria, even a short war or proxy conflict could rapidly become a money pit. Syria has been a bit of a gongshow for nearly a decade  and as a result they're probably pretty depleted manpower, money, and morale wise. As for china, things have been going pretty well for them and their long term prospects  look good. The Chinese government is known look to the long term so its unlikely they would risk their upward trajectory  for a minor and often belligerent ally.

And don't get me started on Irans enemies  that would get involved either directly or indirectly. USA, Israel,  and Saudi Arabia, and nearly all the Sunni Arab nations.

SparkyMcStevenson

the reason a full scale war is incredibly unlikely is this: the US won't randomly invade iran. they've just strongly provoked iran. a war would only start by Iran attacking the US.... only the war would be fought in iran. and would be a war that the regime in iran would be INCREDIBLY unlikely to win (their strategic goal- remaining in control of iran, it's economy and military. the US's goal- a regime change).

Irans objectives are incompatible with a war. they win by surviving, they survive by not having a direct war. war from them will only be if they believe they will not survive either way, or their only chance for survival is via war.

If a war were to happen it would play out like this IMO:

US destroys the iranian airforce as a first act, and begins a dramatic bombing campaign. Starting with the known (and unknown) nuclear sites.

Iran responds with a naval attack on any ships in the straights, and closing the straights. They will also trigger wars in Ira, and Syria. As well as order their sleepers around the west to attack american targets.

US paratroopers will attack Tehran to try and take out the leadership of the regime, however they will have already retreated to bunkers. The iranian people will join with the iranian army in a vicious defense of iran. 

The americans will have enough troops to hold Tehran, bringing most of the city to destruction in the process. This will be true in a few key cities. The countryside will remain Iranian largely, especially in the hills/mountains. 

The US will then be in a far worse version of the post saddam Iraq quagmire where they are trying to instal a new government against the will of the people, while only actually holding a small percentage of the country.

The US will keep hunting for the leaders of the regime and the large chunks of the military that have retreated to tthe mountains and bunkers. 


That state of play will remain for x number of years. Iran will keep using guerillas to attack in the straights and keep the straights closed for as long as possible and as often as possible

That's my thought anyway

Also that outcome is why neither side is interested in a full scale war. Neither can really win. Assuming the objectives are to win anyway, rather than a fight for the hell of it/for domestic political reasons

binzoma

Iran is mostly rugged and mountainous. I wonder how effective US military doctrine is for such warfare. Rugged terrain is good for defense but hell for offense. Iran cannot defeat US in a conventional war it will try to inflict maximum casualties on US and make US pay dearly for every inch of ground.

As such the best Iran can try for is some kind of guerrilla campaign. Where they harass oncoming American forces causing them massive casualties and making the war unpopular on the home front which forces the United States to make a tactical retreat.

Now the war might create another refugee crisis in Iran region and many will flee. Most likely some will move west towards a stabilising Iraq, some South towards Arabia, some others north towards central Asia, and others east towards South Asia. This might put mighty strain on the South Asian region since it is already rather fragile. 

I would expect India and Pakistan to have major stakes in this conflict. But will not look to getting involved directly. The war will no doubt pressure them terribly though. All in all Iran might win a strategic victory, if it plays it's card right and US is bound to win atleast a tactical victory.

Smooth_Detective

Recent developments indicate escalating military tensions between the US, Israel, and Iran amidst increased concerns over Iranian nuclear capabilities, as military assets are repositioned.

US-Iran Conflict and Military Tensions

Why This Matters

Public Sentiment Summary

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What the people want