Gaza Strip

Iran is obviously opposed to the genocide against Palestinians, but Iran's dedication to Palestinians as people depends on how you view Hamas and Hamas' ability to act in the interests of Palestinians. Iran has historically funded and supported Hamas to act as a proxy and bulwark against the Zionist state. However, this is a "marriage of convenience" for the Islamic Republic. In terms of actual ideology, Hamas and the IR don't have anything in common other than their Islamist visions. I think some Arabs would be surprised to learn that the IRI actually does care about Palestinian statehood and Muslim control over Jerusalem. These are not just things the IRI pays lip service to--it is actual, tangible policy which Iran actively pursues . While I'm sure Iran was happy about Hamas' attack, I honestly do not believe that Iran directed Hamas to conduct the attack it carried out on October 7th. It's simply not the Iranian methodology. Iran is always interested in indirect actions, plausible deniability, and agitation tactics as opposed to outright assaults. Hamas' attack was an extremely direct and escalatory action. While Iran I'm sure funded and trained Hamas to conduct such an attack in theory, I don't believe Iran was expecting this attack to occur. I think this is evidenced by the fact that Iran's proxy network has not, and likely will not get involved in a direct confrontation with Israel. This is not because they "lie" about their commitment to Palestinians, but because it is simply not the way the IRI operates. The IRI understands it is at a huge disadvantage in a direct confrontation with the Israel-US alliance, so it prefers to keep everything indirect. More on reddit.com

Israel is in a n almost continuous active conflict, to varying degrees, with Hamas, Hezbollah/Syria and Iran. NATO has an unwritten policy to avoid accepting countries that are in conflict. Also why Georgia and Ukraine haven't moved much closer to membership over the past 15 years, and why Cyprus, Kosovo and Moldova won't apply. If Israel would be at lasting peace, NATO would still need to change its treaty, as the current treaty states that only European and North American countries can apply. Even then, all current NATO members would need to accept Israel. There's a divergence of interests to consider, with European NATO members being focused on protecting itself against Russia, and Israel being focused on protecting itself against Hamas and its neighbors. It wouldn't surprise me if this would make some members oppose Israeli membership. More on reddit.com

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Someday we'll tell our grandkids that WW3 started with paragliders

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