Middle East Air Travel Severely Disrupted

[caeron]

 

While I think a great number of Iranians want change, there is no organized opposition in Iran. Change to who? There isn't anybody there to take the reins away.

I think the only realistic hope is that we get a new version of the supreme leader who will capitulate on Trump's asks. (no nukes, no regional  meddling, no missiles.)

I think even that unlikely.

[Keithambrose]

2 hours ago, caeron said:

 

While I think a great number of Iranians want change, there is no organized opposition in Iran. Change to who? There isn't anybody there to take the reins away.

I think the only realistic hope is that we get a new version of the supreme leader who will capitulate on Trump's asks. (no nukes, no regional  meddling, no missiles.)

I think even that unlikely.

I read that the front runner is one of the sons of Khamenei, so no change there.

[vinapu]

8 hours ago, caeron said:

 

(no nukes, no regional  meddling, no missiles.)

 

sometimes I think people of Middle East , all of them , can't live without meddling in their neighbours affairs , may be is something in  the scarce water

[PeterRS]

On 3/4/2026 at 8:53 AM, unicorn said:

I would think that without ensuring fair elections with UN monitors, it's going to be same old-same old. At least I think that unlike the Afghanis, who are split into tribal factions and know only of "might makes right," I have a sense that Iranians are ready for democracy. I could be wrong. Just killing one leader after another doesn't solve any long-term problems. It just kicks the can down the road. 

Sadly we tend to foget that Iran did have fair elections for the Majlis (parliament) following WWII. Mohamad Mosaddegh had first been elected to parliament as far back as 1923. Having been in favour of Reza Khan as the Prime Minister in the 1920s, he turned against him after a coup in 1925 when the British deposed the then Shah and installed Reza Khan in the post. Whereas Britain had discovered oil in Iran, following its own revolution Russia wanted and took part of Iran. In Britain's eyes, this was less for oil than the threat it posed to the British Raj in India and beyond.

In 1941, the British forced Reza Khan's abdication in favour of his son, even though as Shah he had helped modernise Iran. A secularist, he even prayed in a Jewish synagogue and changed the name of Persia to Iran. In 1951, the Majlis voted 79 to 12 to elect Mosaddegh as the country's next Prime Minister. Mosaddegh introduced a lot of social reforms in the country. But Britain and the USA loathed the fact that he introduced legislation to nationalise the country's oil production. As Britain had discovered the oil, it regarded the income from it as its own, paying Iran a pittance for the rights. In the 1920s, Britain was supposed to pay 5% of net profits, but Britain never permitted any inspection of the Anglo Iranian Oil Company's books. In fact, although there were formal agreements, Britain often did not pay Iran anything. Mosaddegh then made life difficult for the British by, for example, instituting a blockade of the Gulf so oil could not be transported. There was also some bad blood between Mosaddegh and the Shah when parliament cut the Shah's personal budget.

The end result was that Britain and the USA through the CIA helped get rid of Mossadegh through a variety of means that the CIA has used regularly since then, including paying tribesmen and mobs to demonstrate openly against Mosaddegh. The Shah initially fled to Rome. In Iran Britain, still recovering from its WWII efforts, could not carry out Mosaddegh's ouster on its own. Initially the USA was reluctant to join Britain's Iran advanture. But when Eisenhower came to power, everything changed. The two countries then arranged for Mosaddegh's ouster and far greater powers provided to the Shah. The USA then basically became the Shah's paymaster until he was forced from power in the 1979 Revolution. 

So Iran did have elections that were at least basically fair long before Britain and the USA took it upon themselves to destabilise the country. And everything since has to go back to the duly elected Mosaddegh's ouster in 1953.