Current Affairs - 2026

[david63]

I would like to know what gives Trump the right to decide to bomb another country.

When you find out can you let the rest of the world know please.

[towny44]

I would like to know what gives Trump the right to decide to bomb another country.

He's too thick to realise he should get UN approval.

[david63]

He's too thick to realise he should get UN approval.

UN approval? He did not even get Congress apporval

[Mervyn and Trish]

If Putin attacks another country that's bad.

If Trump does so it's good.

Is that how it works?

Just imagine what Putin is saying to his allies today.

[poole boy]

I think you are all forgetting how many people the iRAN leader has had murdered in his name but never heard anyone on here moaning about that
personally I think it is brilliant news

[Mervyn and Trish]

I've no problem with him, or any other vicious leader, being killed. It's the innocents caught up in it that upset me.

I had no problem with Saddam Hussein being killed. But thousands have paid for it since, and are still doing so.

[Onelife]

If reports are correct 30,000 “innocent” Iranians wanting change were murdered by this brutal autocratic regime.

[david63]

If Putin attacks another country that's bad.

If Trump does so it's good.

Is that how it works?

What you are missing is that when he flattens Iran his "mates" will be able to develop Costa del Iran to go with Costa del Gaza

[Mervyn and Trish]

Of course. Good plan.

[Stephen]

The scramble for the petrol pumps has begun.

[poole boy]

mervn and trish and david63
personally I think you are all showing a lot o left wing bias there and talking a lot of rubbish there if mr trump had not taken them out it would not be long before they developed nuclear weapons fired fired them at us for goodness sake show a bit of back bone.

[poole boy]

stephen
why would you need to rush to fill up your car as a pensioner surely you have a free bus pass the same as me

[Stephen]

I'm not rushing, I'll fill up when I need to. I was just reporting what was happening around our area and possibly other areas as well.

Yes, I do have a bus pass. Buti I also have a car which I more convenient around our way.

[Onelife]

From what I have read it appears Iran has been working towards nuclear capabilities, if this is the case then I can fully understand why Israel along with its allies America are taking the action they are taking. Iran has said that they want to erase Israel off the face of this earth and given the tools I wouldn’t put it past them to do so….

“Muslims who believe they are dying as martyrs (shahid) believe they are transitioning to an immediate, joyful, and eternal life in Paradise (Jannah), skipping the intermediate state of waiting in the grave (Barzakh) and the fear of the Day of Judgment. They believe their sins are instantly forgiven with the first drop of their blood, and they are honored by God with a high station, often described as residing within green birds that roam freely in Paradise”

Most sensible people believe that when they die they are nothing more than a pile of bones... and the only green birds they will encounter will be the ones that sh*t on their grave.

I agree with poolboy….we need to get real about what these religious fanatics are capable of.

[Onelife]

stephen
why would you need to rush to fill up your car as a pensioner surely you have a free bus pass the same as me

Do spare a thought for those of us who live in the rural enclaves with no public transport

[Stephen]

stephen
why would you need to rush to fill up your car as a pensioner surely you have a free bus pass the same as me

Do spare a thought for those of us who live in the rural enclaves with no public transport

You moved there mate.

[oldbluefox]

It's not often I can say it but I agree with Onelife. Iran is a terrorist state which has declared its desire to wipe Israel out and proclaims death to America. It expressed a desire to develop its nuclear domestic energy but clearly there were concerns it would use that excuse to develop nuclear weapons. It refused access to those who were monitoring what it was doing and tried to hide what it was doing. Quite clearly the aim was to develop nuclear warfare capability. I dread to think what would happen if Iran had that.

Meanwhile it actively sponsors terrorist activity via Hezbollah and Hamas. It suppresses any notion of opposition to its rule by killing anyone who protests against them. The revolutionary guard randomly shoot their own people and seek out dissidents in hospital. It is a regime built on religious fanaticism.

Whilst I am critical of the actions of the Israelis in their control of the West Bank, its handling of the Gaza situation (not helped by Hamas holding Israeli hostages which totally exacerbated the situation) and incursions by Jewish settlers into the lands of the settled Palestinians, Iran by its own admission has no peaceful intentions and somehow this regime needs to fall and be replaced by true democracy. Knowing how volatile the region is I have no idea how this can be achieved or whether it will but there is a glimmer of hope now that Khomeini and his murderous sidekicks have been eliminated. If we can now destroy his cache of weapons and eliminate further threats maybe more purposeful negotiations can take place.

[Onelife]

It's not often I can say it but I agree with Foxy ...a fair and unbiased appraisal of the unstable world we live in.

[poole boy]

I also strongly agree with Foxy and Onelife

[Mervyn and Trish]

mervn and trish and david63
personally I think you are all showing a lot o left wing bias there and talking a lot of rubbish there if mr trump had not taken them out it would not be long before they developed nuclear weapons fired fired them at us for goodness sake show a bit of back bone.

Actually you'd be surprised by my politics. However since Trump claimed the Iranian nuclear programme was obliterated in November maybe you can explain why he has to attack it again. Surely he wasn't lying?

And presumably you remember what a huge success the Gulf War was, when Tony Bliar took us into an illegal war based on phoney US intelligence and we've been paying for it since.

Backbone is knowing when the fight is legitimate.

[david63]

As I see the Iran situation there are, basically, two aspects.

One is regime change which is up to the Iranian people to deal with, but that aside there is no hope of a regime change in Iran unless there are "boots on the ground" and even then it is unlikely. Already the current regime has regrouped and appears to be doing a pretty good job at retaliation - how long that will last remains to be seen. In any event in order to have a regime change there has to be an alternative which, to the best of my knowledge, Iran does not currently have and as has been shown with Afghanistan once the boots leave the old regime just returns and carries on from where it left off. To change the regime in Iran it will take tens of years with massive support from outside and I cannot see anyone having the appetite for that.

The other aspect is that of nuclear arms which Iran may possibly be developing but there is no proof, that I have heard, that they currently have any and even if they did then they would not be a threat to America. The countries that would most likely be threatened would be neighbouring Middle East countries who are the ones that should be dealing with the potential problem. If Trump believes that a country is a threat to America if they have nuclear weapons then why is he not invading the other eight countries that have them - especially Russia?

One aspect of Trump's presidential campaign was to cease being the world's policeman and not get involved in overseas conflicts, but there have been no signs of that happening since he came into office - in fact it has been the exact opposite.

[towny44]

I have to agree with Merv and David, whilst regime change would be the most desirable outcome, there is precious little chance that is going to happen. Even if Trump sends in troops, which is extremely unlikely, and defeats the Ayatollahs, there is very little chance that any puppet govt would be successful in holding onto office once Western troops were withdrawn.
The current Iranian regime is definitely concerning for peace in the middle East, but it is probably no worse than Russia and China when it comes to its treatment of dissidents, and I see no liklihood that the US under Trump is considering bombing them into changing their policies.

[Mervyn and Trish]

I would add it's very easy to be gung ho from the safety of a settee thousands of miles away.

The son and daugher in law of close friends of mine are in Dubai for the wedding of their friends, due tomorrow, now ruined. He was at a stag do next door to the hotel hit in Iranian reprisals and lucky to walk away unscathed.

They're now holed up in the basement of their hotel with no idea of how or when they'll escape. My friend hasn't slept for two nights. For what?

As David and Towny have said, and as the Gulf War and invasions of Afghanistan proved, nothing will change. Other than more dead innocents.

We never have understood the Middle East and never will. Western interference never ends well. The whole Israel/Palestine mess is largely the result of messing about carving up land which isn't ours decades ago.

[Onelife]

With respect to the above three posters you in my opinion are missing the fundamental point which is that the young and not so young of Iran are crying out for change and in doing so have died in their thousands to demonstrate this…putting aside the threat of nuclear escalation surely we are witnessing the first signs of a rebellion against theocratic/autocratic rule of Iran…one which in time could be the catalyst for a more democratic Middle East.

[david63]

With respect to the above three posters you in my opinion are missing the fundamental point which is that the young and not so young of Iran are crying out for change and in doing so have died in their thousands to demonstrate this…putting aside the threat of nuclear escalation surely we are witnessing the first signs of a rebellion against theocratic/autocratic rule of Iran…one which in time could be the catalyst for a more democratic Middle East.

Not missing the point at all - but who/what is going to replace the regime?