I know Iran periodically boasts some wonderful weapon that they've built or they hold some exercise with a scary name and notable more for poor use of PhotoShop to illustrate the maneuvers. But we really could be in for a war if Iran's leaders are starting to believe their propaganda:
Iran considers any attack against Syria an attack on itself, an advisor to the Islamic Republic's supreme leader was quoted as saying Saturday, the strongest warning to date by a top Iranian official that Tehran will use any available means to keep the regime of President Bashar Assad in power.
Unless they already have nukes or want to provoke the West by interrupting the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz into a war that could destroy Iran, what does it even mean to say an attack on Syria is an attack on Iran?
I mean, if they are saying that the fall of Assad hurts Iran, I agree. Syria has been Iran West for a while now.
But there is little Iran can do to reverse the loss they are experiencing in Syria. I think their only hope of salvaging something is if Assad retreats to a core Syria that doesn't exceed his shrinking army's ability to hold.
But for now, Iran is just chest thumping and flinging poo.
UPDATE: Strategypage, too, doesn't see much point to the Iranian statement other than admitting the relationship:
Iran has declared that any country that attacks Syria is attacking Iran. That is an unusually frank admission of the relationship between Iran and Syria, but it will not have much impact. Iran has been at war with the rest of the world for decades. Because the Iranian military never recovered from its disastrous 1980s war with Iraq, Iran has used Islamic terrorism as their primary weapon. Their threat to fight would, at worst mean fewer restraints on Iranian sponsored Islamic terrorists.
Strategypage notes that Assad can't win. I assume they mean he can't win the way he is fighting. I never assume any war is unwinnable. But Assad shows no indication he is going to change his approach to fighting this war.
Assad seems to just hope the horse will sing.
UPDATE: Iran takes poo flinging to new heights:
Iran has successfully launched a live monkey into space, the state news agency IRNA said on Monday, touting it as an advance in a missile and space program that has alarmed the West and Israel.
Don't be distracted by the monkey.
It's all about the missile. Even though they have no license permitting nuclear weapons. Sometimes we seem blind to that.
