Kashan day 1 - fabulous place #grownostr #kashan #nowrooz

Modi #dogstr

#iran #war By Mana Neyestani

بهار دلکش رسید و دل به‌جا نباشد. نوروز پیروز. ۲۵۸۵ Light finds its way back. #Nowruz Pirooz.

Right now, the country feels like it’s being held hostage by the IRGC—closer to a mafia network than a normal state. That network has taken heavy hits: key figures are gone, many militia-linked sites have been destroyed, and the chain of command and protest-suppression infrastructure look seriously disrupted. With many people seemingly expecting—and in some cases supporting—these US and Israeli strikes, it’s unlikely this ends quietly. The next uprising will almost certainly be bigger, and with the regime already weakened, it’s hard to see the crackdown forces responding like they used to. If the recent drone strikes continue or intensify, that pressure will only grow once people are back on the streets. Airstrikes alone probably won’t bring the regime down—but by weakening its military and security apparatus, they may have created the conditions for people themselves to finally topple the corrupt mullahs.

I was never really a fan of Trump. During his first term, I honestly thought he might end up messing things up globally, especially when it came to #Iran and the risk of war. When Biden took office, I felt relieved. But after four years, I found myself pretty disappointed with that choice. At some point, my perspective shifted. Watching how things played out—especially around Iran and the growing risk of conflict—I started to feel like it’s one of those situations where you’re stuck choosing between bad options. Kind of like what some Iranians might be facing right now: choosing between war and the current regime staying in power. And in that kind of scenario, I’d choose war over the regime a hundred times. In the same way, I’ve reached a point where I’d pick Trump over left-leaning alternatives every time. And now there’s this almost surreal phenomenon coming out of Iran. With every strike against the mullah regime, you see reports of people actually celebrating. Even during protests by the Iranian diaspora, the Israeli flag has been a constant presence. There’s a noticeable shift in sentiment—some people would rather see the country’s oil tied to the US and Israel than flowing toward China or Russia. To put that into perspective, this is a country where naming streets after international figures—controversial or otherwise—has never really been off the table. You’ve got places like Nelson Mandela Boulevard and Argentina Square, alongside roads named after figures like Khalid al-Islambouli and even Henry Corbin. So in that context, a bit of rebranding almost feels overdue. Swap out a few names, modernize the theme—why not? Khomeini Square becomes “Trump Square,” maybe a polished “Bibi Alley,” a “Lindsey Graham Road,” and for a more symbolic touch, something like “Abraham Lincoln Carrier” to really capture the spirit of freedom delivered, quite literally, offshore. At that point, it’s not even satire anymore—it’s just urban planning catching up with the times. From where I stand, it looks like the future of the Middle East could involve a strong alignment between Iran, the US, and Israel. That’s something many Muslim-majority countries—especially in the Gulf, as well as Turkey—might view with concern. A secular, democratic Iran could pose a real challenge to their economies in particular.