Israel is preparing for a war with Iran due to protests that have erupted inside Iran. Which raises an obvious question: why would domestic protests in Iran have anything to do with Israel? Mass demonstrations have spread across Iran since mid-December, driven by an economic crisis and volatility in the national currency. Israel has openly supported these protests, which it now cites as the reason Iran may retaliate by attacking Israeli targets. There are reports that protesters have been killed, though those claims remain uncorroborated. Still, President Trump has warned that the U.S. would intervene if “peaceful protesters” are killed. Only in Iran though. Protesters in Israel against the Netanyahu government should not look to the U.S. President for this kind of support. Now Israel is warning that Iran is poised to strike “targets across the Middle East.” But is that plausible? The New York Times reports that Iranian officials have described the Islamic Republic as being in “survival mode.” Would they attack abroad if they were in “survival mode”? Iran, in particular, has almost never initiated direct military attacks, and when it has acted militarily, those actions have been limited and retaliatory. So stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Israel: Iran is about to attack us. Israel: Launches a “preemptive” strike. The United States: This is fine. How can we help? When did this last happen? Last summer. Israel warned of Iranian aggression, escalated first, then portrayed Iran’s retaliation as proof of its warning. The post Iran: Domestic Protests, Foreign War appeared first on Redacted.