Why Nobody Came to Help the U.S in Iran || July 7, 2026
Despite the large rolodex of U.S. allies, nobody has pulled up to the Persian Gulf to support the U.S. There are several reasons for this, though.
Part of the post-WWII deal was that the U.S. would provide global maritime protection, so nobody else had to; as a result, few powers could help out, even if they wanted to (like Japan, the UK, and France). It doesn't help that the U.S. launched this operation without consulting anybody, but even if they had, most allies wouldn't touch a Persian Gulf conflict with a ten-foot pole.
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Comments (54)
I’m sure we have a lot of intelligence on Iran .
I love the TDS perspective. Trump has been talking about this type of action since the 1980s. Trump was following through with the plans he had been thinking about for decades.
Like Trump told black Americans; you’ve blindly followed and voted for Democrats for 50 years and what do you have to show for it? What do you have to lose by trying a different way? (Democrats were the party for slavery, Jim Crow, KKK), GOP is the party of Lincoln, civil rights, equality. If we’ve practiced the strategy of wait and see with Iran (every POTUS hoping they wouldn’t have to address) and Trump says let’s try some peace through strength, a perfectly time first strike of decapitation (closely held because our allies aka NATO and EU have loose lips) I say full speed ahead and damn the torpedos! Both parties have done nothing new with Iran, trumps 2 years are running down and with grand purpose of peace and prosperity he does the “unthinkable”, love or hate Trump, he is not afraid and definitely not anyone’s puppet.
Last thought. I was dumb struck by Trump wanting to “negotiate” with zealots until I realized the oil fatigue and Hormuz fatigue would eventually get to “frame built in oil prices” that were still under 70-80 $ per barrel, shifting oil purchases to USA, and “war fatigue” allowing continued degradation of Irans and IRGC capabilities until the revolution does happen.
Do you think Iran had nuclear (with delivery capability) ambitions? After billions from Obama and Biden, and Chine through oil, how far in development do you think they were? As religious zealots would you like to see them armed with nukes? Love or hate Trump; he is on a mission to fix as many broken or ignored problems in 2 years as possible since midterms can go either way. NATO paying their fare share (might not like Trumps style but they are paying now.) Panama Canal and Chinese power. Venezuela and Chinese power. Iran’s and Chinese power as well as 47 years of avoidance. Ukraine and Russia. Russia primarily a NATO EU problem but their solution is always the rich Uncle Sam. Not anymore. We sell arms to EU NATO they can give to Ukraine. Sounds smart to me. We give Ukraine aid and they repay with mineral rights.
PZ too much TDS to address all but here are some Q&A.
Thank you for once again cutting through the clutter for clarity on this issue. The "Pax Americana" established under the Breton-Woods accord you have explained so well was the system all of the Western Allies have observed since the USA made clear how it worked in the Suez crisis of 56. Sadly, in a time where neither history or facts matter, these "reasons" aren't understood without narration like yours. Much appreciated.
Why is the US deserving such a president? Looking at the situation from Germany!
Tl;dr: Because we are assholes. Run by my contemporaries who have lost the plot.
The nightmare that is the Trump administration can not be over soon enough. It's soooo tiring to see us continue to fall. Wondering if perhaps fate selected the wrong politician to have a heart attack recently. I think we'd be better off having mitch McConnell still showing up as opposed to... uh... what we have. And that's a sad thing to have to admit. Trump certainly didn't improve our position at the recent NATO summit. And I'll bet Japan was awfully surprised to find out that they were now Muslim.
Depending on how you measure it, the 2nd largest navy in the world is either Russia (by hull count and tonnage) or the United States (by overall military capability, tonnage, and global power projection).
I personally would like to hear a lot more panting.
Friendly note: it’s pronounced more like “KUSH-ner” (the “u” is like in bush, not woosh). It’s a very common Jewish surname, and hearing it pronounced correctly would be appreciated.
Pictures of people in Crimea standing around in front of their banks not being able to get cash sends a shudder. People in Russia and surrounds seeing that are going to think, “You know…I think I will go to my bank and take my money out…just to be safe”. That’s how uncontrolled bank runs start. With everything else, going on, add 1929 to it, mix in nuclear weapons and xenophobic leadership, this could go from bad to catastrophic in days.
I'd add a fourth... No one has clearly defined the objectives of the war. So what exactly would allied help look like? Help with what? The Strait of Hormuz was open before the war. Trump's activity closed it. Allies in every single region can see that.
The objectives of the war have been met... Help Putin by raising oil prices and by depleting US missile stocks so there's nothing to send to Ukraine, further alienating any remaining US allies , and not to be forgotten, distract attention from the Epstein Files.
Goyims sacrifice yourself in Iran in February 2027. Whether you lose and lose on the Zagroz mountains is inconsequential USA military will end before 2035 no more USA. China listens and adjusts. Good grief the USA may be balkanized by 2050. Bye USA 🫠. BTW China is stronger today also besides the propaganda so is Russia. But listening to a geopolitical smart guy cry like Peter the west's enemies are stronger. My opinion only of course USA has an ugly flag and a crap constitution
Trumpopolis. 🤣🤣🤣
Well, there’s a difference between not having to send something, and actively blocking the use of NATO bases, etc. being used as part of the operation. And frankly, Netanyahu was right. Who cares about a world economic crisis, when the alternative is a nuclear Iran? By today’s “foreign policy experts” reasoning, the US would never have entered WW2, and Europe would be universally greeting with Heil Hitler today. The problem we have, is that we just consider the cost of war, not the values of what we’re defending: there’s fundamentally NO COEXISTING with totalitarian regimes, because it’s the nature of totalitarianism, it it’s either us or them, and them, who chomp at the bit to become martyrs with 72 virgins, bringing about the return of the Mahdi, are not afraid of a global nuclear Armageddon, these aren’t Soviet technocrats who despite commie end of history ideas, remained largely secular and rational decision makers. The problem isn’t that Trump attacked Iran, the problem is that it wasn’t done decades ago, and that he doesn’t seem to have the stomach to finish what he started, and to eradicate the Islamist regime, cost no object.
he doesn’t like Rubio? jeebus, stick to demographics please
Peter …. Love your show… Big supporter. One humble comment Please don’t walk so fast and talk winded You’re getting older… Please slow down and breathe so you can communicate without being out of breath. I appreciate all that you do Thank you
Nah Pete, keep climbing. You've inspired me to get back out into the bush
Didn't help that Trump went around degrading & insulting "allies" before and during the war.
I hope something gets done fr it's getting worse everyday
Peter, greetings from Turkey Scratch, Kentucky — where the air is humid, the sweet tea is medicinal, and the local possums have stronger opinions than most cable news hosts. I take issue with your treatment of the MAGA (Make America Great Again!) Army. You make our proud brigade of patriots sound less like a movement and more like Manufactured Anger, Generating Allegiance, or a Massively Amplified Grievance Assembly, or a Media Amplified Grievance Addiction, or on a slow day, just Mostly About Getting Angry. Around here, we prefer to think of ourselves as a proud, unified force — even if the acronym sometimes appears like Marketing Anger, Generating Attention. I accept your apology in advance, sir. Good Day!
It is important to remember that our NATO allies are doing what’s best for the United States by allowing us to lose this war we should have never prosecuted. This hard lost lesson will be valuable in the years to come… Much like Vietnam.
You're implying that America has a future much beyond 20 or so years as under Chump & Co., America has basically been neutered!
Could've summed it up by saying "Because Trump is a moron".
Iran was building nuclear bombs and delivery systems capable of hitting all of Europe and the US. And they were going to use them against us. Trump stopped them and yes, it was not going to be easy. Somehow Peter, you have access to information discussed in meetings no one else but you knows about.
Too bad Trump flushed Obama's deal with Iran - all the nuclear material they developed came AFTER Trump and his idiot sycophants tried to show up Obama and ended up creating a nuclear-capable Iran.
As I have often said, US should get out of the Middle East, including Israel. It is full of people that want to kill each other. Let them. We are dealing with problems caused by European imperial powers. Everybody there hates us, not without cause. It is an impossible situation. As for Trump, he is a buffoon and incompetent. His election in 2016 was more due to having Hillary as an opponent than anything else. Alot of his attitude now is due to the fake attacks on him before and after his election by the "swamp", especially the intelligence community. A great part of his actions are due to his distrust of the whole federal machine and the media. This doesn't excuse him but it is understandable. Aside from all that, these changes are inevitable. The US population is done with paying for the rest of the world's welfare with American blood and treasure.
Because we did not tell anyone we were going to do Iran. And BiBi over sold this to Trump.
Israel is a demented state
In talking to Israeli friends and colleagues, I am reminded of the old Babylon 5 science fiction show. The Israelis are the Mumbari. After October 7, they all went collectively nuts. They haven't woken up yet.
Eh. It was a dumb war that no one intelligent wanted. Unfortunately, like all wars since WWII, this one has no real effect on the overall strategic security posture of the US, so it's going to be up to those same allies to have to sort out this mess over the next 10-20 years.
Wrong. It used up all the weapons needed for real threats.
Death cult with nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles that has already slaughtered thousands of its own citizens? No problem, give them what they want. ...Bottom line, we are on the hook to fix this immense cluster f**k.
"We" are NOT on the hook to fix it.
Re the pitch from Netanyahu, he's probably made the same-ish one for years. With Israel's image in the eyes of the democratic world mostly screwed, that effectively means post Trump (and post-midterms) once we have new elections, the US & Israel partnership is over if not drastically diminished. That means there's no next administration to even present the possibility of war w Iran to, meaning that absent any change (such as a war in iran), Israel would lack the partnerships it would need to deter Iranian attack, no?
The law of unintended consequences once again (as it always does) rears its ugly head! Frankly, we should have cut Israel off decades ago! We have lost far too much blood and treasure (in one way or another) b/c of this ridiculous preoccupation with the mid-east! One thing the CCP did well (and I rarely give them "chops" for anything) was get involved and then taking the lead in renewable energy to the point that they could (if need be) get by with solar, modular nuclear, et al.! Sure they still need oil and gas but watch how quickly they wen themselves off. Thus, eventually, they win all the pieces on the board! Orange Asshole hastened our eventual decline by at least 2 decades earlier than it needed to be; also he's made it impossible for anyone else to evade this. Greedy, self-centered, thieving fucking traitor/rapist! WELL DONE AMERICA!!!
Mad King Donald Rules, OK?
The population of the planet in 1929 (during the Great Depression) was just two billion (2 billion). The population of the Earth in 2008 (GFC1) was just under seven billion (7 BN). The population of the planet now is just over eight billion ( 8 BN). Depression 2.0 or GFC2 will make the first ones seem like a PICNIC!
What does this have to do with the Iran war? Americans make a fetish out of predicting apocalypse. If you browse YouTube, you'll find that people have successfully predicted 280 of the past 2 recessions.
Sure looks like this war was cooked up by his buddy Putin, and now the fool is going to join Russia against Europe, abandoning Nato. Trump a patriot? Ya my ass...
Ironically, Ukraine was a big winner in the Iran war. Multiple countries threw money at Ukraine to get their drone, which Ukraine is using to pummel Russian right now.
And so the wheels or war continue turning.
MAGA - Make America Go Away
We've gotta be positive
Nice dig against the most incompetent President and Secretary of Defense in modern U.S. history. Dopey Don and Pea Brained Pete need to be held accountable for losing a war that should have never been started. Essentially, Trump’s “treason without reason” — came at a huge cost to U.S. national security and prosperity.
No argument here, but how does a comment become hidden? Is the moderator censoring a mean and nasty post? 🤔 Is MAGA being bad?
The administration was very deliberate in their decisions. Of course they realized that NATO would not offer support as that helps to write a narrative. War, crime, disease and pestilence all for the continuing grift of money and power. It's not nice to fool mother nature 😉. iykyk
Suez Canal Crisis......
I thought it was because we forgot to bring the White Claw?
I thought it was supposed to be beer and tacos. 🌮