Have Trump-Netanyahu brought the world within days of doomsday? And, if so, would Russia and China join Iran against them?
23 March 2026, posted here by Eric Zuesse. (All of my recent articles can be seen here.)
To see all of the following, including all of the pictures, click onto the headline:
“Final Escalatory Act Awaits as Iran and Israel Trade ‘Warning Shots’ on Each Other’s Nuke Plants”
Simplicius, 22 March 2026
For those who thought the war could not “heat up” even more after Israel’s provocation against Iran’s largest gas field, it has apparently entered its final decisive act. After the failure of the main operational phase, wherein the US-Israeli hydra was rebuffed from inflicting any kind of decisive military defeat on Iran, we have come to the logical conclusion, where now threats of existential devastation against critical civilian infrastructure have reached the last escalatory rung.
Days ago Israel launched what is presumed to be a final “warning” attack which landed mere meters from the joint Iranian-Russian operated Bushehr nuclear power plant:
Yesterday Iran responded by striking in the vicinity of Israel’s Dimona nuclear plant:
A CNN report captured another series of powerful blows against Tel Aviv which followed the Dimona strikes, with US-Israeli air defenses appearing totally useless:
Perhaps after getting a “call” from his superior in the wake of PR-ruining “mass casualty events” in Israel, Trump launched into another frantic flip-flop, this time threatening Iran’s civilian power plants should the Strait which he himself just yesterday dismissed as irrelevant not be immediately re-opened within 48 hours:
Matt Bracken
@Matt_Bracken48
This is complete strategic incoherence.
We are being led to the abyss by a madman who is pulling ideas out of his ass hour by hour and posting them on social media.
Generals and Admirals need to start resigning.
I say this as someone who voted for Trump 3X, went to rallies, and
6:45 AM · Mar 22, 2026 · 66.3K Views
394 Replies · 1.14K Reposts · 3.39K Likes
Iran’s “biggest plant” happens to be the Bushehr—if that’s what Trump is ominously referring to in his unhinged screed. With Israel’s attack on Bushehr, and Trump’s latest desperate threats, it’s clear the war is reaching its final exhaustive act.
In response to this, an Iranian spokesman reportedly made a counter-threat—that if Iran’s plants are hit then all bets are off for the region’s infrastructure, which includes desalination plants:
The Spokesman for the Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters, the unified combatant command headquarters of the Iranian Armed Forces, has stated following tonight’s 48-hour ultimatum by U.S. President Trump, that if the United States attacks fuel or energy infrastructure in Iran, then they will attack U.S. and allied energy, information technology, and desalination infrastructure across the Middle East.
In short: things are unraveling up the escalation ladder toward pure armageddon, at least as far as the Middle East is concerned.
But it gets even worse.
The Houthis have allegedly vowed to enter the war and begin targeting American ships in the Red Sea:
The Houthis have officially declared war on the USA on the side of Iran
➖”We will strike American ships in the Red Sea. This war is a war of the entire Muslim umma”, the organization stated.
While journalist Rick Sanchez claims he has it on good authority that the US 82nd Airborne have “gotten their deployment papers”.
BREAKING NEWS: I’ve just got the information that that members of the 82nd Airborne have received deployment papers.
It’s one of the most elite US military units, and it looks like the discussion about “boots on the ground” in the Middle East may no longer be off the table.
At the same time, more and more Middle Eastern sources claim that the Gulf countries are inching toward joining the war against Iran in full, should Iran continue to refuse the same posture of subservience they themselves have long adopted. The problem is, US’s missiles are being verifiably launched at Iran from Gulf countries, as per WSJ, which makes those countries legitimate targets for Iran:
U.S. missiles that hit Iran likely were fired from Gulf countries that have taken the brunt of Iranian drone and missile attacks—although none acknowledges allowing use of their land or airspace
A Saudi “analyst” reveals the potential doomsday scenario—that if Iran continues striking the KSA, the Saudis will unite 50 Muslim nations including Pakistan to attack and destroy Iran:
Saudi analyst claims the ultimate nightmare for Iran: If Saudi Arabia enters the war, they will activate a defense pact with Pakistan and rally 50 Muslim nations against Tehran. A massive regional escalation could be imminent.
Some have even claimed that Pakistan is already preparing secret staging of US troops to enter Iran from the east, though this is likely bunk for now. Then again, in a worst case scenario, if Trump really was that crazy, it would be a relatively short 300-mile sprint from the Pakistani border to the Strait of Hormuz:
Of course, I’m not suggesting such a thing is realistic, but given Trump’s decline into egomaniac and erratic madness, we can’t be absolutely certain of what he would or wouldn’t attempt, or seek to attempt—given the right conditions, which aren’t there yet.
Multiple experts and commentators have noted that Iran’s power grid is extremely decentralized, comparatively speaking, and that Trump’s attacks on power plants will likely not be as effective as he envisions.
Michael Spyker
@ShaleTier7
I am just a guy that likes making my maps but I do feel somewhat compelled to say that Iran has a particularly good power grid, and gas distribution network. Like nearly impossible to destroy.
I mean, I think Iran has a better gas transmission footprint than Canada. I know know
The White House @WhiteHouse
🚨 “If Iran doesn’t FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST…” - President DONALD J. TRUMP
11:44 PM · Mar 21, 2026 · 460K Views
132 Replies · 1.77K Reposts · 7.2K Likes
The problem is, Trump desperately needs good optics right now. And the US has run out of big “targets” to hit in Iran because the Iranian military has effectively squirreled away everything of worth, and it’s too dangerous for the US to fly deep into the country, particularly given new claims of US plane shoot downs.
As such, Trump would love to be able to plaster the news cycles with hulking headlines of fat infrastructural targets getting lit up by bombs that can be seen from satellite feeds. His ego believes that makes him and the US look triumphant, at least compared to the standard fare of cheap decoys and empty desert the US has been pounding for weeks now. The problem is, this will accomplish little other than immiserating local civilians and turning them against the Empire that had claimed it was coming to “liberate them” from the “oppressive regime”.
There are now reports that Iran’s recent successful attacks involved newer more “sophisticated”—as per Financial Times—missiles which evaded US Patriots:
This has been part of a rumored Iranian strategy wherein the first phase of operations used older, ‘dumber’, more expendable missiles. Now that US-Israeli regional air defense has been attrited, Iran has wheeled out the more high-end precision stuff.
Some believe that Trump’s potential coming attacks against Iran’s energy grid is to be a destabilizing and distracting effect meant to allow US Marines and 82nd Airborne to take Kharg Island, or other Iranian islands. “Senior official” sources continue claiming that the boots-on-ground operation is still highly probable:
Marines aboard the underway USS Tripoli have been conducting live-fire drills on the flight deck:
U.S. Marines, assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (31st MEU), conduct a gun shoot onboard the America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA-7) operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet Area-of-Operations, while enroute to the Middle East in support of Operation Epic Fury, March 20, 2026.
Many of course are rightly wondering how, exactly, is the USS Tripoli supposed to get to Kharg Island, when that requires passing through the Strait of Hormuz that no US ship dares go near, much less enter?
Lindsey Graham, for his part, seems to think it’ll be a cake walk, comparing it to the great success of Iwo Jima, wherein US suffered nearly 30,000 casualties in about a month:
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham speaking today on Fox News, advocating for a ground invasion of Iran’s Kharg Island in the Northern Persian Gulf: “We’ve got two Marine Expeditionary Units sailing to this island. We did Iwo Jima. We can do this. The Marines, my money is always on the Marines.”
U.S. Forces suffered over 26,000 casualties in the Battle of Iwo Jima, including 6,821 dead, in an operation which lasted 36 days and involved an island about the same size as Kharg Island.
The problem with Graham’s false-bravado is that he’s secretly counting on mass casualties because he’s in Israel’s pocket and therefore following its playbook—which is that the more US can be forced to get involved in Iran, be it via bloodshed, false flag, or whatever else, the better the outcome. Graham would likely be delighted if the USS Tripoli was sunk in Hormuz en route to its doomed mission, as it would guarantee a US declaration of war on Iran—at least in his mind. To him, thousands of Marines are nothing more than sacrificial lambs for Israel.
But how do these US troops themselves feel about being used for the sake of a hostile foreign power?
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-troops-iran-war-israel_n_69bf18a1e4b01c6ce885ce6d
Interviews with active duty soldiers, reservists, and advocacy groups focused on service members found some U.S. troops who are caught up in the war are reporting vulnerability, overwhelming stress, frustration and disillusionment to the degree they may leave the military. The reservists and active duty soldiers spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation or because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
More:
A veteran and reservist who mentors younger officers told HuffPost her contacts are expressing a loss of faith to a new degree.
“I’m hearing out of service members’ mouths the words, ’We do not want to die for Israel — we don’t want to be political pawns,” she said. Another reservist in touch with current troops separately reported hearing similar comments.
“I’ve shared conscientious objector information six times in the past two weeks and I’ve been in the military almost 20 years — I’ve never had people reach out this way,” the first reservist continued.
Mike Prysner, the executive director of the Center on Conscience and War, said his group would in past years hear from between 50 and 80 troops annually. The month of March has seen a 1,000% increase
It truly brings to light the checkered recent deployment of the USS Gerald R Ford, which has clearly been undergoing massive levels of sabotage by its fed-up crews. Ol’ Gerry—actually the latest and most expensive warship in US history—is now said to be out for a minimum of 14 months, and even that is likely a coverup or understatement:
The most likely deal with the Marines and claimed “ground operation” is that Trump is merely fumbling for time, winging it with the “strategic ambiguity” card in order to fool the press into thinking he’s following some kind of plan. In reality, the amphibious ship’s transit merely buys him crucial panic moments and gives him precious time to improvise more excuses, or simply hope his military finds a way out of the bungled disaster he’s fomented.
In short: more than likely the Marine operation is nothing more than a desperate head fake—as per usual—to wreathe Trump in an air of authority, command, and victory. When the Tripoli arrives he’ll have no choice than to blame allies for their “cowardly” inability to reopen the Strait for him, then deflect into some new headline-grabbing ruse or distraction, or simply claim his destruction of Iran’s power plants has “crippled Iran for good” before withdrawing with tail between his legs.
What do you think?
—————
Investigative historian Eric Zuesse’s latest book, AMERICA’S EMPIRE OF EVIL: Hitler’s Posthumous Victory, and Why the Social Sciences Need to Change, is about how America took over the world after World War II in order to enslave it to U.S.-and-allied billionaires. Their cartels extract the world’s wealth by control of not only their ‘news’ media but the social ‘sciences’ — duping the public.
With all the other elite units on their way as recently and specifically identified by Larry Johnson, it looks pretty serious rather than fake. As they're all essentially light infantry, which means they can't fight a war of attrition with any hope of success, we may end up with Dien Bien Phu as well as Gallipoli. A most extraordinary double.
Russia and China had better damn well team up with Iran, because if Iran falls, they are next.