zlacker

>>mhb+(OP)
I think I would have left much sooner if I were there. Iran has claimed this January to have tested a 10,000 km ICBM with Russia allowing it to fly towards Siberia. This puts NYC and East Coast possibly within range. The claim has not been verified, but given the vitriol between the US and Iran, if they have it, and we overwhelm them with naval and air force presence, we may provoke a real world test of their claim.

>>eggy+G8
What would targeting NYC help Iran? Aren't there more interesting targets they could go for which would take advantage of the inflamed political situation in the US?

I think it's much more likely that they would strike back at a regional ally if anything. Keeping some of their cards hidden and not risking a unifying shock to the US populace

>>LarsKr+ld
Iran's leaders are caught in a trap of their own making. For decades they've held up America and Israel as villains and used that boogeyman to justify their military and police expenditure.

After this Israel-Gaza war, Iran's proxies who fought Israel on their behalf (Hamas, Hezbollah) are mostly destroyed. Their allies in the Gulf States (Qatar) have buckled to US pressure over the war. When they've tried to strike Israel directly, combined US-Israeli antimissile defenses stopped it dead in its tracks. Now hundreds of thousands of protestors are thronging the streets and the regime realizes it cannot kill or jail all of them.

In short, Iran has realized that its conventional military will not be able to prop up the regime if anyone decides to attack or arm a rebellion.

That's the motivation for this. The hateful theocratic rulers of Iran see the US as a bigger threat, and are chasing a nuclear weapon as the one they might actually get some protection with.