We're lucky the physics/process is hard, to an incredible degree.
We'd all be long dead if you could easily produce the stuff.
War with...Iran?
- Thread starter Technarch
- Start date
We'd all be long dead if you could easily produce the stuff.
Well put. It would have been a colossal backwards step to allow Wall Street and Big Tech to have had their own private court system that no-one here got to vote for or against, inserted above Australian law.
Especially now that the USA has shown itself incapable of maintaining any sense of civilised behaviour as a global power.
I'd have have expected a better understanding of ethnicities from an Australian (you folks have decent educational systems unlike the US).
Israelis, whether Jewish, Arab, Druz, Karaites or Samaritans -- are all brown.
(not sure how the Circassian population would classify itself so won't speak for them).
I personally take offense to being called "white".
I agree, this all seems a bit too fantastical in my admittedly non-expert opinion. All of the options presented seem to rely on Bond villain levels of complacency on the part of the IRGC.
I can't imagine the IRGC would attempt to move the uranium without using decoy convoys and, based on the strategies we've observed thus far, I expect they would launch waves of Shaheds at any force attempting to dig their way into the facility at Isfahan or elsewhere. Ground forces can only carry so much ammunition, the same goes for combat aircraft with the added limitation of fuel capacity restricting time on station.
It's one thing to raid somewhere like Caracas where the defenders aren't expecting an attack and can't indiscriminately target the site with missiles and drones; it's something else entirely to raid a relatively isolated facility where the attackers have to dig their way in while under fire. There's also potential for a spectacular propaganda victory for Iran should they manage to collapse the entrance behind a force that has successfully dug its way in with an SRBM or similar, and if that's occurred to me then I'm certain the IRGC has thought of it.
That's a nice strawman. Also, if you go fishing, most people bait the hook with something that might entice a bite...
A fun article wherein we all say, "no one could've seen this coming!"... except everyone could except the current US regime.
Short version... Ukraine offered anti drone defenses... and the US didn't do anything with it,
https://www.axios.com/2026/03/10/us-ukraine-anti-drone-offer
Short version... Ukraine offered anti drone defenses... and the US didn't do anything with it,
https://www.axios.com/2026/03/10/us-ukraine-anti-drone-offer
Simple, these people do not believe they need anything from anybody else. They've said so, repeatedly. It would be beneath them to accept a thesis where the USA is trailing in a specific technology. Particularly if it trails in the technology behind a country they hold in contempt.
Not a strawman. You're the one who brought up race in the first place. Noone else did. Besides being a very ill-defined term, it's not useful in the Mideast and Eastwards to characterize the various conflicts, unlike ethnicities and religions.
And I've said before on Ars I consider being called "white" extremely offensive.
https://meincmagazine.com/civis/threa...-they-have-chosen-to-be.1506891/post-43709838
Jews, being Semites, aren't white.
This is a little silly since these categories aren't real and questions about who is or isn't white don't have real answer, but I think the American view of this isn't rooted in a lack of education; it's about the history of legal segregation.
If you were a Jewish-American person living in American in 1942 and drafted to fight in World War 2, some bureaucrat would have to decide if you're assigned to a white troop or to a Black troop because the military was segregated back then. I don't think most people would look at someone with Netanyahu's skin color and say "that's a Black guy", so legally speaking he has to be a white guy because those are the only two choices. Back when segregation was legally enforced, everyone had to fit into one category or the other even if some of the fits were awkward.
And this is just a friendly reminder that, outside the US, no one gives a flying fuck about how the US categorizes people because of its surely exceptional circumstances that never applied anywhere else in the Rest of The World™.
So, when someone tells you "I'm not [this race]," you shut up and stop arguing about why it's different in the US. Especially if that person has repeatedly said they find it offensive. We, the rest of the world, don't give a shit about your opinion on our ethnicity or race.
To put it in a way that maybe the USians can understand: you don't tell a black guy he's not black because he isn't black enough for you or he doesn't fit your made up categories.
Also, on a side note, bringing up the color of people in the middle east is so stupid that only a complete ignorant on basically EVERYTHING about the ethnicities there could do it. Seriously, just look at a fucking picture of what people look like in the ME.
So, when someone tells you "I'm not [this race]," you shut up and stop arguing about why it's different in the US. Especially if that person has repeatedly said they find it offensive. We, the rest of the world, don't give a shit about your opinion on our ethnicity or race.
To put it in a way that maybe the USians can understand: you don't tell a black guy he's not black because he isn't black enough for you or he doesn't fit your made up categories.
Also, on a side note, bringing up the color of people in the middle east is so stupid that only a complete ignorant on basically EVERYTHING about the ethnicities there could do it. Seriously, just look at a fucking picture of what people look like in the ME.
I didn't make this thread to discuss race, guys.
Not the ones I know (referring mostly to Israelis, and quite a few USian Jews).
There's no appreciable genetic difference between Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews, or between them and Palestinians.
We are getting off topic, but people don't seem to realize that Askenazi Jews owe a large portion of their genes to Europeans.
But USian views of this are completely irrelevant.
zenparadox's post imputed this view to Jewish Israelis, and he's not USian .
And it's completely untrue that that there were only two categories even in the US's segregation period. Southern states' Jim Crow laws may have referred mainly to those ("one drop rule"), but there were Native Americans, Latin Americans, various Asians...
This is a gross generalization, and depends very much on the specific community and the timeframe in question.
How about we stop arguing about who is brown and just talk about how Israel is doing some terrible shit in Lebanon?
Sure, but the point of the World War 2 example is there were scenarios where it did narrow down to just the two categories. If you were a Mexican-American child enrolling in public school in the era of segregation, someone had to decide if you go to the Black school or the white school.
But I agree trying to impose one society's racial and/or ethnic constructs onto a different society doesn't work or make much sense.
Israeli campaign has killed 10 children a day in Lebanon, UN says
Energy Secretary and previous oil CEO, Chris Wright, also lied and said the US had escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz only to delete the tweet after getting called out on it, so that has happened as of yet.
The highly enriched uranium (60% enrichment) fits into four scuba diver tanks. It is trivial to hide. And the last enrichment step to weapon grade uranium requires about 100 centrifuges and a month or so of operation. Equipment that easily fits into a mom&pop workshop.
Iran already did the hard part. Besides of political reasons, they didn't do the last step because that uranium is hellish dangerous and keeping it in a subcritical arrangement requires controlled environments and careful planning/engineering. A weapons grade uranium pit is also insanely valuable, so I guess that they want to have everything around bomb manufacturing and delivery perfect before engaging in the last step.
That's interesting - I knew uranium is dense but I wasn't aware it's that dense. It's rather worrying that 440kg of it will fit into a space that small all things considered.
I was thinking something along the lines of the vehicles used by SEG and the Royal Marines to move nuclear warheads, fuel and waste around the UK.
The US has asked Israel to stop striking Iran’s energy and oil infrastructure, warning it could harm civilians, spike global oil prices, and trigger wider retaliation against Gulf energy facilities. They also wants to preserve Iran’s oil sector for potential post-war cooperation.
Oh the irony...
https://www.axios.com/2026/03/10/iran-oil-israel-strikes-trump
This arrives just as the Pentagon says Iran is preparing to mine the strait.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveb...g-to-deploy-mines-in-strait-of-hormuz-report/
(Times of Israel, grain of salt etc.)
Oh the irony...
https://www.axios.com/2026/03/10/iran-oil-israel-strikes-trump
This arrives just as the Pentagon says Iran is preparing to mine the strait.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveb...g-to-deploy-mines-in-strait-of-hormuz-report/
(Times of Israel, grain of salt etc.)
It's really unfortunate that it's not possible to discuss ahead of an attack what your objectives are and what you are and aren't willing to do and risk in order to achieve them, otherwise it'd be almost trivial to have already fixed it.
Trump is trying to convince the markets that it will end soon, but actions talk louder than words, another 3 B-1 Lancers landed at RAF Fairford today.
Oil dropped $2 on that tweet and is now working its way back up.
Trump is also demanding that Iran remove its mines from the Strait of Hormuz. I'm sure they'll get right on that.
/// OFFICIAL MODERATION NOTICE ///
This was reported thusly:
And that’s the best report I’ve seen in a long time.
Your link is also piss-poor evidence for your statement, in the sense that it’s kinda there but you have to really look for it.
Finally, if you have to start a comment with “we are getting off topic,” perhaps think before hitting the “Post reply” button.
Do better.
Ah yes, an American regime that enjoys blowing up any boat in international waters for no reason whatsoever as a national past time and that has allegedly sunk most of, if not all, Iran's entire Navy, would like the Iranians, that they're currently bombing for no reason with Israel, to get into an imaginary boat and remove mines.
Why don't they just send out RFK, in his slim fitting jeans, and Kid Rock to go for a swim together and de-mine the Strait themselves? They're allegedly in great shape and it sounds like a very manly thing to do. They can just chug a few gallons or raw milk to amp themselves up.
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Is it bad I really want a 'shopped version of W's "mission accomplished" but with Trump and the banner saying "Mission pretty much complete, well mostly" or whatever his previous word salad of the war's over for realsy was.
"We are absolutely NOT seeking a ceasefire": Iran's speaker of Parliament says their goal is to break America/Israel's cycle of "war-negotiation-ceasfire-war again":
View: https://x.com/mb_ghalibaf/status/2031277205540544892
Absolutely, we are not seeking a ceasefire; we believe we must strike the aggressor in the mouth so that it learns a lesson and never again even thinks of aggressing against our dear Iran.The Zionist regime sees its ignoble existence in perpetuating the cycle of "war-negotiation-ceasefire and then war again" in order to consolidate its domination. We will break this cycle.
View: https://x.com/mb_ghalibaf/status/2031277205540544892
Honestly it's hard to poke holes in this because both the US and Israel have a track record of violating their ceasefire commitments. That being the case, if they want a ceasefire it's probably just so they can draw breath and move more assets into position for further aggression. To get Iran to agree is probably going to require an agreement brokered by some party with the ability to impose consequences that would actually be meaningful, which I don't think can be anyone other than China.
This is the consequence of reneging on the nuclear deal. Now Iran is going to assume bad faith no matter what assurances they're given, and they (rightly) assume the only reason the US is making the demands is because their retaliation steps are imposing consequences that the US finds inconvenient. In other words, "we assumed you'd fold instantly, please stop shooting so we can crush you utterly" is not a viable negotiating position.
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In total 11 B-1 Lancers and 3 B-52s are now at RAF Fairford, also an assortment of transport aircraft have landed such a Galaxy C-5, multiple C-17s and tonight a C130 Hercules from Rammstein landed there.
I suspect B2s will be used more, although I reckon they'll go to Diego Garcia.
It seems like a lot of effort for something supposed to be ending soon
The President of Iran made his own statement the other day that the military completely ignored. Does the speaker have any actual authority either?
Which military?
The de facto hierarchy in Iran is: IRGC > Supreme Leader > Guardian Council > Legislature > Regular Military
Like shit-canning the US pandemic response team months before Covid, or firing the FBI's counter-terrorism team before launching a war on the world's most prolific state sponsor of terrorism.
Or gutting electric car subsidies before starting that same war, since the country is also a huge oil producer and controls a stretch of water much of the world's oil and LNG has to pass through.
And let's face it, Iran doesn't even have to mine the Strait of Hormuz, they just have to credibly threaten. It's not like some captain is gonna go full Leroy Jenkins with a tanker full of oil or LNG. They're just going to wait until they get rock-solid assurances that that the Strait is clear and they can get insurance at a not-insane price.
And if Iran does get a few mines in place, well, that just sells the story even better.
And if Iran does get a few mines in place, well, that just sells the story even better.
It wasn't just that tweet but the G7 agreed to basically open the floodgates on their collective strategic oil reserves. It isn't perfect but it does give the world a bit of cover for the next 2-3 weeks for this all to get sorted out one way or another. That said, I think oil steadily rising again is the slowly ticking time bomb. If the Strait isn't open by the time the SPRs run dry then the supply shocks will be even more severe as there simply won't be any slack in the system anymore.
NewNinetyNine
Ars Centurion
China has zero reason to stop our unforced errors. Every missile or drone of US munitions that the US gifts to Israel or expends in the Middle is a munition that can't be used in the Pacific. And we see Trump's Iran stress triggering further tantrums against allies like Spain and the UK.
By 2027 or 2028 the PLAN will be able to leisurely doggy-paddle across the Taiwan Strait after Trump runs out of allies and weapons.