Collective Punishment and the Illusion of Iranian Aggression
What's actually happening: The latest reports describe Iran's retaliatory strikes against Israeli and US bases as a new wave of aggression, divorced from the preceding intensified bombardment by the United States and Israel. This selective memory overlooks the established pattern of US-Israeli co-belligerence, presented to the public as defensive actions against an aggressive Iranian
establishment. The deliberate sinking of an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, for example, is downplayed as a mere naval incident, rather than an act of war escalating an already volatile situation into open conflict. The current framing mirrors historical inversions, such as the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, which was marketed as a necessary security operation against Palestinian
resistance, despite resulting in the deaths of over 17,000 Lebanese and Palestinians, predominantly civilians, and the Sabra and Shatila massacre. The US and Israel consistently portray Iran's resistance axis, born from a response to foreign occupation and Western imperialism, as 'militant groups' devoid of legitimate grievances, while simultaneously justifying their own regional military
footprint and aggressive sanctions as measures for 'stability.' This double standard ignores 45 years of US sanctions designed to cripple the Iranian economy and foment unrest, a tactic that amounts to perpetual economic warfare against a sovereign nation. The true aggression is not the response, but the sustained pressure that provokes it. 🧵 The algorithm suppresses what matters. Beat it —