In Conclusion….

Right on time to manipulate the markets, along with a threat to commit war crimes and terrorize civilians and noncombatants. https://t.co/kMROJHoedi pic.twitter.com/qJe8Bd60YQ

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) March 30, 2026

War crimes, crimes against humanity, butchery, and then…we bug out and leave the smoldering sands and new “Gaza Strip if the East “(Bibi really does run this war effort) to its own devices because…they deserve it for being upset 47 years ago that we imposed a dictatorship on them 63 years ago so…we could have the oil?

We all learned that punishing Germany after WWI is what led to WWII, right? I mean, that’s why we rebuilt Germany and Japan, rather than leaving them in ruins. 

Besides, we’ve nearly emptied our arsenal, and we still haven’t bombed Iran into the Stone Age, much less significantly destroyed their war making capacity, or industrial base. Not that we should, but how do we carry this braggadocio out?

Trump’s threat is a pretty important window in the current U.S. position if you take a step back.

*If you are considering winding down
the war, as Trump said this AM, hitting energy infrastructure would have the exact opposite effect.

*But you can’t wind down the war without…

— Phil Mattingly (@Phil_Mattingly) March 22, 2026

Trump’s threat is a pretty important window in the current U.S. position if you take a step back.

*If you are considering winding down the war, as Trump said this AM, hitting energy infrastructure would have the exact opposite effect.

*But you can’t wind down the war without the strait re-opened - despite Trump’s contention to the contrary.

*So you threaten to do the thing you’ve intentionally avoided, precisely bc: 1. the retaliation would make the energy shock much worse while directly targeting the most valuable cornerstones of GCC economic success
2. You want the Iranian energy infrastructure left in good shape for your strategic goal of post-conflict Iran never threatening energy supplies again.

*The latter of which still feels pretty, well, aspirational to be generous about it at the moment, given the de facto weekslong closure of the Strait and the strikes on GCC in general, and specifically energy infrastructure last week.

*And now Trump’s threat puts a 48-hour timeline/redline on the table - which Trump and his team have intentionally avoided boxing themselves in on from the start - on the one thing Iran has a clear asymmetric advantage on for leverage, which they’ve made clear they know, understand, and have no intention of letting go for nothing.

Maybe the deadline sparks something real diplomatically, or is TACO-d with claims of some concession or Iranian capitulation.

Or maybe it’s red line that is followed through on. No idea.

But the Truth post is a good snapshot of the complexity of the moment for the WH.

Or the Administration’s absolute inability to handle what they started. 

Trump’s threat is classic bullying, if it works (it won’t), he claims victory. If it doesn’t, he claims it worked anyway, and claims victory.

Either way, TACO is assured. Or, troops go in, and Trump sinks to depths of denial never before seen. 

And more people die, needlessly. But we seem to be stuck with that outcome no matter what happens next.