i feel like iran getting played like a fiddle was kind of a suffering from success kind of deal. unlike russia, who was left with basically no strategic depth after 2014, iran broke out of the encirclement of the early 2000s and has had israel on the ropes with pressure from lebanon, syria, iraq and yemen. getting played was a naive but optimistic and, dare i say, humane option that they could afford to take. pity that they were dealing with the great satan and now the price must be paid in lebanese lives.
havent mainlined this many decades since prigo