What comes after Iran’s military defeat and possible partial (economic, social, political) collapse could have echoes of events the 1920s and 1930s in Germany and Russia’s economic defeat in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Israel just wants chaos (while protected by the USA) and gets some enjoyment — as we see in Gaza — killing inferior (not God’s chosen) people.

Trump, in addition to his basic desire for attention and fame, has a demonstrated enjoyment in being cruel to anyone — domestic or foreign — who disagrees with him. He has now learnt — again domestically and in foreign policy — the joys of using force.

I spent many years living and working in Russia between 1991 and 2022 and saw how an underlying bitterness toward foreigners helped certain people such as Putin build their power and go to war.

The majority of people who helped Hitler to power expressed bitterness about Germany’s defeat in the First World War or attributed Germany’s economic hardships to it. The ultimate result was war.

Neither Putin nor Hitler could not have acted on their personal fantasies if there had not been the support or acceptance of much of the population.

Iran has a large well educated population and inevitably there will be a section of society that will now truly hate the West and its Gulf state neighbours. They will seek revenge — to some extent by terrorism but ultimately they will conclude that Iran needs nuclear weapons.