These do devolve down into ridiculous discussions, don’t they. Better to stand off and let Iranians solve their own problems, protest or civil war, or whatever. If we don’t like how this occurs or the results, we can always stop doing business with them, isolate them, etc. Seriously, if they massacre their citizens, that’s about all we can do as we won’t go to war over it. Heck, we’ve refused to go to war over blatant genocide around the world, so why, beyond political theatrics, step into Iran’s internal affairs? Seems like it will only reinforce the government anyway. Should we give aid to protesters, they become foreign agents and, like we’d do, be discredited.
I think Trump sees a lot more at stake for us and our interests than we realize. Delicate balance indeed.
I agree with your post, which is full of strong common sense.