Tit for Tat: Iran and The US.

It seems Iran and the US, despite alleged ongoing peace talks, which Iran has apparently suspended due to US military action, the cycle of tit-for-tat strikes carries on. After an Apache helicopter was allegedly and, according to Trump, shot down over the Strait of Hormuz, the US, as Trump said would happen, attacked targets in Iran. Explosions were heard on Qeshm Island, Bandar Abbas, and an alleged projectile landed in Sirik. All these attacks near one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.

For its part, Iran struck nations hosting US military bases of one type or another. It also took action against the US 5th fleet. Iran said, as Trump said on Truth Social, that not to respond would look weak. And neither the US nor the IRI (Islamic Republic of Iran) would want that now, would they? In front of enemies, the world and nearby countries.

It's all about this innate attitude in primates about who is the biggest on the block, and that's certainly the case with humans. And not to react to an act of aggression makes the other one look weak and surrendering to the other. However, as Jesus Christ, Buddha, and others have taught, not to respond is a strength; it shows you have a mindset where you have broken the ape-like "You hit me, I'll hit you back". However, in the world we live in, that's not the MO (Modus Operandi) in this world, sadly.

An American retired general did add something positive, though. General Kimmel told Al-Jazeera that the fact that the US and Iran had not responded with overwhelming force shows neither side wants to go back to full-scale war. So if General Kimmel (retired) is correct, there is still hope for a lasting ceasefire and with that a peace deal satisfactory to all. Of course, the fly in the ointment is Israel, and unfortunately, in these cases, it always is.

Israel and Hezbollah have been trading blows, and Trump told Bibi to stop attacks on Lebanon as they were endangering peace talks between Tehran and Washington. Iran warned both the US and Israel that if the Jewish state kept launching attacks on Hezbollah in Beirut and other Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon, it would respond. And that the Hezbollah-Israel War was endangering peace talks. So after Israel attacked Beirut once again, Iran fired missiles and drones at Israel. Trump had a very heated conversation with Mr. Netanyahu to stop bombing Lebanon. Israel reluctantly agreed, and so did Iran. But both said that if one side breaks this, yet another shaky ceasefire, both will respond to the other accordingly.

The action that caused the US to attack Iran and vice versa is open to question. Trump said the Apache helicopter was shot down by the Iranians after flying over the Strait of Hormuz. Thankfully, as stated earlier, both pilots were recovered unharmed. However, how exactly the Apache was shot down is open to question. The Americans said it was an Iranian Shahid drone that hit the helicopter. But questions remain about how an unguided suicide drone could be guided into hitting an American aircraft. Unless it was purely a fluke accident, but surely the helicopter would have exploded on impact. Unlike fighter jets, the helicopter does not have ejector seats for its pilots to escape. Unless somehow the helicopter survived the impact but was damaged enough that it couldn't carry on flying, and either dropped into the sea or was forced to make an emergency landing in the water from whence the pilots were rescued. It's also may not have been a drone that brought down the helicopter. It could have been an anti-aircraft missile or even ground fire from Iranian anti-aircraft guns. I'm not saying the event didn't happen, but one should proceed with caution with this one.

Also, if the Apache was shot down, which the Iranians deny, was it flying in Iranian airspace, in which case the Iranians had every right (if true) to shoot it down.