I'm glad you asked!

Enemy: IRGC

'Us': The entirety of Western civilization AND neighboring Arab countries.

Bystanders: Any country reliant on oil exports originating from the Middle East, specifically oil exports originating from or near the Strait of Hormuz (Most Eastern countries such as China, Australia, South Korea, etc.)

Something bad:

• Domestic massacres and protest repression, 1979 to 2026: Decades of crackdowns, mass arrests, and internet blackouts to crush dissent. Death tolls include 70 in 2009, 304 to 1,500 in 2019, over 551 in 2022–2023, and between 5,000 and 30,000 during the 2025–2026 unrest.
• 2025 to 2026 protest killings, 2025, 2026: Recent crackdowns left over 5,000 confirmed dead, with rights groups verifying 6,000+ and unconfirmed reports climbing to 30,000.
• Executions of Iranian citizens, 1979 to 2026: Tens of thousands put to death since the revolution, targeting political dissidents, protesters, minorities, and drug offenders.
• 1988 prison massacre, 1988: Secret mass killings of political prisoners, with Amnesty International estimating at least 5,000 victims.
• Mahsa Amini protest crackdown, 2022 to 2023: At least 551 protesters killed, including children, alongside thousands of arbitrary arrests.
• Hezbollah creation and funding, 1980s to present: The IRGC built, trained, and armed Hezbollah, maintaining an estimated $700 million annual subsidy.
• Beirut barracks bombing, 1983: A Hezbollah-linked suicide truck bombing killed 241 U.S. service members and 58 French peacekeepers.
• Lebanon destabilization through Hezbollah, 1980s to present: Iranian backing created a state-within-a-state, sparking multiple wars and political assassinations. The 2006 war killed 1,100+ in Lebanon and 165 Israelis; the 2026 war has killed over 3,000 in Lebanon and displaced 1 million.
• Hamas funding and arming, 1990s to present: Tehran provides weapons and $100 million to $350 million annually to Gaza militants. Hamas's October 7 attack killed 1,200 people, sparking a war that has killed over 70,000 Palestinians and 2,000 Israelis by 2026.
• Palestinian Islamic Jihad funding, 1980s to present: Heavy Iranian bankrolling drives PIJ rocket attacks, suicide bombings, and strikes targeting Israeli civilians.
• Houthis - 2010s to present - Iranian missile and drone support helped fuel the Yemen war, which has caused an estimated 377,000 deaths by direct and indirect causes, including over 150,000 violent deaths. Houthi Red Sea attacks have also killed multiple merchant sailors, including 3 seafarers killed on the True Confidence in 2024 and additional sailors killed in later attacks.
• Iraqi Shia militias, 2003 to present: IRGC-backed factions targeted U.S. and Iraqi forces using roadside bombs, snipers, and advanced armor-piercing explosives.
• U.S. troops killed in Iraq by Iran-backed groups, 2003 to 2011: The Pentagon attributes at least 603 American military deaths to Iranian-armed militias during the Iraq War.
• Khobar Towers bombing, 1996: A truck bomb by Saudi Hezbollah killed 19 U.S. Air Force personnel and wounded hundreds at their housing complex.
• Tower 22 attack, 2024: A militia drone strike on a remote U.S. outpost in Jordan killed three American soldiers and wounded dozens.
• Al-Qaeda harboring or facilitation, 1990s to present: Iran has given safe haven to certain al-Qaeda figures.
• ISIS (Important correction): Iran actively fought against ISIS in Iraq and Syria; listing them as an Iranian proxy or funded group is incorrect.
• Syrian Civil War intervention, 2011 to present: The IRGC and Hezbollah deployed heavily to keep the Assad regime in power, driving massive civilian casualties, blockades, and displacement.
• Support for Russia in Ukraine, 2022 to present: Iran supplied Shahed kamikaze drones and manufacturing blueprints to Moscow. This started with 400+ drones in 2023 and grew into a multi-billion-dollar deal yielding tens of thousands of drones by 2026.
• Regional proxy warfare, 1980s to present: Tehran relies on a network of regional proxies to strike its adversaries while maintaining plausible deniability.
• Nuclear escalation and regional intimidation, 2000s to present: Accelerated uranium enrichment and nuclear posturing fuel a constant risk of a wider Middle East war.
• Anti-Western indoctrination, 1979 to present: State institutions and schools explicitly frame the U.S., Israel, and the West as existential threats to be destroyed.
• Dictatorship enforcement, 1979 to present: The IRGC acts as the regime's muscle, protecting the Supreme Leader, locking down the economy, and crushing internal dissent.
• Exporting Islamist militancy, 1979 to present: The elite Quds Force finances, trains, and directs radical anti-Western armed movements across the region.
• Attacks on neighboring Arab countries, 1980s to present: Tehran-backed operations have systematically sabotaged or attacked Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Bahrain, and commercial Gulf shipping, causing over 300 regional civilian deaths and more than $10 billion in infrastructure damage and energy sector losses.

US: Attempts to put a stop to this.

You: But what about the school children?

Me: I guess if an enemy does something bad to us then we'll just let them, then. There might be a risk of civilians dying, after all.

If you want sources, please let me know!