Is Iran trying to provoke conflict with the west so that then they can say it wasnt their fault?

Answer 1

I am inclined to think they are counting on the fact that the West will not respond, or will respond minimally. They have good reason to expect this. It makes Iran look stronger and the West look weaker. If the West retaliates in any way, Iran will indeed claim it was not their fault, to maintain the illusion of having the moral high ground. So, by handling this situation judiciously, Iran can win either way.
If the West were to respond with a decent fraction of its strength, Iran would loose, of course. But he has a pretty good grasp of how far he can go. And if he miscalculates, of course, the Hidden Mahdi may just come riding to the rescue. He seems to believe this.

Answer 2

Yes. They have figured out that the media in this country heavily influences public opinion. They've also figured out that the media likes to dwell on the mistakes of our own government instead of reminding the country of the evil that prompted the decision (whether right or wrong) to do something about it. Why do they do this? Because the media gains more ratings on conspiracy theories and how the American public is misrepresented than just reporting that people have died in a war (that tends to happen during the course of a war).

Answer 3

There is a fair chance that the Iranians see themselves as a sovereign nation and resent being told what they can and cannot do within their own borders. Perhaps if the UN started telling the USA to dismantle all it's very real nuclear weapons you'd get the idea.

Answer 4

Only 10% in U.S. See Iran as Immediate Threat
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/15093
http://www.city-journal.org/html/16_2_iran.html
Iran War Lies: http://www.democrats.com/iran-war-lies

Answer 5

so let me get this straight
your saying
iran went to briton [abducted 15 troops and ''went home''
saying its not our fault ,is sort of like a kid standing besides a pie dish yelling i didnt do it
if the brits wernt ''over there'' it would never have happened ,
if a thief gets shot breaking into your house , can you be blammed?
who is teasing who
who shames a man in his own home?
iran is protecting its own lands
its own borders
protecting its own people from foreign troops from foreign shores
if we recall histry recall the brits left [a long time ago]
colenisation of foreign shore is over
colonisers must go to thier own lands ,colenise thier own lands
not shame them selves and others
blair wants new nuke subs ,iran wants nuc power ,but israel wants to be the only ones bombing /having bombs
the same lobby that lobbied for home lands and brithish and usa nukes is lobbieing for bombing iran back to the stone age
briton cant even stand up to unarmed lobby , would it dare to do the same to israel
no they are too weak ,so to speak
blair is a fairy , send in his troops
i would lkie to see the pm v the presedent belt it out with boxing gloves ,not do israel dirty buisness for them

Answer 6

you really think they're that crazy? i mean that's just insane. a us invasion would change the middle east. would change the world. could probably involve other beligerants that no one wants involved.

anyway, why would the us destroy the two major problems/enemies of iran (talinban and saddam), and then invade them? makes little sense.

Answer 7

they want to find out if we really mean busyness