Do you know there are people out there that have specific interests and hobbies? Do you know you are on a predominantly military forum? Guess what my interest is. And I only use open source information as I don't have acces to any secretive information.
Sure do, and had you read my post more carefully, you'd have realized. But logic also tells me there must be shills out there behaving in a comparable fashion. From where I stand, users like you could be either or. I will never know which of the two hypotheses is correct. Thence, I believe that for me as a person sympathetic to Iran, a certain measure of vigilance should be in order.
Mate, If you allude to that cruise missile comparison chart used by Rubin, comparing the Kh-55 to Iranian cuirse missiles, then it is because Rubin has most probably more detailed infographs which he can't use in a public speech.
This is mere speculation on your part. He may or may not have more detailed charts, who knows.
Also, I fail to see how it invalidates my point: whether or not Rubin is in possession of classified infographs, the fact that he reproduced a chart by Soheil proves that he or people working for him (or people working for agencies he collaborates with), are gleaning these forums for information about Iranian defence projects.
The IRGC top brass don't hold the same view. They made Sayyari sit down and express his loyalty to unity between the IRGC and Artesh after he publicly critisized the IRGC's tendency to publicize military achievements. Who are you compared to Sayyari?
Not a functional parallel you're drawing here. The IRGC, by definition, know what can and should be publicized where and to what extent. They're the ultimate decision makers in that regard. Whereas ordinary forum users can't assess these things properly, therefore to them it should be preferable to operate with relative restraint.
There's furthermore a world of difference between the IRGC publishing selected information through Iranian media on the one hand, and ordinary Iranians
uncritically welcoming and assisting anonymous forum users from NATO countries with an interest in Iranian ballistic missiles, who moreover thank them by poking fun at them and who tend to subscribe to geopolitical analyses characteristic of the psy-ops discourse of Iran's enemies.
I didn't even suggest they should avoid it altogether, all I invited them to do is to remain vigilant and keep open the possibility in the back of their mind that they in fact might or might not be dealing with enemy agents.
And by the way I never criticized the IRGC to begin with, so this reasoning of yours is not applicable to my person.
I don't do dialectics. I can criticize both sides of the geopolitical fault line whenever I want, however I want.
And I, in turn, am entitled to highlight patterns of hostility towards Iranian users, coupled with rehashing of classical anti-Iranian talking points as I see fit.
I'm interested in military technology, and when I see a country that is very eager to share it's military-technological achievements, then by all means go ahead. This does not mean I am politically aligned with said country.
Fantastic, and that's all I'm saying Iranians should be aware of. No more, no less. Many of our Iranian baradars seem to believe any foreigner showing keen interest in their country's miliary achievements (or other topics related to Iran), is a "friend" to their nation and wishes them well by default, which is why they may offer said individuals unwarranted hospitality, enthusiastic welcome and exaggerated eagerness to help.
No patriotic Italian (or French) person I ever came to know, would behave in such a manner. I am just trying to encourage Iranians to shed some questionable optimism towards foreigners who may not exactly be friends to their nation.
