Independent Republic of Scotland

The year is 2028. The Iran and Russia wars have combined to form one seamless front. Azerbaijan came under joint occupation of the Russians and the Iranians last year as US pressured the Azeris to interdict Russo-Iranian intercourse. The pro-Israel regime was kicked out and replaced by a Russian puppet. The Caspian was thereby secured against Western pressure. In Ukraine, the Russians extended their occupation to Odessa and then hunkered down to a defensive posture. The front line has been frozen solid for a year with intermittent shelling and intrusions by drones. After the Americans cajoled the Europeans into a new onerous sanctions regime and US bombers used bases in Germany to conduct fresh strikes against Iranian missile sites, the Iranians unveiled a new policy: striking US bases in Europe as punishment for any hostile action. The US military presence in the Rhineland-Palatinate zone was targeted first. But these attacks did not prove effective since the bases were too well defended. The Iranians have since shifted to targeting European values. The decisive moment came when the US shot down a Iranian flight to Sana’a that it claimed was carrying missile components. This led the Houthis and the Iranians to announce a joint ‘sanctions regime’ against civilian air traffic in all countries permitting the use of their airspace to US air operations. The counter-value campaign against Europe began with spectacular strikes on civilian airports in London, Paris and Berlin. Civilian traffic ground to a halt across Europe before recovering to a fraction of its previous levels. US intelligence alleges that the Russians, and the Chinese behind them, are supplying components for long-range missiles to Iran. News reports have surfaced of frantic backroom diplomacy to end the Iranian missile war on Europe, or at least to prevent it from expanding out to a broader set of counter-value targets. The Iranians have so far refused to budge: ‘If you want the missiles to stop falling, remove all sanctions on Iran and stop allowing the US to use your territory for attacks on the Islamic Republic.’ Europe is now in an impasse. Europe is still not ready to defend itself. How can you kick out the Americans? If we kick out the Americans, we will have to live under the Russo-Iranian boot. But then what is to be done about the missile threat? So far it has proven manageable, if terrifying. But with missile production ramping up across the Axis to staggering levels, Europe is facing the dark prospect of sharing the Ukrainian fate as the recipient of the output of vast automated BYD-style missile factories now perfected by the Chinese.