A Trump-directed Iraq War Sequel Now Playing in Tehran

 

Once more, we’re watching a bad movie rerun: the United States is on the brink of war with a Middle Eastern country allegedly in possession of weapons of mass destruction. The country in question is supposedly a danger to stability in the region. Despite the déjà vu from the early 2000s and the war in Iraq, we’re talking about Iran in the year 2025.

Although every major media conglomerate is describing Israel’s attacks on Tehran and Iranian nuclear sites as “preemptive,” nothing could be further from the truth. These attacks are illegal under international law.

The truth about this looming war is that the American government and oligarchy are eager to deliver the final blow to the last resistance against their political and economic domination in the region. And if they keep heading down this path, these disconnected American elites could drag other world powers into a confrontation that would be extremely dangerous for the working class in every country involved.

By the late 1990s, the United States had crowned itself “master of the world.” Its victory over the USSR after half a century of Cold War (which was often far from cold) gave the American ruling class political and economic control over most of the globe. The bipolar world was gone—the one in which each bloc gained influence through diplomacy or massacres. All that was left was Uncle Sam, his allies, and a handful of groups and states still resisting American hegemony.

At the time, Russia and China didn’t yet have an oligarchy strong enough to challenge the U.S. for a slice of global political-economic control, unlike today.

In the Middle East, the American camp relied on its military presence and its allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia. The only serious opposition came from Iran, which spent the last three decades building an “axis of resistance.” This included Iraqi Shia militias, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Assad regime in Syria, the Houthis in Yemen, and more recently, Hamas.

But since 2020, that axis has crumbled. Hezbollah and Hamas have been severely weakened by Israel’s war of extermination. The Houthis were neutralized by massive strikes in the Red Sea, and Assad was finally overthrown after years of war. Iran now stands alone in the Middle East, facing a heavily armed, confident Israel backed by the West.

It’s in this context that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu launched Operation Rising Lion, aimed at assassinating Iran’s senior leadership and destroying its military and nuclear infrastructure. The official justification: Iran is allegedly on the verge of building a nuclear bomb. Close enough, says Tel Aviv, to warrant “preemptive” strikes.

But under international law, preemptive action is only allowed to stop an imminent attack, with clear evidence. There’s no indication that Tehran was planning any such strike, and Israel hasn’t provided a shred of proof.

Since then, the escalation hasn’t stopped. Both countries are exchanging missiles daily and throwing threats around on television and social media. A direct war between Israel and Iran seems increasingly inevitable, with the U.S. in the driver’s seat.  (more...)

A Trump-directed Iraq War Sequel Now Playing in Tehran