Thousands of missiles, drones and bombs have battered Tehran and other key Iranian cities since Feb. 28. The U.S. government has stated two primary goals it aims to achieve through continued bombardment: the removal of Iranian nuclear capabilities and the Islamic government.
The unlawful and vicious attacks demonstrate further international aggression and brutality performed by the United States. While President Donald J. Trump claims to bring freedom to the Iranian people, the only thing an Iranian citizen has received from the U.S is a missile to their neighbourhood. The so-called “preemptive counterattacks” are more adequately described as sudden acts of aggression.
Meanwhile, the Israeli government aims to secure regional hegemony over its neighbours. Alongside its continued occupation and genocide of Palestine, Israel aims to push its grip beyond its borders. There are four countries that currently rival Israel in West Asia, though there used to be five.
The first is Türkiye, but since it is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, there is relatively little geopolitical clash. Türkiye and Israel have also maintained strong trade relations in the region, with Türkiye serving as one of their main trade partners.
However, as of August 2025, Türkiye has implemented a full embargo on trade with Israel, citing increasing dissatisfaction with the genocide in Gaza. In February of this year, Türkiye further tightened the embargo, prompting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to label them as “very hostile.”
The second regional rival is Egypt, which has historically positioned itself as Israel’s neighbouring enemy. Four wars ending with the Israeli return of the Sinai Peninsula, resulted in a cold peace that has lasted over 50 years.
The third rivalling regional power was Iraq, a rising power that rapidly militarized and seemed poised to take the position of dominance, at least until the Gulf War in 1990. While Iraq rapidly rebuilt in the decade that followed, a U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq under the pretext that Saddam Hussein possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction.
After a United Nations coalition steamrolled Iraq forces through the southern border with Saudi Arabia, no weapons-grade uranium was discovered, though U.S. officials maintained that Iraq maintained the ability to “rapidly produce and deploy WMDs,” ultimately framing the war as necessary for national security, though at the cost of 150,000 Iraqi civilians and 4,700 U.N. troops over the course of the following occupation.
The fourth regional power is Saudi Arabia, a nation that has worked in close alignment with the U.S. since the Cold War. Despite this, it still finds itself often aligning against Israel. Due to conditional tension over issues regarding Palestine and its occupation, they have refused to formally recognize the Zionist state until an independent Palestine is reestablished. Despite the religious and moral conflict, Saudi Arabia’s close alignment with the United States means it finds itself working with Israel more often than not in recent years.
Last but not least, the Islamic Republic of Iran stands at direct odds with Israel, entering active missile exchanges multiple times. Iran has received numerous accusations of possessing WMDs, not unlike Iraq. Many modern analysts see the current bombing of Iran as most directly beneficial to Israeli interests.
This constant push and pull in the region has led to a plethora of conflict, brutality, exploitation and genocide.
The United States and Israel have cited multiple reasons for their recent assault on Iranian cities. They claim that Iran has the capability to produce nuclear weapons, though Iran allows U.N. inspectors into their facilities, while Israel does not. Similar claims of WMD possession were also utilized in the destabilization and devastation of Iraq and Libya.
Another reason commonly cited by both Israeli and U.S. forces is that the Iranian government is brutal and repressive. While this is true, Israel continually commits genocide, apartheid and starvation of people in Palestine. Meanwhile, the U.S. has historically placed and kept brutal dictatorships in power, including but not limited to Guatemala, South Vietnam, Cuba, the Philippines, Rwanda, Chile, Argentina and even Iran itself.
Even if the Iranian people are dissatisfied with their government, the vast majority of them are against any form of U.S. or Israeli involvement. In 1951, the Iranian people democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh. He pledged to nationalize Iranian oil to prevent the cheap exploitation committed by both the British and Americans. In 1953, the Central Intelligence Agency and British MI6 instigated a coup, ousting Mossadegh and placing power in the hands of the Shah.
The years that followed under Shah Pahlavi were marked by relative westernization, but also the creation of a secret police called the SAVAK, continued exploitation by western powers and morbid wealth concentration. While many Iranian groups in the United States show support for the reinstatement of Reza Pahlavi to oversee the transition to democracy, groups just like these were used to justify invasions of countless nations.
Continued lobbyists often align with Israeli and U.S economic interests, aiming to secure support and form their own governments in Iran. Reza Pahlavi stated within his own speech that a regime led by him would immediately recognize and support Israeli interests in the region.
While a democratic Iran is definitely preferable to the current regime, democracy from groups within Iran will still maintain a posture against Israel and the United States. This is due to the simple fact that the Iranian populace is against Zionism and the United States, because these movements have brought nothing good to the people living there. The United States wishes for a democracy in Iran to have its hand held by America, not to help it walk, but to force it into line.
But does Iran actually pose a threat to the United States? The answer is a resounding no. While the Iranian regime is clearly hostile towards Western hands, it has still agreed to weapons inspections and is crippled by its own domestic issues.
Beyond this, the United States has already committed crimes within Iran that are most adeptly described as massacres. In the recent bombing of Tehran, U.S missiles struck an Iranian girls school, killing 168 young school girls. While Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that “the only side that targets civilians is Iran,” the evidence points towards intentional targeting. Never mind the fact that the school was struck not once, but three times by U.S forces. The school had been converted from a military facility nearly 10 years ago, and neighboured a medical clinic and a pharmacy.
According to witnesses, the first missile struck at some time between 10:00 and 10:45 a.m, destroying half of the two-story building. After the first strike, the principal moved the majority of the remaining students into the prayer room, which had remained intact, though it didn’t survive the second missile, which killed nearly everyone in the room. Before the second impact, the principal called parents to have them pick up their children, meaning that parents who lived closer got there just in time to watch the second missile strike. The third missile was the least deadly, though this was probably due to the lack of living targets.
Violent strikes of this magnitude and brutality are not something that should be perpetrated by the pinnacle of liberty and freedom that the United States prides itself on. We are not attacking Iran to free its people; the aim is to either install a puppet government led by the exiled Pahlavi or to simply destabilize the nation and secure the region.
Even in our current situation, Iran loses men while the United States burns away money. $25,000 drones utilized as kamikaze bombers by the Iranian military are shot down by million-dollar anti-aircraft missiles. An actual ground invasion like what happened in Iraq is impossible, as Iran is mostly mountainous with 90 million angry civilians.
Overall, the U.S even intervening in Iraq brings little to no benefit for the US itself. While they may claim to support a transition to democracy and liberty, the clear goal is the establishment of a puppet government just like the Shah. Million-dollar weapons systems are wasted on drones that cost mere fractions in comparison. We do not possess the capability to break the will of Iran nor any benefit from doing so, much less any actual precedent to kill people.
