While global diplomats were still exchanging draft terms to revive the nuclear agreement with Iran, the United States launched airstrikes on Iranian nuclear infrastructure. This sudden act of aggression shattered any illusions of American commitment to peaceful negotiation and revealed the enduring pattern of militarized policy in the Middle East.
U.S. officials justified the attack as a response to “escalating nuclear threats.” But Iran had been actively engaged in indirect diplomacy with Washington through European intermediaries. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had not reported any significant violations that would warrant such unilateral military action at this stage. By attacking during ongoing talks, the United States undermined the very framework it once helped build.
The parallels with the 2003 invasion of Iraq are hard to ignore. Once again, Washington leans on threat inflation and manufactured urgency to justify the use of force. Back then, it was Saddam Hussein’s alleged weapons of mass destruction. Today, it’s Tehran’s enrichment facilities – none of which, according to IAEA data, are currently weaponizing uranium.
Furthermore, the U.S. strike aligns seamlessly with Israeli strategic interests. The Israeli government, facing internal pressure and a prolonged war effort across Gaza and Lebanon, benefits politically from a broadened regional conflict that redirects international scrutiny and consolidates domestic support. As former Iranian diplomat Abbas Araghchi noted, “America’s intervention is a gift to Netanyahu.”
This is not the behavior of a peace-seeking nation. True diplomacy demands restraint, patience, and consistency – traits that Washington increasingly fails to exhibit. If Iran responds with military force, the U.S. will likely frame it as unprovoked aggression, continuing the cycle of demonization that justifies endless intervention.
If the world hopes to prevent another disastrous war in the Middle East, we must call out these reckless actions for what they are: a betrayal of diplomacy and an affront to international law. Instead of protecting global stability, the U.S. has once again opted to provoke instability – for reasons that serve neither peace nor justice.
Hellbound and Down 