Recklessly raising the risk of a third world war, the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Feb. 28. The initial barrage killed over 170 people at a girls’ primary school, likely by a U.S. missile strike, as well as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and many other top officials. As Iran responds in self-defense, the war is now regional, with Iran firing missiles and drones toward Israel and U.S. bases and facilities, while the Zionist state of Israel invades and bombs southern Lebanon.
Officials in Washington have not provided any credible justification for the strikes.
Despite claims that Iranian forces were on the verge of attacking Israel and assertions that Tehran was close to producing a nuclear weapon, the Pentagon’s own data prove otherwise. Trump’s stated desire to “save” persecuted Iranians through regime change is laughable given the murderous history of the U.S. and Israel in the region, above all the genocide in Gaza.
In fact, the liberation of Iran’s working and oppressed people is the business of the Iranian people themselves, not of some foreign power.
An imperialist power play
The real reason for the military assault is the desire of the U.S. ruling class to gain full political and economic control over the area. Washington is fearful of losing ground to China in the strategic Middle East, where Beijing is working hard to build influence.
Perceiving the Iranian regime as vulnerable, Trump’s advisers couldn’t resist an opportunity to strike. As Secretary of State Marco Rubio said shortly before the war, “Iran is probably weaker than it has ever been.” Trump ruled out any further negotiations, hoping to bomb the country into submission. He says he will accept nothing less than unconditional surrender.
In addition to pushing back China, such a hoped-for result would weaken Russian interests in the region and secure Israel as a U.S. imperial outpost. An added bonus would be control over Iranian oil, adding to the already stolen Venezuelan reserves.
But is victory as sure as Trump and company say it is? U.S. wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan have ended in defeat. Moreover, Iran is a country of 90 million people with a well-armed military that hasn’t even begun to use its most advanced missiles.
More than Iran’s sovereignty at stake
Meanwhile, the war against Iran poses a tremendous threat to people across the globe.
On the home front, the conflict is costing U.S. taxpayers $1–2 billion daily, while workers are laid off and access to medical care and social programs is slashed. For most people, things will continuously get worse while the war persists. Those already at the bottom — women, people of color, queer and trans folks, disabled and poor people — will take the biggest hits. The same is true in Iran and the affected region, where already suffering workers, women, and oppressed national minorities face the brunt of the U.S.-Israeli assault.
Alarming on a broader scale is the war’s potential danger to humanity and all living things. With international trade routes and supply chains under fire, the conflict could escalate to world-wide war. The possibility of a nuclear attack is closer than ever with leaders like Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth, and Benjamin Netanyahu in charge.
Another peril is environmental havoc, both from the war and the buildup and maintenance of large military forces globally. Fossil fuels are burned in huge quantities to propel planes, ships, tanks and other hardware. The U.S. military is the world’s largest institutional emitter of climate-heating greenhouse gases, surpassing the amount produced by most countries individually.
On top of that, the bombing of petroleum refineries and installations by both sides in the current conflict is producing air laden with toxins and carcinogens throughout the Middle East.
With so many reasons to oppose the war, there’s little support in the U.S., with polls revealing only 27% in favor. Demonstrations drawing thousands have taken place in numerous cities, with more planned.
Modern history shows that capitalism is addicted to war. Military spending is indispensable to the economy even in peacetime. Shooting conflicts inevitably arise from the competition between countries always hungry for more resources, more territory, more markets, more everything.
Among these addicts, the biggest, greediest, and most desperate is the United States. This gives the U.S. working class a crucial role in opposing this current obscene war in the Middle East — and, beyond that, in replacing the system that feeds on violent international conflict with something cleaner, greener, and more humane.
Bob Price is an FSP representative in the Committee for Revolutionary International Regroupment. Send feedback to FSnews@socialism.com.
