The decision by the Trump administration to order the bombing of Iran is a criminal act of unprovoked violence. This attack makes the prospect of a wider war in the region, and possibly the world, more likely.
Israel began this latest assault on Iran on June 12, claiming it was an act of self defense, and that Iran was about to produce a nuclear weapon. Not only did Israel provide no evidence for this, but recent U.S. intelligence reports claimed that Iran wasn’t close to producing a nuclear weapon. Despite this, the U.S. has joined Israel’s war on Iran.
U.S. officials said 125 aircraft were involved in their attack that unleashed 75 bombs on Iran, which included 14 massive 30,000 pound “bunker buster bombs” by B-2 stealth bombers, targeting three nuclear enrichment sites. A U.S. submarine fired cruise missiles in support.
It is no surprise that the Trump administration made the decision to join Israel in the attack on Iran. The U.S. was already involved, supporting and supplying Israel with military equipment and military intelligence to carry out this assault. Days before Israel launched its attacks, the Trump administration rushed a shipment of 300 surface to air missiles, which are used to defend against any counter attack. The strikes against Iran haven’t just targeted nuclear facilities, but have struck civilian areas and vital infrastructure including fuel depots, ports, and public buildings. So far over 950 Iranians have been killed.
The terror that the Iranians face from these attacks by the U.S. and its ally Israel is enormous. People across Iran are sheltering inside, awaiting new attacks, with dwindling access to supplies. They don’t know what could await them. These attacks come at a time when Israel, backed by the U.S., has also continued their genocidal assault on the people of Gaza, and their terrorism of Palestinian people in the West Bank.
The existence of the current regime in Iran has stood as an obstacle to the domination of the U.S. in the Middle East since 1979, when a popular revolution overthrew the dictatorial regime of the Shah of Iran. The Shah was put in power in 1953, when the CIA overthrew the government of the democratically elected prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh, whose government posed a threat to U.S. and European interests throughout the Middle East.
The right-wing Islamic dictatorship that took power in 1979, and continues to rule, has stood in the way of the U.S. exerting its total dominance over the region. And with the U.S. wars on Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, and more, the opposition to the U.S. by the Iranian regime has increased its influence in the region.
With their war on the Palestinian people and attacks on surrounding countries, both the U.S. and Israeli governments see this as an opportunity to bring the region under their control. The consequence is already horrific. And now it threatens to launch a war that extends beyond the region.
We have no reason to support this or their other wars on the people of the Middle East. It is true that a repressive dictatorship exists in Iran and in other countries in the Middle East. But Trump and Netanyahu have no right to change these regimes by waging wars. It is the regimes of Israel and the U.S. that are the greatest enemies of the peoples of the Middle East.
Their wars are a threat to us all. In the U.S., we have every reason to support the people of Iran, the Palestinian people, and people everywhere struggling to be free from oppression. We all share the same interests — to live as free people — free of the terror of war, free of oppressive regimes, hunger and an uncertain future.
In the U.S., we are in a position to have a real impact. The U.S. government spends more on war than any other government in the world. Its military bases span the entire world. It is our tax dollars that are used to wage these wars. It is our young people with few employment options who turn to the military for jobs and training.
Our future is linked with the majority of the people around the world. We must oppose those who wage these wars to extend their domination over the people and the resources of the world.
