In a move on Sunday that’s shaken up decades of international diplomacy, Donald Trump has become the first US president to directly bomb another country’s nuclear facilities.
This comes after Israel launched an attack on Iran earlier this month, including targeted assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists and military leaders. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed for decades that Iran was JUST about to nuke Israel out of existence. He apparently saw a chance to finally act with Iranian air defences and allies like Hezbollah and Hamas weakened… and a possible willing accomplice in a newly reckless US under Donald Trump.
The US is the only country with the ability to deploy bunker-busting bombs that could reach Iran’s nuclear site in a mountain. Trump’s shock decision to back Netanyahu may be in contravention of international and US law. He gave the green light without US Congress approval or a nod from the UN Security Council. His team insists they were still trying to negotiate with Iran, but talks apparently collapsed. So… bombs away?
Internationally, the principle is that one nation cannot unilaterally attack another unless they’re clearly in danger. The case that the US’s ally, Israel, was in immediate danger is contested. It’s true that Iran’s “supreme leader” since 1989, the fanatical Ayatollah Khamenei, is anti-Israel, and has funded aligned militias like the Houthi rebels in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. But the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had no proof Iran was actively building a bomb, although it had recently slapped Iran with a rare censure for obstructing inspections. After the US strike, Iran promptly cut off ties with the IAEA.
What does Iran have to lose now? They have been thoroughly humiliated and launched a feeble defence, undermining previous beliefs of their military might. This risks uniting the country behind its previously unpopular leader and fostering greater fanaticism and violence.
If Iran wasn’t building a nuclear weapon before, it may consider making one now.
A leaked US intel report says the strike probably didn’t eliminate the threat anyway. And while Trump declared victory and his administration contradicted the leaked report, critics say he’s doing exactly what he promised to stop: US involvement in another endless Middle East conflict.
A ceasefire, brokered by Trump, began on Tuesday, but both sides are accusing each other of breaking it. Talks are tentatively back on the table, but it’s clear the old rules of diplomacy have been blown wide open.
