He Pushed for War with Iran—Now Netanyahu’s Trapped by It

Right, so what do you get when you cross a desperate and genocidal Israeli prime minister, a reckless US president without the brains he was born with, and a nuclear research deal that has been kiboshed by attacks from both? Apparently, the recipe for global catastrophe. Benjamin Netanyahu wanted a distraction, needed a distraction and above all else needs to stay in power to avoid answering for his many, many crimes. Donald Trump might have just wanted a headline, but likely needed to keep his Zionist backers on side too and now the Middle East is teetering on the edge of an oil-fuelled inferno—missiles flying, laws broken, and logic left for dead. If you thought the 21st century couldn’t get any more insane, then buckle up sunshine. Iran’s patience is gone, Israel’s arrogance is backfiring, and Trump? Is he genuinely trying to start a war while still pretending to be a peacemaker, or is he really in charge of his own foreign policy given how high he’s just jumped for Israel’s interests. This isn’t even foreign policy really—it’s geopolitical arson on full display for an increasingly desperate foreign state, and it could be about to cost the world far more than headlines and soundbites.
Right, so as Iranian missiles rain down on Israel once more in the latest round of retaliatory strikes, it is becoming increasingly clear that Israel's provocation and Trump’s illegal escalation have ushered in a new chapter of instability, danger, and recklessness.
Iran’s latest volley—all part of Operation True Promise III—has shaken Israel once again and had people fleeing to the bunkers, though you’ll probably only get into them if you’re white. Dozens of missiles tore through Israeli airspace, with at least 27 Israelis wounded and residential buildings in Tel Aviv’s Ramat Aviv district damaged. Among the missiles that have recently been used has been the debut of Iran’s Kheibar Shekan, a multi-warhead weapon that represents a leap in cluster munitions technology. Unlike conventional clusters, which are largely outlawed due to the indiscriminancy of the damage they cause, each warhead in the Kheibar Shekan can be individually controlled for precise targeting—minimising collateral damage, a distinction Iran emphasized to contrast its tactics with Israel’s carpet bombing of civilian neighbourhoods as we’ve seen much of across Gaza.
This latest escalation of course follows the orange oaf Donald Trump’s illegal and unauthorised strike on Iran’s nuclear research sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran described the attack as a barbaric breach of international law and a direct violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which Iran is of course signed up to. While Trump boasts of a "successful strike," intelligence leaks suggest minimal damage was done, particularly to the Fordow facility, despite 14 bunker busters being dropped on it, the cost of these munitions in the region of $7 billion and for little effect, Fordow being under a mountainside. In short, the attack was not only illegal and unsanctioned—it was strategically useless.
Trump’s actions have set off a chain reaction that now threatens US interests across the Middle East and its all on him. Arab states hosting American bases—including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Bahrain—are panicking. They have declared states of emergency and placed their militaries on high alert, fearing that Iran might retaliate against the US presence in their countries. While Iran has thus far limited its retaliation to Israel, its warnings are ominous: it reserves the full right under international law to respond to the US strikes and has not ruled out direct action against American forces, those bases.
There’s a strategic rationale to Iran’s restraint in my view. By focusing retaliation on Israel—the proxy aggressor—Iran avoids unifying American public opinion against itself, when currently its all against trump, from all sides of the political divide. Striking a US base could shift domestic criticism of Trump’s stupidity toward Iran. Instead, Iran is leveraging global outrage, showcasing Israel and the US as aggressors while rallying regional sympathy and strengthening its deterrence capabilities.
Criticism of Trump’s illegal strike has poured in from around the world. Pakistan, Lebanon, Qatar, and even France have condemned the action.
The Pakistani Foreign Ministry issued a firm rebuke, stating that the U.S. assault on Iran's nuclear facilities violates every standard of international law and affirms Iran’s legitimate right to self-defence under the UN Charter. Oman joined in the condemnation, labelling the U.S. aggression a breach of global legal norms and a destabilizing act that risks igniting a much broader conflict. Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun warned that targeting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure has dangerously increased the threat to global security and stability. Qatar echoed similar sentiments, denouncing both the US and Israeli assaults and urging an immediate cessation of hostilities in favour of a return to diplomacy and dialogue.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry called the strike “outrageous and unforgivable,” and have accused the US of shredding the UN Charter in pursuit of Netanyahu’s agenda. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had been meeting with his British, French and German counterparts, discussing nuclear negotiations when the US attack occurred, nuclear talks disrupted again, just as they were by Iran when indirect talks between Iran and the US were going o, underscoring the sheer hypocrisy of US and Israeli calls for diplomacy, when not once, but twice, they’ve literally disrupted diplomacy with missile strikes.
Araghchi has also sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warning of an unprecedented collapse in international relations if such violations continue unpunished, going through the motions frankly as all Guterres ever does is wring his hands and condemn, as the US vetoes any action at the UN Security Council, Guterres never overruling as there is mechanism to do at the UN General Assembly. Despite this, Iran has now called for an emergency UN Security Council session to hold Israel and the US accountable, which might be worth it for the entertainment value even if it is likely to get nowhere again given the US’s permanent seat and veto power, but they would have to sit there and listen to every word.
Iran has not only responded militarily but economically. The Iranian parliament has voted to close the Strait of Hormuz—a chokepoint for 20-30% of global oil movement. With Iran forming the entire northern coastline, closing the Strait would send oil and gas prices skyrocketing worldwide. Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Iran has the right to do this if facing threats to its sovereignty and territorial integrity, especially following unprovoked military aggression. The provision reads that a state can block its coastal waters if it faces the “threat or actual use of force against the sovereignty, territorial integrity, or political independence of the coastal state.” Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump have provided that.
If the Strait closes even partially—allowing only Iran-approved ships to pass—it would be a seismic event in global trade and energy markets. Gulf states like Saudi Arabia, whose economies depend on open oil routes, now face a stark dilemma and they know it as Gulf state sphincters are twitching. Having supported the US and housing US forces, they may now watch their economies begin to teeter. Their military alerts and emergency declarations—something they never issued during Israel’s genocide in Gaza—speak volumes about their priorities frankly. Well now its got real for them.
There is still a caveat in place here though, in that the final decision rests with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, as to whether the Strait does get closed, it’ll be the first time this has happened since 1972 if it does though, marking the significance of the move.
Compounding the pressure on the shipping front, the Houthis of Yemen have formally entered the conflict on Iran’s side now, declaring intent to disrupt Red Sea shipping. A statement they’ve put out reading:
‘Our agreement with America was before this state’s aggression against Iran. Today we stand with our brothers in Iran against America and the Zionist entity.
Our military response is coming, and in the first phase we will target American forces in the Red Sea.
We have a firm position to support resistance forces against aggression by Israel and the US. An attack on Iran is equivalent to aggression against Gaza and the entire Islamic nation.’
Donald Trump however, delusional as he is, continues to frame his illegal strike as a success. Yet, not only did it fail to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, it emboldened Tehran and has given them the right to defend themselves against the US now. Iran has reiterated its commitment to peaceful nuclear research and emphasised that it has never sought nuclear weapons—but should deterrence require them given how they have been treated, allies like Russia or China or Pakistan might step in, Russia having mooted that Iran might be given a nuclear warhead, therefore they will have one, though they never developed it themselves. I don’t fancy it is a loophole that would work, but the fact remains, what the West say they don’t want Iran to have, that they don’t have and never wanted, is what they are being arguably driven to possess.
Lets shift for a moment from the military to the economic outlook here, because Iran, contrary to many prevailing mainstream narratives, are in much better shape than Israel is right now as well. For as much as military action will cost both sides and as much as the prospect of closing the Gulf of Hormuz will hit Israel and its allies harder than Iran, who will still be able to conduct business, they are still sanctioned heavily. However, over the last year Iran has been strengthening its gold reserves as this excerpt from Press TV explains:
‘Iranian customs office figures show that gold accounted for nearly 20% or more than $8 billion worth of imports into Iran in the year to late March.
The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) said in March that the country was among the top five gold-buying nations of the world, saying that the lender had converted some 20% of its reserves to gold.
The surge in gold imports last calendar year came after the government cut imports tariffs on the bullion to zero to boost the country's reserves and to facilitate the return of funds held in other countries because of US sanctions.’
The gold standard is still a thing and this has given Iran’s economy more resilience than anticipated, despite sanctions and warfare.
That isn’t to dismiss the military side of things when it comes to Israel, however as Iran are very much still leaving them reeling. In response to the US strikes, Iran have thusfar chosen to take that out on their proxies, Israel, who Iran are still on the receiving end of attacks from, and therefore still have a right to self defence against too. For the first time Iran has fired back to back waves of missiles at Israel, the double volley of Iranian missiles targeted not only Tel Aviv but Ben Gurion Airport and research facilities in addition. Israel’s famed Iron Dome and David’s Sling air defence systems once again struggled to intercept the wave of precision strikes. Civilian morale as a result continues to plummet, more are fleeing the country by boat, infrastructure is crumbling, and Netanyahu, his war cabinet and his government find themselves on the receiving end of growing discontent
For as much as Netanyahu is facing a reckoning though, so is Donald Trump. His self-declared identity as a “no more wars” president now lies in tatters. The man who campaigned on ending endless wars has now jumpstarted a fresh one—with no UN approval, no congressional US approval or oversight, and no strategic gain made whatsoever. Critics have accused him of making the world a safe place for war, not peace—handing weapons manufacturers another golden age while ordinary citizens face all of the risks.
Legal scholars and former diplomats are calling the attack “patently illegal.” It violated international law, lacked congressional approval, and bypassed every diplomatic channel available. The UN Charter, the NPT, and the US Constitution have all been trampled across.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has vowed further retaliation “beyond the calculations of the aggressors” is how they’ve put it. Already, more than 40 missiles have struck Israeli targets, and the IRGC claims this is only the beginning.
Trump, ever the showman, together with ever the ignorant, has, having switched off to the criticism it seems, his skin is too thin for that, is now hinting at regime change in Iran—repeating insane Israeli soundbites now, it really does make you wonder who is in charge in the US, because this isn’t American policy; it’s Israeli policy just with American jets and bombs and bullets and no doubt personnel putting their lives on the line, not in US interests, but in those of a foreign state. How is that patriotism? And it’s driving a wedge through the Middle East, between Gulf state rulers and their populations, between American citizens and their government, and between Western institutions and the international legal order.
The world is watching. Abbas Araghchi said that in his letter to Antonio Guterres and he’s right and his words must be taken seriously—not just by the UN, but by every nation that claims to uphold peace and sovereignty and everyone who lives within them in who’s interests these governments supposedly act, but which is becoming harder and harder to explain quite how. The erosion of international norms is not an abstract problem—it is a road to perpetual war. If the US and Israel can attack at will and never get held to account for it, then the entire framework of global diplomacy is reduced to rubble, much like Gaza, and parts of Tehran and Tel Aviv.
This is not just a regional conflict therefore. It is a referendum on the future of international order. Will might continue to make right? Or will global institutions finally push back against this lawless descent? Which way will you vote in this referendum?
If nothing is done, then what Trump and Netanyahu have ignited will not remain confined to Iran and Israel. It will engulf allies, economies, and civilians worldwide. It already is, it will just spread.
Law or chaos, peace or escalation, sovereignty or subjugation. That is the choice before all of us—burning brightly in the missile-lit skies over Tel Aviv or Tehran, missiles flying both ways.
The implications for global stability cannot go ignored. While Israel reels under the consequences of its own aggression, and the US tiptoes around the legal and political ramifications of Trump’s unsanctioned pea-brained actions, the broader international community now stands at a critical junction. If Iran continues to escalate, and the Strait of Hormuz is shut, oil-dependent nations—particularly in Europe and America—will face severe energy crises. Asia less likely to suffer I would think, Iran supply them after all. With global shipping routes destabilised, insurance costs skyrocket, and consumer prices surge. The economic ripple effect of a single US president's decision could make the 2008 global financial crash look like a burp.
We know how it’ll go. Western leaders, who remained silent during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, will squirm as their own energy security is jeopardised. Here in the UK we could always renationalise our energy to keep costs down, but we know what happened last time, as the government blamed Russia for war in Ukraine and they just subsidised the energy companies at public expense and our bills went up to eye-watering levels. This has the potential to be far worse. Gulf monarchies, too, who turned a blind eye to Israel’s crimes, are now forced into action—not because of humanitarian concern, but because their oil exports and economic stability are under threat. Their scramble to protect their interests further exposes the moral bankruptcy of a region whose governments often speak of Islamic solidarity but act in pure self-interest.
What is also becoming clear is the sheer futility of attempting to isolate Iran. Every strike, every assassination, every sanction has not cowed the country—it has emboldened it. Rather than isolate Iran, US and Israeli aggression is forcing regional realignment. Iran’s position as a regional power is being solidified not just by military defiance but by diplomatic competence in stark contrast to the idiocy of Trump and the mind-numbing slavish loyalty to Israel the instigator by so many others. Araghchi’s outreach to Europe, despite the aggression, underscores Tehran’s attempt to present itself as the adult in the room, even knowingly going into talks with three nations he knew were all avowedly pro Israel.
One particularly overlooked aspect is Iran’s evolving deterrence strategy. Beyond missiles and economic levers, Iran is also investing in narrative warfare—public diplomacy, international lawfare, and media exposure. By highlighting the contrast between their precision strikes and Israel’s indiscriminate bombings, Iran is attempting to win hearts and minds in a world where the mainstream media is less able to keep us in the west dumbed down to the realities—not just in the region, but globally.
Furthermore, Trump’s aggression has sparked renewed interest in the legal architecture of war. UN scholars and international jurists are now debating the effectiveness of current legal norms when permanent members of the Security Council break them with impunity. This raises the question: if the UN cannot hold its own members accountable, what legitimacy does it hold in maintaining peace? It’s a reckoning the UN is sorely overdue and reform is crying out to be made.
In this vacuum of accountability, grassroots movements, independent media, and civil society are playing a bigger role than ever before. Protests have erupted in multiple Western cities demanding accountability for Trump’s actions and calling for an end to US support for Israeli aggression. With more people connecting the dots between militarism abroad and economic hardship at home, the anti-war movement may be witnessing a renaissance.
Perhaps most critically, Trump’s actions have unintentionally opened the debate about who truly controls American foreign policy. His alignment with Netanyahu’s talking points, his overt hinting at regime change, and his disregard for Congress have left many Americans wondering: is US policy shaped in Washington these days, or Tel Aviv?
At this point in time though, the fallout from the US and Israeli attacks on Iran is far from over and there are a lot of unknowns going forwards. Iran’s measured but escalating response, the regional alignment in its favour, the economic consequences for global markets, and the growing backlash against Trump and Netanyahu have created a perfect storm. As the world watches and waits, one thing is clear though: this isn’t just a geopolitical flare-up—it is a crisis of global order. If unchecked, it may not only reshape the Middle East, but the principles on which international peace was supposed to rest and it could of course expand beyond there.
What the world needs most of all right now, is to respond—not with more bombs, but with bold diplomacy, legal accountability, and public demands of a reckoning for all the architects of this disaster and those who have supported them.
For more on the immediate response by Iran to the US strikes on them, hitting back hard, not fazed at all seemingly, do check out this video recommendation here as your suggested next watch.
Please do also hit like, share and subscribe if you haven’t done so already so as to ensure you don’t miss out on all new daily content as well as spreading the word and helping to support the channel at the same time which is very much appreciated, holding power to account for ordinary working class people and I will hopefully catch you on the next vid. Cheers folks.