President Donald Trump ordered a strike on Iran's main nuclear facilities in June 2025, leading to a 12-day war. Analysts say this war does not align with Trump's stated political ideology, policy goals, or campaign promises.
Iran experts told Al Jazeera that Trump is waging a war, together with Israel, that only benefits Israel and its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Negar Mortazavi stated, "This is, once again, a war of choice launched by the US with a push from Israel. Israel has pushed the US to attack Iran for two decades, and they finally got it."
Netanyahu, who promoted the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, has warned for over two decades that Iran is on the cusp of acquiring nuclear weapons. Iran denies seeking a nuclear bomb, and even Trump administration officials have acknowledged no evidence of Tehran weaponizing its uranium enrichment program.
After the June war, Netanyahu pivoted to a new alleged Iranian threat: Tehran's ballistic missiles. Trump repeated these claims, which lack public evidence or testing. Trump has been building the case for a wider war with Iran, but his own National Security Strategy calls for de-prioritizing the Middle East in favor of the Western Hemisphere.
The US public, wary of global conflict after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is largely opposed to new strikes against Iran. A University of Maryland survey found only 21% of respondents favored a war with Iran.
On the first day of the war, Iran retaliated by firing missiles at bases and cities hosting US troops and assets across the Middle East. Trump acknowledged potential US troop casualties.
The Trump administration appeared to step back from the brink of conflict this month by engaging in diplomacy with Tehran. US and Iranian negotiators held three rounds of talks last week, with Iran stressing willingness to agree to rigorous inspections of its nuclear program. Omani mediators and Iranian officials described the last round as positive.
The June 2025 war, initiated by Israel without provocation, also occurred during US-Iran talks. Jamal Abdi noted, "Netanyahu's agenda has always been to prevent a diplomatic solution, and he feared Trump was actually serious about getting a deal, so the start of this war in the middle of negotiations is a success for him."
Source: www.aljazeera.com