The United States military attack against Iran in 2025 surprised the world not just in its suddenness but in its justification. It has become the latest chapter in the decades-long history of United States intervention in the region and is a continuation of its policies for security. Their intervention in the region began in the early 1990s but changed significantly following the events of September 11 in 2001. 9/11 left an indelible mark on the government’s attitude towards the Middle East and has been the United States’ cause for aggression ever since. It led to the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003. The rhetoric and language used to justify those invasions is similar to what’s being used now by the Trump administration for their targeting of Iran. This means the Bush administration’s unwelcome and drawn out military presence in Iraq looks like it’s being repeated in Iran. The cause for this war is not much stronger than it was in 2003 and has contributed to the United States increasingly unpopularity on the world stage.
This article focuses on the mistakes the United States has made in this region, but it hasn’t always gotten it so wrong. The 1991 Gulf War remains the most well looked upon by the American public and internationally. It had a clear goal and was clear in its cause. After the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait refused to cancel Iraq’s loan payments for their war against Iran, Iraq threatened to attack Kuwait. At this time Saddam Hussain was President of Iraq, and in August of 1990 he made good on his threats and invaded Kuwait while claiming that it was historically an Iraqi province. His forces then pushed up to their border with Saudi Arabia which threatened their control of their oil fields. Riyad issued a call for international support in August which the U.S. and other nations immediately answered. The United Nations Security Council launched embargos and sanctions on Iraq and a U.S. ground and air war began on January 16, 1991. Egypt, Syria, France and the United Kingdom also sent their troops for aid. By October 200,000 troops were deployed for Operation Desert Shield with 130,000 of them being American. This intervention, known as Operation Desert Shield, was brief and able to successfully dislodge Iraqi forces from Kuwait, forcing Saddam Hussain to capitulate.
The shocking terrorist attack that took place on September 9 in 2001 would change U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East forever. It left an indelible mark of defensiveness, anger and distrust on the American government and has since dominated the discourse surrounding the Middle East. Bush and his advisors immediately attributed the attacks to Saddam Hussain who they believed was their orchestrator. There was never any concrete evidence to prove this connection, but that made no difference. Bush and his administration were determined to punish somebody for this attack. Officials also rumored that Iraq harbored weapons of mass destruction that posed a threat to American safety which led to Operation Iraqi Freedom to be launched on March 20 2003. No evidence of these weapons was ever found. Instead, the United States entrenched itself in an eight year long occupation that damaged their global reputation and empowered anti-American forces throughout the Middle East. The thinking behind this approach was called the One Percent Doctrine. In the words of Vice President Dick Cheney, “if there’s a 1 percent chance” of countries providing terrorists with nuclear weapons, “we have to treat it as a certainty”.
The buildup to this current war began in April 2025 when negotiations between Washington and Iran over a nuclear peace agreement fell apart. Israel, backed by the United States, bombed suspected Iranian military and nuclear sites and killed nuclear scientists in what is now known as the Twelve-Day War. Notably, these airstrikes also killed several hundred civilians. The United States then joined by striking three nuclear sites, which then led Iran to retaliate and attack the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. This led the United States to announce a ceasefire on June 24. Unfortunately this agreement wasn’t long lasting, as Iran threatened to pull out of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the United States and Israel jointly launched a much larger military attack on Iran on February 28 2026, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iran has since responded by attacking United States military bases across the region in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
A lot about this war echoes the invasion of Iraq in 2003. The United States is inserting itself into a country’s domestic affairs by claiming they pose a nuclear threat while never presenting evidence to support this claim. Trump has named a number of reasons for his administration’s interest in involvement in Iran. That it is to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities, annihilate their navy, prevent their development of nuclear weapons or ensure the regime can’t fund or direct “terrorist armies” outside its borders. However, just like in Iraq, official documents show no proof that Iran has such missile building capabilities. A Defense Intelligence Agency assessment from 2025 concluded that Tehran would not have intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the U.S. till 2035. Despite this, Trump administration officials insist that they “had indicators” that Iran could use conventional missiles and “killer drones” which posed an imminent threat to U.S. interests. These baseless arguments for foreign intervention aren’t new, which explains why most Americans do not support the war. They recognize it’s the same type of rhetoric that dragged the United States into the Iraq war which cost the United States millions and ended up an unnecessarily bloody conflict with no clear resolution.
The Trump administration’s decision to get involved in this region isn’t unexpected, it’s disappointing. It shows that the government has learned nothing from more than twenty years ago, and is more than willing to repeat the costly mistakes of previous administrations. Looking back at the history books shows that this intervention will just draw the United States into another expensive bloody war that will further destabilize this region and turn more people against the West. It will radicalize civilians who have their homes destroyed and loved ones needlessly killed by U.S. forces. The campaign that the United States is now launching against Iran is needless and serves no legitimate security concern. It doesn’t make any United States citizen safer. In fact, it has done the opposite by endangering citizens who live in the Gulf region and have been impacted by the retaliatory attacks on airports and military bases.
Edited by Stella Fox
Featured Image: Seattle Municipal Archives, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
.jpg){kind=link}