On February 28, U.S. President Donald Trump launched a surprise attack on Iran in collaboration with Israel, reportedly killing Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the process. In his late-night message to Americans, President Trump stated that his objective was “to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.” He also wishes for Iran not to possess or build a nuclear weapon, a request the nation has ignored time and time again. This war is bigger than nuclear weapons; it’s also about the Iranian government being a threat to its people, its Middle Eastern neighbors, and America for decades.
The Iranian government has been a problem for the United States for 47 years. In his speech to Americans, President Trump highlighted some of the atrocities that the Iranian regime has committed against the United States. First, it held 52 American diplomats hostage from 1979 to 1981. Next, it bombed marine barracks in Beirut in 1983, killing 241 American military personnel. Then, it helped with the attack on the USS Cole in 2000, killing 17 American sailors and injuring 40 others. Finally, it launched the first attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing at least 1,000 people—including 46 Americans—and holding another 12 Americans hostage, who weren’t freed until last year.
The Iranian government is also oppressive against its own people. An article from The New York Times stated that it has imprisoned, executed, and massacred thousands of protesters against its late dictator, and continues to oppress minority populations—including women, religious minorities, and LGBTQ members—and impoverish its citizens while making itself richer. It’s for these reasons that some Iranian-Americans, such as Lisa Daftari of Fox News, are relieved that Ali Khamenei is dead: because for 47 years, Iranians have never had a chance at experiencing freedom until now.
As of March 10, 4,000 targets have been shot by Israel and the United States in a combined attempt to eliminate Iran’s air defenses; 42 Iranian navy ships have been sunk so they don’t interfere with commerce in the Persian Gulf; and the number of Iranian drones being fired has decreased by 83%. And on March 8, Motjaba Khamenei—who is reportedly more hardcore than his father and is close to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)—was chosen to be the next ruler of Iran. President Trump asserts that the war will end on his terms, but until it does, it’s a race between Iran’s ability to wreak as much havoc as possible and the combined ability of the United States and Israel to fight back.