It is ironic that yesterday the Pakistani government formally recommended US President Donald Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, citing his mediation efforts to end the latest military conflict between Islamabad and New Delhi. Considering that Trump ordered attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan just a few hours later, he can definitely forget about receiving that award. That said, Obama did receive the Peace Prize despite the increase in US military interventions around the world during his time in the White House, so anything is possible.
Trump thus did the dirty work for Israel, which started the problem, and the US will take the blame for the consequences. Smart.
After the attacks, Trump warned Iran that if they do not make peace, more and harsher attacks will follow. Iran, for its part, has already announced that it will not bow down.
Trump has been criticized for his decision to actively enter the war by other US congressmen, some of whom say that the attacks on Iran are grounds for impeaching Trump.
Iran has accused the US of violating international law and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) with its nighttime attacks on important nuclear facilities, while assuring the public that no radioactive contamination has been detected at the sites attacked.
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has condemned the US air strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities as a serious violation of international law and writes on X that Tehran reserves all options to respond in accordance with its right to self-defense.
“The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences. Each and every member of the UN must be alarmed over this extremely dangerous, lawless and criminal behavior. The United States, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has committed a grave violation of the UN Charter, international law and the NPT by attacking Iran’s peaceful nuclear installations. In accordance with the UN Charter and its provisions allowing a legitimate response in self-defense, Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people”.
Iran is now demanding that the UN Security Council hold an emergency meeting, but everyone already knows that this is just a show, as both the US and Israel have carte blanche in this toothless organization.
At the same time, other forces may wake up when third parties allied with Iran want to get involved. Although major powers such as Russia, North Korea, and China, together with neighboring countries in the Middle East, have so far taken a wait-and-see position because Iran has not wanted support, a spokesman for Yemen’s Houthis has already warned that if the US gets involved, the group will attack their warships in the Red Sea.
Another unpleasant thought is the many dormant “cells” around the world that may now be activated, with consequences for ordinary people as well. So all those who are now praising Trump’s “bravery” may find themselves eating their words if they start thinking more long term.
Glenn Diesen, professor at the University of Southeast Norway, sums it up well in a post on X, where he stated that US President Donald Trump has once again dragged the country into a conflict in the Middle East.
“Bush ran on a peace platform against nation-building, Obama promised ‘change’, Biden would ‘bring the adults back’, and Trump would get the US out of the forever wars in the Middle East. They all started wars… It does not matter who you vote for, when they do not work for you”.
But there is at least one winner here: the arms industry, whose shares will once again rise when the stock market opens.
Jenny Piper
