ArcaMax

PARIS — Nobody wanted the U.S. to bomb Iran last weekend — especially not Americans. A full 60 percent thought Trump should stay out of this Israel-Iran gong show, and just 19 percent of his own voters supported intervening after Israel bombed Iran two weeks ago, according to a recent YouGov poll. Guess they would rather binge on Netflix than a third world war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been lobbying hard for Trump to do Israel’s dirty work after Israel unilaterally bombed its neighbor in the middle of Iran’s nuclear talks with the West. Washington played innocent. Comedy gold. Sen. Ted Cruz accidentally blurted out to Tucker Carlson that the U.S. was helping aim Israel’s bombs. Trump couldn’t keep up the charade, either. “We now have complete and total control over the skies over Iran,” he bragged online.

“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding,” he added.

Then came the big finale. Trump bragged on national TV about ordering strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites. So much for America as an honest broker. “Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror,” he declared.

Does this guy ever consider knock-on, second order consequences? Or is that like expecting a tornado to check the weather report?

First of all, Iran didn’t even have a bomb. Iranian “enriched uranium” in 2025 is the new Iraqi “weapons of mass destruction” foreign war kick- off excuse from 2003. If they actually had a nuke, nobody would have dared bomb them. Can we ever talk about Israel’s super-secret nuclear program as it routinely bombs its neighbors and flattens Gaza at will? The real fear is that if Iran ever gets nukes, it won’t be so easy for Washington proxy, Israel, to shove around. Nothing civilizes aggressive states and promotes diplomacy like mutual assured destruction.

And there are quicker ways to get a bomb than cooking one up at home, even if any enrichment was damaged by these strikes, which Iran denies. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth only speaks of a desired “effect.” It may not turn out to be so desirable, after all.

“A number of countries are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads,” said Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of the Russian Security Council and former Russian president, in response to Trump’s attacks. Trump just made that much more likely.

Meanwhile, Trump’s own intel chief, Tulsi Gabbard, told Congress back in March that Iran had no nuke program. Even the UN’s nuclear watchdog didn’t seem to be losing much sleep. Did Trump ever stop to think that Iran’s enrichment was their only bargaining chip to get America back to the table after he torpedoed the nuclear deal during his first term? That agreement had been working, slowly thawing trade between Iran and Europe to the benefit of long- term stability and peace.

But hey, Iran’s the “bully of the Middle East,” according to Trump. “They must now make peace,” he scolded after bragging about blowing up their facilities. “For 40 years, Iran has been saying, ‘Death to America, Death to Israel’,” he said. This from the guy who loves threatening entire countries on social media like he’s texting a pizza order from his porcelain throne. That kind of bluster is his brand, just like Iran’s rhetoric is. But does he also deserve a missile up the wazoo for it?

If he wants to indulge historical grievances, it’s worth noting that Iran only ended up under an ayatollah because Washington and London staged a coup in 1953 against the elected prime minister to control Iranian oil, installed a puppet shah, and then watched him get kicked out by his own people in 1979. That’s the origin story of the system that establishment Washington has long wanted to circle back and take yet another swing at. Trump just indulged them.

“They have been killing our people…with roadside bombs,” Trump also grumbled. Where? Outside a Dunkin’ Donuts? Along Route 66? Or just on some road deep in Iran’s backyard where America’s military has been poking its nose for decades?

And of course he had to drag up General Qasem Soleimani — whom he had assassinated during his first term — as proof that Iran is the “world’s number one state sponsor of terror.” Still? Guess killing Soleimani in the interests of “fighting terrorism” didn’t exactly change the game, huh?

Does Trump even understand what makes terrorism so morally repugnant? It’s that it short-circuits fair, conventional battles between nation-states that can seek recourse and accountability through established international conventions. But asymmetric warfare can actually start to appear morally justified when it’s aimed at powers seen as oppressive or unfair in the fight. What do you think Trump’s recent moves risk doing in the eyes of American and global public opinion?

“We worked as a team like perhaps no team has ever worked before,” Trump gushed about Netanyahu after their attacks, like it was some kind of global bombing World Series.

By acting like an unhinged bouncer-for-hire, Trump’s torching America’s moral standing, and all but ensuring that terror and nukes follow in his wake.