Making Sense of the War in Iran
What the American people need to know.
This is from our Letters From The Founder publication.
Dear America Network –
Why did the United States attack Iran? What has been gained and sacrificed by the American people as a result of these actions? What’s next? Like everything in the Middle East, it’s complicated, and we did not get to this point overnight. However, let’s discuss what is most important about this war to the American people today.
Brief U.S.-Iran background
Prior to the significant power shifts that occurred in global politics after World War II, the U.S. and Iran had limited but decent relations. However, in 1951 Iran nationalized the then British-controlled oil industry. In response, in 1953 the U.S. and U.K. backed a coup to oust the semi-democratically elected leader at the time and put in place a new leader. The Shah, as he was known, was friendly with the West – including the U.S. and a recently established state of Israel – and he modernized the country and its economy, but he was also seen as deeply corrupt and authoritarian. This ultimately led to his overthrow by the Iranian people in the 1979 Islamic Revolution that established the Iran we know today.
U.S.-Iran relations began to unravel almost immediately, beginning with the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis when the U.S. embassy in the capital of Tehran was stormed and dozens of diplomats were taken hostage for over a year (check out the movie Argo for a Hollywood-style take on this event). Since then, relations have had some ups but many more downs, including: the Iran-Iraq War throughout the 1980s with the U.S. covertly supporting Iraq; the 1983 terrorist attack on U.S. and French troops in Lebanon; a 1988 Iranian civilian flight that was inadvertently shot down by the U.S. military in the Persian Gulf; increased sanctions on Iran by the Clinton administration in the 1990s; the Obama administration’s 2015 Iranian nuclear deal including the U.S., Iran, U.K., France, Germany, China, and Russia; the Trump administration’s 2018 withdrawal of the U.S. from that deal; and, many more ups and downs through to present day.
Since its beginning in 1979, the theocratic Islamic Republic of Iran has been led by religious clerics and only two Supreme Leaders in 47 years (and now, a third as of March 2026). The Iranian regime’s primary purpose has been to establish a nation based on Islamic law and religious fundamentalism, while resisting modern secular governments and influence from both the West (led by the U.S.) and East (initially led by the Soviets). This model of governance was one that Iran’s leadership sought to spread across the Middle East and even globally. The regime’s ‘resistance’ can often take the form of terrorism and is pursued in a number of ways, such as increased authoritarianism domestically, the development of military and nuclear programs, and significant support for militant proxy groups throughout the Middle East (see Reference #1 at the end of this letter).
Question 1: Why did the U.S. attack Iran?
According to the Trump administration, the U.S. began bombing Iran in February 2026 because they were an “imminent nuclear threat” to the United States. However, this argument does not hold up well under scrutiny and should not be taken seriously by the American people (I’ll explain). That being said, the Iranian regime has defined itself as an enemy of the United States and Western values, and it is an ongoing threat to U.S. interests and allies in the Middle East.
The Trump administration sought many diplomatic solutions with Iran – some incentivizing, many coercive – before escalating their disagreement to military action. Yet, “no more foreign wars” was a phrase the American people took President Trump seriously and literally on when he ran for office, and it is clear that there is not significant public support for this war. Polling continues to show that the war is deeply unpopular in the U.S. and even more so globally. So why did the U.S. help launch this war?
The first thing to understand is that this is just an extension and escalation of the June 2025 U.S.-Israeli bombings of Iranian nuclear facilities and Iran’s subsequent, minimally effective retaliation. Fortunately, we were able to pull back from extended military action last year, but it has proved to be a temporary reprieve, as subsequent diplomacy ultimately devolved into the current war.
The U.S. is now bombing Iran again, only eight months later, why? Revisiting the claim of an “imminent nuclear threat,” there are three significant issues with this justification.
U.S. intelligence agencies – led by appointees handpicked by President Trump – recently assessed that Iran was ten years out (2035) from creating a missile capable of reaching the U.S. This is known as an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Even with the enriched nuclear material Iran possesses, before it can become a relevant threat to the U.S. homeland, the material must be further enriched to weapons-grade levels, it must be developed into a deliverable bomb, and then integrated with an ICBM capable of reaching its target.
