The Iranian dictator is dead, his repressive regime is being bombed into submission, and now the world can look forward to peace and stability. It all sounds so simple when scripted in the manner of a Netflix action drama and – as multiple armchair foreign policy hawks are now insisting – the sudden obliteration of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in his office on a Saturday morning can only be a time for rejoicing.
The problem, of course, is that there are always consequences to a riotous weekend of death and destruction, and the true cost of the American-Israeli strikes on a sovereign country is far from being known. As was apparent following similar executions this century – whether of Saddam Hussein in Iraq in 2006 or Muammar Gaddafi in Libya in 2011, for example – taking out leaders detested by the West is never a quick fix. On the contrary, even more instability, including murderous violence, is all we can be certain of.
The weapons-grade gaslighting accompanying this war on behalf of “the brave Iranian people” – as Israel puts it – is off the scale: Iranian civilians, including schoolgirls, apparently approve of being slaughtered and having their homes destroyed, just like the Palestinians.
Casualty figures caused by war, occupation, insurgencies, and civil conflict in post-Saddam Iraq are well into seven figures, while the cost of illegal regime change in Libya has also been enormous. The North African country remains full of militias who – just like America and Israel – think nothing of destroying human life with impunity. Having the best weapons is the key to power, and who cares what anybody else thinks, is the warlord rationale.
A key difference between the murderous outlaws in countries such as Iraq and Libya, and the USA and Israel, however, is that the latter use recognised state armies and employ reams of propagandists to try and convince the world that they are in fact the fictional TV-style “good guys” doing what has to be done “for civilisation”.
The weapons-grade gaslighting accompanying this war on behalf of “the brave Iranian people” – as Israel puts it – is off the scale: Iranian civilians, including schoolgirls, apparently approve of being slaughtered and having their homes destroyed, just like the Palestinians.
It was less than two years ago, during his 2024 election campaign, that U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to stay out of “forever wars”, but now he has triggered all-out conflict in the Middle East, without the approval of Congress, let alone any kind of democratic debate beforehand.
Cynical expressions such as “pre-emptive action” are bandied about to try and pretend that Iran was still on the verge of developing nuclear capabilities. This is despite the Pentagon itself currently identifying no immediate threat from Iran and last June’s Twelve-Day War, when Trump heralded a flawless operation to destroy three Iranian atomic plants.
No matter that Israel is the only nuclear power in the region and that the US is the sole nation to have dropped A-bombs on another country, ongoing negotiations towards a US-Iran deal deemed successful by an Omani mediator were also abandoned.
It is impossible to think of a more obvious example of “forever wars” prosecution than attacking a country in the summer, giving up on peace talks, and then going straight back in the winter to inflict even more carnage. Khamenei’s death will certainly not end anything. Iran is already carrying out retaliatory strikes, Israel and America are hitting back… and so the cycle of violence goes on and on.
No matter that Israel is the only nuclear power in the region and that the US is the sole nation to have dropped A-bombs on another country, ongoing negotiations towards a US-Iran deal deemed successful by an Omani mediator were also abandoned.
What is also absolutely certain is that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu – an indicted criminal suspect facing trial for unspeakable crimes linked to the genocide in Palestine – is the key instigator of the onslaught against Iran. He is shaping U.S. foreign policy to his own liking, ensuring, as always, that his country is backed up by the multi-billion-dollar American military-industrial complex as it sets fire to most of its near neighbours.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s propagandists turn night to day, as they offer endless excuses for the horror. All the repugnant tactics used to try and whitewash the ongoing monstrous crimes in Gaza and the Occupied West Bank are already being deployed around the subject of Iran – death toll figures are disputed constantly, to the extent that even when numerous children are among some 180 killed and 100 wounded in an attack on an Iranian school, they mock and sneer. All of their claims are made with calm assurance and certainty, and when anybody disputes them, they are branded terrorist supporters.
Thus, we have the grotesque spectacle of Netanyahu actually preaching to the Iranian people on his X account, saying: “Do not let this opportunity slip away. This is an opportunity that comes only once in every generation.” In a video published in Persian and produced with artificial intelligence, Netanyahu continues: “The moment when you must take to the streets, come to the streets in your millions to finish the job, to overthrow the regime of terror that has embittered your lives. Your suffering and sacrifices will not be in vain.”
This all fits in with the overall Netanyahu gaslighting. The warped narrative is that death and destruction are fundamentally a good thing, because they make the world a better place for him and his ultra-extremist supporters to assert their U.S.-backed supremacy. No matter that his victims include tens of thousands of infants, mothers, fathers, aid workers, and multiple other innocents – the key point is that Netanyahu’s view of “civilisation” is that it is absolutely centred on perpetual conflicts. These ceaseless military campaigns also suit Netanyahu as he avoids domestic corruption charges.
Countries such as Britain are now providing logistical help too while – that double speak again – saying they will support “defensive strikes” only.
Such evil is ably assisted by a geopolitical landscape that has altered massively over the past few years, not least of all thanks to the emergence of Donald Trump as an alleged politician. The convicted criminal with a background in business and showbiz is a supreme populist who has subjugated his country’s own judiciary, severely weakened the rule of law, ridiculed objective journalism, and promoted discrimination and hatred using a range of methods, including rambling monologues, social media algorithms, and his notoriously brutal Immigration and Customs (ICE) forces. Illiberalism and authoritarianism are Trump’s triumphs, and they extend into an increasingly reckless foreign policy.
Such is the double-speak, that the Americans and Israelis have even managed to persuade compliant allies in Europe to issue statements blaming Iran for starting the current spate of violence. Countries such as Britain are now providing logistical help too while – that double speak again – saying they will support “defensive strikes” only.
As Trump said at the White House while standing next to the leering Netanyahu last September: “It’s a big day, a beautiful day, potentially one of the biggest days ever in civilisation.” He wasn’t simply talking about Israeli’s ongoing mass killing and dispossession of Palestinians either. Trump instead said he was looking “much beyond Gaza. The whole deal. Everything. Getting solved. It’s called peace in the Middle East.”
The truth is that Trump’s only interest in the Middle East is what comes with the Netanyahu seal of approval. This has led to numerous conspiracy theories, including claims that Israel has intelligence about Trump’s personal life, and it is linked to the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who was once a close friend of the American president. Hence expressions such as “The Diversionary War”, and even “The Epstein War”.
Whatever the truth of the matter, we can be certain that attempted regime annihilation by foreign powers does not work. This is the case whether military personnel are deployed on the ground – as in Iraq – or – as in Iran so far – by firing missiles and dropping bombs from on high.
The truth is that Trump’s only interest in the Middle East is what comes with the Netanyahu seal of approval. This has led to numerous conspiracy theories, including claims that Israel has intelligence about Trump’s personal life, and it is linked to the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who was once a close friend of the American president. Hence expressions such as “The Diversionary War”, and even “The Epstein War”.
Whether you were a regime dissident, or firm supporter of those in charge, there was still the constant threat of being wiped out by foreign aggressors, and nothing has changed in this respect. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s 37 years in power was thus defined by its intense hatred of Israel and America, and this will not simply evaporate. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – the main security force in Iran – will not instantly disband, either, and, crucially, there is no unified opposition ready and able to take over from Khamenei.
Instead, we are looking at yet another disaster in Iran, just like the ones in Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and all those other Muslim majority countries that the West thinks nothing of pulverising in the name of “civilisation”. Devious ghouls such as Trump, Netanyahu and their legions of supporters around the world will say otherwise, while their savagery continues unabated.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.
