The US Attacks Iran in a War of Aggression
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February 28, 2026
The US Attacks Iran in a War of Aggression
The US has waged many wars—but this is one of the most senseless we’ve ever seen.
Phyllis Bennis and Khury Petersen-Smith
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A plume of smoke rises following a reported explosion in Tehran on February 28, 2026.
(Atta Kenare / AFP via Getty Images)
The recent threats of a new war against Iran, and the giant military deployment sent to carry out such a war, have now come to fruition. With Trump’s call for regime change, and the massive bombardment, this will not be a short, “one and done” attack. The US and Israel are at war with Iran.
The Iranian military is retaliating against US military targets in the surrounding countries, where there are numerous military bases and 40,000 US troops already deployed, as well as Israel. Early reports indicate that the US and Israel have targeted regime leaders, including potentially an effort to assassinate the top religious leader in Iran. There is no indication yet whether those efforts have succeeded. What we do know is that 51 people, many of them children, have reportedly been killed in an early attack on a school in an Iranian port city.
This war is illegal under both US domestic law and international law. It violates the US Constitution, which gives only Congress, not the president, the power to take the nation to war. The UN Charter is clear that use of military force is legal only if authorized by the Security Council or if “an armed attack occurs against a Member.” In this case, neither of these things happened.
It is too late to prevent this war from starting. But as was the case in the run-up to the Iraq War in 2002 and ’03, it is not too late to see that it will have devastating outcomes. The similarities with the Iraq war have made this war more likely; the differences show why war with Iran could be even more dangerous.
There’s one particularly ironic comparison between then and now: In 2002–03, a huge global movement—what The New York Times called “the second super-power”—emerged to challenge the drive toward war. It brought together a majority of the UN Security Council, a number of individual governments, including important US allies, and, crucially, millions of people, who mobilized to protest around the world. This movement came to a thundering crescendo on February 15, 2003, when what was then the largest protest in human history took place across almost 800 cities around the world. Congressional debate was public and fierce, and when the Authorization for the Use of Military Force was voted on in October 2002, significant minorities in both the House and Senate opposed the war. It …
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Current Issue
February 28, 2026
The US Attacks Iran in a War of Aggression
The US has waged many wars—but this is one of the most senseless we’ve ever seen.
Phyllis Bennis and Khury Petersen-Smith
Share
Copy Link
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Ad Policy
A plume of smoke rises following a reported explosion in Tehran on February 28, 2026.
(Atta Kenare / AFP via Getty Images)
The recent threats of a new war against Iran, and the giant military deployment sent to carry out such a war, have now come to fruition. With Trump’s call for regime change, and the massive bombardment, this will not be a short, “one and done” attack. The US and Israel are at war with Iran.
The Iranian military is retaliating against US military targets in the surrounding countries, where there are numerous military bases and 40,000 US troops already deployed, as well as Israel. Early reports indicate that the US and Israel have targeted regime leaders, including potentially an effort to assassinate the top religious leader in Iran. There is no indication yet whether those efforts have succeeded. What we do know is that 51 people, many of them children, have reportedly been killed in an early attack on a school in an Iranian port city.
This war is illegal under both US domestic law and international law. It violates the US Constitution, which gives only Congress, not the president, the power to take the nation to war. The UN Charter is clear that use of military force is legal only if authorized by the Security Council or if “an armed attack occurs against a Member.” In this case, neither of these things happened.
It is too late to prevent this war from starting. But as was the case in the run-up to the Iraq War in 2002 and ’03, it is not too late to see that it will have devastating outcomes. The similarities with the Iraq war have made this war more likely; the differences show why war with Iran could be even more dangerous.
There’s one particularly ironic comparison between then and now: In 2002–03, a huge global movement—what The New York Times called “the second super-power”—emerged to challenge the drive toward war. It brought together a majority of the UN Security Council, a number of individual governments, including important US allies, and, crucially, millions of people, who mobilized to protest around the world. This movement came to a thundering crescendo on February 15, 2003, when what was then the largest protest in human history took place across almost 800 cities around the world. Congressional debate was public and fierce, and when the Authorization for the Use of Military Force was voted on in October 2002, significant minorities in both the House and Senate opposed the war. It …
The US Attacks Iran in a War of Aggression
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The US Attacks Iran in a War of Aggression
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Current Issue
February 28, 2026
The US Attacks Iran in a War of Aggression
The US has waged many wars—but this is one of the most senseless we’ve ever seen.
Phyllis Bennis and Khury Petersen-Smith
Share
Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Email
Ad Policy
A plume of smoke rises following a reported explosion in Tehran on February 28, 2026.
(Atta Kenare / AFP via Getty Images)
The recent threats of a new war against Iran, and the giant military deployment sent to carry out such a war, have now come to fruition. With Trump’s call for regime change, and the massive bombardment, this will not be a short, “one and done” attack. The US and Israel are at war with Iran.
The Iranian military is retaliating against US military targets in the surrounding countries, where there are numerous military bases and 40,000 US troops already deployed, as well as Israel. Early reports indicate that the US and Israel have targeted regime leaders, including potentially an effort to assassinate the top religious leader in Iran. There is no indication yet whether those efforts have succeeded. What we do know is that 51 people, many of them children, have reportedly been killed in an early attack on a school in an Iranian port city.
This war is illegal under both US domestic law and international law. It violates the US Constitution, which gives only Congress, not the president, the power to take the nation to war. The UN Charter is clear that use of military force is legal only if authorized by the Security Council or if “an armed attack occurs against a Member.” In this case, neither of these things happened.
It is too late to prevent this war from starting. But as was the case in the run-up to the Iraq War in 2002 and ’03, it is not too late to see that it will have devastating outcomes. The similarities with the Iraq war have made this war more likely; the differences show why war with Iran could be even more dangerous.
There’s one particularly ironic comparison between then and now: In 2002–03, a huge global movement—what The New York Times called “the second super-power”—emerged to challenge the drive toward war. It brought together a majority of the UN Security Council, a number of individual governments, including important US allies, and, crucially, millions of people, who mobilized to protest around the world. This movement came to a thundering crescendo on February 15, 2003, when what was then the largest protest in human history took place across almost 800 cities around the world. Congressional debate was public and fierce, and when the Authorization for the Use of Military Force was voted on in October 2002, significant minorities in both the House and Senate opposed the war. It …
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