To Open The Sky

Indicted War Criminal Netanyahu's war in Iran puts world at risk.

Ben Norton, Geopolitical Economy Report, 4 March 2026

Background

At least since he came to power in 1996, and probably before that, Benjamin Netanyahu has regarded the Islamic Republic of Iran as the greatest threat to Israel. There is some justification for this: The Mullahs who led Iran since 1979 have sponsored proxy groups that regularly attacked Israel with rockets and suicide bombers. The broader historical view, however, leads to a different view. Before Israel was created by Britain under the auspices of the United Nations in 1948, Muslims and Jews coexisted peacefully in the Middle East. Zionist militants before and during Israel's formation expelled hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from lands they had occupied for generations. Israel's current government regards Palestinians as subhuman. I won't rehash that history here; see the link at the bottom of this page for details.

What matters here is that Netanyahu has consistently used this claim that Iran is a huge threat to justify his belligerent actions in the region — most notably Israel's occupation of Gaza and the West Bank. He recently admitted that the war begun against Iran in February 2026 is the fulfillment of a dream he has harbored for 40 years. I suspect that what he considers a dream will turn out to be a nightmare for the people of Israel. But they have repeatedly chosen Netanyahu to lead them. Now they have to live with the consequences.

The United States does not. It has myopically supported Israel for too long, through both Republican and Democratic administrations. Trump's advent brings US support for Israel down to the level of total blindness, as he now embarks on a war of whim with no approval from Congress, no clear goals, no strategic planning, and insufficient ammunition stocks for a protracted conflict. Here I will show why this is politically, militarily, legally, and environmentally stupid.

Political Stupidity

• The first act of this war was an air strike on the buildings where Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was meeting with Iran's other leaders. He and some 40 others were killed. This makes Khamenei, a sacred figure to Shia Muslims, a martyr. They will want revenge.
• Among the other leaders killed in this strike were some who Trump hoped might take Khamenei's place. Their loss makes a hardliner replacement more likely.
• There was apparently no preplanning about how to help American citizens in the area get home. Thousands of them were stranded at the beginning of the conflict. The State Department resorted to advising them on bus travel.
• Domestically, this betrays Trump's promise not to start foreign wars.
• Iran's closing of the Strait of Hormuz also raises the cost of gasoline in the US at a time when Trump's tariffs are already raising prices.

Military Stupidity

• The claimed reasons for this war are lies. Iran was not pursuing nuclear weapons, has no missiles that can reach the US, and had offered a better deal on uranium than the JCPOA contained.
• The US was not negotiating in good faith. Cheating invites reprisals.
• Trump and Hegseth underestimated both Iran's resolve and its weapons stockpiles, and apparently ignored the Joint Chiefs' advice on this.
• Trump and Hegseth also ignored how limited are the stocks of critical US weaponry, and how difficult they will be to replace.

Legal Stupidity

• This war is illegal per US law, because Congress was not consulted and the claimed imminent threat does not exist.
• This war is illegal under international law, and ignoring that fact creates a precedent for other countries to also ignore it.
• Executive Order 12333, signed by Ronald Reagan, prohibits any member of the US government "from planning, directing, aiding, or carrying out assassinations."
• Attacking civilian infrastructure which is not being used by enemy forces is a war crime. The elementary school bombed in Minab falls under this prohibition. Evidence indicates the strike was done by the US.
• The US has also attacked oil storage facilities and water desalination plants in Iran. These are war crimes that put civilians at risk.

Environmental Stupidity

• Military operations are among the largest sources of greenhouse gases, and this war will certainly increase those operations.
• Intentional destruction of pipelines, refineries, tankers, or oil and gas wells releases large amounts of methane and carbon dioxide, both greenhouse gases.
• Spilled oil is also a pollutant damaging to humans, domestic animals and wildlife, and a persistent one.

Extra-special Stupidity

• Some 50 unit commanders in our military told their troops this war was necessary to bring on the Rapture.

All of this was understood by our military leaders beforehand. Independent experts understood it as well, and you can find observations from some of them in the list of sources below. The war in Vietnam (1955-1975), The Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), the war in Iraq (2003-2011), the campaign against the Houthis in Yemen (March-May 2025) — all provided lessons that our current leaders are ignoring.1

Details of the conflict are hard to obtain from the Trump Regime. Their statements typically consist of macho posturing. But here is a developing summary of the progress of this war — for it surely is a war, despite the blatherings of Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Rep. Ana Paulina Luna.

Americans at home learned of this war in the early morning of Saturday, 28 February 2026.2 The first act was a salvo of strikes on the buildings where Iran's government leaders routinely meet. Most were there at the time. The Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and 49 others were killed. Also on Saturday came the strike on an elementary school in Minab, in the south of Iran. This reportedly bordered an IRGC naval base. At least 164 people were killed, most of them young girls. Evidence suggests it was a US strike based on intelligence that was outdated by ten years.3

Over the next several days, the US and Israel continued intense bombardment all over Iran, achieving air superiority and claiming they were steadily eliminating missile factories and launch sites. Details are not forthcoming, but reports indicate 3 more schools and several hospitals were also hit.

The war Trump thought would be over in a week or less has lasted six months and hovers on the verge of expanding. Trump alternates between claiming Iran is begging for a peace deal because we've eliminated all their weapons and insisting they will be hit even harder if they don't agree to open the Strait and promise never to develop nuclear weapons. Iran will do neither in the near future; it still has plenty of weapons, is building more, and is politically stronger now than before Trump started his foolish war of choice. The conflict is till far from resolution.

At the end of July, Netanyahu, desperate to continue his war on Iran, came again to the US to exhort Trump to stay the course — even as US stockpiles of interceptors and standoff munitions dwindle.4 Netanyahu took the time for a round of interviews, going on air to denounce New York City's popular mayor. This triggered prominent Israel supporters to resume calling the ICC "a fake court" and saying Zohran Mamdani, in calling for Netanyahu's arrest, was indulging in "stupid theatrics" and "literally trying to destroy the policy of the United States."

Zionist Aggression

• The Iranian frigate Dena, reportedly carrying no weapons, was returning from joint exercises with India. A torpedo from a US submarine struck it near Sri Lanka. The crew of the submarine made no attempt to rescue any of the crew aboard. Ships from Sri Lanka saved some of its crew complement of 130, but 87 are known dead and more are missing.
• Reports are that 7 schools, 18 hospitals, and a 12,000-seat stadium have been struck in Iran.
• On 7 March, the US attacked the water desalination plant on Qeshm Island, putting 30 Iranian villages in water shortage and inviting retaliation against similar plants.
• Israel has essentially taken over southern Lebanon, forcing residents to flee and then destroying their homes. Christian villages are not immune. Even Beirut has been hit multiple times. Several possible ceasefires with Iran have been derailed when Israel resumed attacks on Lebanon.

Iran's Retaliation

Iran's retaliation began quickly. Among the targets it has struck are:

• US Navy 5th Fleet HQ, Bahrain
• Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar
• A powerful radar site in Jordan that controls part of Israel's "Iron Dome."
• Three launch sites for THAAD (Theater High-Altitude Air Defense) interceptor missiles
• According to The Independent, "Blasts were reported in Jerusalem, Dubai, Abu Dhabi in UAE, Doha in Qatar, and Manama in Bahrain as the conflict entered its third day."
• The US Embassy in Kuwait was hit, and later evacuated.
• Three US F-15 fighter jets were downed by Kuwait in what was called a friendly fire incident.
• A US F-35 stealth fighter was damaged over Iran on 19 March 2026. It made an emergency landing at a US base. The pilot was not injured.
• Iranian missiles brought down a US F-15E fighter over Iran on 3 April 2026. Both occupants ejected. Both were rescued; the pilot almost immediately, the weapons officer after an extensive search.
• More than 170 US and Israeli drones were downed, destroyed or crippled by Iran's air defenses.

Implications for the Combatants

After being attacked twice in the middle of what it thought were good-faith negotiations, and after suffering the decapitation of its government and general attacks on its civilian population, Iran will be in no mood to negotiate further — despite the desperate lies of the Trump Regime. It will continue to inflict as much pain as it can on Israel, the US, and their allies around the Persian Gulf. And recent days have shown it is capable of inflicting considerable pain.

The US and Israel will be forced to rethink their overall strategy. They have not been able to force the regime change they wanted in Iran; rather, the regime change they got was from a hard-line regime to a harder-line regime — and one leading a populace newly embittered by a fresh wave of atrocities. These two aggressor nations have also earned the displeasure of their own people and of the wider world.

Implications for the Muslim community

The assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei turned him into a martyr, inflaming the Shia sect of Muslims. It very probably also raised the likelihood of conflicts between Shia and Sunnis.

Implications for the world in general

The wider world can expect to face an accelerated timetable for problems that were already in the offing. These include short-term shortages of food and fuel, increased flows of refugees, and the disruptions due to climate change. In addition, it will have to deal with an increasingly lawless world as rogue states follow the precedent set by Israel and the US.

Implications for the environment

The world will see a general worsening of droughts, floods, heat waves, and extreme storms. Pests and tropical diseases will spread, and food insecurity will increase.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that, once again, the stupidity and corruption of the Trump Regime have made things much worse than they needed to be.

Airports in the region were shut down, leaving many Americans and other travelers stranded.

Several oil tankers were struck in the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran officially closed the Strait, through which 20% of the world's oil is shipped. The prices of petroleum products immediately began to rise. The Strait is also a choke point for shipments of fertilizer and helium. Loss of the fertilizer affected crop planting around the globe, and helium is critical for semiconductor chip manufacture.

The Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon also entered the fight, firing missiles and drones they were not supposed to have.

The Iranian frigate Dena, returning from exercises with India, was sunk near Sri Lanka by a torpedo from a US submarine. Ships from Sri Lanka rescued 66 of its 130 crew; 87 perished.

The US claims 44 ships of Iran's navy have been sunk, and says it has eliminated most of Iran's missile launchers. Given the strength of Iran's retaliation, this looks like false bravado.

Iran is a large country with a population of over 90 million people, most of whom now hate the US. Committing US ground troops there would be sending them to be slaughtered.

The great majority of Americans also hate this war. The Trump Regime's candidates are unlikely to do well in coming elections.

Extended Discussion

Here I present some sources that are especially good at explaining the various risks of this illegal war of aggression.

Why is the war illegal?

What are the latest developments?

US Middle East Policy

US policy in the Middle East has often coincided with Israel's, and in many cases contrary to US interests. Nowhere is this more true than for US policy toward the Islamic Republic of Iran. Israel's leaders, and most markedly Netanyahu, have long regarded Iran as their chief adversary. There is some basis for this: Following the overthrow of the brutal Shah Reza Pahlavi in the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Iran has been a theocracy led by the Shia wing of Islam. It sponsors terrorist proxy groups in various nations, including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen. These groups have regularly attacked Israel. Since 2003, Iran has undertaken to develop nuclear power, and it is this that Netanyahu dreads the most. He has consistently overstated Iran's ability and intent to develop nuclear weapons, on several occasions fabricating evidence of this — sometimes with US help. In 2015, he tried unsuccessfully to derail the Obama administration's negotiation (along with European nations) of an agreement with Iran which monitored and limited Iran's enrichment of uranium. After Trump took power in 2016, he was able to persuade the new US leader to unilaterally pull out of this multinational agreement, known as the JCPOA. The Biden administration tried to restore it, but Iran understandably held back. It threw out the monitors and soon had uranium enriched to 60%: near weapons grade. Netanyahu, characteristically, tried to claim Iran was weeks away from having nuclear weapons. In 2025, during US-Iran talks, Netanyahu ordered air strikes on Iran's nuclear sites and persuaded Trump to join in with its massive "bunker busters." Despite Trump's insistent claims, these strikes did not obliterate Iran's nuclear program. They did push the Middle East closer to general war.

On 28 February 2026 — once again during peace talks — Israel and the US attacked Iran. Depite killing the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and 49 of Iran's leaders, these attacks did not topple the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In fact, its leadership turned more hardline against the West than it had been. And despite suffering widespread bombardment, including of schools, hospitals, and vital infrastructure such as water plants, Iran was able to strike multiple US military and commercial facilities in its neighboring countries. It caused massive damage which the US government tried to conceal. Iran also closed the Strait of Hormuz, a move predicted before this round of hostilities began. World commerce was impacted as a result, since roughly one-third of all oil and gas, and other vital commodities, flow through the Strait. These difficulties persist, largely because Israel continues its offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

This is an area where print references are especially useful.

My Reviews of Relevant Print References

• The Palestine Laboratory
• The Case for Palestine
• Dealbreaker

Other Print References:

• Selected Books about the Conflict in the Middle East (my list)

Sources:

• Pentagon closing offices focused on reducing civilian casualties (Steve Inskeep, NPR, 11 March 2025)
• In latest purge, Hegseth removes head of Pentagon intelligence agency, other senior officials (Idrees Ali & Jonathan Landay, Reuters, 22 August 2025)
• The Reagan-Era Ban On Assassinations In US & The Loophole That May Have Killed Khamenei (Apoorva Misra, News18, 3 March 2026)
• Trump, Netanyahu, and the New Crusades: The Unholy Alliance! | Monte Mader (Dr Myriam Francois, The Tea, 6 March 2026)
• US confirms loss of soldiers in Iranian retaliation; Abraham Lincoln targeted (Janta Ka Reporter, 1 March 2026)
• Iran, Epstein, & a New War: Mehdi and Experts REACT (Mehdi Hasan, Zeteo, 28 February 2026)
• Death toll in Israeli strike on southern Iran school hits 148 (Al Jazeera, 28 February 2026)
• IRAN WAR: Trump RISKS IT ALL For Israel (Breaking Points, 28 February 2026)
• Chas Freeman: The War Against Iran Could Destroy the U.S. Republic (Glenn Diesen, 28 February 2026)
• US F-15s DOWNED by Iran, Israel Under HEAVY Missile Fire | Patrick Henningsen & Col. Wilkerson (Danny Haiphong, 2 March 2026)
• Trump's Illegal Iran War Likely to Trigger Dangerous Unintended Consequences (The DSR Network, 2 March 2026)
• Sarah Kendzior Sounds Alarm on Trump's Calculated Iran Move (The Mark Thompson Show, 2 March 2026)
• Christian Zionists in Trump Regime Want Iran War to be "Bloody" to Fulfill End Times Prophecy (The Humanist Report, 4 March 2026)
• Preparing for the Horrific Unintended Consequences of the Iran War (The DSR Network, 4 March 2026)
• IRAN HITS $1 BILLION U.S. RADAR, TAKES OUT 3 THAAD SYSTEMS IN ATTACKS ON GULF BASES (Rachel Blevins and Carl Zha, 4 March 2026)
• Ex-British spy chief warns Trump not to underestimate Iran; Arab allies unhappy? (Janta Ka Reporter, 5 March 2026)
• Iran & Hezbollah's Missiles SLAM Israel, Trump PANICS | Larry Johnson & Col. Lawrence Wilkerson (Danny Haiphong, 5 March 2026)
• Iran strikes back after Israel, US launch war, with Jon Elmer (The Electronic Intifada, 5 March 2026)
• Time is on Iran's side, with Ali Abunimah (The Electronic Intifada, 5 March 2026)
• The United States vs. Iran (Dave Matthews, March 2026)
• The US-Iran conflict: A timeline of how we got here (Harmeet Kaur & Ivana Kottasová, CNN, 22 June 2025)
• Iran War Timeline: February 28 → Present (Tracy Rigdon, 1 March 2026)
• A closer look at the Iran war's 1st 3 days — and where things stand now (Uday Rana, Global News, 2 March 2026)
• Iran's Missile Barrage SMASHES Tel Aviv, US-Israeli Defenses FAIL | Sharmine Narwani (Danny Haiphong, 6 March 2026)
• How the Houthis Outlasted America (April Longley Alley, Foreign Affairs, 9 May 2025)
• Iranian strike destroys THAAD radar site in Jordan (Guy Christensen, The Cradle, 6 March 2026)
• Timeline: How joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran unfolded as war escalates in Middle East (Brian Melley & Tara Cobham, The Independent, 5 March 2026)
• Iran War (Ongoing coverage by Reuters News Service)
• Targeting Iran's Fragile Water Infrastructure Puts the Whole Region in Danger (Nik Kowsar & Alireza Nader, Foreign Policy, 9 March 2026)
• How targeting of desalination plants could disrupt water supply in the Gulf (Priyanka Shankar, Al Jazeera, 8 March 2026)
• Map and chart track the latest U.S. and Iranian war targets (Alex Sundby & John Kelly, CBS News, 10 March 2026)
• Iran targets ships, Dubai airport and oil facilities as economic concerns mount (Jon Gambrell, Sam Mednick and David Rising, AP News, 11 March 2026)
• Targeting mistake led to US missile strike on Iranian girls school: media reports (ABC news Australia, 11 March 2026)
• Hegseth ignored military officials when he slashed offices that limit risk to civilians (Jack Detsch & Paul McLeary, Politico, 13 March 2026)
• USAF F-35 Lands After Taking Fire Over Iran; Pilot Stable (Chris Gordon & Stephen Losey, Air&Space Forces Magazine, 19 March 2026)
• Exclusive: Trump approved Iran operation after Netanyahu argued for joint killing of Khamenei, sources say (Erin Banco, Gram Slattery & Maayan Lubell, Reuters, 23 March 2026)
• A U.S. jet goes down over Iran, a U.S. official confirms (Tom Bowman & Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 3 April 2026)
• US pilot rescued after Iran downs fighter jet as desperate search for other goes on (Maria Villarroel, The Mirror, 3 April 2026)
• How US commandos carried out 36-hour mission to rescue airman from deep inside Iranian mountains (James C. Reynolds, The Independent, 6 April 2026)
• How Trump Took the U.S. to War With Iran (Jonathan Swan & Maggie Haberman, New York Times, 7 April 2026)
• How Iran's air defenses destroyed over 170 US-Israeli drones — and rewrote drone warfare doctrine (Yousef Ramazani, PressTV, 21 April 2026)
• Hegseth's War Department Slashed Civilian Protection Staff, Brought in AI Assessments (Nick Turse, The Intercept, 20 July 2026)
• Netanyahu accuses Mamdani of 'fomenting hate' and calls ICC war-crimes charges 'bogus' (Lisa Mascaro, AP News, 26 July 2026)
• Max Blumenthal breaks down Netanyahu's most desperate DC visit yet (The Grayzone, 28 July 2026)
• Netanyahu Takes SWIPE At New Yorkers (Ana Kasparian, The Young Turks, 29 July 2026)
• (, 8 March 2026)

I think the motivation for this complex situation is simply summarized: Netanyahu persuaded Trump to join the operation, and Trump was eager partly because of his success in Venezuela and partly because it serves as a distraction from other problems Trump faces — notably, the Epstein files. However, the outcome has only made things worse for Trump, for Israel, and for the world.

For more details on what Israel has been doing in Gaza, and how the US supports it, see this link: