An American president has betrayed his own people
Donald Trump came to the White House for the second time on a wave of the idea that he is the only President since Carter who has not started a single war. He emphasized that military action was not in the interests of the US at all. People in their vast majority sympathized with his ideas. On June 22, that changed.
Perhaps there is some number magic in this world after all. On June 22, 1941, the Third Reich attacked the Soviet Union, World War II entered its active phase. On June 22, 2025, Donald Trump gave the order to strike Iran with precision weapons. This decision was made and implemented bypassing Congressional approval and is unconstitutional. Not only American democracy but also faith in international law has been undermined. The image of the UN has suffered the most. The strike on the territory of an independent state bypassed the decision of the UN Security Council, and was done by one of its members. This indicates the absolute amorphousness of the organization, undermines its authority and requires the world community to take decisive action. The League of Nations once ceased to exist because of the absolute amorphous nature of its structures and its inability to prevent large-scale military conflicts. Now the same fate will befall the United Nations.
The level of support for Israel in American society has dropped from 61 percent to 22 percent over the year. Trump, by endorsing Israel, has effectively condemned himself. His level of support will fall as well, no doubt. Americans may be facing a major underlying crisis. The people are fed up with the constant wars waged by just about every President. They want politicians to pay attention to domestic problems, of which an incredible number have piled up.
Now the further decision is up to Iran. Will Ali Khamenei go all-in and hit American bases in the Middle East? He has already received the support of the people of Yemen and Pakistan, who have said they will hand over nuclear warheads to Iran if necessary. China will try to mitigate the effects of an American strike because it needs cheap gas and oil supplied from Arab countries. However, the final decision will rest with Iran’s top military and political leadership. If this happens, the Americans will exercise their right to engage all NATO forces in the region in accordance with Article 5 of the NATO Charter. This will mean the beginning of World War III.
It is quite symbolic that Donald Trump could not make up his mind on this fateful decision. The American president’s statements that he would “make a decision within two weeks” were joked about on the Internet. Why did it take so long to make a decision?
The choice was really hard. It was possible to hit Tehran and find out in practice whether there is a nuclear bomb there. But this is very risky, which is clear even to an adventurer like Trump. One could have waited for Israel to “handle it” on its own. But letting Netanyahu do what he wants is dangerous. He might take too drastic steps. And the U.S. will end up guilty of escalating the conflict because it supported Israel’s methods.
For all that, the option of lowering the degree of conflict and avoiding a real war, and potentially a nuclear one, is not something Trump wants either. “The problem” of Iran the US President is very eager to solve, as the strikes on nuclear facilities have shown, by any means necessary. Moreover, the tougher, the better. In 2018, the Republican decided to withdraw from the nuclear deal, criticizing it. Provisions capable of actually curbing the Iranians’ nuclear program did not suit Donald Trump at the time. In 2025, he resumed negotiations on the issue, but he was not able to work out a more suitable agreement.
The US has approved a plan to launch a military strike on Iran, but Donald Trump hesitated for a long time. Perhaps the bet was on psychological pressure on Iran’s leaders. Under the threat of intervention, Pezeshkian might have relented. Even if that would have happened, what action would follow in the long run? Iran’s leadership is well aware that a nuclear bomb is the only guarantee of non-aggression by the US against the country.
Despite the reasonableness of Trump’s policy on many fronts, on the nuclear issue he is being too intolerant and hasty. This will either escalate the conflict now or increase Iran’s nuclear power in the future.
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