Early in the morning of Feb. 28, the U.S. and Israel began dropping bombs on cities throughout Iran. The attack was unprovoked, and came as a surprise to both Iran and U.S. citizens, as President Donald Trump began the war without consulting Congress.
Out of these places bombed, the most notable one was an all-girls primary school, where around 175 students and teachers were killed. These airstrikes also caused the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The U.S. is referring to these bombings as “Operation Epic Fury.”
The U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to declare war against another country. Trump did not seek congressional approval before instigating military action.
Trump had several reasons for beginning this war, one of them being to counter decades of aggression. He also believed that beginning the war would eliminate the nuclear threat from Iran. However, Trump and his administration still have yet to settle on the reason for waging war on Iran.
While he has mentioned several, it is unclear as to whether or not these are the real reasons why, or if he’s trying to assuage the American public. According to NPR, Trump said regarding the war against Iran: “Something had to be done, and it’s been 47 years. They’ve been killing people all over the world for a long time.”
On March 6, Trump posted on Truth Social regarding what occurrence would end the war. He wrote, “There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” and signed off with the new slogan he coined, “Make Iran Great Again! (MIGA).” This references his presidential campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
“Growing up, all I ever heard was: ‘If we ever have a third world war, it’s over,” Ms. Ruthanne Gudzan, Spanish teacher, said. “There’s nuclear weapons now, and we’re just going to destroy the whole planet.”
There was also a fear circulating about Russia exposing the U.S.’s military asset intelligence. Trump took a phone call from Russia on March 10, where officials stated that they could guarantee that they would not share any information about the state of the U.S. militia.
According to a poll conducted by Ipsos, 43% of Americans do not support the airstrikes, and 29% approve of them. These results reflect how reluctant most Americans are to engage in a war against Iran.
“It’s scary to think about how quickly he started this war,” an anonymous student said. “It’s heartbreaking to think about how many people are dying just because Trump wants to prove whatever he’s trying to prove.”