Trump’s bombing of Iran was another nail in the coffin of the supposed “rules-based international order”. The war was an open act of imperialist aggression by Israel and the US. And it was blatantly illegal under international law.
Israel claimed a pre-emptive right to self-defence on the basis of Iran’s nuclear program. But Iran isn’t even trying to build a nuclear bomb, according to US intelligence assessments.
The rules-based order has only ever been an instrument of US power, and the US has continually flouted it anyway, such as its illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003. But Trump’s approach far more nakedly uses US power to boost its imperialist interests.
His “America first” policy has seen the US lean on supposed friends such as Canada, Mexico and Panama to gain advantage for US companies. He uses tariffs as a way to bully rivals and allies alike from China to Europe.
His strikes on Iran show he’s prepared to use military force to impose US imperialist interests as well.
Trump also had a success at the NATO summit in June, with all the NATO allies except Spain agreeing to lift military spending to 5 per cent of GDP.
Europe bent the knee to Trump and US power, with the NATO chief Mark Rutte messaging him to say, “Congratulations and thank you for your decisive action in Iran, that was truly extraordinary”, and declaring he was getting “another big success” with Europe’s commitment to increase military spending.
This appeasement of Trump by the US’s NATO allies came after he said he wouldn’t defend Europe unless they paid more of the share of NATO’s costs. Trump’s dressing down of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and threat to cut off US military aid against Russia added to their fears.
The end result is a win for Trump, who hopes to reduce the economic burden of the US’s military commitment to Europe.
The tensions between the imperialist powers make the world a much more dangerous place, generating more potential military conflict and the chance that it spirals out of control.
Trump’s decision to bomb Iran directly ran the risk of retaliation against US targets that could have seen US troops killed, triggering escalating US attacks on Iran.
Trump posed as a peace candidate during his run for president last year. A section of his MAGA support base is also hostile to US involvement in another ongoing Middle Eastern war.
Trump supporter and far right media personality Tucker Carlson savaged Republican Senator Ted Cruz in an interview over his support for military action aimed at regime change in Iran.
Even Trump probably understands that a full-scale US war against Iran, putting US troops on the ground, would end in disaster. Invading Iran would be even more costly than the failed US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq after 2001.
This shows the limits to US power, and explains why Trump bombed Iran but quickly announced a ceasefire two days later.
Israel the watchdog
Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu is celebrating the fact that the US seized the opportunity to deliver Iran a decisive blow.
Israel told the US it would attack by June whether or not it had US support, according to the Washington Post. But the US has also unequivocally backed Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its war in Lebanon.
This is the same bloody collaboration that has existed between Israel and the US for decades.
The US arms Israel as an attack dog for US interests, that is willing to discipline any state in the region that threatens US dominance. While the US has lifted sanctions on Syria, Israel has occupied parts of Syria and zealously bombed military bases and missile launchers that could have threatened the US and Israel.
The US control over Israel and its capacity to stop the genocide in Gaza was graphically on display when Trump demanded Israel halt the bombing of Iran. He fumed to reporters that “they don’t know what the fuck they’re doing” and told Netanyahu to turn around planes en route to bomb Iran.
Trump has shifted the imperialist balance of power to the US’s advantage in the Middle East and in Europe. The US will hope to extend the Abraham Accords with the Arab states to entrench Israel as an accepted power in the region. Trump also hopes the US military will be freer to concentrate on China.
But Israel and the US’s unrestrained brutality in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran means the bitterness felt by the working class and oppressed across the region is greater than ever. The power of Iran’s working class could be seen in the 1979 uprising that toppled the Shah. The revolutions in 2011 struck fear into the hearts of Arab dictators. It is that power that holds the hope of settling accounts with Israel and US imperialism.
By James Supple
