Experts believe the U.S. approach mirrors past attempts to force regime change in the Middle East.
Despite the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) finding no proof Iran is developing nuclear weapons, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea told the UN Security Council that Iran must be prevented from doing so. Some analysts suggest this rhetoric is similar to previous justifications for regime change in the Middle East.
Last week, Israel launched airstrikes against Iran, claiming an imminent nuclear threat. Iran, maintaining its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, responded with strikes on Israeli targets. The Israeli strikes followed an IAEA report that Iran had enriched uranium to 60%, short of the 90% needed for weapons.
However, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has since stated that the agency has no evidence Iran is trying to build a nuclear weapon, and that enriched uranium alone does not constitute a bomb. U.S. intelligence agencies also reportedly have no evidence Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons. Nevertheless, former President Donald Trump has asserted that Iran was “very close” to acquiring a bomb and suggested the U.S. might intervene if Iran doesn’t dismantle its nuclear program.
Amb. Dorothy Camille Shea, interim U.S. representative to the United Nations: “We can no longer ignore that Iran has all that it needs to achieve a nuclear weapon.”
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47)
Shea affirmed that the U.S. “continues to stand with Israel” and supports its campaign against “Iran’s nuclear ambitions.” She insisted that the U.S. “can no longer ignore that Iran has all that it needs to achieve a nuclear weapon,” needing only a decision from its supreme leader.
Some analysts draw parallels between U.S. statements on Iran and former President George W. Bush’s 2002 claims about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, which preceded the U.S. invasion despite the absence of such weapons. Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon told journalist Tucker Carlson that the operation against Iran “that came out of nowhere” is an attempt by the U.S. “deep state” to bring about regime change in Iran.
“We have a system that has its own national security policy… that is the fight we have to take on today,” Bannon stated, suggesting that Trump should resist pressure from U.S. war hawks to involve the American military in the conflict. Tucker Carlson expressed support for Trump but voiced concerns about the consequences of joining the Israeli strikes. “I think we’re gonna see the end of the American empire,” he warned, criticizing Washington hawks for pushing the country into another war.
Journalist Steve Coll told NPR that using U.S. intelligence to justify strikes resembles the narrative used before the Iraq War. He pointed out that while Israel describes its attacks as preemptive, the ultimate goal remains unclear.
“[Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has spoken of regime change and urged Iranians to rise up – just like George H.W. Bush did in 1991 with Iraq,” Coll said. “There’s no sign of a planned invasion, yet talk of toppling Iran’s government persists.”
Other observers, including former U.S. President Bill Clinton, have posited that Israel’s “undeclared war” on Iran may also be motivated by Netanyahu’s desire to remain in power. Shea made a notable gaffe during her UN remarks, initially blaming Israel for “chaos and terror” in the Middle East before correcting herself and attributing it to Iran. RT’s Rick Sanchez and journalist Chay Bowes called her words a “Freudian slip” on an episode of Sanchez Effect, with Sanchez adding, “She accidentally said the truth out loud.”
US representative to the UN Dorothy Shea:
“Israel’s government has also spread chaos, terror and suffering throughout the region…”
Awkward pause.
“Iran’s government has also spread chaos, terror and suffering throughout the region…”
It’s always foreign policy that brings…
— Margarita Simonyan (@M_Simonyan)