Trump’s Iran War is Built on Lies and Fantasies

The White House seems to have no clear objective in mind, let alone a plan to achieve an endgame for the violence it has unleashed Trump’s Iran War is Built on Lies and Fantasies The White House seems to have no clear objective in mind, let alone a plan to achieve an endgame for the violence it has unleashed By Mac William Bishop Mac William Bishop Contact Mac William Bishop on X Contact Mac William Bishop by Email Trump’s ‘Irreversible’ American Carnage in Greenland Trump Is Going to Have a Hard Time Winning on Iran Does Trump Have a Plan for Venezuela? View all posts by Mac William Bishop March 2, 2026 Plumes of smoke rise over the residential areas of the Iranian capital following airstrikes amid ongoing U.S. and Israel attacks,in Tehran, Iran, on March 1, 2026. Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu/Getty Images When America and Israel started a new war on Saturday, they quickly succeeded in killing Iran’s supreme leader, the 86-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This achievement prompted a burst of chest-thumping acclamation from a braying mob of war enthusiasts — those who Robert Graves, the World War I soldier and poet, memorably described as “the froth of the city.” “The thoughtless and ignorant scum / Who hang out the bunting when war is let loose / And for victory bang on a drum,” Graves wrote, observing the euphoria of his countrymen who never had to fight — first when the war began in 1914, and then when Armistice was announced in November 1918. For almost 50 years, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States have been locked in a shadowy conflict that has ebbed and pulsed in fitful cycles of violence through eight U.S. presidents. Now, the U.S. has chosen to turn that conflict into open, direct war — but no one in the government seems to have a clear objective in mind, let alone a plan to achieve an endgame. The Trump administration’s initial justification for launching the war was that there was an “imminent” threat Iran would launch missiles against American forces in the region. Setting aside the fact that those forces were being built up for the obvious purpose of attacking Iran, by the end of the weekend even this flimsy construct was revealed as a transparent lie in congressional briefings. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaking at a press conference on Monday, tweaked the casus belli, saying action was required because Iran was building a “conventional shield” to protect its nuclear program. Presumably, this is the same nuclear program American warplanes struck last June, achieving “total obliteration.” So another lie, either then, or now… or both. The truth is the United States, at the prompting of the Israeli government, believes a campaign of bombing and killing from the air will turn hostile Iran into a docile, toothless foe. Drunk with hubris after the successful operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro — which left his regime intact — Washington believes it can bomb Tehran into submission. Editor’s picks The 250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far The 100 Best TV Episodes of All Time The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century But Iran is not Venezuela. While the administration was clearly eager to claim victory after killing Khamenei, the Islamic Republic is not a cult of personality, and its oppressive regime is not wholly dependent on the life of one leader. President Donald Trump made it clear that he hoped the Iranian people would shoulder the burden of regime change. “To the great proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand,” the president said in a video released as the bombs began to fall. “Stay sheltered. Don’t leave your home. It’s very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government.” “It will be yours to take. This will be, probably, your only chance for generations,” Trump said. Trump indulged such magical thinking earlier this year, when he promised “help is on its way” to anti-government protesters who were taking to the streets across Iran. Help was not on its way: the U.S. did not have the military assets in place to take meaningful action. The protesters were slaughtered — the high estimate is 30,000 killed, although the precise number is still debated. The January protests and crackdown indicated structural weakness in the Iranian regime, and was just the latest example of significant civil unrest that began over social and economic grievances. But the U.S. doesn’t appear to be offering anti-regime actors much of a plan beyond bombing and killing. Related Content ‘SNL’ Weekend Update Uses Trump’s Own Words Against Him on Iran War ‘SNL’: Women’s Hockey Gold Medalists Stick It to Trump ‘SNL’ Cold Open: Trump Tells His ‘America First’ Voters Why They Shouldn’t Feel Duped by Iran War War Is Peace: Trump’s Regime-Change Reversal A direct challenge to the government, known as “th