On July 22, 2025, the US President sent more than 100 American aircraft to bomb Iran, which is a few thousand kilometres away from the Unites States. This large, sovereign country with a population of 92 million is a separate civilisation with thousands of years of history.

This was done under the pretext of depriving Tehran of the ability to create nuclear weapons. There was and is no convincing evidence that Iran was going to produce an atomic bomb; the country’s authorities have repeatedly assured that they have no such intentions. In March, US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard officially stated that American intelligence had no information that Tehran was close to developing nuclear weapons.

A ‘hunch’ tricked Trump…

Trump, who has constantly said that he would like to solve the issue diplomatically (there have already been 5 rounds of direct US-Iranian negotiations), made it clear from time to time that he does not rule out a military solution. He later stated he had a hunch that Iran’s nuclear programme had a military dimension, but dismissed the statement from Tulsi Gabbard, the US official heading all 18 intelligence agencies.

All of this is reminiscent of 2003, when then-secretary of state Powell shook a test tube at a Security Council session, assuring the entire international community that the United States had evidence of Saddam Hussein’s regime creating weapons of mass destruction.

Many observers in America and beyond perceived this move by President Trump as the beginning of a new war in the Middle East. A Turkish newspaper even used a Russian proverb, noting that the US leader is “stepping on the same rake”. It is noteworthy that Americans polls showed that the majority of the country’s population opposes US involvement in the Israeli war against Iran.

In the ‘Make America Great Again’ movement, many of Trump’s staunch supporters criticised the president’s strikes on Iran. Even the firmly Trumpist Marjorie Taylor Greene, a member of the House of Representatives, has consistently stressed that over the past 20 years the United States participated in various wars in the Middle East and spent trillions of dollars on it, but failed to achieve any positive results (American losses in these wars amounted to almost one million dead, $5.8 trillion was spent on them).

Many Democratic leaders also criticised the president’s actions, emphasising that he does not have the right to declare war, something that can only be done by Congress. They were supported by some members of the Republican Party. At the same time, they all referred to Trump’s repeated statements that the intervention in Iraq was a stupid and gross mistake, that he would not start new wars, convinced he was a peacemaker.

There are many articles published in the American press showing that Trump’s strikes on Iran were illegal. These sentiments were clearly expressed in an article in the Foreign Affairs magazine on June 23 this year. Its authors stressed that action always generates a reaction. The time lag between the immediate result and what is happening may stretch as a result of this. It will not be long before more Palestinians, Lebanese, Iranians and others, motivated by their cause, desperate and with friends or family members killed and seeking revenge, resort to unconventional forms of war, more deadly and technologically advanced versions of yesterday’s plane and bus hijackings, hostage-taking and suicide attacks. They will be shaped by instincts and emotions, deep-rooted aspirations for historical compensation and revenge. This is not a world built by and for Americans.

The US military’s June 22 attack on Iran led to a drop in Trump’s rating in the United States, and several anti-war demonstrations even took place. The president’s actions have damaged his credibility both in the United States and globally. Confidence in Washington has been lost. Even former secretary of state Blinken said the bombing of Iran was a mistake.

Netanyahu outplayed Trump

79-year-old Trump, an egocentric and authoritarian oligarch who quickly became a populist politician, is used to being the focus of everyone’s attention. He is an unmatched speaker and manipulator of mass consciousness, evoking mixed reactions around the world. By bombing Iran and completely aligning himself with Israel, he complicated the prospects for the Republican Party’s victory in the midterm congressional elections next year. There were even comments in the American press that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu had outplayed him.

On June 24, 202, the Washington Post noted that by joining Israel against Iran, the United States has expanded its obligations beyond what it can afford. The United States is waging a proxy war in Ukraine, but its prestige and authority are under threat there. Now America is participating in a war whose outcome is hidden in the fog of this war, and whose momentum and direction are set by an ally with its own agenda.

At a press conference following the strike on Iran, Trump and his advisers praised the “brilliantly conducted operation” involving more than a hundred aircraft, some of which flew from the US, while underlining that Iran’s nuclear programme had suffered irreparable damage. It was intended as a demonstration of the strength, might and capabilities of the United States.

When it became clear that the Iranians had emptied the facilities bombed by the Americans of almost all the enriched uranium, Trump became nervous. He attacked a Republican congressman, who reproached him for not having the right to start military operations without a parliamentary decision, in an unusually harsh manner.

It seems this prompted Trump to declare an urgent truce and end the war between Israel and Iran, although some TV channels mentioned that Israel had simply run out of supplies and was unable to carry out attacks on Iran.

No matter how the situation in the Middle East unfolds, it is clear that the unprovoked US attack on Iran undermined the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Many countries have concluded that they can easily become the target of new American bombardments because of their lack of nuclear weapons. At the same time, they cite North Korea as an example, which, having acquired weapons of mass destruction, has shielded itself from being attacked by the United States.

In analysing the current situation, some Arab newspapers conclude that the Islamic Republic of Iran has managed to stand up and defend itself, and now its leadership will be dominated by figures trying to obtain nuclear weapons as soon as possible.

The situation in the world has changed radically since June 22. Many countries of the Global South are once again convinced that hopes for a just solution to conflict situations should be linked to Russia and China, to BRICS.

Mohammed Amer, Syrian publicist and analyst. Courtesy

https://journal-neo.su/2025/07/02/donald-trumps-mistake/