“Trump and Netanyahu have unleashed ‘Operation Epic Fury.’ For the sake of humanity, we must stop them.”

The assault once again exposes the true character of US diplomacy. Indirect talks between Tehran and Washington — mediated by Oman — were little more than a screen behind which the Trump administration coordinated an agenda of “major combat operations” under the banner of ‘Operation Epic Fury.’

Trump has been clear: This is a regime change offensive — devoid of any legal justification let alone authorization. Trump has framed these strikes as “pre-emptive”, necessary to eliminate “imminent threats” and to defend national security. Yet Iran has made no immediate threats to the US. On the contrary, it is a longstanding ambition of the US and Israel to wage war on Iran — the lethal consequences of which will be borne by its people.

These strikes did not begin today. They are an extension of a longer project to redraw the map of West Asia by force. From Afghanistan to Iraq, Libya to Syria, Yemen to Iran, each escalation is a stepping stone in a broader project to suffocate regional sovereignty in the service of US and Israeli interests. Each has left behind shattered states, displaced populations, and the wreckage of societies that dared to assert independence.

Imperialist war does not liberate peoples — it subjugates them. The evidence is found in the ruins of Gaza, Baghdad, and Tripoli, where bombs leveled cities and “democracy promotion” left ashes in its wake. Marco Rubio made it clear in Munich: the US does not wage war for freedom, but for recolonisation — whether in West Asia, or across the Western Hemisphere.

We refuse to remain passive observers of this project to recolonise the planet. From the Cabinet of the Progressive International, we commit to working with members and allies across the world — in their factories and ports, parliaments and courts — to break the war machine that propels our species toward extinction.

Photo: The Guardian