By Caitlin JOHNSTONE
The justifications for war with Iran keep changing. First it's nukes, then it's conventional missiles, then it's protesters, and now it's back to nukes again. Kinda seems like war with Iran is itself the objective, and they're just making up excuses to get there.
The justifications for war with Iran keep changing. First it's nukes, then it's conventional missiles, then it's protesters, and now it's back to nukes again. Kinda seems like war with Iran is itself the objective, and they're just making up excuses to get there.
As the US moves war machinery to the middle east and holds multi-day war games throughout the region, President Trump and his handlers have been posting threats to the Iranian government on social media warning them to "make a deal" on nuclear weapons.
The following appeared on Trump's Truth Social account on Wednesday:
"A massive Armada is heading to Iran. It is moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose. It is a larger fleet, headed by the great Aircraft Carrier Abraham Lincoln, than that sent to Venezuela. Like with Venezuela, it is, ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary. Hopefully Iran will quickly"Come to the Table"and negotiate a fair and equitable deal - NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS - one that is good for all parties. Time is running out, it is truly of the essence ! As I told Iran once before, MAKE A DEAL ! They didn't, and there was"Operation Midnight Hammer,"a major destruction of Iran. The next attack will be far worse ! Don't make that happen again. Thank you for your attention to this matter ! President DONALD J. TRUMP"
"...Hopefully Iran will quickly"Come to the Table"and negotiate a fair and equitable deal - NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS - one that is good for all parties. Time is running out, it is truly of the essence ! As I told Iran once before, MAKE A DEAL..." - President DONALD J. TRUMP pic.twitter.com/H6qLbw3Ndi- The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 28, 2026
It's interesting that we're back on the subject of needing to bomb Iran because of nuclear weapons, given that just a couple of weeks ago we were being told it was very, very important for the US to bomb Iran because of Iran's mistreatment of protesters. Earlier this month Trump was openly saying "Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING - TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!... HELP IS ON ITS WAY" while issuing threats to the Iranian government not to respond violently to the uprising. The president then backed off of these threats, reportedly at the urging of Benjamin Netanyahu who told him Israel needed more time to prepare for war.
Prior to that, Trump was saying he would bomb Iran if it continued expanding its conventional missile program. Asked about reports that the US and Israel were discussing plans to strike Iran to stop it from building on its ballistic missile arsenal and reconstructing its air defenses that were damaged in the Twelve Day War, the president told the press "I hope they're not trying to build up again because if they are, we're going have no choice but very quickly to eradicate that buildup."
The US justified its airstrikes on Iranian energy infrastructure during the Twelve Day War by citing concerns that Tehran was building a nuclear weapon, after which Trump confidently proclaimed that "All three nuclear sites in Iran were completely destroyed and/or OBLITERATED. It would take years to bring them back into service."
And yet here we are a few months later back on the subject of nuclear weapons, with the US president citing urgent concerns over nukes to justify its renewed brinkmanship with Iran.
I kinda think they're lying to us, folks.
Didn't Trump say last summer that he destroyed three nuclear sites in Iran that they couldn't bring back into service for many years ? t.co- Luke Rudkowski (@Lukewearechange) January 28, 2026
When someone's feeding you all sorts of reasons for why they need to bomb a country, and the reasons are all different and unrelated to each other, then those aren't reasons. They're excuses.
It's just like they did with Venezuela. It's because of fentanyl ! Okay it's not because of fentanyl, but it's definitely about cocaine ! Wait, no, it's because of the tyrannical dictator ! Also this is happening in the western hemisphere so it's fine and good for us to intervene!
Both Venezuela and Iran are oil-rich nations which have been disobedient to the will of the US empire. Both Venezuela and Iran have presented obstacles to US global hegemony. It's not about nukes or protesters or dictators or drugs, it's about ruling the world.
That's all it's ever about. They just move the arguments around to get what they want.
Despite all Trump's showmanship about nuclear weapons, behind the scenes the US is reportedly trying to get Iran to agree to limit its conventional ballistic missiles, which, as The New York Times notes, "are the last deterrent in Iran's arsenal against a renewed attack by Israel."
What this means is that the Trump administration is trying to get Iran to consent to becoming a neutered subject who must forever submit to the US and Israel's demands, because it won't be able to defend itself if they decide Tehran isn't being sufficiently compliant.
They're trying to frame this as being about humanitarian concerns and nuclear weapons, but it's actually about domination. They either get a submissive vassal, or they get their regime change war.
The more tense things get with Iran, the more the empire is going to lie to us.
Original article: caitlinjohnstone.com.au