Israel’s attack on Iran and imperialist design
Yusuf Karadaş
Fotoğraf: İran İnternational
With Israel’s comprehensive attack targeting Iran’s strategic facilities and figures—the striking force of U.S. imperialism’s policy to redesign the region (the Middle East)—the most critical phase of this design policy has been reached. In Israel’s attacks, which targeted nuclear and military bases in many cities, including the capital Tehran, Iran’s Chief of General Staff Mohammad Bagheri and Revolutionary Guards Commander Hossein Salami, as well as many scientists working in nuclear facilities, lost their lives. Although Iran’s expected response of launching around 100 drones at Israel was predictable, the decisive factors in terms of the scope of this war and its impact on the region will be the steps taken afterward and which forces will be involved.
Although U.S. Secretary of State Rubio stated that they had no involvement in Israel’s attack, the fuse of this attack was lit by Trump in March. Shortly after taking office in March, Trump sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei via the United Arab Emirates (UAE), giving him two months to agree to a nuclear deal under his imposed conditions and threatening that otherwise, the military response would be devastating. Therefore, the fact that this attack took place during a period of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran over Iran’s nuclear (uranium enrichment) program shows that Israel’s attack was not carried out despite the U.S. but as a tool to ensure the U.S. achieved its desired outcome from these talks. Iran’s announcement that it withdrew from the U.S.-Iran nuclear talks, expected to resume on June 15 in Oman after this attack, does not change this reality.
The timing of the attack—following the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) statement, tasked by Western imperialists to legitimize attacks and pressure on Iran, that "Iran violated its obligations to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons," and as the European trio (Britain, France, and Germany) prepared to bring this report to the UN agenda to reimpose sanctions on Iran—clearly demonstrates that Israel’s aggression draws power and support not only from the U.S. but also from European imperialists. Especially at a time when Western imperialists can no longer defend Israel’s massacres in Gaza, which have turned into genocide, the attack on Iran also aims to cover up both Israel’s war crimes and the complicity of these imperialist powers.
Regarding Iran’s nuclear program, which is cited as the justification for Israel’s attacks today, the following must be said: First, this program was initiated in the 1960s during the Shah’s regime with the support of the U.S. and Western imperialists and continued by the mullah regime after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. While the nuclear program was seen as a right and supported when there was a regime cooperating with them in Iran, its portrayal as a "threat" by the U.S., Western imperialists, and Israel after the regime change is a striking example of how these powers instrumentalize international law based on their interests.
Moreover, while Iran signed a nuclear cooperation agreement in 2016 with the P5+1—the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (U.S., China, Russia, Britain, France) and Germany—it was Trump who broke this agreement in May 2018 (during his previous presidency).
As mentioned at the beginning of the article, the direct targeting of Iran marks a new phase in the redesign of the region based on the interests of U.S. imperialism, initiated with the 2023 attack, massacre, and occupation of Gaza, where Israel emerged as the striking force. Israel’s genocide and occupation in Gaza were followed by heavy blows to Lebanon’s Hezbollah, a key link in the resistance axis, and the overthrow of the Baath/Assad regime in Syria, one of the most important forces positioned against the U.S.-Israel axis in the region. While Israel destroyed all military infrastructure and facilities in the country and occupied strategic points, HTS and its leader Jolani, who seized power in Syria, declared Iran the greatest threat, serving Israel’s aggression in entering a new phase.
It is clear that Israel, which attacked Iran, and the U.S. imperialism behind it are not solely concerned with Iran’s nuclear program. Their real goal is to force Iran to its knees through either an imposed compromise or war under their desired conditions and subsequently ensure the liquidation of all forces within the Iran-resistance axis in the region, from Lebanon’s Hezbollah to Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi and Yemen’s Houthis. On the other end of this policy lies the continuation of the Abraham Accords, aimed at "normalization" between Israel and collaborating Arab regimes, and on this basis, the goal of ensuring Israel’s "security" and protecting U.S. regional interests.
Despite the blows its allies have suffered and the aggression it faces, Iran, which maintains its position as a significant regional power, is the visible target of the recent attacks. However, beyond this visible target, there is no doubt that the aim is also to limit the power and influence of Russia—which signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement with Iran in January 2025 after the regime change in Syria—and China, which seeks to turn the region into a key junction in its hegemony struggle with U.S. imperialism through the Belt and Road Initiative. Therefore, to foresee the course of future developments, it is necessary to observe the stance Russia and China—which has been persistently avoiding an early confrontation with the U.S.—will take.
Finally, although Turkey’s Erdoğan government "strongly" condemns Israel’s attacks on Iran, the role it plays in U.S. imperialism’s policy to redesign the region places it on the same axis as Israel. This is why AKP spokesperson Ömer Çelik, while condemning Israel, cannot utter a single word against the U.S., the real power behind this attack. The Erdoğan government, with its role in the regime change in Syria—praised by Trump—its emergence as a balancing actor against Iran in Iraq, and its continuation of trade with Israel in various forms despite all backlash, is one of the forces that pave the way for and enable Israeli aggression. On the other hand, it is also true that the Erdoğan government is concerned about the expansion of Israel’s regional influence and the narrowing of its own maneuvering space. While this may seem like a contradiction at first glance, it actually stems from the dual character of the process. On one hand, Turkey’s ruling power seeks to deepen its cooperation with U.S. imperialism in line with its expansionist ambitions, but as seen in the case of the regime change in Syria, this policy inevitably opens space for Israel. Moreover, as long as the Turkey-Israel rivalry does not turn into open conflict, it does not pose a problem for U.S. imperialism; on the contrary, it plays a functional role in the policy of redesigning the region.
The events since the occupation and massacres that began in Gaza in 2023 have once again shown that condemning Israel is not enough to stop a regional war that could lead to great destruction. It is necessary to also target the U.S. and Western imperialists that empower and stand behind it, as well as imperialism-collaborator regimes in the region like the Erdoğan government. Only the peoples of the region overcoming ethnic, religious, and sectarian divisions to jointly struggle for a future of peace against imperialists and collaborators, along with the solidarity of the world’s peoples, can prevent this great catastrophe!
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