The US Conflict Involving Iran.

TLO Staff Editor John E.

The US's involvement in Iran has grown from one of general political support of-and weapons assistance to-Israel, to today's all-out armed conflicts between Iran and the US military all throughout the Middle East. After Iran failed to comply with IAEA requests for updated access to Iranian nuclear energy sites in 2024-25, both Israel and the US chose to bomb Iranian underground military sites suspected of conducting research into and production of nuclear weapons after Iran publicly admitted to increasing their efforts at enriching uranium to over 60%, which leads very rapidly to development of weapons-grade uranium capable of being used for nuclear bomb-making. In blunt terms, Israel and the US are both aligned on the premise that Iran must never create possess or purchase a nuclear weapon because such development would then ultimately lead to powerful attacks against Israel and Western US allies. 

This isn't a vague assumption. Iran's repeated missile and drone attacks against US military bases throughout the Middle East recently have shown the general public that not only are Iranian forces capable of "first strikes", and as capable as the US and Israel are, but also, despite both nations' abilities- those who conducted first strikes against Iran months ago leading to the present-day situations involving Iran- are still capable of delivering powerful attacks against US forces operating throughout the Middle East. Currently it is widely known that the US continues to defend Western interests all throughout the region, including those of NATO countries. And Iran's weapons have been shown capable of evading and bypassing Israeli air defense systems, leading to wide-scale destruction and damage to major Israeli cities such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Conversely, Israeli attacks against Hezbollah forces in Lebanon and Israeli strikes into Lebanon and Iran have resulted in large-scale civic destructions over there, and have adversely affected millions of people outside of Israel, and despite the supposed "ceasefire" involving Iran, Israel, the US and Hezbollah and Lebanon. So why is there still fighting over there and when will it end? 

One possible answer is that Iran wants singular and exclusive management control over the Straight of Hormuz. Their government representatives state publicly that the fees that Iran is collecting involving mine clearing in the Straight of Hormuz as well as administrative fees for docking and loading and unloading in and near Iran aren't "tolls" but "costs associated with operations of ships crossing in and out of the Straight and the Persian Gulf". This issue was brought up in recent US-Iran negotiations but the talks have stalled after conflicting reports of massive Iranian and Israeli missile strikes against each other during their declared ceasefire surfaced early in June, 2026. Retaliatory strikes from both sides against both sides, and self-defense strikes by the US against Iranian targets following the Iranian attacks against US military bases in Bahrain and Jordan and Kuwait involving missiles and drones, appear to have pushed potential peace talks into the future. In June, a US military helicopter was downed also, and the US has placed the blame on Tehran's leaders, leading to more self -defense strikes by the US against Iranian targets and unfortunate delays in US Congress as to settling situations involving deciding who has the real power in Washington to conduct these military actions in order to defend US soldiers over there, and also to prevent further escalations of military actions between all fighting parties. 

But, unfortunately, and conversely, the US military is at a severe and ethical crossroads as they are at present ordered to fire at ANY ships crossing into or out of the Straight of Hormuz that violate the blockade, not just Iranian vessels! Because of these orders, US Navy ships have disabled neutral foreign -flagged unarmed oil and cargo vessels by firing large missiles into their engine compartments!  The whole idea of preventing the ships from entering the Straight was to protect the ships from being attacked by Iran or from Iranian mines laid in the waters of the Straight!  Instead, those vessel's worst enemy is now the United States military forces, who are blockading the Straight and firing lethal trajectories at unarmed ships for violating the blockade! Can this situation get any crazier?

This is a continuing news op-ed.