General Wesley Clark, a former NATO commander, claimed that after the 9/11 attacks, the Bush administration had a plan to attack seven majority-Muslim countries over five years, starting with Iraq and followed by Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Iran, Somalia, and Sudan. Iran was the only country not yet attacked, until this week. But it has been in the cross hairs of the American Empire for a long time. Clark said this was shown to him about 10 days after 9/11.
The American Empire has been consistent over the years in demonizing Iran, using the same playbook that was used to demonize Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi . There is a long list of propaganda tools that are effective. One obvious one is that every event in the Middle East is preceded by “Iranian backed”. Iranian backed Hezbollah, Iranian backed Yemeni, Iranian backed Hamas, Iranian backed Ice Cream.
The seven biggest lies about Iran, courtesy of Harrison Mann at Zeteo, are described here. They are: 1. Iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon 2. Israel’s attack on Iran was a preemptive strike required for self-defense 3. Israeli military operations will prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. 4. The United States is not responsible for Israel’s attack. 5. The attack will bring Iran to the table for a nuclear deal. 6. Attacking the Iranian government will lead to a coup. 7. Israel can “drag” the United States into a war against Iran*.
It is important to note that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon. Israel has 800. It remains a mystery as to how one nuclear weapon could be anything but a deterrent, certainly not something that would be a true threat to Israel. But according to western media....
Since Trump's first term in office, Iran has been attacked or had important people assassinated at least 8 times, always with a limited response. Before the recent attack (July 12, 2025), Trump had sent his super negotiator and golfing buddy Steve Wikoff to solve the crisis, but it was a suckers game. Just prior to the sixth serious meeting, Israel unleashed the strike on Iran which will be the date remembered as the day World War III began. The attack was extraordinarily successful as the negotiations seemed to have lulled the Iranians to sleep, allowing for an effective decapitation attack
This is a list of Israel and America attacks on Iran.
May 2018: Trump withdraws US from Iran nuclear deal . This was a first step in an economic war as it allowed America to sanction Iran.The sanctions included energy-related sanctions and sanctions ancillary to that (CBI, shipping, etc.), as well as relisting designated companies and other Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action sanctions and civil aviation licenses. All JCPOA-related sanctions waivers were immediately pulled.
Jan 4 2020 US President Donald Trump has said that he ordered a precision strike to “terminate” a top Iranian commander, General Qasem Soleimani. Imagine if someone assassinated- openly- the head of the American military.
November 2021 – Iran’s top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated near Tehran. Widely attributed to Israeli intelligence. IRGC Chief Salami vowed “severe revenge,” and Supreme National Security Council held urgent meetings.
May 2022 – Col. Sayad Khodayee Iran publicly blamed Israeli intelligence and emphasized its preparedness to retaliate (though specifics of response not widely reported). Leadership statements echoed those during Fakhrizadeh’s killing—emphasizing accountability and vengeance.
April 19, 2024 – Limited airstrike near Isfahan, targeting IRGC radar S 300. Iran's reaction “Tehran intentionally maintained silence to avoid escalation, signaling restraint .”May 2024: Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has died in a helicopter crash at age 63, the government confirmed. The country’s foreign minister and seven others were killed after the crash in a remote, mountainous area of Iran’s northwest. Israel's denied involvement. If Iran's intelligence knows differently, they are not saying publicly.
July 31, 2024 – Ismail Haniyeh Though not Iranian, the Hamas political chief was assassinated in Tehran by an airstrike believed to be carried out by Israel. Supreme Leader Khamenei publicly declared Iran would not allow this attack to go unpunished .
October 26, 2024 – Operation Days of Repentance (aka Days of Reckoning): Multiple provinces (Tehran, Ilam, Khuzestan) targeting missile infrastructure and air defense.Supreme Leader Khamenei directed the Supreme National Security Council to prepare for retaliation, while IRGC warned that aggression “will not go unanswered”.
This time, Iran did finally respond by launching an extensive barrage of ballistic missiles and drones at Israel—over 100 in total—most intercepted by Israel’s defenses.
June 12, 2024: Israel’s "Operation Rising Lion" targeted key Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists, killing high-ranking commanders from the IRGC and prominent nuclear experts
The strikes resulted in the deaths of key figures like Mohammad Bagheri, Hossein Salami, one who led the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, and Fereydoon Abbasi, head of the Guard’s ballistic missile program, resulting in significant losses to Iran’s military and nuclear capabilities
Several other nuclear scientists, including Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi and Abdulhamid Minouchehr, were killed, dealing a blow to Iran’s nuclear program.
In response, Iran proved that the Iron Dome provides little protection. The airports are closed and Israeli's prohibited from leaving. Beyond that, the outcome of this war is uncertain.
Israel has bombed Iranian TV (killing journalists has become a sport for Israel's military in Gaza).
The war between Israel and Iran has begun in earnest. There is a high risk if not likelihood of a nuclear attack by Israel on Iran. Antiwar’s Scott Horton is reporting that, according to his sources, the Trump administration has already decided to join in Israel’s war. America, via Trump's tweet and Marco Rubio's mouth, has vowed involvement if any American assets are struck. If Iran doesn't strike them directly, an act of Israeli subterfuge (making a hit on something American look like it was coming from Iran), cannot be ruled out. American overt participation is inevitable, and this makes it a World War. Pakistan has threatened to use a nuclear weapon on Israel if it strikes Iran with a nuke. If Iran doesn't strike them directly, Israel will certainly create an event to draw America into the conflict.
Concurrently, Russia continues to hold the upper hand in Ukraine. Trump has been unable to defeat the Military Industrial Complex, so the weapons to Ukraine continue. Russia and Iran are loosely allies. There are not mutual aid treaties that would force Russia to come to the aid of Iran, but there is plenty of incentive. Putin is already defending against a regime change operation, so one reason for Russia to aid Iran is that a defeat of Iran occurs, Russia would then be facing an emboldened arrogant Empire that would have numerous new ways to hurt Russia.
At the moment about 250 Iranians civilians are dead, as well ass 10 to 12 Israelis. And if the first nuclear bomb falls? A nuclear attack on the Natanz facility would, depending on the type of weapon, kill approximately 40,000 people, as estimated by ChatGpt. A nuclear attack on Tehran would kill most of the 14 million people in the greater metropolitan area. This is important because Trump has warned residents of Tehran to evacuate, signaling a forthcoming attack.
Over the past ten years, Iran has been attacked via assassination and direct military assaults numerous times, always with a muted response. In the west, everything is the fault of Iran, although Israel has consistently been the aggressor. Now the military machine of the American Empire is about to evaporate thousands if not millions of innocent Iranians.
Caitlin Johnstone writes: “A full-scale US war against Iran is one of the worst things that could possibly happen. Full stop. It would likely entail millions of deaths, massive worldwide economic suffering, chaos and devastation throughout the middle east unlike anything we’ve ever seen, and could easily wind up with an Israeli nuclear weapon exploding in Tehran. There is a reason even a lot of otherwise war-happy swamp monsters in Washington have resisted going down this path. I really, really hope it doesn’t happen.”
America - the only country to ever use nuclear weapons - is threatening Iran with dire consequences over its non-existent nuclear weapons.
How could Iran have been more restrained over the years to the many provocations? Three top Generals were killed in a targeted attack, their new top General was killed this past week. Several nuclear scientists have been killed over the years. Iran's President was killed in a suspicious accident.
The answer to the question “What did the Iranians do to deserve to be killed by the Western Empire?” is found in General Wesley Clark reporting of a war plan to attack Iraq that goes back to before the September 11th attacks in 2001. The Empire's war machine is a runaway train.