In the year 2025, one might have hoped that the global community would be working together to address the existential threat of climate change; working to prevent future pandemics; working to address the massive levels of income and wealth inequality that exists; working to improve the standard of living of struggling people all over the world.
But tragically, that is not where we are today. Quite the contrary. Instead of addressing the major crises that we face, the world is now looking at the terrible war in Ukraine, started by Russian President Vladimir Putin, which has taken hundreds of thousands of lives over the last three years. We are looking at the horrific war in Gaza where, as we speak today, thousands of Palestinian children are facing starvation due to Israel’s inhumane and illegal war policies.
Supporting Netanyahu’s war against Iran would be a catastrophic mistake.
And, now, we face a dangerous and escalating war in Iran which was begun, in violation of international law, by the extremist Netanyahu government.
And the main point that I want to make today is that it is absolutely imperative that the United States not be dragged into this war.
Let me say a word about how this war started.
On Thursday, Netanyahu launched an illegal and unilateral surprise attack on Iran, bombing targets across the country and killing hundreds of people. Iran has responded with attacks of its own, which have killed dozens of people in Israel.
Whatever you may think of the corrupt and authoritarian Iranian regime, Israel’s attack clearly violated international law and the United Nations Charter. While every country has the right to defend itself, they do not have the right to launch so-called pre-emptive wars of this kind.
But let’s remember who Netanyahu is: He is a war criminal under indictment by the International Criminal Court for starving innocent people and killing civilians in Gaza. At this very moment, in Gaza, Israel continues to prevent the UN from delivering humanitarian aid to starving children. On Tuesday, in Gaza, Israeli tanks fired into a crowd desperately trying to collect food aid, killing at least 59 people.
Let’s be clear: this attack was specifically designed to sabotage American diplomatic efforts.
So it should come as little surprise that Netanyahu ignored international law to start this war against Iran.
But Netanyahu’s decision to strike also directly contravened the express wishes of the United States, which was seeking a diplomatic resolution to the long-standing tensions around Iran’s nuclear program. In recent months, the United States had held five rounds of negotiations with Iran to resolve those long-standing concerns. Let me repeat: in recent months the United States had held five rounds of negotiations with Iran to resolve those long-standing concerns. A sixth round of talks was planned for Sunday, but Netanyahu chose instead to start this war.
Let’s be clear: this attack was specifically designed to sabotage American diplomatic efforts. In fact, in its first round of strikes, Israel assassinated the man overseeing Iran’s nuclear negotiating team.
And let’s also remember that U.S. intelligence has never indicated that Iran had made the decision to build a nuclear weapon. Just a few months ago, Trump’s own Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, testified to Congress that the “intelligence community continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon.”
But Netanyahu chose to attack, crippling diplomatic efforts and risking a full-blown regional war. He is now openly talking about regime change in Iran and threatening to kill the political leadership of that country, without any thought to the chaos that might ensue. Let’s also not forget that the current Islamic regime in Iran is itself the product of a Western-backed coup in 1953 that overthrew the democratically-elected government of Iran and replaced it with a corrupt autocrat.
Netanyahu’s illegal attack has made the world a more dangerous place.
The critical question now is whether the United States will get involved in Netanyahu’s war.
Let me be absolutely clear: the United States must not be dragged into another of Netanyahu’s wars — not militarily or financially. The U.S. Constitution is crystal clear: there can be no offensive use of military force — against Iran or any other country — without an explicit authorization from Congress. No such authorization exists, and any U.S. involvement would therefore be illegal.
The United States has already provided hundreds of billions of dollars to Israel over the decades. Last year alone, the U.S. taxpayers provided more than $22 billion in military aid to Israel. All while we have people in this country sleeping out on the street, unable to afford healthcare or other basic necessities.
Enough is enough.
President Trump ran as a supposed peace candidate. In his Inaugural Address, he said: “My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier. That’s what I want to be: a peacemaker and a unifier.” Very fine words. Trump should remember them today.
Supporting Netanyahu’s war against Iran would be a catastrophic mistake. If President Trump wants to be remembered as a peacemaker, he must work with the international community to rein in Netanyahu and urgently push for a diplomatic solution.
Netanyahu’s illegal attack has made the world a more dangerous place. The United States must not be a part of this war.
