Under What Theory Should Iran Be Immune From Lethal Response To Its Actions?
/In today’s world, there are 193 countries in the UN. The large majority of those countries will vote consistently against the United States on measures that come before the General Assembly. Then again, the international system that counts is not the UN, but rather the U.S.-led commercial and legal order of alliances and trade. Almost all of the 193 UN member countries participate willingly in that system, to their great benefit. They may oppose the U.S. on many issues, and they may have disputes with their immediate neighbors, but they don’t make themselves constant troublemakers threatening to disrupt world peace and international trade.
And then there is that small number of countries that are engaged in some kind of continuous arms-supported opposition to the dominant U.S.-led order. Out of the 193 countries in the UN, recently that group has consisted of a cohort of six: China and Russia as the big two, plus the likes of Iran, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea. Each of these countries has taken its own approach to trying to resist and disrupt the U.S.-led international order.
But even among this group of rogue states, Iran has long stood out as the one state actor that engages in frequent and lethal armed attacks against other countries that are not at war with it and have not attacked it.
Consider some differences in approach among the main resistors.
Russia, during the Soviet era, engaged in a huge effort to create a “second” grand world alliance, organized around the ideology of communism. It recruited allies in places like Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa — generally the worst of the worst dictatorships — and pushed them to adopt socialist economic systems and to oppose the U.S. militarily. In the early 1990s, that effort, already flailing, ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Today, Russia’s adventures beyond its own borders consist almost entirely of trying to keep its ex-Soviet neighbors within its sphere of influence. The largest of those ex-Soviet states, Ukraine, wants no part of joining Russia, which has got Russia tied up in an endless war in which it likely can never succeed. At this point, Russia has little interest, let alone capacity, to strike out at others who were never part of the Soviet empire.
By contrast to Russia, China has current dreams of global domination. But it doesn’t have any active wars going on right now, and it does not engage in ongoing lethal attacks against other countries. Yes, it is engaged in a massive military build-up, accompanied by what might be called “provocations” of various sorts — things like building islands in the South China Sea in order to claim additional territory, and sending its fighter planes into its neighbors’ airspace. And China may well at some point launch an invasion of Taiwan. That would be highly analogous to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But now consider how different Iran is from these two models. Iran has engaged in constant lethal attacks against various perceived adversaries, notably Israel and the United States, but not limited to them. Here from Foundation for Defense of Democracies in June 2025 is a compilation of some 45 attacks by Iran and Iran-backed groups against Americans. The whole list is worth your attention. It’s easy to lose track of how many of these there have been, and how relentless it has been, and how it never stops. Here are just some highlights to refresh your recollection:
It started in 1979 with the taking of 66 American hostages at the embassy in Tehran. They were held until 1981.
An April 1983 suicide bombing of the U.S. embassy in Beirut by Iran-backed Islamic Jihad killed 63 people, including 17 Americans.
In December 1984, Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists hijacked a Kuwait Airways flight to Pakistan, diverting it to Tehran, and killing two American officials.
In 1995 and Iran-backed Hamas suicide bomber blew up a bus in Jerusalem, killing four (including one American) and wounding more than 100.
In June 1996 there was the Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia by Iran-backed Hezbollah, killing 19 Americans and wounding around 500 people total.
In August 1998, there was the simultaneous bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing 224, including 12 Americans, and wounding thousands. Iran-backed Hezbollah assisted al Qaeda in these attacks.
Etc., etc., etc. There has been no time in 47 years when we have been free of this. In recent years, things have only intensified. From the FDD list:
November 2024: A report released by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies indicates that Iran and its proxies have conducted more than 180 attacks against U.S. forces in the Middle East between October 17, 2023, and November 19, 2024, resulting in more than 180 wounded and three killed U.S. service members.
All of these many acts, and the others included in the FDD list, are fairly viewed as acts of war.
And then there was the plot to assassinate candidate Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign. A federal trial is actually taking place right now in Manhattan against a defendant named Asif Merchant, who is charged in that plot. From an Associated Press report today of the trial (which has not received a lot of attention):
Asif Merchant, a Pakistani national [is] accused of trying to hire hit men to kill a U.S. politician. Merchant didn't name a target but searched online for Trump rally locations, according to prosecutors, who introduced evidence Tuesday that Merchant’s laptop contained photos of both Trump and then-President Joe Biden at a time when they were rivals for the presidency. An FBI agent testified Tuesday that Merchant told her he had a Revolutionary Guard “handler” and believed the handler would help bankroll the plan.
At least that one didn’t succeed.
But, as these dozens upon dozens of lethal attacks against Americans (and many others) by Iran and Iran-backed groups have proceeded, the responses have, until the arrival of President Trump, always been non-lethal. Impose a few sanctions. Block some oil sales. Seize some assets. Send a strongly worded letter of protest.
Well, what’s the theory that Iran should be immune from a lethal response to its many lethal attacks? Sure we should seek to minimize use of the military, and avoid getting into endless wars. But in this case, we were already in an endless war.