Jared Keyel, Ph.D., is a scholar of war and displacement based in New Jersey. His work focuses on the harm done by American wars and the responsibilities the U.S. has to make reparations for the damage it causes.
Israel has again escalated its genocide of the Palestinians into an all-out regional war. Although the speed and intensity slowed, it never stopped killing in Gaza or Lebanon, and has now begun massively bombing Iran for the first time since June 2025.
Israel’s patron, the United States, has joined in the immoral, unjustifiable slaughter in Iran. According to Human Rights Activists News Agency , after only four days of carpet bombing the densely-populated capital Tehran and throughout the country, Israel and the United States have killed at least 1,097 civilians, including 181 children. At least 5,402 people have been injured. Another 880 reported deaths are under review to determine whether they are civilians. Many more Iranian military personnel have been killed. The opening salvo of this latest illegal war of aggression included the bombing of a girls’ primary school, a massacre that killed at least 175 people, mostly children.The Israelis have been trying to push the United States to attack Iran for more than 30 years. American politicians of both major political parties have been threatening to attack Iran for decades. Both countries finally created their opportunity to launch the war they dreamed of. The most cruel and violent movements in both countries have taken power and have made clear they will slaughter as many people as possible to further their geopolitical goals: inflicting maximum damage and creating instability to weaken a perceived regional rival.Despite decades of American violence justified with lies, there are still those who believe the absurd propaganda about liberation and human rights. I have seen Israelis raising the monarchist flag of Iran, as if supporting the son of the deposed dictator will endear themselves to the population of the country. Somehow, there are still naïve Israelis and Americans who genuinely believe their countries are killing schools full of little girls to “save” the women of Iran. To those dupes I say: If you believe that, I can offer you the Brooklyn Bridge at a very reasonable price. The warmed-over “Global War on Terror” rhetoric was laughable in 2001 and even more so today.Every single living current and former American president, and many of the dead, should be arrested and brought to trial for their war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocides. Some years ago, I attended a live poetry reading in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York near that same bridge. It was part of a Nowruz, Persian New Year, festival. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the name of the poet or the poem he read aloud, but one line has stuck with me ever since: “After the bombs, before the next.” That is the reality for tens of millions of Iranians, Palestinians, Lebanese, Yemenis, and on and on. Never knowing when, not if, the United States, Israel, and their allies will start bombing their country again.In the decade plus since that night, I have met many Iranians, some of whom I count among my dearest friends. At this very moment, I cannot contact them because of the ersatz holy war being waged by Israeli and American religious fanatics and far-right fascists. I do not know if my friends or their families are safe. I hope with every fiber of my being that they are.In a moment of mass killing and sickening triumphalism, Americans must speak out against this aggression. No caveats, no hedging. Neither Israel nor the United States have a right to attack any country they want. The moment US or Israeli jets—at this point a distinction without a difference—take off to bomb Tehran, Beirut, or anywhere else, those governments are responsible for the consequences of those actions. In the short term: Americans must demand Congress uses the powers it has to reign in the imperial presidency. In the long term, we must agitate and work toward accountability for killing.I will close by reiterating a call I have made many times before: Every single living current and former American president, and many of the dead, should be arrested and brought to trial for their war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocides. To that call I will add Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, already a fugitive from an International Criminal Court warrant for his crimes in Gaza, and every other living Israeli prime minister. Those efforts are the minimum we should demand, and must be the first step in a long accountability process for my friends, their families, and the 93 million other Iranians now under attack.
Israel Benjamin-Netanyahu Accountability Gaza-Genocide War-Crimes Iran-War
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