If Israel’s response sucks us into war, it will be on the administration’s hands. Here’s why.
By Trita Parsi, Responsible Statecraft
Today, Iran launched a massive missile attack against Israel, which Tehran billed as a response to Israel’s recent assassinations of leaders of the IRGC, Hezbollah and Hamas. Israel now appears to be mulling a retaliation in turn that could push the sides into all-out war.
When Israel and Iran narrowly avoided a full-blown conflict in April, I warned that we shouldn’t let Biden’s help in averting escalation overshadow his broader, strategic failure to prevent such a dangerous moment from ever arising. Had the U.S. used its considerable leverage with Israel to end its war in Gaza, the region would not have found itself on the edge of a disastrous war in April; six months later, the Middle East is back at the brink of disaster.

Iran has made it clear that it does not want a regional conflict; Tehran doesn’t seem to believe it can afford such a war. But Netanyahu clearly thinks it’s in his interest to ramp up conflict right now, as Washington stands frozen — a month out from an election and with a lame duck president who seems incapable of telling Israel “no,” no matter the costs for American security.
One must hope that somehow, further escalation is avoided. But the risk of just such an outcome is enormous, and if the U.S. finds itself in a new forever war in the Middle East, the buck will stop with Biden. This White House has repeatedly chosen to keep the U.S. on the precipice of war, rather than restrain Israel’s military as its expanding wars killed more and more civilians in Gaza and now Lebanon. The Biden administration has helped bring about this extraordinarily dangerous moment by providing Israel with the weapons, political protection, diplomatic support, and money it requires to pursue the exact escalation that the Biden administration professes it does not want.
Recent Posts
Palestinian Student Organizer Arrested And Detained By U.S. Department Of Homeland Security
March 10, 2025
Take Action Now The arrest of Palestinian student activist Mahmoud Khalil took place in the wake of increased threats by the Trump administration to…
Elon Musk Has Triggered A Corporate Deregulation Bomb
March 10, 2025
Take Action Now A Delaware bill would award Elon Musk $56 billion, shield corporate executives from liability, and strip away voting power from…
The Pentagon’s Budget Priority? Maintaining Golf Courses
March 10, 2025
Take Action Now The Pentagon owns 145 golf courses. As Trump cuts key government services, we found it aims to spend on sand traps and clubhouses.……
Columbia University’s Nazi Tradition
March 9, 2025
Take Action Now Columbia is back, for the first time since 1936, to expelling students for nonviolently protesting Columbian support for genocide…