The war in Iran is a heavily debated topic among American citizens, which has been routinely scrutinized by Democrats as a “war of choice” while Republicans and MAGA claim it as a “war of necessity” to remove the threat of a nuclear armed Iran.
Most polls have approximately 65 percent of American citizens disagreeing with the handling of the war with only approximately 30 percent agreeing with it. The current situation in Iran as of writing, is a fragile, two–week ceasefire and an American naval blockade of Iranian ports. The current ceasefire is unrealistic to stay due to the disagreements of the terms and the continued bombing of Iran’s ally Lebanon. While the American blockade is an attempt to stop the Iranian regime from profiting from their current toll of up to $2 million they have set in the Strait of Hormuz.
My opinion is that people should be informed of the justifications used for the war in Iran and all sides should educate themselves on the topic, so they can make educated decisions based on their own opinions and not the opinions of others. And for the sake of argument, my opinion will be in support of the Iran war.
The Iran war, also known as Operation Epic Fury, has had many different justifications which have changed over time, which include preventative security, regime change, and religious justifications.
At the beginning of the war on Feb 28, when the U.S. first bombed Iran, the aim was to cripple their nuclear program which is similar to what America did with Operation “Midnight Hammer” on June 22, 2025. But this time, nuclear sites were the only ones targeted. This time, they bombed Iranian leadership and military sites in cooperation with Israel. The supreme leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, was killed on the first day of the war, which was cited as a major success and celebrated by Republicans and Iranians alike. Around 80 percent of Iranians supported regime change in their country in 2022, and many Iranians hoped the war would bring liberation. The justification for this strike included U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statement that the U.S. preemptively bombed Iran because they knew Israel was already planning an attack and President Trump’s statement that Iran was going to attack first and that waiting would have resulted in high casualties.
The strikes aimed to stop the nuclear ambitions of Iran serve as one of the biggest justifications for the war along with the attacks on their military to weaken their regional power and cut off Iran’s proxy militias and terrorist groups. Attacking because of potential threat from the Iranian regime and stopping Iran’s nuclear and proxy groups ultimately to avoid casualties is a valid justification. This strike was an example of their preventive security justification, but as the war went on, the justification shifted to liberating the Iranian people and securing regime change.
The Iranian regime is renowned for its evil deeds such as human rights violations, violent crackdowns of protests, persecution of minorities and women, state sponsorship of terrorism, regional destabilization, and nuclear weapon ambitions. President Trump offered their attacks as a catalyst for the Iranian people to overthrow their regime and stated numerous times on social media platforms that the Iranian people should take over their government and that this will probably be their only chance for generations. Many Iranian people did indeed rise up, but as of now, no widespread revolution has started due to intense security crackdowns, extreme suppression, and fear being enacted by the regime. Unfortunately, regime change will probably not occur unless Trump puts boots on the ground or sends troops to overthrow the regime. But ultimately liberating the Iranian people from their evil regime is a very just and honorable reason, if that is indeed one of the core reasons.
The religious justifications for the Iran war, while heavily scrutinized by some, is a valid justification for many Christians and specifically Christian Nationalists. Pete Hegseth, the U.S. Secretary of War, and other Christian Nationalists have justified the Iran war as a conflict following God’s “divine plan,” a war of good vs evil, a war to protect Israel, or a Biblical end-times scenario. People who are Christian Nationalists, should see this as an effective justification.
Ultimately, these may not follow my personal beliefs, but it is important to continue to shine light and provide the evidence used by supporters of the Iran war to achieve more productive and effective discussions on both sides.
