US President Donald Trump has ordered a full-scale attack on Iran less than a year after declaring that his foreign policy would avoid regime change or nation-building in the Middle East. Analysts told Al Jazeera that the new war contradicts Trump’s stated ideology and campaign promises, arguing that it primarily benefits Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rather than the United States. Negar Mortazavi of the Center for International Policy described the assault as another Israel-driven conflict initiated under US pressure.

The report notes that Netanyahu has long warned of Iran’s nuclear and missile threats, though both Tehran and US officials have denied evidence of weaponization. Despite recent diplomatic progress through Omani mediation and three rounds of indirect US-Iran talks in Geneva, Trump proceeded with the strike, undermining hopes for a peace deal. Public opinion polls cited in the report show that most Americans oppose a new war with Iran.

Commentators, including National Iranian American Council president Jamal Abdi, said the decision marks a political victory for Netanyahu but a strategic setback for the US, signaling a potentially prolonged and unpredictable military engagement.