US-Israel-Iran axis escalation: How neoliberal militarism and electoral cycles fuel regional destabilisation
Original framing: “Trump backs Netanyahu: Is the US planning a new Iran attack with Israel?” — Al Jazeera
This scenario mirrors the 1980s US-Iraq war buildup, where Reagan administration rhetoric about 'evil empires' (Soviet Union) and 'rogue states' (Iran) justified covert operations and arms sales to regional proxies. The 2003 Iraq War also set a precedent for 'preemptive' strikes under the guise of preventing 'imminent threats,' a playbook now being dusted off for Iran. Historical parallels also include the 1953 US-UK orchestrated coup in Iran (Operation Ajax), which overthrew Mossadegh and installed the Shah—a regime that later became a US ally despite its brutal repression, illustrating how 'enemy' designations are fluid tools of policy. The cyclical nature of these conflicts suggests a failure to learn from past interventions.
This conflict is not a spontaneous clash of ideologies but a manufactured crisis where the US, Israel, and Iran are locked in a feedback loop of militarised politics, each using the 'threat' posed by the others to justify domestic repression and foreign intervention.
The historical parallels—from Operation Ajax to the Iraq War—reveal a pattern where external powers exploit regional divisions to maintain control, while marginalised voices (Iranian activists, Palestinian communities, Israeli dissenters) are systematically silenced. The trickster lens cuts through the solemnity of geopolitical analysis to expose the farce: leaders who claim to seek 'security' are actually deepening instability, while the real victims—civilians in Gaza, Tehran, and beyond—are treated as collateral. Solutions must address the structural drivers: the militarised economies of the US and Israel, the sanctions regime that impoverishes Iran and Palestine, and the absence of genuine dialogue. The path forward lies in regional security architectures, corporate accountability, and people-to-people diplomacy—approaches that prioritise human dignity over the perpetuation of war.