Yossi Schwartz ISL (RCIT section in Israel/Occupied Palestine) 25.02.2026
Emboldened by the kidnapping of the Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, US President Donald Trump has been threatening military action against Iran. History has shown that any US military attack would likely help Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Iranian government to mobilize domestic support, delegitimize internal protests, and strengthen regional alliances against an external threat.
In a 100-minute State of the Union address to both houses of Congress between Tuesday and Wednesday, Donald Trump presented a particularly faked optimistic picture of the United States under his leadership, which could have been considered a science fiction story that combined policy statements in the international arena and at home with a fierce attack on his Democratic opponents. He said, “Our country is back, bigger, better. richer and stronger than ever,” he said, adding that “this is America’s golden age.”
He broke the record for the longest State of the Union address on the floor of Congress, surpassing Bill Clinton’s 2000 speech, which lasted about 88 minutes.
He added his old lie about Iran. He said that last June, the United States carried out a direct attack on Iranian territory as part of Operation Midnight Hammer, which “destroyed Iran’s nuclear weapons program.” For decades, he said, the U.S. policy was not to allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, but now, despite the blow it has suffered, Tehran is trying to renew its efforts to pursue nuclear weapons.
He also said that Iran is not satisfied with rehabilitating its nuclear program, but continues to develop advanced ballistic capabilities. According to him, the regime in Tehran “has already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas, and they are working on building missiles that will soon reach the United States of America.”
He stressed that after Operation Midnight Hammer, the Iranians were warned not to try to rehabilitate their capabilities, but “they continue to renew everything.” Trump presented the combination of ballistic missiles and nuclear pursuit as a direct strategic threat to the American homeland, and made it clear that the United States would not hesitate to act if necessary.
The president claimed that during the first 10 months of his second term, he had ended eight wars, including “the war in Gaza, which is now very low intensity, but we are almost there.” In a broad reference to Gaza, the president presented himself as the one who brought about the end of the war and the return of all the hostages. “Under the ceasefire I managed, every abductee, alive or casual, was sent home. No one thought it was possible.”
And what is the truth?
As of 2024, the official poverty rate is 10.6% (about 35.9 million people). Other estimates suggest up to 43% of the population is considered poor or low-income, defined as families earning less than twice the poverty line. Many adults living in poverty are employed, and there is a rising trend of “working poor” who cannot afford basic necessities like rent or food.
Around one-third of middle-class families struggle to afford basic necessities. Further, 29% of adults reported being worse off financially in 2024 compared to the year before. The United States that following the collapse of Stalinist Russia was the only super power is facing Russian and Chinese imperialism and Chinese goods are flooding the entire markets.
According to American PEW research center Trump’s approval rating stands at 37%, down from 40% in the fall. By more than two-to-one, Americans say the administration’s actions have been worse than they expected (50%) rather than better (21%).
Only about a quarter of Americans today (27%) say they support all or most of Trump’s policies and plans, down from 35% when he returned to office last year. That change has come entirely among Republicans.
Today, 34% of Americans say they are extremely or very confident that Trump has the leadership skills needed to serve as president. A larger share (51%), are not too or not at all confident. Another 14% are somewhat confident. Similarly, about half say they are not too or not at all confident Trump has the mental fitness (52%) or physical fitness (50%) to do the job. Roughly three-in-ten express confidence on these measures.
Even fewer say they are confident that Trump respects the country’s democratic values (25% are extremely or very confident) or that he picks good advisers (25%).
Americans express the least amount of confidence in Trump to act ethically in office. Just 21% are extremely or very confident he does this, while 60% express little or no confidence. Even Republican confidence in Trump to respect the country’s democratic values, and act ethically in office declines.
While overall confidence in Trump’s ethics in office was already relatively low last February (29%), it has declined 8 percentage points since. And nearly all of that drop has come among Republicans: At the beginning of Trump’s second term, a 55% majority of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents said they were confident that Trump acts ethically in office, but that share now stands at 42%.
Last year, 35% said they supported all or most of his plans, 17% supported some of them and 47% supported only a few or none. Today, 27% say they support all or most, 20% support some and 52% support few or none. The decline in support has come exclusively among Republicans. Last year, 67% said they supported all or most of Trump’s plans and policies. Today, 56% do.
Today, 38% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say that congressional Republicans “have an obligation to support Trump’s policies and programs because he is a Republican president.” But a far larger share (61%) say GOP members of Congress do not have an obligation to support Trump if they disagree with him.
Nearly half of Americans (47%) now say Trump will be an unsuccessful president in the long term. This share is up 14 points since last year, with most of this change occurring among Democrats. A majority of Republicans continue to say Trump will be successful in the long run.
Trump’s approval among Republicans is now 73% – down slightly since September. Older Americans, White adults and those without a college degree continue to approve of his performance more than others.
This week in a 6-3 ruling Friday, the US Supreme Court struck down Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose sweeping global tariffs, holding that the statute did not allow him to circumvent Congress’s taxing authority.
Trump is threatening Iran with a naval “armada” with 2 carriers and 14 surface warships. It is the largest in the region since five carrier battle groups assembled at the outset of the war against Iraq in 2003. The force is capable of punitive strikes on Iran and it has the role of protecting U.S. allies and partners in the region. However, it lacks Marines, special operations forces (SOF) for raids or ground operations, and the logistics for an extended air campaign.
By this tactic he put himself in big trouble. He acts without either clear objectives or strategy. Attacking Iran is likely to open a long regional war and a strong opposition in the USA. If he will not attack, the USA will lose the support of many states that are now afraid of the US.
“Trump has pushed back against news reports that his top military adviser, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, privately cautioned that if Trump ordered a U.S. military strike on Iran, a lack of critical munitions and support from allies could pose risks to American troops.”[i] Trump now claims that a war against Iran according to Caine will be very easy.
Ryan Crocker is a distinguished chair in diplomacy and security at RAND, and he was a career Foreign Service Officer who served six times as an American ambassador to: Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait and Lebanon.
He says to Politico: “It is highly unlikely that Iran will meet U.S. demands on zero enrichment, ballistic missiles and/or support for proxy forces. Tehran sees these as crucial underpinnings of regime legitimacy; to meet Washington’s conditions would effectively mean the end of the Islamic Republic.
The massive buildup of U.S. forces cannot be sustained indefinitely. There will not be a “TACO” (Trump Always Chickens Out) this time — in the absence of an agreement, President Donald Trump will take action, probably limited in the first instance, in an effort to coerce Iran into an agreement. When that doesn’t work, and it won’t, Trump will expand operations in an effort to decapitate the regime, including clerical and military leadership. That will require precise intelligence, which may be harder to obtain than it was in June
It is important that initial strikes comprehensively target Iran’s missile capabilities. If Iran can, they will use them against U.S. allies and assets in the region, as well as Israel. What Trump will not do is commit U.S. ground forces. In the event of regime decapitation, this means the U.S. will have no ability to control subsequent events. It is impossible to predict what will happen next. What we can say with confidence is that we will not see the emergence of a secular democracy led by the son of the Shah.” [ii]
Already in June most Americans have opposed a war against Iran:
“An overwhelming majority of Americans oppose war with Iran and a plurality say that President Donald Trump’s strikes on the country’s nuclear facilities makes the United States less safe, according to a new poll.
YouGov conducted a survey of 2,824 American on Sunday, hours after Trump announced U.S. forces struck Iranian nuclear facilities in Natanz and Esfahan, as well as the Fordow enrichment facilities located near the city of Qom with so-called bunker-busting bombs.
But 85 percent of American adults said they do not want war with Iran, including 92 percent of all Democrats, 83 percent of independents and 80 percent of Republicans in opposition.“[iii]
Recent polling by Quinnipiac reveals that today: “70 percent of Americans oppose military action on Iran, with just 18 percent of Americans in support. It further found that 70 percent of Americans think the president should first seek approval from Congress before taking any military action. Likewise, a new University of Maryland poll finds just one in five Americans support a strike, with nearly three-quarters of Democrats and most independents opposed, and 60 percent of Republicans opposed or unsure if they would support an attack on Iran”[iv]
In the real world, Israel has killed close to 500 Gazans since the beginning of what is called “ceasefire”. A war against Iran will lead to the removal of Trump in November in the midst of elections. If such a war takes place Iran will send its missiles to Israel and the result will be much worse for Israel than in June 12 days of war, and a new Intifada may begin. Nevertheless, Netanyahu is pushing for such a war, hoping it will bring down the Islamic regime and bring the Shah’s son to power. In the case of the American imperialist attack on Iran the ISL, the section of the RCIT in Israel/Occupied Palestine will stand for revolutionary defense of Iran and revolutionary defeat for US-Israel.
Defend Iran without giving the regime any political support!
The main enemy are the imperialists!
Defeat US war on Iran!
Endnotes:
[i] https://abcnews.com/Politics/trump-pushes-back-reports-top-military-adviser-warned/story?id=130440693
[ii] https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2026/02/24/iran-us-strikes-expert-forum-roundup-00794832
[iii] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-iran-war-poll-approval-b2775188.html
[iv] https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/5745698-trump-iran-war-congress-oversight/