EDITORIAL
War in the Middle East Explodes

March 16, 2026

When Trump started the recent war against Iran, perhaps he thought that it would mirror the U.S. war against Venezuela: the U.S. and Israeli militaries could take out the Iranian top leadership and the regime would quickly capitulate.

Trump, like all megalomaniacs, may have mistaken his wishes for reality. But, forced into a corner by the viciousness of the new assault, the Iranian regime chose to send drones and missiles against Israel. They also bombed U.S. military bases across the Middle East, killing and wounding U.S. soldiers. They targeted U.S. embassies in the region, including the one in Saudi Arabia which held a CIA hub. Iran began to target the oil infrastructure of countries which contained U.S. bases. Using drones, missiles and mines, Iran attacked ships and threatened all shipping, shutting down the Strait of Hormuz.

Instead of the quick victory it had expected, the Trump regime found itself in a war with Iran. And not just a war with Iran, but a war that has spread throughout the entire Middle East. It is a war that has disrupted the world economy and threatens to provoke a world economic crisis. As more countries are impacted by the war, they could become participants in the war. It’s not wrong to say we may be entering World War III.

But even if this U.S. war against Iran ends soon, it is just one sign, among many, of a world ravaged by regional wars, moving into a world war. The U.S. government has been right in the middle of these wars.

Trump got elected by promising the population that he would keep the U.S. out of wars. But since taking office the second time, the Trump administration has bombed Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, Venezuela, and Nigeria, not to mention blowing up boats in the Caribbean and Pacific. The Trump regime continued the war in Ukraine, using Ukrainians as pawns to weaken Russia. Trump, like Biden, supplied the Israeli regime with weapons as Israeli forces massacred the population in Gaza. Today, Trump is side-by-side with Netanyahu, as the Israeli regime is waging war against the population in Lebanon, a war that has killed hundreds of children and displaced almost a million people.

Bombs are being dropped on schools, and cities are being destroyed. It is madness. It may look like a lunatic is running the world’s most powerful country, using its wealth to carry out widespread destruction. But Trump could not be carrying out this war in Iran if the U.S. capitalist class that he represents was against it.

The U.S. war with Iran did not start with Trump. The U.S. capitalists have been hostile to Iran for the last 47 years, since a revolt threw out a U.S.-backed dictator. In fact, the hostility goes further back than that (see our article on Pages 6–7). The Iranian regime today is repressive, but this is not why U.S. imperialism targets it. The U.S. capitalist class treats Iran as a prime enemy because it won’t bow down to every U.S. command.

Today, U.S. imperialism’s domination of the world is being challenged, and the U.S. reaction is to go to war against anyone who questions it.

This is what stares the working class in the face today. The “masters of the universe,” the capitalist class of the U.S., is preparing to send the workers of this country to war against the workers of other countries.

That is the madness of war that we are facing. But it does not have to be our future. The world today has the technology, the knowledge, the resources and the potential wealth to provide a decent life for all of humanity, and to do it without wars. This can happen when the workers of the world unite to put an end to capitalism and build a new society.