US creates its own Frankenstein in the Middle East

On February 28, 2026, at around 1:15 a.m. EST, the United States and Israel launched a joint operation to start a war with the country of Iran. After decades of building conflict and on the heels of Operation Midnight Hammer last June, the war has finally arrived.

After numerous rounds of negotiations, a deal remained out of reach for both the United States and Iran. These talks centered on three main Iranian assets: nuclear enrichment, ballistic missile capability, and the proxy network. The main issue for the United States was Iran’s ability to enrich uranium.

Uranium enrichment is a straightforward concept. Uranium isotope 235 is a radioactive material that can be used as nuclear fuel in power plants and weapons, while uranium 238—non-radioactive—makes up the vast majority of naturally occurring uranium. Using enrichment techniques such as high-powered centrifuges, it is possible to separate the 238 from the 235 and collect the radioactive fuel.

Iran has never publicly claimed to be developing nuclear weapons. The country operates a nuclear power plant in Bushehr and asserts that enrichment is solely for this purpose. However, this explanation has long been doubted, as the fuel required for power generation is at a much lower enrichment level than that used in weapons. Evidence suggested that Iran was working toward high-level enrichment.

The goal of U.S. non-proliferation policy is to prevent more countries from obtaining nuclear weapons. It was therefore in the U.S. interest to strike Iranian facilities during Operation Midnight Hammer last June. Facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan were enriching uranium deep underground, requiring the use of deep-penetrating ordnance that only the United States could deliver. These attacks were highly successful and set back Iran’s enrichment capabilities for years to come.

Following that success, the United States reentered negotiations with Iran. Strategically, this deal should have focused solely on halting enrichment, the only major issue posing a long-term threat to U.S. interests. Iran’s ballistic missiles had not been used in any significant attacks on Americans, and its proxy forces, while troublesome, lacked the capability to project power over long distances or pose a major threat—especially if a deal were reached with their main backer. The United States appeared close to achieving its objective and hoped to bring a measure of stability to the Middle East not seen in decades.

However, the United States and Iran were not the only key actors in the region over the past year. Iran, a nation of roughly 90 million people, and Israel now stand as the two dominant political powers after the fall or weakening of other regional regimes. Although Iran’s missiles pose little direct threat to the United States—particularly if a deal were made—their principal target is Israel. Proxy groups that are only a nuisance to the U.S. consistently cause significant problems for Israel, as they serve as forward positions in the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict.

Israel has worked tirelessly to degrade Iranian proxies such as Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon over the past two years. Now, with massive U.S. support, Israel is finally able to target missile sites and move to incapacitate Iran almost completely.

The main beneficiary of this war is Israel. The elimination of its only major geostrategic rival is not a neutral outcome for the United States. Regardless of one’s view of Israel as an ally, what the U.S. is doing in the Middle East goes well beyond supporting a partner nation. It is establishing conditions for Israel to hold overwhelming dominion over the region.

Such dominance would extend over a vast portion of the world’s oil supply and crucial shipping routes through the Red Sea, the Strait of Hormuz, and the eastern Mediterranean. Combined with Israel’s nuclear capabilities, this could give it regional hegemony with little restraint. Providing another country with unchecked regional power is not in the best interest of the United States.

This situation undermines America’s ability to act as a balancing power should U.S. and Israeli interests diverge. The United States has effectively helped create an entity capable of countering American influence—using our own F-35s and state-of-the-art missile defense systems, supplied at no cost.

This war, never formally declared by Congress, serves no tangible benefit to the American people. It runs counter to U.S. foreign policy goals while advancing the interests of the State of Israel above all else.