No Stupid Questions

This is a great question and one that is worth diving into a bit, but not necessarily by me. There are a plethora of answers here with some insightful and some less so backgrounds. I suggest that you dig into some outside sources and potentially you can work through the complexity of the answer as history often is.

I’m sure others have some great references as well, but given this crowd I’d suggest some youtube videos. I also suggest some recently written long form articles in foreign affairs which is always good for understanding context, as well as a few books.

RealLifeLore:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8kSGH4I8Ps Why Iran Regime is Failing (Water, economics, and more.)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3l5bCGjqLE Why It’s So Hard to Defeat Iran Militarily
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmvB7KW7WJA How The US & Iran Became Arch-Enemies

Related:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oytfhLUy0Fg How Israel Checkmated Iran
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuFGyFLehNw Why Russia’s New Axis is Way Dumber Than You Think

Also Foreign Affairs has some good long form pieces:

• https://www.foreignaffairs.com/middle-east/why-iran-will-escalate
• https://www.foreignaffairs.com/iran/trump-iran-gamble-vaez
• https://www.foreignaffairs.com/iran/what-it-will-take-change-regime-iran
• https://www.foreignaffairs.com/iran/americas-best-chance-transform-iran-trump

Book wise I recommend:

• Worlds Apart: A Documentary History of US-Iranian Relations, 1978–2018 by Malcolm Byrne and Kian Byrne offers a meticulously curated collection of declassified documents tracing pivotal moments in bilateral tensions, including the Iranian Revolution and nuclear negotiations

• Axis of Empire: A History of Iran-US Relations by Afshin Matin-Asgari examines America’s Cold War hegemony, the shah’s regime, the 1979 Revolution, and Trump-era escalations, including the 2025 US-Israel attempt at regime change in Tehran

• Iran’s Perilous Pursuit of Nuclear Weapons by David Albright uses Mossad-seized Iranian documents to detail clandestine weapons efforts, assassinations of scientists, and cyberwarfare like Stuxnet

Its hard to know for certain given Trump's insanity, but my own read on the situation is that they want to permanently remove Iran as a threat to Israel or the US. Basically, destroy the current government, and destabilize the country. What happens after that, they don't care.

It may also be to raise oil prices, but this seems more secondary, given how involved Israel is, and how Trump doesn't really have the subtly to not directly attack infrastructre related to oil.

• Why does the USA love Israel so much?

U.S. politicians love Israel for their campaign contributions.

It's a state that's always been hostile toward the US and its interests - both directly and by funding groups that share the same goals as Iran does. Over the past few years, though, the war in Ukraine, Israel's strike on Iran, the US follow-up bombing of their nuclear sites, and the special Maduro operation have all shown that Russian air-defense systems aren't much of a threat to Western fighter jets anymore. So they probably figured that if they're going to do this, now's the time - while Iran's at its weakest - instead of waiting around. Countries like North Korea have dodged the same fate by holding Seoul hostage, but Iran doesn't have that kind of leverage.

It's a part of an infinite proxy war between the USSR and their successors Russia and China, against the interests of the USA and Europe.

Iran is a puppet state for China, currently, and they provided weapons and funds for Hamas leading up to the October music festival attack and capture of hostages reigniting the war and consequently the Gaza Genocide. Previously the Russian backed Syria was also a key player but they collapsed recently due to civil war (revolutionaries partially funded by the USA and UK).

Israel is supposed to be the USA's "puppet state" in the same vein, but tbh they're so rogue and don't fuckin listen on anything and they've got so much economic ties to Russia such as Abromovich steel and international distribution that they're just a bad friend that the USA is stuck with because the second best friend they had in the region, Afghanistan, fell due to Trump incompetently releasing 5,000 Taliban fighters from US Custody, and number 3 is Iraq and the USA spent a long time waging war in Iraq for virtually no reason due to Bush incompetence and oil executive greed but I guess we're sort of cool for now.

The USA and NATO often cooperate with Saudi Arabia as a way to fight extremism in the region, though they're not US allies and they are often much more aggressive than the USA are in their tactics.

Basically, the cold war isn't over.

Oh, and, forgot to mention the "why right now" part. Yeah, so, Iranians were revolting against their leaders like a month ago because of famine and drought hitting the region. Now's just the perfect time to strike.

The only answers i can give you without conspiracy theories:

But why now? Why at all?

The top of the Iran administration (khamenei and top military generals) decided the meet in person. Israel found out and bombed the shit out of the building. That's why khamenei and top military generals all died in the beginning of the war.

The negotiations were progressing in a good rhythm and it caught the US (Israel informed US right before the bombing, but there was nothing US could do) and Iran of guard.

Is Israel gaining something that I’m not seeing?

Iran is the only close country that still keeps an aggressive stand against Israel (mainly by using hezbollah as a proxy). By doing this Israel wants a more friendly government.

"Why is the USA attacking Iran?"

Trump's insecurity:

By associating with "biblical" Netanyahu's "Israel", he gains "validity".

By bombing someone, he gains "authority".

By pretending that his-regime's actions benefit the protestors in Iran, he gains "humanitarian credibility", while warring against the people living in the US's own Democrat states.

By doing all this NOW, he deflects from his being an Epstein-associate who's on evidence for crimes against women, & girls.

See the PATTERN, not just some single-aspect of it, & then it makes more sense.

_ /\ _

Because Israel has a leash around Trump's neck.

USA likes Israel, a lot for some reason

Usually during US election seasons, Israel lobby donates the most and demands a measely $12B in annual aid from the US, which they can recycle into election funding. This is enough to not be too noticeable, but always resulted in Israel first rule over America with total unanimity of political establishment. Oct 7th, meant absolute control of US was needed, and US oligarchy, GOP orthodxy, piled on to Israel first rule as an existential survival strategy. ADL was platformed to denounce woke climate alarmism as quid pro quo for GOP being on Zionist supremacist bandwaggon. Media as always is for Zionazi first rule over America. DNC "donor pressure" was to lose, as bibi embarassed Biden with genocidal extreme.

Israel” attacks Iran. This whole thing is being done with the USA’s airplanes though.

Difference between last summer's attack. Yes, both are with US planes. is, back then, the US and gulf colonies played only a defensive role, until Trump declared victory by bombing a mountain, and questioning victory was an insult to the military.

The, US is involved from the start, now, mistake, because Israel was going to do this anyway rationale, exposes US defense of Gulf colonies, and global economy, as an impotent lie, and keeps Trump from declaring victory in a tie.

Is Israel gaining something that I’m not seeing?

Their only realistic hope for Israel is that so much destruction and chaos in Iran turns it into post war Iraq or recent Syria terrorist power centers, and can be weakened for decades.

US sees China as it's main rival, Russia as Europes headache. Iran, Venezuela, Nkorea, cuba as minor annoyances that support China.

Worst case Denies China cheap oil imports for a while when both Iran and Russia are too weak to do anything. Also denies Russia some war materials. Best case scenario the protests reignite and replaces the regime with something less US hostile.

US sees Israel as the most reliable ally in the region, because all their neighbours hate them and they must stick with the US. A strong Israel lets US dictate much of what goes on in the middle east.

For a long while after the Iraq debacle, I was predicting that Iran would be next, and it just kept not happening.

I guess even the right-wingers of the time were too level-headed to want to open that can of worms.

Heck, even Trump didn't go there during his first term. I had accepted that I had been wrong.

So, of course, this time, the crazy old narcissist has gone and done it.

(This reads like I feel like I could have done something to prevent it. I know I couldn't, I'm just some random guy, but I still feel like I took my eye off the ball.)

how will the US support it's many many gun factories and research if there is no war? Don't forget a large part of american economy revolve around the war machine.

Gives them a pretense to give money to the weapons industry -> weapons industry has higher profit -> stock goes up -> Dow Jones is over 50k, which makes their other crimes legal.