{"id":9119,"date":"2026-07-29T11:35:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T16:35:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/?p=9119"},"modified":"2026-07-29T11:35:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T16:35:36","slug":"more-bombs-less-security-the-failure-of-the-iran-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/more-bombs-less-security-the-failure-of-the-iran-war\/","title":{"rendered":"More Bombs, Less Security: The Failure of the Iran War"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

President Donald Trump\u2019s threat<\/a> that Iran is \u201cgoing to get a beating\u201d is the latest sign that the United States is moving deeper into an Iran war with no clear political destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On July 29, Iran launched ballistic missiles<\/a> toward a U.S. military base in Jordan. Jordanian and U.S. defenses reportedly intercepted the missiles. The attack followed coordinated U.S. and Saudi strikes<\/a> on sites associated with Iranian-backed armed groups in Iraq. Those strikes reportedly killed at least 20 members of Iraq\u2019s Popular Mobilization Forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every government involved describes its actions as defensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iran says it is responding to American aggression. The United States says it is protecting its troops. Saudi Arabia says it is defending its energy infrastructure. Armed groups in Iraq and Yemen claim that they are resisting foreign intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when every attack is presented as a necessary response to the previous attack, retaliation becomes a machine that powers itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United States has already lost 18 service members<\/a> in the conflict, according to reporting by The Washington Post<\/em>, with more than 600 wounded. Iranian, Iraqi, Yemeni, Jordanian and other civilians and combatants have also paid an enormous price. Yet the public is still being offered the same promise that accompanies nearly every military escalation: One more strike will restore deterrence. One more bombing campaign will force the other side to reconsider. One more display of overwhelming force will create the conditions for peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is little evidence that this promise is being fulfilled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Geography of the Iran War Keeps Expanding<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What began as a confrontation involving the United States, Israel and Iran is increasingly pulling additional countries and armed organizations into direct conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest U.S.-Saudi operation marks a significant expansion of Saudi Arabia\u2019s military involvement. Iraq has now become a battlefield for attacks conducted by foreign governments against armed groups operating within its borders. Jordan is intercepting missiles aimed at American forces<\/a>. Yemen\u2019s Houthis are threatening shipping and Saudi oil exports<\/a>. Military operations continue<\/a> around the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, two waterways essential to the global economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iraq has condemned<\/a> the U.S.-Saudi strikes as a violation of its sovereignty. Analysts warn<\/a> that the growing number of governments and armed groups involved makes the conflict more unpredictable and more difficult to contain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is how regional wars grow: not necessarily through a single formal declaration, but through an accumulation of retaliatory actions, defense commitments, proxy attacks, intercepted missiles and increasingly expansive definitions of legitimate targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each new participant creates another possible trigger for escalation. A failed interception, an inaccurate intelligence report or an attack that kills more people than expected could produce consequences far beyond what any government intended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calling these operations \u201climited\u201d does not make them safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Violent Language Narrows Political Possibilities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The president\u2019s language also matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Promises to give another country a \u201cbeating\u201d reduce a dangerous international conflict to a performance of dominance. They encourage the public to understand war as a contest of toughness rather than a political failure with profound human consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iran is not an abstract opponent. It is a country of nearly 90 million people. Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen are not pieces on a military map. They are societies filled with families, workers, children and communities that must live with the aftermath of decisions made by political and military leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dehumanizing language makes escalation easier because it removes those people from the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also leaves little room for diplomacy. Leaders who publicly promise punishment may later fear that accepting a compromise will make them appear weak. Rhetoric intended to demonstrate resolve can therefore trap governments inside positions from which retreat becomes politically difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diplomacy does not require trusting Iran\u2019s government or overlooking attacks on U.S. personnel. It requires recognizing that retaliation alone cannot resolve the political disputes driving the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Economic Costs of the Iran War Will Not Stay Overseas<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The costs of the war are already spreading beyond the battlefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the latest attacks, Brent crude oil rose<\/a> approximately 3.5 percent to about $87 per barrel, according to The Washington Post<\/em>. Continued conflict around the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea shipping routes could increase fuel, transportation and consumer costs worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

American families will be asked to absorb those costs while Congress continues funding military operations whose ultimate objectives remain unclear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United States already maintains more than 50,000 service members<\/a> in the Middle East. Protecting those troops is now being used to justify additional military action. But every expansion of military operations also places more personnel in danger, potentially creating the basis for further retaliation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is one of the central contradictions of permanent military engagement: Troops are deployed to provide security, their presence makes them targets, and attacks against them are then used to justify a larger military presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the money required to sustain the war will not be available for housing, health care, climate resilience, education, public transportation or other forms of genuine human security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congress Must Reclaim Its Responsibility<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The American public deserves more than threats and military communiqu\u00e9s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congress should demand a clear account of the administration\u2019s legal authority, political objectives and conditions for ending U.S. involvement. Lawmakers should ask what victory is supposed to mean, how civilian harm is being assessed and how the administration intends to prevent a broader regional war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congress must also insist that diplomacy be treated as the primary instrument of policy rather than as an intermittent pause between bombing campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means supporting negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz, establishing reliable military communication channels, pursuing regional de-escalation agreements and involving governments that can credibly mediate between Washington and Tehran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

None of these measures guarantees immediate success. But neither does another airstrike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Security Cannot Be Bombed Into Existence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Peace Economy Project<\/a> condemns attacks on civilians and military personnel by Iran, the United States, Saudi Arabia and armed groups throughout the region. Governments have a responsibility to protect their populations, but that responsibility does not give them unlimited authority to widen a war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Real security will not be achieved by demonstrating which country can inflict the greatest damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will come through sustained diplomacy, respect for national sovereignty, protection of civilians, congressional oversight and investment in the social and economic conditions that allow communities to live without violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Trump may believe that hitting Iran \u201chard\u201d will compel submission. History suggests something different: Military punishment often strengthens hard-liners, deepens public grievances and creates the justification for the next attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A beating is not a peace plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is another turn in a cycle that must be broken before even more people are killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Support our work by donating today<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Donald Trump\u2019s threat that Iran is \u201cgoing to get a beating\u201d is the latest sign that the United States is moving deeper into an Iran war with no clear political destination. On July 29, Iran launched ballistic missiles toward a U.S. military base in Jordan. Jordanian and U.S. defenses reportedly intercepted the missiles. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9120,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8],"tags":[424,578,580,395,579,581],"class_list":["post-9119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-ballistic-missiles","tag-iran-war","tag-iraq","tag-saudi-arabia","tag-united-states","tag-yemen"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t