For nearly half a century, the U.S. and Iran have dealt with international political tensions and disputes. Today, conflicts between the U.S. and the Middle East have grown stronger; UT San Antonio Political Science Professors commented on their personal behalf, not representing the institution.
U.S. missiles struck Iran on Feb. 28, hitting an elementary school, according to the New York Times. This strike is under military investigation, but it allegedly marked the start of the U.S. military’s Operation Epic Fury — a joint campaign with the Israel Defense Forces.
Last Wednesday, the U.S. military stated that it has struck more than 7,800 targets across Iran and damaged more than 120 of the country’s navy ships since Feb. 28; similarly, the IDF said it has carried out more than 7,600 strikes, killing many Iranian leaders, including their Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Due to recent events, Director of Interdisciplinary School for Engagement, Political Science and Geography Professor Matthias Hofferberth, Ph.D., and Political Science and Geography Associate Professor Ritu Mathur, Ph.D. offered their insights into the U.S.-Israel and Iran conflict.
The professors’ views do not represent the views of UT San Antonio; they stated on record that these are their own viewpoints as individuals.
In a CNBC report by the National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent — who resigned in response to the attack on Iran stated that the U.S. was not under an imminent threat.
“Wars are expensive, and wars often have to be the very last resort,” Mathur said.
Mathur explained that under the United Nations charter, “countries must exhaust all tools with regard to diplomacy before they undertake any act of aggression, and must be in the case of self-defense.”
“This [war] was actually an act of choice,” Mathur said.
“This is definitely an act of aggression, a war of aggression against Iran.” Additional concerns about President Donald Trump’s administration’s precautions taken in starting a conflict with Iran arose.
“[Trump] is raising short-term concerns and security risks,” Hofferberth said. “If you do analysis, security is a little bit more at risk today than it was before February 28th.”
“I don’t think the U.S. will be safer next year.”According to a NYT video report detailing who declares war, the U.S. has not officially declared war. Under Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, only Congress holds the authority to declare war.
“There’s an immediate legal consequence once you officially declare this is a war, which leads to more supervision, more control, more involvement from the Parliament, from Congress,” Hofferberth stated.
Furthermore, Trump has denied ownership of the Feb. 28 attack, according to a Politico report. The Associated Press claims the missile was likely a U.S. military mistake caused by outdated intelligence. The U.S. military has a history of civilian casualties after failing to accurately aim airstrikes, and many of these incidents have occurred within the decade in the Middle East.
Hofferberth interpreted Israel’s influence on the U.S. attack on Iran.
“When it comes to military capacities, I don’t want to diminish the power of the U.S., but I think there’s something to be said about, they can’t do it without Israel, just intelligence wise,” Hofferberth stated. “But also, there’s a good amount of strikes being carried out by the IDF.”
Since launching its conflict with Iran, the U.S. has been on high alert for domestic attacks. Hofferberth analyzed how international conflicts cause political tension within countries due to globalization.
“We’ve seen decades of global migration and technology that crosses borders every day,” Hofferberth said. “If you think about means to get people to commit political violence and to radicalize folks around the world, this is all much easier in the globalized world we live in today.”
Mathur further examined how the conflict undermines U.S. stability.
“The cost of everything is going to rise. Unemployment is rising already in this country, so this is going to create a lot of hardships for the succeeding generations,” she said.
Mathur stressed the need for student awareness of the conflict.
“Many human rights organizations are talking about how the U.S. is declining into authoritarianism,” Mathur cautioned. “[The] American public has to basically become more vocal about what they want from this president and what they want from this administration — and if they want to stop this war, then they have to speak about it.”
