Getting your Trinity Audio player ready… When the United States with its partner, Israel, started the war against Iran on 28 February 2026, most people around the globe were completely flummoxed. They could not make any sense of the actions that were certain to put many lives at risk in the region and wreak economic havoc on countries and people far and wide. A lot has been written on the economic effects of the conflict; from the price of gas, food, fertilizer, shipping cost, and so forth. Those are easy to comprehend. However, the intersection of international and domestic issues and realities needs to be understood if one is to obtain a better comprehension of what motivated the US on attack Iran. Let’s start with the international realities because US actions have affected the entire globe. The US, as we knew it, is no more. Its power and prestige worldwide have been declining for the past few decades. Its hegemony has waned as the days of being the sole superpower have ended. Whether it likes it or not, it must contend with the rise of China, both economically and politically. The rise of China has contested US power, and even its soft power is no longer getting the results that it did before. China has made impressive inroads in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean with its Belt and Road Initiative. It has made massive investments in these regions for much-needed infrastructure projects. Also, across Asia and Europe, Chinese investment is significant. China has become a much more attractive partner because its economic engagements do not come with strings attached. In other words, the Chinese do not browbeat their trade partners to adopt political and economic policies in exchange for economic assistance. However, it is not just China that is willing to do business in the Global South, especially in Africa. Countries such as Russia, South Korea, Turkey, Brazil, India, and various Middle Eastern ones are casting a wide net to boost their trade. This should be obvious to the US, but instead of changing course, it either ignores countries in the Global South, especially Africa, or it continues to push the same policies that are no longer acceptable. Moreover, in the case of Iran, it is trying to flex its military muscles while trying to contain Russia and China. It should know that naked power will decrease, not increase, its hegemony. The US is willing to become a rogue state because it has enjoyed uncontested power in the past, and it cannot accept that its hegemony has diminished. This essay is not to explain the history, culture, economics, and politics of Iran, but rather, its goal is to situate the conflict within the context of the US by beginning with its position first as a British settler colony. Before it became a nation-state, its domestic actions and policies were always undergirded by race, class, and gender, starting with the arrival of the first settlers. Its international policies, actions, and activities basically followed suit, with many of them formed along racial, class, and gender lines. US Settler‑colonial history and conflict with Iran The Iranians have a history, culture, and identity that are far longer and deeper than what the Americans have. Perhaps people are bewildered because they do not comprehend the motivations behind the Trump administration’s willingness to attack Iran. The chaos, instability, and political polarization in the US should not serve as reasons to attack Iran. The US should not let its loss of control at home be a motivation to control Iran. Iran is not Venezuela. Despite the language that the Trump administration uses to berate and humiliate Iran, nothing has worked to deter the Iranian government from maintaining sovereignty over its land, people, and waters. To get a better and broader grasp on this latest effort by the US to impose its will on Iran, one must not only understand Iran, one must also understand the US and its many violent campaigns to conquer land, sea