What really happened during the so-called “12-Day War” between Israel, the U.S., and Iran — and why it’s not about nuclear weapons.

The 12 days of fighting between Iran and Israel, along with the U.S. intervention, left a deep impact on all three countries. Where do each stand now that the fighting has stopped, and what comes next?

Israel has been exposed as a dependent colony that relies on the West for its military adventures. And even still, it has failed to turn this advantage over Iran into strategic success. The Israel doctrine appears to be meeting its limits.

After a week of anticipation, the U.S. struck Iran’s nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. Iran accuses the U.S. of “betraying diplomacy” and violating international law and the UN Charter.

After Israel’s genocide became untenable for even Israel’s staunchest allies to support, the West needed a more “perfect villain” to keep backing Israel. And there was no better villain for an indoctrinated mind than Iran.

The war across the Middle East is part of a desperate effort to preserve Western superiority. All the fighting — whether in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, or Iran — is due to Zionism, and its role of enforcing the crushing force of the West.

Donald Trump has set a two-week deadline to decide whether to enter Israel’s war on Iran. He is facing strong pressure both for and against attacking. If he does, it will be the most catastrophic U.S. foreign policy decision since Iraq 20 years ago.

Polling shows Israel’s aggression in Iran has the overwhelming support of Israeli voters. This is due in part to the decades of groundwork that has been laid by liberal Israeli leaders who have called for attacking Iran to maintain Israeli dominance.

Iranians know the logic of Zionism, underwritten by the American empire, is what has naturally led to the devastation they are now experiencing. Palestinian liberation from Zionism can bring the entire region, including Iran, closer to freedom.

Amid Israel’s continued attacks on Iran, U.S. lawmakers from across the political spectrum are pushing efforts to curb Donald Trump’s war powers as U.S. involvement in the war threatens to fracture Trump’s political coalition.