Foreign Policy > Iran

Iran’s Real Motivation

Westerners want to think of the Iran war in geopolitical terms. But there is more to it than that.

E. Jeffrey Ludwig | April 2, 2026

Iran’s geopolitical threat to the USA and Israel is real.  The murderous mullahs and ayatollahs of Iran have been threatening and attacking both countries for 47 years.  They have been murdering civilians and military personnel as well as financing and arming terrorist/maniac groups like Hamas, Hezb’allah, and the Houthis.  Our two countries have smashed their leadership, their missile system, their navy, and their air force.  Nevertheless, they are still creating serious problems for the world by obstructing delivery of much of the world’s oil supplies in the Strait of Hormuz, and surprisingly, have been directing some of their remaining missiles against other Islamic countries in the Middle East.

The Trump administration has listed five major goals of this war, which notably do not include regime change:

completely degrading Iranian missile capability,

destroying Iran’s defense industrial base,

eliminating their navy and air force,

never allowing Iran to get even close to nuclear capability, and

protecting our Middle Eastern allies.

President Trump is claiming that we have already accomplished these five goals, which has caused a de facto regime change.  Almost all the original leaders of Iran when this war started have been killed, and many of their replacements as well.

Additionally, it seems that the USA also wants to ensure the smooth flow of oil from Iran to other parts of the world that are more dependent on Iranian oil than we are.  This entails keeping the Straits of Hormuz open to promote this smooth and continuous........

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