The US-Israel attack on Iran on February 28, 2026, in violation of UN Charter, when Oman’s mediation with US on Iran’s nuclear programme was at an advanced stage, is not a war in defence of the aggressors. Iran never imperiled security of US and Israel, and Joe Kent, before resigning as the US National Counterterrorism Chief validated it by saying, “ Iran posed no imminent threat to the US…”. In fact the war on Iran jeopardised the fundamental strategic objectives the US has been pursuing in West Asia: the security and stability of Israel, uninterrupted supply of cheap and plentiful oil to the global market, ensuring the regime stability of the Gulf monarchies as well as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and preventing the influence of outside/adversarial great powers.The war has disrupted the global energy supply, causing the worst ever worldwide economic catastrophe after the oil crisis of early 1970s. Additionally it has posed security challenges to the US allies in the region where US military bases exist and created conditions for enhanced Chinese and Russian influence. It has also made Israel probably more insecure than ever before.The closure of Strait of Hormuz by Iran has disrupted supply of oil and gas to the entire world, imperiling energy, human and livelihood security for the people across the globe, including US citizens. European allies of the US refused to pay heed to Trump’s call for opening the Strait of Hormuz and very strangely president Trump in his televised address on April 2, called on allies to independently manage the opening of Hormuz.If Trump was keen to access Iran’s huge energy resources to benefit US oil companies, he could have resorted to negotiation, as Iran was willing for a negotiated settlement on any issue with the US or the European powers through the template of the 2015 JCPOA. It is well documented that Trump as part of MAGA (Make America Great Again) campaigned for “no more forever wars” on foreign soil. Then why did he attack Iran? The answer lies in the second part of Kent’s statement, “…we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby”.The root cause lies in Israeli objectives or, to be precise, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s narrative demonising for decades the Islamic Republic of Iran through propaganda and misinformation. The fundamental Israeli objective was to establish its hegemony in the region through brutal force.After the decimation of Iraq in 2003 and the installation of a pliant, pro-Western regime in post-Asad Syria in 2024, Israel felt that the only strong bulwark against its hegemony was Iran which incidentally never posed any threat to Israel. The false and fabricated propaganda that Iran posed existential threat to Israel was relentlessly peddled by Netanyahu to bury the issue of Palestine homeland and divert global attention from his policy of ruthless repression, apartheid, ethnic cleansing and genocide in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. The Israeli Knesset recently passed the most draconian and controversial death penalty law to execute thousands of Palestinians.Iran, a non-Arab country, has been the foremost champion of the Palestine cause ever since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Almost the entire Arab world has been coopted to the US-Israeli scheme on the Palestine issue. Therefore, it made good strategic sense for Netanyahu to try to obliterate Iran with US help .Iran has never attacked any country first. In contrast, Israel has initiated many a wars/attacks against its immediate neighbours and beyond. While Iran being a signatory of NPT has no nuclear weapons, Israel has not signed NPT and reportedly has around 200 to 400 nuclear war heads. In fact, Iran has been advocating a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone in West Asia for a long time.In spite of such favourable factors Netanyahu persisted on the Iranian threat hoping that after comprehensively defeating Iran, Israel would exercise regional hegemony and work towards the establishment of Greater Israel stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates as the “final solution “of the Palestine question. This is in tune with the demand of right-wing coalition partners whose support is essential for Netanyahu’s political survival, especially in view of the grave corruption charges he is faced with.Christian Zionism and Jewish Zionism through the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) stood behind Netanyahu like a rock and so he enlisted Trump as an invaluable ally for war on IranChristian Zionists, whose number is around 50 million in the US, is driven by “theopolitical ideology … characterised by the belief in the teleological need for a political Israel” in the land of ancient Israel to fulfill the biblical prophecy of the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of his kingdom on earth after a period of “ great tribulation”. It is integral to Evangelical Christian fundamentalists and predates modern Jewish Zionism. The diabolical combination of Christian Zionism and Jewish Zionism demands unquestioned loyalty to and unconditional support for Israel. At the political level, Christian Zionism aims to provide “ material, financial and political support “ for the extreme right-wing policies of Israel “aimed at expanding territorial hegemony”.It is achieved through lobbying activities, supporting pro-Israeli candidates in the Congressional elections and also by providing direct financial assistance to increase Jewish settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Hence, it is a Christian Obligation to strengthen Israel. The leading advocates of this theological prescription now are senators Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and secretary of state Marco Rubio. Graham emerged as the most influential advocate of the joint attack on Iran. “ We are in a religious war and I unapologetically stand with Israel”, Graham wrote on social media.According to reports, he made several trips to Tel Aviv to meet with Mossad and guide Netanyahu “on how to lobby the president for action”. Just one week before the war, Huckabee shocked the world by stating that Israel has “ historical and biblical rights” to the entire West Asia and “it would be fine if they took it all”. He was referring to the “promised land “of the “chosen people of God”.There is a contentious debate in America among the Christian conservatives. Tucker Carlson has challenged the advocates of war on those very theological grounds. Carlson’s ideas are guided by Christian faith only, which opposes war, violence and killing of innocent civilians in the name of religion. He sharply asked, ”Where exactly in the Bible does it say that supporting Israel is obligatory for Christians?” He is on the same page, as part of the MAGA movement, with vice president J.D Vance in opposing the war.However, it seems the MIGA (Make Israel Great Again) movement of the Christian Zionists overpowered the MAGA advocates and the joint attack was launched solely driven by Israeli objectives. It is bound to fail and Trump in his televised address gave enough indication about it.Banshidhar Pradhan was Professor at Centre for West Asian Studies, JNU.