On February 28, the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran, led by authoritarian leaders who have paralysed their legislatures, purged professional ranks and replaced them with loyalists, silenced criticism, and persecuted independent media in their countries.The current war stands in stark contrast to the solemn declarations made by President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the conclusion of the 12-day war in June 2025, during which Iran’s nuclear facilities were bombed. The objectives of the present war remain unclear, and the durability of the declared ceasefire is far from assured. Already, the war has brought death, destruction, widespread suffering, and significant economic damage. It is increasingly evident that both its outbreak and its continuation have been enabled by the erosion of checks and balances within the international system, as well as domestically in both countries, where authoritarian tendencies have been on the rise.Critical elections are scheduled this fall in both countries: midterm elections in the US, which will determine whether stronger checks can be imposed on President Trump in Congress, and general elections in Israel, which will decide whether Netanyahu secures another term as prime minister. If Netanyahu prevails, he is likely to continue what has become an endless war. Yet even if he loses, statements by Israeli opposition leaders suggest that it is far from certain that any new government would seek to halt Israel’s war machine, which now operates across West Asia. Among others, Avigdor Liberman, who holds far-right policy positions, has said regarding Iran that “if the United States exits the war, we must continue; for us, regime change is essential.” Naftali Bennett has declared that “Turkey is the new Iran,” and Yair Lapid has moved to designate Qatar as an enemy state. All three sharply criticised the ceasefire with Iran, arguing that it came before Israel had achieved all of its vaguely defined objectives in the war. It is highly doubtful that such figures would be willing – or politically able – to withdraw Israeli occupying forces from areas of Lebanon, Syria, and the Gaza Strip, where Israel has maintained an ongoing military presence, or to de-escalate the conflict with Iran. If the Democratic Party wins the upcoming midterm elections, it could curb President Trump’s authoritarian initiatives within the US and might temporarily complicate the transfer of additional military aid to Israel. Still, Trump retains broad authority over US foreign and security policy, leaving open the possibility of continued destructive ventures in the West Asia alongside his partner Netanyahu – or whoever may succeed him.For that reason, one of the first priorities of a Democratic-controlled Congress should be to establish a commission of inquiry into current US involvement in West Asia wars, with particular focus on its relationship with Israel. Such an investigation should not be limited to the recent wars with Iran but should also extend back to the Gaza conflict. It should examine both the direct and indirect role of the Biden administration in the deaths, destruction, and immense humanitarian crises caused by Israel in Gaza, Lebanon, and beyond.Indeed, President Trump has taken a policy pursued by President Joe Biden to an even greater extreme. While Biden supported Israel with weapons and intelligence without imposing meaningful constraints on their use – despite clear evidence of Israel’s systematic violations of international law and human rights – Trump has gone further, engaging in an unprecedented joint military campaign with Israel against Iran.The only time in its history that Israel fully cooperated with a foreign investigation revealing its foreign and security policies was during the US Congressional inquiry into the Iran-Contra affair. In that case, Congress had decided to restrict military aid to far-right armed groups known as the Contras, who carried out terrorist operations in Nicaragua. Officials in the Reagan administration conspired with Israel to bypass those restrictions, including by channeling profits from illicit arms sales to Ayatollah Khomeini’s regime in Iran to fund the Contras’ military activities. Israel also transferred captured weapons from Lebanon to the Contras.The head of the legal team liaising with US officials on the investigation was then Cabinet Secretary and future deputy president of Israel’s Supreme Court Elyakim Rubinstein. The committee reviewed approximately 300,000 documents and heard testimony from roughly 500 witnesses, including from Israel. Its findings, published in November 1987, were severe for the Reagan administration and embarrassing for Israel, damaging its standing in the United States.A series of newly declassified cables sent from the Israeli Embassy in Washington and the consulate in Los Angeles to the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem during that period now appear strikingly relevant to the wars led by Netanyahu and Presidents Biden and Trump, as well as to the concerns likely to arise in Jerusalem if Congress establishes a new investigative committee.In a cable dated November 27, 1986, Israel’s ambassador, Meir Rosenne, wrote: “It can be assumed that the Americans involved in the affair will attempt to shift responsibility for many of the actions onto Israel. This would be convenient for them both in evading personal responsibility and in protecting the US president, who is in serious difficulty.”In a December 8, 1986, report on Israel’s standing in the United States, the embassy noted that “Israel has undoubtedly suffered another blow to its image in the eyes of the average American. What has occurred serves as further confirmation of Israel as a state with a hand in everything, meddling in every dark corner, and capable of anything one might believe of it.”A November 25, 1986, cable from the Los Angeles consulate stated that “Israel is involved in the affair up to its neck…Reports suggest that Israel effectively pulled the president into a course of action that contradicted his declared policy. In my assessment, this trend reflects an effort by administration officials to prepare an alibi and to use Israel as a scapegoat.”If a proposed commission of inquiry into US involvement in the West Asia wars were to conduct its work thoroughly, it could distinguish fact from conspiracy theories and offer practical, effective recommendations for the future – recommendations that could reshape the US-Israel relationship, even if President Trump were to declare that he would ignore them.At the very least, the mere establishment of such a commission could have an effect on Israeli governments and help temper their war-machine. Israel would likely hesitate to deepen its military entanglements – or to draw President Trump into them again – while the commission is actively investigating, so as not to jeopardise its already fragile standing before Congress or in American public opinion. Israel would also find it difficult to dismiss a bipartisan committee – composed of both Democrats and Republicans – as antisemitic, or to claim that its conclusions are driven by antisemitism or anti-Israel bias. That alone would justify the creation of such a commission.Eitay Mack is an Israeli lawyer and human rights activist who worked to expose Israel’s full role in the Iran-Contra affair.