As conflict intensifies and widens after the United States-Israeli aggression on Iran – codenamed ‘Roaring Lion’ by Tel Aviv and ‘Epic Fury’ by Washington – Americans are taking to the streets in large numbers. From New York to Los Angeles, Chicago to Seattle, throngs of protesters chant against what they see as an unprovoked escalation, a brazen act of imperial aggression cloaked in the rhetoric of national security.These marches over the past weekend of February 28-March 1, 2026, are not mere outbursts of dissent; they are the latest chapter in a storied tradition of anti-war resistance that has repeatedly exposed the hollowness of America’s forever wars. As Trumpism and its MAGA facade begin to crack under the weight of domestic disillusionment, the empire’s war policy stands revealed for what it is: an offensive against reason, international law and the very principles of sovereignty it claims to uphold.The strikes, launched on February 28, targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities in Isfahan, missile sites in Karaj and command centres in Tehran and Qom. President Donald Trump, in a characteristically bombastic address from the Oval Office, framed them as a decisive blow against “radical Islamic terrorism” and an “imminent threat” to American interests. Yet, as reports from the ground reveal civilian casualties and infrastructural devastation, the operation has ignited a regional powder keg.Iranian retaliation – missile barrages on US bases in Iraq and Syrian proxy forces clashing with Israeli troops in Lebanon – has drawn in Hezbollah, the Houthis and even hints of Syrian involvement, threatening a wider conflagration. Israel’s Prime Minister, emboldened by unwavering US support, has vowed to “finish the job”, echoing the bipartisan consensus that has long prioritised primacy over peace.Defiance at heart of empireBut in the heart of the empire, the response is one of defiance. Protesters, a diverse coalition of veterans, students, labour unions and progressive activists, carry signs reading “No More Forever Wars” and “Trump’s Empire: Built on Lies”. In Washington, D.C., a human chain encircled the White House, while in San Francisco marchers blocked the Golden Gate Bridge for hours. These actions echo the mass mobilisations against the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 1970s, when millions flooded the streets, forcing a reckoning with the draft and the Mai Lai massacre.Similarly, the 2003 protests against the Iraq invasion – estimated at 10-15 million globally, with over a million in the US alone – exposed the fabricated Weapons of Mass Destruction pretext and the neoliberal hubris of the Bush administration. Today, as in those eras, the anti-war movement draws strength from its intersectionality: Black Lives Matter organisers link Gaza and Iran’s plight to domestic police militarisation, while climate activists denounce the environmental toll of endless conflict, from oil spills to carbon emissions from military operations.Scores of protests were sponsored by the ANSWER Coalition, the National Iranian American Council, 50501, American Muslims for Palestine, the People’s Forum, Palestinian Youth Movement, CodePink, Black Alliance for Peace and the Democratic Socialists of America. “Emergency protests” were held on Saturday across American, including in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami and Minneapolis. Others were held on Sunday in smaller cities.Organisers published a statement saying: “Trump’s unprovoked, illegal attack on Iran is an act of war that threatens to cause unthinkable death and destruction. But the people of this country reject another endless war and will take to the streets now and make our voices heard.” New York’s DSA-aligned mayor, Zohran Mamdani, said earlier in the day that the US and Israel strikes on Iran “mark a catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression. Bombing cities. Killing civilians. Opening a new theatre of war. Americans do not want this. They do not want another war in pursuit of regime change”.The American Civil Liberties Union joined scores of Democratic lawmakers to demand that Congress take immediate action to end Trump’s unconstitutional use of military force against Iran. The veteran civil rights group noted it had been “steadfast in insisting, from Vietnam through the war in Afghanistan, both wars in Iraq, the military action against Libya, and the ongoing use of force in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Somalia, that the constitution is clear that decisions on whether to use military force require Congress’s specific, advance authorisation”.Mass protests made AmericaThis tradition of protest is no anomaly; it is woven into the fabric of American history, a subaltern struggle against the intertwined forces of capitalism, racial domination and settler-colonialism. As Gloria J. Browne-Marshall chronicles in her A Protest History of the United States, resistance began with Indigenous uprisings like Chief Powhatan’s 1622 assault on Jamestown settlers, a desperate defence against encroachment that foreshadowed centuries of broken treaties. The Trail of Tears, born from the violated Treaty of New Echota in 1835, mirrors the US’s current disdain for Iranian sovereignty – agreements like the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) negotiated under Obama, only to be shredded by Trump in 2018 and now rendered moot by bombs.Also read: A War No One Can WinSlave revolts, from Nat Turner’s 1831 insurrection to Denmark Vesey’s thwarted plot, embodied acts of sabotage and escape that chipped away at the plantation economy, much as today’s protesters disrupt the war machine through strikes and boycotts.Labour struggles, too, inform this lineage. The Haymarket Affair of 1886, where workers demanding an eight-hour day faced police brutality, led to reforms like the Fair Labor Standards Act – but only after repression. In the anti-war context, unions like the United Auto Workers and Service Employees International Union are now calling for a general strike, echoing the CIO’s interracial organising in the 1930s that pressured FDR toward the New Deal. Anti-war conscientious objectors, such as Muhammad Ali’s 1967 refusal to fight in Vietnam – “No Viet Cong ever called me the n****r” – highlight how dissent intersects with racial justice, a theme resonant today as protesters expose the disproportionate impact of wars on communities of colour.Trumpism erodingWhat makes the current wave particularly potent is its exposure of the erosion of Trumpism. MAGA, once a rallying cry for the disaffected white working class, promised an end to “stupid wars” and a focus on “America First”. Yet, Trump’s second term has delivered the opposite: a trillion-dollar military budget, the revival of the “Department of War” in September 2025, and escalations from Greenland annexation threats to Mexican border militarisation. The base is fracturing; polls from Pew Research in early 2026 show approval among self-identified MAGA voters dipping below 60% for the first time, with many citing economic strain from tariffs and inflation exacerbated by war spending.Online forums buzz with disillusionment: “We voted for draining the swamp, not bombing Tehran,” reads a viral post on Truth Social. This internal unravelling reveals Trumpism not as a rupture but as a populist veneer on the bipartisan face of primacy – Democrats like Joe Biden had already ramped up sanctions and drone strikes, paving the way for Trump’s blunt force.Analysis by Brookings shows that there is less popular support for the US war on Iran than there were for war on Vietnam in 1965 and Iraq in 2003. Only 27% of Americans back Trump’s war on Iran, and even among Republicans only 55% back the president. In contrast, well over 50% of public opinion had backed the Iraq war while 64% backed military escalation in Vietnam in 1965.Protesters hold signs during a demonstration in reaction to the US and Israeli strikes on Iran on Monday, March 2, 2026, in Los Angeles. Photo: Jill Connelly/AP.Imperial offensive defies reason and lawThe empire’s war policy, stripped bare, is an imperial offensive against reason and law. Reason, because it defies the logic of multipolarity: China’s Belt and Road Initiative has deepened ties with Iran, while BRICS expansion (now including Saudi Arabia and the UAE) offers alternatives to US hegemony. It offends established laws, because the strikes violate the UN Charter’s prohibition on aggression, absent Security Council approval or genuine self-defence.As in the Native American treaties – Fort Laramie in 1868, promising Sioux lands only to be invaded after gold discoveries – the US negotiates when weak (as in the JCPOA) and strikes when strong, justifying it as “civilising” progress. This settler-colonial logic persists: Iran’s nuclear programme pales against Israel’s undeclared arsenal or the US’s own history of proliferation.Globally, reactions underscore the cracks in US dominance. China and Russia condemn the attacks as “hegemonic bullying”, with Beijing accelerating yuan-based oil trades to bypass sanctions. Latin American nations like Brazil and Venezuela condemn “Yankee imperialism”, while even allies waver: even the UK’s Labour government calls for restraint (somewhat hypocritically), and India’s embrace of Israel whilst issuing advisories reflect nervous hedging in a multipolar world.Gulf states, some of which acted to broker talks between Iran and the US (Oman, Qatar) variously condemn Iran or express opposition to the US-Israeli war, fearing escalation of Houthi reprisals disrupting shipping lanes. Domestically, the protests are amplifying cross-ideological alliances – libertarians join socialists, groups like Iraq Veterans Against the War lead teach-ins, and even some Republican lawmakers murmur about “mission creep”.Also read: US-Israeli Attack on Iran Exposes the Bipartisan Face of American Primacy – and May Hasten Its DeclineYet, as Antonio Gramsci reminds us, we must temper optimism of the will with pessimism of the intellect. These marches are essential – they represent a “war of manoeuvre” – direct confrontation – but true change requires a “war of position”, building counter-hegemonic institutions through education, unions and global solidarity.History shows protests force concessions: Vietnam ended with Watergate’s fallout, Iraq with Obama’s election. But without dismantling the military-industrial complex – fuelled by Lockheed Martin and Raytheon profits – the cycle persists. Trump’s overstretch, provoking Iranian resilience and regional alliances, may hasten decline, as multipolarity constrains hubris.In this moment of crisis, the streets offer glimmers of hope. As protesters march, they not only resist war but unmask the empire’s contradictions, eroding the MAGA myth and exposing policy as raw power. If sustained, this could catalyse a passive revolution in reverse – not elite co-optation but subaltern empowerment toward a just world order. The empire strikes, but the people endure – and in their footsteps, reason and law may yet prevail.Inderjeet Parmar is professor of international politics and associate dean of research in the School of Policy and Global Affairs at City St George’s, University of London. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and writes the American Imperium column for The Wire. His Twitter handle is @USEmpire. He is the author of several books, including Foundations of the American Century, and is currently writing on the history, politics, and crises of the US foreign policy establishment, and Trump and American Empire.Bamo Nouri is a Visiting Lecturer at City St George’s, University of London, an independent investigative journalist and writer with interests in American foreign policy and the international and domestic politics of the Middle East.