WASHINGTON (March 2, 2026) — President Trump’s illegal war of aggression against Iran, in cooperation with Israel, actively undermines global security, raises the long-term danger of nuclear proliferation, and risks dragging the United States into another dangerous and protracted conflict, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
The war is not supported by the American people, and the Trump administration has done and said little to justify its belligerent actions. The varying rationales the administration has offered the public are simply incoherent and run contrary to available evidence.
The United States and its allies had an agreement with Iran in place, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, whereby Iran limited its nuclear program and submitted to international verifications in return for relief from sanctions. During his first term in office, President Trump unilaterally chose to withdraw the United States from the treaty and reimpose sanctions on Iran. Following U.S. and Israeli strikes in 2025, President Trump claimed that Iranian nuclear weapons program had been “obliterated.”
Iran was still engaging in reportedly productive diplomatic talks over its nuclear program the day before the United States unleashed its weaponry against Iran. Trump’s actions discredit diplomacy and international law as stabilizing tools that can provide security and seek to resurrect the insidious notion that pure might makes right, in implementing his policy preferences.
“President Trump’s undermining of diplomatic efforts to end Iran’s nuclear program are counterproductive and only serve to increase the long-term danger of nuclear proliferation,” said Dr. Tara Drozdenko, director of the Global Security Program at UCS. “Other governments worried that they may one day suffer the unwelcome attention of the United States will be unable to trust in diplomatic processes or international institutions, and may choose to pursue security through the rapid development of their own nuclear weapons.”
As always, innocent people will suffer the consequences of war. Already, the joint attacks have killed more than one hundred children at a girls’ elementary school in Minab, Iran. The operation has produced a more chaotic situation across the region, with conflict spreading to Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Iraq, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and the U.S. embassy in Karachi, Pakistan. It has also disrupted air travel in the region and shipping in the Persian Gulf.
“This illegal war will not bring safety or security to the American people or its allies,” said Dr. Drozdenko. “Congress must exercise its responsibilities to rein in President Trump and his administration, both of which have continually shown an open disregard for U.S. and international law, and for the welfare of the American people and civilians around the world.”