Fool me Once, Shame on You. Fool Me Twice, Shame on Me. Fool Me Ten or More Times, and I am Not Even Worthy of Being Ashamed

Many people claim that the war with Iran as conducted by the United States in partnership with Israel fulfills Just War principles.  For one thing, they assert, Iranians have chanted over the years “Death to Israel,” and “Death to America.”  This disgusting chant is actually seen by such people as somehow tantamount to declaring war on both Israel and the United States, plus the Iranian sponsorship of terrorist activity in both Israel and the United States, or in targeting Israeli and US assets in various parts of the world over the past 40-plus years demonstrate that Iran is an ongoing mortal enemy.

Now, what many of these people also believe is that the strongest argument which justifies the US and Israeli attacks on Iran is the oft-stated fear and many years long assumption that Iran is on the verge of producing nuclear weapons that they will not hesitate to use against both Israel and the United States. I don’t believe that either the US or Israel fulfill even most of the necessary requirements of Just War doctrine to justify their actions (detailed analyses and applications of the doctrine are compellingly provided by, among others, the Catholic philosopher Dr. Edward Feser, and his pertinent articles can easily be accessed at various online sites), but for the moment, let’s assume that they do.  And then for our purposes, let’s also assume that all that is needed to fulfill the remaining requirement to justify the actions is to have reasonable and accurate intelligence, and also a reasonable belief that Iran is indeed on the verge of developing nuclear weapons that they will use against Israel and/or the US and others unless we intervene in the manner in which we have done so in recent months to halt the imminent development.

But what is the actual evidence or claim of evidence that Israel and the United States have been relying on to justify the most recent and ongoing military actions in Iran?  For the most part, both Israel and the United States have accepted the dire warnings of gloom and doom by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who makes his warnings based on what he claims is pertinent intelligence reports provided to him by the Israeli Intelligence apparatus.  However, there is a gigantic elephant in the room here that too many people refuse to see, or if they do see it, they ignore or greatly downplay the most reasonable conclusion arising from this elephant because the truth is secondary to their preferred narrative that features the banging of war drums.

Nevertheless, the gigantic elephant in the room consists of the numerous times that Benjamin Netanyahu has provided such dire warnings of ‘Islam on the brink of nuclear weapons’ over the past 30-plus years, assuring the world that Iran is close to developing nuclear bombs they will use against others.  For example, below is a brief timeline that highlights many of Netanyahu’s warnings over the years.  It is derived from the following online sources: UnitedwithIsrael.org; Factually.co;   Grok (xAI).

Abbreviated Timeline of Benjamin Netanyahu's Claims Over the Past 34 Years Regarding the Threat of a Nuclear Iran:

·       1992: Netanyahu declared that Iran was only "three to five years" away from producing a nuclear bomb.

·       1996: Netanyahu warned that Iran was vigorously pursuing nuclear weapons that would make them a significant threat to Israel and others in the region.

·       2002: Netanyahu claimed that Iraq and Iran were rushing to obtain nuclear weapons.

·       2009: Netanyahu told US members of Congress that Iran was one or two years away from nuclear capability.

·       2012: Netanyahu made use of an illustration of a nuclear bomb and claimed that Iran would conclude necessary uranium enrichment by the next spring or summer.

·       2015: Netanyahu warned that Iran was only weeks away from having enough enriched uranium to make a significant stockpile of nuclear weapons.

·       2020–2024: Netanyahu frequently claimed that Iran was getting closer and closer to developing nuclear weapons unless they were stopped.

·       June 13, 2025: Netanyahu stated that Iran was at most a few months away, and possibly just a few weeks away from having nuclear weapons unless they were prevented from continuing their development operations.

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Confronting the Gigantic Elephant in the Room.  Some Questions that Need to be Honestly Answered By All Who Believe the War With Iran is Justified Because of the Claim that Iran is on the Verge of Having Nuclear Weapons:

1. Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed on several occasions over the years that without some preemptive actions, Iran would obtain nuclear capability anywhere from within a few years to perhaps only a few weeks away...and assuming he was correct even half of the time, then why haven't any of the nuclear weapons been used when the few years or few weeks passed?  Part of Netanyahu's warnings always include "they will use them."

2. If Benjamin Netanyahu's previous claims at any time were accurate, then why does each successive "warning" always claim such weapons are just right around the corner, as if this is a new reality to be concerned about?  Wouldn't Iran already have them based on previous reports, and so all that they might be doing is adding more to those already developed?

3. If Benjamin Netanyahu's all previous claims prior to the most current one were inaccurate, and no nuclear bombs, etc., were ever developed, then why should anyone believe that this time his intelligence reports are much more accurate than at any time in the past, and this time ‘Iran really really really really is on the verge of nuclear capability’?

4. How many more times will people be duped by Benjamin Netanyahu, the perpetual doomsday alarmist who makes the boy who cried wolf a person of sterling integrity by comparison?

5. How much unnecessary shedding of blood is acceptable through abject gullibility in believing in phantoms no matter how scary the phantoms are depicted as being, and also believing in the oft-repeated, yet never fulfilled promise that the phantoms will very soon become real?