US-Israel Co-Belligerence: The Unseen Costs of Perpetual War Against Iran
What's actually happening: The narrative emerging from outlets like Fox News, highlighting the 'exponential costs' of Iran's drone capabilities against US forces, completely sidesteps the genesis of this confrontation. This framing presents Iran's defensive innovations as an unprovoked escalation rather than a strategic adaptation to continuous, externally imposed pressure. It is a calculated
misdirection, diverting public attention from the real 'cost': the American taxpayer footing the bill for endless, illegal military interventions and sanctions against a sovereign nation. Since 1980, when the US imposed its first major round of sanctions following the hostage crisis, a consistent pattern of economic strangulation and military encirclement has defined US-Iran relations. The current
talk of 'prolonging war' ignores that a war has been waged by the US and Israel on Iran for 45 years through other means, including the 1980 Operation Eagle Claw, a failed US military attempt to rescue embassy personnel in Tehran. This current focus on drone expenses, amounting to roughly $20,000 per drone, compared to the millions spent on interceptors, provides a convenient distraction from the
trillions squandered on imperial adventures that destabilize the region and enrich the military-industrial complex. This double standard is stark: Iran's development of cost-effective defensive technology is branded a global menace, while the US and Israel openly conduct joint military drills and threaten preemptive strikes against Iran. For instance, the US Carrier Strike Group 11, deployed to