THE attack on Iran by Israel and the US is a breach of international law so clear that the US “defence” secretary sees no reason to dress up his masters’ war as anything other than the exercise of imperial power.

Pete Hegseth has refused to rule out a ground invasion of the 94-million-strong Iranian nation, yet lashed out: “To the media outlets and the political left screaming ‘endless war,’ stop. This is not Iraq. This is not endless.”

Hegseth, and the US joint chiefs of staff chairman General Dan Caine claimed that the attacks were designed to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapons system. Where this is a task more easily accomplished through negotiations the US/Israeli strategy is rather to target the Iranian leadership and its security forces.

It is clear that while the US is capable of mobilising powerful military assets to strike at Iran’s own military capacity and infrastructure — and the profits to be made in replenishing its hardware, missiles, drones and ammunition will profit US arms corporations — the immediate strategic interests being served are Israel’s.

The assassination of Iran’s leading cleric and state leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and not least the collateral death of dozens of primary schoolchildren, appears to have the effect of mobilising opinion in defence of Iran’s national sovereignty and there is nothing in the US/Israeli strategy that will convince the Arab street or opinion in the global South that the US can be trusted.

The parallel strategy to encourage regime opponents and dissident national groups to take to the streets in an ill-prepared “colour” revolution on the model that put neonazis into office in Ukraine (but largely failed in Georgia) seems unlikely to restore the Pahlavi royalist regime. More likely, it will expose any innocents who believe US promises and take to the streets, to renewed repression.

Disreputable though he is, and dangerous to boot, Hegseth’s frank espousal of imperial war aims unadorned by hypocritical words or faux-liberal sentiments is refreshing when compared to the weasel words of lapsed human rights lawyer Keir Starmer.

He seems aggravated that the Iranians responded to the Israeli/US assault by interdicting Israel and US military bases in the regime. He describes the Iranian response as reckless but not a word about the words and actions of Trump and Netanahayu.

He said: “Our decision that the UK would not be involved with the strikes on Iran was deliberate. Not least because we believe that the best way forward for the region and for the world is a negotiated settlement,” but says: “We have British jets in the air as part of co-ordinated defensive operations which have already successfully intercepted Iranian strikes” and the next day more fully commits British service personnel to join the US/Israeli military operation and allow British bases to be used.

The weasel words are: “…the collective self-defence of longstanding friends and allies, and protecting British lives.”

The friends and allies in the region are a collection of kleptomaniac “royal” families raised to rule by the British empire in the defence of oil profits. They are no friends of the British people but only of our ruling elite.

And now Trump says Starmer was too slow to change to back the US and Israeli assault, adding: “It took far too much time. Far too much time. That’s probably never happened between our countries before. It sounds like he was worried about the legality.”

Either Starmer is worried about the legality but went ahead or he doesn’t care.

It is clear that Trump holds Starmer in contempt. On this question alone he is at one with the British people.