History’s proverbial tendency to rhyme rather than repeat is on display with the buildup of U.S. and other nations’ forces in the Middle East, in obvious preparation for a major war with Iran. And while the buildup is not being undertaken with the same overt globalist theatrics as the lead-up to the first Gulf War 35 years ago, the parallels are eerie, especially for those of us old enough to remember President Bush’s UN-centered military campaign against Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
Then, as now, we see the horrific fruits of an undeniably brutal, murderous Middle Eastern dictatorship. Then, as now, the ostensible threat is the construction of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction by the miscreant regime. And most tellingly, then, as now, we are starting to hear the globalist narrative, to the effect that the “rogue regime” is in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions that must be enforced.
President Bush, an unapologetic globalist, was very open about this back in the day, in justifying the anti-Iraqi alliance that eventually unleashed Operation Desert Storm under the aegis of UN authority. Trump, a professed America Firster and UN skeptic, has been more nuanced, but he is proving no less willing than his Deep State presidential predecessors to invoke UN authority when it suits his purposes.
The Resolutions
And it appears that the looming war against Iran is such an occasion. On January 27, the U.S. Department of State issued a press release entitled “Implementation of Iran-Related United Nations Security Council Resolutions.” The statement, authored by Thomas “Tommy” Pigott, principal deputy spokesperson, outlines a supposed international consensus on Iran, and what must be done:
The United States of America, along with 40 countries, gathered last week in Prague, the Czech Republic for a symposium designed to further advance the implementation of the reimposed United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs) on the Iranian regime. Participants discussed the full range of issues affecting UN Member State implementation of the renewed obligations….
The symposium featured discussions on the threats posed by the Iranian regime’s nuclear, ballistic missile, and conventional arms activities. Participants discussed the importance of using all relevant national measures and capabilities to implement the provisions enumerated in the restored resolutions more robustly. In view of the Iranian regime’s continued proliferation threat and the brutal crackdown on Iranian protestors, the United States and partners recognize the urgent need to promote universal implementation of the UNSCRs and associated restrictive measures on Iran’s proliferation activities.
The six UNSCRs — 1696, 1737, 1747, 1803, 1835, and 1929 — were reimposed on September 27, 2025, following the Iranian regime’s continuing “significant non-performance” of its nuclear commitments.
It should be noted that 12 UN Security Council resolutions were issued against Iraq following Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait and prior to Operation Desert Storm. Several of those resolutions — in particular 678, authorizing military force against Iraq, and 687, establishing the terms of the ceasefire — were repurposed by the second Bush administration in 2003 to justify the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq.
With Iran, the parameters have changed, since it is highly improbable that either of Iran’s allies on the Security Council, Russia and China, would countenance any resolution explicitly authorizing force against the Mad Mullahs. But that doesn’t mean that some U.S.-led “coalition of the willing” will not seek to frame a war on Iran as justified under the UN Charter.
It’s also worth pointing out that, unlike the late Saddam Hussein, Iran is a genuine enemy of both the United States and the West, and certainly one of the most bloodthirsty, repressive regimes of modern times. But that does not mean that any American casus belli, whether legitimate or not, should be framed as a UN affair.
