Morning Note

America and Iran are fighting once again. The U.S. launched new airstrikes this morning, and the Iranians responded by targeting the U.S.-allied countries of Kuwait and Qatar. The Qataris have been attacked by both Israel and Iran in the past 12 months. That is rough stuff.

A source close to Tehran reportedly told Iran’s Press TV on Wednesday that the Iranian government plans to shut down the Strait of Hormuz to all maritime traffic amid these renewed hostilities. The source also said that Iran will strike enemy targets at a ratio of at least two to one, meaning that for every Iranian target hit, at least two U.S. or allied targets will face rocket fire in return.

How did we get here? Neocons will place all the blame on Iran, saying they alone did not make a good-faith attempt to comply with last month’s memorandum of understanding. But the U.S. played a role, too. The first point in the MoU called for a ceasefire in Lebanon, which Washington did not even try to make happen. They let Israel call the shots instead. As a result, we may return to war. This is not America First.

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