With hundreds of civilians and several American service members dead following the February 28 strike on Iran by the United States and Israel, CuriosityNews surveyed U.S. readers for their views on the newest military operation in Iran.
Most replies expressed disapproval, though a few admitted that the Iranian government might have to be overthrown, even at great expense.
“I hold no affection for the ayatollahs,” remarked Iraj Roshan, a 66‑year‑old retired heart doctor and U.S. citizen born in Tehran, during a CuriosityNews interview. “Yet these conflicts are decided by the story they tell.”
Roshan escaped to Turkey after the Iranian revolution, then moved to Austria and eventually settled in the United States, where he has resided since 1983.
During the past ten years, Donald Trump has condemned American military involvement abroad.
In December 2016, the president‑elect declared, “We will cease racing to overthrow foreign regimes we understand little about and should not meddle in.”
While campaigning—in 2016, 2020 and 2024—Trump and his supporters warned against overseas intervention, casting Democrats as war‑facilitators.
In a string of online posts just before the 2024 election, Trump aide Stephen Miller cautioned that a victory for then‑Vice President Kamala Harris would result in young men being “drafted to fight” in a “third world war.”
Roshan contends that the American government lacks a coherent strategy for the Middle East.
“I see no path for this conflict to conclude with a U.S. victory unless troops are deployed or the Iranians are supplied with arms,” he said.
“It pains me that countless American youths may ultimately be pulled into a war we cannot win—by any standard we can presently define.”
Meg, a 41‑year‑old small‑business proprietor from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, described how the strike has affected her neighborhood, which hosts New York City’s largest Arab enclave—about ten percent of local residents.
“For many of my Muslim friends, this is a cherished season,” Meg said to CuriosityNews, referencing Ramadan, which started on February 17 and runs until March 19. “To have fresh tragedy unfold in its midst, as someone on the periphery who cares about my community and friends, shatters my heart.”
Meg also noted the ongoing fears her neighbors endure, first from the danger of ICE raids and now from the attacks on Iran.
“It’s been a relentless drumbeat of terror in my area,” she said. “How much can people endure? How much anguish must be imposed for senseless motives?”
Barb, a 74‑year‑old retired mental‑health counselor from North Carolina, wrote to CuriosityNews: “We can be certain Trump initiated this war for self‑serving reasons.
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