Question Time Guest Offers 1-Word Explanation For Trump's Attack On Iran

Donald Trump decided to strike on Iran because of his love of “spectacle”, according to a BBC Question Time guest.

The US president has sent the Middle East into turmoil over the last week after he and his Israeli allies attacked Iran.

Iran has retaliated by targeting American military bases across the region and there are fears that the conflict could soon pull other countries in.

The UK has so far only allowed American troops to use British RAF bases for “limited” and defensive strikes on Iran.

However, shortly after Keir Starmer announced that decision, an RAF base in Cyprus was hit by an Iranian drone. There were no casualties.

Britain is now building up its defences in the Mediterranean in case of further attacks.

On BBC Question Time, writer and activist George Monbiot eviscerated Trump’s very reason for targeting Iran last weekend.

He said Britain was being “dragged into a war with no clear objectives”, pointing to the White House’s conflicting explanations for “Operation Epic Fury”.

Trump and his top officials have alternated between claiming their attacks were in the name of regime change, to reduce Iran’s nuclear capabilities and to deter a so-called “imminent threat”.

Monbiot said: “The real reason for this attack is spectacle – that’s what Trump trades in, that’s what he loves, he wants to be the centre of attention, he wants to be making global headlines. That’s his happy place.”

The writer said it would be both “criminal and foolish” for the UK to be “dragged into that”.

“This war has no basis in international law whatsoever,” he said. “What we see here is Donald Trump acting as he always does, as a global chaos generator.

“The further we stand away from that, the better off we will be.”

Monbiot also warned against possible “imperial blowback”, pointing to Britain’s past actions in Iran.

“We think we’re being so clever and so brilliant in wading into countries about which our governments often seem to know very little, plunging in, firing missiles, staging coups and all the rest of it,” the writer said.

“But we don’t think of those long-term outcomes, those long-term consequences and the absolutely catastrophic effects they can have many decades down the line.”