The past two weeks have seen dramatic and disturbing escalations of Israel/US acts of aggression in the Middle East at the same time that NATO announces huge increases in military expenditures.
To recap:
On June 13, Israel began an unprovoked, illegal military bombing of Iran, under the pretext of preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Then on June 21, the United States used B-2 bombers and submarine-launched cruise missiles to bomb three Iranian nuclear facilities.
On June 23, Iran retaliated by launching missiles at US bases in Qatar and Iraq, inflicting minimal damage and indicating an intention to de-escalate hostilities with the US.
On June 25, NATO, including Canada, agreed to hike military spending to five per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) over the next decade.
During all of these events, Israel continued its genocidal attacks against Gaza, an issue not addressed in the current tentative ceasefire.
Canadian media report these stories in an echo-chamber of Western power-centres, neglecting the most important story – how resistance to war is growing and cracks in the imperial war machine are widening.
The signs of resistance are everywhere and provide hope as well as a better understanding of how anti-colonial and anti-capitalist movements can come together in global battles against forever wars that further racial capitalist dispossession, apartheid, annexation and genocide.
Resistance and cracks in the empire
When Israel unilaterally attacked Iran, all Mark Carney could say was that Israel had the right to defend itself.
Not every head of state was so complacent in the face of Israeli aggression. The Japanese Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, criticized Israeli attacks, calling them totally “intolerable.” This, despite the fact that Japan and the US are closely aligned.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim condemned the attacks, calling on Israel’s partners to pressure Israel to “halt further aggression”.
Multiple Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar denounced Israeli aggression. While these statements may obscure back-channeling with Israel, they nevertheless reflect the pressure Middle Eastern states face from populations that are largely opposed to Israeli/US aggression.
Global civil society has also stood up to Israeli and US aggression. Take for example, the statement by the Nobel Peace Prize-winning group ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons) in response to Israel’s attack:
“The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the United States both assess that Iran is not developing nuclear weapons, though recent IAEA reports indicate an increase in the amount of enriched uranium the country is producing. Israel is the only country in the region that has nuclear weapons. The Federation of American Scientists currently reports it has 90 nuclear weapons. ICAN assesses that Israel spent more than $1 billion on its nuclear weapons programme in 2024.”
In the wake of the US bombing of Iran, ICAN stated: “On 21 June 2025, the United States bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities in an illegal and escalatory strike that threatens to ignite a broader war and undermines nuclear non-proliferation.”
Consider also the statement by Mohamed El Baradei, the former head of the IAEA who tweeted:
“No country, Iran, Israel or otherwise should acquire or retain nuclear weapons …
I refer you to Treaty on the Non Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons @nuclearban
A discriminatory global security regime based on “Some Are More Equal Than Others” is arrogant, dangerous and non sustainable…”
Around the world, demonstrations took place against US aggression against Iran, including in many cities in the United States.
Both Japan’s Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, and South Korea’s newly elected President, Lee Jae-Myung announced they would not attend this week’s NATO summit. Both Japan and South Korea are closely allied with the United States and the decisions, while muted, are clear indications of cracks appearing as the US escalates its war preparations.
Australia’s prime minister has also declined to attend the NATO summit.
Resistance, decolonization, and racial capitalism
This growing resistance highlights the real dangers of global war and raise the specters of environmental collapse and nuclear annihilation.
Israel’s development of an estimated 90 nuclear weapons, refusal to allow inspections, and refusal to even acknowledge its possession of nuclear weapons, are an affront to non-proliferation.
These acts are also further revealing of the hypocrisy of bombing of Iran while, as the IAEA has said, there is no evidence that they are building nuclear weapons.
However, Western allies steadfastly refuse to even raise the issue while condemning and engaging in military actions against Iran and North Korea. This duplicity is becoming evident and as it does, the world will refuse to follow the US and its allies.
What is also becoming clearer is that Mark Carney and the Canadian government are following a pro-capitalist and pro-war agenda of accelerating fossil capitalism, expanding defence budgets, and aligning with Trump internationally.
In his powerful book, One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been against This, Omar El Akkad recounts how the inaction of the West in the face of Israel’s genocide in Gaza represents a generational turning point, a “moment millions of people looked at the West, the rules-based order, the shell of modern liberalism and the capitalist thing it serves and said: I want nothing to do with this.”
NATO support for US and Israeli aggression in the past two weeks is accelerating this moment as a new generation of activists come together with the movement for peace and decolonization, challenging the West and its system of racial capitalism that began over 500 years ago when Europe first embarked on its quest for global domination.
Support rabble today!
We’re so glad you stopped by! Thanks for consuming rabble content this year.
rabble.ca is 100% reader and donor funded, so as an avid reader of our content, we hope you will consider gifting rabble with a donation during our summer fundraiser today.
Whether it be a one-time donation or a small monthly contribution, your support is critical to keep rabble writers producing the work you’ve come to rely on as a part of a healthy media diet.
Become a rabble rouser — donate to rabble.ca today.
Nick Seebruch, editor
