CONFLICT: BOMBING TRUST |
Operation Epic Fury — the latest round of military strikes against Iran — began when Iran was engaged in negotiations with the United States to renew restrictions on its nuclear programme.
This is not the first time the United States has bombed Iran during nuclear negotiations.
In June 2025, while its representatives were in talks with Iran over that country’s ability to produce nuclear weapons, Washington launched Operation Midnight Hammer, targeting three Iranian nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
Washington has been broader in its selection of targets in Iran this time around, even though one stated US goal has been to ensure that Iran does not gain nuclear weapons capability.
By launching strikes on Iran even as negotiations were underway, Washington may have secured short-term military gains at the cost of long-term diplomatic credibility. Its fallout is likely to reshape future nuclear agreements…
By launching strikes on Iran even as negotiations were underway, Washington may have secured short-term military gains at the cost of long-term diplomatic credibility. Its fallout is likely to reshape future nuclear agreements…
Conducting military strikes against a country that is engaged in negotiations to reduce its nuclear capacity sets a dangerous precedent. As a scholar of the global nuclear order, I believe that the conflict has jeopardised all future diplomacy to limit the spread of nuclear weapons.
The US military action during negotiations has also undermined Washington’s ability to conduct diplomacy to end the war. Iranian officials negotiating with mediators have expressed their concern that they “don’t want to be ‘fooled again’”, according to a report in [US-based news website]........