U.S.’s Attack Against Iran Produce Substantial Consequences

Photo from Unsplash | Tensions are growing as the war in Iran continunes.

On Feb. 28, 2026, the United States and Israel coordinated a joint military operation, codenamed Operation Epic Fury (or Roaring Lion in Israel) to attack key military and administrative facilities across Iran, damaging much of Iran’s infrastructure and killing many top Iranian officials including the supreme leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei. In response, Iran and its proxies launched attacks against US aligned areas in the Middle East and blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade route where most of the world’s oil and other products pass through. At home, the effects of the conflict are apparent.

Lawrence Lange, who teaches history, government, and economics, comments on these effects: “We have already seen huge economic impacts with the price of oil has gone up a lot. Everybody is feeling that, especially oil…We also get a lot of fertilizer so our farmers in the United States will have to pay a lot more for fertilizer.”

This increased prices and economic volatility could have a large impact on the upcoming midterm elections.

History teacher William Jung says, “The war is not popular among conservative voters, so the incumbent voters will not like it. It will make the midterms harder to win for the Republicans.”

“The predictions are saying that the House could be flipped by the Democrats and perhaps the Senate too...If they [the Republicans] lose in the midterms, President Trump’s presidency would likely turn into a lame duck. He would likely not be able to carry out his executive orders and agenda,” says Lange.

The United States’ choice to attack Iran has also caused even more strain on already weakened partnerships with allies.

“I think there is less trust. Obviously tension has been boiling over the last year. We threatened to take Greenland, which is owned by Denmark, one of our allies.” says Jung, “The Europeans don’t trust us as much, so NATO will be harder to work with.”

Lange notes, “Normally what would happen is that the president would talk to our allies and Congress and also go to the UN Security Council to let them know of the situation and get support. We did not do that, so we are in this alone. This is also the first time we have done a joint military operation with Israel. This could have an impact with relations in that area, or our geopolitical relations.”

The strained relationship between the United States and its allies may potentially cause a shift away from dependence on the United States.

Jung continues, “[Canadian Prime Minister] Mark Carney went to China a year ago and he’s trying to pivot to China to have better relations…Trump is for better or worse has pulled European countries to look within or get better terms with China. Japan is walking a thin line because Japan does not have good relations with China.”

Lange states, “No country can be healthy with no alliance. With all the tariffs and stuff like that, that has had huge economic impacts on our allies. We have just put arbitrary tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and they may be questioning if the US is a healthy trading partner. Will a short term gain result in negative long term impacts?”

American actions and decisions in this conflict could have a lasting effect on the reputation of the United States.

“With the bombing of the girls' school, it did not seem like we took the responsibility for it that we should have. I get very concerned when we are glorifying military violence and about some of the tweets Trump has said about destroying a civilization,” says Lange.

“I have talked to my friends overseas, and the current administration has hurt the prestige and perception of the United States in other countries…It may not come back even if the conflict ends quickly since credibility is lost for not making smart decisions,” says Jung.