One of the primary reasons many Independent voters like myself voted for Trump in 2024 was because we couldn’t stand the alternative: four more years of open borders and massive illegal immigration, and continuation of DEI, ESG, and Global Governance programs written by psychopaths looking for a way to control the planet’s resources and population. (The ESG and Global Governance programs are meticulously documented by esc at escapekey.substack,com)
However, independent voters did not vote for a war. Trump’s attack on Iran was perceived by many of us as an irrational and wholly unnecessary action. It was a violation of his campaign promise, which he had previously used as a talking point in his ’24 campaign.
Everything Trump does is surrounded by exaggeration and propaganda on both sides. And The Donald contributes to the craziness with his contentious social media posts.
This article is my attempt to sort through my own confusion about the attack on Iran.
North Korea and Iran
We know that North Korea has provided Iran with IRBM (Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile) and ICBM (InterContinental Ballistic Missiles) technology since 2013. Cooperation between the two countries has been ongoing since the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.
During the 2025–26 period of conflict with Iran, open source reports and social media claims alleged that North Korea supplied Iran with hundreds of ICBMs. When I asked Grok about this it said, “These claims appear to be unverified or exaggerated. No major Western intelligence agencies, UN reports, or mainstream outlets have confirmed the transfer of complete North Korean ICBMs to Iran as of April 2026.”
If North Korea had sent Iran multiple ICBMs would it even be reported by the intelligence community?
If the reports of 100 ICBMs transferred to Iran are just “exaggerated,” that does not rule out the transfer of a lesser number of ICBMs to Iran. We the public are in the dark about the real intelligence because our government is so secretive about nuclear technology.
Does Iran have North Korean ICBMs? Or ICBMs built in Iran? Maybe they do and maybe they don’t. Yet.
It is well known that the North Koreans have nuclear weapons and that they have been developing their own ICBMs with nuclear warheads capable of reaching Europe and the United States. They have also figured out how to enrich uranium to weapons grade quality.
Before the end of February when the first strikes against Iran began, Iran had reached or come very close to the 90% uranium enrichment threshold that would enable a nuclear weapon.
It is therefore very possible that Iran has (or had before the attack) a nuclear missile that can reach the United States.
I have no absolute confirmation of this statement other than open sources, but it seems very possible.
The following is from Dr. Bruce E. Bechtol Jr., president of the International Council on Korean Studies and a fellow at the Institute for Korean American Studies:
“In 2017, North Korea tested what they called the “Hwasong-12.” This missile is an Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) with a range of forty-five hundred kilometers (or more). North Korea collaborated on it with Iran and proliferated to Iran. Later in 2017, North Korea tested two ICBMs. The first, the “Hwasong-14,” is assessed to be capable of hitting Anchorage in Alaska, while the second, the “Hwasong-15,” is assessed by many analysts to be capable of hitting the east coast of the United States.
“… On September 21, 2020, the US Treasury Department sanctioned several entities and individuals active in Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Among them was Seid Mir Ahmad Nooshin, who was ‘key to negotiations with the North Koreans on long-range missile development projects.’
Image of North Korean Road-Mobile ICBM. Image Credit: Creative Commons, from the article cited below.
“…In 2021, it was disclosed that, according to the UN Panel of Experts, North Korea had resumed actual shipping of technology and parts to Iran for long-range missile projects. The 2021 information stated, ‘Citing information from a member state, the U.N. report noted that the cooperation included “the transfer of critical parts,” with the most recent shipment taking place in 2020.
“There are those in the United States who are both for and against the current combat operations being prosecuted against Iran. But if one is against these current operations or previously has been against an aggressive foreign policy regarding Iran, that does not excuse downplaying the Iranian threat (or the North Korean proliferation threat). Assessments should be based on evidence, not cherry-picked or adjusted based on politics.
“Thus, we must keep in mind the proliferation that North Korea engaged in to give Iran an ICBM. What else do these pundits think the reason was behind Pyongyang’s proliferation? We must also keep in mind that the Hwasong-15 has already been successfully tested (twice) and can range the United States.”
—— “Iran Has An ICBM Program: They Got It From North Korea,” Bruce Bechtold, March 4. 2026, at https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/03/iran-has-an-icbm-program-they-got-it-from-north-korea/
But but but…How did a primitive country like North Korea (who cannot even adequately feed its own people) develop an ICBM capable of reaching the United States? How did North Korea develop nuclear weapons?
Well, look at a world map. The Korean Peninsula juts out from and shares a border with China to the northwest and Russia to the northeast. China and Russia are pretty good places to get nuclear weapons and ICBM technology. (North Korea also depends on China for over 90% of its trade, fuel, food, consumer goods.)
The Korean Peninsula
Trump and Kim
Trump, in his first term, had three meetings with Kim Jong-un of North Korea. At all three of these meetings he tried to get Kim to eliminate North Korea’s nuclear weapons and launcher programs. Although the meetings reduced tensions between North Korea and the US at the time, Trump failed.
It is debatable whether Kim is in control of his own country. However, Kim is certainly a spokesman for the North Korean regime. When Kim talks, people listen.
From the New York Times, quoting Kim Jong-un:
“‘Cesspool of evils’ (April 2026)
“North Korea ‘can tip new-type intercontinental ballistic rockets with more powerful nuclear warheads and keep any cesspool of evils in the earth, including the U.S. mainland, within our striking range,’ Kim Jong-un said this in April after witnessing what was called the successful test of an engine for a reliable, long-range missile. The North has repeatedly threatened nuclear strikes against the United States, and it recently has claimed a series of successes in testing various technologies needed to make an intercontinental ballistic missile.
“‘We will not hesitate to slap them’ (March 2026)
“ ‘If the American imperialists provoke us a bit, we will not hesitate to slap them with a pre-emptive nuclear strike. The United States must choose! It’s up to you whether the nation called the United States exists on this planet or not.’ ” These were subtitles in a state-produced video released in March showing a computer-animated nuclear attack on Washington. The North had earlier threatened a nuclear strike against the United States in retaliation for new United Nations sanctions, which were imposed in March to punish the country for its most recent tests of a nuclear device and a long-range rocket.”
These statements by Kim occurred after the start of the war on February 28th. But they are a clear message from North Korea as to its intentions – a “pre-emptive nuclear strike,” confirming that North Korea has nuclear ICBMs. The Iranians have messaged in the same way about destroying the US.
Some analysts don’t trust Kim and think he is just beating his chest. I prefer to take a person at his word, and I’m sure Trump does as well, having talked with him.
In March, North Korea issued a rather ominous five-word statement: “We stand with our friends.” When the intelligence community heard this and the statements above from Kim Jong-un, and saw the computer-animated nuclear attack video on the US, they freaked out. Because we know that Iran and North Korea have been cooperating for quite a while on long-range ICBMs capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
Here’s an informative 18-minute video on the North Korea-Iran situation:
What made Trump attack Iran?
Iran potentially possessing a North Korean developed nuclear-tipped ICBM, Iran’s possession of 441 kilograms of >60% enriched uranium, North Korea’s ability to enrich uranium to the 90% weapons-grade level, the long-standing cooperation between the two countries in weapons technology, and the failure to reach agreement between Iran and the US on Iran’s nuclear weapons development, was probably enough to trigger the attack.
I’m not saying the attack was right. I’m just trying to understand why a guy with such a big ego – who never wants to be wrong about anything – would violate his word and start a war a few months before the off-year elections when his party traditionally loses seats in Congress. The reason would have to be a very strong one.
Some news reports stated that Trump was told the war would be over quickly and that the Iranian people would rise up and overthrow the mullahs. That would have been a big win, and a talking point for the Republicans. But it didn’t happen.
If I’m Trump I’m thinking like this: It’s one thing to have a nuclear North Korea that is limited in what it can do by China. It’s quite another to have religious fanatics in Iran ready with a nuclear-tipped ICBM.
Of course, Israel is also run by religious fanatics, and it also has nuclear weapons. That is why both countries are dangerous. But Israel isn’t going to attack the US with nuclear weapons! The country is so small we could turn it into glass in an hour. Bye bye Greater Israel!
Iran is an entirely different situation. The country is huge, and like Afghanistan, its north and central regions are mountainous, and it is well-defended.
This war is also a religious war between American Christian Zionists, Israeli religious fanatics, and Iranian religious fanatics. Trump is in the middle of this insanity, which is probably why – judging from some of his frantic posts on Truth Social – he is being driven crazy by these warmongering lunatics.
But the deeper reason for the war, I believe, is the threat of nuclear attack from Iran. Geopolitically speaking, a nuclear attack on the US would be regarded as a proxy attack on the US by either China or Russia, or both. Both countries have supported North Korea over the decades, particularly China. On March 27, 2021, in Tehran, China and Iran signed the Iran–China 25-Year Cooperation Program that includes Chinese investments of up to $400 billion in Iran in exchange for a steady, heavily discounted supply of Iranian oil to China.
However, I don’t think China would dare allow the hardliners in North Korea to engage in a preemptive nuclear strike on the United States. But their proxy in Iran via their proxy in North Korea? That’s another story. Even a single ICBM attack on the US by Iran would distract the American military away from Taiwan, giving China an opportunity to seize the island.
Putin and Trump have a good relationship. Putin would never sanction a preemptive nuclear attack on the United States. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, considered by many to be the world’s premier diplomat, has made that clear over the years.
Trump as a pawn
Some people say that Israeli fanatics control Trump’s foreign policy and even that Trump joined the Chabad Lubavitch group and converted to Judaism. I think that is nonsense. Trump’s ego would never allow him or his country to be punked by another country, particularly one as tiny as Israel. This guy recently threatened to end Iranian civilization and bomb Iran back to the Stone Age! No, Trump would never knuckle under to any country, if only because he would consider it to be a personal insult.
Some say he is being blackmailed by Israel because his name appears in the still unreleased batch of Epstein Files. I think that is also nonsense. If there was anything incriminating in those files about Trump, some leaker would have already released it. Trump isn’t exactly popular among Democratic and the majority of Republican staffers in Federal agencies in Washington DC. These folks would feel no qualms at all leaking info about Trump.
Trump haters will of course claim the man is insane, and Church of Trump believers will claim that he can do no wrong. Looking at the situation objectively, I believe the attack on Iran was made by Trump from his evaluation of the U.S. national interest.
As of April 15th, with the US blocking the Strait to Iranian oil and allowing all other ships to pass, the US has regained control of the Strait of Hormuz and will eventually strangle the Iranian economy. This will create good will amongst the Gulf countries, Saudi Arabia, and every country that sends oil tankers through the Strait.
The Bigger Picture
The question isn’t who “wins” the war. It’s whether humanity can survive another generation and eventually attain world peace. A thousand years from now historians will look back at this time and shake their heads in amazement at human stupidity. But they will also document, I believe, how the conflicts and the craziness were part of an underlying and massive Consciousness Shift within the psyche of humanity.
