{"id":3135,"date":"2026-04-15T12:58:49","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T16:58:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kjmaclean.com\/wordpress\/?p=3135"},"modified":"2026-04-15T12:58:50","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T16:58:50","slug":"why-did-trump-attack-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kjmaclean.com\/wordpress\/why-did-trump-attack-iran\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Did Trump Attack Iran?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One of the primary reasons many Independent voters like myself voted for Trump in 2024 was because we couldn\u2019t 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\u2019s resources and population. (The ESG and Global Governance programs are meticulously documented by esc at escapekey.substack,com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, independent voters did not vote for a war. Trump\u2019s 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 \u201924 campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is my attempt to sort through my own confusion about the attack on Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

North Korea and Iran<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the 2025\u00ad\u201326 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, \u201cThese 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If North Korea had sent Iran multiple ICBMs would it even be reported by the intelligence community?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the reports of 100 ICBMs transferred to Iran are just \u201cexaggerated,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does Iran have North Korean ICBMs? Or ICBMs built in Iran? Maybe they do and maybe they don\u2019t. Yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is therefore very possible that Iran has (or had before the attack) a nuclear missile that can reach the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have no absolute confirmation of this statement other than open sources, but it seems very possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIn 2017, North Korea tested what they called the \u201cHwasong-12.\u201d 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 \u201cHwasong-14,\u201d is assessed to be capable of hitting Anchorage in Alaska, while the second, the \u201cHwasong-15,\u201d is assessed by many analysts to be capable of hitting the east coast of the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c… On September 21, 2020, the US Treasury Department sanctioned several entities and individuals active in Iran\u2019s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Among them was Seid Mir Ahmad Nooshin, who was \u2018key to negotiations with the North Koreans on long-range missile development projects.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Image of North Korean Road-Mobile ICBM. Image Credit: Creative Commons, from the article cited below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201c…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, \u2018Citing information from a member state, the U.N. report noted that the cooperation included \u201cthe transfer of critical parts,\u201d with the most recent shipment taking place in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThus, 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\u2019s proliferation? We must also keep in mind that the Hwasong-15 has already been successfully tested (twice) and can range the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

—— \u201cIran Has An ICBM Program: They Got It From North Korea,\u201d Bruce Bechtold, March 4. 2026, at https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2026\/03\/iran-has-an-icbm-program-they-got-it-from-north-korea\/<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Korean Peninsula<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump and Kim<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s nuclear weapons and launcher programs. Although the meetings reduced tensions between North Korea and the US at the time, Trump failed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the New York Times, <\/em>quoting Kim Jong-un:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201c\u2018Cesspool of evils<\/strong>\u2019 (April 2026)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNorth Korea \u2018can 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,\u2019 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018We will not hesitate to slap them<\/strong>\u2019 (March 2026)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c \u2018If 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\u2019s up to you whether the nation called the United States exists on this planet or not.\u2019 \u201d 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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 \u2013 a \u201cpre-emptive nuclear strike,\u201d confirming that North Korea has nuclear ICBMs. The Iranians have messaged in the same way about destroying the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some analysts don\u2019t trust Kim and think he is just beating his chest. I prefer to take a person at his word, and I\u2019m sure Trump does as well, having talked with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In March, North Korea issued a rather ominous five-word statement: \u201cWe stand with our friends.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s an informative 18-minute video on the North Korea-Iran situation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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