A so-called truce extension, a diplomatic freeze, and a clock reset toward war. The war between the United States and Israel against Iran is globally escalating, not diminishing.
Meanwhile, there is growing dissatisfaction among American citizens with the war amid rising economic strain. According to the tracking service WarCosts, the staggering price tag has already made this the most expensive air campaign in U.S. history.
As tensions remain high and the rationale for the war grows increasingly unclear, a widening chorus of critics is reacting to the moral and human consequences of the war, insisting that enough is enough.
However, decades of warnings were issued by the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, the Eternal Leader of the Nation of Islam, and His National Representative, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.
Both Divine Warners cautioned America about the consequences of its war posturing.
The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad warned that peace-breakers have reached an impasse in finding solutions and pathways to peace. “We do not hope for peace as long as we add to the war that which serves as fuel to a fire,” wrote the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad on page 209 of His book “The Fall of America.”
“The fire cannot go out as long as we keep it burning by adding more fuel. A dying, burning fire is increased when more fuel is thrown into it,” He wrote.
“How can we expect peace where the method used to bring about peace is the same method that started the war—instead of finding a right solution and then practicing the right solution?” the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad continued.
The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan also shed light on the consequences of U.S. actions in the Middle East, particularly in Iran. “What gives a nation perpetuity versus that which undermines and destroys a nation?”
Said Minister Farrakhan, in a Nov. 7, 2018, statement from Tehran. “Evil, falsehood and violation of divine law doom nations to destruction, and the holy books of the world’s three greatest monotheistic religions warn us of such,” he said.
If Iran is striving to uphold divine law, respect women, and pursue righteousness, it is on the right path. If America has violated the principles of life, liberty, and justice—through its mistreatment of Indigenous people, Black communities.,
And the poor—then it has not only failed its Constitution but also disobeyed divine law and stands subject to judgment. In this view, American democracy has too often protected the interests of the White, the wealthy, and the powerful, Minister Farrakhan explained.
“So, to stand with Iran against unjust sanctions and mass punishment is to stand in the proper place. To warn America that these sanctions—which have been rejected by the European Union, France, Britain, Germany, Russia, China and other countries—are wrong is to stand in the proper place.
I am trying to help America face the error of her ways and see the enmity she is sparking across the globe alongside a growing loss of friendship. This is not good for America, nor the world and only marches us steadily to acrimony, conflict and the final war of Armageddon spoken of in the Bible.
America can no longer act unilaterally in the world and be successful. Success can only come from righting old wrongs and purposing just and progressive policies,” said Minister Farrakhan.
Minister Farrakhan’s remarks are applicable and relevant to today’s current crisis.
“If people feel strongly, or somewhat strongly about these wars, want them to end and are concerned about the future of this country, get involved,” said Michael McPhearson, executive director of Veterans For Peace.
“Let your congressperson know that you want these wars to end and make it a major issue, not a secondary issue,” he said. “Tell them that.
I want you to end these wars, and I want you to use the resources that we use on these wars to take care of people here at home in a real way,” Mr. McPhearson told The Final Call. “End the wars, and then invest in people, make that a priority.”
Now, the clarion call being issued by activists, pro-peace advocates, U.S. citizens and even some politicians is to stand up, exert pressure and make America know her sins and misguided steps in its interference and warmongering in the Middle East.
Veterans For Peace maintains that wars will not end until there is a “sea-change” in the thinking of the American people and political leaders.
The U.S. government has conducted itself as a meddler and mischief-maker on the world stage. Over the last several decades, the U.S. was embroiled in “forever wars” that cost lives and resources. Observers note that dissatisfaction and fatigue with the current war among the American people are increasing.
Mr. McPhearson, a veteran of the Persian Gulf War, said there are different reasons for the present public reaction. “The biggest reason,” he said, “the United States has been at constant war since post-9/11, really before then,” he stated.
But in the layperson’s view, “we’ve been at war in Afghanistan and Iraq for 20 years,” and the peace movement has for several years talked about “forever wars” or “endless wars,” and the political right picked up that language in the past few years, he explained.
Among opposers are military veterans who know firsthand the lived experience of war, who are also voicing their opposition to America’s war with Iran, instigated by Israel.
On April 20, a coalition of organizations, including Veterans For Peace and the Center on Conscience & War (CCW), stood in formation, flanked by military family members, inside the Cannon Rotunda, located on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol Complex.
They unveiled banners that said, “End the War on Iran,” and standing at attention, held red tulips honoring Iranians killed by U.S. bombs.
The groups conducted a flag-folding ceremony symbolizing American troops killed, and who will continue to be killed if the war continues, said a statement issued by the CCW, a non-profit that opposes military conscription and serves conscientious objectors to war.
The veterans and families demanded that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) come meet them to accept the folded flag and pledge to end funding of the war.
Instead, the group was met with arrests.
“First of all, they work for us,” said Mike Prysner, CCW’s executive director in a telephone interview with The Final Call, referring to the president, the House and the Senate.
“The American people don’t want this war,” he added.
These are elected representatives refusing to uphold their responsibilities and reflect the American people, who overwhelmingly reject President Trump embarking on this war against Iran.
“What they should be doing is the tens of billions of dollars that are being sent over and over again, approved by Congress to Trump, to continue this war should be used to meet human needs here at home,” Mr. Prysner contends.
The message to the government from the veterans who protested at the Capitol was “we are their legacy” and were mostly veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan war.
Two wars that Mr. Prysner argues “we were lied to about every step of the way” and caused untold suffering for American service members, their families, the people of those occupied countries, and the communities where billions in tax dollars were ripped away for bombs that dropped on the other side of the world.
“That is their legacy of the last 25 years, and we see that they are about to do it again. And we’re not going to let them,” said Mr. Prysner. “We’re going to do everything we can to make it difficult for them.”
Tired of war and American interference abroad
Americans’ aversion to war—especially among younger service members—stems from lived experience and exposure to its consequences.
Many in the post-9/11 generation grew up during the so-called “War on Terror,” witnessing prolonged conflicts marked by questionable justifications, high human costs, and unclear outcomes, which has left a lasting skepticism toward military intervention.
More recently, graphic, real-time exposure to modern warfare—particularly during Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians and its current brutality in Lebanon—has intensified this shift.
Seeing the human toll up close has reshaped public perception, especially among young Americans, leading to deeper moral questioning of U.S. foreign policy and military alliances.
This evolving consciousness is reflected within the military itself, where younger service members increasingly question the purpose, legality, and human impact of war, contributing to a broader cultural and political shift away from support for prolonged conflict.
An Ipsos poll conducted April 10–12 found that only 24% of Americans believe military action in Iran has been worth the cost, while 51% say it has not and 22% are unsure. A majority (54%) also reports that the conflict has negatively impacted their personal finances.
Earlier polling from March 27–29 shows strong support for ending the conflict quickly, with 66% favoring an expedited withdrawal even if it means falling short of U.S. objectives, compared to just 27% who support continuing the war to achieve all goals.
Overall, public sentiment remains negative, with 58% disapproving of U.S. strikes on Iran, compared with 38% who approve.
More politicians are also becoming increasingly dissatisfied. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) recently introduced legislation to block the U.S. sales of bombs and bulldozers to Israel; however, it failed to get the required votes to pass.
“It was the fourth time Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats, had forced consideration of resolutions cutting off military aid for Israel in the Senate, all of which have been rejected by the chamber’s Republican majority, and many Democrats,” reported the U.K.-based The Guardian.
Forty senators backed a resolution brought by Senator Sanders that would have prevented the sale of $295 million in bulldozers and 36 members voted for a second resolution that would have halted a $151.8 million sale of 12,000 1,000lb bombs to Israel’s military, the outlet reported.
“Today, more than 80% of the Democratic caucus stood with the American people and voted to block U.S. military aid to Netanyahu and his horrific, illegal wars. When we started this effort there were just 11 votes. Now, there are 40,” said Senator Sanders in an April 15 statement.
“That shift reflects where the American people are. Americans, whether they are Democrats, Republicans or independents, want to see our tax money invested in improving lives here at home—not used to kill innocent women and children in the Middle East and put American troops in harm’s way as part of Netanyahu’s illegal wars of expansion,” he continued.
Political analyst Richard Becker of the Act Now to End Racism and War (ANSWER) Coalition said what the public polls reflect about the war is emphatic.
He reasons that with the war on Iran, backlash to the Trump administration grew beyond an “anti-Trump” and “anti-billionaire” sentiment to include a strong anti-war current.
Particularly visible in the recent March 2026 “No Kings” demonstrations, where an estimated eight million people mobilized in 3,400 demonstrations across America and globally.
He anticipates the sentiment will be expressed even more strongly during the May Day Rallies held annually on May 1 by workers worldwide as International Labor Day to decry what they view as attacks on the working class.
Along with that is discontentment among the Trump Administration base, who supported the president because he promised to end prolonged wars like Iraq and Afghanistan and pursue a different path.
However, critics argue that, rather than a shift, U.S. involvement in Middle East conflicts continued and was very destructive—both in terms of the damage inflicted abroad and the strain at home. “We have half the population in the United States is either living in poverty or low income, which is just another gradient of poverty,” said Mr. Becker.
Mr. Becker also noted that while the government had public support at the start of past wars, the unique aspect of this war was that opposition began early, attributing the level of dissatisfaction to a number of factors.
“The most important thing that’s happened in terms of war … has been the uprising of Palestinians and the genocidal oppression that has been visited on them by the Israeli government, but with the full backing and arming and funding of Washington,” reasoned Mr. Becker.
“Millions of young people, of all nationalities in the United States; all ethnic groups have joined the movement and became anti-war … became anti-government,” he explained. “And continue to express their revulsion with these wars [and] with the genocide that’s going on,” Mr. Becker noted.