Is the Chair of the Board of Peace Still Worthy of the Title After Attacking Iran?
An attack on Iran on Saturday morning was also a joint action by two member countries of the “Board of Peace” – a demonstration of how President Donald Trump’s promises regarding world peace, which he promoted through the Board of Peace, have proven to be nothing more than fabrication.
Foreign policy observers across various countries have noted that the action was entirely without emergency conditions. There was no UN mandate, no genuine threat of attack, and it was carried out whilst peaceful negotiations were actually beginning to yield results.
“The first war of Donald Trump’s Board of Peace era has begun – a regime change attempt with no justification, working in concert with Israel, without legal basis, launched during diplomatic efforts to prevent conflict, and with minimal consultation with Congress or the American people,” wrote The Guardian’s senior correspondent Julian Borger.
Moreover, Trump’s eight-minute recorded speech after the first bombs fell made clear that this was not a limited strike designed to pressure Tehran into offering concessions at the negotiating table. Trump warned that if Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) did not surrender, they would be killed, and the country’s armed forces, missiles, and navy would be destroyed. This hardly reflects the words of someone who recently wheedled for a Nobel Peace Prize.
According to reports from Iranian media, the US attack did not only target Iranian military and officials. Nearly one hundred schoolgirls also died when struck by US-Israeli bombs during the Saturday attack.
The operation, dubbed “Operation Epic Wrath” by the Pentagon, occurred several days after the United States and Iran participated in talks in Geneva, which Trump’s emissary considered “positive.” When announcing the military action on Saturday, Trump falsely claimed that the Iranian government had “rejected every opportunity to abandon their nuclear ambitions.”
The US and Israeli attack – categorised by both countries as “preventive” – is clearly illegal under international law, which prohibits the threat or use of force except in response to armed attack. The Trump administration has also violated US law, which grants Congress the sole power to declare war.
“The term ‘preemptive’ is pure propaganda,” wrote Drop Site journalist Jeremy Scahill. “The US once again used negotiations as a cover for bombing Iran. Tehran had just offered terms far beyond the 2015 nuclear agreement. What was preceded was diplomacy. This US propaganda tactic is the same one employed in the 2003 Iraq war.”
Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reckless attack, both Board of Peace members, also dragged fellow member countries into war targets. After being attacked, Iran targeted US assets in Gulf Arab countries in retaliation for the combined large-scale strike conducted by the US and Israel.
The Iranian government on Saturday confirmed its attacks on several targets, according to the Fars news agency, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, where airbases with US assets are located. Explosions were also reported in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. All these countries are Board of Peace members.
The attack on Iran ultimately demonstrates how dangerous the Board of Peace is – its charter grants full authority to Donald Trump as board chairman. It remains unclear who else Trump might attack whilst invoking Board of Peace membership in violation of international law and regardless of whether there is a UN mandate.
Since the Board of Peace was announced in October 2025, Trump has already threatened to attack Colombia and Cuba, taken unilateral action to arrest Venezuela’s president, threatened to seize Greenland from Denmark, and now attacked Iran.
It is little wonder that on social media the Board of Peace has been widely mocked as “Bored of Peace” and also Board of War.