With the composure of a golfer, the temperament of a gladiator, and the physique of a bulldozer, Donald Trump, a paradoxical figure, ignites fires everywhere. With him, whether you're near or far, everything is flammable. The 45th and 47th President of the United States of America uses every means at his disposal. Through the MAGA movement – Make America Great Again – a slogan that earned him two non-consecutive terms in the White House, he championed a return to American isolationism. As an opponent, he denounced the "endless wars" of his predecessors. In power, he boasts, or boasted, since his inauguration, of having "ended seven wars": India and Pakistan, Israel and Iran (the 12-day war of June 2025), Armenia and Azerbaijan, Thailand and Cambodia, the DRC and Rwanda, Ethiopia and Egypt, and Serbia and Kosovo. It should be noted that the last two wars did not exist, or no longer existed, when the American president included them in his record at the United Nations on September 23, 2025. Trump was simply being Trump. For him, the game of inflating his results was worth the candle: he was in the middle of a campaign for the Nobel Peace Prize, which he thought he could wrest from the famous and phlegmatic Oslo jury.

A Nobel Prize contender, ultimately passed over, he is now paradoxically creating his own "seven wars," both outside and within America's borders. These wars include: intervention in Venezuela with the capture of its president, Nicolás Maduro; the proposed annexation of Greenland; airstrikes in Nigeria; a trade war; the American withdrawal from 66 international organizations, including some thirty UN entities (notably the international climate regime); violence against migrants and illegal deportations; the use of the military against the "enemy" within; and so on. The latest, though it's not certain that this will be Trump's final war, is the military operation currently being conducted by the "United States-Israel" partnership against Iran. Strikes against Iran again in the first quarter of 2026 are clear proof that the war was not over, even though, in a new development compared to the June strikes, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, leader of the Iranian revolution, was eliminated this time.

The Israeli-American punitive expedition is shocking for several reasons. First, it lacks a UN mandate and therefore violates international law. Second, as a consequence of the first point, it gives the impression of might makes right, a state of nature taken to its extreme with the decapitation, both literal and figurative, of the Tehran regime. Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are thus setting an extremely serious precedent in international relations. Historically, the assassination of the heir to the Austrian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, triggered the First World War. The annexation of Poland by Adolf Hitler's Germany was the immediate cause of the Second World War. Times have changed.

Furthermore, can Iran's desire to acquire nuclear weapons be used as sufficient grounds to attack a sovereign nation and kill its leaders, especially when nine countries worldwide possess the infamous atomic bomb? These lucky few with nuclear weapons are: the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, and… Israel. Make of that what you will.

Let's be clear: our point is not to say that the land of the ayatollahs must necessarily possess this formidable weapon, nor to condone Iranian attacks against certain Arab Gulf states. We are certainly not in favor of nuclear proliferation or the unbridled arms race. However, a doubly legitimate question arises: why others and not Iran?

The answer may lie in Emmanuel Macron's punchy line: "To be free, one must be feared. To be feared, one must be powerful. To be powerful, one must be more united." With this striking, yet undeniably edifying, anaphora, the French president outlined his vision of what French and European nuclear doctrine should be on March 2nd, during a speech at the Île Longue naval base in Brest. And so the new arms race begins! It would take a very clever person indeed to predict when and how these wars waged by Donald Trump, who fancies himself the world's evil policeman, will end. The unpredictable nature of Barack Obama's successor, and then both predecessor and successor of Joe Biden, makes any attempt at prediction potentially risky. To the Americans, he promised to be the president of peace. Today, he is the president of war.

It is equally naive to believe that the current offensive is solely motivated by the dismantling of Iran's nuclear arsenal. First, the war is far from clean: on the ground, it has caused several thousand Iranian deaths and displaced persons, the vast majority of whom are civilian victims. This human tragedy is being ignored by American and Israeli political leaders and receives very little coverage in the international media. Second, behind this war lie enormous geopolitical stakes. Reducing Iranian power to its bare minimum, or even to nothing—a clearly stated objective—would mean total control of the Middle East by Israel, which, in this instance, seems to have the guarantee of indifference or impotence from neighboring and Middle Eastern states regarding the fate of the mullahs' regime. Finally, there are the inevitable economic consequences. A strategic, not to say critical, point in the global geopolitics of energy, the Strait of Hormuz is the focus of intense scrutiny. And rightly so: nearly 20% of the world's oil passes through this strait. A surge in energy and consumer goods prices is predicted. It is already being felt in some countries, particularly for fuel. In Senegal, for example, the recent drop in prices at the pump and for electricity could be jeopardized. The situation surrounding the Strait of Hormuz is a classic example of a vicious cycle. To avoid a spiral affecting US inflation and growth, the Trump administration is working tirelessly to ensure that shipping is not disrupted and is implementing insurance mechanisms to mitigate the impact of a blockade.

“Epic Fury” is the code name for the operation launched by President Trump and his ally Netanyahu. It recalls the equally famous “Desert Shield” and “Desert Storm” operations, with this notable difference: the first Gulf War had the support of the UN, unlike the current war in the Middle East. The United States and Israel are carrying out their plan amid the deafening silence of the international community. With interests sometimes shared, sometimes specific to each, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are setting the pace of the world. Land, air, sea, and desert. Hello imperialism!

What about Africa? It must be admitted, with a heavy heart. It is in these kinds of situations, grave and tragic for international law, that its limited power in the concert of nations becomes even more apparent. The continent's voice is not heard, to say the least. The volatile situation brings back to the forefront the persistent question of the continent's entry into the UN Security Council, with at least one permanent seat. This will not be enough to give it its full weight. Nevertheless, if it were to happen, it would be a step forward. With the status quo, Africans will remain on the margins of world affairs and will continue to suffer the repercussions.

Africa, however, has a voice and a contribution to make. Peace is only possible if it is built together.

Mamoudou Ibra KANE

Leader of the Tomorrow is Now movement