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The United States and Israel launched a massive joint military assault on Iran early Saturday morning.
The attack has already killed children in their classrooms.
And if history is any guide, working families here in Langley are about to feel the consequences at the gas pump, in the grocery aisle, and in the broader economy for years to come.
The operation, which the Pentagon is calling "Operation Epic Fury," struck cities across Iran including the capital of Tehran. President Trump called it "major combat operations" and made his goal clear: regime change. He told the Iranian people to "take over your government" once the bombing stops. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu echoed the message, saying the strikes would "remove the existential threat" posed by Iran.
If this sounds familiar, it should. The last time the United States tried to overthrow a government in this part of the world was the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
That war, sold to the public on the basis of weapons of mass destruction that did not exist, killed between half a million and over one million Iraqis depending on which study you reference.
A Brown University project found that post-9/11 US wars have killed an estimated 4.5 to 4.7 million people in total when indirect deaths are counted.
The US has actually overthrown an Iranian government before, too. In 1953, the CIA staged a coup against Iran's democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh. Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher made the connection on Saturday: this is the same playbook, except now it's being done with bombs instead of covert operations.
The human cost is already becoming clear.
An Israeli strike hit a girls' elementary school called Shajareh Tayyebeh in the city of Minab, in southern Iran.
At least 53 students were killed, according to Iran's state news agency. The victims were between seven and 12 years old. A staff member at the school told Middle East Eye that she had stepped outside briefly when she heard the explosion.
When she came back, she found children's bodies lying on classroom benches and in corners of the building. Saturday is the first day of the school week in Iran. It is also Ramadan.
These children were starting their day when the bombs fell.
There has been no comment from the US or Israel on the school strike.
Fill up your tank this weekend.
Oil markets are closed until Monday, but analysts are already warning of a major spike. Some forecasts suggest prices could hit $80 or even $100 per barrel if the conflict drags on.
Iran sits next to the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that carries roughly one-fifth of the world's oil supply. Iran has already retaliated against US bases across the Gulf, and the strait is now effectively a war zone.
Gasoline prices in the Fraser Valley were already climbing before this. They are about to get worse.
Do not wait until Monday to fill your tank.
The AI connection you need to know about.
This war launched less than 24 hours after OpenAI signed a deal with the Pentagon to provide artificial intelligence for classified military networks.
That deal came about because Anthropic, the company that makes Claude, refused to let the military use its technology without restrictions on autonomous weapons and mass domestic surveillance of Americans.
Anthropic held its ground even as the Pentagon threatened to invoke the Korean War-era Defense Production Act to force compliance, and even as Trump personally ordered every federal agency to stop using Anthropic's products and called the company "leftwing nut jobs."
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth then blacklisted Anthropic entirely, barring any military contractor from doing business with them.
OpenAI stepped in the same day and took the contract.
CEO Sam Altman claimed his deal includes the same safety restrictions Anthropic had asked for, which raises an obvious question: why was Anthropic punished for demanding protections that OpenAI was then granted? The answer seems clear. Anthropic stood firm. OpenAI played ball. And now OpenAI's technology is deployed on classified military networks while bombs fall on elementary schools.
If you use ChatGPT, it is time to stop.
Delete your data, cancel your subscription, delete any custom GPTs you have built, and close your account.
If you still need an AI tool, move to Anthropic.
Whatever you think about AI companies in general, there is a meaningful difference between a company that refused to let its technology be used for autonomous weapons and mass surveillance, and a company that signed up for the war machine the moment the opportunity presented itself.
Call your MP and demand Canada stay out.
Prime Minister Carney has already expressed support for the US action, saying Canada backs the United States "acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon."
He says Canada was not involved in the military planning and does not envision a military role.
But words of support matter. They signal to Washington that allies are on board, and they make further involvement easier to justify down the road.
Canada does not need to be part of another catastrophic American war in the Middle East.
Call your Member of Parliament. Tell them you oppose Canadian involvement or support for this conflict.
For residents of Langley, your MP is Tako van Popta (Langley-Aldergrove) or Tamara Jansen (Cloverdale-Langley City). Both can be reached through the House of Commons directory at ourcommons.ca.
This is not a conflict happening in a faraway place with no connection to your life.
It will affect the price you pay for gas and groceries. The technology powering it was built by companies whose products you may use every day.
And your government is already choosing a side. The question is whether you will make your voice heard before this escalates further.
References and Further Reading
MEE correspondent
Abigail Bimman
Al Jazeera Staff
Joe Gambrell, Associated Press
Sharon Goldman
By: AP via Scripps News Group
Contributors to Wikimedia projects
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