Or Hitler started WWII? Both were "preemptive strikes". Or will pro-Israel people admit that Israel started this and they're the aggressor?
Obviously, pro-Israel people will say Iran was asking for it but that's the same argument pro-Russian and pro-Hitler people use.
This attack should be adequate proof that "who started what" really doesn't matter. I never thought it mattered but I hope everyone else sees that it doesn't matter.
Hitler's invasion of Poland, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the American invasion of Iraq were not pre-emptive strikes.
Hitler's invasion of Poland was done for the purposes of conquest. There was nothing to pre-empt. It was an offensive conquest.
Putin's invasion of Ukraine was a response to a) the Coup that had removed his vassal from power, b) the aggression of the Kievan government towards the Donbass region where Russian troops were already stationed, c) the same government indicated a willingness to ally with NATO and make Ukraine a border country that would be a staunch adversary. Unless it's to pre-empt Ukraine from joining NATO, the war isn't pre-emptive. It's either a conquest or a re-conquest.
The US invasion of Iraq was offensive, and for conquest, as the US hoped it could establish a vassal in the region.
Israel's strikes on Iran are not "pre-emptive", again, except in the loosest of terms that they intend to "pre-empt" Iran from getting nukes (which they probably already have in a small number). However, it makes more sense to see it as an offensive military strike to destroy the nuclear facilities and deny Iran the ability to manufacture more weapons. This is what they did with the Osarisk reactor in Iraq when it tried to go online.
Is it "self-defense", eh, not really. Frankly if you're arguing 'self-defense' you're not being honest about the situation in the middle east right now. Israel is at War with Iran, and they have been since the October 7th attacks. Hamas is an extension of Iranian power, and probably got American abandoned weapons from Iran, from the Taliban. Iran is also currently at war with Saudi Arabia. The Houthis that Saudi Arabia has been struggling with, are also funded by Iran, and also supported operations against Israel.
Iran, for some reason, has decided to pick a fight with basically every major player in the ME that isn't named Turkey, and I wouldn't count them out if something goes sideways.
Truth is, this is one regional war involving Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey; that basically just the US is trying not to turn into a major war that drags everybody into it. The attack on Iran's reactors is just an extension of that war.