[srean]

> Trying to disentangle who did what first in the Middle East is a fool's errand.

Not at all and we are talking Iran not ME in general. Your sentence recalls to the mind that famous quote by Upton Sinclair about self imposed lack of comprehension.

It's ridiculous to think of a just prosecution when only one side is held accountable and the other gets hegemony enforced immunity.

When Iran nationalised their oil US used a military coup to upend their parliamentary democracy and place a puppet dictator in place, who among other things ran torture camps for dissenters. Iran's action are a retaliation against US and its proxies who have meddled and attacked Iran's sovereign destiny and financial health.