Grace Confronts An America At War
Image: Two US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets take off from the USS Abraham Lincoln during Operation Epic Fury, Source: United States Department of Defense
On February 28, 2026, the United States Armed Forces and the Israeli Defense Forces attacked Iran. President Trump outlined America’s military objectives: retaliation for Iran’s sponsorship of terrorist attacks on US troops, curtailment of Tehran’s ballistic missiles, elimination of the threat of the Iranian Navy, and destruction of the country’s nuclear program.
In the initial assault, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was assassinated, leading the Assembly of Experts to select Khamenei’s son as his successor. Last week, a tenuous ceasefire took effect: a halt to US bombing in exchange for Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The fate of this agreement remains in question, as the Israeli military continues attacks on Hezbollah, a strategic Iranian proxy militia, in Lebanon. After failed negotiations in Pakistan, the United States imposed a naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, further jeopardizing the ceasefire.
The American electorate is generally opposed to the war, known as Operation Epic Fury. According to a recent Pew Research Center survey of over 3,500 Americans conducted from March 16-22, six in 10 Americans question Trump’s handling of the war, with a similar majority opposing the attack in the first place. The divide does not fall along strict party lines, showing a broader consensus against the operation.
This split exists not only among politicians and the general public but also among students at Grace Church. Through interviews conducted with 17 high school students, approximately two-thirds (67.4%) did not support the strikes, while nearly a quarter (23.5%) were in favor of the operation. Around one in ten (11.8%) remain undecided, expressing mixed emotions about the causes of the conflict.
The war has far-reaching consequences across the globe, with oil prices skyrocketing to as high as $112 following Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump has urged European nations to deploy warships to facilitate the flow of oil. While European powers have been hesitant to engage in the conflict, the United Kingdom has allowed the United States to use its bases to conduct strikes on Iran. The Iranian regime has also turned to its allies for support, with Russia providing intelligence on US targets.
Since the war’s start in February, 13 American service members have been killed, while more than 1,700 Iranian civilians have died, according to The Independent. These deaths include around 175 Iranians killed in a US airstrike on a girls’ school, likely the result of inaccurate American intelligence.
At Grace, those in favor of the war pointed to the repression, regional militancy, and nuclear ambitions of the Iranian regime. Aran G. ‘27 emphasized that a regime that massacres its own protestors and pursues a nuclear weapons program “doesn’t have the legitimacy to exist in the current way it does.” Similarly, Truly H. ‘26 explained that “Iran is closely aligned with Hamas, Russia, China, all of our opposition. Why not take away some power from our adversaries?”
Yet, opposition to the conflict at Grace was more common. Some framed their criticisms in constitutional and electoral terms. “I think [the war is] illegal, and set[s] a dangerous precedent for America,” explained Lulu H.B. ‘27. “I think that this is going to be very telling in how Trump is able to gain support from his party and his voters in the future.”
Others drew historical parallels. George S. ‘27 warned that, “these strikes are essentially turning Iran into a carbon-copy of Iraq.” George likened the killing of Khamenei to the US overthrow of Saddam Hussein in the 2003 Iraq War, predicting that a period of instability will ensue.
Juniper K. ‘27 doubted Israel and America’s rationale, questioning how Washington and Tel Aviv can condemn Iran’s nuclear ambitions when Israel maintains an atomic arsenal and the United States remains the only nation to have employed nuclear weapons in war.
Even ambivalent students expressed unease about the operation. Marko T. ‘28 acknowledged the value of removing Khamenei’s dictatorship, but cautioned that “there are previous regime conflicts that didn’t work out.” Another student, Micah W. ‘26, worried about the risk of “another forever war.”
At Grace, as across the country, the conflict has produced uncertainty, debate, and fear about what comes next. What emerges is not a consensus at Grace, but rather a student body grappling with the reality of modern war in real time.
Wilson U. ‘27 is the Leader of the High School’s Young Democrats Club. Georges L. ‘28 is the leader of the High School’s “World Weekly” club. Both are staff writers for The Grace Gazette.