The War that Never Happened
How global peace begins
“The future is not something that happens, it’s something that has to be imagined and then fought for” Professor Jiang
About:
A three part speculative political thriller about unlikely partners (US + Iran + Russia + ?) that form a fragile peace alliance that threatens a globalized technocratic order.
1. One Contractor Started It All
In May of 2026, the United States Central Command began the planning of a second Iranian strike targeting Iran’s Nuclear Technology Center in Isfahan. The Isfahan site is Iran’s conversion center; its role is to convert Uranium ore concentrate or “yellowcake” into uranium hexafluoride gas for use in its centrifuges. Early US planning efforts involved the use of strike capable drones. The planners had scheduled the use of seven MQ-20 Avengers; the Avengers are jet powered stealthy platforms with internal weapons bays.
Then, the butterfly effect.
The MQ-20 Avenger was in an early stage of “new equipment fielding” or (NEF) in the Summer of 2026. During the initial fielding, an American sub-contractor revealed in a social media post that the Avenger had been fielded ahead of contract schedule in order to be used for the planned strikes on Iran. After realizing what he had done, the contractor scrambled to take down the post but by the next morning, the post had gone viral, the damage had been done. He had been in a lengthy late-night discussion on a popular social media platform and was baited into voluntarily revealing multiple classified data points regarding the Avenger and its fielding. In the days that followed, public protests emerged in New York, Los Angeles and Washington D.C. over the news of the impending strikes.
MQ-20 Avenger
Performance
Maximum speed: 460 mph (740 km/h, 400 kn)
Cruise speed: 402 mph (648 km/h, 350 kn)
Endurance: 18 hours
Service ceiling: 50,000 ft (15,240 m)
Armament
Internal weapons bay with 3,500 pounds (1,600 kg) capacity.
2. The First Fall of Old Systems
Most notably was the protest at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) headquarters in Washington D.C. (AIPAC is the most influential lobbying organization in DC.) where 10,000 protesters had gathered in protest to AIPAC’s strong advocacy for war with Iran. This protest was significant because it was organized and well-funded. It was unclear who had funded the protest, but the message was clear, a demand was issued that direct political donations to congress stop. It was theorized that AIPAC had become very influential to the House Armed Services Committee.
The protest had coincided with AIPAC’s annual Policy Conference which attracts hundreds of members of Congress and high-ranking officials from both parties. A few scuffles broke out at the entrance to the AIPAC headquarters, and several arrests were made. Within hours, videos were posted on “X” showing the mishandling of the protest, primarily by AIPAC security staff. A whistleblower at the center of what would be called the “shadow campaign” came forward and released multiple documents on Reddit. By the next morning, most of America had learned of AIPAC’s lobbying efforts for war with Iran, not Israel’s war with Iran but a campaigned American war with Iran. In a WikiLeaks type of release, a paper published on “X” explained in detail the campaign that would propel the United States into a full-scale war with Iran. This revelation shattered ideological and cultural barriers across the nation, suddenly a unified populous was calling for peace with Iran and the nullification of AIPAC’s campaign to take America to war. Social media exploded, millions of users forced this topic into the public discourse, and a movement began to materialize which cemented public opinion. Combined with in-district organizing and lobbying, this new movement leveraged social media to have a realistic impact on a revitalized political agenda.
Within weeks, donors began withdrawing, congressional support for AIPAC waned and then came the death blow. The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it would initiate an investigation into foreign-agent violations under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). This law requires organizations acting on behalf of a foreign principal to disclose their relationship, activities and finances to the U.S. government. FARA was designed to promote transparency about foreign influence in U.S. politics and policy.
The announcement of the AIPAC investigation marked a turning point, a moment in time when all, including the executive branch, realized that it was time to choose sides.
3. Executive Action
Meanwhile, President Trump was beginning to feel the pressure and in an unprecedented act, he called off the drone strike and requested an immediate meeting with President Pezeshkian of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The US envoy to the Middle East arranged for a two-day summit in Doha, Qatar, a discussion that would be mediated by the Emir of Qatar himself. The primary focus was simply to establish diplomatic channels and build trust so that a renewed relationship between the United States and Iran could be established.
4. The First Summit
The summit exceeded all expectations, both Presidents were able to have a clear dialogue, unimpeded by competing interests or external influences. President Pezeshkian demonstrated a willingness to have improved diplomatic engagement with the United States and expressed a desire to re-establish economic and political stabilization for Iran. He sought sanctions relief and President Trump indicated that this would be up for discussion if Iran de-escalated its actions and rhetoric. President Pezeshkian, encouraged by the productive discussion, agreed and further agreed to involve Iran’s Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard in future discussions and negotiations.
5. The Kremlin Responds
Word of the highly productive summit spread quickly and caught the attention of the Kremlin. Also highly irregular, the Kremlin made the following statement:
The Russian Federation has taken note of recent reports regarding discussions between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran concerning a potential peace framework and normalization of relations. The Kremlin views the bilateral nature of these discussions with cautious interest. Russia recognizes Iran as a strategic partner and a key regional actor. The stability of the Persian Gulf cannot be achieved through exclusive arrangements that bypass multilateral mechanisms. Should Washington and Tehran achieve tangible progress towards de-escalation, Moscow stands ready to facilitate broader multilateral talks. These talks should include Russia, China and other regional powers to ensure that peace and stability are guaranteed on a sustainable and cooperative basis.
The Trump Administration responded to the Kremlin with the message that “the pursuit of peace with Iran is not intended to exclude or undermine any other nation’s legitimate interests”. Follow up communiques stated that the White House welcomes all constructive international engagement and extended an open invitation to Russia, should it “wish to constructively participate in a broader peace”.
The Kremlin acknowledged and affirmed that a continuation of this discussion is acceptable.
6. The Framework for Peace
President Trump directed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to begin drafting plans for a multi-lateral peace summit which would include the United States, the Republic of Iran and the Russian Federation. Secretary Rubio advised against hosting a trilateral summit with Russia given the fact that too many unresolved issues surround the war in Ukraine. He also stated that the talks with Iran should remain simple, clear and direct, he suggested that adding Russia would convolute the fragile initial talks. President Trump disagreed and instead insisted that Rubio continue with the planned summit, Secretary Rubio complied, and all envoys agreed to the date and location. Secretary Rubio arranged for the multilateral summit to be conducted in Istanbul, Türkiye against opposition from NATO and the EU. Named the Straits Initiative, the trilateral talks would mark the first direct US-Iran-Russia summit in decades. The “Straits Initiative” would be named for the strategic geography of the Turkish Straits and their importance as internationally significant waterways that unofficially mark the boundary between Europe and Asia.
7. Global Elite are Unhappy
Meanwhile in Geneva, Switzerland a high-level Bilderberg style meeting called together politicians from the EU, finance ministers, tech giant billionaires and thought leaders to discuss the Straits Initiative and the emerging new discourse between the US, Iran and Russia. This closed-door gathering was arranged to strategize a plan to dissuade participation in the initiative or influence the outcome to favor their desires.
At the meeting in Geneva, it was decided that their quiet counsel to these nations’ leaders and the rest of the World would carry more weight than any formal opposition. In their counsel, they would not oppose peace outright but rather use public platforms to imply that the peace negotiations are rushed, unverified and even potentially dangerous for the general population. Fundamentally, they would frame a narrative through mainstream media and think tanks to alter the common perception that the Straits Initiative was good for stability. Their three-prong strategy would be pitched in three domains: 1) Militarily through representatives at NATO, 2) Economically through an appointed EU finance minister, and 3) Technology based through Silicon Valley.
They will contend the following three main premises:
1. This method of careless peace planning is premature and destabilizing. They will contend that authoritarian states will exploit a premature peace for cyber or military attacks on allies and partners.
2. This premature peace summit will disrupt markets, create supply chain uncertainty, spike or crash oil prices and threaten jobs in strategic industries.
3. This peace summit creates the opportunity for foreign intelligence to exploit the digital environment. Also, AI governance, energy transition and digital identity systems must be resolved before traditional peace frameworks can be implemented. The intent here is the most dangerous as they will reframe peace as tech-dependent, an easy psyop as most of the masses in the West are likely to conform with this style of narrative building.
With this basic three-pronged strategic messaging campaign, they will attempt to create fractures in the unity of the Straits Initiative and thereby undermine the entire peace process.
8. The Geneva Ghost
What they didn’t know, was that a clandestine operative had already been operating with a mission to monitor activities like these in neutral Switzerland. Nicknamed the “Geneva Ghost”, this elite had infiltrated the highest levels of elite society. Based in Switzerland, this counteragent of a sort, worked in Geneva, Davos, Montreux and Zurich where he monitored and reported all backchannel diplomatic talks, discussions and covert meetings. In this instance, he prepared a full report with recordings from prominent leaders to back their claims. The report was provided through clandestine services directly to the US Director of National Intelligence (DNI); Tulsi Gabbard. He knew that the CIA and NSA had been compromised, dealing directly with the Trump administration was his only course of action.
Once received, the DNI fortunately did the right thing and disclosed this information to President Trump’s Chief of Staff. Upon receiving this information, President Trump called for a special envoy to travel to the United Nations Office at Geneva, Switzerland to assure them that the Straits Initiative would convene on schedule regardless of subversive actions taken, he knew that this information would make it to the people that needed to hear his message. The DNI and Secretary Rubio advised against this action, but President Trump was insistent. President Trump by making an egoic power play had forced the resignation of the Geneva Ghost, thereby eliminating what could have been a powerful ally for use against the newly discovered adversary. Nonetheless, his short-term strategy worked; the power of the subversion had softened with Trump’s announcement and Istanbul was a GO.
9. The Straits Initiative
Late in the Summer of 2026, the Straits Initiative powers met in Istanbul for the three-day conference. Day one was largely a meet and greet where Presidents Trump, Putin, and Pezeshkian enjoyed meals, light discourse and an overview of each nation’s proposals for peace. Day Two was a full day attended by the delegations from each nation; each nation’s delegation included the Presidents, the Foreign Minister/Secretary of State, the National Security Advisors, Defense Ministers and Intelligence liaisons. The opening plenary sessions were mostly symbolic speeches, followed by strategic pairings which included US-Iran talks focused on sanctions, nuclear limits and regional deconfliction. The US-Russia talks focused on arms control and global energy stability. The war in Ukraine was not discussed as the Presidents decided to focus on building trust before delving into the sensitive nature of this divisive conflict. Day Three focused on strategic arms limitations between the US and Russia, inspection protocols for the IAEA in Iran and the lifting of sanctions in Iran. In the final hour, the US agreed to lift targeted sanctions on Iran and Iran agreed to a limited nuclear transparency regime. Russia agreed to temporarily suspend strategic arms production and remove 1,999 warheads from its active arsenal. The US agreed to lift some of the targeted sanctions on Russia and remove 1,000 warheads from its active arsenal. The Initiative was converted to a multipolar cooperation pact. Much of the language indicated that the purpose of the pact is to dismantle post-Cold war order and other global systems in order to create a “balance of civilizations”. The cooperation pact left an opportunity for other nations to join and sign the pact with specific reference to the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
10. Backlash
Upon formal announcement of the trilateral cooperation pact between the US, Iran and Russia, the World reacted in disbelief. The EU and Israel fiercely opposed the actions taken by the United States to act without their agreement and publicly decried that they were “blindsided” by President Trump’s actions. The British Prime Minister Starmer and French President Macron met privately and later released a statement that the actions taken by the Trump administration had indicated that the “death of the West’s unity”. Israel went publicly silent, but an intercepted report revealed that Israel had accelerated its covert operations against Iran.
A part of the cooperation pact included a “digital confidence framework”, this clause provided for a shared cyber and AI security cooperation agreement. Nothing was fully agreed upon or signed into action but the language of the framework was very troubling to US tech giants, particularly Microsoft, Alphabet (Google) and MetaSphere. The three tech giants agreed to collaborate in protest to the Trump administration, and a meeting was arranged in Mountain View, CA. At the meeting the titans agreed that they could not allow the digital confidence framework to be implemented as it would compromise intellectual property and ethics controls that have been established for public safety – at least that was the official narrative. Unofficially, they were not going to allow for algorithmic independence from their established reality, they had worked hard to build a digital landscape that the collective West understood and had come to accept. They proposed a collaborative campaign to undermine the process that would later be called the “digital cold war”. Early efforts would include a disinformation campaign that would be created using off-grid technologies and manipulations of digital architecture embedded throughout multiple US government agencies.
11. New World Order?
The World’s architecture was falling apart, it was shedding the detritus of hegemony, nihilism, despair and global elitism. The global elite and their purveyors were now scrambling to keep it together, but it wasn’t over yet. At the Euro-Tech Conference in Brussels, Belgium, Zuckerburg made the following statement: “Peace is just a market correction in slow motion. We adapt faster than governments can sign papers.”
End of Part One_The War that Never Happened
