BY Akhtar Ali Burki
Following the atrocities in Gaza, Israel, along with the United States, launched a new wave of attacks on Iran, engulfing the Middle East and creating repercussions for South Asia as well. We have seen that the man who aspires to be Nobel laureate, and many have also nominated him for this award, is more interested in the business of war. His tweets and press conferences are testimony to it. He wants to annihilate anyone who does not toe his lines. Donald Trump’s rival will definitely have to bow his head in respect, accept the Trump’s commands and follow his footsteps, otherwise the enemy has to face the wrath of the president. We watched on the tv screens that Venezuelan president Nicholas Maduro was humiliated and ousted from his post.
For the first time in Venezuelan history the inflation soared to 475 percent in the last year. He did not accept the Trump’s rule of business and was eliminated from the scene. The same was happened to the leaders who showed resilience and started its independent foreign policy. A Board of Peace for Gaza’s rehabilitation was inaugurated where most of the Muslim countries participated, but no representative was included from the Palestinian side, even though Israel has a powerful say in the whole affairs.
Likewise, USA has nothing to do with Iran but Israel wants to topple the current political set up, destroy the nuclear program and install a subservient government there. That’s why for the second time Iran was attacked and the first casualty came in the form of bombing a primary school in Iran, reported to have killed 165 children. When one of the reporters asked Trump about this tragedy, he said it was ‘done by Iran’. Further news claims different figures of killed people in Iran, amounting to more than 1400.
The recent attacks by both Iran and US-Israel, although initiated by the US, have disturbed the peace of Middle East, especially of rich kingdoms. The oil and gas prices also skyrocketed due to the closure of Strait of Hurmuz. It is impacting the supply chain of the world trade and the poor countries will be the worst hit.
The war seems to have no clear end because neither the US-Israel side nor Iran appears willing to back down. US President in his latest remarks said that war with Iran will only end after wiping out the latter’s military and ruling class. Trump wants “unconditional surrender” from Iran. In the same vein Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian hits back that the US wish of the “..Iran unconditional surrender is a dream they will take to their grave”. Such statements, no doubt, further exacerbate the war mongering of both the rivals.
So, on what grounds US and Israel attacked Iran? Some observers think that US consider Iran as an “imminent threat” since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 took place. Iran is also very near to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile that could hit US, a claim rejected by US intelligence assessments. And the most important, as experts believe that Iran is approaching the threshold of developing a nuclear weapon, even though this capability of Iran has been obliterated by the US strikes, as Trump has said earlier when three nuclear sites were targeted by American forces.
By each passing day, the leaders will continue to spark divisions by their statements but the common people will suffer the most. We have seen that after the Islamic revolution in Iran the people with left leanings were persecuted and the enlightened minds were sidelined. The aftermath of the revolution created internal divisions, paved the way for Iran-Iraq war and spread of anti-Americanism. But it is also a reality that whenever USA attacked or interfered in the affairs of other countries, the result has been disastrous for that nation. There are many examples—such as Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon—where the United States intervened or sent forces with claims of maintaining peace, promoting democracy, and restoring human dignity, but these actions proved contrary to the claims. It not only disturbed peace but also brought chaos, political instability, polarization, and tribal enmities to the mentioned countries.
There is famous adage of Henry Kissinger who said that to be an enemy of the United States is dangerous but to be a friend is fatal.
