The Israel-US/Iran war

THE war between the United States-Israel and Iran has been characterised by uncertainty. Activities in the Middle East have dragged the region and the world to the edge economically and politically, with twists and turns every 24 hours or less. The climax has been the closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran. This changed the dimensions of the war, leading to a sharp economic pinch as oil vessels were no longer allowed to pass through the chokehold to their various destinations across the globe. To worsen matters, the calls by the United States for its reopening were ignored and mocked, which bruised the ego of the US president and precipitated unimaginable reactions from his leadership.

Posting from his Truth Social account, President Donald Trump, frustrated by the reaction of his European and NATO allies, which distanced themselves from the war and shunned his call to help him in defeating Iran, went into a social media rage, threatening to obliterate the entire Iranian civilisation, apparently referring to the people and their ancient Persian civilisation. These comments have been interpreted as an American intent to commit genocide in Iran, with local and international condemnation following immediately. World leaders either blasted Trump for his erratic and provocative utterances or called for negotiations between the two nations, and an immediate ceasefire. While the United States’ involvement has given the crisis a more unpredictable nature, Israel and Iran have been unyielding, bleeding each other through intermittent missile strikes and pounding the territories of each other’s allies.

Although Iran is the main target of the joint Israel-US strikes which led to the killing of the former Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, and a couple of other political, military and religious leaders, allied nations of Iran and U.S/Israel have also come under attack. Lebanon has been the worst hit, with Israeli strikes resulting so far in the decimation of Lebanese cities and critical infrastructure. The Israeli claim that it aimed only to destroy Hezbollah, a Shia-led insurgent group sponsored by Iran, has so far proven to be false. Civilian casualties have been recorded more than a dozen times, resulting in about 1,500 fatalities since the war began in February. Iran, on the other hand, did not relent in taking a pound of flesh. For weeks, it struck its neighbouring states, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar, all of which are American allies harbouring its military bases. The American military bases are not only regarded as existential threats to Iran, but their presence also flags the host nations as enemies of Iran. Destroying the bases would therefore not only mean a win for Iran, but striking these Arab and Muslim states would also be a good payback for their support of Israel and the U.S.

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This war has been full of ominous drama. From the United States’ claim to have destroyed Iran’s political leadership, naval fleet, military capacity to fight, and its nuclear potential to the outlandish claims that the war has been won by the U.S. and overnight tweets to wipe out Iran, the American twist to the war has made the situation more confusing. As American propaganda heightened, Iranian trolling and mockery of Trump pushed the latter to even more rage. In a sudden twist, Trump, who had tweeted that he had agreed to the Iranian 10-point demand and would cease fire for 14 days, denied ever acceding to the demand, and sent Vice President J.D. Vance to lead a three-man American delegation to a talk with an Iranian delegation in Islamabad, Pakistan, in search of peace. However, the talks failed. By implication, the previous 14-day ceasefire failed, and the second attempt to get a ceasefire anew also collapsed. This led to another round of rage on the part of the U.S. president, who then threatened to wipe out the Iranian civilisation if the Strait of Hormuz and Iran did not accept his terms.

The war in the Middle East is bad enough. Cities and towns in the Middle East have been thrown into darkness and fear because of the attacks on power and gas infrastructure. The conflict has shuttered the passage for oil and other all-important cargo ships, leading to a shortage in oil supply and prohibitive oil prices globally. As the supply chain suffered these setbacks, so have the economies of oil producers and those driven by oil products suffered severe shocks. However, the most disturbing of the developments is arguably America’s threat of genocide in Iran. The threat has sent shivers around the world, not because America had never openly and proudly chosen villainy in global conflict, but because the world wondered how an obliteration could happen without the use of nuclear weapons.

The 20th-century theory is that nuclear powers possess or acquire nukes not for strategic offence per se, but strategic defence or deterrence. Advanced nations of the Global North believe that no provocation can ever compel the deployment of nukes in any conflict. This has been at the base of the philosophy of possession of such weapons, which has culminated in the resolve by world powers not to allow nations they feel cannot be trusted, including Iran, to acquire nuclear weapons. America has been at the driving seat of this vision. Its threat of obliteration, therefore, leaves much to be desired. 

It is clear from the happenings since this war began that America is on a new threshold: it can do and undo, including using nuclear weapons. It is no longer the America the world used to know, as the president increasingly shows signs of egocentrism, emotional instability, and a lack of depth and tact in handling global issues. His approach has been anything but smart, and the tantrums and tweets have shown erraticism and a complete departure from an American leadership that is dignified or can be trusted. 

We sue for peace and hope that the ongoing negotiations will lead to lasting peace. We urge the United States Congress and other democratic institutions to take appropriate and legitimate steps to tame their president and make him conduct himself properly in this matter. We urge the United Nations to show leadership, too. There is no better time than now to step up and prove its relevance. The UN and other global bodies should work towards de-escalation of the conflict. The civilised world should lead by example. It should pave the path to peace in the Middle East.