The answer to the fears expressed recently about an explosion of deadly human and country-destroying violence breaking out in the Middle East may have been answered. The bombing by the United States of what it says are three nuclear facilities inside Iran, places the world on the threshold of a conflagration from which its population and environment will not revive for decades.
As it occurred two days ago, the US bombing of Iran can drag those nations which have been on the sidelines instigating, supporting with arms and ammunition and offering protection at international fora to Israel, to become physically involved in the consequences of the US bombing inside the heart of Iran.
Behind this segment of the war is the insistence by Israel, the United States and Europe that Iran must not be allowed ever to develop the capacity to produce nuclear weapons. To allow the Islamic Republic of Iran to develop and possess nukes will endanger Israel and from the perspective of the Western powers, disrupt the favourable power balance in the Middle East.
The reality of the existing situation is that Israel has significant nuclear weapons, a range of power and sophisticated modern weaponry, war infrastructure and, with it all, the overwhelming economic and political force of the United States and Europe at its disposal.
Less than one week ago, US President Donald Trump informed Iran that it had two weeks to settle on his demands for an unconditional surrender or face the consequences.
It should be revealed why the decision to bomb has come after only a couple days; it surely could not be the fear of Iran developing the nuclear bomb in the present and therefore being in a position to use it before diplomacy could be completed.
Back in 2015, Iran signed an international agreement with China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union to cut back on nuclear enrichment and to ensure its nuclear programme would be entirely peaceful. On coming to office in 2016, President Trump withdrew from that agreement.
Recently, the US President said his director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, was “wrong” in her statement that Iran has no intention or the capacity to develop nuclear weapons.
The world has not had to wait a long time to know how Iran would react. It has already begun to trade missiles with Israel and has promised far-reaching consequences for the US bombing.
Waiting, observing and calculating on the outskirts of the continuing conflict led by Israeli aggression and the US bombing are Russia and China. The former has, over a long period of time, had physical involvement in the area and is believed to pose an existential threat to US/Western geo-political hegemony in the area.
A few Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Iran, all have working relations with Russia and China; they also have similar relations with the US and the West.
The issue is whether or not it’s too late for diplomacy; moreover, will diplomacy be of value to Iran if its nuclear plants, which it has insisted are for peaceful purposes, have been “devastated” by the American bombing?