8 hours ago
Israeli-Iranian conflict.. When events defy reason
I was preparing to cover the ramifications of the Ukrainian assault on Russian military and civilian targets in the heart of Russia, and the consequent Russian retaliatory strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian urban and infrastructure targets, when the pivot of events shifted from Ukraine to Iran. A few days prior to Israel's attack on Iran, Iranian media had announced that Tehran was in possession of a vast trove of classified, strategic Israeli material that included files relating to Israel's strategic military and nuclear facilities, and its strategic defence arms. The world attempted to grasp how such a move would impact the US-supervised nuclear talks between Iran and Israel regarding Iran's enrichment of Uranium for peaceful purposes—meaning by under 3.75 per cent.
President Trump called Iran to the negotiation table to reach a peaceful resolution to the conflict. But on 13 June the world woke up to Operation Rising Lions which had started during that night, and in which Israel struck strategic targets in Tehran, Natanz, Isfahan, Arak, Kermanshah and Tabriz. Presidential, military and administrative facilities were hit, as well as military airbases, bombers, and ballistic missile carriers.
As I write this, everyone is closely monitoring the Israeli assault and Iran's retaliatory response, but we cannot narrow down the conflict to that. The coming days will open the doors to all possibilities; the Israeli-Iranian conflict can get out of hand, especially as the parties involved abandon negotiations and let the battlefield resolve the conflict.
The question that begs an answer, however, is: If Iran was indeed in possession of strategic and sensitive classified Israeli documents, why did it hesitate to launch an attack against Israel that would have secured a military advantage for Iran, one that it could have exported to the negotiation table? Instead, what actually took place is that, as soon as news circulated about Iran's possession of Israeli classified material, Israel launched a surprise pre-emptive strike against Iran, targeting presidential, military and nuclear facilities causing damages so huge that it severely curtailed Iran's capacity to respond, and hence its control over the conflict.
An equally important issue that cannot be discounted is the role of the US, especially under President Trump, in steering global conflicts on all fronts. Given the US President's hiccups and inconsistent declarations on global issues one and all ever since he took oath last January, and his alienation of both friends and foes, it has become increasingly evident that he can neither be trusted nor his declarations believed. When it comes to the Iranian-Israeli negotiations, President Trump had repeatedly stressed his commitment to resolving the conflict through negotiation, urging Iran to make every effort to reach an agreement that would limit its uranium enrichment to levels strictly for peaceful purposes. It might appear that, despite Trump's inconsistencies, Iran had put its faith in his declarations; why else would it have hesitated in launching a pre-emptive strike against Israel instead of being itself on the receiving end, thus risking a weaker position by remaining on the defensive?
Now Iran has launched its missiles on Tel Aviv, understandably causing much damage, loss and injuries. But the repercussions of Israeli attacks and Iranian retaliatory strikes can go far beyond that. As the Israeli attack on Iran persists and so does Iranian retaliation, we fear that the scene opens for yet more international players to enter the conflict in support of any of the two parties. The calamity would be if Iran or Israel finds itself on the losing side; would they resort to a nuclear strike that would devastate the entire region and leave no victor?
Watani International
20 June 2025 Comments
comments Tags: Israel and IranProblems on holdWataniYoussef Sidhom
