IRAN, which had been exercising utmost restraint in the face of unending provocations by the Jewish State, lost patience and launched about two hundred ballistic missiles to target different locations in Israel on Tuesday. Seen as a bold move by Iranian people and groups allied to Tehran, the attack was Iran’s second on Israel after a missile and drone strike in April in response to a deadly Israeli air strike on the Iranian Consulate in Damascus. No details were available about loss of life or property in Israel but the United States, the backer and mentor of the Jewish State, claimed the attack was thwarted as most of the missiles were destroyed in air.
This is a dangerous escalation in the Middle East conflict, the responsibility for which squarely lies on Israel and its diplomatic and military supporters. There have been repeated calls by the international community to take urgent measures to stop genocide in Gaza and Lebanon but such calls have fell on deaf ears. It was mainly because of inaction on the part of the world community and consistent support to the illegal policies and aggression of Israel by some influential powers that encouraged Israel to take the risk for expansion of the conflict. It not only took the Gaza war to Lebanon on the pretext of neutralizing Hezbollah but also killed high level targets in Iran and other parts of the Middle East. Iran was under pressure to retaliate as silence was demoralizing its own people and supporters of Tehran. It was in this backdrop that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stated the attack was in response to the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July and the deaths of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Iranian Revolutionary Guard deputy commander Abbas Nilforoushan in Lebanon last week. Moreover, Iran’s foreign ministry said it will not hesitate to take further defensive measures to defend its territorial integrity. In a statement, Iran’s foreign ministry said Tehran’s “defensive operation” is in line with the right to self-defence, and it only targeted military and security facilities in Israel. However, there are clear indications that Iran doesn’t want a full-fledged war or continuation of the conflict because it has serious consequences for regional and global peace and security. This is evident from the fact that Tehran has described its attack as defensive in nature and has also called upon the United Nations Security Council to undertake “meaningful action” to prevent threats against regional peace and security.
As against this, Israel has made its intentions known to attack different targets in the Middle-East as is reflected in a statement issued hours after Iranian missile attack, which said the air force will continue conducting “powerful strikes” tonight throughout the Middle East. Meanwhile, an Israeli military spokesman claimed “This attack will have consequences. We have plans, and we will operate at the place and time we decide.” There are apprehensions that the conflict could expand and deepen if Israel carried out direct attacks in Iran. Ironically, the US and the European Union condemned Iran’s attack, and US President Joe Biden expressed full support for Israel, which is a signal to the Jewish State to go ahead with its nefarious plans for the region. The most worrying aspect of the entire episode is that genuine threats to regional and global peace emerged right at a time when the UN General Assembly was having its annual meeting and world leaders gathered in New York to speak on issues of peace and security. This represents a complete breakdown of the UN systems and impotency of the UN Security Council. However, there is still the possibility to secure peace if the international community builds consensus on the need to penalize violators of international law. The international community, especially leaders of the influential nations, will have to initiate effective moves on an urgent basis as prolongation of the conflict will create more economic difficulties for the third world countries.
