Israel’s war

Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza has already resulted in the occupied Palestinian territories enveloped in wanton violence, assassinations in Syria and Iran, Lebanon being bombed and invaded and ships being targeted in the Red Sea. Now, it is Iran that may well become a target of the Israel-US axis. On Tuesday night (October 1), Iran launched a barrage of around 200 missiles at Israel in defence of Iran’s interests and citizens, as per Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. While the Iranian missiles only led to one reported casualty, the attack was far-reaching – the missiles reportedly reached much deeper into Israeli territory, with the largest Israeli city Tel Aviv also being hit. In the aftermath of the strike, President Pezeshkian has warned Israel that the operation on Tuesday was “only a portion of our power” while Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned in Hebrew that the “blows” against Israel would become “stronger and more painful”. In return, the Israelis have vowed retaliation while the US has claimed there will be “severe consequences” for Iran.

Now, more than ever before, the war Israel triggered in Gaza is close to becoming a full-blown regional conflict. In the lead-up to the Iranian strike, Israel assassinated much of the senior leadership of Hezbollah, including its leader Hassan Nasrallah, and launched a ground incursion into Lebanon. Israeli bombing of Lebanon has already killed an estimated 1640 Lebanese civilians, adding to the over 41,000 Palestinians it has murdered, and its ground incursion into Lebanon will only expand the civilian suffering. Now, with Israel and Iran closer to full-blown conflict than at any point since October 7, 2023, it seems only a matter of time before more countries are dragged into the fighting. A confrontation between Israel and Iran would likely drag the US in as well, which has already committed thousands more troops to the region to bolster security and defend Israel. Any attacks on Iran would have a tremendously destabilizing impact on the region and the world economy in general, given the importance of Middle East oil supplies. Commercial ships in the region have already been caught in the crossfire between the Israel-US axis and the Houthis and with missiles flying across the region with more regularity, anyone in the region seeking a stable climate for their economy and overall conditions is in trouble. This includes Pakistan, which has only just secured an IMF bailout package and is highly dependent on a stable external climate to keep inflation down and its economy on track.

A wider war between Israel and Iran also risks pulling in other actors. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has already called on the United Nations General Assembly to recommend the use of force, if the UN Security Council fails to stop Israel’s attacks in Gaza and Lebanon. Israel can expect more strikes like the one on Tuesday should it stick to its current course. Is this likely to deter the Israelis? Probably not. Thus far, any calls for restraint have been heeded more by Israel’s opponents and yet the US only seeks to blame them for even a hint of resistance to Israel’s illegal acts. As long as Israel knows that it has the no-strings-attached backing of the world’s foremost military power, it will remain committed to its savage course. But it is highly unlikely that more US troops and support will make Israel or any other country in the Middle East more secure. In fact, the whole catastrophic situation the region is facing now can be seen as the culmination of more than half a century of reckless and biased US hegemony over the region. In the interests of peace, it is now clearly time to move away from American neo-colonial power and towards a model that takes into account the rights, aspirations and will of the people actually living in the Middle East.