Amidst the growing complexities in the Middle East, speculations about a renewed Israeli attack have emerged again.
A History of Violations and Expansionism
For decades, Israel has been violating human rights and defying international law. However, the United States has provided it with unprecedented support on all international forums to continue with its war crimes. Israel seeks to occupy all of Palestinian territory in pursuit of its “Greater Israel” ambition. It has killed hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians in the last few decades to ethnically cleanse the Palestinian territory. However, some regional resistance groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis have been fighting against its illegal occupation and genocidal operations in Palestine and neighboring countries. Iran, being a regional military power, supports many anti-Israel proxies, including the aforementioned three proxy groups. Iranian military and intelligence support to these organizations impinged on the US and Israeli interests in the Middle Eastern region.
Israel repeatedly targeted several Iranian military leaders in its covert and overt operations. Israel even targeted the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, killing several Iranian officials. It even assassinated Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, in Tehran in an intelligence operation—violating the sovereignty of the country. The United States also killed an Iranian Major General, Qasem Soleimani, in a drone strike in Iraq. Both the allies have been assassinating and killing top-ranking officials of Iran and the proxy groups backed by Tehran. The United States and Israel have also been pressuring Iran to abstain from gaining nuclear power, stating that it poses a threat to regional peace and stability.
Brewing Conflict: A Return to Open Hostilities?
Despite framing Iran as a threat, historical events suggest that Israel is the real threat to regional peace and stability. Israel itself is an undeclared nuclear power. It has conducted military operations in several regional countries, including Qatar, Lebanon, Syria, and Tunisia. In June this year, Israel and Iran fought a 12-day war. Israel also pushed the United States to conduct airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, leading to further exacerbation of the regional crisis. However, the war ended after the mediation of some regional powers. Since then, Israel has continued its genocide in Gaza, deteriorating regional peace and stability.
Israel’s regional expansionist mission continues to haunt the region. Recently, an IDF official told Israeli media that Tel Aviv is preparing for another strike against Iran. The news came amidst global discussions on Trump’s new 20-point peace proposal for Gaza. The IDF official states, “We are monitoring what is happening across the Middle East and in Iran and are preparing for a variety of scenarios and options; one of them is that we may need to act again against Iran.” He also stated, “We are doing everything to enable a situation in which the best conditions will be achieved for stopping the fighting and returning the 48 hostages and to set security arrangements that meet Israel’s demands.” This illustrates the underlying objective of US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu behind the delusional peace plan.
According to some reports, the United States has sent 30 US Air Force tankers to the Middle East to reinforce its capacity for long-range operations. This scenario, along with the one-sided peace proposal, suggests that Washington and Tel Aviv are planning a new military adventure in the region. Tehran is also aware of the rising regional threat. Mohsen Rezaei, the former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), has warned that Tehran would enter a war with the US if Israel attacked Iran again. He also stated, “The Israelis want to try their military luck against Iran again. If that happens, we will use all our forces, we will change our red lines, and things will happen that are not right for me to say now.” This illustrates that tensions between Iran and Israel are brewing and could lead to a broader regional war. Moreover, the increasing military activities of the US Air Force also suggest that the region will soon observe an increase in tensions and aggression. However, any US or Israeli attempt to impose war on Iran or occupy Gaza would isolate the two countries and could give a final blow to the US’s declining hegemony.
Taut Bataut is a researcher and writer that publishes on South Asian geopolitics
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