Escalation on cards

A tit-for-tat in the Middle East is leading to an unprecedented escalation in the conflict between Iran and Israel. Tel Aviv for the first time in his existence mustered courage to directly attack military sites inside the Islamic Republic, leaving behind the revolutionary regime in shock and awe. While Tehran has played down the impact of the attack on at least three cities and said that casualties are in single digit with little damage to installations, the fireball of response is likely to aggravate the crisis.

A retaliatory action from the Jewish state was imminent, as it has in principle decided to take on all of its adversaries after its daredevil successes in eliminating Hezbollah and Hamas leadership as well as the obliteration of Gaza and military intrusion in Lebanon. The consolation at this point of time is that both Israel and Iran are holding back from taking on each other in a vicious circle of war-mongering, and this is where astute diplomacy can make a difference.

The fact that the Israeli airstrikes spared nuclear and oil facilities of Iran is a welcome development. It seems Israel had restricted itself on the advice of Washington not to conflagrate the issue, and provide an opportunity for the Arab and Muslim states to rally for the Islamic Republic. It could have also triggered a snowball reaction of economic decimation across the region forcing the Gulf States to make a moral and strategic choice of standing either with the US or Iran. But what seems certain is that post-October 26 missile strikes from Israel, Iran is unlikely to keep its cool and will cross the nuclear Rubicon in a bizarre attempt to restore détente in the region.

With more strikes from Israel likely as it wants to nail down the Axis of Resistance in the region, the role of Iran and its proxies will take a centre-stage. If Europe and the US continue to exhibit their partisanship for the Zionist state, their interests worldwide could be under fire. The escalating situation calls for a rational approach and the minimum is to address the dispute of Palestine, and let Iran and Israel abide by the international conventions of serenity.