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By Abbas Goya
Israel’s attack on Gaza seeks for greater goals than just its annexation to Israel. The objective of the ongoing genocide in Gaza is inline with the unbridled US invasion of Iraq in 1990. In the aftermath of the Soviet collapse, the US intended to establish itself as the world’s only superpower through the “shock and awe” atrocities in Iraq. Similar to NATO’s identity crisis in the post cold-war era till 2022, Israel endured an identity crisis.
Except for maintaining its occupant status in Palestine, Israel sank into its own shell for decades. Not only it did not claim hegemony in the region, Israel was pushed back to live under a ‘dome’. Now, due to formation of a new capitalist bloc which challenges the US sphere of influence, both Israel and NATO are finding their place. Israel once again on the West is claiming hegemony in the Middle East as the sole US representative in the region. Only this time, Israel needs to appear tougher than it was during the Cold War.
For all the post cold war years that Israel was living defensively “under the dome”, the Islamic Republic was offensive and, according to Netanyahu, it managed to rul in four countries in the Middle East, ie Iran, Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria.
The Islamic Republic knows that it cannot go to war with Israel and come out victorious because of the explosive internal discontent lurking in it. One of the effective ways of intimidation and division among the protestors is to promote nationalism in favor of a powerful Iran. This can be tied to having nuclear weapon.
Without participating in an attrition war with Israel, it seems that the only way to determine the hegemony line in the region is to be equipped with a deterrent atomic bomb for which Iran has reached the momentum to produce one.* So instead of staring at the borders for the possibility of the Islamic Republic or its proxy forces entering a war with the US and or Israel, attention should be paid to the atomic bomb manufacturing centers. The Islamic Republic’s “big blow” to the West and Israel will not be a military attack, it will be the announcement of an atomic bomb test.
* WSJ: “Iran’s decision to triple its production rate of near-weapons-grade uranium marks the collapse of quiet diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran to ease tensions.”, Dec 26, 2024
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What you think?