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Oct 06, 2024
Ramaharitha Pusarla

When Will the World Address the Elephant in the Room

Closing in on the first anniversary of the humiliating October 7 attacks, Israel has turned the tide. With the near total decimation of the Hezbollah leadership first with the innocuous pager attacks and walkie-talkie explosions, followed by audacious air strikes, Israel has substantially weakened Iran’s militia. The killing of Hasan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s chief for 32 years, turned out to be a tipping point. The collateral damage suffered by Iran in the bunker bomb attack in terms of the killing of Quds Force commander Abbas Nilforoushan alongside Nasrallah has forced Iran to shed its strategic evasion. Iran maintained strategic patience even after three major high-profile assassinations towards the end of August. In 24 hours, Israel killed Milad Bidi, an Iranian military adviser, associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) who lived next door to Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut in an air strike. Even before Hezbollah could confirm the losses, Israel assassinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in a precision attack from the VIP security region in the heart of Tehran. Breach of security to a state guest who arrived in Iran to attend President Masoud Pezeshkian’s inauguration caused a major embarrassment and triggered a massive purge. Each of these attacks was deemed a proverbial ‘red line’ for Iran. However, Iran resisted these provocations. Israel has been on a roll since September. It has systematically eliminated the most influential and prominent leaders of Iranian proxy operatives. Towards the end of September, Israel eliminated the top seven leaders of Hezbollah- Nabil Kaouk, Ibrahim Akil, Ahmed Wahbe, Ali Karaki, Mohammad Surour, Ibrahim Kobeissi and finally Nasrallah in a week. This shocked Hezbollah and created a leadership vacuum in an organisation that had been carefully built since 1982. The double whammy of Nasrallah’s killing and the announcement of a limited ground attack in Southern Lebanon has been the final nail in the coffin. Things have reached a stage where Iran’s calculated inaction would have been an affront to its credibility, coherence and comradeship. In retaliation, Iran struck at Israel with a record 181 ballistic missiles in an hour overwhelming missile defence systems. Israel emerged relatively unscathed as IDF along with assistance from the US, UK, France and Jordan successfully intercepted a majority of the missiles. However, the rockets managed to damage three Israeli military bases and several public spaces with one landing very close to Mossad’s quarters. Reports confirmed the death of a Palestinian during the strikes and two people sustained minor injuries. The latest round of escalatory strikes is Iran’s second direct attack on Israel from its territory. On April 14, Iran hit back at Israel with an unprecedented barrage of close to 330 missiles, drones, and cruise missiles in retaliation after the latter flattened a building of the Iranian consulate, a putative military attack in Syria. Reportedly, 16 people were killed including General Mohammed Reza Zahedi, senior commander and a liaison to Hezbollah and Syrian intelligence services, Mohammed Hadi Haji Rahimi and Hezbollah member Hussein Youssef. Iran’s retaliatory strikes in both cases have been in response to the targeted elimination of terrorist leaders integral to its axis of resistance. Iran openly challenged Israel with escalatory strikes twice to avenge the deaths of the terror operatives establishing its role in nurturing and cultivating the terror elements. The two foundational pillars of Iran’s regional security have been limited military nuclear capability and the building of a ‘ring fence of deterrence’ comprising of aligned militia. With the so-called ‘resistance movement’ against the Zionist Regime, Israel’s mortal enemy, Iran has outsourced the armed struggle to foreign shores. Clearly, the first pillar prevented Iran from a full-scale war with Israel for fear of full-scale retaliation which could potentially damage its nuclear ambitions. On the contrary, it has expended its full might in creating a new front of resilient and organised militia against Israel. Iran’s official statement post-Hamas attack, “What took place today is in line with the continuation of victories of the anti-Zionist resistance in different fields, including Syria, Lebanon and occupied lands”. unequivocally attests to its deterrence strategy against Israel. In fact, since the fateful October 7 attacks, Israel has faced a six-front attack. These included Iran’s non-state actors and terror outfits- Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Ansar Allah Movement or Houthis in Yemen. In addition, Israel was attacked by pro-Iranian militia in Iraq and Syria alongside massive rebellion in pockets of the West Bank. Conversant of Iran’s two-pillar regional strategy, Israel has firmly opposed the P5+1+EU and Iran Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear agreement spearheaded by the Obama administration. Mindful of its loopholes Donald Trump unilaterally pulled out of the nuclear accord in 2018. However, Iran had by then managed to enrich a sizable quantity of uranium and mastered missile technology. To outsmart a technologically and militarily advanced dominant power, Iran has chosen to take on the Zionist power in a war by other means. United by a common objective of the destruction of Israel all the ideologically motivated Iranian terror entities have encircled Israel. Hamas's surprise attack on South Israel has pulled the trigger for coordinated action that has attempted to overwhelm Israel with a multi-pronged attack. The unrelenting attacks by Hezbollah since October 8 as solidarity with Hamas, the missile strikes of Houthis on Israel directly and, targeted attacks on vessels in the Red Sea have laid out bare the machinations of Iran’s ‘ring fence of fire’. Unsurprisingly, all the rockets and missiles used by these terrorist outfits are sourced from Iran. Besides, it has been an uncanny coincidence that in each of Israel’s precision strikes against these operatives, leaders of the different Iranian proxy groups ended up being the casualties. For instance, sixteen people were killed in Israel’s attack on Iranian consulate in Syria. These included seven IRGC soldiers, five pro-Iranian militia in Syria, one Hezbollah leader, one Iranian adviser and two civilians. Joined at the hip- Hamas, Hezbollah, IRGC and even Houthis had been hand in glove in their anti-Zionist agenda. A recent revelation by the Israel Defence Forces sheds much light on Hezbollah’s proxy war against Israel strategically aligned with Hamas. Just days after the October 7 attacks by Hamas, Hezbollah has positioned its cadres close to Israel’s northern border to unleash a pogrom. As per an IDF spokesperson, 2500 Radwan terrorists and 500 Palestinian Islamic Jihadi operatives trained by Radwan were waiting in the tunnels near Southern Lebanon. Some of these tunnels even extended into Lebanese villages. The extensive underground structures of Hezbollah akin to the tunnel network of Hamas in Gaza were stashed with sophisticated weapons and arms. Most of them are Iranian-made weapons. IDF also announced that their troops reached over 1000 Hezbollah tunnels fortified with weapons abutting the border. Alongside the Israel-Hamas war, as per the reports, IDF troops carried out nearly 200 nights' worth of operations to destroy the underground infrastructure constructed over the years. While the Hamas attack has been a surprise for Israel and the rest of the world, the gruesome attack underscored years of planning that went into it. War by other means or advocating terrorism as a state policy has been integral to some nations. After suffering humiliating defeats at the hands of India in four conventional wars, Pakistan has adopted the strategy of ‘bleeding India by thousand cuts’ by building a terrorist militia corps. Unfortunately, strategic neutrality and indifference of powerful nations have emboldened the ‘motherships of terror’ to pursue this low-cost asymmetric war against their adversaries. The incapacitating impact of terrorism is extremely devastating as compared to the conventional war. The waves of missiles fired by Iran on Israel worth $200 million managed to damage Israeli infrastructure and killed a person. However, around the same time, seven Israelis were killed in a terror attack carried out by two Palestinians from the West Bank in the Tel Aviv metro line. For years, the terrorist attacks carried out by the ‘Axis of Resistance’ have exhausted and sapped Israel. Perceptive of the debilitating effects of terrorism, countries are raising militia. Facing an existential threat from the non-state actors backed by Iran, Israel launched “Operation Iron Swords” post-Hamas attack. In a year-long ground invasion, Israel has demolished the subterranean tunnel network of Hamas that has deeply entrenched themselves in the civilian areas. Israel’s combing operations to track and neutralise terrorists also increased civilian casualties who were used as human shields. Surging deaths in the Gaza Strip led to international accusations of ‘genocide’. While nations rightfully reiterated the demand for a ceasefire to avert a humanitarian crisis, the issue of the return of hostages from the Gaza Strip received less support. Similarly, the close to year-long attacks by Hezbollah have forced 60,000 residents from the northern territories of Israel to flee their houses. To enable their return, IDF has turned its attention to Lebanon and declared ‘limited, localised and targeted raids’. Israeli troops marched into South Lebanon to destroy the underground tunnel network built in contravention of the UNSC 1701 ceasefire resolution of 2006. Ground clearance along with aerial strikes is entailing civilian losses during the process of neutralisation of the Hezbollah cadre. Lashing out at Israel’s military operations in Lebanon, Qatar’s Emir has alleged Israel of ‘collective genocide’. Israel’s offensive exposed the advanced capabilities of the non-state actors and the evident existential threat posed by them to a nation-state. By painting the operations of the state and non-state actors in the same brush and applying the same metric, countries have inadvertently normalised terrorist activities. By failing to distinguish the State’s right to protect its citizens from impending threats and terrorist operations countries are formally endorsing terrorism. Iran’s retaliatory strikes on October 1 have heightened the spectre of a wide-ranging war. Israeli Prime Minister has vowed to retaliate saying Tehran would “pay for it”. He added, “They will understand. We will stand by the rule we established: Whoever attacks, we will attack”. Unless the world refuses to address the elephant in the room- terrorism, they will continue to pay a heavy price for it. Until countries fail to call the bluff of state-sponsored terrorism and continue to normalise their agenda and equivocate it with the state’s right to protect civilians, peace, co-existence and stability will remain elusive.

Oct 02, 2024
Myind Staff

'Iran Made a Big Mistake': Netanyahu Talks Tough, Israel Warns of Powerful West Asia Strikes

The Israeli military announced on Wednesday that it would continue launching strong strikes across the Middle East overnight after Iran fired a series of missiles at Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Tehran had made a "big mistake." Despite warning from the United States, Iran fired a series of missiles at Israel during the night. Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, a military spokesman, stated in a statement that "the air force continues to operate fully, and tonight it will continue to strike in the Middle East powerfully, as has been happening throughout the past year." Following Iran's missile attack on Israel, Hagari declared that Tehran was driving the "Middle East towards escalation" and vowed to take action against the country. Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, stated that Tehran’s “action is concluded unless the Israeli regime decides to invite further retaliation”. He also warned Israel saying, “We did so after exercising tremendous restraint for almost two months, to give space for a ceasefire in Gaza. Our action is concluded unless the Israeli regime decides to invite further retaliation. In that scenario, our response will be stronger and more powerful.” Israel declared that it would "pay" Iran for the attack, claiming that 180 missiles were fired at its territory. The United States warned Tehran of "severe consequences" and announced on Tuesday that it is thinking of acting in tandem with its ally Israel in response to the attack by the Islamic Republic in retaliation for the assassination of leaders of Hezbollah, which Iran supports. In the wake of the missile attack, US President Joe Biden declared that the US was "fully supportive" of Israel and said he would talk with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on how to respond to the attack. Biden told reporters at the White House, "At my direction, the United States military actively supported the defence of Israel," as reported by The Times of Israel. Following Iran's launch of the missiles on Tuesday, thousands of sirens sounded throughout Israel. The Israeli commercial centre of Tel Aviv was the target of "three military bases," according to Iran's Revolutionary Guards. The attack, according to the Revolutionary Guards, was a reaction to Israel's killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah last week and the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in a bombing in Tehran that was largely attributed to Israel. According to the Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, his country had exercised its “legitimate rights” and dealt “a decisive response… to the Zionist regime’s aggression”. Israel, Iraq and Jordan — which are situated between Israel and Iran — both closed their airspace before opening it again. However, the Israeli military declared the attack to be over after an hour or so. Israeli medical personnel reported two cases of minor shrapnel injuries. Following a deadly Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus in April, Iran launched its second direct attack on Israel using missiles and drones. A few hours after Iran fired about 180 ballistic missiles at Israel, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned reporters that "there will be consequences, severe consequences" and described the missile attack as a "significant escalation" by Iran. The Israeli Prime Minister stated on Tuesday, “Iran made a big mistake tonight and will pay for it,” warning: “Whoever attacks us, we attack them.” Military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari promised the Israeli air force “will continue to strike (tonight) in the Middle East powerfully, as has been happening throughout the past year”. In a post on X, the IDF said, “Iran’s attack is a severe and dangerous escalation.” The Old City of Jerusalem, a sacred place for Jews, Christians, and Muslims, was also captured in raw video that was uploaded. The Israeli military then announced that it was attacking Beirut-based Hezbollah targets. "Currently striking Hezbollah terror targets in Beirut," the Israeli military declared early on Wednesday. Since last week, Israel has been bombing Beirut's southern suburbs on several occasions, claiming to be targeting Hezbollah locations in this heavily populated area. According to a Lebanese security source, at least five Israeli strikes occurred in Beirut's southern suburbs early on Wednesday. The Israeli military claimed to be targeting Hezbollah locations and issued multiple orders for evacuation. “At least five Israeli strikes targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs,” said the source, requesting anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media. However, International calls to stop the "broadening conflict in the Middle East" were spearheaded by UN chief Antonio Guterres, who declared in a statement that "this must stop." There must be a ceasefire. Tehran had mostly abstained from direct attacks on its regional adversary, even though Iran-backed groups throughout the region had already been dragged into the Gaza war, which was started by the Palestinian organization Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7. “I am extremely concerned with the escalation of the conflict in Lebanon and appeal for an immediate ceasefire. An all-out war must be avoided in Lebanon at all costs, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon must be respected,” said Guterres. The Israeli military announced early on Tuesday that soldiers had begun "targeted ground raids" in south Lebanon, which is across Israel's northern border. This sparked an increase in hostilities. The action was taken in spite of mounting calls for a de-escalation following a week of airstrikes that left hundreds dead in Lebanon. Following the latest Israeli strikes, the health ministry of Lebanon announced that another fifty-five people had died in Lebanon on Tuesday. According to Lebanon's disaster management agency, 1,873 people have died since October 7, 2023, when the Gaza war broke out and Israel and Hezbollah started exchanging cross-border gunfire. Iran has declared that Israel called for "destruction" as a result of Nasrallah's death, but on Monday, the foreign ministry of Tehran declared that Tehran would not send troops to fight Israel. The Pentagon announced that the US was adding "few thousand" more soldiers to its force in the Middle East. The Israeli offensive in Lebanon was described by the UN peacekeeping force as not qualifying as a "ground incursion," and Hezbollah refuted reports that any troops had crossed the border. After almost a year of cross-border fighting, Israel claims it wants to destroy Hezbollah's military capabilities and bring security back to the north, where tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee. The group supported by Iran, which sustained significant losses in a series of assaults last month, claimed to have attacked Israeli military installations on Tuesday. According to the civil defense agency in Gaza, 19 people were killed on Tuesday by Israeli bombs. According to the military, on Tuesday, "dozens" of Palestinians in central Gaza were shot by troops who believed they posed a "immediate threat." It said that at least some were impacted. According to official Israeli figures, 1,205 people died as a result of Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel, the majority of whom were civilians. These figures also include the deaths of hostages during captivity. Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,638 people in Gaza, according to figures provided by the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. A day after its Palestinian ally Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, which set off Israel's devastating assault on Gaza, Hezbollah started low-intensity strikes on Israeli troops. Since September 17, more than 1,000 people have died in Lebanon as a result of the worsening violence, according to Health Minister Firass Abiad. Up to a million people may have been uprooted from their homes in Lebanon, according to Prime Minister Najib Mikati, as nearly 240,000 people have crossed into Syria since September 23.