By Andrea Tucci,
The Israeli offensive dubbed “Rising Lion”, launched against Iran during the night between June 12 and 13, risks plunging the entire Middle East into a new, large-scale war.
The surprise attack targeted strategic nuclear facilities, including those in Natanz and Tabriz, as well as residential areas in the capital, Tehran. The toll is tragic: 79 dead and over 350 wounded.
According to the Iranian news agency, among the victims were high-ranking military officials and prominent physics scholars, killed in targeted strikes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared triumphant in his subsequent statements.
Iran’s response came swiftly. Overnight Iranian attacks against Israel killed at least eight people and around 200 people were injured.”Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei promised “severe punishment” and the impression now is that the Jewish state wants to bring the showdown of the Iranian Supreme Leader.
It is difficult to imagine that an operation of such magnitude could have been launched by Israel without prior consent,or at least knowledge,on the part of Washington. According to several sources, Donald Trump was allegedly informed in advance, as also suggested by the recent evacuation of non-essential U.S. military and diplomatic personnel from bases in Iraq. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether the United States actually authorized the attack, or if Israel acted independently a scenario that seems rather unlikely.
The escalation comes at a particularly delicate moment: in fact, this week will take place the sixth round of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks, in Oman, but following the attacks, Iranian authorities canceled their participation in the Muscat summit. Even the Sultanate of Oman, usually cautious in international declarations, firmly condemned the Israeli action, calling it “a dangerous and reckless escalation that violates the principles of international law.”
Harsh condemnations have also come from other regional players like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey,all of whom denounced the attack as an irresponsible act of aggression and warned of the risk that the current Israeli government, led by an increasingly radicalized Netanyahu, could trigger a full-scale regional conflict.
Israel, often described as “the only democracy in the Middle East,” is increasingly confirming its role as an aggressor state,responsible for a long trail of death and destruction in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and now Iran. It is ever more widely perceived as the main enemy of peace and regional stability, while President Trump seems no longer able to restrain it.
