Iran, Israel, international politics - Conflict in the Middle East

Over the past two years, it has become painfully clear. In the reporting surrounding the conflict in the Middle East, in which Israel defended itself against Iran and the Iranian “ring of fire,” Israel was regularly often without any nuance, accused of war crimes, apartheid, or even genocide.

A changing world

At the same time, terrorist groups were not infrequently portrayed as innocent freedom fighters, while the connection to the theocratic, autocratic regime in Iran was hardly made.

This has been the dominant narrative since October 7, 2023, in a large part of the mainstream media in Flanders and the Western world. What has happened over the past two years amounts to pure gaslighting by constantly turning things around. When this conflict in the Middle East is over, it will slowly become clear what really happened. Iran has attacked Israel non-stop, both directly and through its proxies, in a conflict that escalated into a war on six fronts. The seventh front is Western media perception, fuelled by highly one-sided reporting and influence from Iran, Al Jazeera, and Hamas. Iran calls Israel “the little Satan.” This stands in stark contrast to the situation before 1979, when Iran was still one of Israel’s few friends in the Muslim world.

Last year the situation reached a breaking point. The United States under President Trump (called “the great Satan” by Iran) and Israel under Prime Minister Netanyahu jointly decided several months ago to definitively confront the terrorist state of the ayatollahs and the Revolutionary Guard, so that Iran can never again pose a threat to the rest of the world and the conflict in the Middle East can be ended once and for all. Last week they began a joint military operation, without the knowledge or assistance of other Western countries such as the United Kingdom. The first strike immediately eliminated Khamenei and a large number of key figures around the ayatollah.

A large part of especially left-wing politics and media reacted with shock to this attack. In our view, however, this attack can rather be seen as a defensive and liberating action, since Iran had been carrying out nonstop direct and indirect attacks on Israel since October 7, 2023, sometimes through its proxies. Around this time last year, Israel and the United States had already neutralized Iran’s nuclear capabilities and a large part of its air defense in a twelve-day war. However, Iran almost immediately began again, with help from China, continuing work deep underground on a secret nuclear arsenal.

Protests in the streets of Iran grew larger over the past year. Many Iranians felt supported by Israel and the United States, which had already put pressure on the Iranian regime earlier. Since January, however, the regime has begun murdering thousands of demonstrators in the streets, in hospitals, in their homes—everywhere. It is still unclear how many innocent Iranians have died as a result, but it is certain that the number exceeds several thousand. Some estimates, based on the limited information coming out of the country, even run into the tens of thousands.

Israel had long wanted to stop the Iranian regime, and according to many the moment had now arrived. The United States had also wanted this for years, but under previous presidents they did not dare to take that step. With a country like North Korea it is now too late: that regime already possesses nuclear weapons. However, for the Kim dynasty it is a weapon of self-preservation. Trump understood that a religiously fanatical dictatorship that spreads terror in neighbouring countries and worldwide must never be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons, because religious fanatics in Iran might one day use these weapons against unbelievers.

More and more Arab countries are also beginning to understand that not Israel, but Iran poses the greatest threat to a prosperous, safe, and stable Middle East. Some countries now support Israel openly or behind the scenes. Even Lebanon—once a Christian country that was transformed into a failed state with Hezbollah militias due to Palestinian refugees, Muslim terrorists, and Iranian influence—now dares to openly admit that it wants to be freed from Hezbollah and Iranian terror, and that it needs Israel’s help to do so. That has never been seen before. Iran now has virtually no friends left.

A few months ago, Trump also took action against the regime in Venezuela and had Maduro arrested. After Iran has been dealt with, Cuba will follow as well. Minister Marco Rubio is the descendant of Cuban refugees and he is the architect of U.S. foreign and security policy.

In conclusion, it can already be said that the multipolar world of the past decade, with China as a rising superpower, has been reduced by Trump in just a few months to once again a system of American hegemony. Instead of commenting from the sidelines about international law, other Western—and especially European—countries would have done better to express their support immediately. After all, it is also in our interest that not China, but the United States—and with it the democratic, free, and capitalist West—remains the dominant world power.

The United States is leading again. China, Russia, the so-called axis of evil, and the BRICS countries have been pushed back enormously by Trump, especially in the Middle East and Latin America.

Image credits: Photo by Saifee Art via Unsplash