Iran woke up this morning under American and Israeli bombs, allegedly launched to help the people overthrow the Islamic regime. Within hours, the strikes reportedly killed hundreds of civilians, including dozens of children in an elementary school. Israel appears ready to wage the war Netanyahu has demanded for more than 20 years, amid tensions linked to Iran’s alliance with Russia and China.
US and Israeli Aircraft stationed in America’s carrier strike groups and at bases across the Middle-East have converged on Iran to partake in a massive bombing campaign. The Iranian foreign ministry has stated that all key government figures are still alive. But Israel claims that “there are signs” that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is dead.
After multiple air strikes on Iran, Tehran has retaliated through missile strikes against Israeli and American targets in the region—including American military bases in Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. In Bahrain, footage confirmed missile impacts on the headquarters of the US Navy Fifth Fleet.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has stated “This operation will continue relentlessly until the enemy is decisively defeated”. Iran has also closed the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil export route.
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The claimant to the throne of Iran’s former monarchy, Reza Pahlavi, described the American strikes as “humanitarian”. “The aid that the President of the United States promised to the brave people of Iran has now arrived,” he added, as he hopes for the restoration of the monarchy in his country.
Osyan (in english: Rebellion), a women’s group in Iran, said in a statement that Pahlavi “once again sells false hope to people who were massacred by the criminal Islamic Republic just last month. You call ‘strikes’ ‘assistance,’ you call ‘repression’ ‘freedom’! You call ‘reactionary regression’ a “revolution” […] We can no longer allow you to hijack the just struggles of the Iranian people and turn them into hostages of global criminals.”
The Canadian government has confirmed its support for US strikes in the region, elaborating “Canada supports the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent its regime from further threatening international peace and security”.
A justification reminiscent of the Iraq War
Both the United States and Israel have said they have targeted Iranian military-industrial sites and targets related to their nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Strikes have also targeted the Pasteur district of Tehran, home of the country’s leading figures, and key governmental institutions.
Footage has emerged of the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike on a girls elementary school in Minab, in Iran’s southern province of Hormozgan.
It should be noted that Benjamin Netanyahu has said the Iranian government “cold-bloodedly murdered thousands of children, adults and the elderly” in reference to widespread civil unrest and protests across the country.
Tensions in the area have been escalated by the United States amidst its talks with Iran over nuclear proliferation in Geneva. Despite Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi claiming that talks ended “with significant progress”, both Israel and the United States have leveled the accusation that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, without substantial evidence.
Tensions were heightened by the United States while talks with Iran on nuclear proliferation were being held in Geneva. Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi said the talks had ended “with significant progress.” For their part, Israel and the United States maintain that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, without presenting any substantial evidence.
This is the argument being used to justify military intervention in Iran. It is reminiscent of the alleged “weapons of mass destruction” that were used to justify the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.
According to the Osyan collective, the Iranian people are caught in a vice. “We, the people, will neither stand aside at the command of Trump and his gang, nor stand behind the rear line of so-called ‘national battle’ at the command of Khamenei. We organize ourselves to confront the crimes and imperialist schemes, and the overthrow of the Islamic Republic is an essential part of our struggle. Our interests lie in standing against the entirety of this system—not in lining up behind one of its poles, all of which ultimately reinforce one another.”
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