Defusing Iran’s nuclear genie
Well, it seems to have started. Israeli airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear research and development sites have ushered in a new phase of the rolling Middle East conflicts, which began when Hamas invaded Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages.
The conflict now seems to have a momentum of its own. Despite dedicated diplomatic efforts and determined military deterrence to contain the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear program, Israel was not willing to take the risk of misreading Iranian efforts to build nuclear weapons in the near future.
First, Israeli jets carried out a punishing decapitation operation against the Iranian military. Over a few days, airstrikes killed senior military commanders, including generals of the notorious Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the country’s primary military force. Among those killed included Major General Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of the IRGC since 2019, who was deeply involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program; and Major General Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces and the second-most powerful military figure after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran’s state radio has conceded the loss of eight generals.
Tehran, in the meantime, launched waves of drones and missiles at Israeli cities and towns.
Israel punched back harder.
Next, the Israelis hammered at least six suspected nuclear sites, including the key Natanz Nuclear Facility, in a move to quickly degrade Iran’s ability to build a bomb. The United Nation’s International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran already has 400 kilograms (about 900 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60 percent; pushing enrichment to 90 percent, a relatively quick operation, would bring Iran to nuclear weapons capacity.
Third, the U.N. Security Council went into urgent session last Friday. Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon passionately told delegates the mission was clear: “dismantle Iran’s nuclear program, eliminate the architects of its terror and aggression and neutralize the regime’s ability to follow through on its repeated public promise to destroy the State of Israel.” Ambassador Danon emphasized that while Tehran was on the threshold of a bomb, “This was an act of national preservation… because we were left with no other option.”
Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia warned that Israel’s actions in the Middle East are “pushing the region to a large-scale nuclear catastrophe.” Pakistan’s delegate, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, added that Israel’s “blatant provocations” pose a grave threat to regional peace. Beijing’s delegate, Fu Cong, stated, “China condemns Israel’s action” in violation of Iran’s sovereignty and security.
The American delegate, McCoy Pitt of the State Department’s Bureau of International Organization Affairs, stated, “The Islamic Republic of Iran’s regime has, since its founding, repeatedly called for the State of Israel’s eradication; launched unprovoked direct and proxy attacks on Israeli civilians; and spread terror, instability and untold human suffering throughout the region … As President Trump has repeatedly said, this dangerous regime cannot be allowed to have nuclear weapons.”
In light of a possibly spreading conflict, Pitt stressed, “Our absolute, foremost priority is the protection of U.S. citizens, personnel and forces in the region.” He warned, “Let me be crystal clear: no government, proxy or independent actor should target American citizens, American bases or other American infrastructure in the region. The consequences for Iran would be dire.”
Tehran-backed militant groups, from Hezbollah to Hamas and the Houthis, as well as deep-cover assets in Europe and the U.S., can trigger assassinations and mayhem.
Yet when Tehran’s Mullahs realize they have again backed themselves into a dead end of their own making, will they then reconsider President’s Trump offer to talk and “make a deal” before it’s too late?
Clearly, foreign intervention isn’t the solution in Iran, an ancient land currently ruled by cruel leadership.
Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, 64, son of the late Shah now living in exile in the United States, remains a key figure in the peaceful resistance movement in Iran. During this current crisis, he stated via X, formerly Twitter, “In their reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons, Ali Khamenei and his incompetent and criminal thugs have dragged Iran into a war and put the Iranian people in harm’s way. They are responsible.” He added, “But the regime is weak and divided. It could fall.”
He stresses, “Here is my message to my compatriots: Iran belongs to you, and reclaiming it is in your hands.”
As President Trump said, the violence should come to an end, and Iran should make a deal so that there is “no more death, no more destruction.”
The president has decisively thrown down the gauntlet.
John J. Metzler (jjmcolumn@earthlink.net) is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He is the author of "Divided Dynamism: The Diplomacy of Separated Nations: Germany, Korea, China."