WORLD ON HIGH ALERT AS ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT ESCALATES

The military involvement of the United States in the conflict between Israel and Iran has put the rest of the world on high alert for the possible implications across a wide sphere of scenarios.

The bombing of Iran sites on Sunday said to be storing high-grade uranium which could be used to produce nuclear weapons has itself triggered a wave of reactions both in favour and against.

Much concern is now focused on the possible further escalation and how that could impact international political alignments, and critically trade and the global economy.

US President Donald Trump has warned Iran to make peace or face further future attacks that will be “far greater”. The Iran government has said it is reserving “all options to defend its sovereignty”.

Only a few days before the US launched its own attack on Iran, President Trump had given Iran a two-week window to negotiate an end to its nuclear programme. The US and principally Israel insist that Iran is close to developing nuclear weapons which they adamantly demand will not be tolerated. That had already led to Israel setting off the current phase of hostilities by launching a military bombardment on Iran.

Retaliatory attacks by Iran led to a flurry of global diplomatic activity especially involving the United Kingdom and other G7 nations in a bid to resolve the issue. The key proviso is that Iran should not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons and that Israel has the right to defend itself.

Israel has said that it faces an existential threat if Iran develops a nuclear weapon. Israel is among several countries which already have nuclear weapons as part of their arsenal.

Both countries have been locked in an escalating tit-for-tat daily bombardment of each other’s cities and infrastructure since Israel fired off what it said was a pre-emptive attack on Iran earlier this month.

Since then there have been diplomatic efforts and calls involving the UK and others to de-escalate the crisis.

Sunday’s US air strike on the Iranian regime’s nuclear facilities has marked a new phase in the conflict.

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warned of a risk of the Middle East crisis spiralling beyond the region and again urged for negotiations to continue.

“It’s a risk beyond the region, and that’s why all our focus has been on de-escalating, getting people back around to negotiate what is a very real threat in relation to the nuclear programme.”

Sir Keir confirmed that the UK was not involved in Sunday’s US attack on Iran but disclosed that he was officially advised shortly beforehand by the American government.

“We were not involved in the attack. We were given due notice, as we would expect, as close allies to the US, and we have been moving assets to the region to make sure we’re in a position to protect our own interests, our personnel and our assets, and, of course, those of our allies.”

The UK leader had also previously stated: “We do have long-standing concerns about the nuclear program that Iran has, and we do recognise Israel’s right to self-defence. But I am absolutely clear that this needs to de-escalate.”

Image credit: Map via BBC