Iran is attacking the U.S. “Iranian-Backed Militias Mount New Wave of Attacks as U.S. Supports Israel,” WSJ, 10-24-23. “For more than six months, these Iranian-backed militia groups refrained from launching drones or rockets against American troops in Iraq and Syria, as part of what appeared to be an undeclared truce between Tehran and Washington. That came to an abrupt end when U.S. officials said that Iran-backed groups launched 10 drone and rocket attacks against bases that U.S. troops use in Iraq and another three on a U.S. base in southeast Syria. The attacks were carried out between Oct. 17 and Oct. 24. In one of the attacks at al-Asad air base in Iraq last week, U.S. troops shot a militia group’s drone out of the sky, where it fell atop of an American drone and destroyed it, U.S. military officials said. In Yemen, the Iranian-backed Houthis also fired five Iranian-provided cruise missiles and launched about 30 drones toward Israel in an attack that was larger than initially described by the Pentagon, U.S. officials said. Last week, the USS Carney guided missile cruiser, which was operating in the northern Red Sea, shot down four of the cruise missiles while a fifth cruise missile was intercepted by Saudi Arabia as it protected its airspace, according to people familiar with the episode. Those cruise missiles have a range of more than 2,000 kilometers (about 1,240 miles), the Pentagon said Tuesday, which would enable them to reach targets in Israel.”
It is this thinking, equating the absolute massacre of people by terror groups/states (Hamas, Iran) with the legitimate right to exist and flourish (Israel) that frustrate so many of us. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres needs to come to grips that there are normal countries and there are countries that are taking the world in a bad direction. Countries are not equal. Votes in the General Assembly may have equal weight individually, but taking the morality out of the United Nations leads to distorted results. And less human progress. And more war. “UN chief says Hamas massacre ‘didn’t happen in a vacuum’,” I24 News, 10-24-23.
“Iran’s ayatollahs play the Middle East’s most dangerous game,” Economist, Mint, 10-24-23.
“After Hamas’s massacre, clarity on the Iran-China-Russia threat is vital,” Washington Post, 10-24-23.
“Iran Update, October 24, 2023,” Critical Threats, 10-24-23.
“Why Iran Desperate To Finish This Pipeline,” OilPrice.com, 10-24-23. “Iran has long been desperate to create a permanent ‘land bridge’ from Tehran to the Mediterranean Sea by which it could exponentially increase the scale and scope of weapons delivery into southern Lebanon and the Golan Heights area of Syria. These would have a huge force multiplier effect for Iran’s own Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Syria – and for its proxy Hezbollah forces in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine – to use in attacks on Israel. This cornerstone policy of Iran since its 1979 Islamic Revolution was always geared towards provoking a broader conflict in the Middle East that would draw in the U.S. and its allies into an unwinnable war of the sort seen recently in Iraq and Afghanistan. The aim of this on Iran’s part was to unite the world’s Islamic countries against what it believes to be an existential battle against the broadly Judeo-Christian democratic alliance of the West, with the U.S. at its centre.”
So, I saw this story. There is a split of opinion on the reason of a black flag. While it is difficult to be in the mind of those controlling the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, I’m willing to accept the AP reporter/investigator’s position that it is a flag of mourning after the Gaza hospital missile explosion, and is not a black flag of Muslim war. What I’m not willing, though, to accept is if the AP won’t go further and investigate whether it was an Israel or PIJ missile. If AP won’t investigate the veracity of the underlying issue, we should ask why AP won’t check those important facts. See “A black flag over Iran’s Imam Reza shrine isn’t a war cry. It represents mourning for Gaza victims,” by Philip Marcelo, AP, 10-24-23. And I’ve included below the text of the email I sent Mr. Marcelo on 10-24-23. We’ll see if he or AP responds. “Mr. Marcelo: Thank you for the AP coverage regarding the black flag at the Imam Reza shrine. As a professor of international relations, I value giving information to my students that is as accurate as possible. Will you or another investigator/reporter be able to look at the related and underlying question of whether Israel fired the missile that hit at the hospital in Gaza? Thank you, Neal Coates, ACU Department of Political Science & Criminal Justice
A great article, making the point that when the cat is gone the mice will play. We should all ask, why is it that bad things happen when the U.S. is not around and Russia and China are in town? See “Iran makes two moves, US carriers shift, and today China rules the Gulf,” Telegraph, 10-24-23.
“If this war stops Israeli-Saudi normalization, then Iran wins,” The Hill, 10-24-23.
Since there is not a claim of self-defense by Iran, this threat of violence is a violation of the UN Charter. I wonder if any countries will point this out? “IRGC official: Iran will ‘strike Haifa’ if Israel invades Gaza Strip,” MEMO, 10-24-23.
“Iran’s Raisi blames ‘lack of unity’ among Muslim countries for Israeli war on Hamas,” Times of Israel, 10-24-23.
“The Axis of Resistance Has Been Gathering Strength,” Atlantic, 10-24-23.
“Opinion After Hamas’s massacre, clarity on the Iran-China-Russia threat is vital,” WPost, 10-24-23.