By Dr M Ziad Al-Alyan

Editor-in-Chief

zya@kuwaittimes.com

On Sunday morning, the United States of America marked another historic moment with the deployment of the new GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator — also known as the “bunker buster” — on three targets in Iran. This unprovoked act of aggression against a sovereign nation took place in the early hours and stands in stark contradiction to President Donald Trump’s stated mandate during his election campaign and inauguration, where he declared himself a “president of peace”.

Whether this act will serve as the pivotal event that forces peace in the region or becomes the catalyst for a broader global conflict — possibly even World War III — remains to be seen. No doubt the American administration is hoping for the former. One can only speculate that Trump views this move as a decisive action akin to the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. But history has repeatedly shown that the total annihilation of one side in a conflict rarely results in lasting peace.

War criminal Benjamin Netanyahu, called this “peace through strength”. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared that Iran reserves the right to retaliate. In a meeting I had on Sunday with the Iranian ambassador to Kuwait, His Excellency emphasized that two nuclear powers had attacked a country that does not possess nuclear weapons. He also thanked Kuwait Times and the local media for their fair coverage of the unfolding crisis and reiterated that Iran has been the victim of unprecedented attacks by both Israel and the United States.

His Excellency stated it was too early to answer questions regarding the form or timing of any retaliation his government might take. For now, it appears the strikes did not cause any significant radioactive leaks. While President Trump announced that Iran’s nuclear capabilities had been “completely obliterated”, reports out of Tehran suggest that the targeted bunkers had already been preemptively emptied in anticipation of such an attack.

The only certainty for now is that Benjamin Netanyahu has achieved a win. For decades, he has made unsubstantiated claims about Iran’s imminent acquisition of nuclear weapons — first in 1996, and again in 2002, 2012, 2015, 2017 and beyond. These repeated warnings, often delivered dramatically at the United Nations, were clearly intended to influence the UN, manipulate international opinion and instill fear in Western governments to provoke military action.

Until now, these efforts had not succeeded. Today, however, American taxpayers find themselves funding a war that has little to do with them — and one they never wanted.

In response to the attack, Iran has called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. One must wonder why this request was even made. By now, it is abundantly clear that the United Nations, NATO and every other global organization with an impressive acronym are powerless — or unwilling to act — when the issue involves Israel or its allies. The rules and charters of these institutions seem to apply selectively.

It will be almost comical to watch world leaders scramble to appear relevant in the coming days. Many will avoid directly condemning the US strikes — which by definition of the UN charter are unlawful — choosing instead to issue vague calls for “de-escalation from both sides” or to “urge Iran to return to the negotiating table”.

I leave you with a rhetorical question: Why is the world so quick to condemn when something happens to Israel, yet when Israel commits atrocities, the response is merely, “We are concerned”?