US President Donald Trump said a ceasefire between Israel and Iran is now in effect, after 12 days of deadly attacks that had raised fears of a wider war in Middle East.
The ceasefire has been welcomed across the world, particularly in Israel (whose population is exhausted with nearly two years of war) and Iran (which has been subject to intense Israeli aerial bombardment over the last 12 days). It has caused much relief to the countries in the region and to businesses across the globe.
In the hours leading to the ceasefire, Israel and Iran traded deadly exchange of fire. Tehran endured one of its worst nights of the conflict. Iran fired a volley of missiles before accepting ceasefire which led to casualties in Israel.
12 days ago, Israel had crossed a red line with a “pre-emptive attack” on Israeli nuclear and missile facilities, nuclear scientists & military commanders. Iran retaliated with drones and missiles – some of which got past the multi-layered Israeli air defence to kill 30 Israelis, injuring many more. For Iran, the devastation has been much more intense.
Two days back, Americans crossed the red line with “Operation Midnight Hammer” attacking the core of Iran’s nuclear program.
Iran retaliated with a demonstrative strike – a playbook it had used earlier (post assassination of IRGC Commander Qasem Soleimani) – telegraphing to the US through mediators that it would hit their biggest air base in the region, but not cause much damage.
Qatar, an extraordinarily agile nation, whose sovereign territory was violated in Iranian attack on the US base, became the mediator to help secure the ceasefire for which Trump claimed credit and announced to the world.
The ceasefire has a huge relief. All countries involved have claimed victory.
Israel is celebrating the success of “Operation Rising Lion” – it significantly damaged Iran’s nuclear and military capabilities, and killed top nuclear scientists & military commanders. In a huge win, it managed to convince Trump to do what several American presidents had refused to do.
For the US, this is a significant win. After the spectacular strikes on the core of Iran’s nuclear program, for Trump, it was “won and done” – a reinforcement of his policy of “peace through strength.”
Iran, a proud nation, showed it had stood up to the world’s most powerful country without backing down.
Domestic messaging is a critical element of modern warfare. Information machinery of all three nations is working overtime to convince the people of their win.
Will the ceasefire hold; will it lead to a peace between sworn enemies Israel and Iran? Views would be welcome.
𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫: The article has reference to open sources including Al Jazeera, BBC, CNN and NDTV.