1y ago

Netanyahu aims to trap west into war across Middle East, warns Iranian diplomat

www.theguardian.com

Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to trap the west into a total war across the Middle East that would have incalculable consequences for the region and the world, Iran’s top diplomat in the UK has claimed, in his first interview since Tehran launched an unprecedented missile and drone attack against Israel at the weekend.

Seyed Mehdi Hosseini Matin also warned that if Israel made “another mistake” by launching an attack on Iran, there would be a response from Iran that was stronger, more severe, and administered without a warning like that issued before the weekend attack.

The salvo of more than 300 drones and missiles – almost all of which were intercepted by Israel and its allies or fell short of their targets – came in retaliation for a 1 April airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, that killed several Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards officers. Israel’s top general, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, has said the country would respond, but it remains unclear what form that would take.

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47 comments

Normally, I'm the first to call out Iran on bullshit, but, uh, they ain't wrong here.
- Yeah, because Iran is noted for their knowledge of geopolitics
  
  I mean, yes. Iran is unironically very talented at manipulating regional politics to their favor. You don't have one of the best systems of proxies and catpaws in the region without knowing shit like that.
  Iran's international competence isn't generally the problem - but whether to trust what they say. Usually, the answer is "No, you shouldn't trust anything out of their mouth", but in this case, it's a "The sky is blue" moment.
- Except this is totally wrong. Israel is doing it out of self interest, not some weird conspiracy to drag the west into something. They want to gain power for themselves, just as Iran, the US, and every other country wants to do. There is zero reason to think it's more than that. Bibi needs a distraction, and that's what all of this is.
  
  It's not a weird conspiracy though. It's just that dragging the US into protecting Israel from Iran has the effect of halting US criticism of the Gaza genocide.
This has been Israel's aim for its entire existence. It's no mere coincidence that any country that could potentially stand up to it has been invaded or otherwise regime changed (Iraq, Libya, Syria, etc) or paid off (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, etc, but likely only to hold them off because their turn will come later). Iran is a major item on the hit list.
While Netanyahu would love to draw all of NATO into a giant Middle Eastern conflict, I think he knows that goal isn't realistic. What he's likely aiming to accomplish is to destroy as much of Iran's nuclear program as possible. That's been his goal for over a decade.
By "the west" I assume this means the US and Germany because at this point do any other countries even really support Israel?
- Isn't that enough!? OK, I suspect there are other governments out there that will fall on the side of Israel should push comes to shove. I strongly suspect the UK will also support Israel when it comes to it.
  
  It's just weird how people use "the west" and are just talking about the US. Gives off the vibes of some people calling China "the orient".
LOL, hey kettle, meet pot.
- Yeah Iran should just keep getting hit by the bully (having top military generals get assasinated in consulates) without hitting back!
  Always remember, if the bullied kid fights back, two parties are at fault!
  
  Well Iran did start this latest round (using Hamas for plausible deniability) at the request of Russia to make a distraction for Ukraine.
  They might have even taken into account Bibi being a monster and going too far in retaliation. That makes attacking Israel the perfect target to split US attention.
  So at this point I expect Xi to go after Taiwan as soon as the US election is over. While Russia continues on Ukraine. And Israel does Israel things with Iran goading them on indirectly.
Alright cool Iran, you see the potential danger. So how about you don't escalate shit yourselves?
- Sending a message "We can overwhelm your batteries of 100,000 dollar missiles with 1000 dollar drones if we want to." is a de-esclatory action; it shows that escalating would be bad for Israel, without requiring a response.
  Edit: According to an Israeli general, the Israeli missiles cost a total of ~1 billion. IDK if this includes the missiles launched by the US.
  
  Most of that 1 billion is on the American taxpayer. This is why you don't have universal health care. You need to spend billions, so Israeli military bases don't suffer from the consequences of attacking an Iranian embassy.
  The US government has promised to continue this line of spending.
  
  That's not how I would read that. That would make me want to destroy the facilities the weapons came from
  This is not a defense of Israel's choices, this is a hypothetical response to an enemy making clear an engagement pattern is not in my favor. Find a new engagement.
  
  The US has been pumping out anti- Iranian propaganda for the last two years; their citizens are virtually foaming at the mouth for war. There's no point trying to convince them of anything 😂
  
  Ah yes, responding to an attack with a bigger counterattack is deescalatory, of course.
  The mental gymnastics are strong with this one.

47 comments