Israel has launched a massive joint military offensive with the US on Iran, while demanding the end of Tehran’s nuclear ‘threat’ and promising ‘freedom’ to Iranians.
The last time IAEA inspectors were able to access Iran’s uranium reserves, they determined it had amassed 972 pounds of uranium enriched to 60% — a more than 50% increase from February.
Iran’s nuclear journey has been long and tortuous. It began under the Shah’s regime in the 1950s to become a symbol of scientific progress and a source of nationalist pride.
Iranian armed forces target Al-Udeid Airbase in Qatar. US air defence system is reported to have been activated at Ain Al-Assad Airbase in Western Iraq as well.
While the strait has never been closed in the past, there has also never been a situation where both Israel and the US have directly attacked Iranian nuclear installations.
Iran faces a choice that is larger than the immediate conduct of war. It can continue the logic of short-term escalation, or it can think in the longer historical frame.
The Nirouyeh Vijeh Pasdaran Velayat, or NOPO, was the only force Ali Khamenei trusted.It was founded in 1991 and is more feared than the Revolutionary Guards.
Rating democracies is a tricky business. I am only using the simple metric of who in the Indian subcontinent has had the most peaceful, stable, normal political transitions and continuity.
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