Could there be a nuclear war at any time?
Dr. Shamim Haque Mondal
Israel struck Iran's main nuclear facilities last Friday morning. The most heavily guarded
sites in Iran, such as the capital, Tehran, and nuclear facilities in Isfahan, were hit.
Electricity and internet connections were cut off in those places, as well as the power
and internet supply centers being attacked. Netizens even witnessed the attack during a
news broadcast on Iran's national television last night. The country's top military officers
and nuclear scientists are being selectively killed. Iran's top military commander,
Mohammad Bagheri, was killed in the attack. These people are the most protected
people in Iran. Israel is killing the top military officer of a country two thousand three
hundred kilometers away from home. Military experts claim that no country has made
such a perfect strike against another country in the last four decades. The conflict
between Iran and Israel is escalating with each passing day. The situation has reached
such a level that it is not surprising if a nuclear war starts at any time.
It took Iran a while to understand Israel's "Operation Rising Lion." Twelve hours later,
Iran announced Operation True Promise 3. One thing to note here—this is different from
the wars that we usually see, because when a war is fought between two countries, it is
usually seen to hit military bases. The recent conflict with our nation, Pakistan,
exemplifies this. In fact, the war aims to keep ordinary people as far away from its ambit
as possible. This was not the case in the Iran-Israel war. Both sides have tried to inflict
as much damage on each other's countries as possible—Iran has fired missiles directly
at Tel Aviv, while Israel has attacked populated cities such as Tehran and Isfahan.
None of the parties disclosed the actual damage. But why this war? To understand this,
we need to go back a few decades.
Interestingly, Iran had good relations with Israel until Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979,
meaning they traded trade and even military power between themselves. But after
Khomeini came to power, things began to change. At the time, Iran was supporting
Israel's enemies. Israel's enemies include Hezbollah, Hamas, and some Syrians (with
whom Israel has had a long-standing enmity). "Simply put, a friend's enemy is mine and
the enemy's enemy," and such an attitude leads to the deterioration of relations
between Israel and Iran, and the pseudo war begins.
Hamas is fighting against Israel in Palestine. At the same time, Iran is supplying
weapons, equipment, food, and logistics to Palestine. Both countries know that their
cold proxy war has been going on for a long time, but no one has ever attacked each
other directly. What prompted Israel to initiate an attack on Iran this time?
In a word, the threat of potential nuclear energy. Iran conducted its first nuclear test in
1980. Under pressure from the international community, they say they are trying to
become a nuclear power for their own protection—not to build nuclear weapons or for
any ulterior motive. But a few years ago, Israel issued a statement saying that if anyone
tried to build nuclear weapons around them, they would protest with all their might. All
this has been going on for a long time. In 2015, Iran signed the Joint Comprehensive
Plan of Action (JCPOA) with the US, Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany. At
the time, Tehran was supposed to shut down most of its centrifuges in exchange for the
lifting of international trade restrictions on them. Iran has substantially reduced its
nuclear activities under the deal. But when Trump came to power, things changed. The
Trump administration has said it will no longer accept the old deal. Iran has resumed its
nuclear activities. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Israel is
aware of Iran's large stockpile of uranium, as well as its ability to produce nuclear
weapons, such as explosives, detonators, weapons and firing systems, high-energy
neutrons, and explosive lenses. Simply put, Iran has become quite adept at uranium
enrichment as well as nuclear engineering. This was the beginning of the war.
What is the future of this war? Time will tell whether we are heading for a long war or a
nuclear war. Gaza's cries are muffled. Has Israel stopped its Gaza offensive because it
is at war with Iran? That's not certain. But the media all over the world is busy with news
about the war. However, experts do not rule out the possibility of a nuclear war.
