Iran and its Allies in the Middle East: a Trump-Cartesian War on the Gaza Strip? Israel’s Nuclear Security Needs Improved
Iran and its allies have intensified their rhetoric against the United States and Israel in the past two weeks, threatening to open new fronts in the war. Last week, a U.S. Navy warship in the northern Red Sea shot down three cruise missiles and several drones launched from Yemen that the Pentagon said might have been headed toward Israel. The United States said that the projectiles were a sign of the growing attacks by Iranian-backed forces in the region.
The US has sent more military supplies to Israel as it prepares for a possible ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, which Hamas launched in October, killing at least 1,400 Israelis. President Biden spoke in the Oval Office on Thursday to warn Iran and its allies not to take part in the war and said he will ask Congress for more money for Israel.
The Middle East could be on the verge of a regional conflagration. The atmosphere is different than a few weeks ago when the Biden administration was working on getting a historic deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel done.
If Hezbollah opens a second front on Israel’s northern border, the situation will quickly get out of hand. Even a slight miscalculation by Iran or one of its proxies could set the stage for a bitter conflict with the Israelis, potentially pulling the United States into it.
Iran uses proxy forces to advance its national security objectives: pushing adversaries like the United States, which has more than 30,000 troops stationed across various facilities in the Middle East, out of the region and expanding its own sphere of influence without generating a direct military response from rivals. Tehran can meddle in current conflicts, not being pulled into a direct military confrontation with America and Israel, thanks to proxy forces. Tehran has a lot to gain as it helps Iran play a bigger role in Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen and other countries.
Counterattacks in the wake of the 9/11 attacks: Letters to the editor at the NEXUS embassy in Amman, Jordan, and Istanbul
And while the Biden administration provided evidence, based on the intelligence it has seen, that the hospital strike was an errant Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket, the fuse has already been lit, with protests continuing throughout the region. Protesters attempted to storm the embassy in Amman, Jordan, while violent demonstrators tried to storm the Israeli consulate in Istanbul.
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