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The Diplomat
02-07-2025
- Business
- The Diplomat
The US Aimed at Iran But Might Have Hit Central Asia
Is Washington ready to subordinate its talk about advancing sovereignty and economic prosperity in Central Asia in favor of trying to isolate and impoverish Iran? The U.S. and Israeli attacks last month on Iran to 'obliterate' its nuclear program may have hit another target: Central Asia's interests in accesses the large Iranian market and use Iran's transport links to trade with the wider world. Iran's 'Look East' policy was launched by then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005 to improve relations with Russia, China, and India to counter Western pressure over Iran's nuclear program and improve the economy. It was continued by Ahmadinejad's successors and now includes Central Asia, a region with which Iran has had numerous recent engagements. On May 15, 2025, a free trade agreement between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan) came into force. In June 2023, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev met Iran's then-President Ebrahim Raisi and Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The 2023 meeting netted cooperation pacts in agriculture, energy, customs affairs, sports, science, technology and innovation, cultural exchanges, health care, Chabahar port, the environment, industry, and tourism. The June 2023 meetings followed a March 2023 visit by Uzbekistan's foreign minister, who met Iran's minister of foreign affairs and minister of industry, mines, and trade. Afterward, the parties announced efforts to increase trade turnover, and to foster business links and people-to-people ties. The ministerial meetings built on the September 2022 visit by Raisi to Uzbekistan that produced 17 agreements in areas such as energy, transport, and agriculture, and discussed how to increase trade. In September 2022, Raisi had declared that improving relations with Central Asia was 'one of the first priorities of the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran.' Iran wants to increase trade with Uzbekistan fourfold, to $2 billion (it was less than $520 million in 2023); trade with Kazakhstan and Tajikistan aims to reach $1 billion each; deals with Turkmenistan will jump by 30 percent. Although Tajikistan's economy is markedly smaller than those of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, in this case it sits alongside its heftier neighbors because of the language and cultural ties it shares with Iran and an existing defense cooperation agreement. Tehran and Tashkent intend to develop a transport corridor through Turkmenistan, which Mirziyoyev first discussed with Turkmenistan's president Serdar Berdimuhamedov in October 2022. Transportation cooperation between Tashkent and Ashgabat started in 2017 with the opening of the Turkmenabat-Farab railway and car bridges that will link the countries and open opportunities for long-distance trade. Raisi pledged, 'The Islamic Republic of Iran is able to easily connect Uzbekistan to high seas via Turkmenistan and Afghanistan.' As Nargiza Umarova of the Institute for Advanced International Studies in Tashkent noted, 'Tehran plays a key role in the formation of the Eurasian land bridge to connect China and Europe by railroads.' The U.S. and Israeli attacks made an impression in Tashkent. Immediately afterward Mirziyoyev 'ordered a review of foreign trade and transport routes, emphasizing the need to redirect cargo flows to safer ports amid instability in the Middle East,' changes that could raise logistics costs by 30 percent. U.S. President Donald Trump declared the United States would attack Iran again if it has future concerns about the country's uranium enrichment capabilities. More military activity over Iran may degrade regional aviation safety and disrupt air travel from Central Asia to West Asia, requiring costly rerouting. The impact on regional supply chains will no doubt be on the agenda for the 7th Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia, which will be held in September 2025 in Uzbekistan. Iran is hydrocarbon-rich Turkmenistan's second-largest trading partner after Russia, and the two countries recently agreed to a roadmap to achieve $3 billion in trade, up from nearly $600 million in 2024. Also planned is an increase in the annual volume of cargo transit between the two countries to 10 million metric tons by the end of 2027 In 2024, Iran and Turkmenistan agreed to construct a new 125-kilometer natural gas pipeline, and Turkmenistan will deliver 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas for shipment to Iran, eventually rising to 40 billion cubic meters annually. Iran has a deficit of gas for its development plans and needs $45 billion of investments to boost gas production. Trade between Kazakhstan and Iran is low, just over $300 million annually. Kazakhstan exports mainly agricultural products, and Iran exports mainly foodstuffs and industrial chemicals. In February 2025, the sides signed several agreements to boost trade, and Astana declared it was ready to supply Iran with 75 types of products valued at $250 million. Iran is attractive to the landlocked Central Asian republics that seek redundant trade routes. In June 2021, Tashkent hosted a conference to highlight Central Asia-South Asia connectivity via Afghanistan and Pakistan. Two months later, the U.S. and NATO retreated from Afghanistan and the country plunged in chaos, so the republics had to consider alternatives. Recently the region has seen new transport projects that cross Iran, such as the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) a 7,200-kilometer multi-mode network that spans India, Iran, Azerbaijan, and Russia. The corridor will rely on Chabahar port in Iran and will allow Tehran to solidify its ties with Moscow and Delhi. In May 2025, Iran and China launched a railway route from Xi'an in western China to the Aprin dry port near Iran's capital, Tehran. It will cut travel time from 30 days via sea to 15 days and will avoid the Malacca Strait and the Strait of Hormuz chokepoints. And Iran's Rail Ministry intends to build the Iran-Afghanistan-China corridor, likely through the Wakhan border. Also in May 2025, representatives of China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, and Turkiye met to plan a new transport corridor. The Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad railway, a 6,500-kilometer rail link was launched in 2009 on a trial basis, then revived in 2021, but poor railway infrastructure is still a hurdle. The Ashgabat Agreement proposed a multimodal transport agreement between the governments of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, India, Pakistan, Armenia, and Oman that may connect with the INSTC. Finally, the Southwest Corridor, from the Persian Gulf/India-Iran-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Ukraine-Europe (or Turkiye-Europe) may cut transport time from India to Europe from over 30 days to 10-12 days. Central Asia may make use of Iran's ports, Chabahar and Bandar Abbas, though there is now a risk of U.S. and Israeli attacks against the ports to weaken Iran's economy. In January 2022, Iran and Uzbekistan concluded an agreement to give Uzbekistan access to Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman. Iran can offer a large internal market (over 90 million people, 68 percent under 35); a space free of the violence that harms Afghanistan and Pakistan; organized and functioning government agencies; and ports adjacent to the markets of India (Chabahar) and the Persian Gulf (Bandar Abbas). The Central Asian republics are not burdened by Washington's sense of grievance against Iran, especially as there will be an economic cost to joining the U.S. campaign against the Islamic Republic with no offsetting compensation, other than maybe a thank-you note from the U.S. ambassador. The states of Central Asia want a reliable partner to help them deal with instability in Afghanistan. Iran shares that interest and has no territorial aspirations in Central Asia, though it will seek political support in fora such as the United Nations and wants a larger regional role through groups like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Iran's position as a transport node makes it a prime target for U.S. and Israeli attacks by military and financial (sanctions) means. Tel Aviv and Washington may be concerned that as the Central Asian nations increase their trade with Iran, they will support Tehran in fora such as the United Nations. Increased economic activity may benefit the government in Tehran and preserve its legitimacy, while destabilizing the regional supply chains will increase economic distress of Iranian citizens. If Central Asia suffers, that's a sacrifice Washington is willing to make. The U.S. thirst for revenge and Israel's anxieties about an Iran that enjoys normal relations with the rest of the world are a tax on the region. Is Washington ready to subordinate its talk about advancing sovereignty and economic prosperity in Central Asia to trying to isolate and impoverish the Islamic Republic?
Express Tribune
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
12-day war
Listen to article If we take a step backwards and look at the United States' general strategic design over the decades, post-WWII, we find it unconcerned with winning or losing its wars. Rather its purpose has been just to keep starting new wars. If that is correct, no amount of calculation would have stopped the US from attacking Iran. The US has lost half of the wars it has been involved in, in the Cold War era, like in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Lebanon and Cuba; while most of the wars it was involved in post-Cold War were utter failures, like in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria. In the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza, the US does not seem to be winning either. Yet, in the face of unfinished wars, and the colossal destructions they are delivering, the US President comes out and says he is weighing a US attack on Iran. The US has a long playlist of around 200 interventions, post-WWII, in the name of removing dictators, bringing democracy and countering terrorism. There have been similar playbooks in Iraq, Libya and Syria, wherein leadership was decapitated — with the help of sanctions, economic sabotage, internal revolts and western media propaganda. A playbook that brings all-destruction and no-construction, and the nation ceases to exist as a nation guarded by the state, anymore! But, as yet, this same playbook has been unsuccessful in Iran, though it has been tried many times. The 2009 Iranian Green Movement, aimed at the removal of then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is deemed to be a colour revolution orchestrated by the West. Several dissident Iranians have been allowed to operate political parties in France, Albania and other European states. They are being readied to take the reins of the power in Iran once the Ayatollahs have been compromised. But will Iran face a similar fate? To the West's chagrin, Iran has learnt from the examples of others. It has successfully undermined colour revolutions against it; disallowed the penetration of foreign-funded militant on its soil; kept dissidents in check; and beaten Western sanction by building indigenous civilian and defence industries and by finding ways to trade with its friends. Iran has rather taken the leap of harbouring its own militias around the Middle East theater, which gives it a regional presence rather than a national one. So, when the US attacked Iran's nuclear sites with B2-bombers, Iran attacked Israel and a US base in Qatar the very next day. Later Trump announced a ceasefire! Both the Israeli goals of ending Iran's nuclear capabilities and carrying out regime change were abandoned. But what everyone is thinking is, has the war ended or is this just a pause? Regime change seems to be a daydream, because Ayatollah is not a person, it is an institution that produces, nurtures and educates an assembly of candidates that are potential Ayatollahs. Therefore, removal of one Ayatollah will only bring forth a younger, more energetic Ayatollah. The people of Iran, who have stood with their leadership in the long decades of sanctions and global isolation, have resolved for themselves that they have to survive this unpredictive West-dominated environment, and believe that they are alone and need to stand united. They have prepared for this war, with long hardships of producing indigenous defence capabilities, including naval ships, fighter jets, missiles and drone. And they have prepared well, by securing their defence and nuclear arsenal in huge tunnels deep down the soil. They have a second tier fighting force in the form of militias that are spread around the country and also beyond borders. So, when the Americans attack from air, it can bring minimal damage to Iran's underground arsenal hidden in undisclosed locations; if they puts boots on the ground, they will soon be surrounded by revengeful militias; and if they dare attack by sea, they will find the Persian Gulf teeming with small and big Iranian vessels, that will compromise billion-dollar US carriers with their cheaply made missiles. Moreover, a prolonged war like this would push the US to economic strangulation in an already weak post-2008 recession era. Iran would close the Strait of Hormuz, cutting of global oil trade supply, jamming world economy. And it will attack US bases in the region — in Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia — breaking the façade of the global military prowess of the US. On one side, the US would be attacking Iran, which is a limited, definite, predictable target; whereas on the other, Iran's retaliation would be unpredictable, wide-ranging and potentially destabilising across the region. Having all this at the back of our minds, we should also consider that this is a new era, a new time. It is not 2001, when the US entered Afghanistan, stayed for 20 years, with the Fed relentlessly churning out dollars, and the US boastful of its superpower status. Now, 25 years later, states around the world are beginning to circumvent the dollar, regional power centres challenging the US have emerged, Western economies are in decline, and the US has been rendered practically irrelevant in most global matters. At home, the American public is already feeling the pain of unfruitful trade wars and economic isolation, and the burden of a military state. Trump's entry would add the burdens of high oil prices and inflation. So, what strategic thinking had led the US to enter the war by attacking Iran? If you look at it from their standpoint, they may be thinking that in Iraq, Syria and Libya they have successfully obliterated national cohesion needed to rebuild the political framework and infrastructure of the state. So maybe just by relentlessly bombing all Iranian cities and razing them to the ground they would throw Iran back into the stone age, and with the leftover broken society they would be able to dictate its will and even take out the oil. And Israel would be safer! The irony is that the US and Israel think they can only feel safe and powerful when others are destroyed and suffering. So, if Iran shows restraint, it will be for the sake of peace in the wider region and in Asia. But Israel's falling in line with the ceasefire will be due to its embarrassing defeat and heralding an ill-fate for Netanyahu.
Saudi Gazette
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Saudi Gazette
Tehran Symphony Orchestra holds free concert to honor Iranians killed in conflict with Israel
TEHRAN — The Tehran Symphony Orchestra held a free concert Wednesday at the city's famed Azadi Square, dedicating it to Iranians killed in the 12-day conflict with Israel. As residents gathered for the performance, the orchestra played 'Ey Iran,' the country's unofficial national anthem that has long been considered a song of national pride and resistance and had once been banned by the Islamic Republic due to its association with anti-government sentiment. Established in 1933, the orchestra has survived multiple regimes, coups, revolution and wars, widely seen as a symbol of resilience. Its hardest days came during the term of hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when the orchestra was disbanded due to sanctions, financial difficulties and negligence. Three years later, reformist president Hassan Rouhani revived the orchestra as part of a campaign promise during his presidential bid. Theaters, cinemas and concert halls went dark during the conflict with Israel, but officials have since promoted musical street performances and poetry readings in an apparent attempt to lift public morale. The government has also re-opened cultural institutions and has announced a number of free concerts and performances across the capital, along with half-price tickets for films and theatrical shows. — CNN
Fox News
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Iran vowed 'death to America' and its leaders for decades before Trump wiped out nuclear facilities
Iranian leaders have for decades called for "death to America" while working to quietly build the country's nuclear program before President Donald Trump ordered strikes on a trio of nuclear facilities and secured a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. "Yes, it will happen. Death to America will happen," Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei declared in 2022, the Middle East Media Research Institute reported at the time. "Some people say: By chanting 'Death to America,' you bring America's animosity upon yourself. I say that this is not true. When America began its hostility towards Iran, nobody had been chanting 'Death to America.'" "Death to America," or "marg bar Amreeka" in Farsi, is a slogan that originated back in the 1970s, the Associated Press previously reported. Protesters chanted the slogan amid the Iranian Revolution, when the country's shah was overthrown in 1979 and Iran's monarchy was abolished and replaced by its current government, the Islamic Republic of Iran. The slogan has remained a fixture of Iran's views of the U.S. across the following decades, most notably after the deaths of various Iranian military leaders and as the U.S. looked to strike nuclear deals with the nation. "The hatred and rage of the Muslim people is directed toward America, the infidel Satanic regime," Iranians chanted in 2007 ahead of a speech by then-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "Saying 'Death to America' is easy. We need to express 'Death to America' with action," Ahmadinejad's successor, former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, said in 2013. Iranian lawmakers chanted "death to America" while in the Parliament in 2019, and again in 2020, after Trump ordered a strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, while "death to America" chants have also broken out on U.S. soil following Hamas' war on Israel that began in 2023. Iranians additionally commonly chant the phrase during their annual "Death to America Day" each November, videos show. Iran agreed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with world powers such as the U.S. in 2015 that aimed to limit Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the U.S., U.N. and European Union lifting sanctions on the country. Trump pulled out of the JCPOA in 2018, arguing it was weak and would not prevent Iran from building its nuclear program, and instead reinstated sanctions on the country. Amid the 2015 discussions on the JCPOA, Khamenei declared again, "death to America" while rallying support for the agreement, the New York Post reported in March 2015. "Sanctions must be lifted immediately," Khamenei said to crowds of people that year as he endorsed the agreement. The crowd broke out into chants of "death to America," sparking Khamenei to respond: "Of course, yes, death to America, because America is the original source of this pressure." Following the signing of the agreement in July 2015, Khamenei attempted to argue that the slogan did not mean literal death to American citizens, but the death of U.S. policies. "Your 'Death to America' slogan, and the cries by the Iranian nation, have strong logical support behind them," he told Iranians in Tehran, according to the Associated Press. "Obviously by 'Death to America', we don't mean death to the American people. The American nation is just like the rest of the nations. It ... means death to U.S. policies and its arrogance." The ayatollah, however, doubled-down in 2019 that "death to America" meant the deaths of U.S. leaders such as Trump. "'Death to America' means death to Trump and John Bolton and Pompeo," Khamenei said in 2019, according to the New York Times, referring to Trump's then-national security advisor John Bolton, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. "It means death to American leaders, who happen to be these people at this time," he added. The slogan has been accompanied by similar "death" calls on Israel and protesters burning American flags on the streets of Tehran while holding photos honoring Khamenei. The slogan most recently has been used since Israel launched preemptive strikes on Iran on June 12 following months of stalled negotiations related to Iran's nuclear program and mounting concern the Islamic Republic would imminently have their hands on a nuclear weapon. The U.S. did not actively participate in the strikes on June 12 and the subsequent days, but warned Iran the U.S. could become involved if Iran did not make a deal for peace. "The US President threatens us," Khamenei wrote on X of Trump June 18. "With his absurd rhetoric, he demands that the Iranian people surrender to him. They should make threats against those who are afraid of being threatened. The Iranian nation isn't frightened by such threats." "It isn't wise to tell the Iranian nation to surrender. What should the Iranian nation surrender to?" he continued. "We will never surrender in response to the attacks of anyone." Iranians were seen on the streets of Tehran in June chanting "death to Israel and America" ahead of the U.S.' strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Trump announced Saturday evening in a surprise Truth Social post that the U.S. had successfully executed strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities, which he said were "obliterated" and backed the country into a corner to strike a peace deal. "A short time ago, the U.S. military carried out massive precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan," Trump said from the White House in an address to the nation just hours after the Truth Social announcement. "Everybody heard those names for years as they built this horribly destructive enterprise. Our objective was the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity, and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world's number one state sponsor of terror. Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success." Trump specifically cited Iran's decades of calling for America's death in his address to the nation following the successful strikes Saturday evening. "For 40 years, Iran has been saying, 'Death to America. Death to Israel.' They have been killing our people, blowing off their arms, blowing off their legs with roadside bombs," Trump said on Saturday evening from the White House. "That was their specialty. We lost over a thousand people, and hundreds of thousands throughout the Middle East and around the world have died as a direct result of their hate in particular." "I decided a long time ago that I would not let this happen. It will not continue," he said. On Monday evening, Iran and Israel reached a ceasefire agreement, which Trump described as a massive success ending the "12 Day War." "On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both Countries, Israel and Iran, on having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence to end, what should be called, 'THE 12 DAY WAR.' This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn't, and never will! God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and GOD BLESS THE WORLD!" he wrote. Tensions are still flaring in the Middle East, as both Israel and Iran accuse each other of violating the ceasefire on Tuesday morning, with Trump urging them to put down their weapons while triumphantly declaring Iran's nuclear capabilities have been crippled. Trump remarked to the media while traveling to a NATO summit at The Hague that he was "not happy" with Israel or Iran for the spiking tensions following the ceasefire agreement. "I'm not happy with Israel. You know, when I say, okay, now you have 12 hours, you don't go out in the first hour and just drop everything you have on them. So I'm not happy with them. I'm not happy with Iran either, but I'm really unhappy if Israel is going out this morning," Trump said. "We basically have two countries that have been fighting for so long and so hard that they don't know what the **** they're doing," he added in fiery comment underscored by profanity.
India Today
24-06-2025
- Politics
- India Today
How Israeli spies sneaked in weapons, shot down Iranian missiles from inside Iran
Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had in 2021 claimed that the head of Iran's counter-Mossad unit was himself an Israeli agent. Over decades, the Jewish nation has built an extensive espionage network in the Islamic Republic, the depth of which was on display in the recent Israeli offensive on June 13. Just as Israeli jets bombed Iran at will, precision weapons and armed drones smuggled into the country were used to shoot down Iranian anti-aircraft missiles from inside with the pager blasts against Hezbollah, the recent operation also shows how Mossad, Israel's premier spy agency, quickly and effectively rebounded after the setback of October 7, Middle East was thrown into renewed chaos after the October 7 attack by Hamas terrorists who stormed through the Israeli border with bullets and bulldozers and massacred over thousand people. Mossad was caught napping. Last week, as Israeli warplanes pounded Iranian nuclear sites and assassinated top generals, it was Mossad's shadow spies who set the stage, long before the first jet of the Jewish nation took off for the a years-long operation, Mossad's spies smuggled in armed drones and precision weapons into Iran, which later crippled its air defences and missile systems, clearing the skies for Israel's blistering offensives, suggest several reports citing experts and anonymous officials. The covert operation, which severely undermined Iran's ability to resist the aerial assault, came amid the worst clashes between the two nations in decades, even as a jittery Tehran scrambled to arrest suspected attack is the culmination of years of work by the Mossad to target Iran's nuclear programme," Mossad's former research director, Sima Shine, told the Associated MOSSAD SNEAKED IN DRONES, WEAPONS INTO IRANIsraeli officials say Mossad operatives set up a launch base inside Iran and used explosive drones to strike missile launchers near Tehran. The drones launched from the covert base near the Iranian capital struck Iranian surface-to-surface missile launchers near a key military covert plan, according to a report in The Economist, was a multi-million-dollar operation.A former intelligence officer familiar with the Israeli operation told the Associated Press that the Mossad and the Israeli military spent at least three years coordinating and preparing the groundwork for the attack. The officer, who requested anonymity due to the classified nature of the mission, said the operation involved long-term planning and close months, Israeli operatives quietly smuggled parts of hundreds of explosive-laden quadcopter drones, hidden in suitcases, trucks, and shipping containers, along with munitions designed to launch from unmanned platforms, the Wall Street Journal noted in its teams equipped with the smuggled gear positioned themselves near Iran's air-defence systems and missile launch sites on June 13. When Israel launched its attack, some teams neutralised the air defences, while others struck missile launchers as they emerged from shelters and prepared to fire, the report is the deepest we've ever operated inside Iran," Defrin was quoted as saying by the Wall Street Journal. "We created aerial freedom of action".According to the Associated Press, Israel also used artificial intelligence to analyse intercepted data and satellite imagery, helping identify and prioritise high-value Iranian military and nuclear targets for precision strikes on OF DECEPTION: INSIDE MOSSAD'S LONG GAMEFormer Iranian intelligence minister Ali Younesi's 2020 warning that "Mossad is closer to us than our own ears" now stands as a chilling acknowledgement of just how deeply Israel has penetrated Iran over the reports align with Israel's history of covert operations in enemy territory. Israel has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to execute multi-year operations aimed at infiltrating and disrupting adversaries deep within foreign September 2024, Israel's Mossad executed a sophisticated cyber-sabotage operation, detonating thousands of rigged pagers used by Iran's Lebanese proxy Hezbollah, killing dozens and wounding July 2024, Israel assassinated Ismail Haniyeh, a senior Hamas leader, in Tehran, Iran, using a precision state media has not denied the existence of such operations, reporting instead that several suspected Mossad operatives have been arrested since June 13, with some reportedly executed.A week after the initial Israeli attacks, codenamed 'Rising Lion', the US targeted Iran's nuclear facilities, including Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow on June 22. The US forces, coordinated with Israel, struck these sites with bunker-buster bombs and Tomahawk missiles, with President Donald Trump claiming the facilities were "totally obliterated".The conflict between Israel and Iran has heightened global tensions, pushing the Middle East towards a broader regional confrontation and triggering a spike in oil prices amid fears of a further escalation. The US, an ally of Israel, launched strikes on Iran's nuclear sites, intensifying the conflict even as Trump was trying to get a nuclear "deal" to ease tensions. But now, with Iran vowing retaliation and Israeli operations continuing, fears of escalation and disruptions loom Iran fires cruise missiles at Israel, it will constantly keep worrying about Mossad operatives within its borders now that its vulnerabilities have been laid bare.- EndsTune InMust Watch
