The world is forced to pass through harrowing moments by the rantings of US President Donald Trump. In his latest, Trump has said “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran does not make a deal after saying he will take Iran to “stone age” by bombing it “like never before,” with his latest deadline expiring 7 April night. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkin showed equal determination, declaring that more than 14 million people of his country are commit ted to sacrificing their lives to defend Iran. Most would hope that this level of brinkmanship would not lead to devastating consequences for the Middle East and the rest of the world. Article 52 of the first additional protocol to the Geneva conventions prohibits attacks on civilian targets.
On these grounds, the international criminal court has issued arrest warrants for Russian military officers and officials responsible for attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. The same measure should have applied to the US and Israel after the bombing of the primary school and killing of some 600 schoolgirls in Iran. But everyone is aware that rules don’t apply equally, if at all. Trump is least bothered about allegations of committing war crimes. He explicitly said so at a Press briefing where he threatened again on 6 April to destroy Iran’s bridges and power plants if Tehran does not meet his deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told media that international law bars attack on such infrastructure. Even if specific civilian infrastructure were to qualify as military objectives, an attack would still be prohibited if it risks “excessive incidental civilian harm,” the spokesman clarified. It is known to all how little Guterres’ and the UN’s opinion matters to Trump. As the deadline approached in the afternoon in India time of 07 April, there was little indication that Iran was ready to agree to Trump’s ultimatum. Instead Iran joked about the exact time of the impending attack and asked if it was in India time. It has rejected a temporary ceasefire and issued its own list of demands, which a US official described as “maximalist.” In this dangerous showdown in which neither side is showing signs of backing down, the US President found himself in a delicate position. Trump would have probably never dreamt of a possibility where a country like Iran would be standing up against America, rejecting its offers and threatening military action. Trump would suffer loss of face if he backed down from his position of power after issuing detailed threats. It would signal to the world that despite America’s military might and supposed tactical skill it has failed to take up a position of strength in this war. This feeling has already begun to take roots, what with social media flooded with memes ridiculing Trump and the US. Trump started the present war unprovoked and unplanned.
Even now, he doesn’t seem to have a concrete and coherent exit strategy. Failure at this stage will have a disastrous effect on his presidency in the mid-term polls scheduled in November. In another one of his continuing rants, Trump has declared he would take Iran’s oil after inflicting a crushing defeat on the country since he is essentially “a business man.” His NATO allies have refused to buy his logic and have refrained from being parties to the madness by joining the war.
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Instead, they have pointed out the absence of a clear cut strategic plan. The US President appeared to be unsure of the outcome of his apocalyptic rhetoric since he has been alternating between his dire warnings and assertion that there was a “good chance” of a ceasefire agreement with Iran before the latest deadline expired. Yet, hours later, Israel bombed a key petrochemical plant in Iran’s biggest natural gas field. The silence of China and Russia at this stage is significant. This is notwithstanding Iran being a friend to both and a member of BRICS. It is an open secret that the two countries have been in a supposed proxy war, helping Iran by secretly supplying intelligence inputs and weaponry to face the US and Israel. It is interesting to note the cover of the recent Economist magazine which has Xi Jinping looking on from the background as Trump’s blurry image is seen shouting in the foreground. The heading says “Never Interrupt Your Enemy When He’s Making A Mistake.” Maybe letting Trump dig his own end is the strategy.