In the early hours of June 13, the Middle East was jolted by a stunning development: Israel launched “Operation Rising Lion,” a sweeping aerial campaign against Iran. The strikes reportedly targeted Iranian leadership, nuclear enrichment sites, and military installations deep inside Tehran and beyond. While the world gasped, the Israeli government justified the mission as a “pre-emptive strike to ensure national survival.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was blunt and resolute: “This operation will continue for as many days as it takes to remove the Iranian threat.” And yet, the world has responded with its usual chorus of condemnation, hand-wringing, and diplomatic doublespeak. France, the UK, and Japan—all urged restraint. The United States, playing its now-familiar double game, called the Israeli strikes “unilateral” while President Donald Trump issued a vague “red line” tweet warning Iran against nuclear misuse. The hypocrisy is deafening. For months, the U.S. administration engaged in futile negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear ambitions. Every round of talks ended with Iran dragging its feet and inching ever closer to weapons-grade uranium. Reports from intelligence agencies—Israeli and Western—confirmed what everyone already knew: Iran’s nuclear program had passed the point of plausible deniability. And yet, Washington continued playing diplomatic footsie with a regime that has openly called for the annihilation of Israel. Undoubtedly, this was not a reckless Israeli gamble. This was a desperate act of self-preservation. Israel’s very survival has been under direct threat, not just from Iran but its growing proxy network—Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and other Islamist extremists emboldened by Tehran’s money and missiles. The October 2024 missile and drone barrage launched by Iran through its regional allies was a chilling rehearsal for a much bigger catastrophe. When your enemy has repeatedly vowed to wipe you off the map, how long can you afford to wait?
Reports suggest over 200 Israeli aircraft took part in five waves of precision strikes. High-profile casualties include Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander-in-Chief Hossein Salami and, reportedly, the Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s residence was hit. Iran’s airspace was immediately closed, commercial airlines rerouted, and retaliatory rhetoric spewed by Tehran’s generals. But make no mistake—this was no blind bombardment. It was a carefully calculated message: We will not be the next Holocaust statistic. Critics call it disproportionate. But what would be a “proportionate” response to a nation building nuclear weapons under the guise of energy independence while chanting “Death to Israel” at Friday prayers? The larger tragedy, however, is the abdication of leadership by the so-called global policeman—the United States. President Trump, who once promised to end wars and restore American strength, now looks like a powerless bystander. His administration’s inability to rein in Iran through diplomacy or deterrence has left the job to a nation surrounded by enemies and history’s scars. Why did the U.S. back out of enforcement? Did it lose its will or simply outsource its moral and strategic responsibilities to its allies? Either way, the result is the same: escalation. Now, the world teeters on the brink. From Ukraine and Gaza to the Taiwan Strait and Kashmir, rogue regimes and terror groups are emboldened, while nuclear proliferation looms like a ticking time bomb. Pakistan’s unstable arsenal, North Korea’s tantrums, and Russia’s threats all point to a grim reality: the post-Cold War order has collapsed. What’s rising in its place is a world of shifting alliances, rogue states, and inevitable confrontation. The United Nations? Toothless. The EU? Distracted. The U.S.? Paralysed. If World War III is indeed inching closer, Washington must bear a large portion of the blame—for dithering, for deluding itself, and for abandoning allies like Israel to face existential threats alone. Israel didn’t start this war. But it just may have fired the first shot to stop the next one.
