“Before I even arrive at the Oval Office, shortly after we all win the presidency together, the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine will be settled. It will be settled. The war is going to be settled. I’ll get them both – I know Zelensky, I know Putin – it’ll be done within 24 hours, you watch. They all say, ‘That’s such a boast.’ It will be done very quickly,” said Donald Trump, at a rally in July 2023.
But has that promise materialised? In reality, since returning to office, Trump has not been seen as a peacemaker. The war between Russia and Ukraine is escalating more than ever. And he has failed to stop it. The Trump administration has also refrained from keeping a check on China’s growing hegemony in the South China Sea, despite bold claims to the contrary. His disruptive tariff policies have triggered global economic instability. New conflicts are emerging across Africa. And the recent Israel-Iran war has further dismantled his hollow claim of being a “global peacemaker.” Instead of playing the role of peacemaker, he is fueling the fire.
The fact is that West Asia is boiling again as the Israel-Iran conflict has reached its highest level. Earlier, it was Israel vs Iran’s proxies and terrorist organisations like Hamas, Houthis and Hezbollah. However, it has now escalated into an all-out war between the two nations. The recent escalation started when Israel launched attacks at the heart of Iran’s nuclear and military structure on June 12. Israel named it Operation Rising Lion. In this attack, Israel assassinated Iran’s top military generals and scientists involved in Iran’s atomic research. For many years, Israel has claimed that Iran is silently developing nuclear bombs, which is not only dangerous for Israel but also for the whole region, as it can provide these to its proxies fighting against Israel. It was expected that Iran would retaliate as well. On June 13, after massive missile strikes, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) announced that it had launched Operation True Promise 3. As before, this time too, Israel managed to intercept the majority of Iranian missiles and neutralise them in the sky. Here is the timeline of escalation by both sides from June 14 to June 19 (till the time of writing this report).
June 12–13
Israel conducted the first strikes of an air campaign targeting Iran’s nuclear programme and military leadership. The Israeli military conducted an airstrike targeting Iran’s Uranium enrichment facility at Natanz and hit additional targets of the country’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. In this surprise attack, nearly the entire top level of Iran’s military commanders were killed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “Iran’s leading nuclear scientists” were also targets in the attacks. In retaliation, Iran launched three retaliatory waves of missiles at targets in Israel. Amidst this, United States President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social (an alt-tech social media platform owned by Trump Media & Technology Group—TMTG) that two months ago, he gave Iran a 60-day ultimatum to “make a deal.” They should have done it! Today is day 61.”
Supreme leader of Iran
June 14
Israel struck an unspecified underground weapons facility in western Iran. According to Iranian state media, Israel bombed multiple energy facilities in southern Iran. Later, the IAF targeted the South Pars field, the world’s largest gas field, along with the Fajr Jam gas plant.
June 15
The situation escalated further on June 15. Israel and Iran continued to exchange airstrikes. Israel targeted Iranian Government buildings, such as the Ministry of Intelligence and Security and the Iranian Foreign Affairs Ministry in Tehran. In retaliation, Iran sent hundreds of drones and missiles to Israel, damaging the country’s largest oil refinery near the port city of Haifa and the Weizmann Institute of Science, a top research centre in the country, according to reports.
June 16
The situation became complicated when an Israeli strike hit Iran’s state broadcaster on June 16 and bombed a command centre of an Iranian military unit. Along with this, Israel also hit Iranian F-14 fighter planes at Tehran airport. Israel claimed that it had killed four senior Iranian intelligence officials in a precision airstrike in Tehran. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that on the night of June 15, they targeted a building where key IRGC and Quds Force leaders were meeting. As the condition became increasingly volatile, the US aircraft carrier USS Nimitz left the South China Sea on the morning of June 16 and headed west. From the beginning, it has been known that the US is keeping a close eye on the Israel-Iran war. A massive panic among people in Tehran was created when United States President Donald Trump said, “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” As a result, massive traffic jams were seen in the Iranian capital.
June 17
Israel hit Iranian cities with bombs, and some Iranian missiles evaded Israel’s Iron Dome defence system. At the Tabriz missile facility, multiple storage buildings, roads, and tunnels were damaged. A destroyed Iranian tanker aircraft was seen at Mashhad airport. Explosions were heard in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, as the Israeli military said Iran had launched a new wave of missiles. Israel’s military claimed that it had eliminated Ali Shadmani, Iran’s wartime chief of staff and a close aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an overnight strike. It cannot be gainsaid that the real turning point in this war came when, in a series of threatening posts on Truth Social, US President Donald Trump said, “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target, but he is safe there. We are not going to take him out (kill him), at least not for now.” Subsequently, he posted: “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”
Prime Minister of Israel
June 18
By June 18, in this war, more than 220 Iranians were killed and at least 1,200 injured since the bombardment began, according to an Iranian state media report. About 30 Israelis were also killed in Iranian missile attacks, as per officials. It was expected that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, known for his Islamist view, would reply to Donald Trump’s ‘unconditional surrender’ message to Iran. In the evening, from an undisclosed location, Khamenei warned that any US strikes against Iran would have serious and irreparable consequences. “Iran will stand firm against an imposed war. The Iranian nation will not surrender,” said Khamenei. Later in the day, when asked whether the US would join the war or not, US President Donald Trump declined to reveal his position. Speaking to the media at the White House, Trump said, “Iran is in big trouble and wants to negotiate.” He also said that Iran can under no circumstances have a nuclear weapon.
June 19
On the seventh day, Iranian missiles caused severe damage at several sites in central and southern Israel. At the same time, Israeli forces reported to have attacked Iran’s Arak heavy water nuclear reactor. An Iranian missile hit a hospital in Israel’s Beersheba. However, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed the intended target was military infrastructure near the hospital, not the medical facility itself. Later in the day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the nation after Iranian missiles struck multiple sites, where he vowed to remove Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile threat. Israel claimed that at least one of the dozens of ballistic missiles Iran launched contained a banned cluster bomb warhead. In this Iranian attack, about 240 people were injured. On the other hand, the Israeli military announced it struck the heavy water nuclear reactor at Arak in Iran during overnight air raids. The operation also targeted a site near Natanz. Notably, amid this attack, Russia, which had isolated itself from this war, warned the US against military intervention and said that it would be an extremely dangerous step with truly unpredictable negative consequences.
World At War
The big question is: Is the world heading towards Third World War? It is a possibility as many countries are fighting on many fronts. If Russia has conflict with Ukraine, China creates disputes and threatens its neighbours. In Africa, Islamists are slaughtering Christians. The whole region is going through regime change as well. Even in South Asia, countries like Myanmar and Bangladesh are going through internal conflicts. Having said that, the growing escalation in West Asia will divide the already torn world, which is trapped in the Russia-Ukraine war. Any further escalation will be harmful to the economy of the region, including for countries such as Bharat, which has good economic relations with the West Asia. Importantly, the region is one of the biggest sources of energy. This unstable situation will increase inflation across the globe due to rising petroleum prices. It is the need of the hour that the war be stopped and all the concerns are resolved peacefully.
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