The South African government’s condemnation of Israel’s military operation against Iran reveals an incredible ignorance. Israel’s 13 June operation against Iran is not only a necessary step towards ensuring Israel’s security, but also a prerequisite towards eventual stability in the region. And perhaps even the world.
Pretending that the operation is “unprovoked” or “aggressive,” as South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has implied, ignores both the immediate nuclear threat posed by Iran and the long history of Iranian aggression against Israel.
On 12 June, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) declared that Iran was no longer compliant in its nuclear obligations. The agency found that Iran had failed to declare nuclear materials and activities, while stockpiling enriched uranium capable of creating nuclear weapons. Terrifyingly, the IAEA reported that Iran has enough enriched uranium to potentially construct nine nuclear bombs. Iran’s refusal to allow inspection is tantamount to an admission of guilt.
This is the context conveniently overlooked by the South African government in its rush to condemn Israel. Rather than acknowledging the IAEA’s warnings, Pretoria has chosen to side with a regime that not only defies international law, but openly threatens genocide.
Israel’s sudden strike a day later comes after years of Israel warning the global community that Iran is building nuclear weapon capabilities. Despite this, many nations chose to trust a country responsible for destabilising Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Bahrain and Yemen. A country responsible for funding a multitude of violent terror groups. And a theocratic dictatorship that refers to the United States as the “Great Satan” and has repeatedly stated its aim of destroying Israel.
Israel’s military operation isn’t some unprovoked attack. It is a rational response to the fact that Iran may be moments away from building a nuclear weapon. Iran is already engaged in a war with Israel, even if ground troops have not been fighting explicitly. Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis are all Iranian-backed terror groups, engaged in war with Israel. And Iran has previously launched rocket and drone attacks on Israel.
Naïve
It is naïve to argue that Iran’s nuclear programme is innocent. Even putting aside the fact that Iran is a violent rogue state that has shown its propensity for attacking other countries and waging brutal wars, what does Iran have to gain through a peaceful nuclear weapons programme?
Iran has one of the largest oil and natural gas reserves in the world, as well as a robust hydrocarbon energy sector. It doesn’t make economic sense to build a nuclear energy sector. Even if it freed up all oil for export, Iran would still make a loss.
Iran has also been investing in major military build-ups alongside its nuclear programme. The IAEA is convinced that the programme is for nuclear weapons, as the purity of its enriched uranium reaches weapons-grade quality. Iran has also been developing delivery mechanisms for a nuclear bomb in the form of missiles.
It is clear that Iran is attempting to create a nuclear weapon. And once such a bomb is created, it is highly likely that Iran will use it.
Iran is not a rational, democratic state. It is a theocracy founded in religious extremism and using its vast oil wealth to fund global terror. Its government has demonstrated an obsession with suicidal martyrdom and a fixation with the apocalypse. It has also demonstrated an all-consuming hatred, not only of Israel, but of the United States and the West in general.
In 2005, then Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated: “Israel must be wiped off the map.” The supreme leader Ali Khamenei in 2012 stated that “the Zionist regime is a cancerous tumor… it will be removed.” Khamenei has also stated that Iran would destroy Israeli cities if Israel attacked it.
On top of Iran’s ideology, there is also a pragmatic urgency in using a nuclear weapon. As soon as a bomb is created, the world will dedicate itself to destroying it. So, if Iran is to construct a bomb, it will use it as quickly as possible.
Apocalyptic
A single nuclear strike on Israel, considering its size, is apocalyptic. For this reason, Iran gaining nuclear weapons is not just a geopolitical inconvenience. It’s an existential threat to Israel and Jews. For this reason, it is of paramount importance that Israel continues its military operation and ensures that all of Iran’s nuclear facilities are destroyed.
Preventing Iran from gaining nuclear capabilities is not only imperative for Israel. Iran wants to drastically shift the balance of power in the Middle East through force, holding the region hostage with a bomb. The fact that none of its neighbours enjoy positive relations with Iran, and that it is only on speaking terms with a handful of fellow crackpot dictatorships, should show how little faith we should put in the regime.
We should learn from history. When a country is clearly malicious and hostile, and when its aims are an inevitable existential threat, then we shouldn’t wait. We shouldn’t naively cling to false promises of compromise and diplomacy.
Britain’s Chamberlain could have prevented millions of deaths if he had challenged Germany when Hitler took Czechoslovakia. The Holocaust could have been prevented. World War 2 might not even have happened, as the Allies could have destroyed Germany’s military capabilities when they were still being created.
Let us not pretend that neutrality in the face of aggression is moral. The South African government’s condemnation of Israel is not a courageous act of diplomacy, but a failure to confront evil when it is still stoppable. If we care about peace, we must support those who act to preserve it. Not those who threaten to obliterate it.
[Image: By IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=85960685]
The views of the writer are not necessarily the views of the Daily Friend or the IRR.
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