The situation in the Middle East has now deteriorated so far that the US could be dragged into a regional war. The Israeli assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, after the top Hamas leader had travelled to attend the inauguration of Iran’s new president, has sparked fears of retaliation. Earlier this week, Britain, France and Germany issued a joint statement calling on Iran and its allies to refrain from attacking Israel. “If the US and western countries really want to prevent war and insecurity in the region, they should convince this regime to stop the genocide and attacks in Gaza and accept a ceasefire,” Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, told the French president, Emmanuel Macron.
Israel carried out this assassination with the apparent intention of drawing the US into a war with Iran. The scale of Iran’s response will determine whether the US gets involved. President Biden does not expect Iran to carry out a retaliatory strike if a deal is reached to end the war in Gaza, but he has not exactly helped by selling $20bn worth of weapons to Israel, one of the largest military packages since the beginning of the Gaza war. Neither Israel nor the US truly wants a war with Iran but, as Biden said in a recent interview, there is “every reason” for people to think Netanyahu is deliberately prolonging the war in Gaza for political reasons. Netanyahu has lost support globally and within Israel. As soon as the war ends, he will probably be forced out of office and face trial for corruption.
