War hysteria is building up in the Middle East as airstrikes on Iran seem imminent. President Trump is out on an arm-twisting mission and wants to make Tehran agree on a deal to halt its ambitious nuclear programme. Whereas, Iran says it is close to a comprehensive accord with the Americans, and the talks in Switzerland did not press for lowering the threshold of uranium enrichment. The battlefield mosaic, nonetheless, is fraught with tension, as a massive buildup of naval forces is seen, especially at an airbase in Jordan hoisting more than 60 attack aircraft while vessel carriers are stationed near the Straits of Hormuz and Oman. The Islamic Republic too is in a war-gaming mood and naval exercises with China and Russia are on the cards, deeply endangering the security paradigm of the region.
Trump's Board of Peace initiative, wherein he plans to rebuild and demilitarise Gaza, and his visit to Beijing coming up next month are steps that must hold back the United States from its trigger-happiness. However, the radicalism on the part of Israel to push the region in an unwarranted war is alarming. The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, had the audacity to pronounce that he would "not be opposed to Tel Aviv taking over large swathes of the Middle East". That is terror-diplomacy at its worst, and comes close on the heels of pressurising the White House to go for the kill against Iran. The envoy's claim that "Israel's borders are based on the Bible" is a negation of Westphalian statehood decorum, and a sheer violation of International Law.
The setback that has come from the US Supreme Court saying that Trump has "exceeded his authority while imposing sweeping tariffs on imports from trading partners" and the oil prices surging to $66 a barrel are puzzles that could push a war-wary president into jingoism. The need of the hour is to rely on diplomacy that is making headway, and to desist from Trump 1.0-type decision of dumping a universally recognised deal with Iran. Let warmongering take a backseat and diplomacy triumph.
