The recent missile exchanges between Iran and Israel stirred fears of World War III, and while the action has cooled down, the uncertain path still looms with tension. Esteemed author and Middle East scholar Trita Parsi joins host Robert Scheer on this episode of Scheer Intelligence to discuss what these attacks could mean going forward.
Israel’s assaults on neighboring Syria and Lebanon often go unpunished given the geopolitical ties to the U.S. and the West, but their early April airstrikes on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, which killed several top Iranian military officials, proved to be too much for Iran. Its unprecedented retaliatory strikes on Israel, despite being non-lethal, signaled a remarkable change in the region.
The airstrikes “essentially busted Israel's air of impunity and the degree to which Israel essentially was viewed as being untouchable in the region,” Parsi told Scheer. “This is part of the reason why it was so difficult for the Israelis not to respond, because they did not want to see the Iranians managing to create a new set of rules in the region in which Israel didn't have the freedom of action of being able to whack Iran or whack Lebanon without getting any response, doing so with complete impunity.”
Parsi thinks that because of this level of escalation, the U.S. is now in the hot seat for having to put a stop to Israel, and specifically Netanyahu’s reckless actions, and that a potential solution could manifest itself through the upcoming election.
“There's going to have to be some political changes in order for this to happen, for the situation to change and I do suspect that is coming because when you see the perspective of younger Americans about this issue, even on the right, it is changing dramatically. I don't think this is a generation that in any way shape or form views Israel as David,” Parsi said.