US attack on Iran: the fallout?
The US and Israel began attacking targets in Iran on Saturday morning, killing the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. US President Donald Trump justified the strikes by saying that Iran posed an immediate threat to the US and its allies in the region. Tehran had responded with missile and drone strikes against Israel and several Gulf states where US military bases are located. Europe's press fears the situation could escalate.
A high-risk move
It's impossible to say whether the attack will bring freedom for the Iranian people at this point, NRC comments:
“Only once a new leadership has put an end to the executions, torture in prisons and widespread terror, and when there is a lasting solution to Iran's nuclear ambitions that allows international sanctions to be lifted, will the Iranian people be liberated. The regime is lashing out wildly, with attacks on Israel and the Gulf states. No one knows whether these are last convulsions or the beginning of a protracted regional war. ... Whatever Trump's motives may be, he is taking an irresponsibly high risk.”
One head of the hydra severed
Novinky.cz sees no reason to mourn Khamenei's death:
“He was a brutal leader who drove Iran into isolation and focused on developing nuclear weapons and supporting terrorist movements, in particular in neighbouring countries, in order to destabilise the region and consolidate Tehran's power there. He considered the US to be the Great Satan and wanted to wipe Israel, the little Satan, off the map. The result of his rule is a ravaged country. However, the ongoing fighting suggests that in this case, it's not enough to simply cut off a hydra's head.”
Without international law savagery will prevail
Correio da Manhã says the move is driven by blatant arrogance:
“The cruel Iranian regime deserves to be overthrown, and those responsible should be brought to justice for the crimes they have committed against their people, but this decision should not be made by a 'sheriff' sitting in the White House and his henchman in Tel Aviv. Moreover, this attack in the middle of Ramadan, a holy month for Muslims, shows a profound disregard on the part of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu for values that are important to hundreds of millions of people around the world. ... If the rules of international law are not respected, we will enter an era of savagery.”
Unscrupulous recourse to law of the strongest
El País also believes that international law has been shelved:
“There is a military objective that consists in destroying nuclear facilities and missiles. There is a political one too, namely regime change. ... But there is also a third, unspoken reason: Trump's and Netanyahu's personal goals. ... Both are facing major domestic difficulties and key elections this year. ... We are witnessing a new episode of acceleration in an era of total aggression and unscrupulous recourse to the law of the strongest. ... The world has never been a paradise, but if a minimum degree of civilisation had been achieved, it is now disappearing. The blatant violation of international law and the brazen assertion of national or personal interests are advancing.”
No safe place for the people
On his Truth Social platform, Trump has called on citizens in Iran to seek shelter and stay off the streets. Journalist Lelia Munteanu writes on Libertatea:
“Iran has virtually no structures in place to protect the civilian population. In Tehran, a capital city with nearly 10 million inhabitants, the 82 underground stations officially designated as air-raid shelters are completely inadequate. It's not even clear whether they have the bare necessities for survival (water and first aid supplies). The last time Trump gave false hope to Iranian protesters who were being shot dead in the streets was on 13 January when he said 'help is on the way'. It's now 28 February and @realDonaldTrump is sending the citizens of Iran to shelters that are virtually non-existent.”
Time to face the facts
Europe must finally wake up, warns Corriere della Sera:
“Stunned and helpless, we watch as another war unfolds. ... National sovereignty is little more than a sham today if it is not protected by adequate military strength. This is a reversal of the very raison d'être of the European project. Where we once relied on the 'soft power' of trade and culture, the reality of this new era teaches us that 'hard power' is what really counts: the will to exert power, military superiority, technological innovation. Three assets that we do not possess. The future will bring dependence and subordination if we don't take action, and fast.”