Daily ‘Dawn’ in its editorial comments on Wednesday said as the P5+1 and Iran try to breathe life back into the JCPOA, as the nuclear deal is officially known, it appears that Zionist regime is resorting to subterfuge and sabotage to try and derail any solution and keep the Middle East on a knife-edge.
It added on Sunday, the Iranian nuclear facility of Natanz was targeted by a “small explosion” which Tehran has squarely blamed on Tel Aviv, while sections of the Zionist and American press have also pointed to the Jewish state’s role.
“Israel has long been trying to neutralise Iran’s nuclear capabilities. In the past, it was believed to have targeted the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme with Stuxnet malware, while a number of assassinations of Iranian nuclear officials — most recently that of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh last year — were also believed to be the handiwork of Tel Aviv,” it added.
Dawn said such reckless behaviour has its limits, and there is a high possibility that this covert and proxy war may transform into a ‘hot’ war.
The editorial viewed if the international community, especially Israel’s Western backers, want to truly revive the nuclear deal and prevent a fresh conflagration in the Middle East, they must communicate to their friends in Tel Aviv that the current path of sabotage must be abandoned.
“Indulging in a cloak-and-dagger game, which Israel has been adept at since its inception, is relatively easy; containing a conflict in a volatile region with multiple battlefronts will be a very difficult task,” it warned.
The paper strongly believed diplomacy must be given a chance to succeed and the parties to the JCPOA must continue their negotiations undisturbed by hostile actors seeking confrontation.
Meanwhile a senior journalist analyst Abul Sattar in his article published in daily ‘The News’ said the cyber-attack on an Iranian nuclear facility may have created a ripple of excitement among the war-mongers sitting in the power corridors of Tel Aviv but has appalled many who believe in international laws and global principles of peace and stability.
“According to a section of Western media, US intelligence sources believe Israel was behind the attack that happened on Sunday,” he added.
The expert said the United States has categorically denied its hand in any manner in the attack, but given that the US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was in Jerusalem at the time of the attack, standing next to Benjamin Netanyahu, it will fuel speculations about Americans complicity in the attack.
“Many analysts believe that the attack is aimed at sabotaging the efforts that are being made by France, Britain and Germany to convince the US to return to the Iran nuclear deal,” he viewed.
He said this is not the first time that Iranian interests have come under attack. “In the past, Iranian scientists have allegedly been targeted by Israeli intelligence operatives,” he noted.
Abul Sattar went on to say Tel Aviv does not have any concrete evidence against Iran and it just wants to raise the specter of fear-mongering and employ sledgehammer tactics. “But such rash actions on the part of the Zionist state could spell disaster for the entire region, plunging it into a conflagration that could incinerate everything,” he warned.
He added Tehran has demonstrated patience and restraint so far.
“China has recently announced a massive investment plan for Iran; China could approach international forums besides opening back channels to stabilize the region which might be disturbed after the most recent attack,” he said.
“Moscow, which enjoys cordial ties with Iran and Israel, should also play its role. Western powers should also make it very clear that such provocative actions will not be tolerated in the rules-based system,” he added.
The journalist said if the European powers and the US firmly believe in international laws and norms of diplomacy then they must encourage peaceful means of settling disputes.
“The administration of Joe Biden that wants to settle the Iran nuclear issue in a peaceful manner should make it clear to Israel that such practice of sabotage will not be acceptable in a world that needs peace and stability,” he said.
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