By Iqbal Jassat
Failure to act against the US-Israeli axis of terror is to allow a global order dictated and ruled by merciless bullying and force.
In its latest statement, the South African government has expressed deep concern over what it refers to as the escalating crisis in the Gulf.
It correctly points out that the crisis arises from the “use of force by the United States and Israel against Iran”. The understanding is unambiguous, though the language appears to be couched in soft terms.
The “use of force” fails to convey the full extent of the brutal war imposed on Iran. Nor does it convey the reality of the illegality of the unprovoked military assault by the United States and Israel that plunged the region into a “crisis”.
As we enter the second week of the unjust and unlawful war, it would be shortsighted not to emphasize that the American-Israeli axis of aggression against Iran is a flagrant violation of Iran’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty.
Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has described the military assault launched on Saturday, February 28, an unprovoked, unwarranted act of aggression.
“They started this merciless aggression by targeting Iran’s Supreme Leader’s compound at the heart of the capital, Tehran. The leader, also a highly respected Shia religious jurist across the region and beyond, was martyred along with a number of his family members, including his 14-month-old granddaughter on the 10th day of the holy month of Ramadan”.
According to Baghaei, at the same time, the US/Israel axis launched massive air and missile strikes across Iran against military and civilian targets. The most heartbreaking news broke when they struck an elementary school in Minab, south-western Iran, where 165 innocent schoolgirls and 26 teachers were brutally slaughtered.
“It is now clear that the US/Israeli targeting of this elementary school was deliberate and pre-planned. A detailed investigative report, based on satellite imagery, strike patterns, and geolocation analysis, has demonstrated that the attack directly struck the civilian school building during class hours. The purpose was to preoccupy Iran’s armed forces and emergency response capacity so that the aggressors could subsequently target other strategic sites”.
It is noted, though, that South Africa has previously condemned the unlawful attacks on Iran by Israel and the United States, which violate Article 2(4) of the UN Charter prohibiting the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.
These principles are fundamental to the international rules‑based order and must be upheld by all Member States. However, the concern raised by South Africa about the subsequent retaliatory strikes by Iran across the region, as “developments risking widening the conflict with grave implications for regional and international peace and security”, lacks context.
In exercising Iran’s lawful and legitimate right under Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, Iran had no option but to target certain US military facilities in the region.
Baghaei points out that these defensive operations are not directed against host countries but are undertaken solely in defense of Iran. “The facilities targeted were used by the United States to prepare and launch military attacks against Iran”.
While Iran fully respects the territorial integrity and political independence of Gulf countries, every state has a responsibility, under international law and the principle of good neighborliness, not to allow its territory, airspace, or facilities to be used for acts of aggression against the Islamic Republic.
The lack of context in South Africa’s statement is best understood by the facts expressly affirmed by the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
“… Any point of origin, base, or territorial platform from which acts of aggression against Iran are initiated—irrespective of the state in which such forces may be stationed—shall, consistent with Article 3(f) of the Annex to General Assembly Resolution 3314 (XXIX) on the Definition of Aggression, be regarded as a lawful military objective in the exercise of Iran’s inherent right of self-defense under Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations”.
On the other hand, South Africa, being alarmed by Israel’s continued military operations in Lebanon, which have resulted in civilian casualties, the destruction of essential infrastructure, and the displacement of communities, is spot on.
“These attacks constitute a serious breach of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and further destabilise the region”.
The unprovoked imposed war has placed the world at a critical juncture.
It is clear that the Trump administration’s justifications for this war are based on lies. Most military analysts, especially within the US, have dismissed the notion that Iran posed an imminent threat to the US.
Indeed, former Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy has categorically argued that Trump’s incoherence has allowed Israel, a small settler-colonial state, to pursue a far-reaching mission of domination in the region.
Levy asserts that over many decades, Israel, and Benjamin Netanyahu in particular (he has been Israel’s premier for almost 20 of the last 30 years), have tried to pull America into a war against Iran.
Netanyahu briefly succeeded last June when Trump launched the one-and-done Operation Midnight Hammer strikes. That appeared to only whet appetites.
Israel’s campaign to induce a full-scale American assault on Iran became relentless. Levy reminds us that Secretary of State Marco Rubio let slip that America’s supposed case for pre-emptive use of force in the face of a threat was, in fact, necessitated by Israeli (rather than Iranian) imminent military aggression.
Hence, unless these factual arguments are emphasized in statements of “concern” by South Africa, the result will regrettably be stuck in soft-peddling without the desired effect.
Failure to act against the US-Israeli axis of terror is to allow a global order dictated and ruled by merciless bullying and force.
– Iqbal Jassat is an Executive Member of the South Africa-based Media Review Network. He contributed this article to The Palestine Chronicle. Visit: www.mediareviewnet.com
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