Thursday’s airstrike on the Iraqi Interior Ministry provides compelling evidence that Israel wants to expand the conflict beyond its borders. In the last few days, Israel has assassinated a Hamas leader in Beirut (Saleh Al Arouri), killed a senior adviser to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Syed Raz) in Damascus, and “droned” a high-ranking official at the Iraqi Interior Ministry (Talib Al-Saeedi). Also, in the last few weeks, Israel has launched a number of unprovoked airstrikes on Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. All of these incitements suggest that Israel is exploring ways to expand the hostilities beyond Gaza in order to plunge the entire region into war.

C’mon @nytimes. Subheader suggesting a regional war “could draw in the US” like it’s being led versus leading. The @DeptofDefense is very much creating this moment. Don’t position it as responsive. It’s very proactive. pic.twitter.com/qmYrmjcfn6

— Dr. Michael Shank (@Michael_Shank) January 4, 2024

Israeli provocations across the Middle East are an attempt to draw the United States deeper into a region-wide conflict. Israeli leaders know that their country will not become the dominant regional power unless its enemies—mainly Hezbollah and Iran—are severely weakened. But Israel also realizes that its enemies will not be weakened without US assistance. Thus, the US must be put in a situation where it feels compelled to engage Iran and Hezbollah militarily in order to rescue its closest ally in the Middle East. If Israel opens up a two-front or three-front war with its enemies –as it is currently trying to do– then the United States will intervene on Israel’s behalf laying the groundwork for the emergence of Israel as the regional hegemon. That is the underlying goal of the current operation.

None of this, of course, has anything to do with “defeating Hamas” which was the pretext Israel used to obliterate Gaza and push its population towards the Egyptian border. The real objective is to change the basic power-dynamics of the Middle East in a way that best advances Israel’s interests. Here’s an excerpt from an article at the BBC that was filed on Wednesday:

At least 103 people have been killed by two bomb explosions near the tomb of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani on the fourth anniversary of his assassination by the US, Iran’s state media report. State broadcaster Irib said dozens more people were wounded when the blasts hit a procession near the Saheb al-Zaman mosque in the southern city of Kerman…. Videos showed bodies on a road and ambulances rushing to the scene….

Wednesday’s incident comes amid heightened tensions in the region after the deputy leader of the Iran-backed Palestinian group, Hamas, was killed in an apparent Israeli drone strike in Lebanon. At least 103 dead in bomb blasts near Iran general Qasem Soleimani’s tomb – state TV, BBC

#StopTheEthnicGenocide pic.twitter.com/dm8QM2UVV8

— Emelia