Israeli media reported last week that Israel and Iran were on the verge of war. But, that is nothing new; we have heard this many times before. What is interesting, however, is the motive behind the impending war: growing fears over Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons in the future. Ironically, Israel has over 200 nuclear weapons; yet, the world sees Israel as the victim and Iran as the evil enemy out to get them.
Let's take a closer look at this so-called victim:
-- Since the last estimate in the 1970s, Israel has over 200 nuclear bombs.
-- Since the end of the Iraq War, Israel has continually threatened to wage war against Iran, despite the fact that armed attacks against Iran violates international law.
-- Israelis, with the help of the United States, and possibly some EU countries, have triggered multiple computer viruses targeting Iran's ports, civilian nuclear program and oil facilities.
-- Israelis have murdered five Iranian scientists, including a physicist and a nuclear scientist.
-- With support from Israel, terrorists in Iran's border regions have detonated bombs in mosques and other religious places in order to get the central governments to focus on minority issues instead.
-- Because of the constant threat of war, Israel has pushed the U.S. and the EU to place more sanctions on Iran than have been placed on any other nation. As a result, the Iranian banking sector can no longer work with the international banking system, shipping firms in Iran are unable to transport goods, and access to food and medicine has been restricted.
-- With the help of lobbyists in the U.S., Israel has kept foreign companies from wanting to operate in Iran.
This does not sound like a country that has been victimized! But, if anyone even thinks about depicting Israel as the enemy, they are called an anti-Semite. German writer and artist Guenter Grass was highly criticized and even banned from Israel for writing a poem depicting Iran as the victim. Israel's version of the story is widely accepted around the world -- most likely due to the powerful influence of Israeli lobbyists.
In my opinion, the sanctions on Iran have been more beneficial than harmful because the measures push for home industries and challenges to progress. But, I am still wondering why a country that has the ability to develop nuclear weapons in the future is seen as the enemy while a country that already has nuclear weapons is seen as the victim.
This article was previously published on The Real Amir Taheri .
2
1
1
