NO MATTER the every-day shouting match between different parties about the Iran conflict, a systematic peace process is yet to begin. Habitually, every morning after he wakes up, United States President Mr. Donald Trump appears to ascend to the White House terrace and indulges in making strange and strong statements that ultimately may mean nothing. Occasionally, Russia also wakes up to make some statements as also does China -- asking for an end to hostilities. India also keeps harping that war would solve no problem -- if at all there is any. Israel’s Ambassador to India, Mr. Reuven Azar, also makes a clear statement that his country would stop hostilities if Iran changed its course. Despite all that, no systematic effort appears to be on the anvil to bring about a possible thaw. At best, all the statements may be hitting the headlines possibly in the hope that somebody somewhere may extend a hand of good sense. Minus that, in the past 17-18 days from the start of the current long-distance war of bombs and missiles and drones, there has been no serious attempt by anybody to reach out to the other side and at least start talking about peace-possibilities. There can be nothing sadder than this. For, when a conflict of such serious dimensions breaks out, peace efforts, too, should begin on parallel lines.

 

The world has seen this happen on many occasions -- in every conflict. In this conflict involving not just the Middle East but also almost the whole world, no such initiative is reported to have taken place. This is strange, to say the least. This is also a very negative and bad sign for the larger world -- now standing on the brink of either a major disaster in geopolitics, or a new world order in which the parties calling shots may change. Instead of a systematic approach to negotiation tables, what is in evidence is a shouting match -- with nearly every party dishing out open threats to others about how dangerous the game could turn out to be if this did not happen. The overall picture, thus, is not much different from a fish market where everybody is shouting at the top of his voice seeking to attract others’ attention to his merchandise. True, many countries appear to suggest that India -- and Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi in particular -- alone can initiate peace process. That was said about the Russia-Ukraine conflict as well. Nothing of that sort appeared to have happened at least officially. Let alone peace process, India appears deeply engaged in protecting its own interests, no matter the war -- which is okay from any angle. But as a peace negotiator, India is yet to make any move -- at least officially. At another level, there is an expectation that the hostilities would wane when the war merchandise of the warring parties gets depleted in due course.

 

The US is already claiming that over 90 per cent of Iran’s weapons stockpile is over -- ballistic missiles and drones etc. In other words, Iran may come to its knees in some more days. However, there also are sources that insist that even the US would not be able to withstand the drain of its resources (to the tune of several thousand billions dollars every day) for too long. In that case, some good sense may start raising its head here and there in world capitals -- and that may lead to reduction in war activity. Possibly from that point onward, some peace moves may start becoming visible to the world. Of course, that time may not arrive rather soon. Much to the contrary, a country like the US may want to over stretch its resources to teach Iran a lesson it would never forget. In that case, the war may stretch on for a while more, but the end of the hostility may also start drawing nearer. At least at this stage, these are only some distant possibilities. Similar stages came even in the Ukraine conflict, but the war is still dragging on. Only time will tell if such a fate awaits the Iran conflict as well.