DESPITE the incoherent statements dished out daily by United States President Mr. Donald Trump on the future of the war with Iran, a scale-back looks imminent after Iran’s two significant strikes in the last couple of days. In retaliation to the Israeli missile strike on its Natanz nuclear site, Iran has targeted Israel’s Dimona nuclear facility which houses the Jewish State’s key reactor. This attack has changed the scope and course of the 24-day war. But more than this strike, the world is worried about the ballistic missile strike Iran launched at Diego Garcia, a joint base of the US and United Kingdom in the Indian Ocean. The missiles covered a distance of 4,000 kms targeting the base in the Chagos Islands archipelago making the world squirm with the secret capabilities Iran has built over the years. Though the two Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles (IRBMs) did not hit the target – one failed mid-flight and other was intercepted by a US warship – it delivered a significant message to the world about Iran’s hidden military capabilities and its missile programme.

 

Till the IRBMs were fired at Diego Garcia, Iran was using its ballistic missile stockpile to target Israel and also US facilities in the Gulf countries. The 4,000-km-range IRBMs have come as a major surprise for the entire world, putting a question-mark on the Intelligence instruments which simply failed to find out Iran’s capabilities. A message has been delivered to the world, for, most of the top cities in the world come within the reach of the Iranian IRBMs. Whether the US takes it as a provocation or a signal to tone down its operations will decide the course of this conflict. Iran’s choice of Diego Garcia looks a strategic move.

 

The IRBMs were launched within hours of the United Kingdom assuring use of its bases by the US military to target Iran. The two missiles, despite not hitting the target, have told the UK the implications of widening the scale of the war. By targeting a base in the Indian Ocean, Iran has signalled that it was also ready to expand the theatre of war beyond West Asia. Calling it a defining moment in this war might be jumping the gun but the strikes on Diego Garcia can change the US-Israel perspective on Iran. The international community will also realise the futility of distancing itself from the conflict and might actively engage in de-escalation efforts. Already bleeding due to the acute shortage of oil and gas supplies caused by the chokehold of Strait of Hormuz and damage to gas fields in the Arab nations, countries have already started to reach out to Iran. A similar move with the US and Israel can also come very soon so that the world can breathe again. That this is the most pointless war involving US has already been proved in the last 24 days. Iran’s changed strategy should now ring a bell in Washington on the losses the Americans are suffering and might suffer further if Tehran pulls out another surprise like the IRBMs. It is incumbent upon the US Congress (all sides included) to stop Mr. Trump from leading them into a global catastrophe. And it is time for nations like India to use unique leverage and take the proactive role of a peacemaker.