Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator
On July 31, at 2:00 am. local time, Israel assassinated Palestinian leader, and the head of Hamas political office, Ismail Haniya in the Iranian capital of Tehran, hours after he attended the inauguration of the new President of Iran. Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, vowed to reply to this Israeli aggression and that Israel would pay a price for crossing a red-line and killing a guest of Iran.
The Middle East is going through turmoil and on the edge of a regional war that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has thrust the US into unwillingly. Iran is using psychological warfare on the Israeli public, which has paralyzed their daily life. While the threat of a retaliatory attack is real, Iran has done nothing, but this fear has caused Israelis to sleep in shelters, shut their businesses and many have left the country and may not return.
Israel and the world are awaiting a reply from Hezbollah and Iran, but are unsure if the reply will be separate or jointly. Especially, after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed to respond to the Israeli assassination of Hezbollah military leader Fuad Shukr in Beirut, Lebanon on July 30.
The US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, has sent warships and nuclear submarines to the eastern Mediterranean in anticipation of escalating military conflict in the region. The Biden administration has warned Netanyahu repeatedly to decrease the tensions and to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza, but Netanyahu is not listening.
Some experts warn that Netanyahu may use the situation to attack Iran with missiles, even perhaps going so far as to target Iran’s nuclear facilities.
In an effort to better understand the back-story to these headlines, journalist Steven Sahiounie interviewed the Iranian Dr. Hadi Issa Dalloul, International Law and Nuclear Physics Consultant. Dr. Dalloul is a nuclear physicist who studied at the University of Houston, in the US and at Imperial College, in the UK.
1. Steven Sahiounie (SS): On July 31, Israel assassinated Palestinian leader Ismail Haniya in the Iranian capital Tehran. In your opinion, why did Israel choose this timing to kill him?
Hadi Issa Dalloul (HAD): The Israeli government is politically weak, and this forced the intelligence department (Mossad) to take action in order to reflect power to the Americans and Europeans, who are kept unaware of the Israeli military failure in Gaza. For this reason, Israel chose to kill Haniya inside Iran in a show of strength to the Israeli public.
2. SS: Benjamin Netanyahu took the decision to take the Middle East and the world to war by assassinating a top Hezbollah leader, and Hamas leader. Do you see the Middle East going to war, and can Benjamin Netanyahu be stopped?
HAD: The Israeli government is seeking to begin an open war conflict with Hezbollah and Hamas, but if the US will not become directly involved on behalf of Israel, and the Europeans as well do not get directly involved on the Israeli side, Israel will not be able to face Hezbollah on the ground in Lebanon. Israel is depending on the US and EU to fight the war against Hezbollah and Hamas for them. It is not enough that Israel receives sophisticated weapons and massive financial support from the US, because in the event of a genocide being carried out Israel needs the US and EU military on the ground as well to shield Israel from the ICJ, the court at the Hague.
3. SS: Both Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Iranian leader Ali Khamenei promised to reply to the Israeli aggression on both Beirut and Tehran. In your opinion, will the reply be done separately, or together?
HAD: This current situation is different than previous events. In this case, the target was movable, as opposed to a building. The counter attack must be cleverly studied, monitored and located so it will be targeted easily and exactly. Hezbollah has the right o reply, and Iran has the right to a different channel of reply.
4. SS: Benjamin Netanyahu keeps escalating the situation in the Middle East, while the United States and the Western world is unable to stop him. In your opinion, does the US and Europe want a regional war, or has Benjamin Netanyahu ignored their warnings?
HAD: Netanyahu is trying to force the US into and open war, but the US will not get involved because they don’t want to lose the oil and gas their get from the west coast of the Persian Gulf, as that will be targeted by Yemen.
5. SS: Both Iran and Hezbollah are using psychological warfare against Israel, and it is being successful while causing massive losses in the Israeli economy. In your opinion, can Israel afford these huge losses in their economy, and so many Israelis leaving Israel?
HAD: The Israeli economic crisis as a consequence of war can be easily covered if the situation remains limited. However, if the conflict escalates into the targeting of the energy resources of the oil and gas in the Middle East, which benefits the US, then the loss felt by the US will be far greater than any amount of paper printed at a bank and sent to Israel to cover their losses.
Steven Sahiounie is a two-time award-winning journalist
This interview is originally published at Stratgic culture foundation
