The world is teetering on the edge of a precipice, and the global economy hangs in the balance. If Iran stands its ground against the recent US and Israeli strikes, the consequences could be catastrophic for us all. Western nations, including Australia and New Zealand, have rallied behind this aggressive move, but this decision may well backfire, triggering economic chaos, regional instability, and further dismantling the fragile framework of international law.
The swift endorsement of the US-Israeli assault on Iran by Western allies feels like a reckless gamble. By supporting this action, they’ve effectively tossed international law into a fiery abyss of violence and chaos. These Western powers, along with their Gulf Arab allies, might soon find themselves regretting this choice. Should Iran withstand this brutal attack, it has vowed to retaliate in ways that could send shockwaves through the global economy.
And this is the part most people miss: Iran has already demonstrated its ability to disrupt critical global systems. The closure of civilian airports across the Gulf has halted the daily movement of 500,000 international passengers through hubs like Doha, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai. Even more alarming, Iran’s effective shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz has cut off the shipment of 21 million barrels of oil and gas daily—a staggering 20% of the world’s daily energy needs. The ripple effects of a prolonged conflict are almost unimaginable. As I highlighted in a recent article, if Iran manages to resist the might of the world’s most powerful military, the fallout will soon hit our own economies.
Countries like Australia and New Zealand could find themselves on the losing side of a desperate bidding war for oil, LNG, and agricultural petrochemicals if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. It’s crucial to remember that Iran possesses thousands of short-range missiles and countless mines along its coastline, making suppression nearly impossible.
But here’s where it gets controversial: While Western capitals may be celebrating the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader, this ‘decapitation strike’ could provoke a furious or desperate Iran to retaliate with devastating force. Imagine Iran using its hypersonic missiles to sink a US aircraft carrier or targeting Qatar’s liquefaction trains, which are vital for purifying, cooling, and compressing LNG—a lifeline for many economies.
There’s also a chilling possibility that the US and Israel might resort to nuclear weapons if the situation spirals out of control. Is this the kind of world we want to live in?
The narrative spun by Western leaders is both misleading and incoherent. Former US President Trump boasted about dismantling Iran’s nuclear program one week, only for his negotiator, Steve Witkoff, to claim the following week that Iran was ‘one week away from a bomb.’ This inconsistency is staggering, especially when you consider that for over 20 years, figures like Netanyahu have been waving around bomb diagrams, stoking fear and uncertainty.
Let’s be clear: This conflict was never truly about nuclear weapons, and it has absolutely nothing to do with promoting democracy. The tragic deaths of 150 Iranian schoolgirls stand as a grim reminder of this fact. The movements within Iran advocating for women’s rights and political pluralism will not be advanced by this criminal attack, carried out by states currently implicated in genocide in Palestine. This is a perpetual war against a powerful, sovereign Iran—a nation that could serve as a crucial counterbalance to the supremacist agendas of Israel and the US.
Even Arab leaders seem to be having second thoughts about the wisdom of destroying Iran. Last week, they expressed outrage after US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee suggested he’d be fine with Israel fulfilling its biblical promise (Genesis 15:18) to take all the land from the Nile to the Euphrates. This land grab would encompass modern-day Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and parts of Iraq and Saudi Arabia. ‘It would be fine if they took it all,’ Huckabee told Tucker Carlson. Not a single US administration official called him out for this statement, which he later tried to walk back unconvincingly.
We should all fear a US-Israeli victory. Violent, tyrannical, and expansionist, they would view this as a green light to commit even more crimes against humanity. We’re living in a Thucydidean world, where the strong do as they please, and the weak bear the brunt. Unilateral violence must not be allowed to overshadow the rule of law.
Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, has emerged as a voice of reason, condemning the US and Israeli strikes. ‘We reject the unilateral military action of the United States and Israel, which represents an escalation and contributes to a more uncertain and hostile international order,’ he wrote on X. Spain stands as a rebel against a militant West that funds genocide, destroys nations, kidnaps and kills leaders, and has been the greatest killer of civilians—women, children, men, and babies—in foreign lands since World War II.
Cuba, itself under a brutal blockade imposed by the Trump regime, offered a powerful perspective. President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned the attacks, calling them ‘a flagrant violation of International Law and the UN Charter.’ Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized the need to uphold the principles of international law, including the sovereign equality of states, non-interference, and the peaceful settlement of disputes.
The New York Times expressed surprise at Australia’s aggressive stance, noting that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was among the few leaders who didn’t publicly urge restraint. Albanese stated, ‘We support the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent Iran from continuing to threaten international peace and security.’
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon echoed this sentiment, saying, ‘We acknowledge that the actions taken overnight by the US and Israel were designed to prevent Iran from continuing to threaten international peace and security.’ It’s as if both leaders have discarded the UN Charter entirely.
The West’s behavior is that of tyrants on a rampage, and it must be stopped. But the question remains: Can we afford to stand by while the world teeters on the brink of disaster? What do you think? Is this the path to peace, or are we sleepwalking into a global catastrophe? Share your thoughts in the comments—let’s spark a conversation that matters.
