By Ali Salehabadi
Managing Director of Setare Sobh daily/ Iran
TEHRAN: The recent conflict was fought with technology, intelligence, and infiltration, involving Israel and the United States. Pressure on Iran has become a pincer, leaving Tehran isolated both diplomatically and on the ground.
The scars of the Iran-Iraq war remain vivid in the minds and hearts of Iranians. The first war began on September 22, 1980, when Iraq attacked Iran by land, sea, and air, occupying parts of Khuzestan, Kermanshah, and other provinces.
However, Iran’s war management forced Iraq to retreat, and Iran accepted UN Security Council Resolution 598, leading to a ceasefire and ending the destructive conflict.
The second war started in the early hours of June 13, 2025 (23 Khordad 1404). This time, the Israeli military launched an aerial assault using missiles, drones, advanced technology, and infiltrators targeting Iran.
In the initial phase, around 30 IRGC commanders were assassinated, alongside attacks on an oil depot, a refinery, national TV, Qasr prison, military and law enforcement centers, and the killing of approximately 13 nuclear scientists. According to the Ministry of Health, these attacks resulted in 935 military and civilian deaths, 5,332 injuries, and damage to about 4,000 residential units. The 12-day war ended with U.S. President Donald Trump’s mediation.
The wounds of this second war, like the first, remain visible and painful to society. This conflict was unexpected, unprecedented, and employed advanced technology and intelligence, with Israel and the U.S. as participants. Pressure on Iran now resembles a diplomatic pincer, isolating Tehran.
Why?
• Europe intends to activate the “snapback” mechanism to reinstate UN sanctions, severely impacting Iran’s economy and people’s livelihoods — a dangerous and devastating move.
• If France, the UK, and Germany trigger the snapback, Iran will again fall under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, labeling it a global peace threat.
• Activation of snapback would prevent UN member states, including Russia and China, from trading with Iran, deepening the crisis. Iran would be isolated from arms trade and global commerce. This conflicts with the people’s desire for normalization, ending isolation, and achieving prosperity.
• The U.S., Europe, Israel, Russia, China, and Arab countries support halting Iran’s uranium enrichment. The multifaceted pressure is like a diplomatic pincer attack threatening Iran’s economy and people’s lives.
If this analysis is correct, it demands a shift in approach and a reconsideration of Iran’s relations with the West, U.S., Israel, China, Russia, and the Middle East.
What Israel did in Lebanon by exploding beepers and assassinating Hezbollah, Hamas commanders, and IRGC leaders cannot be ignored or met with slogans like “Death to America,” “Death to Israel,” or calls for Israel’s destruction.
To overcome the crisis and prevent the scenarios planned by the U.S. and Israel, foresight and courage require:
1. Declaring a general amnesty
2. Lifting the house arrest of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard
3. Releasing political and ideological prisoners
4. Suspending uranium enrichment for 5 to 10 years
5. Reconciling with the U.S. and distancing from China and Russia
6. Declaring a ceasefire with Israel and the U.S.—not recognizing the occupying regime but removing the shadow of war
7. Replacing ideological discourse with a focus on development and prosperity.
The situation is dangerous; therefore, diplomacy, reconciliation, and compromise with the U.S. must remain open because the cost of principled, pragmatic compromise is far less than that of sanctions and war.
