West Asia on the Edge: MEA Issues Advisories for People to be Cautious
STORIES, ANALYSES, EXPERT VIEWS
The killings of Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander, in Beirut, and Ismail Haniyeh, the political chid of Hamas, in Tehran, within hours on July 30 have taken West Asia to the brink of a wider war.
After Shukr was killed, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Israel had breached a red line, and the group has launched dozens of rockets over the past week, heightening the tensions. A bigger risk is the expected Iranian retaliation against Israel. When Israel bombed Iran’s embassy complex in Damascus on April 1, Iran launched hundreds of drones and cruise and ballistic missiles towards Israel, most of which were shot down by a U.S.-led coalition. If Iran carried out such an attack in response to an Israeli strike on its embassy in a third country, The Hindu writes “it is unlikely to ignore a direct Israeli attack on its capital that killed an ally who was in Tehran to attend the presidential inauguration."
Israel has also sent a strong message to Hamas and Hezbollah, “yet this unchecked militarism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could turn out to be counterproductive for Israel in the long run. It is now apparent that Mr. Netanyahu is not serious about peace……” He is “practically challenging the Islamic Republic to retaliate. If a direct war breaks out between Israel and Iran, the U.S. could be dragged into it, which is what Israel wants….”
The situation in West Asia is of extreme concern to India, says the Government of India, citing that there are around 3,000 Indian nationals in Lebanon and 10,000 people in Iran. It also called for restraint and de-escalation.
“Our embassy is there. They have issued advisories for people to be cautious; and given the situation, we would continue to call for de-escalation and call for restraint because that is the need of the hour,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
