Iran & Israel
The two I’s. Three actually. Israel. Iran and Ironic.
As dawn breaks on June 20, 2025, we find ourselves in yet another act of the world’s favorite tragicomedy – where diplomatic scripts are written in Geneva but the special effects explode over Tehran, Tel Aviv, and beyond.
The Middle East has again become the theatre of global brinkmanship, with Iran and Israel cast as rival protagonists and the rest of us nervously clutching the armrests. This isn’t a drill, and it’s no longer just a proxy war in the shadows.
It is the blunt, blaring overture to a regional – and possibly global – unraveling, and the world’s top billing powers are fumbling their lines as the stage catches fire.
Israel’s military strategy has gone from whispers in the war rooms to headlines in the stratosphere. Multiple strikes have targeted what it calls Iran’s “nuclear and missile nerve centers,” a term that carries the scent of both precision and panic.
Tel Aviv insists this is a campaign of preemption, not provocation, though few outside its staunchest allies buy that distinction without a raised eyebrow. Iran, meanwhile, broadcasts its usual repertoire of resistance – missiles launched with poetic names, protests choreographed for state TV, and statements denouncing Israeli “crimes against humanity” while quietly silencing its own.
Protecting The Narrative
And yes, the internet blackouts remain in place – not to protect infrastructure, but the narrative. Because nothing ruins a good revolutionary storyline like civilian casualties and internal dissent going viral.
To the east, the chorus of condemnation from Beijing and Moscow rings with a strategic clarity: oppose the war, but stay out of it. China calls for peace talks while simultaneously upgrading port infrastructure in the region. Russia warns of “unforgivable escalation” even as it calculates how to leverage chaos for its own global chessboard.
No one wants a nuclear plume drifting toward their borders. And no one, including Iran, wants to risk triggering an actual confrontation with powers that could flatten cities before breakfast. So for now, it’s words, not weapons – but the line is thinning.
Moral Outrage and Strategic Indulgence
The West remains split between moral outrage and strategic indulgence. Washington walks its familiar tightrope – firmly backing Israel, while dangling the idea of negotiations like a carrot tied to a drone.
President Trump, back in office and full of vintage bravado, has announced a two-week deadline for Iran to “behave or be bombed” – though phrased more diplomatically.
European leaders are visibly exhausted, issuing urgent pleas for calm while booking emergency energy shipments and praying their refugee systems don’t implode again. From Paris to Berlin, there’s an unmistakable sense of déjà vu – another Middle Eastern fire, another Western migraine.
As for the nations in the region not directly involved in the shooting war, their response is the geopolitical equivalent of holding your breath underwater. Official statements call for peace and restraint, all while foreign ministries scramble to hedge against oil disruptions, economic freefall, and the catastrophic possibility of missiles misfiring into luxury towers and newly launched tech zones.
Their biggest fear isn’t who wins – it’s that the whole board burns, dragging down decades of diversification, diplomacy, and delicate detente with it.
The risk of a U.S. military intervention is no longer hypothetical.
Iran’s Enrichment Capabilities
With Iran’s enrichment capabilities still intact and its proxies more emboldened than ever, any serious Iranian strike that causes American casualties or hits regional allies could invite a decisive – if ill-advised – American response.
And if that happens, we enter a new phase. Not the cartoonish version of World War III with mushroom clouds and marching boots, but a chaotic, unpredictable global standoff with too many actors, too few rules, and a thousand ways for things to go horribly, permanently wrong.
What Happens Next
So what happens next? The most probable outcome is the continuation of this grisly rhythm – strike, retaliate, condemn, repeat. Diplomatic efforts will rise, not because anyone believes in peace, but because everyone fears its absence.
A moderate risk persists that one Israeli or Iranian strike lands too hard, too wide, and too provocatively, leading to a broader American military role. If that happens, expect a cascade: proxy escalations across multiple countries, oil prices shooting through the ceiling, refugee waves, cyberattacks, and regional economies grinding to a halt.
And yes, the lowest but still real risk remains: that miscalculation, or madness, tips us into global catastrophe.
And while the analysts draw maps and the generals shuffle assets, the deeper wound continues to fester: the ideological disease that got us here in the first place.
This war did not begin with a drone or a missile. It began with decades of unchecked hate, a theocratic regime that measures strength in martyrdom, and an Arab-Israeli rivalry that mutated into an apocalyptic obsession.
Revolutionary Iran
Iran’s regime – let’s stop mincing words – has become the international poster child for ideological rigidity wrapped in revolutionary chic. It alienates its neighbors, imprisons its women, and exports its rage.
From Mahsa Amini’s murder to its bizarre admiration for authoritarian proxies, this is not a government guided by divine compassion – it is one animated by control, paranoia, and a messianic hunger for martyrdom cloaked in sovereignty.
And here’s the uncomfortable twist: that very model is now inspiring radicals of other religions, races, and regions. Extremism begets extremism.
What we once called “Islamic fundamentalism” is slowly becoming a case study for Christian nationalists, Hindu supremacists, and other apocalyptic ideologues across the globe. We are not watching a localized conflict.
We are watching the potential blueprint for global societal collapse – faith without reflection, power without empathy, judgment without knowledge.
Gaza is no longer just about land. For many Muslims, it has become a test of faith. And yet, tragically, the response has often not been self-examination, but reactionary fury.
Friday sermons should be sacred spaces for humility, introspection, and calls to conscience. Instead, too many have become echo chambers of anger, blame, and conspiracies.
Cultivated Culture
We Muslims must ask ourselves: what culture have we cultivated that makes antisemitism, anti-Ahmadi hate, anti-Christian fear, and cartoon hysteria so reflexive, so rampant, and so rabid? This is not piety. This is poison.
And here’s the final warning. If we do not call out extremism – ours first, then others’ – we are inviting a world where every faith arms itself, every nation radicalizes, and every border becomes a frontline.
The end will not come with a bomb. It will come with moral exhaustion, when humans stop believing in anything but survival.
Solution
The solution is not surrender. It is repentance. Muslims must lead the way by rejecting hate, embracing pluralism, and rediscovering the beautiful, merciful core of their faith. We are not God. We cannot assign others to hell while living in one of our own making. It’s time we acknowledged this – and changed.
Before it’s too late.
Dr. CrystalHeart Kazmi
Founder, WomenAreVotes.com
Facebook.com/DrCrystalHeartKazmi
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