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With a drone attack by Iran-backed militias on a U.S. logistics hub in Jordan, near the border with Syria, in which three American service persons were killed, the crisis in West Asia is set to escalate further. U.S. President Joe Biden has vowed a forceful response to the attack, while the neoconservative flank of the Republican Party has called for a direct attack on Iran. This incident shows how the Israel-Hamas war has snowballed into a deadly regional security crisis, involving the U.S., Iran and Israel.
When war between Israel and Gaza broke out, the Biden administration offered its full support for Israel despite the rising human cost of Israel offensive in Gaza. It also took measures to prevent the conflict from escalating into a regional crisis. While Arab countries, most of them America’s allies, more or less stuck to the path of diplomacy, security challenges came from Iran-backed Shia militias. The Popular Mobilisation Forces of Iraq and Syria have carried out more than 150 attacks against U.S. troops in the region since October 7. Houthis, the Shia rebels of Yemen, have turned the Red Sea into a battlefield, challenging the U.S.’s ability to provide security to one of the busiest shipping lanes of the world. The U.S. responded by carrying out air strikes against the Houthis and the Shia militias of Iraq and Syria, but such attacks only triggered a cycle of violence rather than bolstering America’s deterrence.
After the Jordan attack, the U.S. is now under pressure. If it attacks Iran, it would trigger an all-out war in the region, something which the White House says it doesn’t want. But air strikes on the militias in the past have not prevented them from carrying out further attacks. So what President Biden would be looking at are actions that would send a tough message to Iran without provoking an all-out war.
How did we reach here? See our explainer: Why are conflicts spreading in West Asia? | Explained
Endless war
The crash of a Russian plane with Ukrainian prisoners of war on board has once again shown how delicate the situation between the two countries that have been at war since February 2022 is. Russia says Kyiv downed the plane, which had 65 Ukrainian soldiers, in Belgorod, a Russian border town, that has seen repeated Ukrainian shelling in recent months. Kyiv has slammed Russia for spreading propaganda, but has not ruled out its possible role in the downing. The incident comes at a time when Ukraine’s troops are struggling to keep up the fight on the front line amid Russia’s incremental advances. In this editorial, The Hindu argues, “There is suspicion, deep mistrust and misinformation on both sides, which could lead to more violence and accidents. Russia, Ukraine and NATO should take a more practical assessment of the progress of the war and be ready for talks, instead of continuing an endless war which is hurting all sides.”
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