OVER recent days, the governments of Britain and the US have called for “restraint and de-escalation” in the Middle East. At the same time, they are also claiming that the Israeli government has their “full support.”

This inherent contradiction in their positions serves only to further fuel the growing danger of the eruption of a catastrophic regional war — one that could very easily escalate into a global conflict and a World War III scenario.

Since October 2023, the Israeli state has been engaged in a genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people in Gaza, which has been condemned by the International Court of Justice, humanitarian agencies, and righteous-thinking people around the world. And yet that same campaign, and the dreadful crimes it has encompassed, continue unabated.

On Monday April 1, in a desperate attempt to distract the world’s attention from the crimes it is committing in Gaza, as well as provoke neighbouring states, especially the theocratic regime in Iran, the Israeli state launched a missile attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus in Syria. In line with its usual practice, the Israeli government has not officially admitted that it perpetrated the attack.

And in the early hours of today, Friday April 19, it followed this attack with a strike near to the provincial city of Isfahan in central Iran.

Following the attack on the consulate of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Damascus, the Islamic Republic regime launched a well-choreographed military action towards Israel. This was an action largely of symbolic and propaganda value but has nonetheless added to the growing danger of an all-out conflagration in the Middle East region.

The US, EU and even the UN remained silent on the Israeli attack on the Iranian diplomatic facility in Damascus. The US, Britain and France even went as far as to vetoing a resolution condemning Israel’s murderous attack, which was committed in another display of its flagrant contempt for international law.

The US further vetoed a resolution calling for the formal recognition of Palestine as a full member of the UN at the meeting of the UN security council on Thursday April 18.

Moreover, the US and its Western allies continue to press for more economic sanctions on Iran, which will only lead to a further heightening in the economic and social crisis being endured first and foremost by the Iranian people.

Liberation believes that a way out of this ever-worsening crisis and the growing threat of a major catastrophic war requires the following:

• An end to Western duplicity over the Israeli genocide and the expansionist ambitions of the government in Tel Aviv.
• An immediate full ceasefire in Gaza and the resumption of urgent economic, humanitarian and medical aid to the Palestinian people trapped in Rafah without delay.
• A principled and unwavering solidarity with the long-suffering Palestinian people.
• The discontinuation of arms exports and military supplies to Israel.
• Support for the Iranian people in their ongoing struggle for peace, human and democratic rights, and social justice.

It cannot be overstated that a failure to arrest the current course of developments risks an explosion in the Middle East and yet more war.

This risk can only be averted by an honest and sober commitment to the inalienable human and democratic rights of the peoples of that region — all clearly articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights — along with the employing of honesty and consistency (as opposed to dual standards) when it comes to the issues of peace, equality, self-determination, non-interference by foreign actors, as well as social justice and progress.

Liberation is committed to its campaign for peace, human and democratic rights, and social justice in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Visit www.liberationorg.co.uk for more information.