Tensions escalate in Middle East as war between Israel and Iran appears imminent

Tensions rise in the Middle East as a war is impending between Iran and Israel. The Jewish state is preparing for an attack on the nuclear facilities in Iran, a move Tehran warns will compel it to retaliate. The Trump administration has already initiated its evacuation for non-essential diplomatic staff from its embassy in Baghdad and is offering voluntary departure for military families stationed in Gulf nations like Bahrain and Kuwait., According to reports from the Washington Post, there is an increasing fear that the talks between Washington and Tehran involving Iran's nuclear program are likely to fall apart. “They are being moved out, because it could be a dangerous place… Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, very simple,” said President Trump.

Nuclear talks on the brink of collapse

The sixth round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States is scheduled for Sunday, May 15, in Muscat of Oman. However, both sides have lost confidence in the diplomatic talks. As reported by CBS, Israel has repeatedly vowed to attack nuclear sites in Iran. It has created an atmosphere of war. When both sides are preparing for war, there is little room left for diplomacy.

Moreover, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Foreign Minister of Iran, has blamed the E3 countries for their failure to uphold the commitment of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action). Tehran argues that Europe couldn't keep its promises of shielding Iran from economic sanctions from the US, as it promised in 2015. Notably, the US under the Obama administration had agreed to a deal with Iran to halt its uranium enrichment, but in 2018 Trump administration walked out of that deal. Iran argues that it allows Iran the scope to pursue its enrichment plans. Iran now claims that it has lost faith in the US and the European Union, which is using diplomacy as a delaying tactic as Israel prepares for an attack. Iran has repeatedly demanded guarantees that no future U.S. president could unilaterally leave the deal again, a promise Washington cannot legally make.

Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to cap uranium enrichment at 3.67 per cent, well below the level required for weaponisation and agreed to reduce its stockpile and dismantle key centrifuges. In return US would lift sanctions on oil exports, banking and international trade. But in 2018, since Trump walked out of the deal, calling it the "worst deal ever", imposing sweeping sanctions, Iran increased its enrichment to 20-60 per cent and reduced access to the IAEA inspections.

"The E3 have had SEVEN YEARS to implement their JCPOA commitments. They have utterly failed, either by design or ineptitude,” said Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Foreign Minister of Iran.

Iran warns it will strike back. Defence Minister of Iran Aziz Nasirzadeh warned: “Any attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities will result in a direct, forceful response—U.S. bases and allied positions will be targeted.”

For over two decades, Israel had been hell bent on stopping Iran from acquiring nuclear power. It had taken multiple overt and covert operations to achieve the objective, including intelligence, sabotage, targeted assassinations, cyberwarfare, and international lobbying. Even though these actions have seemed to make Iran's enrichment process costlier, slower and more politically volatile, all have failed in the end.

Now Western officials fear that Iran is just weeks away from acquiring weapon-grade Uranium enrichment at 90 per cent, which shifts the balance of power in the region and makes Israel extremely insecure, as it was the only nation to hold nuclear weapons in the Middle East.