The Middle East is at a turning point, as the battlefield is now shifting to the Persian Gulf. The military escalation between Washington and Tehran is taking on the characteristics of open conflict, while at home the political leadership is trying to balance on a tightrope, amid rumors of structural upheaval at the top of power.
It is recalled that the new attacks take place in the midst of .
The American strike and retaliation in Kuwait
The new round of hostilities was sparked by the downing of a US MQ-1 drone over international waters. The US response was immediate and surgical. The US Middle East Command (Centcom) launched “self-defense strikes” over the weekend, hitting key Iranian infrastructure in Goruk and the strategically important Qeshm Island. , air defense systems, as well as drone ground control stations.
The retaliation from Tehran was not long in coming. The Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) launched a massive attack with missiles and drones, targeting – according to their statement – a base used by US forces for raids against Iranian territory. The attack hit Kuwait, activating the Gulf country’s anti-aircraft systems for the second time in a week, with sirens sounding across the territory.
Pezeskian: Change of course or political survival?
While the guns do the talking in the field of operations, an intense political thriller is unfolding in Tehran. The reformist president, Massoud Pezeskian, made an unusually bold statement, . Pezheskian argued that decision-making should move away from the closed group of officials linked to the Revolutionary Guards and open up to society, scientists and economic operators.
This intervention is interpreted by analysts as an attempt to defuse popular discontent, after the recent bloody anti-government demonstrations. However, the timing sparked intense rumours. The Iranian president’s office was forced to issue an official denial of rumors that he had submitted his resignation to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
Beyond political proclamations, Pezeskian made a dramatic appeal to citizens to conserve energy and fuel. The US-imposed naval blockade and US-Israeli attacks have pushed Iran’s economy to its limits, with the president making it clear that the “cost of resistance” will directly affect the country’s industrial production.
Diplomatic fever for Beirut
In this explosive climate, Washington is simultaneously trying to open a diplomatic window on the Lebanese front. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had successive contacts with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The American proposal foresees as a first step: the cessation of Hezbollah’s attacks against Israeli territories, but also the simultaneous suspension of Israeli strikes in the Beirut area.
Although President Aoun appeared willing to discuss the plan, the position of the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, remains rigid, calling for an immediate and early cessation of Israeli attacks. This diplomatic effort looks like a race against time, as the more the tension in the Gulf escalates, the narrower the margins for any truce agreement in the region.
