The heart bleeds every moment as innocent civilians are being killed throughout the Middle East. For two years now, Palestinians have been maimed, killed, and displaced from their homes, only to now face a man-made famine. People are starving.
In Iran, on day one of the attack, a missile by the joint US-Israeli forces struck a school, killing 175 girls and staff. Amidst this was also a calculated U.S.-Israeli bombardment of the home and office of the revered Shia cleric and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killing him along with his daughter, son-in-law, grandchild, daughter-in-law, and later his wife—who later succumbed to injuries—and top officials.
In three days alone, 153 cities were targeted and over one thousand civilians killed, and the numbers continue to climb.
Why? For what reason is a people slain and their civic infrastructure blasted?
There are no justifications for killing innocent lives ever. Wars are fought on battlefields, not in cities. They are fought amongst soldiers, not by dropping bombs on unarmed civil men, women, and children. Is this now deemed to be acceptable? Just because an entity has the wealth, means, and power to do such horrific things doesn’t mean they should.
Yet the premise for taking such action upon Iran by those on the offense is basically to deter any threat in the region and to prevent nuclear weapons from being obtained.
However, these reasons have unequivocally been proven to be false.
On the first count of being a threat to the region, this is contradictory to the reality because Iran was the only country other than Yemen that supported the Palestinian people in the Gaza conflict against the persecutors. No other Arab country assisted the oppressed people of Palestine. Furthermore, Iran, in its history of 47 years since the Islamic Revolution, has never invaded any other country nor abducted their leaders.
On the second count, international inspectors have reported no proof that Iran is currently building a nuclear weapon because Iran consistently maintains that its nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful purposes, such as energy production and medical research. They have this right under the Non-Proliferation Treaty for civilian enrichment. What is ironic is that similar accusations had also been made about Iraq of having weapons of mass destruction before that nation was invaded in March of 2003, whereby hundreds of thousands of innocent people were killed. It was also proven that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction.
What is more, Ali Khamenei denied pursuit of nuclear weapons also because of the religious fatwa or decree that forbids the production, stockpiling, and use of them. Ali Khamenei was an ayatollah—one who guides followers on religious, ethical, and modern issues. This position is akin to the Pope of Catholicism or the Archbishop of Canterbury; they are all men of God and follow the edicts of faith such as “doing unto others what you would like to be done unto yourself” and treating God’s creatures with love and mercy. Using nuclear weapons against humanity does not follow Islamic ethics. Despite this, Ayatollah Khamenei has been painted in a very unfitting manner in order to justify his murder. Truly, in order to know a person, one must study their life and sayings. The manner in which the Supreme Leader dealt with the people, such as prioritizing the needs of his own citizens and resisting occupation and interference, is an example to be noted. He had stated, “Leadership is about serving the people.”
In line with these beliefs and to avoid conflict, Iran agreed to have indirect talks with the US, but the US suspended such negotiations, withdrew from diplomacy, and took to aggression. Furthermore, the attack occurred against the approval of the US Congress and UN Council.
Now, what the world is currently viewing is absolute mayhem and uncertainty. In the process, two methodologies are existing: the order of submitting to imperialist powers and the institution of resistance. Which will succeed? Time will tell. It is often said that truth and justice always prevail. But in the meanwhile, injustice that engulfs within our borders more and more, day by day, and beyond our boundaries only increases the bleeding heart to cry out to the transgressors: “Please, stop! Allow sovereign nations to be sovereign and people of all ethnicities to exist.”
