There is an English proverb, ‘The darkest hours are just before the dawn.’ Maybe, hope should linger on that the cruel, senseless bombing of Iran by the US and Israel is leading to what strategists call the ‘endgame’.  

War and peace are often two sides of the same coin in such complex situations. History is replete with the phenomenon of an acceleration of the war just when the aggressors realised that the war cannot be won. Some sequencing of the strange happenings this past week may be in order. 

It all began last Monday late in the evening when US President Donald Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin with the intent to seek the latter’s help to bring about a ceasefire in the Gulf war. Separately, Trump told the media that he’d be “willing to talk with ‌Iran, but that depends on the terms”. Trump claimed the war was going to “end soon”.

As he put it, “We took a little excursion because we felt we had to do that to get rid of some people. And I think you’ll see it’s going to be a short-term excursion. I think the war is very complete, pretty much… We’ve already won in many ways, but we haven’t won enough. We go forward more determined than ever to achieve ultimate victory.”  

Trump was effectively reacting to the formal announcement in Tehran that the Assembly of Experts elected Ayatollah Mojtaba Khomeini as Iran’s new Leader.

Several hours before Trump called him, Putin had already congratulated Mojtaba on his appointment. Interestingly, Putin was the first foreign leader to congratulate Mojtaba. Moscow must have had a ‘premonition’, thanks to the dense security exchanges with Tehran.

Putin’s  congratulatory message was exceptionally warm and friendly and had a rare personal touch. In all probability, Putin had occasion to meet Mojtaba during his visits to Tehran. Importantly, Putin went out of the way to state, “On my part, I want to confirm our unwavering support of Tehran and our solidarity with our........

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