The destructive 12-day aerial duel between Iran and Israel may have paused, but the region is far from being peaceful. Normalcy is elusive, and the calm is tenuous.

The reason for such a cautious, albeit pessimistic outlook is the statements carelessly dished out by two of the three players of the West Asian roulette — US President Donald Trump and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. On Friday, Trump said that if Iran continues its uranium enrichment programme, then America will bomb again. A day before, Khamenei vowed in front of his people that if America attacks Iran again, it should be prepared to face severe punishment. Iran is now bent on pursuing its nuclear armament programme.

Before the attack, Tel Aviv claimed Iran would soon make a nuclear bomb, and it would become a permanent threat to Israel’s existence. Another reason given was that the Khamenei regime is not only unpopular, but is full of terrorists filled with religious hatred under the garb of just rule.

America also jumped into the conflict when there was no moral or strategic rationale for it to intervene. Experts are now asking what the 12-day war achieved. Unconfirmed reports suggest that Iran still has 400 kilograms of enriched uranium, which can be converted into nuclear weapons in a few weeks. As for Khamenei, he’s firmly in the saddle........

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