When, on 28 February, the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran and caused colossal destruction by obliterating its leadership and military-civilian infrastructure, the world condemned such acts. The U.S. and Israel became the centre of world criticism, with demands that aggression against Iran should be immediately stopped.

The killing of 150 school children by a U.S. bombing in Iran triggered global denunciation. But more than a month after the outbreak of the Iran war, there is a likely paradigm shift in condemnation of U.S.-Israeli aggression against Iran. Now, the world is asking Iran to lift the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and stop attacking Gulf States.

Why is there a shift in placing the onus on ending the Iran war, and why is Tehran being asked by the international community to take measures to de-escalate the war by reopening the Strait of Hormuz? Is Iran losing the high moral ground it achieved because of massive Israeli-U.S. attacks, which killed thousands of people and eliminated its top leadership?

The five-point peace plan presented by China and Pakistan the other day to end the Iran war also calls upon Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Moreover, a few weeks ago, the UN Security Council also passed a resolution calling upon Iran to stop its attacks on Gulf States. Ironically, that resolution, which was also supported by Pakistan, did not condemn U.S.-Israeli aggression against Iran. At that time, Tehran argued that it was from American bases in the Gulf that attacks were carried out against Iran.

If the onus to de-escalate the war in the Gulf is shifting from the United States to Iran, it reflects the economic implications of closing the Strait of Hormuz and the threat of Houthis, an ally of Tehran in Yemen, targeting Bab-el-Mandeb, another choke point on the Red Sea, which is also a key route for oil tankers to the rest of the world.

The Iranian parliament has also decided to impose a toll on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, which is a violation of international law. The Strait of........

© The Friday Times