'US, Israel Have Total Control of War Information': Ex-Indian Ambassador To UAE
In an exclusive interaction with The Quint, Talmiz Ahmad speaks about the ramifications of the US-Iran conflict.
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"The US and Israel have total control over information regarding the war," says Talmiz Ahmad, former Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the UAE, as the conflict between the US and Iran entered the fourth day on Tuesday, 3 March.
In an exclusive interaction with The Quint, the former diplomat speaks about the timing of the US' strikes, the impact of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's assassination, and explains why the US foreign policy agenda in West Asia is misguided.
Excerpts from the interview:
Over the last few weeks, the US' negotiations for a deal with Iran were moving forward slowly but positively, as statements from both sides indicated. So what explains the US' decision to hit Iran hard now?
This is my understanding. I think that when Benjamin Netanyahu visited President Trump the last time, he put before him the idea of 'regime change' in Iran and persuaded him, saying that this would be a great historical achievement. He put forth the notion that Trump would go down as the greatest American president in history.
While persuading him, he gave the president evidence that Iran is already very weak and drilled it into his mind that Khamenei is 'evil'. That is why Trump also made the statement recently that the Ayatollah was 'the most evil man in the world', which is a very strange statement for someone like the US president to make.
The same thing had been done by former Israeli premier Ariel Sharon, who convinced George Bush Jr that Saddam Hussein was evil. So this is the way Israel has been able to manipulate American presidents over the years. And in this case, you have a US president who is completely incapable of strategic thinking. However, he is a total megalomaniac. Netanyahu appealed to the sense of theatre and megalomania of Donald Trump but failed to highlight the risks that come with attacking Iran in this fashion.
The risks are precisely the reason why no American president has tried to carry out a regime change in Iran in the past. In fact, no American effort has actually been successful in West Asia. The term 'regime change' is just two words and easily said, but it's not something one can achieve overnight.
Killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a targeted assassination boosts Netanyahu's standing at home. But it doesn't change anything on the ground.
The last time such widespread attacks took place was during Operation Midnight Hammer in June last year, when the US and Israel conducted joint strikes against Iran. Iran retaliated by launching strikes against the US' Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar. But that was just a symbolic strike because they had given the US advance notice that they were going to attack, thus giving them ample time to evacuate and take other precautions. Now that Khamenei has been killed, which is a humiliating blow, do you think Iran and its proxies will go all out in their retaliation?
Yes. This is a direct attack on Iran. A war between the US and Israel on one side and Iran on the other is a total war. I don't know which way it'll go because I'm not sure of Iran's defence capabilities. On the one hand, I thought their initial reaction was a little feeble, and lethal firepower is missing. But others are correcting me and saying that they have got Chinese weaponry, which is extremely lethal. So I'm willing to keep an open mind on that. In fact, the Americans have shifted their aircraft carriers out of the warzone because they are afraid that the carriers may be sunk because of these Chinese weapons. Some speculate that the Chinese are testing these weapons for a possible attack against Taiwan.
Netanyahu had tried similar tactics with Trump ahead of Operation Midnight Hammer in June last year. Trump was supposedly opposed to launching a military strike. But when this question of regime change erupted in Israeli circles, he came on board. In a grand gesture, he announced that the US had annihilated Iran's nuclear facilities. Eight months later, he's back at it again. His rationale for the attack is 'human rights violations' on the part of Iran. To put it simply, this is the game plan of Israel, which took the lead in carrying out Khamenei's assassination.
Khamenei leaves behind a disputed legacy, to say the least. He was hailed as a messiah by some and outrightly condemned by others because of his hardline policies. How do you think ordinary Iranians are going to perceive his death?
Iran, like India and all other ancient countries, is a very complex country. There is a cliché in English: 'This is true and the opposite is also true'. One cannot paint things black and white when it comes to large countries with ancient civilisations. In India many people may have a critical view about the government. But if someone attacks India, all of us are one. That is the case with Iran as well.
Steve Witkoff, the US' special envoy for West Asia, had the temerity to go live on Fox News and say that he was curious about why Iran hadn't yet capitulated despite the US putting up so much firepower. This is the Americans' understanding of ancient countries. Which country would capitulate? They will never do so because of national pride.
The people who head Trump's foreign policy agenda are not even true diplomats. One is a real estate agent (Witkoff), and the other is his son-in-law (Jared Kushner). Both of them are in it for the money which they have been minting in the Gulf.
In fact, one explanation I heard regarding why Iran is attacking Gulf countries is that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will then pressure the US to stop the war, saying that their own profits will dwindle if the attacks continue. Kushner has multi-billion-dollar investments there.
By taking the decision to strike, Israel is now in the direct firing line of Iran. Do you think that by conducting these strikes, Israel has bitten off more than it can chew, especially given that the war with Hamas is still ongoing?
We will know within the next few days. There is total control over the information. Israel has barely allowed any coverage of the attacks that they are facing. Last year as well, we were given the impression that nothing happened in Israel. So over the next few days, you and I will not know what the impact is.
We have been given the impression that the Iranians have very limited firepower. That is what I also thought. But I have since found that there are several strikes being conducted in Israel as well.
The problem is that we are completely dependent on Al Jazeera and the BBC for information on the war. Al Jazeera is a little more balanced, but the western side has been showing visuals of celebrations in Iran following Khamenei's death. This is absolute misinformation, but that's what you're coming to know if you're sitting in Europe. In fact, someone from the region called me and said that people in Iran are hailing Khamenei's death. These people don't know any better. I remind people of the reason that Trump took the BBC on and sued them for millions of dollars. Trump has the BBC where he wants them; they are totally subservient to the American agenda today.