Renowned American economist and Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs has issued a stark warning: the US-Israeli attack on Iran could escalate into a global conflict of unprecedented proportions. In an interview with the Japanese portal Nikkei Asia, he declared that the world is on the brink of a third world war.
A war that's out of control
Sachs doesn't hesitate to name things directly. In his view, the conflict will not end until global resistance to US and Israeli aggression stops it. „The war will end if and only if the world's outrage at US and Israeli aggression forces these countries to stop. If this does not happen, we are likely to see the Middle East in flames and the world in an energy and economic crisis unprecedented in modern history,“ the professor warned.
The attack came on 28 February, when the US and Israel launched a joint military operation against Iran. Iran's major cities, including Tehran, were hit. The White House justified its move on the basis of missile and nuclear threats from the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards soon launched a retaliatory operation against Israeli territory and US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The attack killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a number of other key Iranian officials.
A plan to dominate the region
According to Sachs, there is a clear geopolitical purpose behind the military operation. The US and Israel seek hegemony in the Arab world and West Asia - combining Israeli territorial expansion with US-directed control over regional governments. „The ultimate goal is a Greater Israel absorbing all of historic Palestine, complete with pliant Arab and Islamic governments stripped of real sovereignty - including deciding how and where they export their oil and gas,“ says Sachs.
He also points out that this project is facing opposition from the whole region. None of the neighbouring countries wants Israel to act so uncontrollably, and none wants its hydrocarbon exports to be effectively controlled by Washington.
The Strait of Hormuz as a weapon
Iran responded with a dramatic move - closing the Strait of Hormuz to ships associated with the US, Israel and their allies. This is one of the most strategic maritime corridors in the world, through which approximately one fifth of global oil consumption flows. On 25 March, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced a partial easing of the passage for „friendly countries“ - Russia, India, Iraq, China and Pakistan.
Sachs warns that the economic consequences of further escalation of the conflict could be catastrophic - for energy markets and the global economy as a whole. The world, in his view, is playing for very high rates.
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