The Iran Crisis is Not a Zero Sum Game

“IMG_0129 Iran” by Ninara is licensed under CC BY 2.0

After the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani last week, tensions across the Middle East have risen exponentially.

When the US eliminated the second most powerful member of the Iranian government, it was inevitable that Iran would retaliate.

Anyone who has watched international relations over the past 50 years is aware of the fact that every attack must be met with a “proportional response.” The ongoing “tit for tat” approach means that no country (or its leaders) can allow itself to look weak.

So the Iranians bombed military bases housing Iraqi and American troops. No one died because the governments warned each other in advance, but the attacks were step two in the ramp-up to possible war.

The war posturing was in set in place.

As the whole world waited to see if there would be a third step, another attack by the Americans against Iran, a passenger plane was shot down over Teheran.

Oops.

At first, no one would take any responsibility for the deaths of 176 innocent passengers onboard the Ukrainian flight. Maybe it was just a poorly timed mechanical failure, we were told.

But within days the flimsy story unraveled, as videos of the crash surfaced across the globe.