The Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain
Week commencing 19th April 2024
The Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain
Week commencing 19th April 2024
The Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain
Hundreds of Iranian drones and missiles rained down on Israeli military targets last weekend. But the Iranian strike – pay back for Israel’s deadly attack on the Islamic Republic’s consulate in Damascus that killed two generals and seven other military advisors – was not intended to inflict huge losses on the Zionists. It was simply a “limited measure” – a show of force to deter Israel and its imperialist masters from further provocations and demonstrate what the Iranians are capable of these days.
The Iranians gave the West 72-hours notice of their intentions. No hyper-sonic missiles were fired. They only used outdated rockets and drones to test Israel’s defences and those of the West that sprang into action in Israel’s defence. All in all, around 185 drones, 36 cruise missiles and 110 ground-to-ground missiles were fired on Zionist military and intelligence centres in Israel and the occupied territories. The Israelis say 99 per cent of them, including all attack drones, were intercepted. But some hit military bases including Israel’s intelligence centre located in the occupied Golan Heights, which provided the information for the attack on the Iranian consulate, as well as the Nevatim air base which houses Israel’s F-35 fighter jets. The Iranians say both facilities were largely destroyed and left inoperable.
Following their reprisal raid, the Islamic Republic said the matter was now “concluded”. But they warned Israel against taking any retaliatory action and urged the Americans to keep out of the conflict.
Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, have both vowed vengeance. But “if the Zionist regime or its supporters demonstrate reckless behaviour, they will receive a decisive and much stronger response,” Iran’s President Ebrahim Raeisi warned on Sunday.
On the diplomatic front People’s China condemned the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate and supported Iran’s right to self-defence. Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China appreciated Iran’s decision on not targeting regional and neighbouring countries adding that “China has noted Iran’s statement that its action was limited and was an act of self-defence”. Iran had handled “the situation well and spared the region further turmoil while safeguarding its sovereignty and dignity”, he said. The current situation is a spillover effect of the escalation in Gaza, the Chinese foreign minister said. The immediate priority is to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2728 to immediately achieve an unconditional and lasting ceasefire, to protect civilians effectively, and to ensure humanitarian aid.
The failure of the Palestinian people to achieve their legitimate national rights has been the longest-standing injustice of our time, the root of the Israel-Palestine issue, and the core of the Middle East problem. The direction for solving this issue is to quickly implement the “two-state solution” establish an independent Palestinian state, restore the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people, and achieve peaceful coexistence between Israel and Palestine, Wang said.
Meanwhile the Kremlin is doing its best to prevent the situation in the Middle East from escalating further, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the media this week, It would have been possible to avoid an Iranian response to Israel’s strike on the consulate in Damascus had the UN Security Council resolutely condemned Israel’s illegal actions. But after the top UN body failed to condemn Israel, Iran had to “take retaliatory action,” Zakharova said.
She stressed that the US position was the only reason why the UN Security Council was unable to operate properly. “It’s important to consolidate the international community’s efforts and urge the US to stop sabotaging the work of the UN Security Council in situations where the body should prevent such an escalation as it has the mandate and tools to do so,” she stressed.