Why coercive power has failed the US and Israel in West Asia

Ch’ng Chin Yeow

The real threat to West Asia is Israel, not Iran.

Israel’s labelling of Iran as a terrorist regime has been conveniently used by the West to justify virtually everything it does against Tehran.

Yet no country in the region has demonstrated a longer record of state terrorism – first against the British during the mandate period in the 1930s and 40s, then through the expulsion of Palestinians during the first Nakba (Catastrophe) in 1948, and later through kidnappings, assassinations and the occupation of others’ territories.

The hypocrisy of the West

The hypocrisy of Western countries – with the honourable exceptions of Spain, Norway and Ireland – and of the Gulf Cooperation Council nations deserves scrutiny.

They have criticised Iran’s retaliatory strikes on GCC countries hosting US assets, yet remained silent on US and Israeli war crimes and illegal and unprovoked attack on Iran – the real trigger of the current crisis.

For years, Iran had warned that US assets in the GCC were legitimate targets if Iran itself came under US attack. True to its word, that is precisely what Tehran carried out, striking infrastructure in kind.

Iran has suffered enormous economic hardship through no fault of its own. When US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA – the Iran nuclear deal signed under the Barack Obama administration – and reimposed sanctions during his first term, Iran had not violated any of its obligations under the agreement. The West looked away.

Iran is no pushover

In the current conflict, Iran has shown the world it is no pushover. It has managed to inflict significant damage on Israel, penetrating its layered air-defence systems, including the “Iron Dome”, which have proven less than effective against Iran’s ballistic missiles and drones.

Peace can only come to West Asia when all countries respect one another’s sovereignty – including Iran’s.

Israel, which has long acted with impunity under US cover, now needs to change course. It needs to treat Iran as a sovereign nation deserving of respect and coexistence, not as a target for coercion.

Diplomacy is the only option left. Will Israeli leaders be able to swallow their pride – or will they reach for more extreme measures?

Before the current two-week ceasefire (though the Israeli invasion of Lebanon continues), they appeared intent on continuing to bomb Iran, killing more civilians, destroying more infrastructure and committing more war crimes, while the West and the GCC maintained their silence.

The GCC’s precarious position

Trump’s illegal war on Iran has placed the GCC monarchies in a deeply precarious position. Their silence over the US-Israeli attack on Iran is alienating them from their own people, who have witnessed Israel’s genocide in Gaza, its assassinations and killings across the region, and its impunity.

Many ordinary people in the region understand that Israel poses the greatest threat to regional stability.

Bahrain faces the most acute dilemma. Estimates suggest that around 60 to 70% of Bahrain’s citizen population is Shia, while the ruling royal family is Sunni.

Trump has, almost single-handedly, accelerated the decline of American superpower status. Every country now needs to hedge against his unilateralism – what critics have taken to calling not “America First” but “America Only” – and either wait for his term to end or for his power to be curtailed after the midterm elections, should Republicans lose the House or the Senate.

Malaysia, for its part, is on the right side of history. It has been vocal in criticising Israel’s attack – with US support – on Iran. It has consistently supported the Palestinian cause against Israel’s genocide in Gaza and occupation of the West Bank.

Malaysia has also voted in support of UN resolutions condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. [That said, Russia’s actions did not emerge entirely from a vacuum. In 1990, US Secretary of State James Baker told Gorbachev that Nato would not move “not one inch eastward”, which left deep resentment in Moscow as more countries on Russia’s borders later joined the alliance. None of this justifies invading a sovereign nation, but some nuance is warranted.]

Small as it is, Malaysia is respected globally for speaking up against aggression.

Ch’ng Chin Yeow, an Aliran reader based in Penang, has an interest in many issues and subjects, including history, mineralogy and human behaviour.

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