AFTER several days of dangerous escalation in the Middle East, matters seem to be cooling off. The US-Israeli hostilities against Iran have subsided.

It appeared that a larger clash was brewing when Iran hit a major US airbase in Qatar on Monday night in retaliation against America’s bombing of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities on Sunday.

But this turned out to be a largely symbolic and telegraphed attack, as only a few hours after the Iranian salvo, US President Donald Trump announced that a ceasefire had taken effect. Doubts about the truce dissipated when both Iran and Israel confirmed that the ceasefire had taken effect on Tuesday.

However, the fragility of this arrangement was clear to all as Israel claimed Iran had violated the truce, and threatened to hit Tehran. The Iranians denied the violation, and claimed their attacks had been launched before the truce took effect. Later in the day, Mr Trump would return to social media to tell the world that the ceasefire was intact, while asking Israel to “not drop those bombs”. Despite the strong warning, Israel went on to strike Iran after the ceasefire.

While the cessation of attacks is indeed welcome, questions swirl about how long — hours, days, weeks? — this truce will last. The main reason for this scepticism is that Israel has proved to be a belligerent, destabilising state that scuttles its commitments on the flimsiest pretext. It is also a fact that Mr Trump’s mood and policy decisions change frequently, though his latest comments indicate that his appetite for war with Iran has reduced considerably. Iran has said it will respond to truce violations, but the ‘measured’ response targeting the US base in Qatar shows that the Islamic Republic, too, is uninterested in escalation.

Now, it is up to America to rein in Israel if Mr Trump is serious about winding down this conflict. Angry social media posts will not make Tel Aviv come to its senses. The US needs to stop its flow of funds and arms to Israel if it really wants lasting, substantive peace in the Middle East.

Over 600 Iranians, including civilians, have been killed in the Israeli aggression. Assuming this is not a tactical move on the part of the US and Israel, all efforts must be made to make the ceasefire hold and prevent a further flare-up in the region. Moreover, Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza must also be brought to a halt.

While attacking Iran, Israeli forces have continued their murderous assault on the occupied Palestinian territory, with the result that over 56,000 people have been slaughtered in the Strip since Oct 7, 2023. Israel must immediately cease its criminal actions both in regional countries, as well as the occupied territories.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2025