Ceasefire a welcome development, no matter how shaky
Over the course of a nerve-wracking few hours on Wednesday morning, it became clear that US President Donald Trump and the remnants of Iran’s murderous regime were locked in a mutually destructive agreement that would lead to the deaths of thousands of civilians and accusations of genocide and war crimes on both sides.
Trump has been trying to force the Iranians into a ceasefire for days, but in a shocking statement even by his low standards, he said that unless Iran strikes a peace deal before the deadline, “an entire civilization will die tonight.”
Iran’s response has been to encourage people to act as human shields at power plants in the hope of deterring the US president from ordering missile attacks on energy systems.
What followed was awful: unverified videos and photos showing Iranians waving flags and holding hands as they gathered on bridges and power plants, ready to be sacrificed as pawns, risking their own safety.
Alireza Rahimi, Iran’s deputy minister of youth and sports, sought to place civilians between the American enemy and his targets, in direct violation of international norms.
“I invite all young people, athletes, artists, university students and professors to visit the power plants that constitute the national asset and capital tomorrow, Tuesday, at 14.00.”
It was difficult to understand which side was worse in this scenario: the remnants of a brutal theocratic regime or a belligerent US leader who had previously warned his opponents that he would bomb the country back to the Stone Age if it did not “open the fn’ throat,” a reference to the Strait of Hormuz.
As it turned out, this was yet another TACO (Trump Is Always Afraid) moment: Even though the US had launched some airstrikes on the Iranian-controlled Kharg Island, Trump agreed to a two-week ceasefire on the condition that Tehran reopens the Strait of Hormuz.
The White House predictably declared victory, but this seems extremely premature as Israel claims the ceasefire does not apply in Lebanon and continues its bombing campaign there.
Despite the lack of details, the ceasefire agreement caused oil prices to fall sharply on Wednesday; The barrel cost of Brent Crude oil, the global reference point, fell by 15 percent to below 91 US dollars.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed the ceasefire and determination to reopen Middle East shipping lanes, declaring it could lead to a permanent end to a conflict that has cut off 20 per cent of global oil supplies and caused fuel prices to soar.
“This is positive news. We have been calling for de-escalation for some time,” Albanese said.
reporter He welcomes the temporary cessation of hostilities with Iran and can only hope that a permanent peace agreement will follow. The ugly rhetoric of both Iran and the USA has not worked, but we can only hope that cooler heads will prevail behind the scenes. Any escalation of this conflict that would lead to mass civilian casualties must be avoided at all costs.
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