THE VERY brief war between Israel and Iran was more than just about those two countries fighting over ideology or religion. It was about Iranian nuclear weapons.
After US bombers had destroyed those enrichment facilities, that threat seems to have passed, but only temporarily.
Should Iran develop the ability to create its own nukes, the issue will not stop with Iran and Israel. Don’t forget that Shia Iran has many enemies. The Saudi Gulf States will almost certainly pursue their own nukes, as will Egypt and Turkey.
Israel officially does not have nuclear weapons, but it can easily build up its own nuclear arsenal if its neighbors decide to go down this path.
When this happens, the geopolitical situation in the Middle East becomes untenable, to say the least. The proxy wars and low-level instability that that part of the world is used to will morph into something dangerous and unpredictable.
One thing is certain though. Should Iran develop nuclear weapon capabilities, and the regional situation spirals out of control, Asia will be the hardest hit, which is to say the Philippines will be in a difficult predicament.
Europe and the US will suffer from rising oil prices, but it’s worth mentioning that they have their own alternate sources of energy. Asia does not have an alternative source of oil. Even the threat of war or instability is enough to send prices high. In an actual war or a blocking of the Straight of Hormuz, we will be in a miserable long term situation.
Add the threat of nukes and everything becomes very horrifying, both on the economic and humanitarian level. Remember what the Houthis did?
Intervention by China, Russia or the United States is possible, but once the nuclear genie is out of the bottle, I just don’t think no amount of diplomacy can deescalate the situation, which is why we should all be thankful that the Americans have been able to achieve some measure of peace between Iran and Israel./PN
