Iran’s Retaliation Exposed ‘Limited Psychological Endurance’ among Settlers: Expert
This is according to Danial Bin Mohd. Yusof, associate professor of political science and Madani studies and also Directory of Peace, Dialogue, and Xenophobia Studies (PEDIXS) Centre at International Islamic University Malaysia.
He made the statements in an online event titled “Iran’s Dignity and Power; A Message beyond Missiles,” organized by IQNA on Saturday.
The event came following a 12-day US-Israeli aggression on Iran and the country’s mighty defense against aggressors.
What follows is the full video and text of Yusof’s statement:
Let me first begin by again reiterating the position of Malaysia via the statement of our Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on the right of Iran to defend itself against Israeli aggression and that Malaysia stands in solidarity with Iran and its right to self-defense. Malaysia also condemns Israel's actions, including the killing of scientists, especially nuclear scientists, tied to the nuclear program. And we also call for other Muslim nations not to remain silent in the face of such attacks and such a flagrant disregard of international law.
All independent and sovereign nations of the international community must be concerned over such actions, as they put all of us under a constant state of threat. We also applaud Iran for its resilience and, in fact how it thrives on self-reliance.
Their progress in scientific research and technology, despite the lack of investment, is an example for Muslim and developing nations alike.
At the same time, we criticize Western powers and their hypocrisy, their double standards, and how they condemn Iran for retaliating but nevertheless stay silent on Israel when it first attacked under their so-called pre-emptive strike fallacy.
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It's very clear based on the evidence that Iran was on the defensive in this 12-day war. Furthermore, it must be reiterated that there is a religious fatwa that Iran is never in the nuclear program for the development of weapons of mass destruction. Furthermore, the escalation to the conflict itself was preceded by Israeli actions through the elimination of scientists and experts that they deemed to be important to Iran's nuclear program.
Furthermore, they expanded their targets during the 12-day war to include infrastructure of development and also hospitals, state television buildings, and residential areas, resulting in civilian casualties. Now, under international law and civilian protection, entities like the ICJ or the International Commission of Jurists, for example, have stated that the targeting of civilians is unjustifiable in any way, and it basically bears the hallmark of state terrorism.
In no way should scientists be targeted in relation to achieving their objectives. Now Iran retaliated, and the retaliation itself can be categorized as self-defense. They targeted Israeli occupation's military intelligence headquarters in Tel Aviv, as well as Mossad officers. They did strike a number of research centers or institutes that are closely seen as supporting military activities that include artificial intelligence, drones, and advanced military technologies without any civilian casualties.
Furthermore, with Operation Through Promise 3, it also emphasized on the ability of Iran to defend itself successfully and how the conflict itself was, in fact, a necessity. Iran entered the war out of necessity to defend its sovereignty and territory.
The messaging of Iran is very clear: if the Israeli aggression stops, so will they.
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Iran positioned itself as the victim of Israeli aggression, rightfully so, and aimed to exit the war as quickly as possible, always opening the door to negotiations despite the ongoing conflict.
The ceasefire, of course, halted rocket exchanges, but it's expected to continue in other forms going into the future.
It must, however, be highlighted that Israel's assault, especially in the targeting of scientists and civilian infrastructure, is a violation of international law.
At the same time, we have no actual knowledge of the extent of the damage that is done to Iranian nuclear facilities. So it's up in the air on whether the objectives of Israel and the West itself were achieved in this context.
Ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters,
At the same time, I kept mentioning operation through Promise 3. Now, there are a number of, I think, perspectives that can be gained from this.
Number one, which is the effectiveness of the missile program of Iran, is the fact that they are able to shoot targets a thousand kilometers away of advanced air defense systems co-developed between Israel, the US, the British, and the French.
It is a significant achievement and a great technological leap for Iran. It also paved the way for a new era of deterrence in the sense that Israel is not as impregnable as they had thought their defenses to be before the 12-day war.
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Furthermore, it also united the Iranian population from diverse backgrounds and from their own internal differences. It also highlighted on the resilience of the Iranian people, but I think on the worrying side, there are some blind spots pertaining to the security of the intelligence community, as well as the possible impact of fifth column elements, as evident from a few days ago with the deportation of the Afghani community from Iran. And also, what is a postmodern fifth column, according to Al Jazeera, from Iranians in the diaspora itself. So these are possible blind spots or weak elements that can be gained from the recent war.
Conversely, it also highlights Israel's vulnerabilities, including their own air defense limitations, their over-dependency on Western support, and their own limited psychological endurance. Because in the conflict itself, you could see that a number of Israeli civilians started to leave the country because of their fear of escalation and so on.
Now the ceasefire does not mark the end of the conflict.
We will see this escalating and developing in different forms going into the future. So it's a period of instability to conclude.
It serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need for all parties, especially the hypocritical Western powers and Israel, to adhere to international humanitarian law and to apply these laws equally, to prioritize the protection of civilian lives and infrastructure, and also to have ethical responsibilities pertaining to the protection of scientific research, and also to advocate for a global order where international law is upheld. Civilians' lives are protected and the pursuit of sustainable and peaceful knowledge for development is ensured rather than that of conflict and destruction.
