LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
ran’s massive drone and missile attack on Israel on April 14 night, in retaliation against the bombing of its embassy compound in Damascus two weeks earlier, has pushed an already volatile West Asia to the brink of an all-out war. Iran lost two of its generals, including Mohammed Reza Zahed, overseeing the Quds Force’s operations in Syria and Lebanon, and ve senior ocers of the Revolutionary Guards, and an Iranian response was expected. In the past, Iran has used its proxies or targeted Israeli assets in other countries in response to Israel’s attacks on its ocials. But this time, Tehran’s weapons barrage from its soil targeted Israel proper, escalating tensions to levels not seen in West Asia in decades. Israel, with help from the U.S., the U.K., France and Jordan, intercepted “99%” of the Iranian projectiles. Iran says its action was in “selfdefence” as a response to the embassy attack and that the matter is concluded for now. The U.S. and other allies of Israel applauded Israel’s missile defence system, and urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to exercise restraint, avoiding a regional war. But Israel has vowed that Iran’s aggression would be met with a response.
In many ways, West Asia remains a geopolitical morass today. Israel’s brutal, illegal siege of Palestinian territories was ignored for long by regional and global players. Hamas launched a murderous attack from the blockaded Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, leaving an open wound in Israel’s collective psyche. Since then, Israel has been carrying out a vengeful, genocidal attack of Gaza. The U.S., Israel’s most inuential ally, failed to rein in Tel Aviv when it went on a rampage in Gaza and launched multiple attacks in the region, including the extremely dangerous bombing of Iran’s embassy compound. Iran, which backs Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis, also failed to show any restraint. Now the region is on a cli and a mild push is enough to trigger a calamity. Mr. Netanyahu’s security and war policies have failed miserably. He could not prevent the October 7 attack. His war on Gaza has turned the enclave into a graveyard but has failed to defeat Hamas and release hostages, and his reckless bombing campaigns in the region have brought Iran and Israel to the brink of war. If an open war breaks out, both Israel and Iran can wreak havoc on each other, turning the whole region, the energy basket of the world, into a battleeld. Mr. Netanyahu should consider the remarkable performance of Israel’s defence systems as a victory and stand down to avoid a regional war. If Israel does so, it would open a window of opportunity to dial down tensions in West Asia.
IPoll bond scheme
The top leader of the land viewing every development in the nation through a political and partisan spectrum is strange. It does not behove his stature to be still singing paeans about the electoral bonds scheme even after the top court of the land deemed the scheme to be unconstitutional (Inside pages, April 19). If the leader was so confident about the scheme’s ‘fine traits’, and it being in the best interests of India, why has he not sought to focus on it in a big way in the run-up to the election?
P.K. Sharma,
Barnala, Punjab
PM’s visits, CM’s remark
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister is quite right in saying that the frequent visits by the Prime Minister to the south “are to make up for [electoral] loss in North” (April 16).
One hopes that the election results in the south are akin to the “four balls twenty runs” of M.S. Dhoni in the match against Mumbai Indians, which paved the way for a “twenty runs” victory for CSK.
M.C. Vijay Shankar,
Chennai
The issue of ‘health’
Though the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre is implementing a bouquet of health plans, such as Ayushman Bharat, it appears to be piecemeal and useful only in the case of major illnesses. They appear to be time-consuming to avail in times of an emergency. Instead, the government must expand its health services manifold to cover every health need of the common man so that his “out of pocket” medical expenses are minimal. None of the political parties has felt this to be a necessity to mention or include in their manifesto. There only seems to be a pitch for freebies. As for the ‘continuity pitch’ by the ruling BJP, there seems to be no other political option for the electorate as the INDIA bloc is not united. There will only be uncertainty and instability if it is elected. There needs to be a good, strong and reliable political alternative. V.H. Subramoney,
Bengaluru
Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.