Iran's End Game

As Israel continues to be threatened by its neighbors, its right to survive must continue to be fought for.

The Jewish State isn’t just about a religion - it’s a nationality. Israel is more than a safe haven for Jews, when countries like Iran seek to eliminate its very footprint. It’s identity.

Iran, its nuclear facilities greatly damaged if not destroyed, and its president Masoud Pezeshkian lightly wounded in Israel’s air strikes on June 16, has turned its spite on the most vulnerable population in its midst. 

On June 22, the US joined Israel’s offensive, striking key Iranian nuclear facilities at Natanz, Fordo, and Isfahan. Two days later, the fighting ended with a US-brokered ceasefire.

In the ensuing days, approximately 800,000 Afghan refugees have been deported in Iran’s mass expulsion (most of them since June), returning them to the starkly poor country of Afghanistan. Some had never even been to Afghanistan.

When Israel struck Iran, Iran accused Afghans of being spies for Israel in an effort to validate long held rumors. The mighty stops on the weak.

The Times of Israel reports that Iran is one of the world’s biggest host countries for refugees - nearly 3.5 million refugees - most of them from war-torn Afghanistan. And there may be close to twice that number when counting undocumented refugees.

Afghan refugees have historically been minimalized and demeaned in Iran. The refugees may be ridiculed, bribed, or detained before they’re transported to the border.

Even if they were born in Iran, Afghans are being sent back to Afghanistan.

As a result, the toll placed on Afghanistan is heavy. The destitute country’s resources are strained, and its very stability may be at stake.

Yet the rate of deportations have increased each day.

Among the concerns is rising anti-immigrant sentiment, economic hardship, and security concerns. 

Iran has implemented deadlines for undocumented Afghans to leave the country as it increasingly pushes for their ousting.

In many cases, the powerless refugees are vulnerable to deportation because Iranian authorities repeatedly link some Afghans to spying for Israel, escalating an anti-Afghan feeling in Iran.

Humanitarian concerns revolve around deportees who often arrive in Afghanistan exhausted, hungry, and with limited resources in a country already facing crisis.

Some of the accounts of deportees consist of forced removal, loss of belongings, and human rights violations during the deportation itself.

Moreover, there is a dire impact on women and girls. Afghan females face particular vulnerabilities as they are deported to a country where their rights are severely restricted by the Taliban, including limitations on freedom and movement, education, and employment.

And nearly half the population of Afghanistan lives below the poverty level.

The hallmark of a bully (in this case a bully country) is picking on someone more vulnerable and at a clear disadvantage, someone weaker and unable to properly defend themselves.

In fact, it would stand to reason that a bully torments someone when they’ve been made to feel lesser in the first place. Iran is a classic case of bullying the weak as a brutal expression of having been bested.

America may have brokered a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, and yet a true cornerstone of peace between the two countries would involve an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program.

For Israel, as well as for the United States, this would mean that Iran has no nuclear program.

It would also mean that Iran must end its support for proxies. Various regional groups and militias fight its battle with Israel. Groups like Hezbollah and Hamas need to be made powerless in the region.

Iran must also stop condemning Israel’s right to exist. Rather, Iran must recognize Israel’s statehood.

The variables are many, and the United States is likely to play a key role in any talks between the two countries. 

Israel, as a key ally of the United States, permits America's crucial role in mediating and facilitating dialogue. The ability of the United States to exert influence is vital.

International diplomacy and cooperation would also be helpful in developing a viable peace.

But mostly peace would take more than an agreement that Iran cease its nuclear program, for the country has failed to keep its word in the past. Rather, Iran’s nuclear weapons must be destroyed, for ingrained in the leadership of Iran, is hatred for Israel.