Andrew L. Urban
Iran’s Mullahs are nullahs. Memo to Sheikh Ibrahim Dadoun on the military decapitation of the Islamic Republic of Iran:… I’m elated, I’m smiling and I’m happy, it’s a day of courage, it’s a day of pride, it’s a day of victory – this is the day we’ve all been waiting for after 47 years of oppression by the evil regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran. So might say millions of Iranians in a satirical echo of the Sheikh’s infamous orgy of celebration on October 8, 2023, at the Hamas atrocities in Israel of October 7, 2023.
Smiling indeed … large, elated crowds filled the streets of Los Angeles (in the footage I was watching) to celebrate, waving the Iranian flag with the lion emblem replacing the Islamic emblem at its centre, in a demonstration of the symbolic importance of national flags.
Across from there in New York, Amir-Saeid Iravani, Iranian representative to the UN referred, without any sense of irony, to the “terrorist nation of Israel” as he condemned the “aggression of the US and Israel”, again ignoring the hypocrisy of speaking for the most aggressive sponsor of terrorism. We have to admire the self control of the reasonable members of the UN Security Council who sat there without guffawing at his diatribe.
In the same session, Israel’s representative Danny Danon emphasised the key goal of the strike against Iran being an act of necessity to arrest the threat of a nuclear Iran. He reminded members of Iran’s oft repeated intent to wipe Israel off the map. And pointing at Iravani across the room, he made the point that Iran was targeting civilians, whereas “this operation” is aimed at the military target. Iran, he said spent billions in paying its proxies. It is not directed at the people of Iran, but at the regime and its nuclear program, which chants “Death to Israel”. It seems the universe is not taking any notice …
There were also professionally organised marches (in New York footage I saw) with bunches of identical printed signs being delivered by helpers, demanding ‘Hands off Iran’. Fox News reported speculation that these are financed by communist groups. Given the risk to China’s oil purchases from Iran, that speculation seems credible.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed Australia’s irrelevance in global affairs by a statement urging de-escalation – her one-note song launched after October 7…. PM Albanese offered his support for the Iran attack to the US: “We support the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent Iran continuing to threaten international peace and security,” but no mention of Israel, which was responsible for the elimination of the top leadership. Albanese continues his studied belittling and scorning of Israel …