THE UNITED STATES' DISGUISED RETREAT AND OFFENSIVE DISARRAY

AFTER AFGHANISTAN AND UKRAINE, US STRATEGIC LOSS EXTENDS TO IRAN

By Dr. Digby James Wren

The Israeli-US cyber, missile and air strike on Iran is no victory. The attempt to assassinate Iran’s supreme leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei failed and murdered senior officials were adroitly replaced. The government of Iran remained in full control of the country and its stockpile of enriched uranium was secured in ‘unknown’ locations. In retaliation, the Iranians inflicted significant drone and missile damage on the administrative and economic infrastructure of Israel. Moreover, much greater damage could have been inflicted if the Israelis had not unilaterally declared a ceasefire, to which Tehran assented.

While the Trump administration’s decision to join Israel’s attack demonstrated significant military capability and dominated global media headlines, its consequences are retrograde. Iranian cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), compliance with the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and US sponsored diplomatic negotiations are stalled into the foreseeable future. Whether Iran will emulate the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and produce nuclear weapons in secrecy after its betrayal by the US, is the subject of much conjecture.

Only one day after the unilateral ceasefire declared by Tel Aviv, Iran’s minister of defence, General Aziz Nasirzadeh thanked China for its support at the SCO high-level [Defence Ministers] summit in Qingdao, China. Chaired by Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun, the summit’s final statement was impaired by India’s objection to omission of the April 2025 Pahalgam [terrorist] attacks, which it blamed on Pakistan. However, the Iranian defense minister met privately with senior Chinese leaders to discuss enhanced military cooperation between Tehran and Beijing. Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun and senior Chinese officials also held private meetings with Belarus’ Viktor Khrenin, Pakistan’s Khawaja Asif, Kyrgyzstan’s Ruslan Mukambetov, and Russia’s Andrei Belousov.