On June 12, amid the ongoing war in Gaza, the security situation in West Asia was further shaken by Israel surprise airstrikes on multiple Iranian military and nuclear facilities. The attack also killed several key Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists
associated with the country’s nuclear programme. Iran responded with a wave of retaliatory missile strikes on Israel, leading to a volley of missile and drone attacks by both sides. In a dramatic and unprecedented escalation of hostilities, the United States’ B2 bombers and Tomahawk missiles struck the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites in Iran,
on June 22, eliciting an Iranian missile strike on the US’ Al Udeid Air Base airbase in Qatar. As the conflict continues to unfold, fears of a spiralling regional war are rife, calling for urgent international diplomacy.
We invited senior experts from the Asia-Pacific to comment on how the events from the Israel-Iran war are being viewed in the region, specifically the Israeli and US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and what consequences these may have on Iran’s nuclear programme as well as ultimately on the upcoming NPT Review Conference in 2026. Tanya Ogilvie-White, Nobumasa Akiyama, C Uday Bhaskar, Tong Zhao and Salma Malik share their views and concerns in this Pulse series on the Israel-Iran war.
Tanya Ogilvie-White
APLN Senior Research Adviser
This decade, we are witnessing the violent destruction of the rules-based order. First came Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine; then, Israel’s horrific war in Gaza. Now, having failed to stop both conflicts, we are faced with Israel’s escalating war on Iran, aided by the brazen US assaults on Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan.
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