Nobody takes Pakistan seriously and therefore Pakistan's sudden mediating with almost immediate results of a ceasefire seems more contrived than real, points out Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
Key Points
- The US-Israel-Iran conflict was marked by widespread misinformation campaigns, raising serious concerns about narrative manipulation across global media platforms.
- Speculation surrounds Pakistan's role in brokering the ceasefire, with suggestions of orchestrated diplomacy driven by Washington's strategic compulsions.
- Escalation risks involving nuclear facilities pushed the world dangerously close to catastrophe, highlighting fragile deterrence dynamics in West Asia.
- The conflict underscores urgent need for UN reforms, strategic autonomy, and reduced dependence on external powers among Gulf nations.
If there is one thing that characterises this US/Israel war against Iran that started on February 28, 2026, it is the sheer scale of lies and misinformation that has been spread through all kinds of media to support the arguments of one side or the other.
Another aspect that characterises this war is the sheer stupidity of escalation brinkmanship that could have led to a nuclear catastrophe and plunged the region, and the world, into chaos.
In recent times, the world has not come as close to a nuclear incident as this time, with nuclear facilities in Iran and Israel both being targeted.
If this does not shake the conscience of leaders in the region and in the USA, then the world is doomed to nuclear disaster sooner than later.
Events leading to this ceasefire stinks of a 'match-fix.' Pakistan requested the US president to hold off!
Are we really serious on this one? Nobody takes Pakistan seriously and therefore Pakistan's sudden mediating with almost immediate results of a ceasefire seems more contrived than real.
There are whispers in social media that the Pakistan mediation was scripted in Washington and that could well be the case.
Washington needed the peace more than Iran at this point in time. The lies were being seen through. Domestic impatience with the war was rising.
Real stories of US losses were coming out. Iran had dug its heels in.
A script written elsewhere and delivered by Pakistan was a flimsy yet face-saving fig leaf.
The truce after 40 days, temporary as it may be, is welcome. That its orchestration may be based on connivance, puppetry and untruth does not matter at this time.
The world does not need a war, especially in West Asia, that sits on the global oil reservoirs. The Strait of Hormuz must remain open as as international waterway.
In this era of global dependence, selfish motives that led to the war in the first place undermines globalism and interdependence.
It puts the brakes on progress that is based on connectivity and trade, just because of the selfishness of a few.
If these few nations happen to be the rich and powerful, they fail in their duty of providing global security, stability and leadership.
This 15-day ceasefire must provide an opportunity for reflection, not just by leaders and nations that are party to the conflict or have been deeply impacted by its fallouts but by every sane leader and citizen of the world.
It must make leaders think about the perils of hegemony and the greed that sustains it.
Global power equations are changing and with that, global governance mechanisms must transform.
The United Nations in its present form is defunct and it needs a life-saving restructuring formula that reflects a participation more representative of the present reality as opposed to the P-5 dominance.
West Asia Leaders Face Policy Reset
West Asian leaders need to start looking beyond just spinning money from oil and protecting regime survival.
They need to realise the strategic autonomy that they have sacrificed for some outsider to underwrite their security.
West Asia needs to invest in peace; at the moment the region invests in profitability and influencing power-play that inevitably leads to conflict.
Israel should recalibrate to a more 'live and let live' policy as should its neighbours.
Governance needs to improve so that non-state actors are not empowered to disrupt the affairs of nation states.
Hardened positions on trade, faith, regimes, alliances need to pave way for a more humane approach to cooperation between nations.
Gulf countries would have realised, through unpleasant experiences by now, that in a conflict situation, the entire region is tremendously target-rich.
From oil, power, desalination, data and nuclear infrastructure to overseas bases operated by extra-regional powers, there is no dearth of targets to be hit by opposing belligerents.
The more the number of nations that get embroiled in a conflict, the larger will be the number of 'legitimate' targets.
Hitting these targets pose serious possibilities of escalation to levels that could spiral out of control, as indeed did happen before this 'back from the brink' ceasefire. This should be a serious consideration for the future.
While this 15-day truce is welcome, it also provides time for both sides to recoup, re-arm and re-strategise so that if negotiations fail, missiles and drones can start flying again, this time with much greater lethality, as then, it will be a 'fight to the finish'.
That finish could well be a nuclear armageddon for the region with unimaginable consequences for the rest of the world.
Iran and USA need this time for serious reflection and sanity must prevail during negotiations.
Iran has demonstrated that it can withstand the onslaught of the world's most powerful military and yet hold its own. This is a sobering thought for the USA.
Lessons To Learn
The world also needs to learn its lessons. First, 'stand up to bullies and look them in the face. Prepare for the long haul. Don't show your hand early.'
Thank you, Iran, for this valuable lesson. Second 'get your own oil.' Nobody will help you when chips are down.
You have to fight your own battles. You have to produce your own stuff, diversify and be self-reliant. Thank you USA, for this one.
Third, 'don't sell your sovereignty because if you do, you will not have sovereign control when you need it most.'
Thank you to the Arab nations in the Gulf for this critical insight.
Fourth, 'choose leaders who do not fly off the handle or bend over backwards to please. You are trading your own future well-being.' Honestly, I don't know whom to thank for this lesson.
Finally, 'it is difficult to play God. You cannot wipe out civilizations or suppress the will of a proud nation.' This is a lesson relearnt many times over.
There are many examples of small forces fighting till the end against a stronger opponent and prevailing because giving up was never an option.
For the time being, one can only hope that irresponsible actions by any side do not derail this opportunity to walk back from certain disaster.
Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd) is a former commander-in-chief of the Indian Navy's Eastern Naval Command.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
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