SAEDNEWS: A U.S.‑backed Israeli assault on Iran sparked fierce retaliation, drew a polarised diplomatic response and ended only when global powers brokered a ceasefire.
According to Saed News, Israel’s June 13 pre‑dawn offensive—aimed at Tehran’s military, nuclear and residential districts—was backed from the outset by Washington, which later joined with strikes on Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan on June 22. Yet the Israeli campaign swiftly met “fierce resistance.” Iran’s IRGC Aerospace Force launched 22 waves of missiles in “Operation True Promise III,” devastating cities across the occupied territories, while Tehran retaliated against al‑Udeid air base in Qatar. A ceasefire on June 24, brokered by Russia, China and Qatar, brought the 12-day hostilities to a halt.
Mehr News Agency’s interview with Lana Rawandi‑Fadai of the Russian Academy of Sciences paints the offensive as a naked bid by Benjamin Netanyahu—“abandoning moral, legal and diplomatic norms”—to topple Iran’s government and install a pro‑Pahlavi regime. She decried Western leaders, from President Trump to Chancellor Merz, for celebrating what she termed Israel’s “dirty work,” contrasting their stance with that of Russia, China, Turkey and Pakistan, which condemned the aggression.
Rawandi‑Fadai rejects the narrative that the U.S. joined belatedly, noting American planning, arms and intelligence support “long before the first bomb fell.” She sees no major realignment yet: the West uniformly backed Israel, while Russia and China defended Iran to safeguard their own trade and strategic interests. The U.S. bombardment of nuclear sites, she argues, was “a theatrical grand finale” with limited military impact.
Both sides, she observes, faced dwindling munitions and mounting damage—Israel’s air defences strained, Iran’s arsenal intact—while risks of wider escalation loomed: Houthi missiles, threats to Hormuz and regional belligerents ready to join in. Moscow’s unspoken mediation role, she suggests, and its condemnation of Israel’s strikes, helped check further escalation. As the dust settles, the episode affirms that even the most ambitious military gambits can founder in the twin arenas of regional politics and global diplomacy.
