By Paulo Nogueira Batista Jr.
My admiration for Iran keeps growing. Which country in the world faces practically alone, and so far very successfully, the United States and Israel? Which country takes immense risks to defend another? This is what Iran did, attacking Israel in retaliation for the barbarities that this genocidal state has been committing in Lebanon.
I venture to say that Iran is deservedly be the country that arouses the most admiration in the whole world nowadays, except obviously in Israel and the United States. Even in the United States, public opinion seems to be tilting toward Iran, while support for the Trump administration and the Israeli regime is falling.
Better late than never. The powerful Zionist lobby has bought off most of the political class in the United States and has thus succeeded in subordinating the actions of the superpower to Israel’s criminal priorities. And the corporate media does its best to defend Israel, manipulating and concealing information in a systematic way.
But Israel has gone too far and lost all respect and credibility. It has become the most hated country in the world. The Americans, for their part, are finally realizing that unconditional support for Israel is proving very expensive for them. The perception is growing, including among Trump voters, that the United States is fighting a war that does not interest them. It has become evident that the ongoing war is primarily in Israeli interest. It’s the tail wagging the dog. A small country of about 10 million inhabitants, of which less than 8 million are Jews, calls the shots for a superpower.
Can this change? Maybe. Support for Israel is reaching, as Delfim Neto would say, the most sensitive part of the human body – the pocket. As a result of the war, the price of gasoline, food and other products rose sharply, threatening to defeat the Republicans in the midterm congressional elections in November. The reason that the economic impact is not worse is that the United States and other countries are running down their strategic oil reserves to cushion the rise in prices. These reserves are not unlimited and are apparently about to run out. It is no wonder that Donald Trump accepted a deal or truce that amounts to a recognition of defeat. He seems eager to find a reasonably honorable way to end the conflict into which he has been dragged by Israel and his own arrogance.
Most countries have been heavily affected by the rise prices of oil and its derivatives, petrochemicals, fertilizers and food. Who is to blame? Not Iran, which is acting in self-defense. But the aggressors, the United States and Israel, who threw West Asia and much of the world into a disastrous situation. The few countries that have benefited from the turmoil so far are major oil exporters, including my own country, Brazil, which do not depend on the Strait of Hormuz for their production. These countries are selling more oil at higher prices. But even they are feeling the impact of the rise in critical prices on their domestic inflation.
Insecurity about the future is enormous. We still don’t know the size of the damage. But one thing is certain: the war is resulting in a weakening of the American Empire and Israel. The barbarians are finally paying a price for their countless crimes. In retrospect, it is quite possible that the war against Iran will be seen as a milestone in the decline of the United States and the consolidation of a multipolar world.
Bravo, Iran! The best and noblest country in the world deserves all our respect and gratitude.
The author is a Brazilian economist. He was vice president and founder of the New Development Bank, established by the BRICS in Shanghai, from 2015 to 2017, and executive director at the IMF for Brazil and 10 other countries in Washington, from 2007 to 2015.
E-mail: paulonbjr@hotmail.com
Portal: www.nogueirabatista.com.br