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By Timur Fomenko

The Iran-Israel clash has served as a catalyst for renewed escalation by Western leaders, and World War III cannot be ruled out

The events of recent weeks have produced a sudden jolt in Western politics. From a lethargy that was starting to creep into US and western discourse over the Ukraine war, Iran’s attack on Israel suddenly seemed to have had the effect of awakening Ronald Reagan from his grave and leading to a surge of neo-conservativism on steroids, on both sides of the Atlantic.

US House Speaker Mike Johnson did a complete 180-degree U-turn and proclaimed himself a “Reagan Republican” passing a series of aid bills for astronomical overseas spending that he had otherwise blocked for months, as he denounced an “axis of evil.” Along with that, a proposed TikTok ban bill came out of nowhere too and was quickly signed into law.

Then the UK decided to devote its largest ever aid package to Ukraine, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warning of an “axis of authoritarian states” and amplifying ideologically combative rhetoric.

At the same time, it was then revealed Biden had sent 300km long range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine despite having pledged not to do so for years, fearing escalation.

Finally, EU President Ursula von der Leyen has suddenly dramatically increased economic warfare on China, pushing the European Commission to open probes on scores of Chinese exports. Where exactly did all this come from?

It’s almost as if the US and its allies seized upon the tensions between Iran and Israel in order to “whitewash” their slate and double down on a series of objectives they are otherwise losing public support for, including the war in Ukraine, but also Israel’s invasion of Gaza.

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Personally I think he oversells the suddenness and unexpected nature but the firmness does seem to be increasing and one has to wonder if the US/NATO is going to choose to escalate in Ukraine. After all they’re already weathering massive protests against their policy of aiding genocide in Palestine and simply calling them all terrorist sympathizers and people duped by Russia, by contrast Ukraine is far more popular a cause.

Where he sees a push with the potential for WW3 I see that but in a larger sense the chessboard being set up for cold war 2.0, economic blocs and wars with lines firmly drawn in the sand and an “either you’re with us, or with them” mentality towards others or as Blinken put it “you’re either at [our] table or on the menu”.