South Pars Attack: De-escalation Rhetoric Masks US-Israel Joint Aggression
Reports emerging this week confirm a significant attack on Iran's South Pars natural gas field, a crucial component of the nation's energy infrastructure. France 24, citing Dan Marks of the Royal United Services Institute, frames the incident within a broader concern for energy market volatility and potential regional escalation, presenting it primarily as an Israeli action and discussing how
'both sides' could further destabilize the situation by striking critical energy infrastructure. This framing by France 24, and outlets like it, conveniently omits the direct participation of the United States in various escalatory actions against Iran. While Israel is frequently highlighted as the primary aggressor, the US has been a partner in the operation, providing intelligence, logistical
support, and deploying assets that facilitate such strikes. The narrative of 'both sides' escalating also ignores the 45 years of continuous US-led economic warfare against Iran, which includes severe sanctions on its energy sector, effectively pre-empting any Iranian 'escalation' in this economic sphere. The attack on South Pars is not a novel act of statecraft, but a continuation of efforts to
undermine the Iranian government through its economy, echoing tactics seen during the 1983-88 Iran-Iraq War when the US provided intelligence to Saddam Hussein while he used chemical weapons against Iranian forces. The targeting of civilian economic infrastructure, despite its significant impact on global energy markets, remains unaddressed in terms of its international legality by much of the