So here we are two full weeks in and, at time of writing, no sign of it ending.
Oh, there was a flicker of hope last week when the Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian declared that he was sorry for bombing the neighbours and that it would stop.
A few minutes later the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps made it clear that he was not speaking for them, demonstrating a clear struggle for power in the Islamic Republic.
This seemed to be settled a few days later when they announced that Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the previous supreme leader, was to be the new supreme leader.
Then it emerged that he was in hospital recovering from injuries so we are all none the wiser as to who is pulling the strings in Iran.
It is likely that field commanders are mainly acting on their own initiative in the absence of directives from above. All this leads to the conclusion that the drones may be falling on us for a wee while yet.
Going back to the President for a moment, his apology and statement did seem a bit strange, but I will give you something to ponder.
If the result of this military action is the collapse of the theocracy in Iran, then someone is going to have to step up and take its place.
In Venezuela, when the United States removed the incumbent president Nicholas Maduro, the regime did not collapse, the Vice President Delcy Rodriguez stepped in and promptly agreed to all the US demands which resulted in Donald Trump declaring that she was someone he could do business with.
So maybe with one eye on Venezuela, President Pezeshkian has started to make conciliatory noises so that if the regime does collapse then he is positioned to be the guy that Trump can ‘do business with’. This is the sort of thinking that goes on in my confused head but let’s keep an eye on the situation and see what happens next.
In the first week more missiles were aimed at us but largely fell on empty US bases but, in the last few days, we have had more civilian areas hit and that has caused casualties and some businesses to tell their staff to stay home and work.
I am currently in my office in Seef and I can tell you that it a lot quieter. In the past I have moaned about the amount of traffic on the roads, well, I am now sad that my car has never gone so far without having to wait in a jam.
Let’s hope and pray that we can all get back to normal soon.
Jackie@JBeedie.com
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