DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Escalating regional war, or a bunch of choreographed theatre?
Millions across the Middle East were told to shelter in place Monday night as the airspace closed above them and Iran fired a barrage of missiles over Al-Udeid air base in Qatar, the U.S.′ largest and most fortified military base in the region. Videos of interceptors lighting up the night sky over Doha went viral on social media, while flight tracking platforms showed passenger jets on their way to Dubai and Abu Dhabi abruptly reversing course.
The Iranian strike, which U.S. President Donald Trump later described as “weak” and which the White House says was telegraphed before it was carried out in order to minimize casualties, came in response to unprecedented U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities last week, which were carried out with the largest non-nuclear bombs on earth.
Trump has declared a cease-fire and called for peace. It remains to be seen whether Israel and Iran will both accept and stick to a ceasefire, and still more questions remain: what happened to Iran’s enriched uranium supplies? How much damage was done in all the strikes? Does it end here? Will Iran’s government survive? Will airspace reopen and flights resume all over the region?
