Eimear

Under pressure from Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Trump administration may be within days of launching a nuclear strike on Iran. The target would be Pickax Mountain in central Iran, where Israeli intelligence claims the Iranian government has restarted its nuclear enrichment program. No conventional weapon in the American arsenal can penetrate 300 feet of solid granite to destroy the tunnels where enrichment is supposedly taking place. The only military option is a nuclear strike. Netanyahu has been pushing hard for one. “Bibi calls Trump about it every day,” says an informed observer. Netanyahu is cornered and desperate. After last week’s election results, he can’t form a government unless Trump intervenes directly in Israeli politics and brokers a deal with other parties that gives Netanyahu 61 seats in the Knesset. Otherwise, he is out as prime minister and on his way to ignominy, investigations and possibly jail. Netanyahu must stay close to Trump. He needs this war. To that end, he’s applied maximum pressure to his closest allies in the administration, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and CENTCOM commander Brad Cooper. Both oppose a negotiated settlement to the war they’ve so grievously mismanaged; both are pushing to restart major combat operations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA director John Ratcliffe are also following Netanyahu’s lead, as are leaders of the Democratic Party. In a recent meeting on the subject, former president Barack Obama said he opposes the current Iran peace deal being drafted in Doha. The rest of America’s longtime allies in the Middle East are terrified by the prospect of more war. On September 27th, Netanyahu flew secretly to Abu Dhabi to enlist the UAE in his lobbying effort for a final attack on Iran. The Emiratis refused. After eight months of conflict, Gulf economies are teetering. So are global energy and fertilizer markets. They won’t recover soon. Globally, there are a total of about 850 supertankers used to transport oil from producers to the rest of the world. In October alone, 11 of them were badly damaged in Hormuz. At this pace, a global depression is imminent. A nuclear strike would radically accelerate the destruction. Fallout from a ground explosion at Pickax Mountain would contaminate the Persian Gulf, poisoning the water supply for 100 million people. And those are just some of the immediate consequences for the region. The rest of the world is every bit as exposed. No country other than the United States has ever used a nuclear weapon in war. Some would like to. An American nuclear attack on Iran would set a new precedent. The Russians have already told at least two other governments that an American nuclear strike on Iran would free them to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine. Pakistan and India would be tempted to do the same against each other, as would North Korea against Seoul. After the first nuclear strike, World War Three is inevitable. That war would be short and final. We’ve been sleepwalking toward this moment for months. Since February, the administration has quietly rewritten America’s nuclear doctrine to make first use of so-called “battlefield nukes” easier and therefore more likely. No one in Washington in either party seems bothered by this. Now we’re on the brink of it. Close observers say Trump is likely to decide by next weekend whether or not to use nuclear weapons. That would be November 7, six days from now. To his credit, he’s hesitating. At the moment, Trump is listening to his vice president, JD Vance, and to his envoy and friend Steve Witkoff, both of whom argue a deal with Iran can be made. They’re right, though it won’t be simple. The Iranians are famously frustrating to negotiate with under any circumstances, and elements of that government have become more radical since Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his family were killed in February. After decades of isolation, even relatively moderate Iranian leaders seem confused by how decisions are made in the West. (There is a widespread belief in Tehran, for example, that the United States government controls Israel.) But overall, people who have spoken to decision-makers in Iran say there is consensus there that more war is bad for everyone and a deal is worth making. One group that hasn’t been consulted so far is the global population — the hundreds of millions of people who will be killed along with their children if Trump is pushed by Netanyahu into launching a nuclear strike next week. Now would be the time for them to speak up.

Given the seriousness of the circumstances surrounding Michelle O’Neill’s recent reckless conduct, and the damage it has done to the operation of our joint office, I have withdrawn agreement to attendance at tomorrow’s engagements in Glasgow. This follows on the back of stopping separate planned engagements, including with the President of Ireland, Catherine Connelly over the last number of weeks and I have not agreed further activities or events. I do not take this action lightly. The situation surrounding the First Minister’s recent conduct remains extremely serious. There is significant anger, hurt and legitimate public discontent arising from her actions. These concerns cannot simply be dismissed or minimised. This is an exceptionally serious matter, particularly given the responsibilities of the office she holds and the importance of public confidence in the rule of law. Of further concern is the First Minister’s continuing refusal to recognise or meaningfully acknowledge the depth and legitimacy of the discontent caused by her behaviour. Her approach has contributed to a significant deterioration in confidence and in the working relationship necessary to discharge the responsibilities of our joint office. Northern Ireland will not miss out. I have requested a separate meeting with the Prime Minister to ensure Northern Ireland’s interests, including the urgent budgetary and funding challenges facing the Executive, continue to be represented directly.

You sir are an absolute bigot, This relentless anti Irish campaign to vilify us, is becoming absolutely deplorable. The sheer arrogance of an American lecturing an entire sovereign nation for daring to criticise the Israeli government and stand up for Palestinian human rights is quite extraordinary. And perhaps the most disgraceful aspect of your entire rant is what you conspicuously fail to mention even once, the suffering of the Palestinian people. Not a word about the tens of thousands killed in Gaza. Not a word about the children buried beneath rubble, families destroyed, hospitals devastated, mass displacement or the catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Absolutely nothing. Instead, you and your little groupies on here , concern is apparently Ireland’s criticism of Israel and whether our high-tech economy might suffer as a consequence. What an extraordinary set of priorities. Let’s establish something you seem determined to ignore. Criticism of the Israeli government is not antisemitism. Supporting Palestinian human rights is not hostility towards Jewish people. Repeating that dishonest conflation doesn’t make it true. And here’s another distinction. Unlike the United States, Ireland does not have an AIPAC-style political lobbying machine wielding enormous influence over its foreign policy. AIPAC’s political spending and influence in Washington are well documented. Ireland is perfectly entitled to pursue an independent foreign policy without being subjected to economic scare tactics. Ireland is a sovereign democracy, not an American subsidiary. We don’t require Washington’s approval to defend international law, condemn the killing of civilians or demand accountability from any government, including Israel’s. And spare us the suggestion that Ireland’s humanitarian concerns constitute some irrational national obsession. The real question is why our willingness to speak about Palestinian suffering seems to offend you more than the suffering itself. You managed to write an entire attack on Ireland without expressing a single word of compassion for Palestinian civilians. That is perhaps the most damning indictment of your argument. Not Ireland’s supposed obsession with Israel, but your extraordinary determination to make Ireland the villain while the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza barely warrants a mention. You sir might also want to address the uncontrollable antisemitism that’s rife across the US before doing Israel’s bidding to vilify Ireland Ireland will not be bullied into silence. And nor should it be.