US-Israeli War Divides Iranian Diaspora 6 Months On as Hormuz Threatens 20% of Oil Trade
Updated
Updated · Al Jazeera English · Sep 1
US-Israeli War Divides Iranian Diaspora 6 Months On as Hormuz Threatens 20% of Oil Trade
3 articles · Updated · Al Jazeera English · Sep 1
Summary
Six months after US and Israeli strikes began on February 28, the war remains deadlocked, splitting the Iranian diaspora between backers of Reza Pahlavi and opponents who say the conflict revived Tehran and hurt pro-democracy forces.
At least 170 people were killed in the bombing of a girls' school in Minab—mostly children—undercutting Washington and Tel Aviv's early claim that the war would help ordinary Iranians.
Thousands of civilians, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, have been killed, while Amnesty says Tehran has used the war to intensify repression through mass detentions, forced confessions and sham trials.
The conflict has also rattled the global economy because Iran still controls traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a route that normally carries 20% of the world's oil and LNG exports.
For many Iranians at home and abroad, the war has revived memories of the 1953 CIA-MI6 coup against Mohammad Mossadegh, deepening distrust of Western intervention and dimming hopes for a unified postwar opposition.