Ten days have passed quietly since the incident of "Israel's bombing of the Iranian embassy". During this period, the Iranian side frequently released tough rhetoric, revealing a posture of fighting a decisive battle to the end. In this regard, Israel also does not show weakness and is actively preparing for war.
On the surface of the Persian Gulf it seems calm, but in reality there is an undercurrent surging, and a fierce battle seems to be ready to break out at any moment.
By April 11, amid rising tensions in the Middle East, Russia decided to step in and try to mediate. Russia has publicly called on both Iran and Israel to remain calm and refrain from any actions that could destabilize the region.
At the same time, Russia also reminds Russian citizens to refrain from traveling to specific regions of the Middle East, especially Palestine, Lebanon and Israel, unless they are urgently needed.
There are good reasons why Russia is showing such concern. At present, there are at least three major signs that if the United States fails to persuade Israel to stop its military action, the whole situation may gradually spiral out of control.
First, Israel launched a devastating attack. During a military operation in the Gaza Strip on 10 April, Israel resulted in the tragic death of three sons of the Haniyeh leader, along with their descendants.
On the same day, Israel announced in a high-profile manner its military victory over the Hamas group and said it would continue to impose a siege on the Rafah area.
It is worth noting that this so-called "extermination" operation does not appear to have been carried out by the orders of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to Israeli media, the Israeli military was actually planning the operation, and it was mainly aimed at Chania's three sons.
In addition, Israel has succeeded in neutralizing Ahmed, the commander of Allah's elite Radwan Brigade, and Hatem, the head of Hamas's emergency response unit. In this "decapitation" operation, Israel has achieved remarkable success, while Hamas has struggled to inflict the same blow on Israeli generals.
Second, Iran has become completely outraged and determined to face Israel alone. U.S. intelligence predicts that Iran could launch a massive retaliatory strike against Israel within a few days, including missile launches. In response, the United States stated that it would do everything in its power to ensure Israel's security.
The tone of the warning issued by the United States is firm and clear: the US military will not sit idly by if Iran retaliates against Israel.
The current situation is that Iran's hand of reconciliation to the United States has been firmly rejected by Israel.
Iran has told the United States that it is willing to abandon its plans to retaliate against Israel as long as it can broker a ceasefire in Gaza. But it seems that Israel clearly does not intend to accept the American proposal.
Therefore, Iran had to resort to a suboptimal strategy and was ready to fight Israel alone, on the condition that the United States did not interfere.
Iran has made it clear to the United States that the United States should not intervene if Iran launches a limited attack on Israel. This request was rejected by the United States.
Iran's rhetoric is a hint that Iran wants to compete with Israel, and that the United States and its allies should sit back and see what happens, rather than intervene.
In an attempt to convince the United States, Iran has even hinted that in this way, retaliation against American targets will not escalate further.
It is not difficult to see that although the Houthi attacks on US warships are frequent, they have not caused significant damage, which may be a warning to the United States. If the United States accepts Iran's terms, it is possible that US military targets in the Middle East will not be subject to similar attacks.
The question is, with Israel facing strategic pressure and Iran having a huge stockpile of missiles, how can the United States ignore Israel if it does launch a surprise attack?
The third sign is that Iran has issued ultimatums to the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia. On 11 April, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iran spoke separately with their counterparts of those countries.
Iran believes that Britain's silence is in essence a tacit consent to Israel to provoke war, and demands that Britain publicly condemn Israel and that the acts of war in Gaza must be stopped immediately.
Britain responded by asking Iran to exercise restraint and expressed concern about further escalation.
Iran has also condemned Germany and Australia, asking them to condemn Israel's actions.
Iran also told the United Nations that it might consider not taking punitive measures against Israel if the United Nations Security Council could condemn the "Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy" and impose legal sanctions on those responsible.
However, for Israel, it is practically difficult for the United Nations to exert influence, as Israel is unlikely to heed the warnings of the United Nations.
At the moment, Iran has suspended all flights to and from Tehran, and the Iranian armed forces are also on high alert. At the same time, Israel is also making intense preparations, and the US troops stationed in the Middle East are also on high alert.
The storm is approaching quickly, and if conflict breaks out, more lives will inevitably be costed. In any case, we continue to call on the United States, Iran and Israel to exercise maximum restraint.
War only brings more hatred, and what humanity really needs is peace, not war.