The pro-Russian Slovak Prime Minister Fizo was almost killed in assassination, the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues to escalate, and Sullivan is visiting Saudi Arabia to seek a two-state solution.
According to Iranian state television, a helicopter carried by Iranian President Raisi and Foreign Minister Abdollahian "had a hard landing accident" on the 19th.
Before the accident, Raisi was in the Iranian-Azerbaijani border region and attended the inauguration of a dam with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
Unexpectedly, on the way back, something happened. What does the crash of Iran's president and foreign minister mean?
First, the situation is serious.
Among the passengers on board were Iranian President Raisi, Iranian Foreign Minister Abdollahian, and Governor of East Azerbaijan Province Malik Rahmati.
Although Iran and Russia immediately dispatched elite mountain rescuers to search and rescue them, even drones and helicopters were unable to provide effective support due to snowstorms, fog and rugged mountain roads.
Today's latest reports say that the wreckage of the helicopter in which the Iranian president was travelling has been recovered, and that President Raisi and Foreign Minister Abdollahian were killed in the helicopter accident.
This is really bad news.
Second, the international community is paying close attention.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, as well as China, Kuwait, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, the European Commission, the United States, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Pakistan, India and other countries have expressed concern and willingness to lend a helping hand.
Only the official post of the Israeli war room is suspected of mockery. It is not safe to claim that it is not safe to fly a helicopter in dense fog, and that it is even more unwise for the foreign minister and the president to travel in the same helicopter.
The reason why this incident shocked the world is inseparable from Iran's pivotal position in the Middle East situation.
First, Iranian President Raisi and Foreign Minister Abdollahian are both specific operators of the millennium reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and they are also anti-US and anti-Israel fighters.
Second, the situation between Palestine and Israel is still deteriorating, Iran and Israel are tense, and Iranian President Raisi, who is tough on Israel, crashed his plane at this time.
Third, the incident is strange.
This time, Raisi participated in foreign affairs activities with Azerbaijan, and the group had a total of three helicopters, and the other two have arrived safely.
According to common sense, this level of flight preparation and inspection should be carried out with great caution. Why did the president's landline have an accident?
Is this a "bureau" carefully planned by a certain country?
It has to be said that Iran is now facing three major crises. In addition to the enormous risk of war, there are two other major crises.
The first is the pressure of economic sanctions.
Due to the long-term sanctions imposed by Western countries, Iran's economic development has been severely constrained.
For nearly six years, Iran's price increases have been in double digits, with an average increase of 35.8% in February this year.
During this period, the price of lamb in Iran increased by 269%; The price of chicken, onions, and sugar cubes increased by 200%, 185%, and 147%, respectively; The price of a basic car has increased by 144%.
Now Iran is desperate to export oil on a large scale, which requires the United States and its allies to ease sanctions against Iran.
Iran is well aware of its strength, and in the event of a military conflict with the United States, Iran is likely to pay a heavy price.
The second is the isolation of the international community.
After Israel retaliated by attacking Iran itself, Iran did not retaliate against Israel.
Because Iran's image in the international community has always been disputed, if it takes drastic action at this time, it is likely to make Iran even more isolated internationally.
Iran's choice is to deepen cooperation with Saudi Arabia and Russia, as well as to ease up with the United States.
Iran is "de-dollarizing" with Russia, for example, trying to jointly introduce a settlement mechanism that bypasses the dollar and the euro, and on the other hand, it is sending a signal of détente to the United States. And pro-Iranian forces in the Middle East, such as Allah and the Houthis, are retaliating against Israel with military action.
On the 12th, Iran showed its willingness to engage in direct dialogue with the United States and seemed to be prepared to change its policy approach toward its old enemy.
On the 19th, Iran and the United States held indirect talks in Oman to discuss how to avoid an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.
Why is Iran doing this?
On the one hand, the Americans want to use Iran's hand to ease the conflict between Israel and Iranian proxies Allah, militias and the Houthis. On the other hand, Iran also wants the United States to ease economic sanctions against Iran.
Iran's engagement with the United States has also met with resistance at home, with conservatives opposing it.
Now that the negotiations have just begun, will someone do the trick?
In addition, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the 19th to discuss what Saudi Arabia calls a "semi-finalized" version of the broad security agreement between the two countries.
The core thrust of this plan is that the United States will provide Saudi Arabia with security guarantees and assistance to economic development in exchange for the establishment of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
After talking to the Saudis, Sullivan arrived in Israel non-stop and began a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The two sides discussed the war in Gaza, ceasefire talks, the humanitarian crisis, and the common goal of a lasting defeat of Hamas through military pressure and political planning.
So, what is the calculation of the United States in forcing Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel?
It is nothing more than an attempt to maximize the interests of the Middle East and force the entire Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel from point to point, so that the Middle East will not become hostile to Israel in the Islamic world and trigger a larger-scale conflict, and the United States and Israel will become the biggest winners.
If so, Iran will be the biggest loser, and although Iran and Saudi Arabia have shaken hands, it is unlikely that there will be any rapprochement between Iran and Israel.
One of the consequences of the Americans' operation in essence is to sow discord between Iran and Saudi Arabia, although conciliatory, it is impossible to have a contradictory relationship.
For the United States, the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement is a major failure of its Middle East strategy. For Israel, the conflict between it and Iran is too acute, and it is natural to oppose any possibility of détente between the United States and Iran.
Iran itself is big and powerful, and if sanctions are lifted, it will develop faster, so how can Israel deal with this powerful enemy?
If the light does not work, it may come to the dark. You must know that the United States and Israel have deeply infiltrated Iran, and the pro-American forces they have cultivated also have strong influence in Iran, and Israel has strong intelligence capabilities and decapitation capabilities.
For example, the United States and Israel have repeatedly assassinated Iranian experts on the nuclear issue, computer hackers have hacked into the software of Iran's nuclear facilities, detonated Iran's nuclear facilities, and even stolen half a ton of nuclear technical materials.
On January 3 this year, a series of bombings occurred in Kerman, the capital of Iran's Kerman province, near the site of a ceremony to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the attack on Soleimani, a senior general of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Iranian President Raisi said that the perpetrators of the terrorist attack in the city of Kerman will pay a heavy price.
In any case, whether in terms of willingness or ability, it is entirely possible for the United States and Israel to take a reckless step and join forces with pro-American forces in Iran.
Raisi, 63, is a hard-liner who has led Iran's judiciary. He is seen as a protégé of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Some analysts believe there is a possibility that he could replace the 85-year-old supreme leader after Khamenei's death or resignation.
The CIA and Israel's Mossad hate last year's Saudi-Iranian rapprochement, which has long been hoping to sow chaos and disrupt progress.
At a time when Russia is mired in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Iran is the only arc of resistance in the Middle East that can stand against Israel.
One of the outcomes of Putin's visit to China is that it is clear that illegal troops should withdraw from Syria and that the chaos in Syria should end.
Iran is an important cooperative force for China and Russia to jointly expel relevant illegal armed forces and illegal forces.
If something happens to Iran, it will undoubtedly be a major blow to the anti-Israel and even anti-American forces in the Middle East, and it will also usher in an unprecedented reshuffle in the Middle East!
On the other hand, Iran is also Russia's staunchest ally, and when Russia lacks weapons and ammunition, Iran has resisted the sanctions of the United States and Western countries, insisting on providing drones and missiles to Russia, helping Russia through the most difficult period.
Now that Iranian President Raisi has been killed, if the domestic situation in Iran is turbulent, it will not only affect the situation in the Middle East, but also the situation in Russia and Ukraine.
Coincidentally, U.S. Senate leader Chuck Schumer quickly spoke out, and U.S. intelligence said that there was no evidence of murder in this incident.
According to Reuters, an Israeli official told Reuters that Israel had nothing to do with the death of Iranian President Raisi in a helicopter accident and that "it was not us."
Is this a thief shouting to catch a thief, a bit of "there is no silver three hundred taels here"?
At the same time, the former U.S. military officer told CNN that the Bell 212 helicopter that Raisi was riding in was produced in the United States, and because of U.S. sanctions, it was difficult for Iran to obtain parts for this helicopter, resulting in the inability to replace the old and damaged parts.
This shows that in addition to the weather factor, the United States has nothing to do with this air crash.
The situation in the Middle East has always been an undercurrent, and now such a big event may set off even greater turbulence, Iran must withstand it, and Saudi Arabia's little crown prince Salman must also be more cautious!