Catastrophe in the making

President Donald Trump's vocabulary and mindset are quite unbecoming of the high office he holds as the world's lone superpower. The impulsive leader's ultimatum to decimate the "whole [Persian] civilisation" and then retreat in a jiff while looking out for a thaw with Tehran is sending confusing signals. Such contradictions only reflect madness and insanity. Bourses in Manhattan plunged, and oil prices soared on the wayward assumptions from Trump's statements, as world leaders feared a nuclear catastrophe in the making. The necessary fence-mending was, however, done by Vice President JD Vance as he categorically said that nuking the Islamic Republic is not an option. Iran, likewise, seems to be in a perplexed mode, as it keeps adding to its list of demands, such as calling upon the US to accept defeat and vacate military bases in the Gulf. The Islamic Republic, it seems, is suffering from a lack of coherence between its political and military spheres as far as opting for diplomacy is concerned. The repeated rejection of ceasefire offers and a roadmap for stepping back from the brink, as advocated by Pakistan and China, is regrettable. Iran's call for a permanent end to the war on all theatres in the Mideast, dismantling of all US bases in the region, implementation of a new transit protocol that recognises Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz, and lifting of economic sanctions could be an acceptable wish-list once the hostilities come to an end. Upping the ante by continuously attacking Gulf states, as is evident from its overnight attack on Jubail in Saudi Arabia, is a point of concern. The same has been condemned by Pakistan, and rightly so, as it could be a prelude to something catastrophic, and a leeway for Israel to move ahead with its 'Greater Israel' plan. It's time for all warring factions to step back from rhetoric and undesired trigger-happiness. The region is in a despicable shape, and this madness of egoism must come to an end.