Forgotten Dairies
U.S.-Israeli War on Iran: Africa’s Reactions Through the Prism of the Global South -By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
Africa’s reactions to the war are primarily through the prism of the Global South, viewing Iran as resisting American-Israeli hegemonic designs, as, for example, manifested in two examples: South Africa’s rejection of American pressures to wean South Africa away from its support to Iran. Plus, Somalia joined Pakistan and China in supporting the Russian resolution in the UN Security Council seeking an immediate ceasefire and negotiations to halt the War, despite strident Western/US opposition to the Russian resolution.
In an interview, Senator Mushahid Hussain, President of Pakistan-Africa Institute for Development & Research (PAIDR), explicitly offers a few important insights into the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and its implications for BRICS+ and Africa. Here are the interview excerpts:
What’s your interpretation of the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, in the context of developments in Middle East region?
Mushahid Hussain: The US-Israel illegal and unwarranted war on Iran was spearheaded by Netanyahu and actively supported by Trump as a Joint Operation with Three (3) fundamental goals: a) decimate the Islamic Revolutionary Regime; b) reshape the Middle East as part of Zionism’s ‘Greater Israel’ Project; c) preclude any possibility of establishing a Palestinian State with Jerusalem as its capital.
What are your assessment, Iran joined BRICS+ in 2025, China’s and Russia’s roles as members of this association, in this U.S.-Israel war with Iran?
Hussain: China and Russia have played, by and large, a low-key diplomatic role in supporting Iran but without any active political initiatives. BRICS is divided from within, as India is keen to curry favour with USA and avoids close association with BRICS since the time that Trump attacked BRICS last year. But China & Russia are clear political beneficiaries of the war as American prestige is at an all-time low, having got entangled in an unwinnable war, resulting in weakening of US ‘sole superpower’ image.
As an Asian expert, how would you characterise Africa’s reactions? And do you think that reactions were objectively authentic, basing perspectives broadly on Arab and Middle East contributions to Africa’s development?
Hussain: Africa’s reactions to the war are primarily through the prism of the Global South, viewing Iran as resisting American-Israeli hegemonic designs, as, for example, manifested in two examples: South Africa’s rejection of American pressures to wean South Africa away from its support to Iran. Plus, Somalia joined Pakistan and China in supporting the Russian resolution in the UN Security Council seeking an immediate ceasefire and negotiations to halt the War, despite strident Western/US opposition to the Russian resolution.