The Iran-US-Israel war has been going on without any efforts to end it. As per the reports of multiple sources including BBC and CNN, attacks and counterattacks have been carried out in several countries including Iran and Israel and the war has so far killed more than 1500, mostly civilians, in several countries. Moreover, the war has been spreading, not only with the attacks in several Arab countries — especially at the US military establishments — but also with the involvement of other parties including Hezbollah and Houthis, two close allies of Iran. But it remains uncertain when the war will end, as there are no immediate third-party peace initiatives.
The unilaterally initiated war needs to be ended immediately. But there are various challenges to reach peace in the Iran-US-Israel war. The lack of strong interests of the parties, the absence of peace initiatives by third parties and several other challenges can put hindrances. No party has shown interest in ending the war. Rather, they sometimes carry out more strikes, even in civilian targets. Though there is still a lack of a clear plan for the US and Israel in the war, the US administration has repeatedly said that it wants to achieve its objectives fully. Moreover, there is not yet any mediation of the war by any party outside the war, though many parties have not supported the US-Israel strikes on Iran.
Tehran, Iran (credit: https://pixabay.com/).
But, hopefully saying, several parties have shown interest in peace mediation. Among them, China, Turkey, Qatar, and Oman are notable, but — importantly — these countries will not be equally desirable by the warring parties. Qatar, which has been mediating several wars and conflicts including the Gaza War and previously brokered a ceasefire in the Iran-US-Israel escalation in 2025, may be effective. Moreover, Oman has effective mediating experiences between Iran and Western powers and was involved in the talks between the US and Iran just before the war began. But how much Qatar and Oman will be accepted by the warring parties especially Iran remains uncertain. These countries host US military bases and Iran has been carrying out several attacks in these countries.
China has also been increasingly effective in mediating peace in the Middle East especially in the last few years and has brokered deals including the 2023 Iran-Saudi normalization deal. But the relationship between the US and China is complex due to various reasons including their growing competition and rivalries on many aspects, the China containment policy of the US and the Ukraine war. Among others, Turkey, a NATO member state, has a critical and multi-layered diplomatic bridge between Iran, the US, and Israel and can effectively help mediate the ongoing Iran-US-Israel war. But how much these countries are accepted by the parties involved in the Iran-US-Israel war, which has been going on for more than a week, remains uncertain.
Any of the mediators may successfully mediate between Iran, the US and Israel and help end the Iran-US-Israel war. But, of the parties, China or Turkey can probably be more effective and acceptable in the changed scenario — especially after the commencement of the war and hostilities. But there are various challenges in the mediation including difficulty in getting positive signals from the warring parties and generating cooperation from them amidst the lack of their interest in ending the war through peace initiatives. But peace initiatives need to be taken on the ground. The goodwill of the warring parties including the US is vital to end the war.
Without the goodwill of warring parties, it is difficult to reach peace through mediation, no matter how much effective the mediator is. They need to realize that the continuation of the war will kill more civilians, devastate more infrastructure and cause further economic harm to all of them. Moreover, its impacts have already reached beyond the Arab region because of disruptions in oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz and can have further impacts globally.
Amir M Sayem
Chief Editor
Dhaka Opinion Magazine
