WHAT DID THESE PAST 24 HOURS TEACH US ABOUT INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS?

I. Violation of Sovereignty:

It is quite evident that Social Darwinism in International Affairs has been quite prevalent, where respect of sovereignty and diplomacy only works with countries that possess nuclear weapons, a strong military, or a semi-economic hegemony in a region, but these laws have been broken. Iraq possesses neither and has long been criticized internationally for being diplomatically weak, having its sovereignty violated, and, of course, being dangerous to live in. The Gulf experienced the same events that Iraq has been experiencing in 24 hours. Qatar, Kuwait, Emirates have all been violated by Iran, yet not a single bullet has been fired; the only response from gulf countries is simply “We condemn.”

II. HOW THE WAR IS AFFECTING KURDISTAN AS A POLITICAL ENTITY:

Iran isn’t blind, and neither are the militias; Iran understands that Kurdistan’s presence in the region is a political asset for the United States. American presence supported by having a big consulate in Kurdistan testifies to the diplomatic relations between the KRG and the U.S. Targeting American Bases is the most logical option for Iran to opt for at this point, it knows very well that American allies and American assets pose a threat to the Islamic Republic, and therefore, Kurdistan must pay a price of instability.

III. PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC:

Iran uses psychological warfare and mass psychology well, I do not have enough information to see if internet exists in Iran or it has been changed to the Intranet, but there is a reason why the Islamic Republic announced that the Supreme Leader has been killed 5 hours later: chaos is an element the enemy deploys in order to gain leverage in warfare, the more chaos ensues, the more focus is put on deescalating the local chaos than focusing on the war, Iran understands that Iranian’s access to free media will allow public perception to be favored from American tweets, especially with Donald Trump’s promises of liberating Iran.