New Delhi, June 29 -- The world paused on June 13 when Israel targeted major military and nuclear facilities, and crucial personalities in Iran as it launched a series of attacks to disempower the West Asian country.

The involvement of the Houthis of Yemen and the US in this high-tension conflict stopped short of a nuclear apocalypse--but this was not entirely unexpected. Some saw this coming.

Supporting Israel, the US went ahead and struck three key nuclear sites in Iran on the ninth day of the military aggression. In support of Iran, the Houthis read this as a "declaration of war" and called off their ceasefire with the US. This escalation was a result of the searing animosity between the arch rivals of West Asia--Iran, for its resist...