Nigeria, Aug. 24 -- It is rather unfortunate that the long-anticipated war between the two sworn enemies in the Middle East - Israel and Iran - eventually got fought. This intervention is not focused on which side is right or wrong - a theme that will continue to be interrogated, for a long time to come. Rather, it is to underscore the questionable circumstances in which the war - which Donald Trump is now dubbing, 'The 12-Day War' - was fought. These were particularly quite concerning circumstances, made so by at least three elements.

First, Iran was actually in negotiations with the US when the first volley of preemptive attacks was launched against it by Israel. Of course, the Trump administration itself chose to hit the Islamic Repub...