The Ball Is In Mr. Trump's Court

Another tragic war is unfolding in the Middle East—this time between Israel and Iran.

- WANG SON-TAEK

Images of bombed buildings, burning infrastructure, and grieving families are once again filling TV screens. Civilians are paying the highest price. Lives are lost. Homes destroyed. Futures shattered. Survivors are left not only with physical wounds but with deep psychological scars that may never heal. War is evil. It must be resisted, restrained, and ultimately abolished. As the violence escalates, the world must ask: Who is responsible for stopping this conflict? Who has the power to bring it to an end?

Let us begin with the leaders directly involved in the conflict. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei of Iran are at the center of this war. Both are national decision-makers. Netanyahu has long been vocal about the threat posed by Iran's nuclear ambitions. Israel has maintained that it will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, viewing it as an existential threat. But even if Israel had legitimate concerns about Iran's nuclear facilities, war should have been the absolute last resort.

Instead of waiting for negotiations between Washington and Tehran to conclude, Israel acted unilaterally. It preemptively struck Iranian military and nuclear-related targets, throwing the region into chaos. That was reckless, undermining international efforts to resolve the issue through diplomacy.