After US President Donald Trump’s repeated threats this week to send Iran back to the Stone Age, where do we think this war, now in its second month, is going? And how would that affect the world that has been pushed into a state of chaos?
Shortly before midnight on Thursday, the people of Pakistan were bombarded by their own government with an unprecedented hike in the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel. This pushed the country into economic turmoil, affecting almost all households except the very rich.
Even when this seemed inevitable, the resulting burden on the weak shoulders of the population was obviously unbearable. Immediately the reality of this situation began to dawn on the minds of those sitting at the table of authority. Hence, exactly 24 hours later, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had to address the nation to announce a cut in petrol prices.
This presentation by the prime minister before midnight on Friday was a sad and even alarming reflection of Pakistan’s poor economic condition. This war, which has driven up energy costs, has exposed many of our fundamental weaknesses. We had built no defenses against such unforeseen disasters. Now we are suddenly faced with challenges that test the collective strength and sense of purpose in a poor society.
How happy we have been in our diplomatic triumph in serving as a mediator in this war. This is certainly an achievement, and one hopes that the prospect of meaningful negotiations between the US and Iran is not yet completely defeated.
However, all attention has now shifted to the battlefield. President Trump’s address to the nation on Wednesday night – Thursday morning in Pakistan – clearly signaled an escalation, and the evidence was available shortly after the US and Israel stepped up their attacks on Iran. In response, Iran launched several missiles at Israel and the Gulf countries.
A major development was that Iran shot down a US fighter jet over the country on Friday.
This was revealed at about the same time CNN issued its exclusive report on the latest US intelligence assessments, which said about half of Iran’s missile launchers were still intact and thousands of one-way attack drones remained in Iran’s arsenal despite the daily pounding of US and Israeli strikes against military targets over the past five weeks. CNN have cited sources with knowledge of intelligence.
This only means that momentum has picked up from both sides and there will be many updates to the news pages. But the focus of what is supposed to be a roundup of sorts should rest largely on President Trump and on his shifting positions. In this respect, his fixation on the Stone Age metaphor is intriguing and instructive. As if he is bent on destroying all structures in Iran that characterize a modern country if its leaders do not agree to his terms to end the war.
It just so happens that President Trump addressed the nation from the White House with his threat to bomb Iran into the Stone Age on the same day America launched its mission to the moon, a truly inspiring undertaking that exemplifies an extraordinary human achievement. With this ability to venture into outer space, America is also willing to send a country back to a prehistoric existence.
I don’t need to go into detail, but Nasa’s Artemis II is a high-stakes journey around the moon that, according to published reports, marks America’s boldest step to return to the lunar surface in the near future. Four astronauts, including a woman for the first time in history, take part in the lunar mission, the first crewed trip to the moon since 1972.
This is a 10-day mission to orbit the moon and travel further from Earth than any human before. At the start, an astronaut said: “We are going for all of humanity”. Very pious thought, no doubt. But humanity as such is wounded by an unjustified war that the United States has started in collaboration with Israel.
Let me recall the memorable phrase spoken by Neil Armstrong in July 1969 when he became the first person to set foot on the moon: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind”. Ah, but how many giant leaps would humanity need to return to the Stone Age? Or just a nuclear step?
In any case, it was only in a post on Truth Social that Trump used the term, which has also been used by other US leaders. He wrote that until the Strait of Hormuz is open, “we will blow Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Age !!!” He said similar words in an interview with Reuters.
However, his address on Wednesday was a formal, supposedly thought-out statement. He said: “We’re going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks, we’re going to bring them back to the stone age where they belong”.
Oh, where do they belong? Not surprisingly, Trump’s defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, was more succinct. His post on X was just five words: “Back to the Stone Age”.
Iran has of course responded to this, including with action in the war arena. In a post on social media, a head of the Revolutionary Guard noted Trump’s threat, adding: “Hollywood delusions have so poisoned your mind that with your paltry 250-year history you threaten a civilization over 6,000 years old”.
Time and again, Trump has boasted about his military’s achievements in destroying Iran’s ability to continue fighting. Just a few days ago, Pete Hegseth said that the United States had gained total control over Iran’s skies for the first time since the war began. By shooting down a US warplane on Friday, Iran’s military showed it can still fight back. What can happen when a mighty power confronts an ancient civilization?
The author is a senior journalist. He can be found at: [email protected]
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Pakinomist.tv’s editorial policy.
