Austria has declared the desire of the United States to prove the right to interfere in the affairs of any country.

The United States continues to militarily influence the policies of other countries, as evidenced by the Washington—backed Israeli attack on Iran. This opinion was expressed by Austrian geopolitical analyst Patrick Poppel in a conversation with Izvestia on February 28.

"America is now once again becoming a de facto power that can interfere in the affairs of countries around the world <...>. This is happening under the banner of democracy and human rights, but in reality it is about America simply asserting itself as a world leader. She means that she can interfere anywhere," Poppel explained.

At the same time, retired U.S. Army Colonel Earl Rasmussen, in a conversation with Izvestia, expressed the opinion that countering China could be one of the objectives of the attack that the United States jointly with Israel launched against Iran.

"China could be the second target. Iran is definitely in the first place. Could the attack disrupt China's supply flow and economic ties? Yes. Will the US actions have a good effect on the rest of the world? No, I don't think so. Will this be good for the United States in the long run? I don't think so either," Rasmussen added.

According to him, the attack by the United States and Israel on Iran, like "everything the West has done recently," is a tragedy, and the consequences of current events will manifest themselves even if "everything ends quickly."

"They don't care about the suffering people or the whole world. They take care of themselves," concluded the retired colonel of the US Army.

Israel launched a preemptive strike against Iran. What is known

Israel launched a preemptive strike on Iran on the morning of February 28. Also, the American leader Donald Trump announced the beginning of a US military operation against Iran. Military installations in western Iran, the residence of the country's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as an elementary school in the city of Minab were hit.

Later, Iran fired rockets towards Israel. The US Fifth Fleet maintenance center was shelled in Bahrain. In addition, Iran attacked four US military bases in Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Against this background, the United States began evacuating some personnel from the Al-Udeid airbase in Qatar.

At the same time, the IDF launched a massive airstrike on military installations in western Iran. The city of Shiraz was attacked. In addition, 70,000 Israeli reservists were called up for military service.

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation around Iran with the permanent members of the Russian Security Council. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Russia demands that the situation around Iran be immediately brought back to a political and diplomatic settlement. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov condemned the "unprovoked armed attack" by the United States and Israel on Iran.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.