In the space of a few days Israeli and US attacks on Iranian soil and the killing of the Supreme Leader have unleashed senseless destruction, including deadly attacks on schools and hospitals, engulfed neighbouring countries, brought air travel to a standstill and caused mayhem on energy markets.

And this is just the beginning of a war that Trump says could last several weeks, perhaps longer. It is a war long in the making. How are we to make sense of it?

Is it the continuation of the unrelenting hostility of successive US administrations towards the present Iranian regime, indeed any Iranian government that seeks to resist US strategic and economic interests? Is it further evidence of Samuel Huntington’s foreshadowed clash of civilizations’? Or just another attempt to reverse America’s eroding supremacy on the global stage? Perhaps, it is an attempt to establish a large and secure sphere of influence in the face of China’s rise and Russia’s resurgence.

SHAPE Co-Conveners and leading public intellectuals, Professor Richard Falk, Professor Joseph Camilleri and Dr Chandra Muzaffar have been considering these questions at length. At the webinar they will engage in a probing analysis of the underlying causes and explores possible responses. Their presentations will be followed by two insightful respondents, and Q&A. 

Time: LA 6:30 am    New York 9:30 am    London 1:30 pm   Cairo 3.30 pm  
Kuala Lumpur 9:30 pm  Melbourne 0.30 am (Monday).