Thread by @ahatanhel

Both sides of this discussion are annoying.

I don’t think Iran's aid to Russia justifies everything Zelensky says. And I don’t like how some foreigners use it to justify war.

But if you’re talking about Ukraine’s position on Iran, you can’t ignore the Shahed drones. 🧵1/12

https://twitter.com/mehdirhasan/status/2041646301700383125

Like every Ukrainian, I’ve spent many days without electricity and water since September 2022 because Iran provided Russia with drones and instructors to attack Ukrainian civilian infrastructure. Many civilians have been killed and injured as a result. Nevertheless… 2/12

The Israeli-US attack on Iran is a crime against the Iranian people and international law.

This is the starting point from which any conversation about this war should begin. Nothing the Ayatollah regime has done in Iran or abroad justifies this attack. 3/12

No matter how much I dislike the regime, Iran has the right to resist aggression. Their attacks on Israeli and US military bases are completely justified.

But attacks on civilian targets in Arab countries that did not strike Iran are not justified. 4/12

Ukraine’s real participation in this conflict was limited to providing air defense assistance to third countries. There is nothing wrong with this, even though the reactionary Gulf monarchies are not the best partners. 5/12

On his recent tour of West Asia, Zelensky visited almost every country except for Israel. Moreover, according to him, he has not spoken to Netanyahu since October 8, 2023.

Regarding the US, Zelensky’s activity in the Gulf countries has only irritated Trump. 6/12

Zelensky’s post that Mehdi Hasan quoted does not directly support the war.

The main problem is not what he wrote but what he didn't: he didn't condemn the US. But for obvious reasons, Zelensky can't do this even if he wanted to. 7/12

IMHO this is one of the cases when he had better to remain silent.

Zelensky talks about the impotence of the UNSC but the main thing this Council should do in this situation is to force the US and Israel to stop the attack. 8/12

In general, one should not expect morally exemplary behavior from the leaders of an invaded country. Such a situation creates certain limitations. 9/12

It is much easier for a country like Spain to take the right position, and Pedro Sánchez showed himself excellently - he simultaneously condemned the US and provided Ukraine with scarce Patriot missiles. 10/12
pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/…

And it would be better for Mehdi Hassan to focus his criticism on the leaders of other European countries, who are not in such a difficult situation as Zelensky, but who have not managed to do what Sanchez did. 11/12

In the end, I wish the Iranian people to overthrow the regime, but unfortunately it seems like Trump and Netanyahu have only strengthened and prolonged it.

Btw in that post Zelensky talked about the Strait of Hormuz - a much more ambiguous problem. Closing the Strait is a violation of international law, but it's a defensive step by a country attacked by a much stronger power. This should not be equated with the US attack. 13/12

But there is nothing ambiguous about Iran's intention to charge transit fees to tankers in the Strait now. It is a violation of international law. And so is Iran's attack on an oil pipeline in KSA today. 14/12

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