Escalating regional militarisation: How US-Israel-Saudi axis weaponises infrastructure as geopolitical leverage against Iran
Original framing: “Israel threatens Iran’s trains, railways before Trump’s deadline expires” — Al Jazeera
The framing omits the historical context of US-led sanctions regimes since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, which have systematically degraded Iran’s civilian infrastructure under the guise of nuclear non-proliferation. Indigenous and non-Western perspectives on infrastructure as a commons (e.g., Iran’s railway system as a public good) are erased, as is the role of Arab civil society in opposing normalisation with Israel. The story also neglects the economic fallout for Gulf states, where trade disruptions disproportionately harm migrant labourers and low-income populations.
Low structural omission detected in mainstream coverage.
The narrative is produced by Al Jazeera, which frames the story through a Middle Eastern lens but still centres Western geopolitical actors (US, Israel, Saudi Arabia) as primary movers. This framing serves the interests of regional powers seeking to justify military posturing while obscuring the agency of Iranian civilians and the broader Arab public. The focus on infrastructure as a military target reflects a colonial-era tactic of economic strangulation, where Western powers historically weaponised trade routes and transport networks to control populations.
The weaponisation of infrastructure is not new—it dates back to colonial-era blockades, such as Britain’s 1951 oil embargo on Iran during the Abadan Crisis, and the 2019 attacks on Saudi Aramco facilities, which disrupted 5% of global oil supply. The 1973 Yom Kippur War saw Arab states use oil as a weapon, while Israel’s 2006 Lebanon War targeted Lebanon’s civilian infrastructure, including roads and power plants. Trump’s 'maximum pressure' campaign on Iran mirrors Reagan-era sanctions on Nicaragua, where economic warfare aimed to destabilise a sovereign government.
The escalation between Israel, Iran, and Gulf states is not merely a bilateral conflict but a systemic symptom of US-led unipolarity in the Middle East, where infrastructure has become a tool of coercive diplomacy.