Israel – A Rogue State

The term “rogue state” is political and Western in its origin and connotations. Like “terrorism” and a “terrorist state,” there is no fixed and universal definition of the term. The Western states, such as the USA, have used this term to politicise the issues and make pretexts to strike and invade other countries in the world.  

In international politics, a rogue state is used to describe a country that is seen as a threat to global peace and security due to its actions or policies. It is often used to describe countries that are seen as sponsors of terrorism, that are developing weapons of mass destruction, or that are violating international law or norms in other ways. Nevertheless, this is not a unanimous definition of the term.  

In the wake of the Cold War, the USA used this term to point out states like North Korea, Cuba, Libya, Iran, and Iraq as threats to international security and peace. In 1994, for the first time, the USA National Security Advisor, Anthony Lake, in his article published in the Foreign Policy Journal, labelled five nations as rogue states, i.e., North Korea, Cuba, Iran, Libya under Muammar Gaddafi, and Iraq under Saddam Hussein.  The country that did not subscribe to U.S. interests in the region was labelled as a rogue state. The state that tried to acquire nuclear capability by defying the West-oriented discriminatory Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Regime was to be labelled as a rogue state. The country that had exhibited an open threat to the existence of Israel was also dubbed a rogue state, such as Iraq under Saddam Hussein, Syria under Bashar al-Assad, and Iran under the Islamic regime.

At the beginning of the 21st century also, the USA labeled North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Libya, and Syria as the ‘Axis of Evil,’ implying that these countries had objectives to acquire weapons of mass destruction and support terrorism; hence, they projected threat to the world peace and international security. Therefore, the world needed to eliminate the capacity of the rogue states before it was too late. To accomplish this mission, no other state except the USA would take the self-declared lead. Thus, we saw the USA waging preemptive invasions on Iraq in 2003 and Libya in 2011. Of all 5 declared rogue states by the USA, three have been destroyed, and their regimes changed. In Iraq, Libya, and Syria, we see governments subservient to the USA and submissive to Israel. 

Pakistan, though, met the American-crafted criteria of a rogue state, but its geostrategic location saved it from being labelled as such. Whether it was during the Cold War or after 9/11, the geostrategic location of the country favoured it. In both cases, the USA needed Pakistan as a military and logistical supply conduit and as an ally.  Pakistan’s role as a non-NATO frontline ally of the USA in both cases was against Afghanistan. However, seen through the context of the ongoing Israel-Iran war, if, as a result, Iran is defeated and its regime is changed, then the final destination of the USA-Israel nexus may be Pakistan. Because it, being the only Muslim nuclear weapon state, could not be accepted for too much and too long. Israel, by colluding with India, would dub Pakistan as its next existential threat to its survival.

For Pakistan at that moment, the options would be either to choose between friendship and enmity with Israel, because all Arabs would fall into the lap of Israel much sooner than the imminent downfall of the Khamenei regime in Iran. In the first case, Pakistan will be dearer to the USA, and in the second case, it will be the target of the USA’s sanctions and threats. Keeping all this in mind, one can predict that the possible outcomes of the ongoing Israel-Iran war were one of the agenda points of the anticipated meet-up of the Field Martial of Pakistan with the President of the USA in the coming days.

Given the politically motivated usage of the term by the USA against the various states of the world, scholars and political analysts across the globe did not see eye to eye with it. They rather applied the same connotations of the term to the USA and Israel as well. Noam Chomsky and William Blum were the people who vehemently asserted that the actual rogue states in the world were the USA and its ally, Israel. Noam Chomsky wrote a book, Rogue State: The Rule of Force in World Affairs, while William Blum came out with his famous thesis, Rogue State: A Guide to the World’s Only Superpower. They termed the USA as a rogue state at the global level and Israel in the Middle East. 

According to them, both states disregard international law and norms. Both have aggressive and offensive foreign policies. Both their covert and overt intelligence and military operations have toppled the legitimate and elected governments of the countries. Both have a record of assassinating key politicians, revolutionary leaders, freedom fighters, military commanders, and nuclear scientists of various states. Both are neo-colonialists and neo-expansionists in their foreign policy motives and military designs. Trump’s recent announcement of occupying the Gaza Strip and Israel’s policy of Greater Israel is an apt illustration of this argument.

Given its policies and their executions, generally since its illegitimate establishment on the land of the Palestinians, and particularly for the last two years, we see Israel very well fitting into the criteria of a ‘rogue state.’ Since October 2023, it has crossed all limits of international law, protocol, Humanitarian law, and Human Rights. According to UNICEF, more than 50,000 innocent children have been killed by Israeli forces. The International Court of Justice has declared the Israeli PM a criminal and issued an arrest warrant. Israel has violated the sovereignty of its neighbouring states, such as Lebanon, Iran, Yemen, and Syria, and killed their people. It seems that the USA has given Netanyahu a carte blanche in the region. And, since June 13, 2025, using the Iranian nuclear program as a pretext, Israel has officially declared a very horrible ‘preemptive’ war against Iran with the very clear objective of toppling the Islamic government in Iran. In his interview with FOX News on June 15, 2025, Netanyahu, in reply to a question about whether the regime change was his aim, said: “Could certainly be the result because the Iran regime is very weak… we are geared to do whatever is necessary to achieve our dual aim, to remove existential threats…. the nuclear threat and the ballistic missile threat.”

Israel has placed global peace and security at stake. It has violated the United Nations charter and the sovereignty of Syria, Jordan, and Iraq by firing missiles and flying aircraft into Iran through their airspaces. Israel has deliberately dragged three countries into a risk and dilemma. Their airspaces are being used by both belligerents now. The war has reached its ferocious level as of today. Both belligerents have targeted each other’s sensitive military and civil installations and buildings, causing heavy losses to each other. The USA is fully supporting Israel in its criminal aggression against Iran, while Iran stands alone. Both nations now seem to be annihilating each other’s political, military, and economic power and potential.  It is beyond doubt that the conflict will prolong and extend to a wider level if Israel is not stopped. It proves that Israel is a rogue state, and it is to blame for the unfolding wider military conflict engulfing the whole region and impacting the global, especially oil and supply chain. Because not only Israel but also Iran’s destruction will have horrible implications for the international political and economic system.

So, China, Russia, and the Arab World must wake up now and stop Israel through multilateral diplomacy at this point in history. Otherwise, it will be too late!

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