ROME, June 17. /TASS/. Israel attacked Iran to help US interests in the Middle East as it loses its grip on global power amid the shift to multipolarity, former Italian envoy to Tehran and Beijing Alberto Bradanini said.

In his opinion, Israel's aggression, carried out under the pretext that Iran will soon have an atomic bomb, is actually aimed at bringing this energy-rich country to heel.

"The United States, though approaching its sunset, is still an empire, waging imperial wars in Europe against Russia through Ukraine, which is paying a huge price. The task of fighting Iran, which refuses to bend to America’s will, has been assigned to Israel, whose interests in this case coincide with its own colonial interests in relation to the lands of the Palestinians, as well as Lebanon and Syria," Bradanini told TASS in an interview.

He stressed that Washington’s efforts to maintain control over the Middle East, a region with key mineral resources still critical to the global economy, remain vital to preserving its global dominance.

"It is being lost with the emergence of the multipolar world highlighted by BRICS, the SCO, and the global South. All this is replacing the unipolar supremacy of the West, led by the United States," he continued. "If Iran falls, the only country in the Middle East region that does not obey the United States, Russia, will be ‘under siege’. China needs oil and gas, while the US empire is prolonging its life by destabilizing others — this is the structural reason. Although, of course, there are also shorter-term objectives," the former ambassador explained.

The expert dismissed the Western narrative that Iran is a nuclear threat.

"The only country with atomic weapons in the region is Israel. Even if Iran had an atomic bomb, it would serve solely as a deterrent. If Israel and the United States do not want Iran to have a deterrent tool, the only reason there could be for that is that they want to attack it," Bradanini said.

He pointed out that the real nuclear threat emanates from Israel; and if they use this capability, he says, the United States would share responsibility.

Meanwhile, Bradanini said that the United States is not interested in a significant expansion of the conflict at this stage because of the danger of rising oil prices, which could undermine stock markets.