India, July 24 -- "In war, the loudest sound is not the explosion of bombs, but the silent cry of innocent people who lose everything."

Every war begins with promises of security. It ends with funeral processions, broken homes, frightened children and shattered economies. The ongoing conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States is proving once again that wars rarely solve the problems they are meant to address. Instead, they often create new crises while ordinary people pay the highest price.

The first justification for confronting Iran was that it was supposedly on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. But an important question remains. If building a nuclear bomb had been Tehran's immediate objective, why did Iran sign the ...