I find myself once more tugging at the sparse hairs that diplomacy has spared me, searching, along with every concerned Gambian, for Foreign Minister Dr Mamadou Tangara’s public stance on the Israel‑Iran war now blazing through its sixth day . As I keep on reiterating, The Gambia is not just any by‑stander; President Adama Barrow currently holds the rotating chair of the 57‑nation Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Only hours ago, neighboring Senegal, also overwhelmingly Muslim, issued a measured but firm communique. Acting on a request from Iranian Ambassador Hassan Asgari, Dakar condemned “all acts of aggression and violations of international law,” urged an immediate ceasefire, and warned of regional destabilization if the salvos continue.
If Senegal can find its diplomatic voice, what constrains Banjul, whose OIC gavel symbolizes the very obligation to de‑escalate such crises?
The fighting has already spilled far beyond symbolic targets. Iranian drones have struck Tel Aviv and Haifa; Israeli jets answered with deep‑penetration raids on air‑defense and nuclear sites, leaving civilian neighborhoods on both sides smouldering. Hospitals in Gaza report more than 1,500 beds knocked out, while Israel’s central districts mourn fresh casualties from missile debris.
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, demands a “real end” to Iran’s nuclear ambitions and has publicly counseled Tehran’s ten‑million residents to evacuate, an unmistakable hint that American firepower may soon enter the fray.
Israel’s declared objective is to cripple Iran’s fortified enrichment plant at Fordo. Yet only one weapon on Earth can reliably punch through the mountain shielding it, the GBU‑57 A/B, a Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), a 30,000‑pound bomb carried exclusively by the U.S. Air Force’s B‑2 Spirit stealth bomber.
Should Washington supply, or deploy, this ordnance, the conflict risks leaping from a regional inferno to a global blaze. Memories of regime‑change disasters in Iraq and Libya are still raw; Iran’s 90‑million‑strong population would dwarf those humanitarian calamities.
Under the OIC Charter, the Chair is expected to “foster cooperation… and strive for the settlement of conflicts.” Silence, therefore, is not neutrality; it is abdication of responsibility. An emergency OIC ministerial, virtual or in‑person, could like I have been saying call for an immediate humanitarian truce to evacuate civilians and deliver aid; establish a contact group (Gambia, Senegal, Türkiye, Indonesia, and Qatar) to shuttle between Tehran, Tel Aviv, and Washington; offer the OIC’s good offices for back‑channel talks focused on nuclear safeguards and regional security guarantees.
Such steps would honor our Islamic, African, and human obligations, while projecting The Gambia’s soft‑power credentials far beyond its borders.
Honorable Minister Tangara, forego the self‑congratulatory retrospectives about 2017. The crisis before us is now, and the world is waiting for the OIC Chair to lead. Issue a principled statement. Convene the member states. Show that Banjul can be more than a ceremonial capital; that it can be a catalyst for peace.
History’s verdict will be unforgiving if, amid the roar of missiles and the wail of sirens, The Gambia’s voice remains unheard.
By Retired Colonel Samsudeen Sarr
