The beginning of Cold War II?

World news is beginning to look like the plot of a “Mission: Impossible” movie.

Grave threats against imperialists and Zionists, covert assassinations of nuclear physicists, conspiracy theories dating back decades, warmongering and xenophobia abound.

Most of it has been spurred by the targeted killing of Iranian nuclear scientist Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan in Tehran last week. The professor and scientist was the victim of a car bomb reportedly attached by motorcyclists. The murder was committed on the second anniversary of the killing of another Iranian nuclear scientist, the fourth such attack in the past two years.

These incidents have been considered a part of an ongoing effort to disrupt Iran’s nuclear program. Following last week’s attack, an Iranian general condemned Israel and the United States as “supporters of state terrorism.”

If the U.S. or Israel is at all involved in these killings, wouldn’t he be right?

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton denied “any United States involvement in any kind of act of violence inside Iran.”

Message boards and comments sections on news sites are buzzing with conspiracies and disturbing accusations of people being blindly patriotic, being agents of Israel or being Muslim sympathizers.

The attack and accusations have emerged in the wake of increased sanctions levied against Iran by the U.S.

The Pentagon has also had to clarify that the arrival of a second U.S. aircraft carrier in the “area of responsibility” was a “routine” move that wasn’t “an indication of anything specific in respect to Iran.”

While it is important the U.S. denied and condemned the attacks against Iranian nuclear scientists, tensions are undeniably rising between the two countries.

Accusing the U.S. of secretive action against Iran has seemed to elicit three responses from online commenters.

Some are disgusted and wouldn’t be surprised if the U.S. was carrying out unconstitutional military action against an Islamic nation. Others are shocked by the suggestion and deny outright the possibility of U.S. terrorism. And others still believe the U.S. could be responsible for the killings but see it as a necessary evil in the name of protecting the country.

This necessitates the question: Would you really be comfortable if the U.S. were involved in some sort of covert operation against Iran’s nuclear program?

I understand people who are concerned with the possibility of Iran’s nuclear armament, of which the U.S. and Israel have accused the country.

Nevertheless, Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi maintains that Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful and that “Iranian scientists are more determined than ever in striding toward Iran’s progress.”

Indeed, since the attack on Ahmadi Roshan, more than 1,000 students in Iran have applied to change their majors to nuclear physics and nuclear engineering. Terrorist efforts have done seemingly little to dissuade Iran from pursuing its nuclear progress.

So, talking about the movement of an aircraft, motorcycle assassinations and enrollment in nuclear physics programs is not my usual cup of tea. It seems important to me, though, to acknowledge the heated — or cold — state of world affairs.

I’m no idealist, but I do wish we could make worldwide nuclear disarmament a reality. I wish the grand posturing of a few warmongers didn’t overshadow the needs of starving millions.

Yes, I wish we could all just get along.

That’s not going to happen, so instead, I urge you and your friends to consider the implications of assuming anything about the U.S. or Israel or Iran.

We don’t need the violence and paranoia of a Cold War II.

­— ptbeane@indiana.edu