Experts in Tehran say Iran could be heading for war
A prominent Iranian analyst, often referred to as an expert on US affairs, says political threats against Tehran are evolving and taking on a military form.
Mehdi Motaharnia, told the Didban Iran website on June 18 that the threats originating in particular from the American Central Command (CENTCOM) in the region are no longer of a political nature and can be qualified as military.
Speaking in the cryptic language of Iranian analysts, Motaharnia added that “these threats are coming through Israel’s security tunnel.” He added that Tel Aviv’s actions are increasingly elaborate and can change the situation in the region and push it towards a collision.
Motaharnia said indications show a military confrontation is not only “possible” but “likely”.
He argued that US President Joe Biden’s upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia aims to resolve the Arab-Israeli problem and bring about significant strategic changes, including bringing Saudi Arabia closer to Israel. All of this, he said, will have serious repercussions for Iran.
In reality, Israel this week called for a regional alliance against Iran under the aegis of the United States.
Iranian analyst, Mehdi Motaharnia
It could also lead to further isolation of Iran and create an anti-Iranian alliance. Motaharnia said a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting will also be held during Biden’s visit to the region, which should lead to a regional order against Tehran.
Meanwhile, the former editor of the radical daily Kayhan, Mehdi Nasiri, also said the very day the Islamic Republic is heading for war.
Nasiri wrote in an article: “Evidence such as the suspension of nuclear negotiations in Vienna and the escalation of tensions between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) could indicate that the Islamic Republic is interested in the war and that such a war is likely to begin.”
Nasiri added: “If such a war breaks out, it could lead to a major humanitarian and economic catastrophe for Iranians who have still not recovered from the scars of the 8-year war with Iraq in the 1980s.”
Former editor of the conservative daily Kayhan, Mehdi Nasiri
Nasiri warned the leaders of the Islamic Republic that this war is in contradiction with the national interests of Iran and that they do not have the right to impose such a conflict on the people even if they think that it would be a anti-imperialist initiative. “They have no right to start a war based on ideological and religious justifications without first seeking the consent of the Iranian people.”
In a candid statement from a person living in Iran, he said: “While clerics and other members of government lead an aristocratic life, they have no right to impose war and aggression on the people and to provoke poverty and misery under the pretext of resistance. “
Nasiri added that if leaders believe most Iranians support an aggressive and belligerent foreign policy, they should prove it by holding a referendum.
Warnings of Islamic Republic interest in likely war come as according to a report published by the reformist daily Sharqthere is no consensus between Iranian and US officials on whether “a deal is within reach”, or whether all chances of a deal have been lost.
The report says that the realities on the ground indicate that there is currently no chance of reaching an agreement, adding that in the past 10 days since the IAEA Board of Governors condemned the lack Iran’s cooperation with the agency and Iran’s reaction to the IAEA resolution were discouraging. The report underlines that the chances of an agreement are practically reduced to nil.
Sharq’s report said, “The nuclear deal (JCPOA) is dead, but the Raisi administration lacks the courage to bury it.”