Responding to US President Donald Trump’s recent national address on the ongoing conflict with Iran, former Indian Ambassador to Iran Dinkar P Srivastava on Thursday warned that the US strategy could further increase instability in West Asia, while the chances of a diplomatic solution appear slim.
In an interview, Dinkar P Srivastava said that Washington is preparing for intense aerial bombardment, while avoiding a full-scale ground invasion, for which it has set itself a deadline of two to three weeks. He saw it as a limited but high-impact military strategy that would not involve American troops participating in a ground war.
Srivastava also highlighted a key gap in US strategy, in which the responsibility for securing and reopening the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz has been placed on US allies, many of whom are reluctant to engage militarily in the conflict. He said, “President Trump’s address shows that ground invasion will be avoided, but bombing will be increased. At the same time, he has given a limit of two to three weeks to the US campaign. The task of opening the Persian Gulf is now left to US allies, who do not consider it ‘their war’.”
The former ambassador warned that continued US and Israeli bombing of Iran and the Gulf countries could end prospects of reopening vital sea routes with Iran. “Iran and the Gulf countries will suffer huge losses, which will increase the risk of regional instability,” he said.
Srivastava also stressed the global economic consequences, especially for energy importing countries like India. He said, “Continued bombing of Iran by Israel and the US will destroy any possibility of reopening of the Persian Gulf. It will lead to Iranian retaliation. Iran and the Gulf countries will suffer further damage, increasing oil and LNG prices and worsening the shortage. India and the global economy have already been affected, and will now suffer more.”
It is noteworthy that Trump gave his first important national address since the military action started in late February, praising the US Army’s “decisive” victory and saying that the main objective of the operation is nearing completion.
Speaking from the White House, Trump gave an update on “Operation Epic Fury”, which he has launched against Iran, the “world’s number one sponsor of terrorism.” “Over the past four weeks, our armed forces have achieved swift, decisive, and overwhelming victories on the battlefield,” he said.
“I am pleased to say tonight that these key strategic objectives are nearly accomplished,” Trump said. However, he also said that if there is no agreement with Iran then America will attack Iran even more.
Trump said- “We will continue until our objectives are met. We will target them vigorously in the next two to three weeks; we will take them to the stone age. There has been a regime change, all their old leaders are now dead and the new group is less extreme. We have an eye on important targets; if there is no deal, we will target their power plants, we have not targeted their oil till now, but we can do that and they can’t do anything, we are invincible,”
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