The rising tensions in US-Iran relations cannot bring about the beginning of a Third World War as people predict. International affairs expert Suren Sargsyan expressed this opinion.
During an interview with Aravot Daily, Sargsyan said, “I will not go so far as to predict the onset of the Third World War, especially since there are many other ways to fight against enemies nowadays, such as proxy wars. These are small wars that the military powers of specific states participate in. These proxy wars will naturally continue in those states.”
Suren Sargsyan predicted that proxy wars will continue in Iraq and Syria, and he does not exclude the possibility of tensions rising in Lebanon. “The second important circumstance is what course of action the United States will take following the missile attack on its airbases. If there were no casualties, this will be the perfect opportunity to deescalate the conflict. If there were casualties and if US soldiers died, then this will naturally cause serious consequences. But since there has not been a specific response from Washington regarding this, I cannot say anything for certain.”
US-Iran relations sharply grew tense after the death of Quds force commander Qasem Soleimani following US airstrikes. In the early morning hours of January 8th, Iran retaliated against the United States by firing ballistic missiles at two Iraqi airbases housing US troops.
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After the attack, the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif announced that it was in retaliation for the killing of Qasem Soleimani. According to preliminary details, no US citizens were harmed as a result of the attacks. US President Donald Trump tweeted that assessments of the damage caused by the attacks are currently underway, but everything is ‘so far, so good.’ Meanwhile, Reuters, using the Iranian national television channel as its source, reported that ‘80 American terrorists’ were killed as a result of the missile attacks. The Pentagon has not commented on that information.
Lusine Budaghyan
