There is no cheap and quick scenario for a military operation against the ruling regime in Iran. The U.S. could suffer heavy losses if President Donald Trump decides to initiate a military operation against this country. This is stated in a piece by The New York Times.
Threat of Prolonged Conflict
As noted in the article, while U.S. President Donald Trump weighs various options for action against Iranian authorities, including limited strikes, experts warn that an attack on Iran would be significantly more complicated than the operation in Venezuela and could potentially embroil the U.S. in a prolonged conflict.
In particular, Iran's leadership controls extensive military capabilities and a network of regional mercenary forces that could help sustain resistance.
According to NYT, unlike the swift operation in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, Trump is now considering potentially larger military actions but is not publicly stating what he aims to achieve. The U.S. president has previously said he wants to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons and that regime change in Iran would be the "best option" that could happen.
"In the case of Iran, there is no available cheap, easy, clean military option. There is a real risk that American lives will be lost," said Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group, which focuses on conflict resolution.
According to the expert, this will be an important factor in Trump's calculations, "especially in an election year."
Threat of Retaliation
If the airspace in Venezuela was relatively unprotected before the U.S. attack in January, Iran, according to regional experts, has one of the largest and most diverse missile arsenals in the Middle East.
Iran's stockpiles include drones and anti-ship weaponry, although the current volume of Iran's missile stockpiles remains unknown following the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June.
Iran's medium-range ballistic missiles are capable of reaching about 2000 km. These missiles can reach U.S. bases in western Turkey and throughout the Middle East, including in Israel and the Gulf states.
On Saturday, Iranian state media reported that Iran had tested a ship-based air defense missile with a range of over 150 km for the first time during military exercises last week in the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran's strategy "is to quickly escalate and spread instability across several regions (theaters of military operations) so that losses are distributed, the pain is more widespread," said Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House.
Gulf countries, where U.S. bases are located, are concerned that any American military strike could lead to retaliation against them by Iran.
Prospects of War with Iran: Latest News
As reported by UNIAN, the Pentagon is sending additional forces toward Iran. Against this backdrop, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed support for a potential regime change in Iran.
Earlier, Trump threatened to bomb Iran.
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