Israeli strike on Iran gas field could spark wider conflict: Analyst

Analyst Tom Cooper warns an Israeli strike on Iran's South Pars gas field is 'mindless' and could provoke Iranian retaliation against Qatari energy facilities, with major repercussions for India and other nations dependent on Gulf energy supplies.

Risk of Escalation in West Asia

Austrian aerial warfare analyst and historian Tom Cooper has warned that Israeli strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure could escalate the conflict in West Asia and potentially trigger retaliatory attacks on energy facilities in Qatar, with wider implications for countries like India that depend on Gulf energy supplies.

In an interview with ANI on Friday, Cooper criticised the strike on the Iranian side of the South Pars gas field. "And then we see the Israelis striking, doing such nonsensical things like striking South Pars gas field--the Iranian side of the South Pars gas field--which is absolutely mindless, because of course this is provoking Iran into striking back upon similar facilities in Qatar," Cooper said.

He warned that any escalation involving Qatari energy infrastructure could have broader global repercussions, including for India. "And as you know, in India, not only India, but plenty of other countries are heavily dependable on sourcing their gas from Qatar, and not only gas, but also fertilizers for production of food," he said.

Iran's Retaliatory Capabilities

Cooper also said Iran retains the ability to continue retaliatory attacks despite heavy airstrikes by Israel and the United States. "They're using bulldozers, dig out the entrances which are hit by American or Israeli bombs, pull out their missiles or UAVs, launch them, go back hiding into their underground facilities and then the entire game is repeated and repeated and again and again and again," he said.

According to Cooper, Iran faces overwhelming firepower from its adversaries but remains capable of sustaining retaliatory strikes due to deeply buried infrastructure. "Iranians have no chance of military victory in this war. No way can they win. They are so overpowered by the enemy firepower," he said.

But he also said that Iranians are "well protected " and called the Iranian assets as "crucial". He said, "But they're also well protected. Their crucial assets, assets which they can use to exercise some sort of violence against Israel and against their neighbours, they are so well dug in. So deep dug in that they can continue this."

He added, "And this is how this is now going to go on, who knows how much longer." (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)