Vantage | How Israel-Hamas war is widening US-Iran conflict

The war is between Israel and Hamas, but backing them are two sworn rivals, the United States and Iran. In many ways, they are already fighting. Iran has proxies all over West Asia, like in Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq. And these proxies have been targeting the US’ assets. We have seen drone attacks on bases in Syria and Iraq—at least 16 of them in the last week. In each case, the US forces acted in defence. They shot down the drones. But on Friday, they went on the offensive, and US fighter jets struck two storage facilities in Syria. Places where weapons are stored These facilities were used by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. So the US destroyed them. It comes after Joe Biden issued a warning to Iran. The White House says it was a direct message to the Supreme Leader. A warning to stay away from US troops.

If true, it’s a rare move. But Iran says no such message has been received. Read this statement by their presidential aide:

The US messages were neither directed to the leader of the Islamic Revolution nor were they anything but requests from the Iranian side. If Biden thinks he has warned Iran, he should ask his team to show him the text of the messages.

— Mohammad Jamshidi (@MhmmdJamshidi) October 26, 2023

“If Biden thinks he has warned Iran, he should ask his team to show him the text of the messages,” he said. West Asian presence of US and Iran I’m guessing the air strikes did just that, but Iran is not backing down. Their foreign minister issued a threat of his own, that too, at the United Nations. He said if the attacks on Gaza continue, even the US won’t be spared. “I say frankly to the American statesmen who are now managing the genocide in Palestine that we do not welcome the expansion of the war in the region. But i warn, if the genocide in Gaza continues, they will not be spared from this fire. It is our home and West Asia is our region,” said Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. Tough words there, but how serious is this threat? To understand that, let us look at two things. One, the US deployments in West Asia. And two, Iranian proxies. Let us start with the deployments, the US has more than 30 thousand troops in the region.On Thursday, they sent 900 more, the largest presence is in Qatar. Around 8,000 soldiers in the Al-Udeid base. Iraq has around 2,500 US soldiers. Syria has just 900. Saudi Arabia and the UAE also have a sizable presence. Around 2,700 in Saudi Arabia, and around 2,000 in the UAE. Then you have Jordan, another key US ally in the region. Jordan hosts around 2,800 US soldiers. Plus, there are troops in Turkiye, Bahrain, Kuwait and Egypt. Basically, all over West Asia. Now, these soldiers are backed by some major firepower. We will stick to the latest deployments. You have two carrier strike groups in the Eastern mediterranean. The USS Gerald Ford, and the USS Dwight Eisenhower. Thaad missiles have been sent to Saudi Arabia. Patriot missiles are deployed in Kuwait, Jordan and Iraq. And an extra squadron of f-16 jets has also been deployed. Like I said, these are recent deployments. Now, let’s look at Iran, their West Asian presence is not direct. It is via proxy groups. Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen, Badr organisation in Iraq, and Liwa Fate-Miyoun in Syria. We are talking about thousands of fighters here. Hezbollah alone claims to have 100 thousand. They cannot match America’s military quality, but like Iran’s foreign minister said, it’s their home. And home advantage counts. US-Iran relationship If you look back in history, Iran and the US have had an interesting relationship. At one point, they were allies. In 1953, the US and UK plotted a coup in Iran. They ousted Iran’s then prime minister. His name was Mohammed Mossadeq. And the reason was oil. Mossadeq nationalised the Anglo-Persian oil company. He wanted the West out. So the CIA decided to topple him, in his place, they brought back Iran’s Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. Unlike Mossadeq, he was friendly to the West. For the next three decades, there was great cooperation, in 1957, Iran and the US signed a nuclear agreement. The US taught nuclear technology to Iran. Also, gave them reactors and fuel. And how it has backfired! Today, Washington is trying to shut down Iran’s nuclear programme, the era of cooperation ended in 1979, that’s when the Ayatollah captured power. The Shah of Iran fled the country, the same year, 52 Americans were taken hostage at the US embassy in Tehran. Guess how long they were held? 444 days. After sanctions, freezes and threats, they were released. But the relations were spoiled. Today, Washington and Tehran have no formal relations. Their main issue is Iran’s nuclear programme. US President Joe Biden came to power promising to revive the nuclear deal. But after this war, good luck! Recent events will give Iranian hardliners more power. They will see it as more reason to have nuclear weapons. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_’s views._ Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.