"This is an escalation": Foreign Affairs Expert Robinder Sachdev after US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities
New Delhi [India], June 22 (ANI): Foreign Affairs Expert Robinder Sachdev on Sunday described the US strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities as an escalation to the week old Israel-Iran conflict, warning that the situation is likely to deteriorate further.
His comments come in the wake of recent US airstrikes targeting three key Iranian nuclear facilities, including Fordow, Iran's main enrichment location for uranium enrichment to 60 per cent.
'This is an escalation, and it seems there will be no end; the situation will worsen, go up and down. It seems that the region of the Middle East will now be plunged into Forever Wars... Iran will fight back with whatever resources it has. It will retaliate. However, it doesn't have much capacity, but it will still attempt to do its best,' he told ANI.
Sachdev said that US President Donald Trump's claim of eliminating the entire nuclear programme of Iran is 'wrong'.
'Donald Trump is correct in saying that tonight's attack was a spectacular attack by the American Armed forces, but he is wrong in saying that this attack has eliminated the entire nuclear programme of Iran; it has not...... The Iranians have already trandffered Uranium though it is not weapon grade but whatever enriched uranium they had, it seems they have distributed and hidden in some other locations but yes, a major blow to Iran's nuclear programme has been delivered but it does not mean that the entire nuclear programme of Iran has been obliterated,' he added.
He further said that Iran's attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz could lead India to suffer, as according to him, about 20 per cent of the world's crude oil and 25 per cent of the world's natural gas flow through one of the world's most important oil chokepoints located between Oman and Iran, connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
'...If Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz, India will definitely suffer. About 20 per cent of the world's crude oil and 25 per cent of the world's natural gas flow through these. Qatar's gas, which we buy, almost all flows through this. 70 per cent of Saudi oil comes through the Strait of Hormuz,' Sachdev said.
'India will suffer because oil prices will go up, inflation will rise, and there is an estimate that for every ten-dollar increase in the price of crude oil, India's GDP will suffer by 0.5 per cent,' the Foreign affairs expert added.
After Northrop Grumman-made B-2 Spirit bombers struck nuclear facilities in Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow, Trump, in his first public remarks, warned that he could order further action if Tehran does not agree to a satisfactory peace agreement.
In his address to the nation from the White House on Saturday (local time), Trump said, 'There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran, far greater than we've witnessed over the last eight days.'
In a Truth Social post, Trump said, 'This cannot continue. There will be either peace or there will be a tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days. Remember, there are many targets left. Tonight's was the most difficult of them all, by far, and perhaps the most lethal. But if peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill.'
Trump also thanked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said, 'I want to thank Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. We worked as a team like perhaps no team has ever worked before, and we've gone a long way to erasing this horrible threat to Israel.' (ANI)
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