US Strikes a Worry for Region, India

FOR the first time since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, a US President has deployed Air Force assets to strike major targets inside Iran, a move without precedent in over four decades of US-Iran tensions.

- JAYANTH JACOB @ New Delhi

The American airstrikes targeting Natanz, Isfahan, and the fortified Fordow facility represent a dramatic escalation in the region's tensions. This could reshape the geopolitical landscape of West Asia, with wide-ranging consequences for diplomacy, regional stability, global oil markets, and India's energy security.

What Are Iran's Options? Many possible responses, each fraught with risk:

Diplomatic De-escalation Iran could return to negotiations, potentially under the framework of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which the Trump administration had previously abandoned. However, this route faces resistance from Iran's hardliners, who view the US strikes as a humiliation and betrayal of diplomacy. Tehran could also withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Military Counterstrike A more dangerous path is retaliation. Iran's military and political leadership have warned of striking US military bases and naval assets in the region. Hossein Shariatmadari, editor of the hardline Kayhan newspaper, stated ominously: "It is now our turn."