Bengaluru, June 18 (UNI) Amid heightened tensions in West Asia, defence expert G J Singh has warned that the unfolding Iran-Israel confrontation could draw the United States and NATO into a broader military conflict, even as he underscored India's firm rejection of external mediation on regional disputes, including those involving Pakistan.
Speaking to UNI in an interview, Singh said, "Mossad and the CIA both know exactly where Ayatollah Khamenei is hiding. Yet, he remains untouched. This restraint, I believe, is a deliberate strategy of the United States, which does not want to trigger a massive civil unrest inside Iran by eliminating the top religious leadership."
Drawing parallels with the 1992 Gulf War, he explained that the US had refrained from eliminating Saddam Hussein despite clear military advantage. "President George H W Bush understood that Saddam, though a dictator, was not a religious extremist. Replacing him with a radical cleric could have destabilised Iraq further. A similar calculation is now shaping American hesitation in Iran."