Iran Conflict Becoming “War of Attrition”: Ex-Japan Ambassador

Tokyo, March 14 (Jiji Press)–The conflict between U.S.-Israeli forces and Iran is now becoming “a war of attrition” that would last until the either side runs out of ammunition, former Japanese Ambassador to Iran Mitsugu Saito has said. There is no prospect that Iran will surrender, and the battle is “highly likely to continue for months,” Saito told a press conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Friday. The United States and Israel initially sought to win the battle in a short period with their operation to kill Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. However, Iran responded by effectively blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for oil transportation from the Middle East, and attacking infrastructure facilities in neighboring countries. Iran invoked “an asymmetric strategy” to jack up crude oil prices and eventually keep gasoline prices high in the United States, said Saito, who served as ambassador to Iran in 2018-2020 and now teaches at Kwansei Gakuin University as a visiting professor. Regarding a possible regime change in Iran, he said, “There is no antigovernment organization that is active across the country.” While noting that the Iranian side has presented ceasefire conditions, such as international guarantees that the country would not be attacked again, Saito said that the conflict, which began late last month, is expected to drag on even if the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally declares a victory. On Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Saito said that a “military dictatorship” has been set up by the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as he is under the strong influence of the IRGC. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]