Israel hopes US ‘dragged into’ conflict to push for regime change in Iran: Analyst

Shahram Akbarzadeh, professor of Middle East politics at Deakin University in Australia, said both Israel and Iran appear to be “settling in for the long haul” and more attacks can be expected. “At the moment, Iran has simply responded like a tit-for-tat to see how Israel responds. But it is very clear that Iran is not going to tolerate an attack by Israel targeting its military commanders and scientists as well as the military establishment and nuclear facilities,” Akbarzadeh told Al Jazeera. “This is a very dangerous turn of events for the whole region because, as many observers have pointed out, there is every chance this could spread out to the whole region and draw in the United States,” Akbarzadeh said. Iran does not seek to have a confrontation with the US, and in terms of military might, Tehran would not “stand a chance”, he said. But Israel appears to be hoping for such a scenario. “When Israel launches attacks on Iran, Iran has to respond, and I think Israel is actually banking on this dynamic – that once the conflict starts, the United States has an obligation and a commitment to Israeli security,” he said. “So the United States would be dragged into the conflict, and that is what Prime Minister Netanyahu is trying to achieve. To have the US dragged into the conflict and resulting in some kind of regime change in Iran”. Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on X : https://twitter.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/ Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile #IranIsraelConflict #MiddleEastTensions #RegionalEscalation #USInvolvementRisk #NetanyahuStrategy #IranMilitaryResponse #IsraelIranTensions #NoWarWithIran #DraggingUSToWar #MiddleEastCrisis #AlJazeeraEnglish