Foreign policy expert Trita Parsi sounded the alarm Tuesday over what he suspected would be a “major escalation” from the United States, one he predicted would come “in the next coming days.”
“I do suspect that there’s going to be a major escalation from the U.S. side in the next coming days… I think it’s going to be quite terrible,” Parsi said in a video interview published by Zeteo Tuesday.
Parsi’s warning comes amid resumed hostilities between the United States and Iran, sparked by Iran’s strike on a container ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz, which Iranian officials claimed to be in violation of the tentative U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement. Iran has since declared the Strait of Hormuz “closed,” sparking multiple exchanges of fire between the United States and Iran.
Beyond announcing that the U.S. would reinstate its naval blockade on Iran, President Trump has not disclosed further details about U.S. military plans. He did, however, promote commentary Tuesday morning encouraging him to “take Kharg Island,” a small Iranian island and oil hub. Experts have warned that seizing Kharg Island would result in "considerable" American casualties.
Parsi, the co-founder of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, also warned that, even in the “best-case scenario,” the recent flare-up in hostilities would put the United States in a worse negotiating position than it was in last week.
“In the absolute best-case scenario, the two sides, through the mediation of regional states, will find some sort of way back to the table. But nothing will have changed even by then – nothing has changed now,” Parsi continued.
“The runway for the U.S. before the economic crisis is shorter. The only thing that may have changed is that the illusion that military power can rearrange facts on the ground in a manner that will favor your negotiation position may no longer be an illusion that exists, it may have been dispelled by this. But that’s in a best-case scenario!”
‘Major U.S. Escalation’ Against Iran Soon, Experts Tell Zeteo by Mehdi Hasan
In a Town Hall Q&A for paid subscribers, Zeteo assembled three Middle East experts to unpack developments in Iran, Lebanon, and Gaza. It’s a conversation you won’t find in the mainstream media.
Read on Substack