MOSCOW, September 21. /TASS/. A big war in the Middle East will not break out for now, but the confrontation in the region will not ease in the near future, Boris Dolgov, a leading research fellow of the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies, has told TASS.

"A major war in the Middle East, I mean the entry of Iran and the United States into this conflict, is hard to expect. It is likewise difficult to speculate about an easing of tension in the region, though. Any real reduction in the degree of confrontation in the Middle East in the near future is difficult to foresee," the expert said.

According to Dolgov, a major war in the region would imply a military conflict involving other states. The main external actors of the Middle East situation, the expert says, are the United States and Iran.

"Apparently, the position of these countries, the interests of these countries do not envisage the start of a major war. Neither the United States nor Iran needs a big war, a direct military clash," he noted.

In particular, the analyst drew attention to the ongoing election campaign in the United States.

"Neither contender for the US presidency needs a big war with Iran," the analyst believes.

At the same time, according to the specialist, a sluggish conflict in the region may last for a while.

"There will be exchanges of strikes blows between Israel and Hezbollah. The conflict in the Gaza Strip will go on. This is how the near-term reality of the Middle East looks like to me," he concluded.