WASHINGTON, March 29. /TASS/. The Washington administration is likely to attempt a ground military operation against Iran, while Tehran shows no signs of willingness to capitulate, former State Department and US National Security Council official Nate Swanson said in an interview with Politico.
"I think both sides are probably irrationally confident in their standing, and so I think that’s a little worrisome," Swanson noted. "So I think the war is probably going to go on longer than anyone anticipated. Trump continues to believe that military success is leading to Iranian political capitulation, which isn’t happening," he added.
"I think we’re going to be stuck in this conflict longer and with likely escalations to come," the former security official continued. "I think the problem is the president is not going to get any off ramp, and I think we’ll probably go through some of these ground operations he’s considering," Swanson noted.
Commenting on US statements regarding negotiations with Iran, Swanson recalled that "Iran has rejected them." "It’s the same thing that Iran rejected for previous iterations. They’re feeling confident. They feel like they should be making the demands, not the US, and obviously the US isn’t adhering to that. So I don’t think either side is ready to compromise," he added.
Swanson also stressed that market reactions remain a key factor for the current US leader in deciding on further steps regarding Iran. "That seems to be the one indicator he cares about," he emphasized.
On February 28, the United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran, hitting major cities, including Tehran. The White House justified the attack with missile and nuclear threats allegedly coming from Tehran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps retaliated with sweeping attacks on Israel. US military installations in Bahrain, Jordan, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were also targeted.