New Delhi: In the wee hours of Wednesday, Iranian Revolutionary Guard launched a retaliatory strike at the US bases in Iraq's Al Abass and Irbil.
Iranian administration defined it as a revenge strike against the US administration's killing of its General Qassem Soleimani on January 3.
Talking exclusively to ETV Bharat about the important turn of events, India's former diplomat KP Fabian who served as the first Secretary (1976-79) in Tehran claimed that two possibilities arise from it.
Explaining the first possibility, the former Indian envoy said, "For President Trump, only American lives matter. In case there is an American casualty in the Iranian strike then Trump will be compelled to do something."
So far, no reports of American casualty have appeared. Even President Trump in his tweet post-Iranian strike claimed that his administration is still assessing the situation and all is well.
Read: US-Iran at war: Military strengths of two nations
The US President will give a statement tonight. Though, Iranian media has reported claiming that at least 80 US soldiers have been killed in its missile strike.
Fabian also claimed that Trump, by saying that all is well, is trying to lull Tehran so it becomes complacent. But he also asserted that if the US President tries to do something then there are major chances that everything will go in flames.
"Though the Iranian military is no match for American might but in the asymmetrical warfare, Iran is not that bad. It can shut Strait of Hormuz or become a danger to 60,000 American lives in the Gulf region," said Fabian.
The US President has been facing a lot of criticism domestically for his nod to Friday's strike which resulted in the death of Iran's Major General Qassem Soleimani. The Democrats have been accusing him of acting inappropriately and provocatively.
The US-Iran troubled relation saw the light of day for the first time, in nearly three decades (post-Iranian revolution), in 2016 with the signing of the nuclear deal but it took a major shift during Trump's reign as he walked out of the deal claiming it to be unfair by the then Obama administration.
Since then, tensions have only escalated between both nations as President Trump reimposed several international sanctions on Tehran, putting more burden on its already fragile economy.
Also Read: India asks citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Iraq
