New Delhi, March 21 (ANI) — Austrian aerial-warfare analyst and historian Tom Cooper warned that Israeli strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure risk widening the conflict in the Middle East and could prompt Iran to target energy facilities in neighboring Qatar. Such a response, he said, would have wider implications for countries that depend on Gulf energy supplies, including India.
Speaking to ANI, Cooper sharply criticized the Israeli attack on the Iranian sector of the South Pars gas field, calling it a provocative and counterproductive move. He argued that striking such facilities makes Tehran more likely to retaliate against comparable targets in Qatar, which supplies large volumes of natural gas and related products to many countries.
“Countries like India rely heavily on Qatari gas and also on fertilizers derived from those energy supplies,” Cooper noted, stressing the potential ripple effects on food production and energy security beyond the region.
Cooper also described how, despite sustained airstrikes by Israel and the United States, Iran has methods to preserve its ability to strike back. He said Iranian forces repeatedly use bulldozers to reopen entrances damaged by bombing, recover missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles stored underground, launch them, and then return the equipment to deep shelters — a cycle they can repeat.
While Cooper acknowledged that Iran faces overwhelming conventional firepower and has little chance of achieving a decisive military victory, he warned that Tehran’s deeply buried and well-protected assets allow it to continue limited retaliatory operations.
“They are overpowered in terms of open military strength, but some crucial assets are so deeply dug in that they can still be used to launch attacks against Israel or neighboring states,” he said, adding uncertainty about how long the tit-for-tat exchanges might continue.
The comments reflect concerns among analysts that targeting energy infrastructure risks broadening the conflict and producing economic and strategic consequences far beyond the immediate battlefield. (ANI)
(This report was sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received.)
