UCSB Global Studies Professor shares insight into Israeli-Iranian attacks
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Your News Channel team reached out to Mark Juergensmeyer, Professor Emeritus of Global Studies at UC Santa Barbara, for his opinion on the escalation between Iran and Israel.
He said he does not think the two countries are headed for an all-out war, however, he said Iran had to "save face" and retaliate following Israel's attack on its nuclear program.
"They (Iran) have no friends. They have no allies and no Sunni nation in the region is going to jump to their defense, they're happy to see Iran weakened. They have, of course, trading partners: China, Russia. But, they're not militarily going to jump to Iran's defense."
Professor Juergensmeyer called Israel's attack a "devastating blow" to Iran's nuclear program; whether is was a "crippling blow" remains to be seen.
The UCSB professor added that Iran could possibly carry out retaliatory attacks on U.S. embassies in the region as the Trump Administration had advance knowledge of Israel's plan. However, it is unclear if and how this will lead to further hostilities between the two nations.
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