Mideast conflict latest kink in US-Iran dispute –security expert

A military and international security expert believes that the present tension between the US and Iran is just the latest round of the longstanding conflict between the two countries, and there will be more to come.

In a Dobol B sa News TV interview on Sunday, Jose Antonio Custodio said the tension between the US and Iran has been existing as early as the 1970s, and the events earlier this month is just its newest episode.

"Ang issue na ito ay between Iran and the US, ito ay napakatagal nang conflict between these two countries. Itong nangyaring ito, parang latest round lang. Paghupa nito, tiyak in the future may lalabas na naman," he said.

Custodio provided a historical background of the US-Iran conflict, beginning in the '70s when Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, whom he described as "anti-communist ally" of the US, was overthrown and replaced with Ayatollah Khomeini, who transformed the country into an "autocratic religious republic."

"So bata pa tayo nangyayari na yan. Ito yung latest round. Sa pagitan nun, nagkaroon pa ng Iran-Iraq War kung saan yung US sinuportahan nila ang Iraq," he said.

The latest episode of the conflict erupted when the US killed Iranian top general Qasem Solaimani in an airstrike earlier this month.

Custodio said Solaimani's killing was the US way of saying to Iran to stop influencing other Middle Eastern nations.

Also, he said Solaimani was Iran's tool to carry out the country's national interest which is to "dominate" Iraq and become the leading country in the Middle East.

"But the point is, he (Solaimani) is bad a tool. Isa lang siyang tao, but he is not an end-all and be-all. Yung ginawa ng US na pinatay siya, para ipakita sa Iran na tumigil-tigil nga kayo sa pag-i-influence ng buong Middle East," Custodio opined.

"So papatayin namin itong si Solaimani as an example to you. As a signal na we don't agree with that," he added.

Meanwhile, Custodio waters down fears that the latest US-Iran conflict could spark the third World War.

"Overstated naman yung mga sinasabi ng marami na magwo-World War III. Siyempre tinatakot lang nila ang sarili nila e," he added. —Erwin Colcol/LBG, GMA News