Washington: The United States’ military conflict with Iran could continue for another six months without a resolution and risks becoming another prolonged Middle East war, former US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has warned.
Panetta said Washington and Tehran were locked in a stalemate, with neither side appearing willing to negotiate, surrender or risk an even broader confrontation.
“I think the likelihood is this war is going to continue for another six months without being resolved,” Panetta told The Guardian in an interview published on Sunday.
Panetta, who also served as CIA director under former President Barack Obama, said President Donald Trump had limited options for ending a conflict that began more than six months ago.
The first would be for Trump to halt the campaign and acknowledge that it had failed, a course Panetta said he considered unlikely.
The second would involve continuing the current pattern of intermittent attacks, with Washington and Tehran exchanging strikes while attempting to avoid a larger war. Panetta said that approach could prolong the confrontation without producing a decisive outcome.
The third option, according to Panetta, would be for the United States to take control of the Strait of Hormuz and remove Iran’s ability to disrupt traffic through the strategically important waterway.
The former defence secretary argued that reopening the strait should be Washington’s principal objective if the administration wants to claim a clear military outcome.
Panetta also criticised Trump’s repeated assertions that an agreement was approaching and that the Strait of Hormuz was open. He said such statements had damaged the President’s credibility and reduced the impact of subsequent US warnings.
Vice President JD Vance said earlier this week that he would not describe the confrontation as a war. Asked whether it would end before the November midterm elections, Vance said he did not know and that the answer depended on Iran.
Panetta also raised concerns about leadership changes and reported internal tensions at the Pentagon during an active military confrontation.
His comments followed the resignation of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll amid reports of disagreements with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth over personnel decisions.
Panetta said the leadership tensions could create uncertainty among US service members and convey weakness to adversaries including China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.
The Pentagon rejected Panetta’s assessment and said the department was “firing on all cylinders” under Hegseth. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said claims that the department was in disarray were baseless.
Panetta also questioned whether the military was adequately supporting personnel serving on unusually long deployments. He cited the USS Abraham Lincoln, which arrived in Thailand after spending more than 260 days without a port visit while supporting operations against Iran.
The latest warning came after US forces struck three Iranian crude oil tankers on Saturday. US Central Command said the operation followed Iranian ballistic missile attacks directed at an American aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer.
(IANS)
