Will there be a war in retaliation? | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Friday
July 04, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
FRIDAY, JULY 04, 2025
Will there be a war in retaliation?

Thoughts

Masum Billah
06 January, 2020, 11:40 am
Last modified: 06 January, 2020, 12:00 pm

Related News

  • Iran ends cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog after Israel, US strikes
  • Iranian nuclear program degraded by up to two years: Pentagon
  • Iran enacts law suspending cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog
  • US bombing 'seriously damaged' Iran's Fordow nuclear site: Iran FM
  • Iran made preparations to mine the Strait of Hormuz: US sources

Will there be a war in retaliation?

The recent assassination of the Iranian general by the US threatens the beginning of some fresh new conflicts, if not a war. The question remains, will Iran be able to leverage the proxies it created over the years

Masum Billah
06 January, 2020, 11:40 am
Last modified: 06 January, 2020, 12:00 pm
People in Iraq mourning for Iranian major-general Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds force, and Iraqi militia commander, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who were killed in an air strike at Baghdad airport. Photo: Reuters
People in Iraq mourning for Iranian major-general Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds force, and Iraqi militia commander, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who were killed in an air strike at Baghdad airport. Photo: Reuters

Following the most atrocious US imperial excess that killed the Iranian general, the dead has been mourned and the red flag of retaliation has been hoisted over Jamkaran Mosque in Iran. While tens of thousands of Iranians have been chanting "death to America" following the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian supreme leader Khomeini pledged "severe revenge".

The US assassination of Iranian General Soleimani was an act of "terror", as some have referred to it as, and it has sent a chilly shockwave to the volatile regions of the Middle East. A serious act that bear all the tell-tale signs of excess of imperial power, the assassination threatens to plunge the regions into unforeseen calamities.

If compared, General Soleimani for Iran was as significant as defence secretary Mark Esper, or foreign secretary Mike Pompeo is for the US. Consequently, many analysts believe that whether Iran would respond to the US hostility is not the question now. The question is – how and where would Iran retaliate.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

Dr Imtiaz Ahmed, a professor of International Relations at the University of Dhaka, however, is not one of those analysts. He doesn't believe Iran would retaliate. The professor told The Business Standard that Iran would not jeopardise the leverage they have now – the moral support and sympathy of the world – by waging a full-scale war.

"Iran has the support of the world whereas the US apparently doesn't have such support because of their actions," Professor Ahmed said in reference to the assassination of Qassem Soleimani and other such US actions. "Even some of the European countries, including US allies, also criticised the US action."

Dr Saber Ahmed Chowdhury, an associate professor at the Department of Peace and Conflicts of Dhaka University, however, believes that following the assassination of Soleimani, "A response from the Iranian regime is gradually appearing to be unavoidable."

Even though Dr Saber believes a full-scale war would be of the least possible response from the Shiite regime, threats of a major war cannot be ruled out depending on the gravity of the matter and the way Iran is bracing for retaliation.

If a war, however, somehow breaks out, at the height of the tension, what would Iran do in the face of such a massive adversary like the US?

A few would deny that Iran neither stand a chance in terms of any direct confrontation nor can win a full-scale war against the US. But in modern warfare, wars actually cannot be won. If the parties get caught in wars – a possibility that most analysts dismiss – Iran might engage its regional allies to its advantage.

Iran has militant proxies in the region like the Hezbollah in Lebanon, Popular Mobilization Forces commonly known as the PMF militias in Iraq, Hamas in Palestine, Houthis in Yemen and the Assad government in Syria, who serve the Iranian interests in the region.

Iran could mobilise these allies to fight a lengthy asymmetric war that would plunge the whole region into an inundating catastrophe.

Even though Iran being the underdog in comparison to the US is an established fact, a war with Tehran will be far more complicated for the US than the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Multiplied by its superior military and diplomatic authority than that of Iraq and Afghanistan, engagement of the local allies like Hezbollah, PMF and the Houthis in favour of Tehran could help the Khomenei regime buy more times to prolong the problems of the US.

Dr Saber emphasises the Iranian proxies' capabilities in covert attacks. "It would be a mistake to believe that operations of these proxies are only limited to the Middle East. They have connections in many places. Iran, combined with these militias, may come up with strong response anytime soon."

Iran cannot win a war in even if all the regional allies of Tehran team up against the US. But such alliance could serve the purpose of an asymmetric warfare that Qassem Soleimani would have adopted to create pressure on the US to leave Iraq.

Now, in case Iran doesn't retaliate after the assassination of Soleimani on its own, considering the risks of a full-scale war, Tehran may use its allies instead on behalf of the Iranian regime. So, it is possible that Iran would find the strategy of covert attacks an efficacious one, since it would not be directly involved in such acts.

But if the Iranian strategy leads to a revenge and if that strategy sparks a war, it may push everyone who sympathise with the Shiite regime to an unforeseen catastrophe. Especially the Iranian regime and the people of Iran may become the target of a lying, conniving administration of Donald Trump, who has just disclosed a desire to go to the extremes to take full control of the Middle East.

Though Qassem Soleimani's assassination was summarily been compared to the assassination of archduke of Austria, Franz Ferdinand, in 1914, one that led to the World War I, it seems that the US is confident enough to get away with it. At least Donald Trump's rhetoric suggest that the White House is not ready to give up on the "terror narrative". Trump believes he has ended a war rather than starting one while the rest of the world feel otherwise.       

Professor Imtiaz Ahmed feels that war is not inevitable since for Iran, it could take the advantage of the global sympathy. He mentions that Bernie Sanders – a potential Democrat candidate for the 2020 presidential elections of the US – has been campaigning against a war. In many US states, people have already been gathering to demonstrate against a potential war. The professor believes that the Iranian regime will have faith in the global support and take the leverage in such support diplomatically.

Iran / US / Qassem Soleimani

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Ships and shipping containers are pictured at the port of Long Beach in Long Beach, California, US, 30 January 2019. Photo: REUTERS
    Bangladesh expects US tariff relief after Trump's cuts to Vietnam
  • Local spinners produce export-standard carded and combed yarn. Photo: Mumit M
    Will higher taxes drive up RMG's yarn import reliance?
  • Screengrab from a CCTV video shows a chaotic moment as several individuals chase a woman down a staircase inside a hotel in Dhaka's Mohalhali on 1 July 2025
    Jubo Dal leader expelled over alleged attack on women in Mohakhali hotel

MOST VIEWED

  • Chief adviser’s Special Envoy for International Affairs and Adviser Lutfey Siddiqi
    Fake documents submission behind visa complications for Bangladeshis: Lutfey Siddiqi
  • History in women's football: Bangladesh qualify for Asian Cup for the first time
    History in women's football: Bangladesh qualify for Asian Cup for the first time
  • Electric power transmission pylon miniatures and Adani Green Energy logo are seen in this illustration taken, on 9 December 2022. Photo: Reuters
    Bangladesh clears all dues to Adani Power
  • What it will take to merge crisis-hit Islamic banks
    What it will take to merge crisis-hit Islamic banks
  • A file photo of the NBR Bhaban in Agargaon, Dhaka
    NBR officers gripped by fear as govt gets tough  
  • NBR Office in Dhaka. File Photo: Collected
    Govt sends 4 senior NBR officials on forced retirement

Related News

  • Iran ends cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog after Israel, US strikes
  • Iranian nuclear program degraded by up to two years: Pentagon
  • Iran enacts law suspending cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog
  • US bombing 'seriously damaged' Iran's Fordow nuclear site: Iran FM
  • Iran made preparations to mine the Strait of Hormuz: US sources

Features

Illustration: TBS

Grameen Jibon: A business born from soil, memory, and the scent of home

1h | Features
Illustration: TBS

Why rare earth elements matter more than you think

11h | The Big Picture
Illustration: TBS

The buildup to July Uprising: From a simple anti-quota movement to a wildfire against autocracy

1d | Panorama
Illustration: TBS

Ulan Daspara: Remnants of a fishing village in Dhaka

3d | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Patiya Police Station OC Withdrawn Amid Protests: What Experts Are Saying

Patiya Police Station OC Withdrawn Amid Protests: What Experts Are Saying

9h | Podcast
"We are not numbers... we are people... we are hungry."

"We are not numbers... we are people... we are hungry."

10h | TBS Stories
Violence against women and children at epidemic level: Advisor

Violence against women and children at epidemic level: Advisor

11h | TBS Stories
Appropriate action will be taken against army personnel involved in disappearances: AHQ

Appropriate action will be taken against army personnel involved in disappearances: AHQ

12h | TBS Today
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net