Conflicts in Middle East ‘may rise as Iran sanctions take effect on Nov 4’

Escalation of conflicts in the Middle East is a strong possibility after the second round of US sanctions are placed on Iran on November 4, according to an expert.

The imposing of further US sanctions on Iran could be followed by an escalation of conflicts in the region according to David Gordon, Senior Adviser for Geo-Economics and Strategy, IISS. He was speaking during the closing session of the IISS Manama Dialogue yesterday.

The session ‘Navigating Geo-Political Change: The Middle East in the Global Context’ also featured Kori Schake, Deputy Director, IISS, Sir Tom Beckett, Executive Director, IISS–Middle East, and Virginia Comolli, Senior Fellow for Conflict, Security and Development, IISS.

“I do expect an escalation of conflicts in the region, escalation in Yemen and in Lebanon etc. I think the Iranians are interested in stirring the pot with Israel although they realize that Israel has tactical and strategic air dominance in Syria. They would not want to escalate past a point nor would they want to bring the US into a military role,” said David Gordon, Senior Adviser for Geo-Economics and Strategy, IISS. On Friday General (retd) David Petraeus, Chairman KKR Global Institute and Former Director of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the US said that the sanctions being placed on Iran by the US this time around is going hurt Iran even more than when it was imposed previously