🔻Former U.S. defense secretary: War with Iran could last another six months

Leon Panetta, the former U.S. defense secretary, has warned that a war with Iran is likely to continue for another six months.

Panetta told the British newspaper The Guardian that the war with Iran, which began more than six months ago with attacks by the United States and Israel, could turn into “another endless war in the Middle East” without any clear end.

Leon Panetta, who was also head of the CIA during Barack Obama’s time, said: “It’s no secret that the United States and Iran are caught in a terrible stalemate where there are really very few options to end this war.”

He said the U.S. is moving toward “another failed war in the Middle East” “like the war in Iraq and Afghanistan”: “I think there’s a strong possibility that this war will continue for another six months without resolution.”

Mr. Panetta, who served as defense secretary from 2011 to 2013, also said: “There is massive confusion in the Pentagon and the command structure, and it really creates this sense that nobody is in charge. I think whether it’s Iran or other enemies, what they look at in the United States is a weakness in our military ability to defend our country in a practical way.”

He said: “My biggest concern right now is that we live in a very dangerous world, with threats from China, Russia, North Korea, and terrorism, as well as Iran. But what worries me even more is that we are sending a message of weakness to our primary adversaries.”