Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], March 1 (ANI): Former Indian Ambassador to Turkey, Sanjay Panda, on Sunday addressed the escalating Israel-Iran conflict, noting that the military actions taken by the United States and Israel carry significant consequences for the global political landscape.
Speaking to ANI on the situation, Sanjay Panda stated, “US-Israeli aggression against Iran has actually major global implications. It has changed the way the game is played in international relations and in geopolitics.”
The diplomat underlined that the current hostilities are not a sudden development but part of a longer trajectory of tensions.
“Now, what has happened is not something which started overnight,” Panda noted pointing to previous military engagements as precursors to the present escalation.
He further elaborated on the timeline, noting, “We had the first indication of what was going to happen in June last year when Israel and the US launched an attack on the three nuclear facilities in Iran.”
Panda’s remarks come amid heightened tensions in West Asia following joint missile strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran in which Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the strikes..
Explosions were reported in Tehran and other major cities, with Iranian state media claiming that Ali Khamenei’s daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law, and son-in-law were killed in the Israeli-US strikes.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump announced the death of Khamenei, calling it justice for the people of Iran.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead. This is not only Justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans… The heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD.”
Iran has announced 40 days of public mourning, according to Iranian state media. (ANI)