The strategic chessboard in the prevailing Iran-U.S.-Israel war reflects the gamble of the United States and Israel when Tehran was attacked on February 28. More than a month has passed, and neither America nor Israel is able to dismantle the Iranian regime or destroy its nuclear and missile programme. On the contrary, Iran, despite facing colossal bombing, is a winner on the strategic chessboard.

It is the mapping and decision-making on a chessboard which matters for winning or losing a game or a gamble. The United States and Israel gambled against Iran, considering it an easy target, a weak and fragile player which would be defeated in a few days. However, such miscalculations reflected that both America and Israel were unable to gauge the motivation and resilience of Iran, which in the last 38 days of war has emerged as the strongest player on the chessboard.

Why did American and Israeli calculations, despite their superior military and technological power, fail to understand that even if the war is asymmetrical, it can be won by the weaker side if that country is equipped with the power of strategic decision-making, motivation, and resilience? Despite spending more than 40 billion dollars in a war against Iran, America and Israel are unable to defeat Tehran because both powers misunderstood the edge held by Iran on the strategic chessboard.

America and Israel, as the two players on the chessboard, used their might to quell Iran but failed because they lacked strategic thinking, motivation, and resilience. Chess is a two-player game, but in prevailing conditions, one player is Iran and the other player is composed of Israel and the United States. Certainly, in a given situation, despite its colossal losses so far, Iran is a winner in this game. The question is: can Israel and the United States, with their combined power, prevail over Iran?

On the chessboard, will Iran retreat and face defeat because it cannot cope with the joint American and Israeli military attacks? As........

© The Friday Times