Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Iran had spent four decades preparing for a possible war with the US, including scenarios in which its top leadership was wiped out, and that preparation helped prevent its adversaries from decisively crushing the country, retired Indian Army officer Lt General KJS Dhillon said in Washington on Friday.
Speaking at an interactive session organised by ORF America, Dhillon said Iran had still retained the ability to fight a prolonged war of attrition despite heavy losses in the conflict with the US and Israel. He said one of the main lessons from the war was the need for a clear national aim and a well-planned exit strategy.
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Dhillon, who previously headed India’s defence intelligence agency, said, “Before you initiate a war, knowing a few things beforehand are a must. Your declared national aim should be clear to yourself, your military and the people in the government. There should also be clarity on the end stage where one can declare victory.” He added, “… then the exit strategy, especially if it’s an overseas war. How do I get out of that area?” He said countries going to war must also plan for and control escalation, particularly when facing powers such as the US and Israel together.
He said Iran had fought the war broadly along the lines it had envisaged over the past 40 years, including preparing for the possible loss of its top leadership. According to Dhillon, Iran adopted a “mosaic doctrine” and decentralised its armed forces into 31 independent headquarters that could continue functioning even if the central leadership was destroyed.
Dhillon said Iran had also retained the ability to wage attritional warfare, which can favour the weaker side in a prolonged conflict. He added that Iran’s mountainous terrain made a ground invasion difficult for its adversaries, unlike the relatively open deserts of Iraq and Saudi Arabia. “Iran is a mountainous bowl all around with the desert inside where the temperatures go up to 55, 60 degrees centigrade in summers,” he said. “To get into the heart of Iran you have to cross those mountains. You have to literally capture each and every picket, so boots on the ground were a no-go,” Dhillon said.
He said Iran did not have aircraft carriers or a strong air force to challenge the US directly on the high seas and had instead developed capabilities suited to defending the Strait of Hormuz. Dhillon said Iran adopted a strategy centred on chokepoints, using speed boats, sea mines, torpedo boats, coastal guns, missiles and drones, backed by a navy designed mainly to defend the strategic waterway. “Iran did not build an air force; it had missiles and air defence, and that is how it fought,” he said.
Calling these lessons for military planners, Dhillon said, “This country is fighting a very mighty enemy and still not getting decimated convincingly, because it had prepared for this war for 40 years.” Dhillon is promoting his new book, “Operation SINDOOR: The Untold Story of India’s Deep Strikes Inside Pakistan,” across the US and was also felicitated by the Indian American Diaspora Association in Washington.
With PTI Inputs
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
