After Iran security affairs chief Mohsen Rezaee said any future war would be
"different," Sultan Barakat, a public policy professor at Hamad bin Khalifa
University, said Rezaee was issuing a warning to neighboring states rather than
seeking deterrence. Barakat said many neighbors are sympathetic to Iran and that
some are likely not to comply with US sanctions and will try to circumvent the
new measures, adding Iran cannot afford an economic war with all partners. He
warned US sanctions could "seriously backfire" on Washington, comparing
potential fallout to threats to close the Strait of Hormuz.
