Meanwhile, a UK-based academic has said it would be impossible to contain any war involving the two rivals. Tensions between Washington and Tehran has increased significantly recently, especially after Iranian forces claimed responsibility for downing an unmanned US military drone earlier this month. US President Donald Trump said he called off a retaliatory strike as a result of concerns over the number of casualties it would result in.
Alex Vatanka, a fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, suggested his thinking is likely to have been coloured by uncertainty over what would have happened as a result.
He told Express.co.uk: “The US knows there is a real danger of escalation and retaliation.
“The question is how Iran reacts. They could take it on the chin.
“Or alternatively it could become very risky – the US has tens of thousands of troops in the region and groups aligned with the Iranians could take action, not just against them but against but US allies as well.
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“It’s pretty clear President Trump believes at the moment it is not worth it.
“It’s not just about the Iranian retaliation – it’s more to do with how this could get out of control across the region.
“We have no way of knowing how people would pick up the phone when Iran calls and come to their aid.”
Iran had numerous proxies and allies in the Middle East, Mr Vatanka said – for example, the Houthis in Yemen, and Hezbollah in Lebanon – who might be prepared to carry out operations in support.
In addition there would be the risk of Israel being dragged into such a conflict and the huge risks associated with such a development.
Mr Trump will also have been mindful that launching strikes against Iran could actually bolster the regime of President Hassan Rouhani domestically by creating a sense of unity among the Iran people, Mr Vatanka said.
He will also be highly reluctant to drag the US into another ground war, given his vocal criticism of the decisions to invade Afghanistan and Iran.
Mr Vatanka said: “Seventeen years later we still don’t know what’s going to happen with Afghanistan – and Iran is a far harder military proposition than any other country in the region.”
Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, a Professor in Global Thought and Comparative Philosophies with the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), told Express.co.uk observers should not be fooled by the apparently lop-sided nature of any conflict between the two countries.
Referring to the recent downing of a US military drone, he explained: “The Iranian military managed to shoot down a multimillion pound drone with stealth capability that is built to evade being spotted by radar in the first place.
“They did so with immense accuracy with a surface to air missile that costs a few thousand pounds.
“This is a nice microcosm for the mutually assured destruction that any war with Iran promises.
“This is a military that has several powerful allies and that has had the last word, in terms of military tactics, in different highly complex strategic theatres.
“The only possibility is peace because any war with Iran could not be confined, managed or calculated.”
READ MORE: Iran fires US chilling war alert after drone shot down ‘we will react strongly’