US-Iran-Analyst
Pakistani political and defence analyst Professor Hasan Askari Rizvi on Thursday said that attack on Iran will undermine American interest in the whole region and will give rise to anti-American sentiments.

Talking to IRNA, Rizvi said that the US might not go for a military option in near future but continue to talk about military attack to pressurize Iran.

He was of the view that militarily and tactfully US has the capacity to attack Iran but it would not be a sensible strategy.

"US is not likely to succeed in destroying Iran's nuclear program," he said.

He said war in Iran would also destabilize developments in the Middle East, especially in the Persian Gulf region.

Hasan Askari Rizvi said that US thinks that Iran's nuclear program has to be dismantled and US has not changed its stance on the issue but the fact is that the US has agreed to become part of a negotiation process towards Iran's nuclear program.

"The US-Iran relations have shown slight improvement in recent times as US has agreed to become part of negotiations initiated by the European Union," he said.

He added that this is a tactical change by the US rather then the change in its objective.

However, he said that it is positive development and if continued it might be possible to find a peaceful solution of nuclear problem between Iran and West.

Hasan Askari Rizvi said that there were two main threats at Pak-Iran border, smuggling element and militancy of Islamic organizations aimed at destabilizing Sistan region in Iran.

He added that any instability in Sistan does not serve Pakistan's interest.

"There may be enemies of Iran who are using religious extremists groups to advance their political agenda," he said.

He was of the view that these religious extremists are not powered enough to destabilize Iran but create some problems in the region by killing and kidnapping innocent people.

He suggested that the cross border activities could be controlled through cooperation between Iran and Pakistan.

"Pakistan is also facing same kind of problem in Balochistan," he said.

Hasan Askari Rizvi said that Iran and Pakistan have to cooperate with each other to deal with these kinds of threats and challenges.

Hasan Askari Rizvi was Visiting Professor of Pakistan Studies at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), and the Allama Iqbal Professor at Heidelberg University, Germany.

Until 2001, Rizvi was a Professor of Political Science at the Punjab University, Lahore, Pakistan.

Rizvi obtained his M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania, and an M.Phil. in Politics from the University of Leeds.