SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The intense military confrontation that killed hundreds of civilians in Iran and dozens in Israel came to a swift halt on Tuesday. President Trump called it the "12 Day War."
"Nobody had an interest in having this continue on longer than it did," said Darren Kew, the dean at University of San Diego's School of Peace Studies.
When asked if the United States can rest easy that this conflict has ended with the ceasefire, Kew was cautious.
"No, I don't think so. This buys us more time. The big question is whether Iranians will say - we do need nuclear capacity," Kew said.
Although everyone wants a diplomatic solution, Kew says it will be harder than ever to come to an agreement. The uncertainty is extending the deployment of San Diego-based aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson and USS Nimitz in the Middle East.
"The only certainty we've gotten from Israelis or Americans is some sort of complete dismantling of the Iranian nuclear initiative, and the Iranians have made very clear they're not going to give up on that," Kew said.
A long-term peace agreement depends on how much of Iran's nuclear facilities were destroyed and whether Russia and China get involved. The U.S. trade war with China and American support for Ukraine against Russia could provoke changes.
"Do they decide to poke the United States and Israelis to give some support to the Iranians and their efforts is an open question," Kew said.
President Trump says he's meeting with Iranian leaders next week to come up with a more comprehensive peace deal.
