File photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

WAR IN IRAN

TRU professor believes Iran’s regime favours ‘long and messy’ war

Mar 3, 2026 | 4:14 PM

KAMLOOPS — Canada’s federal government is attempting to work with allies in the Middle East to help citizens get out of the region as war takes over the area. Global Affairs Canada is reporting more than 97,000 Canadians have registered as currently being in the Middle East. The fighting between Iran and the United States along with Israel has disrupted travel and trade in the region, and while it may be half a world away from the west coast of Canada, the impacts will likely be felt.

A war taking place thousands of kilometres away from Kamloops, with a direct tie to the price you’ll pay next time you fill up the tank. The impact on the Western world, perhaps playing into the hands of the Iranian regime.

“Gas prices are going up and this is what Iran’s objective is – to inflict cost on not only U.S. and its allies in the region but also in global markets,” TRU assistant professor Saira Bano told CFJC Today. “That will pressure U.S. and Israel to stop this war. Iran has threatened no tankers are going to be passed through the Straight of Hormuz, [which] means prices are going to go up.”

A surge in oil prices is one reason why Bano believes the United States will be looking for a swift resolution to the war.

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“The war has expanded at the regional area, as well, so we are in this war for some time,” said Bano. “It is in the U.S. interest to have this war clean and swift, and it is in Iran’s interest to have this war messy and a long one, because Iran knows that U.S. has no appetite for a long war.”

Bano however sees a glaring issue with the idea of the US ending the war quickly.

“There is one famous Prussian military strategist, von Clausewitz, who once said war is continuation of politics by other means. It means if you are going to go into war, you have a clear objective and that helps you to devise a plan and that helps you to stop the war. But we do not have a clear objective here,” said Bano. 

There have been calls from the Iranian population in Kamloops for a revolution, and a new regime to take over. Bano is unsure how successful that may be, saying there is no current existing structure to replace the regime.

“This has been a tricky business, where we don’t know if the people are going to topple the government,” Bano told CFJC News. “And another factor is there is no coherent opposition there. We do not know if the regime is gone, who is going to replace that regime. There is no opposition leader, there is no polarized one that is having deeper support in the society. “