India, June 29 -- The destructive 12-day aerial duel between Iran and Israel may have paused, but the region is far from being peaceful. Normalcy is elusive, and the calm is tenuous.

The reason for such a cautious, albeit pessimistic outlook is the statements carelessly dished out by two of the three players of the West Asian roulette - US President Donald Trump and Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. On Friday, Trump said that if Iran continues its uranium enrichment programme, then America will bomb again. A day before, Khamenei vowed in front of his people that if America attacks Iran again, it should be prepared to face severe punishment. Iran is now bent on pursuing its nuclear armament programme.

Before the attack, Tel A...