New Delhi [India], March 1 (ANI): As tensions escalate in West Asia following Israeli and US strikes on Iran, Air Marshal Sanjeev Kapoor (Retd) on Saturday said the conflict had been building up for months and was not an abrupt development.

Speaking to ANI on the Iran-Israel conflict, retired Air Marshal Kapoor said, 'This was building up for the last about six months or so. The Iranian public has come on streets in January asking for regime change because of very high inflation in Iran.'

'Americans have already in place the son of the previous Shah of Iran, whom they want to bring back into Iran. With the degraded air defence and the bases which they struck last year, they felt that now is the time to attack Iran and the general public, which is already not happy with the Iranian regime, will come out on the streets and ask for a change of leadership,' he said.

The remarks come amid heightened hostilities after Israel, in coordination with the United States, launched strikes targeting Iranian military and nuclear-linked infrastructure. The operation, reportedly aimed at neutralising what Israel described as an existential threat, has triggered retaliatory threats and widespread airspace closures across the region.

The fallout has significantly disrupted global aviation. Several countries, including Iran, Israel and Iraq, temporarily closed their airspace, affecting key international corridors. Major airlines such as Air India, IndiGo and SriLankan Airlines suspended or cancelled flights to multiple Middle Eastern destinations, citing passenger safety.

Airports in India and the Gulf have witnessed delays, cancellations and stranded passengers as carriers reassess routes and operational safety.

Passengers were left stranded at Abu Dhabi airport after flight operations were disrupted following joint military strikes by the US and Israel on Iran.

Meanwhile, US Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Saturday informed that the US President has been monitoring the situation post the strike on Iran from his Mar-a-Lago residence. (ANI)