US-Iran: Is Iran's New Isolation Possible?

• 07.27.2017, 20:13
•  America,  Near East,  World

realiran.org

The tense relations between Iran and the US continue to intensify, the American side being the initiator of the tension. Thus, recently the US House of Representatives adopted new sanctions against Iran, while the US President Donald trump threatened Iran with problems that it would face in case it does not comply with the nuclear deal.

It should be mentioned that during the pre-election campaign, as well as after assuming the post of the President, Trump has constantly expressed his dissatisfaction with the Iranian nuclear deal and does his best to preserve the sanctions imposed on Iran, despite the fact that the US department of State periodically states that Iran maintains its obligations fixed in the deal.

In such a situation an impression is created that Trump’s such an approach towards Iran is not conditioned by nuclear or missile programs. It should be reminded that during his pre-election campaign Trump promised to make the US powerful again, but the US new administration has net succeeded yet in recording a serious victory in the international arena. In parallel, the country has recently always been in scandals. Thus, Trump needs a foreign enemy, with the presence of which he can explain the existing problems and around which he can gather a great number of allies.

In this regard the candidacy of Russia is not so convenient. Given Russia’s statements, this confrontation can have catastrophic consequences for the whole world. An attempt was made to make North Korea an enemy country, Trump even sent airplanes to the shores of that country. But here too, the risk is not justified. The US does not exclude that North Korea possesses intercontinental ballistic missiles that can reach the United States. As a result, the only likely candidate remains Iran, especially given the fact that Saudi Arabia and Israel, the United States' strategic allies, consider it to be their number one enemy and consistently demand the US to toughen its attitude towards Iran.

Despite frequent small incidents in the Persian Gulf between American and Iranian ships, the confrontation between the United States and Iran will not become a warlike one. First, Iran is quite cautious in its response to Trump's policy. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, in his latest response to the threats of Washington said his people are used to such hostile attitude and can successfully resist this policy, as they have faced various sanctions and pressure in the past 40 years by Washington.

In addition, the US policy is supported only by Iran's Middle East allies. US Eastern partners do not share the position of Trump on Iran and are not going to abandon their policy of improving relations with Iran. As a result, toughening of the US position on Iran may cause some isolation not for Iran, but for the United States.