Editorial – Kamil Alboshoka
9/21/2017
According to Reuters, Donald Tramp, the US president is assessing a new strategy against Iran-backed forces in Iraq and Syria, as well as countering Iran’s ballistic missile program.
Reuters also argued that the proposal was prepared by the Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis; Secretary of State Rex Tillerson; Herbert Raymond McMaster, US National Security Advisor; and several top officials (Reuters, 12th September 2017).
Reuters also reported that the proposal was presented to Donald Trump at a National Security Council meeting on Friday, September 8th. Two sources told Reuters that the proposal, if approved, may be publicly announced in less than a month (by the end of September 2017).
The US sources also said the goal of the proposal is ‘’to increase the pressure on the Iranian government to curb the ballistic missile program, as well as counter Tehran’s support for militants’’ in the region. The BBC Persian reported that the proposed targets “Iran’s financial support to militant groups, the destabilising actions of the country in the region, especially in Iraq and Syria, as well as actions such as the potential development of the nuclear program”, and what is described in this report as “Cyber Spy” (BBC Persian, 12th September 2017).
“The proposal includes the seizure of Iran’s weapons shipments to help Houthis in Yemen, Palestinians in Gaza, and in the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt”, Reuters reported in a recent report quoted by two former US officials.
According to a report released by BBC Persian, the current US government is looking for a different approach to a comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran, the draft new proposal will consider “tougher economic sanctions if Iran violates a nuclear accord’’. US Ambassador to the United Nations, Nicky Haley, said that if US President Donald Tramp does not endorse Iran’s commitment to a nuclear deal, it does not mean America’s withdrawal, but will increase pressure on Iran (BBC Persian, 5th September 2017).
The US top officials repeatedly spoke of Iran’s destructive role in the region and repeatedly offered suggestions to the Trump government against Iran. Some of these proposals have spoken out of military confrontation and some of the proposals offered a plan to overthrow the regime in Iran. For example, Keyhan Sweden published a report on a new proposal to change the regime in Iran. According to Keyhan Sweden, Michelle Florini, in February 2017, proposed to overthrow the Iranian regime to the Pentagon. According to the proposal, the time of the fall of the ruling regime in Iran is only taken four weeks (Keyhan Sweden, 12thFebruary 2017).
Indeed, Tramp’s policy for dealing with Iran is completely different from Obama’s administration. Tramp has repeatedly criticized Obama’s policy. Trump believes Iran has abused the nuclear deal. Tramp says the Shiite militias in Iran are spreading in the region, which poses a threat to the security of the region, particular countries such as Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon. He also strongly criticized Iran’s missile policy, posing a threat to the security of the region.
The Iran’s intervention in Sinai-Egypt is for the first time given to Tramp in a new proposal that put forward by American figures. The proposal spoke of the destructive role of Iran in the Egyptian Sinai along Palestinian and Yemen. A former official and current US official said the strategy also includes a more hostile US approach to Washington’s claim that Tehran will send weapons to the Houthis in Yemen and the Palestinian groups in Gaza and Egypt (Moj News, 12 September 2017: https://goo.gl/w6ncS9).
In addition, three of these US officials said the plan would allow the US Navy to resort to force to deal with radical boats owned by Iranian forces. The Iranian and American naval forces have faced several times in the Arabian Gulf and Strait of Bab Al-Salam (Hormuz). According to this new strategy, US commanders can now use bullet whenever they feel the boats and their staff lives in danger (Moj News, 12 September 2017).
Ensafali Hedayat, the Azerbaijani political activist during the interview argued that Iranian forces rushed to American ships several times for no reason, in which the Obama administration did not have a specific policy to stop the invasion of Iranian forces against US navy. However, the Trump administration is using different policy than Obama. Iran is now more under pressure by the US President Donald Trump.
Ensafali Hedayat also added that the West has led to military pressure on Iran, but due to Western computational errors, Iran has been able to establish strategic relations with Turkey, Russia, and Syria. Because the US policies of supporting the Kurd rebels in Syria have shaken the national interests of Turkey in the region and has made it closer to Iran.
He continued to add that Iran has an impact on increasing the crisis in the region, in which this policy has caused both the West and Arabs to face political and security crisis in the region. In fact, Iran has had the opportunity to complete its secret nuclear activities due to the current situation in the Middle East. Therefore, this situation has led the Government of Trump to apply a strict policy against the Iranian interests in the region.
Author: Kamil Alboshoka is a researcher and international law specialist focusing on Iran affairs