Trump is destabilizing Middle-East: Indian strategist

Senior member of a top Indian think tank believes that the US president Donald Trump will destabilize the Middle-East if he decides to pull out of the Iranian nuclear deal.

News ID: 70035

Date: 06 May 2018 - 17:00

TEHRAN (Defapress)-  Rajeev Sharma who is a member of the “Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA) ' commented on the US President Donald Trump’s aggressive posture on the Iranian nuclear deal.

Sharma said, “No doubt, the US President’s possible decision to exit the Iranian nuclear deal will destabilize the whole Middle East. Trump is playing with fire.'

He added, 'Trump is a kind of a President who is always in an election mode. He is crassly playing to his core domestic constituency. He is doing it deliberately and consciously because he has his eyes set for the next presidential election. Trump's Iran policy is essentially geared at his next presidential campaign. It doesn't matter to him if he unilaterally withdraws from the international agreements entered into by the previous government. He has done it willfully in several other policy-related issues, which are well known, whether domestic or in context of foreign policy.”

Terming the possible exit of the US president from the Iranian deal as violation of an international agreement, the distinguished strategist said, “the US exit of the Iranian nuclear deal will hurt Washington’s standing in the international arena and it will pave the way for violation of other international agreements.'

'Trump's foreign policy is largely a transactional diplomacy, a kind of a zero sum game. He has been telling his foreign interlocutors this, 'Okay, I will give you THIS provided you give me THAT in return. He is essentially a businessman, a CEO- President. Foreign policy can't be run like that. Foreign policy is not a zero sum game. Moreover, he is supposed to be uniform in his approach towards all alleged or suspected violators of the peaceful nuclear regime,” he added.

“A case in point is his North Korea policy. Why is he adopting different yardsticks for a highly aggressive Pyongyang which has repeatedly threatened to attack the US, not only with conventional weapons but also with its proven nuclear arsenal? It's laughable that with North Korea Trump engages in a childish spat like who has got a bigger and more effective nuclear button whereas, on the other hand, with Iran, which hasn't threaten to attack the US, he chooses to adopt entirely different foreign policy parameters.” he added.

Accusing President Trump of playing into hands of the Zionist regime and Saudi Arabia in his policy towards Iran, Rajeev Sharma said, “Iran is fully complying with its commitments under its nuclear deal with the world powers and the United Nations’ nuclear watch dog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has certified this many times. Under Trump, the US is playing into the hands of Iran's rivals, Israel and Saudi Arabia, who, in turn, are interestingly mutual rivals. Saudi Arabia's powerful Crown Prince Mohd bin Salman is currently caught in an internecine domestic battle for supremacy and it is well-thought strategy to open a front with Iran to divert domestic attention.”

Appreciating the European Union for its resistance against the US pressure on the Iranian nuclear deal, the seasoned analyst of the world affairs said, “The EU will carry on with its opposition to Trump's erroneous policies on Iran. French President Macron did just that recently and bravely supported the Iran Deal during his recent US visit and told Trump that it deserved another chance.”