World War 3 WARNING: Trump’s ‘risky’ Iran strategy could spark huge conflict, says expert
US President Donald Trump’s approach to Iran is “fraught with risk” and could trigger a conflict in the region which could escalate rapidly, a US foreign policy expert has warned.
By CIARAN MCGRATH
Express.co.uk
Fri, Aug 17, 2018
Dana Allin, Senior Fellow for US Foreign Policy and Transatlantic Affairs at the International International for Strategic Studies (IISS), made his remarks at the end of a month which has seen Mr Trump lash out at Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, threatening him with “severe consequences”, as well as an incident in which a Saudi oil tanker was attacked by Iran-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen.
Mr Trump’s remarks were apparently triggered by a speech by Mr Rouhani in which he told the US not to “pull the tiger’s tail”, adding that a conflict with Iran would be “the mother of all wars”.
For his part, Mr Rouhani was irked at US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s characterisation of his regime as a “mafia” and implicit support for anti-government protests, with the US Government making no secret of its wish to see a popular revolt in the Middle Eastern country.
Additionally, Iran is furious at Mr Trump’s decision to pull the US out of the JPCA agreement aimed at preventing Iran developing nuclear weapons which was agreed during the administration of predecessor Barack Obama.
He said: “I think there is obviously a potential for escalatory incidents leading to a military conflict – it’s fraught with risk.
“Even if regime change happens there is nothing in our experience which would suggest what follows would be better – this is what happened in Iraq.”
Meanwhile, the invasion of Iran would be “unhinged” and a “disaster unparalleled in US history”, Mr Allin said.
Branding Mr Trump’s strategy “incoherent and highly counter-productive”, Mr Allin suggested that the JPCA decision was motivated by a desire to destroy one of Mr Obama’s policy achievements.
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