‘Sabotage diplomacy’

Tensions in the Middle East continue to rise with Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ruling out talks with US President Donald Trump, soon after two ships were hit by alleged sabotage attacks. The US quickly blamed Iran for the attacks, but pat came the denial. After US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s initial accusation, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif hit back by claiming that the attacks were part of ‘sabotage diplomacy’ adopted by the US’s ‘B Team’ which he has previously identified as including US National Security Adviser John Bolton, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed. In a tweet, he also curiously named Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the group.

Abe was on the first visit to Iran by a Japanese premier since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. But the trip appears to have been largely unsuccessful, even though he said the supreme leader assured him that Iran has no intention to make, hold, or use nuclear weapons. Coming from a Japanese leader, those words have great sway. There have also been multiple reports that Israel and Saudi Arabia are exerting their influence over Trump and his administration to get into a war that serves little strategic purpose for the US, but great purpose for Iran’s two main regional rivals. Trump administration hawks such as Bolton — the neocon mind behind the Iraq War — have been braying for war with Iran for decades.

The volatility in the region is in no small part due to the violation of the Iran nuclear deal by the US. Yes, it was the US that broke the treaty, but as is common with US breaches of international agreements, it is the law-abiding party that gets the stick. Given the significance of the deal, it is unsurprising that despite the US’s garish diplomatic behaviour, Germany, France, China, Russia and other signatories have all been making efforts to salvage the deal.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 15^th, 2019.

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