US President Donald Trump made a statement regarding the situation in the Middle East, in which he said that not a single American soldier was killed as a result of Iran firing ballistic missiles at two military bases in Iraq. In his speech, the head of the White House emphasized that “Iran is retreating, this is good news for the whole world”, and also promised to introduce new sanctions against Tehran.
“These powerful sanctions will remain in effect until Iran changes its behavior,” the American leader said.
In addition, Donald Trump called on NATO to participate more actively in the processes in the Middle East.
The owner of the White House also said that as long as he remains the head of state, “Iran will not be allowed to have nuclear weapons,” and called on Russia and other countries to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action for the Iranian Nuclear Program (the so-called “nuclear deal” )
“The time has come for Britain, Germany, France, Russia and China to recognize reality. They must get out of what remains of the JCPOA, ”Trump said.
"Symbolic strike"
Recall, the reason for the appeal of Trump was a new phase of the aggravation of relations between Iran and the United States. On the night of January 7-8, in response to the assassination of Kassem Sulemaini, the General of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), organized by the United States, Tehran launched a series of rocket attacks on the locations of American troops in neighboring Iraq. According to various sources, from 10 to 20 ballistic missiles were fired at Al-Assad air base and base in Erbil. The operation of Iran was called the “Martyr Suleymani” in honor of the deceased commander.
- Launch of Iranian missiles on US targets in Iraq
- © IRAN PRESS / AFP
The supreme leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called the attack on the bases a “slap” in the United States and said that the US military should leave the region. In turn, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that the action is a proportionate response to US actions in the framework of self-defense and it is not aimed at further escalating the events.
Despite the fact that the Iranian side initially claimed 80 dead among the US military, the Pentagon did not confirm this information. Iraqi officials also said they did not have data on the victims.
USA Today, citing a source in the US administration, reported that the American side had been warned in advance of impending strikes. Despite the fact that Iranian missiles damaged the Al-Assad base, all the military were able to take cover in a timely manner, the newspaper writes.
A similar message, citing a diplomatic source in one of the Arab states in the region, was later distributed by CNN. According to him, Iran had previously warned of an impending strike by the Iraqi authorities, who, in turn, transmitted this information to the US military.
“These bases were on high alert because we had reason to believe that the Iranian regime was planning to attack our forces and interests in the region,” said Pentagon Assistant Secretary Jonathan Hoffman in a statement.
He added that an “initial combat damage assessment” is currently underway.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Jawad Zarif also confirmed that the Iraqi authorities were informed in advance of an impending Iranian missile attack on US bases.
“Iran has notified the government and the Iraqi Armed Forces of the measures taken last night,” Zarif said.
Assessing the current situation, experts draw attention to the fact that in the preparation of the «Martyr Suleymani’ campaign, Iran consciously took a path that allowed us to avoid casualties.
“Iran dealt the main blow to a point located in the west of Iraq, from where the attack on Suleymani was fired. He even launched rockets at the same time that the general was eliminated. Tehran dealt a purely symbolic blow, slapped Washington, and so far calmed down. Further, everything will largely depend on the behavior of the United States, ”said Alexander Vavilov, professor at Moscow State University and Middle East expert, in an interview with RT.
"Short-sighted policy"
Tehran’s actions have been condemned in the West as well as in the North Atlantic Alliance.
“NATO calls on Iran to refrain from further violence. The Allies continue to hold consultations and remain committed to our training mission in Iraq, ”said block secretary general Jens Stoltenberg.
At the same time, Russia blames the short-sighted US policy for escalating the situation in the region. This was stated by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.
- Farewell to Iranian General Sulemaini
- © Haidar HAMDANI / AFP
“We see and observe exactly the development that was warned about and from which everyone was warned, this is an escalation of the situation. Now is the next round of tension, which is provoked, obviously, by the corresponding policies pursued by Western countries, primarily, of course, the United States, implementing a very strange, short-sighted policy, ”the Russian diplomat said on the air of Ekho Moskvy radio station.
Maria Zakharova added that the main reason for this jump in tension in the region was the critical mass of contradictions between the parties.
In turn, Russian President Vladimir Putin, on an official visit to Turkey, issued a joint statement with the head of the republic, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in which both leaders expressed concern about the situation and warned of an increased risk of instability.
“We regard the US operation against the commander of the Quds special forces, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Kassem Suleimani and those around him in Baghdad on January 3, 2020 as an act that undermines security and stability in the region. In light of Iran’s delivering ballistic missile strikes against coalition military bases in Iraq on January 8, 2020, we believe that exchanging strikes and using force by either side does not contribute to finding solutions to the complex problems of the Middle East and lead to a new round of instability, not meeting any interests, ” The statement said, the text of which is given on the Kremlin website.
"Trying to smooth out the crisis"
Assessing the reaction of the American authorities to Tehran’s step, analysts agree that the White House now operates in many ways “situationally”.
“The administration of the American president has a common strategy - to put pressure on Iran. Trump needs to look like a peacemaker, so he will now try to smooth out the emerging Middle East crisis, which could greatly damage his reputation. And all this, the president, of course, will try to credit himself as a foreign policy victory, ”political analyst Alexander Asafov said in a conversation with RT.
According to Alexander Vavilov, Trump’s appeal, by and large, indicates that he is trying to “save face” before the election.
- US President Donald Trump at a US military base in Iraq
- © Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
“The murder of Suleimani is an ill-conceived step, since in politics such actions, as a rule, only create additional obstacles and difficulties. Much now depends on the American side, how the United States will react further, conduct business in the region, but at present it is unprofitable for Trump to launch a wide military campaign, since the election race has begun. Democrats are already starting to make claims to the president that he did not consult with the congress, with specialists, ”the expert explained.
He did not rule out that in the near future the parties could once again exchange single strikes, but things are unlikely to reach full-fledged hostilities, since neither Iran nor the United States are interested in this.
In turn, Alexander Asafov also believes that Trump may have “lowered the degree” of his answer, limiting himself to sanctions against Iran, because of criticism from the political opposition that fell upon him after the assassination of General Kassem Sulemaini. At the same time, the political scientist admitted that the United States could launch new attacks on Iranian targets outside its territory, which, however, will not give rise to an active confrontation.
“Now it’s hard to imagine what kind of actions the US will take, but they certainly won’t strike at Iran’s cultural and historical sites. Most likely, the Americans will try to damage the military infrastructure, even one that in fact is not Iranian, for example, in Syria, ”the political scientist suggested.