Journal on World Affairs, UCLA
While the United States continues to move out of the CENTCOM area of responsibility and look elsewhere in Europe and the Indo-Pacific, ensuring regional denuclearization in the Middle East and establishing a free flow of oil must remain in America’s national interest.
While Washington is unlikely to remove all economic sanctions imposed on Iran, only time will tell which country will give in first. Even though the United States continues to carry a big stick, at some point some compromise from both sides must occur.
Political turmoil erupted in Israel following the win by former Vice President Joseph Biden in the US Presidential Election. Biden will accede President Trump, presumably the closest ally Israel has ever had.
In the midst of the noise of America’s electoral drama, tensions have risen once again between the United States and Iran. In the past weeks of the Trump administration, the executive policy of ‘maximum pressure’ has escalated interactions with Iran.
Despite being called the “number-one threat” and the “single greatest problem [of] the world,” according to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, respectively, on-air time for discussing nuclear weapons culminated in a whopping twelve minutes.
In the third week of September, the relationship between Iran and the United States has reached the headlines again. It began on September 14th, when President Trump tweeted about an alleged assasination attempt plotted by Iran. He went on to explain that any attack from Iran will be met with strong retaliation from the United States.
Recent events have given reason to believe that this battle is far from over. With America’s attention on the coronavirus and the weakening of Iran’s regional enemies due to the pandemic, could this prove to be the perfect scenario for an Iranian retaliation?
Journal on World Affairs, UCLA