Washington: In a recent podcast interview with a show host, Trump, the former president of the United States and the contender for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, made quite an unexpected statement on Iran. Trump wished Iran the best for them and their country, at the same time setting the rule that they can never have nuclear weapons. His comments are made when there are tensions mainly between Iran, the United States of America and Israel, the Middle Eastern region is instable.
In the podcast with host Patrick Bet-David, Trump discussed multiple issues around the world, including Iran’s nuclear plan and the situation in the Middle East. While discussing Iran, Trump was asked if he believes the USA should meddle with regime change, he said, “We can’t be involved in everything; we’re not even running our own country properly.” He also added that the single biggest risk facing the world today is not global warming which is a concept he named ‘nuclear warming’ in reference to the threats posed by nuclear power.
Turning up the heat in the Middle East
Trump made these comments at a time when the United States and Israel have been categorically branding Iran as their main foe. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Iran of causing the Middle East conflict noting that Iran has been attacking Israel. On 1 October Iran attacked Israel in an alleged reprisal for the elimination of a few significant officials, such as Ismail Haniyeh, Hassan Nasrallah and a commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps .
This has also added tension with the probability of the escalation between Iran and Israel something that many are worried about. Iran advanced that it was provoked to attack Israel and this aggravated an already grim situation in the volatile Middle East region.
Fear over Iran’s nuclear capabilities
An important concern of the international community remains the Iranian nuclear programme. Many reports that originated from the U.S. have shown that Iran has been secretly improving its nuclear position, and some experts say that Tehran may announce it has nuclear power by this year-end. This has triggered firm warnings from the two states which have not wavered on their stand against Iran having nuclear weapons.
Mossad has recently been actively involved in foiling Iran’s nuclear plan since the emergence of the possibility of an Iranian nuclear power poses a threat to the existence of Israel. At the same time, the American officials have expressed similar sentiments, and the recent statement by Trump corresponds to such an opinion even with rather unconventional attitude towards Iran in general by Trump.
Trump’s Shifting Iran Policy
Trump’s comments also predicted changes in his stance on Iran if he were to be elected for the presidential seat in the forthcoming elections. Despite remaining uncompromising on the issue of stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons, Trump was a little ambiguous on how his policies toward the Islamic Republic might evolve in his second term. He said that he would do something else, which he stated as new policy as opposed to the previous one.
In response to the question of whether he would retain such a harsh approach to Iran, Trump replied that this would be addressed in subsequent years under a different model. This is quite in contrast to his previous administration’s decision to withdraw from the JCPOA, also known as the 2015 nuclear deal. It was a nuclear deal with Iran and six world powers including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, and Russia. But Trump again pulled the U.S. out of the deal in 2018 and hostilities resumed between Iran and the U.S again.
Looking Ahead: A Potential Change in the Relations between The United States and Iran
Despite the fact that Trump’s stance on Iran’s nuclear programme is also in the interest of both Israel and the United States, his concept of a new approach has created ambiguity. In light of increasing hostility between Iran, Israel, and the U.S., it is uncertain how a possible Trump administration will handle the threats of Iranian regional expansion and nuclear programme.
With the upcoming 2024 US presidential election, the world is waiting to find out the nature of the American foreign policy that its next president will adopt, and as it is, Iran, a nation that often remains in the limelight of geo-political issues.