The uptick in US-Iran tensions looks to be entirely one-sided and it seems that the Trump Administration is following through on its threats to try and get more concessions from Iran by pressuring it from all possible angles. Pulling out of the multilateral deal, followed by an increase in sanctions leading to an overall devastation of the Iranian economy did not achieve what the US expected it would – Iran did not come back to the negotiating table and concede to greater checks on its ballistic missiles programme, and why would it when Tehran very rightly points out that the US government can no longer be trusted to hold up any new treaty that is drawn up?
The recent mobilisation of US troops around Iran however, is a dangerous game to indulge in on part of the US, because one misstep can lead to a conflict neither side can afford, especially since the Middle-East is already fraught with conflict. On the part of Iran there is not much to be done, other Western nations are still committed to keeping the nuclear deal with Iran in place, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly reported on Iran following through on its promises. The US however, does not want compliance; it wants a collapse of the deal, and the mobilisation of troops is just another indication that it wants diplomatic relations with Iran to sour to a point of no return.
Iran is quickly running out of options; the western nations it came to terms with (not counting the US) will not defend Iran if there is an increase in hostilities, and the US will be more aggressive if it wants to be, because it knows that no other country can really stop it from doing so. This posturing on part of the US however, must come to an end. The citizens of the US must voice their disagreement with the Administration’s aggressive stance; the country has partaken in so many major conflicts in the course of modern history that even its citizens must eventually get tired of foreign expeditions that the US is not directly linked to. Other developed countries and the US’ many allies must also try and keep things from getting violent before it is too late.