Op-Ed

Rearrangements In US Can Become A Countdown For Iran

Ali Hajizade Founder, Editor-in-Chief of thegreatmiddleeast.com
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The Iranian expansion in the world and in particular in the Middle East has been on the rise for a long time.

Benefiting from fails of US and instability in the region, Tehran increased its influence in the Middle East year by year, without neglecting to strengthen its lobby in Washington.

There’s no need to remind that the regional expansion of Iran is contrary to the long-term interests of US and is aimed, mainly, against US allies in the region.

However, the developments, we have witnessed since the beginning of this year, signal that the Iranian aggressive expansion, perhaps, comes to the end.

Donald Trump’s opposition to the nuclear deal with Iran is one of such signals.

On March 13, President Trump announced the resignation of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and the appointment of the CIA Director Mike Pompeo to his place. Pompeo will be replaced by Gina Haspel on the post of the CIA Director.

Mike Pompeo’s views coincide with Donald Trump’s views.

Obviously, this could serve as the main factor for Donald Trump, in the selection of Tillerson’s successor. Pompeo will hardly change his opinion regarding Iran and its nuclear ambitions after his appointment.

One of the main allies of US, who is also annoyed with the nuclear deal, is Saudi Arabia. The Crown Prince of this State (basically, the main opponent of the Iranian Regime in the Middle East) on March 19 started his three-week visit to US. On March 20 there was a meeting of the Crown Prince and President Trump. Without any doubt, Iran was one of the main subjects of negotiation. Mohammad Bin Salman is planning to visit 7 American cities, during his visit. This, obviously, demonstrates Prince’s keen interest and sympathy to US. Apparently, the prince wants to open a new chapter in relations between Washington and Riyadh after the noticeable cooling of relations between the countries during the Obama administration.

Two days after the meeting with the Prince, President Trump announced that John Bolton will be his new National Security Adviser. There are precedents in the US history, when National Security Advisers could affect the foreign policy of the country. For example – Zbigniew Brzezinski, Henry Kissinger, Condoleezza Rice etc. Of course, not only Tehran, but also Moscow and Pyongyang will be unhappy with this decision of the President.

As is known, Mr. Bolton is also an opponent of the nuclear deal achieved with Iran and a supporter of regime change in Iran.

Iran could become one of the hegemonies in the Middle East not because of its strength, but because US was pursuing not always consistent policy in the region, focusing on secondary issues. During the Obama administration there were no obstacles to the Iranian expansion in the region, moreover, it was a golden period for the Iranian lobby in Washington. It led to a cooling of relations between US and regional allies.

It is worth noting that in recent years, the Iranian regime has faced a serious economic, ideological and political crisis, which will necessarily affect foreign policy and expansionist sentiment of the Iranian regime.

Perhaps, the developments described above will become a countdown for the Iranian regime and the threat it poses to the region and US.

Ali Hajizade is a political analyst and founder editor in chief of thegreatmiddleeast.com. He tweets @AHajizade


The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of The Daily Caller.