The Washington Post on warned on Tuesday against possible conflict with Iran, saying US President Donald Trump should return to diplomacy with the Islamic Republic “before it’s too late.”
In an article published late Tuesday, the editorial board first talked about the possibility that a conflict between the US and Iran would erupt, citing remarks by British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt who said on Monday that the risk of ‘accidental’ US-Iran war “ends with some kind of conflict.”
“What he didn’t say was this: Both those dangers result directly from the Trump administration’s escalation of pressure on the Iranian regime in recent months — a policy with no evident end goal and thus no plausible positive outcome,” Washington Post’s editorial board said in the article entitled: “We’re drifting toward war with Iran. Trump needs to take a diplomatic way out.”
Touching upon events and remarks by US officials, the article said that although Trump and his aides saying they are not seeking war, their measures against the Islamic Republic “appear to have brought them perilously close to it.”
Iran responded to US measures threatening to resume high-level enrichment of uranium, “the most dangerous activity stopped by the nuclear deal that Mr. Trump unwisely scrapped,” the editorial board said in the article.
Talking more about US military action against Iran under the pretext of allegations that Iran is preparing strikes against US forces in the Middle East, the article said: “The United States is poorly prepared for another conflict in the region; it has the support of none of its NATO allies, not even — as Mr. Hunt made clear — Britain.”
“The use of force probably would not stop Iran from resuming its nuclear program or force a change of regime, short of a full-scale military invasion. That would find scant support from Americans, and for good reason: Until Mr. Trump began his escalation, Iran was observing the nuclear deal and did not pose an imminent threat to the United States.”
On Trump’s call for talks with the Islamic Republic, the article cited US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s remarks on regime change in Iran.
“But the United States has been waiting in vain for a popular revolution in Tehran for decades,” the editorial board said.
“As we pointed out previously, Mr. Trump is in danger of being cornered into choosing between a counterproductive use of force and allowing Iran to cross red lines. The way out is to return to diplomacy, in concert with European allies. The president should curb his hawkish aides and take that course before it is too late.”
Source: Washington Post
