South China Morning Post
Advertisement
Advertisement
US President Donald Trump has threatened “major retaliation” if Tehran carries out a promised military response for the killing of its top security and intelligence official, Major General Qassem Soleimani. Photo: AFP
Opinion
Editorial
by SCMP Editorial
Editorial
by SCMP Editorial

War with Iran is the last thing world needs now

  • Trump cannot afford to continue his unorthodox foreign policy and must work with allies to open talks with Tehran to defuse tensions
  • Assassination of top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani has made the world a more dangerous place
SCMP Editorial
SCMP Editorial
Why you can trust SCMP
China and the world do not want or need tensions at boiling point between the United States and Iran to spill over into war. US President Donald Trump has threatened “major retaliation” if Tehran carries out a promised military response for the killing of its top security and intelligence official, Major General Qassem Soleimani, in a US drone strike near Baghdad airport, and economic sanctions against ally Iraq if it expels American troops.

With oil prices soaring and stock markets plunging, the Iranian government further weakened its already tattered international nuclear agreement, declaring it will no longer abide by restrictions. A dangerous situation has arisen; Trump has to set aside his unilateral ways for urgently needed talks with allies and Iran.

US taking out Iran’s Soleimani could be Trump’s biggest gamble yet

Pressures have been building since 2018, when Trump, without consultation, withdrew his country from the deal with China and European partners aimed at ending Iran’s nuclear weapons programme. Tit-for-tat retaliatory measures from Tehran and Washington followed, but began escalating markedly last month after an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq killed an American civilian contractor in a rocket attack.

Trump ordered air strikes on the group, leading to a siege of the US embassy in Baghdad that rekindled memories of the 1979 hostage-taking of 52 Americans at the US diplomatic mission in Tehran. A red line was considered to have been crossed and the order was given to kill Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
Massive protests have erupted in Iran and Iraq. Iraqi lawmakers have passed a non-binding resolution calling for the withdrawal from their country of foreign troops, 5,000 being American. How Iran carries out its promised “harsh revenge” is unclear; Trump contends 52 Iranian targets have already been identified should action be taken.

Conflict will have global ramifications for economies and petroleum supplies. China’s Persian Gulf oil shipments and its Belt and Road Initiative will be harmed. With the US and Iran on the brink of war, Trump cannot afford to continue his unorthodox foreign policy; he has to work with allies and open talks with Tehran to defuse tensions.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: War with Iran is last thing world needs now
Post