Ex-US official: Trump’s goals in Iran will not materialise

Former Middle East and North Africa advisor to President George W. Bush, Richard Haass, warned that the US administration has two goals behind its policies against Iran, both of which will not be achieved.

In an interview aired by CNN yesterday, Haass said he believed “the US administration wants to push towards pressuring Iran to change the Iranian regime or fundamentally change its policy”, adding that both goals are similar, and will not be achieved.

He explained that “Iran is pushing in the opposite direction by exit from the nuclear agreement and making the United States and its allies unsatisfied in the region.”

READ: US considers plan to send thousands of US troops to Middle East 

However, he pointed out that Iran will only retreat if it felt that the 1979 revolution is in danger.

“Under the weight of sanctions, the day will come when Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei say we have to make concessions, whether we want it or not, in order to maintain the revolution….. But we are not there yet,” he explained.

Tensions between Iran and the United States have been escalating since Washington unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal signed with Tehran and re-imposed “unprecedented” sanctions on it.