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Trump’s tweet can seriously escalate tensions in Mideast: Activist

Monday, 20 May 2019 1:39 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 20 May 2019 3:29 PM ]

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US President Donald Trump’s recent Twitter threat to “destroy Iran” can constitute a serious escalation of military tensions in the Middle East, says an activist, adding that his “warlike remarks” indicate that he has no consideration for the rule of international law.

Trump has once again threatened to destroy Iran if the Islamic Republic attacked its interests in spite of Tehran saying that it was not seeking war.

His most recent tweet appears to be a shift in tone just days after he said he was interested in diplomacy and wanted to avoid war.

“In my opinion Trump’s bombastic Twitter threats constitute a serious escalation of military tensions in the Middle East which could easily lead to a major regional war or even a world war. So as a peace activist I am very concerned about his warlike remarks,” Ken Stone, member of the Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War, told Press TV in an interview on Monday.

“And in addition, I believe that his warlike remarks show that President Trump has no consideration at all for the rule of international law or the UN Charter because if he did, he would know that states cannot attack other states except in self-defense or with the permission of [the] UN Security Council which the United Sates does not have and even to threaten another state is a violation of Article 2 of the UN Charter,” he added.

Tensions mounted between Tehran and Washington last May, when Trump pulled his country out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and re-imposed harsh sanctions against the Islamic Republic in defiance of global criticism.

Trump and his hawkish advisors such as National Security Advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have been stepping up pressure against Iranians since last May.

He has also tightened economic sanctions against Tehran and blacklisted the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

The tensions saw a sharp rise on the first anniversary of Washington's exit from the deal as the US moved to ratchet up pressure on Iran by tightening its oil sanctions and sending military reinforcements, including an aircraft carrier strike group, a squadron of B-52 bombers, and a battery of patriot missiles, to the Persian Gulf region.