By Daanyaal Matthews
The United States has joined Israel against Iran following the launch of missiles, including the utilization of a 30,000-pound bunker-buster bomb, this past weekend targeting Iranian nuclear sites. While Iran has promised retaliation, US President Donald Trump has floated the idea of a regime change in Iran.
Speaking on VOC’s airwaves, Professor Oscar van Heerden, international relations expert, believes the decision by Trump to strike at Iran has neutered diplomatic relations between the two states that were previously engaging in nuclear negotiations.
“How do you go to the negotiation table with such a person, who you can’t trust, constantly lying? So diplomacy has been bombed off the table, Iran is preparing for the ultimate war that is coming, the US is looking for an excuse, and Netanyahu has changed the narrative from the nuclear threat to the nuclear threat and ballistic missiles,” stated van Heerden.
Heerden furthers that Trump has essentially regressed discussions with Iran to the nth degree, building on his previous decision, in his first administration, to retract the United States from the nuclear negotiation talks with Iran. For Heerden, the statement of Trump imploring peace is laughable and counterintuitive given the strikes laid upon the Middle Eastern state.
“Just like Trump tore up the previous agreement of the Obama administration, they have no intention to make a deal with Iran. The logic here is quite simple: you have now neutralized or set back the nuclear program by several years; there is no nuclear weapon, there is no development of a weapon, and still, you want to negotiate?” questioned van Heerden
Listen to the full interview here:
