Behind the Headlines/May 22

Jamshid Chalangi:

In tonight’s program we will look at the escalating tension between Tehran and Washington, which started forty years ago after the seizure of the US embassy in Tehran and followed by terrorist attacks on American troops in Beirut and Iraq.

As the US economic pressure on Iran grows, some analysts do not rule out the possibility of a war between the two countries, despite President Trump’s statement that he does want a war with Iran.

Our guests to discuss these issues tonight are commentators Koroush Kalhor and Reza Taghizadeh.

Reza Taghizadeh:

There is no doubt that the situation that exists between Iran and US today is the culmination of many years of ups and downs in relations between the two countries.

The escalation in tension has begun since the election of Trump who has chosen a different approach towards theIranian regime.

However, I believe even the previous US administration followed a similar policy of containment with the Iranianregime, but had a different style of achieving its objectives.

Koroush Kalhor:

In my view the problem that the Iranian regime is facing is nothing new. The nature of this regime is one of creating crisis to live off it.

However, since the arrival Trump government this crisis has taken a new turn, which might lead to many serious problems for our country.

The Iranian regime has always had issues with US administrations since its inception but today the antagonism has reached its pick and we are in a very serious phase of it.

Reza Taghizadeh:

Once upon a time Iran was the main power in the region but was accused of being the agent of the US policies.

However, its influence and power always secured peace and stability.

With the fall of the Shah and the Iran-Iraq war and US invasion of Iraq the geopolitics of the region has changed and now we have the Shias ruling over Iraq.

As a result of these changes, all the countries of the region are now jockeying to find a proper place for themselves in the new map of the Middle East but the Iranian regime wants more than what it is allowed to have. That is why it is now facing the US and Trump’s administration.