US-Iran tension: A window of opportunity for occupied nations

By Saeed Baloch

The tension between the US an Iran intensified rapidly after US President Donald Trump pulled the United States of America out of “The Iran Nuclear Deal” since then the US has restored wide-ranging sanctions on Iran including ending the oil waivers which drove Iran’s export to zero. The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent visit to Europe, India and Russia were to stop allowing Iranian crude oil to be imported. It’s early to tell whether Russia, China and other buyers of Iranian crude oil will be compelled by the US in this regard. But one thing is crystal clear that Trump administration uses all means of sources to hurt Iran’s economy badly.

At the moment, Iran is entirely surrounded by a persuasion and coercion situation internally and externally. Because of the US top sanctions, high inflation in Iran certainly causes a wave of huge public anger and coercion which makes hardship for Tehran to cope with it as Rouhani admitted the fact that “Today, it cannot be said weather conditions are better or worse than the 1980-88 Iraqi war period.” Fearing the crisis, he called for unity among the country’s political sections to counter the economic hardship amid in rapidly damaging financial areas. Some news networks even report that Due to the high level of inflation and skyrocketing living costs, the working class has already taken to the streets and gone on strike to protest against poor working situation and non-payment of wages. For that, Rouhani has faced tough criticism from Iranian hardliners.

The sanctions on Iranian crude oil and metal exports were aimed to put pressure what Washington label as ‘malign activities’ such as attempting to develop nuclear weapons and financing militant activities in the region.

Meanwhile, The USA is boosting military presence in the Persian Gulf and the Middle East to put further pressure on Tehran to eliminate what Washington sees a growing threat from Iran. The US state department on Wednesday ordered the departure of the non-emergency government employees from Iraq because Washington claimed it had detected new and urgent threats from Iran and its proxy forces in the region of targeting Americans and its interests.

The Pentagon on May 10 said The USS Arlington amphibious assault ship will join the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and a B-52 Bomber task force headed toward the Persian Gulf. New York time reported that 120000 US soldiers are heading to surround Iran but President Donald Trump called it fake news, however, he threatened to send far more troops if needed.

Some analysts are of the view that The USA is preparing an Iraq style invasion on Iran. If one zooms all the scenarios carefully, it supports the view of the analysts that the USA will raid on Iran to fulfil its aims for which the United States has been preparing for decades. Americans did their best to persuade Iran to give up what America sees a threat to the USA and its allies without firing a single bullet. But Iran continuously adopted a policy to fragment the interest of the US and its allies in the region. In spite of the US pressures and top sanctions, Iran is not ready to budge in an inch from its anti-American activities as Iran, few days ago, threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz (if it really does so, it will skyrocket oil prices in international markets and also hit American markets strongly) and to destroy the Abraham Lincoln carrier by a single shot of a missile. And also warn to attack Israel.

To me, the US is with left no choice but to use military force to change the theocratic regime in Tehran to save the region from the Iranian proxy warfare and terrorism as John Bolton and other members of Trump administration have already focused on this option as the only solution to this problem.

We can guess the mindset of Tehran by analyzing the attack on tankers in the Gulf of Oman. No doubt, Iran and its proxies are involved in this sabotage attack as the US investigators clearly said that Iran and its proxy groups used explosives to damage four ships off the United Arab Emirates on Sunday. It is quite clear that Iran still undermines what Washington has been doing to Iran to capitulate.

Now, it is easy to perceive that John Bolton was right about the military option to strike on Iran. The good news is that President Donald Trump is gradually approaching to the same option as he uses the phrase “Iran will suffer greatly”. That phrase by the President of the United States of America is really a hope for the region and especially for Baloch, Kurds and other oppressed nations under the Iranian occupation which has been facing Iranian brutalities and atrocities for centuries. Iran has killed thousands of Baloch, Kurds and Ahvazi. At the moment, there is a genocide going on in Iranian occupied Balochistan, as Free Balochistan Movement, headed by Hyrbyair Marri, has been running campaigns in Europe and conducting protests in various parts of the world against Pakistani and Iranian state brutalities in occupied Balochistan.

Conclusion: The US has every reason and justification to attack Iran and it is also the responsibility of the European Union and Russia to fully support Trump administration in this regard. In the same way, Baloch Kurd and Ahvazi must get along with each other to benefit from this opportunity. In particular, the Baloch leadership has to play a vital role in this connection. The occupied nations in Iran must use the Iran-US tension as a window of opportunity and take advantage of it. The US may not free the Baloch, Kurds, Arab of AL-Ahvaz and Turk of Azerbaijan from Iran but united these secular nations can persuade the US and other international powers that the occupied nations are real stakeholders in that region and only their independence from the yoke of Persian subjugation can guarantee peace and prosperity.