Why US-Iran tension increased amid Corona epidemic

Why US-Iran tension increased: Last year, US President Donald Trump said in one of his speeches that the American Revolutionary Army had snatched airports from the British in the 1770s.

In the context of that statement, his tweet on Wednesday ordering naval commanders to kill Iranian naval armed sailors harassing American warships is a small lie.

But this is, of course, the most reliable possible military action for the US after the assassination of the Iranian Quds Force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander General Qasim Sulemani, earlier this year.

The US and Iran reached the brink of conflict after Sulaimani was killed in the US attack.

In such a situation, the question arises what has happened recently that has caused Trump to be warned? When both Iran and the United States are struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic, why is tension growing between the two countries at such a time?

Why US-Iran tension increased amid the Corona epidemic

Tension continues during the era of COVID-19

The immediate cause of Donald Trump’s brief threat is the incident last week. According to the US, last week, several armed speedboats operated by the Navy of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) harassed the American warship fleet in the Gulf region.

The US warship fleet also included the mobile base ship USS Louis B Puller and the destroyer USS Paul Hamilton, with the capability of retention.

The US Navy said that once the Iranian armed ferry had passed just 9 meters from the Coast Guard cutters protecting the American fleet at high speed. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard has also confessed to the clash but blamed the Americans for this.

The commander-in-chief of the Iranian Quds Force, General Hussein Salami, said on Thursday that he had ordered the Iranian Navy to “eliminate US military forces that pose a threat to military or civilian maritime vessels in the Gulf of Iran.”

It is now feared that the language of war may not turn into action. Although it will change a lot with the order of tweet by Donald Trump, it is not so.

Fear of stress

The commanders of American warships stationed in the Gulf are able to make decisions that they believe are necessary for the protection of the battleship and its allies. Not only this but they are also used to the tactics of the small Iranian boats.

However, this episode is so clear that even at the time of the coronavirus epidemic, the already existing tensions at the international level have not reduced; on the contrary, they are likely to deepen.

This is because the strategic goal of America and Iran regarding each other has not changed. Iran wants to reduce US dominance in the Gulf region, and the US wants to increase its dominance.

For example, in the recent Israeli airstrikes on Syria, there are signs of Iran and its allies becoming active toward their targets in this area.

In fact, some Iranian leaders, including radicals who strengthened during the time of the COVID-19, felt that the US was struggling on its domestic front due to the Corona transition, taking advantage of it, Iran could strengthen its position in the Gulf region.

At the same time, the Trump administration is also looking at COVID-19 as an opportunity and emphasizing its strategy to put maximum pressure on Irani. Experts are not sharing this, but it is being said that the corona epidemic may cause the decline of Islamic rule in Tehran.

Iranian missile program gets better.

However, Iran is also moving forward on other fronts.

According to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard claim, Iran has launched a military satellite. It is believed that this has been done by rockets dependent on North Korean technology. This shows that Iran’s missile program is getting better.

Although Iran is primarily involved in a 2015 agreement with world powers that insisted on limiting nuclear activities, it is violating several terms of the contract.

Experts are concerned that many steps of the Tehran administration are contrary to the agreement. Iran seems to be moving toward the situation from where it can secretly build carbon fiber centrifuges, the machinery necessary for uranium enrichment beyond international surveillance.

US and Iran tensions may be reduced if they are temporarily held back, but it is clear that this is not so.

In such a situation, the risk of accidental conflict is more than ever because both countries are confused about each other’s ability to fight the coronavirus epidemic and the effect it has on each other.