Much of the turmoil in the Middle East is fuelled by the animosity between America and Iran which has never subsided since the Iranian revolutionaries seized the American embassy in Teheran and held its diplomatic hostages prisoner for 444 days as a snub to American might.
Iran is a religious regime that is out of step with the rest of the Middle East. It regards America as the " Great Satan " and because of its oil wealth it has the funds to bankroll what the world sees as terrorist revolutionaries across a wide swathe of territories. In particular, it is the main sponsor of the battles raging in Yemen.
Iran was well on the way to developing its own atomic bomb when the western powers struck a deal that reduced the sanctions that were crippling the Iranian economy in exchange for guarantees backed by on site inspections that work on nuclear development would cease. That deal came into force during the presidency of Barak Obama, and when Donald Trump became his successor he withdrew American support, despite all the other signatories reporting that Iran was sticking faithfully to its obligations.
Iran is now free to go nuclear and has restarted refining uranium in centrifuges that produce bomb grade base material. Despite the reimposition of sanctions it is the work of its undercover columns that are feeding arms and motivating anti American action in Syria and Iraq. The head of this Quda force is legendary general Qassem Soleimani. He is revered within Iran as a master tactician who has expertise in directing the attacks against American military power in the eastern world.
Qassem Soleimani is now dead. He flew into Baghdad airport and as he stepped into a waiting car with Iraqi army compatriots an American Reaper drone fired missiles which the world sees as an assassination. America openly and in full view of the world launched a deliberate attack to kill the most senior commander of forces within a country with which it is not at war. The US admits that this strike was personally ordered by Donald Trump.
The big question is - where do we go from here ? Teheran has threatened revenge and this could take the form of the killing or kidnapping of important American figures abroad. It is also likely to spur the Iranian ambition to possess a nuclear weapon and perhaps induce them to beg, borrow or steal whatever they need to achieve that objective.
North Korea is an obvious supply source. Its unpredictable leader has a battered economy that would be enhanced by a cash injection and that is possible from Iran's oil wealth. The idea of Iran armed with a nuclear weapon is far from ideal. It is run by religious zealots and when religious motivation becomes the mainstay, logic does not necessarily apply.
That assassination just upped the ante. The world has become a more dangerous place !
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