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The Print
12 hours ago
- Politics
- The Print
Trump can't end wars. He's more interested in commercial deals
The fate of this meeting was always hanging by a thread. US President Donald Trump had announced well before the talks that Iran would not be allowed to have nuclear weapons. At the same time, the US was preparing a hurried evacuation of its embassy in Iraq and had allowed its military dependents to leave locations around the Middle East due to 'heightened security risks'. When Oman's foreign affairs minister Badr Albusaidi announced the sixth round of US-Iran nuclear talks in Muscat on 12 June, he would have had an inkling of the events that would follow. Two days later, he declared that the meeting had been called off. Wading into war Far from staying out of the Israel-Iran war, the US has waded deep into it by laying down conditions that are unacceptable not only to Tehran but also to several other regional and middle powers. A nuclear-armed Shia-dominated Iran is certainly not favoured by the Sunni-dominated Arab world, which incidentally is tied in uneasy knots with Israel through the Abraham Accords. However, Arab states, which once considered Israel a potential ally in their contestations against Iran, are now sceptical about US-Israel objectives. Soon after the Israeli attacks, the UAE waived visa fines for overstaying Iranian citizens, and the Gulf states condemned Israel's unprovoked attack on Iran. The Arab states are well aware of the camaraderie between the US and Israel, and their deep sense of solidarity in combating Iran's nuclear programme. It is no secret that the two powers jointly seek a regime change in Iran, which will herald the beginning of a new state with a pliant, pro-US head of state in Tehran. Due to the total trust deficit between the US and Iran, war is now Trump's only path to achieve this objective. On Thursday, however, officials from the two countries are reported to have held a rare telephonic conversation to find a diplomatic solution as Israel's attacks intensify. Trump had a window of opportunity to continue US-Iran talks and offer a better alternative to war. It is unlikely he was not aware of Israel's war preparedness. By bringing Iran to the negotiating table in Muscat as scheduled, Trump could have bargained for time and sent a message to Israel about whose decision would prevail on regime change in Tehran. Now, driven to the wall, a desperate Iran may consider attacking US bases and military installations in the region. It may even target American and Israeli personnel anywhere in the world, thereby forcing Washington to respond with deterrence or counterattacks as a security measure. Far from stopping the war, Trump finds himself drawn even deeper into it. Iran may also block the Strait of Hormuz, a lifeline for an energy–starved Europe, already deprived of Russian oil and gas. Since its cyber attack on Saudi Arabia's oil installations in 2012, Iran has sharpened its capabilities through short and medium-range and surface-to-surface missiles. These can be used to target oil infrastructure platforms, pipelines, commercial vessels, navigation and radar equipment, and ports in the region. Can Trump's America sit back and leave Europe to its fate in the Gulf, as it tried doing in the Russia-Ukraine conflict? Also read: What India must learn from Israel's air strikes on Iran — clarity, speed, precision Trump's promises Israel's objective of dismantling Iran's nuclear capabilities will be incomplete until the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, spread over 54,000 square feet and buried deep under a mountain near Qom, is totally destroyed. This can be done only by the GBU-57A, a 30,000-pound precision-guided 'bunker buster' bomb, mounted on a US B-2 bomber. It is only a matter of time before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu compels Trump to use the ultimate weapon, which will force Iran to surrender and facilitate a regime change. Such an intervention, which can be authorised only by the President of the United States, will probably please Israel, but not before seriously eroding Trump's credibility as one who will 'end wars'. His resolve to end wars and not get involved in the kind of battles America fought in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan will evaporate into thin air. Trump's path to power was paved with promises of 'making America great again' and ending wars around the world. In fact, the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts were the only major ongoing wars during his campaign. 'I'm not going to start a war, I'm going to stop the wars,' Trump said, addressing his supporters immediately after winning the second term. In his first 100 days in power, his focus was on undoing his predecessor's policies. He wanted to hunt down illegal immigrants and oust them from the US in humiliating handcuffs, streamline federal institutions, and consolidate as many constitutional powers as possible. Recently, the president wondered whether he could appoint himself the head of the Federal Reserve. Trump's resolve to make America great again implies that it has lost its sheen. Assuming that he is right, the American president should know that the country was great for several reasons. It was 'a land of opportunities' and had the ability to keep the dollar powerful as a globally accepted currency for trade settlements. Above all, America was the global superpower that could successfully intervene in conflicts and flashpoints even in a multipolar world, with emerging economies and hegemons contesting its position of eminence. Trump's priority should be to keep America out of wars rather than make feeble attempts to stop them. As of now, he seems to have failed. A US president who is interested in making commercial deals instead of using the country's economic, political, and military muscle to prevent global conflicts cannot end wars. Seshadri Chari is the former editor of 'Organiser'. He tweets @seshadrichari. Views are personal. (Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Cheaper cost, cultural similarities draw Kashmiri students to Iran
An estimated 2,000 Kashmiri students, half of them girls, enrolled in medical and other professional courses in Iran are caught in the crossfire as the conflict with Israel entered its fourth day on Monday with no signs of abating. While the Indian embassy in Tehran is facilitating the relocation of the students to safer places, worried families in the Kashmir Valley have pinned their hopes on the Centre that has good ties with both Israel and Iran. According to officials, around 5,000 students from Kashmir are studying professional courses, particularly medicine, in different countries with 80% pursuing their degrees in Bangladesh and Iran. Kashmiri students head for medical courses in Central Asian countries and China also. Over the past decade, the number of Kashmiri students pursuing professional courses in Iran has increased manifold due to affordability and a similar cultural milieu so much so that the Valley is known as Iran-e-Sagheer (Little Iran). Most students from the Valley are enrolled in institutions in the Iranian cities of Tehran, Shiraz and Kish. An MBBS degree from a private medical college in India costs about ₹1 crore, while in Bangladesh the tuition fee alone is around ₹30 lakh, while in Iran the entire course costs ₹30 lakh. Another reason Kashmiri parents prefer to send their wards to Iran is because it is Shia-dominated like the Valley. 'I chose to send my son to Iran because I couldn't afford the medical college fee here. He is now a final year MBBS student in Kish city. He feels at home in Iran due to the similar culture and food. In fact, many Wazwan varieties served in Kashmiri cuisine have Iranian origin,' said Khursheed Ahmad of Baramulla. 'I am hopeful that our government, which has good ties with both Iran and Israel, will get the students out of the conflict zone safely. Once the situation improves, they can return to continue their studies,' Ahmad said. Maqsood Ahmad, a parent from Srinagar, said: 'There were three reasons why I chose Iran for my daughter, who is a second-year MBBS student. First, the fee is affordable; second, the culture is similar; and third, the climate is conducive. There are dozens of Kashmiri students studying with her. The Iran-Israel conflict has left all of us worried. I'm in touch with my daughter and she has told me that they are being moved out of Tehran to an undisclosed location.' Another parent from uptown Srinagar, Imtiyaz Khan said he had enrolled his son in a medical college in Tehran last year. 'I had three choices: Russia, Bangladesh and Iran. Due to the moderate climate, similar culture and good feedback from students in Iran, I chose Tehran,' he said, adding, 'Till yesterday (Sunday), almost all students in hostels were safe. A majority of them now want to move out as they fear the situation can turn worse. So far, I'm in touch with my son.' Since the late '70s, Shia Muslim students from Kashmir have been heading to Iran for religious studies. Many top Shia clerics have got their religious degrees from universities and religious institutions of Iran. Since the late '80s, students from Kashmir started pursuing medical education in colleges of Iran. Back then, recommendations from prominent Shia leaders earned students tuition fee rebates. However, over the past decade, both Shia and Sunni students from the Valley have been going to Iran due to affordable education. The political turmoil and violence in Bangladesh, where hundreds of students from Jammu and Kashmir are currently enrolled, besides increasing cost of living and hot and humid weather led many parents to prefer medical and engineering colleges in Iran for their wards this time.
The Hindu
18-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Saudi airline resumes first Iran hajj flights since 2015: official
A Saudi airline has resumed flights for Iranian hajj pilgrims to the kingdom for the first time in a decade, the latest sign of the warming ties between the countries. "Flynas resumed Iranian pilgrims flights from Imam Khomeini (airport) in Tehran on Saturday," a Saudi civil aviation authority official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official said flights would also be added from Mashhad in Iran, allowing more than 35,000 pilgrims to travel to Saudi Arabia on the airline. Flynas is a budget airline based in Saudi Arabia, which operates domestic and international routes. The official stressed that the flights were not commercial and were only for the hajj pilgrimage. The hajj is due to begin during the first week of June, and pilgrims from across the globe have already begun pouring into Saudi Arabia. Shia-dominated Iran and Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia resumed relations in March 2023 under a surprise China-brokered deal after a seven-year rupture. Saudi Arabia severed relations with Iran in 2016 after its embassy in Tehran and consulate in the northwestern city of Mashhad were attacked during protests after Saudi Arabia executed Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr. No Iranian pilgrims were allowed into Saudi Arabia in 2016, the year that ties were ruptured, as the two sides were unable to organise a protocol for them to attend. In September 2015, a stampede during the hajj killed up to 2,300 worshippers, among them hundreds of Iranians. Pilgrims from Iran were later allowed to join the hajj but only allowed to travel to Saudi Arabia on Iranian chartered flights during the hajj season. But since the March 2023 Iranian-Saudi rapprochement, the regional powers have intensified their contacts. The two exchanged ambassadors and visits of foreign ministers before the late Ebrahim Raisi made the first visit by an Iranian president to the kingdom in 20 years for a joint Arab-Islamic summit on the Gaza war in November 2023. In December, Iran Air resumed operations between Mashhad and Dammam in eastern Saudi Arabia. And last month, Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman travelled in a rare visit by a Saudi royal to Iran where he also met supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The moves come as the United States and Iran have held four rounds of talks aimed at hammering out a new accord on Tehran's nuclear programme. U.S. President Donald Trump hinted during his tour of the Gulf that the two sides were "getting close" to a deal, but also warned Tehran to move quickly towards sealing an agreement or "something bad will happen". Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Saudi Arabia just days before Trump began his regional tour last week.
