Most countries reject Trump’s breaking of nuclear deal with Iran

James Petras, a retired professor who has published on political issues with particular focus on Latin America, the Middle East and imperialism, made the remarks.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has said the US campaign of “extreme” pressure and unilateral sanctions against Iran are to blame for a rise in tensions in the Middle East region.

Xi made the remarks in a joint interview with Russia’s TASS news agency and Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper on Wednesday ahead of his state visit to Russia.

Tensions have continued to rise in the Middle East as a result of Washington's unilateral sanctions and “extreme pressure” on Tehran, Xi said, according to a transcript of the interview published by China’s Foreign Ministry. “The development of the situation is worrying.”

Professor Petras said, “That’s a very important statement that I think is a very serious understanding of the tensions. I think the first thing that we need to remember is the US under Trump broke the nuclear agreement between major countries in the world and Iran, and that Trump had just abolished that.”

“Secondly, Trump has sent the Air Force and the Navy into the Persian Gulf and has claimed that there is some kind of an incident there with no evidence at all,” he stated.

“So I think it’s very clear that Washington’s policy towards Iran has created enormous tensions around the world. Most countries in the world reject Trump’s breaking of the agreement and also the fact that he is sending war planes and war ships to the area,” he said.

“The other fact that it’s not just Trump’s policies to Iran that’s a big factor creating tensions but it’s also the US continuing with Israel as it supports terrorists in Syria, and also encouraging Israel to conquer and expel the Palestinians. That’s another point of tensions.
Another point of tensions is the US support for Saudi Arabia which has been very bellicose in the area, financing terrorists including those who participated in the 9/11 incident,” the analyst noted.        

“So you have Iran being under attack, you have Syria under attack, you have the Palestinians under attack, and you have threats against Iraq. So all of these have created tensions in the Middle East,” he observed.