Donald Trump: Iran crisis shows the dangers of US President's last days in office – Angus Robertson

The end of Donald Trump’s damaging international policies cannot come quickly enough.

Donald Trump plays golf at the Trump National in Sterling, Virginia, on Friday (Picture: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Single-handedly the outgoing US President started damaging trade wars, withdrew the United States from climate key commitments and undermined diplomatic efforts to end the nuclear stand-off with Iran.

President-elect Joe Biden has already signalled that America will re-join the Paris Agreement on climate change which is key to dealing with this global emergency.

The incoming Democrat president is expected to review the damaging trade sanctions which are costing US and international consumers and businesses dearly. Similarly, a reset has been considered for US dealings with Iran. However dangerous developments in recent days show that the stakes are high.

Last Friday, Iran’s top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated in an attack which has been blamed on Israel.

Not many actors have the wherewithal and the motive to carry out such a killing which runs the risk of inflaming tensions and strengthening the hand of hardliners in Tehran.

It is feared that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu may have used the cover of President Trump’s last weeks in office to launch the attack.

The assassination follows the United States’ killing of a leading Iranian commander and a number of unexplained explosions at strategic Iranian facilities.

This leaves a headache for President-elect Biden and also for moderate forces in Tehran, who both will want a return to multilateral diplomacy and guarantees for peaceful and non-military Iranian nuclear developments.

An escalation in tensions is in no-one’s interests. Let’s hope that cool heads prevail.

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