Opinion | Under Trump, the US’ interventionist policy towards the Middle East has reached a new low

The assassination of Iran’s Soleimani was carried out in Iraq against the wishes of the Iraqi government. For sure, Iran has been interfering in Iraq, but no more than the US. The US is out of control, and must return to established norms

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US President Donald Trump delivers a statement about Iran, flanked by Secretary of Defence Mark Esper, Vice-President Mike Pence and military leaders, in the grand foyer of the White House on January 8. Photo: Reuters

Published: 3:00am, 19 Jan 2020Updated: 3:00am, 19 Jan 2020

The Gregorian year and decade are off to an awful start, so let us pray for a better beginning to the Year of the Rat.

The United States’ resort to political assassination in the case of Iran’s major general Qassem Soleimani was an appalling breach of law, convention and common sense. It showed that the world’s most powerful state no longer respects the rules which have governed interstate relations. American exceptionalism has reached a new low and one which invites tit-for-tat retaliation.

In practice, Iran is likely to have more sense than to try to “take out” Soleimani’s US counterparts, for example, the top brass of the US Central Command, whose forward base in Qatar is presumably behind the US attacks on the Shia militias operating against Islamic State in northern Iraq.

The assassination of Soleimani was carried out on Iraqi soil against the wishes of the (elected) Iraqi government, which has cooperative relations with Iran. For sure, Iran has been interfering in Syria and Iraq, but no more than the US.

The world has now witnessed 40 years of sporadic US interventions in this region: from covertly supporting Saddam Hussein’s war against Iran to mounting an invasion of Iraq, justified by blatant lies about weapons of mass destruction, and latterly opposing or supporting varying factions in Syria and Iraq.