Daily Times

The nature of US politics has changed so much since Donald Trump became president of that country four years ago that much of the world is actually breathing a sigh of relief that his administration has slapped further sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran even in its last few days in office. That is because the sanctions imply that the military attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, which the Trump administration was actively contemplating as its farewell gift to the world, should now be effectively off the table. That doesn’t mean of course that the sanctions are not going to hurt or do not further disturb the fragile balance in the Middle East.

More than anything else, they are going to make the first few days of President-elect Joe Biden that much harder. Much has changed in the Persian Gulf over the last few years, all of which has strengthened Israel and protected its interests while driving Iran further into isolation. And even though Trump lost the election and must leave before he could completely stand the Middle East on its head, he’s still done enough to change it perhaps forever. For one thing, it was his push that finally brought the Arab-Israeli embrace out into the open. Now the anti-Iran bloc is openly united, trades between its countries and even shares precious intelligence information. For another, he has destroyed Iran’s economy for all intents and purposes. Not one to go begging for institutional financial support – not that it could even if it wanted to considering all the sanctions – the government of Iran has had to sit and watch as the country’s currency collapsed and the economy shrank; all because of US policies.

Pakistan, being Iran’s immediate neighbour, is not left out of all this. The PTI government did what it could to facilitate a thaw between its two friends in Tehran and Riyadh, but it doesn’t seem like that offer went very far. Hopefully the world is going to be more accommodative of Iran once Biden takes over and, in all likelihood, tries to go back to the nuclear deal that Trump walked out of. Should, rather when, that happens Pakistan must stand ready as one of the first states to engage in constructive and significant commerce with the neighbouring Islamic Republic. This fresh round of sanctions, most likely, will be short lived. *