Tensions between the US and Iran continue to rise, and with them comes a
lot of speculation about an imminent war. For all this, however, US and
Iranian officials seem to be near-unanimous in expressing their desire to avoid any war.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani vowed that Iran would “not wage war with
any nation,” but all signs are that Iranian officials don’t see much
merit in another round of diplomacy after the US withdrew from the
hard-negotiated nuclear deal.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who had previously been emphasizing the
military options under consideration, now insists the US deployments to
the region are entirely for deterrence’s sake, and despite how many there are getting to be in the region, the US doesn’t seek a war.
President Trump was also keen to reiterate that he doesn’t intend to go
to war with Iran, or at least that he wants there to be a “question
mark” over whether he’d start a war with Iran over any matter other than
nuclear weapons.
The Gulf of Oman incident clearly doesn’t seem to be a war-starter, however, with Trump calling the attacks “very minor.”
Though he appeared reluctant to elaborate, it doesn’t seem that a “very
minor” incident would be something to start a war over.
Yet in the meantime, it’s unclear what might be able to calm down the
tensions. Iran isn’t going to engage without any reason to think the US
would be any more trustworthy than last time, while US “maximum
pressure” policy will likely just mean continued military deployments
and sanctions going forward.
US, Iran Say War Is Not Sought, But Tensions Continue to Rise
Trump calls tanker attacks 'minor' as Pompeo emphasizes deterrence
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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