EDITORIAL: As President Donald Trump’s restoration of the “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, used in his first term, gains pace Prime Minister of Qatar Sheikh Mohammad bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani has sounded alarm.
In an interview with a conservative political commentator close to Trump, Tucker Carlson, the premier vented his worries about potential attack on Iran’s nuclear plant at Bushehr on the Gulf coast, saying the sea would be “entirely contaminated” and Qatar would run out of (desalinated) water in three days; the risk remained for “all of us” in the region.
Doha, he said, had simulated the effect of an attack “on the other side of coast” – his country is located just 120 miles south of Iran – adding that it had “not only military concerns, but also security and … safety concerns”. These, in fact, would be shared concerns of all the Gulf states.
What seems to be causing them, at least Qatar, anxiety is not just what might happen at Bushehr, but Iran’s inland uranium enrichment facilities at Natanz and Fordow, believed to be heavily fortified and hidden deep underground, hence difficult to penetrate and destroy in a quick airstrike by Israel.
However, earlier this month, i.e., on March 4, Israeli and American air forces conducted a joint exercise using the latter’s B-52 bombers that can effectively hit Iran’s underground nuclear sites. The drill is being seen as a message that they are ready for a joint strike on Iran.
Coming from President Trump, none of this is surprising. In his first term he had withdrawn the US from the 2015 landmark Iran nuclear deal – formally known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – with major powers, including the US.
Under it, Iran had agreed to accept restrictions on its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief. But a year after the Trump administration re-imposed sanctions on its oil exports, Tehran began disregarding limitations on its nuclear programme to start enriching uranium. Having now reinstated his “maximum pressure” strategy, in a recent interview with Fox Business, Trump said, “there are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal.”
Predictably, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has reacted angrily to what he called “some bully governments” who, he said, are setting new expectations (insisting that Iran not only cap and roll back its nuclear programme but also curb its long range missiles capability), which will “definitely not be met by Iran.”
Trump may think since Iran has seen its allies in the ‘Axis of Resistance’ face setbacks during the last 18 months, it can be forced into accepting an unfavourable deal under military threat and also by driving its oil exports to zero.
But bullying tactics will not work, as the Ayatollah asserted. Instead, Iran would want to enrich weapons-grade uranium faster than ever before. In fact, it is said to have the ability to produce a nuclear weapon within weeks. It has plenty of motivation now to so choose. In its eagerness to fulfil Israel’s wishes, the Trump administration is making the region more dangerous for all.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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