The president of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, called upon all Muslims around the world last week to stand up to the west, specifically the United States. This reaction comes as a result of Mr Trump reinitiating sanctions on the Iranian capital of Tehran.

President Rouhani, defiantly stated that the Iranians were not going to follow the sanctions, and neither should any other nations in the area. He dubbed Americans restricting the oil exports as a “victory” for Iran, because the oil was going to sell either way, and now it wasn’t supporting Americans.

When President Trump initially removed the United States from a nuclear deal, removing the sanctions, he took a variety of powerful European companies with him. The deal was passed by former President Obama, and the current Commander in Chief looked down upon it as a failure in foreign affairs. This sent the Iranian economy into a sharp down-spiral, resulting in high numbers of unemployment, and extreme inflation.

While this news is true, it should come as no surprise that the streets of Tehran were filled with enraged Iranian citizens. Carrying posters, and chanting, the protesters are making it clear that they are fervently opposed to the actions of Mr Trump and his administration. They aren’t the only ones too, with a variety of Asian nations, including China, agreeing that these actions by the United States are entirely unacceptable.In an interview with CNN on November 25, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry called the sanctions “long arm jurisdiction”, and criticized America for punishing Iran who, “has strictly fulfilled its obligations in the nuclear area.”

But for President Rouhani, this is not strictly a violation of the rights of the nation of Iran, but also a warning for all Muslims of the power and recklessness of the United States. At a conference in Tehran, in front of journalists from The Guardian, Rouhani encouraged Islamic unity, stating, “Submitting to the West headed by America would be treason against our religion.” In a separate interview he gave Muslim nations the option, “We have a choice to either roll out red carpets for criminals, or to forcefully stand against injustice and remain faithful to our Prophet, our Koran and our Islam.”

President Rouhani has been a supporter of growing the connections between Islamic nations for years, but this is the first time he has asked the countries to unify against the United States. With more enemies than allies in the Middle East as is, the United States could be in trouble if a unified front is established. This would mean less access to the oil that is laden throughout the Middle Eastern economy, as well as potentially losing relationships with nations such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

President Rouhani is well aware of the Saudi relationship with the United States, and sent a message directly to the largest nation in the Middle East. In the same press conference he stated, “We are ready to defend the interests of the Saudi people against terrorism, aggression and the superpowers… and we don’t ask for $450 billion to do it,” Rouhani said, in reference to affairs between Saudi Arabia and the US. There was no response from any Saudi officials, but the high price of American allyship has been one of the main complaints by Saudi officials in the past.

It is unlikely that Rouhani would be able to establish a unified Muslim population in the Middle East, but the Trump administration needs to be very careful with how they proceed from this moment on. One more false step, and the United States could easily be removed from relations in the Middle East.

Sources:

https://globalnews.ca/news/4695112/iran-rouhani-muslims-unite-against-trump-us/

https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/05/middleeast/iran-sanctions-rouhani-intl/index.html