Trump seeks foreign policy conflict to make a mark in US
A political science professor at Bielefeld University, Andreas Zick believes that one of the biggest problems is that the relationship between Donald Trump's administration and Iran is influenced by the internal social conflict and the election campaigns in the USA.
He said in an exclusive interview with ILNA news agency that Trump seeks the foreign policy conflict to make a mark in the USA.
"At present I see no bridges and above all it is hardly visible who can moderate and mediate the conflict. Another problem is that common economic interests that Iran and the US could pursue stand behind ideological interests."
Asked about does America's policy of Maximum Pressure can change the policies of the Iranian government, he said "Repression leads to resistance and the attempt to restore freedom of action. This is an old social-psychological wisdom. We must hope that in the back room of public politics there are still strategies for peaceful conflict resolution.
"It would have been advisable now to establish cooperation beyond politics in order to build new bridges."
He referred to the current US-European relations and added that Trump is now also threatening Europe and is sealing off the US with his America First policy.
Answering to question about meeting between the Presidents of Iran and the United States can change the situation in the region or not, the US professor said "It is necessary and therefore it should be possible. Whether such meetings are reliable is difficult to say. Meetings with other countries have not always been sustainable."
"Both partners must also be aware of what they actually want. Under the surface, other conflicts often bubble up," Andreas Zick confirmed.
The political science professor also referred to protest in Lebanon and Iraq and adding, "Lebanon also has an internal problem. The social situation of the citizens is a disaster. This makes governments vulnerable to foment foreign policy conflict, but now the dissatisfaction in Lebanon is growing. That will occupy the country."
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